Seeking Stillness – Yoga and Sailing
December 18, 2008
If you are a Facebook Friend of mine then you probably already know that I recently started doing yoga. I’ve being trying several different kinds and this week I’ve been doing Bikram Yoga Dupont. I had been doing another style of yoga at Pure Prana Studios.
At Prana there is a good opportunity to think while doing the positions. You have to focus on your body – but you can drill into an idea a little bit too. (Of course this could mean I’m not doing it right) At Bikram… um… there is no thinking. There is a lot of sweating and grunting and heavy breathing.
Like I said I trying different kinds and so far they all have value and I don’t have any favorites. Today my instructor was a little tank of a woman who I would dub the delightful drill sargent. She wasn’t taking no shit and wasn’t going to let any of us cheat. Including the new people (like me) who were clearly struggling.
While she probed us to stretch harder she mentioned that the difference between new yogis and experienced yogis is generally how quickly they can get to stillness in their positions. Newbies tend to need to “do something” in order to feel like they are doing the position correct. In fact the better way to do the position is to get into the right place and be still. Small adjustments.
Well in the midst of my human pretzel making this hit me like a ton of bricks. This idea of stillness is very often in play on the sailboat racing course. Inexperience racers will often feel like the need to do something in order to improve their position or win a race. They are frenetic. Tacking and jibing to chase every little thing. The experienced racers always move with purpose. They get to their positions and are still. They determine where the strategic advantage is, get into a position to get to it first, and then go.
That’s Not Your Mother That’s a MOON Baby
December 18, 2008
If the full moon tonight looks unusually large, it is not your imagination – it is the biggest and brightest full moon to be seen for 15 years.
Each month the Moon makes a full orbit around the Earth in a slightly oval-shaped path, and tonight it will swing by the Earth at its closest distance, or perigee. It will pass by 356,613km (221,595 miles) away, which is about 28,000km closer than average.
The unusual feature of tonight is that the perigee also coincides with a full moon, which will make it appear 14 per cent bigger and some 30 per cent brighter than most full moons this year – so long as the clouds hold off from blocking the view.
The next closest encounter with a full moon this large will not be until November 14, 2016.
In addition to this lunar flypast, much of Britain may also be treated to a strange phenomenon known as the moon illusion. As the Moon rises in the late afternoon, it will appear even larger as it lies close to the horizon. Psychologists have tried to explain this as a trick of the eye, as the landscape on the horizon appears to make the Moon loom much larger, an effect that disappears as the Moon rises above the horizon, although viewing it through a tube, such as a toilet roll, can make it look large again.
With the Moon approaching so close to the Earth, its gravity will pull a slightly higher tide than normal for a full moon. This so-called perigeal tide adds about 0.5m (1.6ft) to the high-water mark, and with freshening southwesterly winds forecast, this may cause some flooding, especially along parts of the South West coast.
Tonight’s full moon is also notable for rising to its greatest height in the night sky for the entire year, lying almost overhead at midnight. This is because we are approaching the winter solstice, on December 21, and thanks to the tilt of the Earth the Moon appears at its highest, as the Sun is at its lowest.
Another astronomical treat that could be seen tonight and for the next two nights is the annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the year’s best displays of shooting stars. Up to 100 meteors an hour can fly across the sky. The meteors, which are easy to spot with the naked eye, appear to shoot out from the constellation Gemini, hence their name, but they can be seen all over the sky. However, with a full moon so bright, the best place to look is away from the Moon.
Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through clouds of debris shed from comets. As the tiny fragments smash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at about 100,000mph, they burn up in streaks of light.
For reasons that are not understood, the Geminid meteor showers are tending to grow stronger each year.
Ask A Coach – How To USE Those Sail Shape Controls
December 18, 2008
This past weekend I gave a day long lecture on the fundamentals of sail trim and balance for JWorld Annapolis, the best damn sailing school in America. This is approximately six hours of discussing the two modes of sailing, the three sources of sail power, the controls that shape our sails, what do we want and when do we want it.
As with all my courses, lectures, clinics and events I make a pledge to be “tech support” to anyone who participates. It is never too early or too late or too weekend to call or write with a questions. One of the participants quickly sent this one in:
“Thanks Kristen, I enjoyed the course.
I did have a question. As we talked about the adjustment of controls I
wondered what the increment of the adjustment should be? At one point in
the class it was mentioned that the halyard might be adjusted by 1/2
inch or so to adjust the draft position. Is it generally true that
adjustments in controls such as halyard, cunningham, and outhaul are
made in fractions of inches?-Doug”
This is a pretty common question, and one that confounds many newer sailors. Sail controls are often approached as though they only have two settings – on and off. But in fact the power of sail controls (halyards, sheets, outhaul, backstay, cunningham, traveler, vang, car position, etc.), and the challenge of sailing, is in their broad range and nearly infinite position possibilities.
The short answer is YES. Small adjustments in controls can have major impact on the shape of the sails – and there is the key. It is the shape of the sail that you should be concerned with rather than the number of inches of adjustment.
Let’s take the halyard for instance. Halyards are often pulled as tight as the person can pull or until the halyard groans and then forgotten about. On a roller furling jib or genoa they may be forgotten about for the whole season!
But the halyard is a major control for the amount of draft and draft location in sails and draft is one of only three sources of power it cannot be ignored. If you go down to your boat and play adjust the halyard through a range of three inches you will see the difference between being the right setting and too tight or too loose really can be in the range of less than an inch. Over-tension the halyard will pull the draft too far forward and over-flatten the sail making it less powerful in light air or in chop. Under-tension and you’ll create a sail that is too deep and eliminate any draft control your Cunningham could impart.
I say in my lectures that “there are NO set it and forget it controls.” As wind velocity and sea state change so must halyard tension. You’ll need more halyard tension as wind velocity increases to help depower your sails and keep the point of maximum draft in the designed location or even more forward. The adjustment to get the sails “just right” is VERY small.
All of the controls have range and none of them should be considered on or off. Play the ranges and keep experimenting. You’ll find, over time, that the range of adjustment will get smaller in overall range but more “delicate” in how you play it.
It is worth mentioning that controls that are easy to adjust get adjusted often. Every control on the boat should have enough purchase and be in good working order so that it can be adjusted by anyone and can be adjusted through the whole range. So it may be neccesary to increase the purchase or update to newer hardware to get the most out of your controls. If you are in a one-design racing boat make sure you check your class rules to make sure there aren’t rules limiting what you can add.
I have included below three PDF files that may be helpful. The first is a basic matrix that shows which sail controls impact which power source. The second and third are what I would consider BASELINE set-ups for mainsails and jibs/genoas. These are rough starting points that can be applied to most keelboats. Each boat has quirks, the design and distribution between the main and foresail are important considerations for fine tuning these charts. If you’d like to develop a similar matrix for your boat call me and we can discuss it.
Additionally, tell me what you think of the way they are posted/distributed. This is a new service I am trying for posting PDF’s and other media. Hope it is helpful.
Fundamental Sail Control Matrix
Fundamental Mainsail Settings
Fundamental Jib/Genoa Settings
As Much As The Devil Will Allow
December 18, 2008
I walked past the Foc’s'le Tavern tonight. And the band was playing one of my favorite tunes – You Ain’t Going Nowhere so how could I not go in?
This place feels a little home. Disquieting for a Bedouin like me.
The band – a five piece with two guitars, a bass, accordion, and a female drummer who could really hit the skins made me want to stay. But there is work tomorrow.
How does Delta stay in business? I was five hours late, they lost my bag (with coaching materials), and because I was late I lost my car rental reservation. So I took a cab 80 kilometers. If I need to cab back I am supposed to call a guy named Too Tall.
I feel a bit naked without that stuff, but I’ve given this lecture scores of times with less. I’m back in Chester – it can’t be all bad.
Night night.
Mac Race Finish Gale Force Sailing Video Blog
December 18, 2008
Four Hours to the Start of the Mackinac Race
December 18, 2008
It’s GO time. I woke up this morning to the dripping drippity drips of rain on my acheing forehead. The Pre start party took its toll on all of us and we clearly angered a sea god or two with our machinations.
So this morning we’ve got little to no wind, fog, and rain. No problem. Foulies on, spirits high, and big smiles all around.
I met most of these guys yesterday, and the one thing we’ve got in spades is great crew members. So now I am really excited about this race.
This morning the weather forecast is still pretty unclear. The real weather guys are saying something along the same lines as me. Weird and variable with the wind shifting to the east or northeast. This is not great news since that is the direction we are going and we’d rather sail downwind – but we’ll make the best of it.
Here is the current wind forecast (the feathers point downwind):
So the great debate on the boat is where to go. North, West, East…these aren’t easy questions because the goal is to get north but we want to be in the weather (wind) so we have to head towards the expected new wind. But where the heck is it?
The Fog is lifting and the boat is moving so it is probably time for me to sign off. Remember to check back for the audio clips regularly. I will post the player in the final post so that you can hear our latest news.
I’ll leave you with these two quotes:
Ships are the nearest things to dreams hands have ever made. R. Rose.
These great and beautiful ships, imperceptibly rocing like waddling ducks on tranquil waters, these robust ships, with their idle and nostalgic air, aren’t they telling us in a silent tongue: When are we leaving for happiness? C. Baudelaire
OK… one more. To me. Nothing made by man is more beautiful than a sailboat underwary in fine weather and to be on that sailboat is to be as close to heaven as I expect to get. It is analloyed happiness. R Manry.
Mackinac Race Gale Force Podcast
December 18, 2008
So from the start to the finish of the race we should have fairly regular cell phone and wireless access, and with any luck at all this will be the most blogged race I’ve done. I always start with good intentions and end up getting too busy to write or post pics but this time…this time will be different.
The guys (eight of them) are a great group. I’ll be introducing them to you in future posts. But we’ll also be staying in touch by calling in reports from the water. Using a podcasting tool called GCast I should be able to post directly to the website. So check back often, turn up your volume and get ready. Below is the first official podcast of this race. Please let me know if you can’t hear or have trouble using it.
How to follow the Mackinac Race
December 18, 2008
Thanks for all the great feedback and notes of encouragement. I appreciate it and know the other members of team En Pointe do too.
Following along is pretty easy. For the first time in the history of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, all boats in the fleet will carry position transponders, which will allow spectators around the world to follow the Race. This state-of-the-art tracking system allows anyone following the race receive hourly updates on individual boats (we are the Dehler 39 En Pointe), entire sections (we are section 5), or even the entire 436 boat fleet as the race moves up Lake Michigan.
Race tracking services are being provided by iBoattrack, a division of Horizon Marine. There are two methods to access the tracking site maintained by iBoattrack. The first way is to go to the Race to Mackinac web site then click on multimedia and race tracking. You can also bookmark the site directly at http://charthorizon.com/races/2008_chicago_mackinac/htdocs/ (the site will become active shortly before the race begins).
You can easily select individual sections to track (the ‘class’ drop down box). You can also use the movie mode to animate the race. Note that you can mouse over any boat’s current position (except when in movie mode) and get the vessel’s boat speed and other information.
If you would like more detailed data on any boat, select either the ‘Boat Mapper’ or the ‘Google Mapper’ from the links at the top of the page. These will take you to a separate page that allows you to focus on an individual boat or boats. It allows you to animate the race too.
In case you encounter difficulties with the website, there is a ‘help’ button in the top right of each page of the tracker.
Mac Weather
December 18, 2008
It’s right about now (four days) before the start of a race that I get a bit anxious and start pouring over weather data – pretending to know what I am looking at. In 2003 the Mac race forecast was for 30kts out of the south at the start – and it was 3kts from the west. So I don’t put too much stock into the forecast and try to sail the conditions – but… I am excited about this year’s outlook.
In the final post before hitting the water I will post in addition to the Gcast for the race weather “stations” for the three segments of the race. You should be able to see real time data as well as forecast info.
What we are looking for generally is strong winds from the south. That will allow us to sail the shortest course with the spinnaker – a powerful sail used when sailing downwind – and possibly surf some waves. Sailing with the spinnaker is fast and fun, but it is a bit more work than just the mainsail and jib or genoa. It is also a bit more dangerous – especially at night.
Regardless, this year’s Mac Race is going to be great fun and I hope you’ll follow our progress, comment on the blog posts, listen to the GCasts, and send us your best wishes.
Here is a sample of the Southern Mid Lake Buoy Weather Data:
Sailing and Team Building – SailMBTI
December 18, 2008
Check out this great story about our innovative corporate team building program that we produce with Kenning Associates, a professional development and executive coaching consultancy that works with leading global professional service firms and Fortune 500 companies.
Imagine a rigorous one-day team building event that promises to optimize the functioning of you and your colleagues. Add sun, wind, spray, and beautiful views from onboard small yachts that provide dynamic, engaging, high-energy “classrooms”, and you have a program that is optimized for fun and learning.Stop imagining, and read on to discover how to bring all these elements together for your organization. Click here for more.
About me
I am the owner of Gale Force Sailing and write about all things related to coaching, instruction and team building. contact me>>
