Hello Okauchee Sailors,
 
Wednesday’s chalk talk was focused on the upcoming WYA and Inland Championship.   On the water the wind was light and variable, which limited our ability to run drills on the water.  We were able to do a drill called the “box drill” which forced the kids to apply the rules and survive by not being kicked out of the box.
 
Thursday’s class was our yearly Crew Appreciation day.  Each of the skippers were supposed to get their crews a thoughtful gift and present it to them at sailing school.  On the water, we did a recap of the fundamentals, including starts, buoy roundings, and boat speed test.  We look forward to our last class next Tuesday when we will hold the Watermelon race.  We are going to have a great showing on Oconomowoc Lake this weekend.  Hopefully all the sailors are ready and pumped up!!!  Good luck to all.
 
*Note: Next Wednesday we will hold an Okauchee Lake Sailing School session on Pewaukee Lake at 2:00pm to get the kids ready for the ILYA Championship. 
 
**Attention X-Boaters**
 
There are still a few sailors who need to have their picture taken for Sailing School.  (Willie, Zack and Spencer)  Please make sure you attend next Tuesday’s class so I can take your picture.  If you will be at the regatta this weekend, I’ll try to shoot it then.  Thanks and good sailing on Oconomowoc!
 
Wendy Schmidt
X-Boat Coordinator

This past week started with the X-boats sailing down on Lake Geneva for the GLSS Regatta.  On Monday the wind was light and variable but the judges were still able to get one race in.  Tuesday was no different with the wind conditions.  Once again there was only one race sailed to not enough breeze.  We had four boats go to the regatta and finished as followed: E-3 7th , E-66 23rd , E-15 33rd, E-36 35th. 

Our focus Wednesday was starts because of how essential it is for every regatta race.  We drilled the kids hard having them do literally 30 starts during the practice.  Jeff Brandl did a great job throughout the practice of establishing himself as the best starter for the fleet.  Thursday we worked on Leeward buoy roundings and practiced tacking.  We ended as we do every week by sailing a full race as it would be on the weekends.  Scott Sazama won the race barely holding off other boats. 

In addition, T-shirts were handed out to the X-boat fleet after class on Thursday.   If you didn’t get one, I will have them there this week.


As the X Boat Fleet is working hard in class getting ready for the up coming WYA Regatta this weekend, so is Oconomowoc Lake in getting ready for us to compete.  Remember that the Zea family will moor all boats in front of their property as well as store sails and other gear.  Thank you again to the Zeas for opening up their home. 

Thank you to all the spectators who have been staying and cheering on all of our X sailors.  The response has been great.  Let’s keep it up!

Also, every X boater is reminded to sign up for a turn at cutting the grass at the yacht club.  When cutting with a friend, not only does it take less time it can be fun as well.  This is a good time to give back to the club by offering your services.  It usually only takes an hour to cut and is good exercise. (Some may not want to hear thatJ) Thanks in advance for your participation.

See you all on Oconomowoc for the WYA!!! Good Luck Okauchee!!!

DON”T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR OLSS T-SHIRTS!!!!!


In the Sail/ Race class this week, we had one class during the week and the instructors decided to work on the tactics of sailing downwind. We went over the proper way to jib as well as the correct way to round buoys. Once again Calli and Allie seemed to have no trouble learning these new skills. Peter seemed to really excel in the area of finding the puffs while sailing down wind.


In week five of the Sail/Race class we added a new student to the class. Joe Sazama moved up from the beginning opti’s to the advanced class. The increased number allowed the instructors to run more races this week as the competition was raised up another level with the addition of another sailor. Along with more structured races we worked on boat handling skills that included sailing backwards and rudderless sailing. This will help the kids learn how important boat handling is.

X-Boat

Due to the long Fourth of July weekend we were only scheduled for two X-boat lessons.   After Wednesday’s debrief on the previous weeks TRAP Regatta, we went out on the lake for tipping practice since there was no wind.  Every skipper and crew who was present at the lesson up-tipped a boat by themselves.  Storms then rolled in from the West end of the lake forcing us in to hold the rest of class inside.  The instructors and I covered how to do a protest and how to find rules in the rule book.

Thursday’s lesson was focused on boat control.  Thus, we started with “backward sailings” and then moved into “rudderless sailing.”  The rudderless sailing teaches the kids how to move their body weight and sail trim to balance the boat instead of using the tiller, which is very slow.  We ended three rolling starts and then sailed windward one and a half for the sailing school race series.  Bridget Smith won the race and Spencer Waldron showed a very impressive finish with a  4th.
 
-Alex Kay

OPTI SAIL/RACE    Week of June 28-July 2
 
This week in the sail/race class, we had two no wind days so we stressed the importance of proper boat maintenance as well as the different uses for knots. We also did a very extensive tipping test in order to get both Callie and Allie comfortable in the event one of them does tip. On the third day, we finally had wind and we did an entire class dedicated to roll tacking. We believe all the sailors are at the level where roll tacking needed to be introduced. We will continue to work on roll tacking as all the sailors are just getting their feet wet with the whole roll tacking idea.

X Boat Recap     Week of June 28-July 2

The week of Monday, June 28 consisted of one lesson and then three days of the TRAP Regatta.  During Monday’s lesson our chalk talk was about the up-coming regatta season and how the kids should prepare their boats.  We covered everything from how to wax their boats to how they should approach each race.  On the water, the wind was about 12-15 mph.  The other instructors and I focused on having the kids start not always on the starboard side of the line; thus, the kids were to attempt to start on port favored lines.
    Tuesday and Wednesday was when the senior fleet sailed their portion of the TRAP Regatta.  The wind was decent throughout Tuesday morning, but died later in the afternoon and on Wednesday.  The judges were able to get six races off.  Bridget Smith and John Schmidt sailed well just missing trophies.  Natalie Kay finished second overall, only out of first by two points. 
    The junior fleet was out of luck when it came to wind.  The judges managed to get one race in on Wednesday and two on Thursday.   Scott Sazama and his crew sailed a good race for the light air condition on Wednesday and finished 9th overall.  Tommy Groskopf was winning the third race for a couple legs and finished in the top ten for the race.  Frances and Sarah improved their starts tremendously having a first place start on the second race.  We look forward to the upcoming regatta season and working with the kids to improve their results. 


-Alex  Kay


**Please note that the WYA X-Boat Regatta will be held on Oconomowoc Lake July 24 and 25th.  John and Amy Zea have generously offered their property for ALL X boaters to moor their boats and keep sails and other gear in their garage. (South Beach Road) Thank you John and Amy!!!

** On another note about spectators for ALL sailors.

  We are very fortunate to have several new sailors in all of our fleets.  Some are doing well and others are beginning to learn the sport.  It would be great if spectators would support all of our sailors by seeing every boat to the finish and not leave just when their boat crosses the finish line.  It can be demoralizing for any sailor not to have any support or encouragement.   Thank you.

-Wendy Schmidt 
X-boat Coordinator

X-Boats

 

Hello and welcome to the 2010 sailing school season.  This year we have a competitive fleet of 12 X-boats attending sailing school classes.  The skills of the students range from a few new skippers and crews to advanced teams that will graduate at the end of this summer.  As we did last year, we will send out a weekly recap of what we covered in class and what we are planning to instruct for the upcoming week.  In addition, the instructors are asking any boat coming form Ice House Bay or Stumpy Bay to bring their boats to the yacht club for the chalk talk to reduce the time it takes for them to meet us on the water.  The instructors are also holding a Sailing School series consisting of one race per week during the last class of the week.  The winner will be recognized at the sailing school awards.  Also, I told the kids to call or text me at (262)853-7110 if they are going to miss class and/or leave early. 

 

During the first class of the week of Monday, June 14^th we focused on basics of starting a race.  Our chalk talk covered how to start and race, which was covered by numerous rolling starts giving the kids plenty of opportunity to practice.  Later in the week we moved in to how to properly roll tack an  X-boat.  Many of the students thought they knew how to do this, but were in fact  doing it incorrectly.  In additional, we had the students work on boat control by doing a follow the leader drill, but not allowing them to pass each another.  The weekly race was won by Natalie Kay and her crew Delora Prange.

 

The week of June 21^st was a great week in terms of wind and what we accomplished.   Monday’s lesson consisted of how and when to do a penalty turn, including a 360 and 720 practice.  During the chalk talk we also covered the basics of a lift and knock.  On Wednesday, the wind was blowing close to 15 mph.  The kids practiced the correct way to put up a whisker poll while also working on leeward buoy roundings.  Race #2 of the 2010 sailing school series was won by Natalie Kay and Delora Prange followed by Bridget Smith and Annie Geschke.  Thursday’s lesson we introduced rabbit starts, which works on boat speed.  Willie and Tommy did a great job leading the drill.   John Schmidt and his crew Gregory Tarmann won the candy bar race.

 

Race/Sail 

In the first week of the race/sail class we had a quick refresher course on certain parts of the boat, start sequence, and the proper way to sail a race course. It was really nice to see Allie and Callie catch on very quickly, which made it seem like last year never ended. After the refresher course, we really hammered home the importance of getting a good start. Throughout the start drills, Peter showed great improvement as each drill progressed.

 

In the second week of the advanced Opti class, the instructors concentrated on boat handling and boat speed. We introduced the proper ways to head telltales in order for one to determine lifts and knocks on the race course. It seemed Calli really gained a lot from this lesson, as she had struggled with this at LOPN the week before. We also worked on heavy wind sailing due to the conditions during class and even though both Allie and Callie seemed scared at first, they both survived the day and gained loads of confidence sailing in heavy air.

 

 

IOD Apprentice

 

In the first week of class we went over boat parts and familiarized the kids with the boats and setting them up and putting them away.  We showed them how to figure out where the wind is coming from and taught them the basic skills sailors need to know.  They practiced tacks both on shore and on the water and sailed in twos and by themselves over short distances.  In the second week of class we focused on racing, boat speed and boat handling for upwind, downwind, and reaches.  Tuesday there wasn’t much wind so the kids all went out by themselves and sailed out to the middle of the lake and practiced with follow the leader.  Wednesday we talked about starting sequence and the race course. It was really windy during the Blue class so we did not take them on the water. Instead, we set up a course with buoys and flags on shore and had them walk through the course as if they were sailing. For the Red class the wind was a little calmer so we had Jacob, Paul and Noah sail out for a little bit. Jacob and Noah handled the wind very well but Noah was a little scared.  Joe was not here this week. On Thursday both classes sailed a race. Winner received a candy bar. In the Blue class Danny won. Danny, Keller, and Mitch sailed very well.  Caitlyn and Kathleen had a little bit of a harder time figuring out how to get going and got stuck in irons because they struggled to keep the boat from heading up.  In the Red class, Jacob and Paul were the only ones in class that day so they raced as well and Jacob received the candy bar.