Big News For Gale Force Sailing – A Very Personal Note
May 24, 2010
Friends!
I am happy to announce that there are a few changes coming for Gale Force Sailing. In April I accepted the position of Executive Director with the Downtown Sailing Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
The Downtown sailing center is an incredible organization that is doing some very big things. The Downtown Sailing Center is a volunteer-driven organization that instills confidence, teamwork and a sense of community through a range of educational and recreational sailing programs. The DSC is working to provide access to the freedom of sailing to everyone in the greater Baltimore area, especially those with disabilities or limited income. It is AWESOME! We do work with at risk kids, people with disabilities and individuals who long for the water, but are challenged by income. I get to help everyone go sailing! What could be better than that?
The DSC represents, for me, a culmination of all the things I have been doing professionally for the past 10 years. There is sailing, educating, advocating, motivating, managing, organizing, fundraising, strategic planning, communicating and a dozen other gerunds to describe what I view as a dream job. I am loving it.
What the DSC represents to Gale Force Sailing and our clients is opportunity, clarity and stability. Rather than scrambling to connect all the dots I will be free to pursue the best work and apply my best efforts – and not have to worry nearly as much about keeping the lights on at home. Whew!
It also means my weekends are shot, from now until forever, but that’s OK – because I love what I am doing. I know I am going to be busy juggling both responsibilities – but there is synergy between them. And personally my coaching work is now more important than ever. At my core I am an educator, and in order to continue developing professionally I must, and will, continue coaching. In fact, I joked with someone the other day, that I wasn’t jumping ship – I was sailing a catamaran. That was probably a bit of a stretch, but I think you get the idea.
So give me a call and let’s talk about your next program as well as my new adventure!
Thank you -
kb
ps- Here is what the DSC Board President, Steve Smith, was kind enough to say about me coming onboard with the DSC.
Contact: Steve Smith April 19, 2010
President, Board of Directors
410-667-0800 (w)
410-456-1591 (cell)The Downtown Sailing Center Appoints Kristen Berry to Serve as Executive Director
April 19, 2010, Baltimore, MD–The Board of Directors of the Downtown Sailing Center announced today the appointment of Kristen A. Berry as its Executive Director.
Mr. Berry is a nationally respected sailor, sailing coach and environmentalist, who facilitates teambuilding through sailing, and advocates for the protection of marine ecosystems. Berry has recently been honored as National Sailor of the Week by US Sailing, the national governing body of sailing, and selected by GQ Magazine’s Gentlemen Fund as its 2009 Conservation Pillar Honoree. Having sailed since childhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Berry has always been committed to quality sailing education and environmental awareness, serving as president of BirdPAC, a political action committee dedicated to bird conservation, director of communications and grassroots manager for The National Audubon Society, sailing coach and advisor for the National Maritime Heritage Foundation, and sailing instructor trainer for the United States Naval Academy. Berry also owns Gale Force Sailing, an Annapolis based organization that provides international coaching, instruction, innovative team building and leadership development programs.
According to Board President Stephen Smith, “Kristen Berry is held in very high regard by both sailors and environmentalists, is an outstanding educator, team builder and leader, and energizes everyone with whom he works. We believe that in addition to having the passion and vision to lead our award winning organization, Kristen also has that special quality of great educators to motivate our large volunteer base and to connect with and excite the great number of at-risk youth and persons with disabilities we are so honored to serve.”
The Downtown Sailing Center is a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit community based sailing organization that provides affordable and accessible sailing and educational programs to all persons across the spectrum, regardless of age, income, ability or disability. The Center’s 45 boat fleet and recently completed marina, located on the south harbor waterfront at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, provide a platform for a wide range of programs including a summer camp, disabled sailing, adult education, after work racing and sailing instructor training. The Center annually serves over 2,000 individuals from the Baltimore – Washington region and Pennsylvania.
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WATSON RETURNS HOME
May 17, 2010
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Watson has spent the past seven months in a self-imposed solitary confinement of sorts. For 210 days, the avid sailor skippered her 34-foot yacht, the Pink Lady, around the world, a feat few others, let alone teenagers, have accomplished.
But on Saturday afternoon, her solo trip ended in dramatic fashion as tens of thousands of cheering spectators and hundreds of boats turned out to welcome her home to Australia’s Sydney Harbor. “I haven’t seen a person for almost seven months and suddenly there’s just people everywhere — you know, faces, so much color, so much noise, so much everything,” she told a news conference. “All I’ve seen for so long is empty waves, so it was amazing and very overwhelming. At the same time, I achieved what I set out to.”
That achievement — her team claims she’s the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world — is not without controversy. A storm over whether she’d bested Jesse Martin, a fellow Australian recognized in 1999 as the youngest to make the voyage at 18, came to a head on sailing news websites last week, centering not on her age — nor on whether she circumnavigated the globe — but on whether she had sailed far enough.
Sailing websites such as Sail-World.com reported last week that Watson’s route wasn’t long enough orthodromically — that is, by measuring the shortest distance from point to point on a route — to hit 21,600 nautical miles, the length of the equator. Watson’s team has said she had sailed about 23,000 nautical miles, though it hasn’t claimed the distance is orthodromic. Critics have said her logged distance includes zig-zags that yachts inevitably make, and those zig-zags do not count for orthodromic distance.
The World Sailing Speed Record Council, which certified in 1999 that Martin was the youngest to make the trip, mandates 21,600 orthodromic nautical miles for round-the-world courses. Watson’s team has responded that it wasn’t aiming for any WSSRC record, because the council has stopped recognizing the “youngest” category. — CNN
Singles on Sailboats (SOS) Spring Training Presentation
March 14, 2010
Today I spoke to two groups of more than 50 folks at the Singles On Sailboats Spring Training. This is the third year that I have done this program and I really enjoy doing it every spring. I get to try out some new things and the feedback is great!
Here is a slide show of the material presented. I will be doing voiced over slide shows of the segments this week, so stay tuned!
Key West Race Week – Part Five
December 29, 2009
You are the green boat. Where do you tack? What is your strategic thinking? What is your tactical thinking? Is this a good place to “push” a tough maneuver? What are your rules considerations? Is there a “safe” option? Let’s hear your thoughts. Post them to the comments section or email them to me.
Visualization First Windward Mark
Check Out This Fresh Spinsheet Article
December 29, 2009
Key West Weather – Let the pattern begin
December 29, 2009
December 28, 2009 10:00 pm EST
Location: 24.46N 81.88W
Wind Direction: N (360°)
Wind Speed: 15.9 knots
Wind Gust: 17.1 knots
Atmospheric Pressure: 30.21 in (1022.9 mb)
Pressure Tendency: +0.05 in (+1.6 mb)
Air Temperature: 66.4°F (19.1°C)
[ Observed at Sand Key station. ]
I have started my weather data collection for Key West Race Week, presented by Nautica. And I was sitting here writing a weather briefing for Key West Race week, and while I was searching the interweeds for some supporting data for my anecdotal diatribe. Fortunately the good people (they really are) at North Sails have put together a great reference. Check it out below or go to their website. Here is what they have to say and, for what it is worth; it is pretty close to what I would have written, and interestingly the current conditions are almost EXACTLY the conditions we are using for our visualization. I love being lucky.
From the big brains at North Sails:
Very consistent sailing conditions are frequently experienced during Key West Race Week. Often nailing subtle wind shifts is the key to success. The typical Key West weather in January follows a relatively simple and predictable cycle lasting between five and seven days. Predicting individual shifts is difficult, but a general understanding of the weather patterns can be a big help in defining what shifts you will experience.
To understand the cycle, let’s say that the first day of racing finds a recently passed cold front stationary or dying south of the racing area. At the same time, a high pressure center would likely be building in the northern Plains and sweeping toward the southeastern U.S. coastline. This weather pattern often brings cool temperatures and a cloudy sky to Key West. Winds would be northerly with gusty and shifty conditions. The wind speed will normally start the day fresh, say 15 to 20 knots and maybe more, but decrease with time.
On the next day of the cycle, the high would move to the southeastern U.S., positioned almost directly north of Florida. The high in this position weakens the northerly wind, veering it to the northeast. The breeze can be gusty and shifty, but there is a clear easing trend. Big directional swings to the right are often possible, especially during the afternoon.
Days 3 and 4 find the high lingering over the Southeastern U.S and spreading east off the Georgia or northeast Florida coast into the Atlantic. The wind continues veering to the east and sometimes southeast with speeds slowly starting to increase, especially on Day 4. These are the most consistent sailing days, with smaller, oscillating shifts. Temperatures are often seasonable and humidity increases with few clouds in the sky.
Toward the end of this period and moving into Day 5, the high moves off the Southeastern U.S. coast. The wind veers further into the southeast bringing warmer and more humid air. Trade wind cumulus clouds containing isolated showers may pass through the course causing larger oscillations and shifts.
By the end of the cycle, the high moves farther away from Florida to the east. The cycle begins to repeat itself with another cold front possibly threatening Key West from the northern Gulf. Ahead of cold fronts, watch for winds veering farther right and increasing in strength. The weather becomes less stable and there is even the possibility of some squalls and thunderstorms in this pattern.
Keep in mind that there are always exceptions to this cycle and the timing can change. However, the accompanying wind rose graphic shows how this weather cycle relates to historic wind conditions. The wind rose shows historic wind speed and direction frequency near the racing areas during the race period. Notice the N/NNE wind often found during days 1-2 of the cycle is more frequently fresh to strong. Winds tend to moderate when veering to the NE on day 2. Increasingly fresh speeds are apparent as the wind frequently veers from the ENE to ESE on days 3-5. The cycle often repeats after day 5 so the moderate to fresh SE/S winds on a cycle that extends to days 6-7 are less frequent.
If you are planning to race in Key West, you better start watching the weather now! You may be able to see this cycle and become more familiar with it before the race. Also, any unusual weather patterns may give you some hints on how things can vary from the typical weather pattern. Monitoring the Key West weather is easy in the North Sails Weather Center – simply visit www.na.northsails.com and navigate to the North Sails Weather Center. Look specifically at the current and forecast surface weather maps in the weather charts section of the North Sails Blue Weather Center. You can use these charts to see the movement of systems around the region and where you are in the cycle outlined above. Also, use the North Sails Blue Weather Center to monitor wind conditions reported near the race course area. Mostly importantly, sign up for complimentary race weather outlooks and race day forecasts issued by the North Sails Blue Weather Center.
Key West Race Week – Part Four – PROTEST!
December 27, 2009
Can you tell I am getting excited?
Now that we’ve checked the SI’s this seems like a good time to bring up the protest conversation. So here is another visualization to chew on this week (I hope YOU aren’t working).
Visualization Number 4 PROTEST!
On our way up the windward leg we are sailing on starboard tack. A port tack boat is making an effort to cross. We are nearing the port tack layline and we are thinking of tacking ourselves (sound familiar). The boat on port is one that we’ve been battling with all week and it’s close. They are going to go for it. We hail “starboard” at 6 boat lengths, they hail “hold your course.” 10 seconds later we are forced to bear away to avoid hitting their starboard stern quarter. What do we do? What purpose did the hails serve? Are either required? What should they do?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
What are you doing on this snowy day?
December 19, 2009
Gale Force Sailing’s Kristen Berry “Sailor of the Week”
December 9, 2009
Today US Sailing announced that I was picked as their Sailor of the Week. I am really floored to have been picked and happy to be a part of such a great group of sailors who have received this recognition.
You can click to the actual article, or see what US Sailing wrote, below.
Sailor of the Week
Kristen Berry
Kristen Berry has worked as a sailing coach and corporate team building event coordinator for more than five years. Kristen is the owner of Gale Force Sailing, an organization that provides professional coaching, instruction and innovative team building and leadership development programs.
Kristen, and Gale Force Sailing, works in close partnership with Oceana – the largest global ocean conservation organization – in order to advocate on behalf of marine ecosystems. Together they formed the Ocean Conservation Yacht Club, a virtual yacht club, designed to help boaters become more connected with the marine environment and conservation issues related to boating. In October at the Gentleman’s Ball, Kristen was presented with GQ’s Conservation Award by celebrity ambassador, Adrian Grenier. “Sailing has changed my life,” added Kristen. “In not only redirected my professional career path, but also has taught me some of the most important life lessons.”
Kristen coaches with JWorld Annapolis – America’s top ranked sailing school and is actively involved in their learn to sail, cruising and racing programs in Annapolis, Key West and St. Petersburg, Fla. He is a sailing instructor with the United States Naval Academy where he trains USNA Midshipmen and United States Naval Officers fundamental sailing, seamanship and leadership skills.
Kristen has also coached the National Maritime Heritage Foundation’s National Capital High School Sailing program. This one of a kind program is an alternative educational and physical fitness program for high school students in the Washington, D.C. area who are interested in sailing and racing. The program provides a positive environment in which all students learn the importance of teamwork, respect, responsibility, leadership, commitment, sportsmanship, and general sailing and racing techniques supporting varsity and junior varsity interscholastic competition.
Kristen spent several years with professional grassroots and lobbying firms where he designed and directed award-winning campaigns at the local, state and federal level. Kristen’s campaign experience includes working for candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Kristen was worked as a lobbyist for corporations and municipalities. He was also a researcher/writer for ESPN’s X Games.
Kristen started sailing in a dinghy on a small lake in Fort Wayne, Ind. “I didn’t have much access to the water,” explained Kristen. “Yet, somehow I always knew I was a sailor.” Kristen sold everything he owned when he went to college, and bought an old 22-foot sailboat and a “how to sail” book. He got started in racing on Santa Cruz 70s in the Chicago area. “The owners and sailors on those boats really accelerated my learning, my passion and my experience,” mentioned Kristen. Kristen looks forward to competing as part of a team that will race at the 2010 J80 World Championship in Newport, R.I.
When asked about what he enjoyed most about sailing, Kristen answered, “From a sporting side, I enjoy the fact that there are no hard boundary lines and the self policing nature of the sport. From the enjoyment side I am an explorer and adventurer at heart.”
Team Brickhouse Interview with Dave Ullman
December 3, 2009
I like what Kristen Lane is up to. And it is not just a name thing. She’s been showing the Melges fleet a thing or two, and I think she took the right approach when she got Dave Ullman involved to help with some coaching. Below is an excerpt from her fabulous blog.
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Dave Ullman is somewhat of a national treasure. He has 4 “World Champion” titles to his name – all in high performance boats (the 470 and the Melges 24). He achieved his latest title at 61 years of age. To say he’s a great sailor is an understatement to be sure. But sailing is just part of Dave’s story. Beneath his many titles and accomplishments is a man who knew at the age of 16 that he would pursue sailing as a career. He struggled with dyslexia and only learned to read in his late 20’s. He worked hard through two Olympic campaigns that culminated in winning 3 World Championship titles in the 470 class leading up the trials. His Olympic aspirations crushed by the US Boycott, Dave took another path. Here’s a little insight into why this guy is so good and why, people who crave competition
should listen to this story of hard work, determination, and guts.
K.Lane: Dave, thank you for joining us. It’s an honor to have you here with us.
DU: “It’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me.”
K.Lane: You and I just finished working together and I want to bring our audience up to speed. You coached our Team Brick House Melges 24 team in Annapolis in preparation for the 2009 World Championship. In addition to Team Brick House, our training group included Alan Field and his team aboard “WTF” and the Swiss team of Blue Moon. For Team Brick House, I can say your coaching made a huge impact on our performance. Peter and I finished in the top 20 and were thrilled with our progress over the training period. So, let’s start by discussing your approach to coaching sailing teams, and amateur drivers.
DU: “Coaching requires looking at the program and deciding what is the area that you can make the greatest improvement over the least amount of time. Another way to think about it is what are the greatest weaknesses of the team? What can you do to improve those weaknesses as quickly as possible? Unless you have an ongoing program for say 1 year where you could develop skills over a long period of time, you have to take a shorter approach. We don’t spend that kind of time on this sport. For the 2009 Worlds, I had to ask myself what would bring this group the furthest along in the shortest time. We had 4 teams with a wide range of experience levels so I had to strategize a plan that would help everyone.”
K.Lane: I have already noted how helpful the coaching was for Team BH. How did the other teams feel?
DU: “WTF felt it was a huge benefit. I have been working with Alan and his team for some time so I have a good relationship there and I know that team well. They learned a lot but didn’t quite get the regatta results they wanted. Blu Moon, it was not much time to implement change before the regatta in Annapolis, but I had spent 2 weeks in Europe with them. In the days before the regatta, we didn’t have enough time before the event to really make an impact.”
K.Lane: You won the Melges 24 World Championship in 2007 at the age of 61. Where does that victory rank in your career?
DU: “It’s quite high, obviously, because of my age it’s extra special. But without a doubt, winning the 470 worlds three times was the highlight of my career. It was the highest moment of that class so that would certainly be the pinnacle. Winning the Melges 24 worlds proved to me that at an older age, I could still compete on a high level with the world. And it was really nice that it was a heavy air venue on top of that. It was a personal triumph.”
K.Lane: That’s funny because the 2007 worlds had a similar impact on me. It proved to me that I could sail this boat against men in any condition.
DU: “Yes, you can!”
K.Lane: Let’s talk about Olympic pursuits – Tell us about how you pursued the Olympic dream:
DU: “I was in my mid-20s and I was a pretty good sailor. Going for the Olympics was a natural pursuit. And by that I mean, you have some success and then you have to ask yourself, now what? Today, sailors may head toward the AC but back then it was Olympic sailing. The 470 fit my size and mentality – it was small and the highest performance boat at the time. It was not that expensive and had the best competition in the world. In the ‘72 – ‘76 campaign, I won the nationals and Pre-Olympics two times and I finished 4th at one of the world championships. Then, when it was time for the trials – it was light air and I choked. I finished 3rd. I didn’t sail very well in a regatta that I should have won. So, I took the next 4 years to execute a plan and started practicing quite a lot. I won three out of the next four worlds, won a lot of the regattas in the US. At that time, I had to be looked upon as the top US hope for a medal.”
“Then the boycott. The US went ahead and had trials but we stopped practicing 3 months before that regatta. In fact we weren’t going to go to the trials at all, but the Olympic committee told us we had to show up to get our promised funding. They also created an incentive for sailors to participate by offering the winning team a free trip to Kiel Week. So, not winning the trials that time around was not a disappointment.”
K.Lane: How did the US government inform the athletes about the boycott? What did you think about the decision to boycott the games as a protest to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan?
DU: “We read about it in the news – that it was being considered. I actually was naïve to think it was a good thing and was supportive of it at the time. I personally first found out about it at the 470 worlds in Brazil.”
K.Lane: Tell me why you initially thought the boycott was a good idea and how your view now has changed?
DU: “I bit on the line that it ‘was the way to stop Russia.’ It was about the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. 20 years later, I wouldn’t support it now but my political views have changed significantly since then.”
K.Lane: I was a child when the boycott was happening. Though I was just a kid, I loved the Olympics and at the time I couldn’t understand why the athletes needed to give up their dreams to make a political point. How did you perceive the justification by the US government that Olympic athletes were the correct body to make this point on the world stage?
DU: “It turns out the boycott had no effect on the political situation. It lead to further boycotts and didn’t solve any of the problems it meant to address. It seemed reasonable to me at the time because it was such a small sacrifice compared to what a soldier would face. But it turns out it had no effect. From the political side it comes from a policy that had not long term planning. It was a not just a waste for the athletes; it was simply just a waste all-together. At the time we didn’t understand the history of Afghanistan. We didn’t understand that no one can really control Afghanistan”
K.Lane: OK, let’s take a quick jump back and discuss when you committed your life to sailing. At what point in your sailing development did you decide this sport would be your lively hood for the rest of your life?
DU: “16 or 17 years old. I was surfing and sailing a lot. My dad, who was a big influence, sat me down and said ‘Dave you are a pretty good sailor and an OK surfer. You need to commit your time to what you can be the best at.’ I knew then that I was going to commit my life to sailing. I wasn’t a good student, and was dyslexic. I wasn’t really going to go to college and was lucky to even graduate from high school. Luckily my dad was smart enough to sort this out and give me some guidance. My mom taught me how to read when I was in my late 20s. She figured out I was dyslexic so she went back to school herself and learned more about it, and then taught me how to read. When I was a teenager, we fought tooth and nail – I didn’t do my homework because I couldn’t read. She was a saint enough to figure out the situation and take care of it. It changed my whole feelings about my mom. She’s a saint. I didn’t look at her that way before. She educated herself and then educated me. It also brought us closer.”
K.Lane: Tell us, how did you decide to start Ullman Sails?
DU: “I started Ullman Sails in 1967 – In a garage for a short period and then in an office suite that was probably 20’ X 15’. It was just big enough to lay out a small sail. I was just married and had a child on the way. It was time to settle down and make some money. I had been working with sail makers and by the time the whole Olympic program came along, Ullman Sails was well established with a strength in one design sails.”
K.Lane: Since your Olympic experience, what has been your roll with the US team?
DU: “I was the official 470 coach for the ‘88 Olympics for men and women. I dealt with US Sailing for about 2 years in that mode. US sailing was not well organized at that point – we had great results though. My understanding is that US Sailing has changed into a much better organization to work with.”
K.Lane: What are your thoughts on how the US team is preparing for the Olympics? Where do you see that effort going for US Sailors? Is it on the right path?
DU: “The history is that until ‘96 we were the total dominant sailing country in the world on an Olympic level. In ‘96 we started to crumble. In 2000 we hugely deteriorated. Athens was worse. Clearly the last Olympics were the low point.”
K.Lane: What’s the lesson for US Sailing?
DU: “Funding. It’s all funding. Look at Australia and England. Their sailors are fulltime-funded and sailing full time as well. They are not funded on an occasional regatta basis. They sail full time and are on their country’s payroll. There’s been a belief in the US that under systems like Australia’s, sailors don’t do as well because they don’t have to fight as hard. But the reality is sailors spend more time sailing and end up being better than their competition. It’s why I have been successful in my own career – because I practice as much or more then the guys I compete against. If there’s something that’s important to you like sailing, you simply have to work harder than the next guy.”
“US Sailing is starting to see the light. They are starting to change the path. It’s not easy. It’s hard to raise enough money. There is no longer a debate as to what the best path is. The results tell the story. On an Olympic level, funding is the proper path irrespective of how you select team members, which almost doesn’t matter unless you have the funds to support them.”
K.Lane: Let’s talk about stuff people don’t know about you. For example, I recently learned that you have a passion for golf. How long have you had this interest and how good are you?
DU: “You always need an activity outside of your mainstream activity. The key is to make that secondary thing more fun, less challenging and less intense. I’m not the best at that. I’m still intense. I golf 2 to 3 times per week. I’m lucky to have a wife that keeps me on track – she tells me to go golfing or to golf less. She’s much brighter then I am and she keeps me balanced.”
K.Lane: I hear you are a pretty good. How good of a golfer are you?
DU: “I’m a 9 handicap. No tournaments. There’s not room for two things like that in my life. If I’d done tournaments, I would not have sailed. I knew that was not good. It doesn’t mean that when I slow down from sailing I won’t do more of that, but not right now.”
K.Lane: Are you planning on slowing down your own sailing at any point?
DU: “Not as long as I can be competitive. That day will come, but I don think it has come yet… Although that day may have come and I am just realizing it now because I had a very bad Etchells regatta last weekend…! It’s a great sport when a guy at my age can do it and still love it.”
K.Lane: Not everyone knows you are technically “retired”. What’s your status with Ullman Sails?
DU: “I’ve sold the loft that I owned. But I still own, and with the help of Kelly Buchan, run the international franchise business. I own the contracts. The last 2 years have been quite severe. But it’s starting to show signs of coming back. Surprisingly the problem is much greater here in the US then anywhere else in the world. Some places, like Australia, are showing no signs at all. Italy is showing some signs, but not bad. The industry is showing a come back. The Annapolis boat show actually sold boats. Some pockets of sailing are going strong – IRC in Hong Kong – new boats, new sails, and big financial commitments to programs. I really like it there. Hong Kong is just incredible. Getting to go to great places and meeting great people is the best part of my job. Seeing the places I get to see – it’s pretty rare to sail in a bad place, and I’ve met some really great owners.”
K.Lane: Let’s talk about the sport of sailing itself, what are your thoughts on its health and future prospects?
boats, and some fun small boats. But in general, the boats are not much fun. Also, the expense has gotten quite high, which has always been true for this sport but the difference now is the landscape of the families who own boats. It used to be that single income households dominated our society where money spent on sailing never ran into any roadblocks. Now-a-days with most families being a 2-income household there are more people involved in the decision-making. The result is a detrimental effect on money spent on sailing. Additionally, sailing is generally not a shared sport within families. Plus there are more activities for children that take time away from sailing.”
K.Lane: What’s going on with your own Melges 24 program?
K.Lane: Simple question here. Melges 24 Worlds 2011 – Corpus Christi. Are you doing it?
DU: “Definitely doing it. And doing it right. That’s a great venue. It’s not such a great place to visit, but the sailing is spectacular. The biggest Melges 24 regatta in the US was Key Largo – good sailing plus a great place to vacation with your family. I think the Melges 24 class is starting to remember that important equation when selecting venues for big regattas.”
K.Lane: So Dave, let’s wrap up with a look ahead for you. What’s your future look like?
DU: “I am working on the Melges 24 and Etchells projects as personal endeavors. I’m doing a Mills 41 in Hong Kong – That’s a great boat with good guys. And then I sail with Brack Duker in his Santa Cruz 70 and Jeff Janoff on his Farr 40. I’m as busy right now as I have ever been on the pro sailing side. I am very lucky.”
K.Lane: Dave, you are one of my sailing heroes. Thank you for sharing a little about your story. We wish you all the best.
Thank you for checking in with TeamBrickHouse.com. My next sailing adventure takes me to the Bahamas in January where I will compete in the 29er World Championship. It will be my first big event in that class and I’m certain I’ll be faced with many opportunities to push my edges. 6 Years ago I started driving in a 35’ keel boat. Then I moved to a 24’ keel boat. Now I’m making the jump to dinghies and saying goodbye to keels all together- along with stability and dryness. In fact, the 29er is shaped more like a dinner plate then boat and has plenty of sail area for its size. Somehow I have convinced Charlie McKee to sail the 29er Worlds with me… Suffice to say I couldn’t ask for a better skiff teacher. I’m looking forward to the challenge and can’t wait to get out on the water.
Stay tuned for more news about Team Brick House.
Sail Fast!
K.Lane
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