I have been watching the NOAA weather conversations. Their modeling is all over the place on what will happen, and it is clear that there are typical late spring conditions coming together. Think of a mixing bowl, where a variety of ingredients haven’t completely mixed together so at any time you might have too much of one thing on top, and not enough of another.
The synopsis for Friday is that a cold front will move over the racing area today and stall through Thursday night. A frontal boundry will retreat N over the racing area on Friday, with an new (and weak) cold front passing sometime Friday afternoon. So it appears as though we can expect S - SE winds before the front passes, and squally windy conditions with the passage of the weak cold front - although depending on when it all gets a move on that could be after racing on Friday.
Continue reading ‘NOOD Update #2′
The sailing blogs are buzzing due to a lack of wind in Valencia, Spain - host of the 32nd America’s Cup. Only a few races in the opening rounds of the challenger series, The Louis Vuitton Cup, have been completed, but the action has been close.
There will always be big teams and little teams, big companies and little companies, but this year a nascent team from South Africa, Team Shosholoza, is proving that teambuilding can bring together disparate talents and meld them into a formidable high functioning team. The South African team is faced with language barriers, lack of experience, and an underfunded campaign, yet through team work they were able to put forward one of the best performances of this Cup.
Continue reading ‘A-Cup Action Proves Teambuilding Works’
The 2007 Annapolis NOOD Regatta is just days away and several Gale Force Sailing clients will be participating in the event. I am preparing daily forecast and strategic briefings and will share them here.
Pack your foul weather gear as Friday’s weather forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies, chance of showers and temperatures in the low 60’s. I think we can expect light and variable conditions, with winds blowing ENE with the some stronger breeze during storms. Wind velocity is likely to be below 10kts for much of the day, so boat speed and staying in pressure will be at a premium.
Continue reading ‘Annapolis NOOD Strategy Brief #1′
The first starting signal for the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD Regatta is just a week away. This annual regatta kicks off of the Annapolis racing season, and this year looks to be bigger than ever. Created by Sailing World in 1988, the NOODs attract close to 2,000 boats and more than 30,000 competitors and spectators annually. Each event in the series features three days of sailboat racing for one-design models from 20 to 70 feet in length. In addition to local sailors, sailing’s top stars - including America’s Cup and Olympic champions - are well-represented at the NOODs. Competitive sailors rate the NOODs as the top national event in each region of the country.
I will be racing, coaching several teams, and helping others prepare their yachts for the regatta. In order to help my teams, I am preparing daily weather, wind and tide predictions.
Continue reading ‘Annapolis Racing Kick-off’
Gale Force Sailing is off to a great start in 2007. In addition to our mention in the April issue of Sail Magazine, we have been plugged on Sailing Anarchy by our good friends and partners at Rocket Boats.
Continue reading ‘Great Start For Gale Force’
