On the Line

By Michael Argyelan

          

This weekend more than 120 boats will hit the starting line racing in the Chicago Yacht Club Verve Cup and the Tartan 10 North American Championships. 91 registered boats will compete for the Verve Cup and 35 T10’s will do their best to vow for the ultimate title of North American Champion. Mostly, everyone should have a good time.

As usual, there will be multiple circles for the Verve offshore almost due east of Monroe Harbor as well as an offshore long distance race. The T10’s will be racing in a separate circle off of Belmont Harbor. The Tartan 10 NAC races start this Thursday and race through Sunday. For those racing for the Cup, races start Friday and run through Sunday as well. If you want to follow the results, click here for the T10’s and here for the Verve Cup. For the main page, click here.

Admittedly, I have to ask myself what’s so special about yet another regatta in Chicago? First, I love this stuff and can’t get enough. Second, I support any local regatta. Sailing is fun and the more opportunities to race the better. The Verve Cup offers racing for one design boats, ORR, as well as long distance racers that don’t want to commit an entire weekend to buoy racing. Last but not least, I’m very excited about 35 Tartan 10’s on a starting line.

Some of you may not know just what it takes to compete at the national level in a one design class. Each boat must have a current measurement certificate. This ensures that each boat is meeting strict one design criteria. Also, each crew must be weighed in. Yep, strict one design classes have crew weight limits.

Each class is different. For the Tartan 10 Class, total crew weight must not exceed 1,275lbs. If a boat brings in a different crew as a fill in for a day, he or she must be weighed in as well.

Most of the T10’s are from Chicago. Some boats will be from Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. I’m rooting for a Chicago boat to take it all. My top five picks are Skidmarks, Convergence, Winnebago, Honey Badger, and Norboy. The most fun boat on the water will be Mutiny! I’m personally rooting for them, they’re my peeps.

Really, it’s anyone’s race to be had. I’ve seen boats come back from 9^th place after committing a foul, doing their penalty circle, and take a 2^nd. That’s all it takes, a good puff, being on the right side of a shift, or simply put, a little luck. I’ll take luck any day.

Unfortunately, overall numbers for the Verve Cup are dropping each year. Last year, not including T10’s, there were 106 boats registered and the year before 111. You can see the numbers are dwindling.

Can the regatta survive? Chime in. Don’t like my picks for the top 5? Who do you think will win the T10 NAC’s? Post here. 

Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic Benefit Dinner at the Chicago Yacht Club

Craig will share how the race was really won as he takes you behind the scenes of the Cup with an interactive, dramatic visual presentation. As the former coach of the Canadian Olympic team, his experience as PRO of the America's Cup and his new position at ISAF, you have the opportunity to get his insights into what is planned for the world of sailing.

If you are a fan of the sport, participant, spectator or just curious about the America's Cup, come listen to Craig share how the 2013 America's Cup saw Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA sail to victory from the brink of defeat. 

Join us at Chicago Yacht Club, Monroe Station, on Saturday, June 14 to hear Craig's fascinating presentation at our dinner banquet. The event is $85 inclusive for dinner and the presentation, and all profits go to the CYC Foundation and the Neill Advanced Sailing Clinic. The event is open to the public, so please invite your friends.

Make reservations at 312-861-7777.

Racing in the NOOD: Still Funny

Sailing in the NOOD, get it? Ok, I know I made the same joke last June when I wrote an article about the regatta. It's still funny.

For those of you that don’t know what the NOOD’s are, they’re the National Offshore One Design Regattas.

This year there are 6 events planned. St. Petersburg, San Diego, Annapolis, and Seattle have had their events. The Marblehead NOOD Regatta is in July. This week Chicago will get down to business. Racing begins this Friday morning and ends Sunday afternoon. Typically there will be 2-4 races each day for windward leeward courses.

As of this morning, there are 152 boats entered for the Chicago battle royale. T-10’s take the cake for the largest fleet, again. With 28 entries it’s sure to be a good time. I’ll be sailing in the “10” fleet this year and report back next week with a follow up and maybe a few cool GoPro pics/vids.

The Vipers are back as is the Rally Race. Good times to be had there, I’m sure. There are a total of 9 One Design sections overall. The newest One Design fleet is the J70 section. With 14 boats registered, it should be fun and pretty competitive.  

A majority of the races will be windward leeward courses. See the pic below for a good visual.

US Sailing defines the course as, “having two marks: one toward the wind and one directly downwind.  In this course, you must tack upwind to round the first (windward) mark, then sail downwind to round the second (leeward) mark and then sail upwind to cross the finish line.” Often there are offset marks, gates, short courses, long courses, and more complicated designs for each race. Generally the finish is on a downwind leg, not upwind as described above.

For those of you that want to go out and watch some of the racing, head out towards the Four Mile Crib  41°52′22″N 87°32′45″W or Harrison Dever Crib 41°57′58″N 87°35′28″W) and look for a mad house of boats! Please, please keep your distance if you do this. The courses are quite large and between races boats will spread out and need room to maneuver. Binoculars are highly recommended.

Sperry and Crowley’s will be at the event with a fine selection of hot kicks focusing on Sperry’s Performance Line. The tent will be in the Chicago Yacht Club Monroe Station parking lot Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All Sperry shoes will be 15% off during the event.

For more info on boats entered, race results, etc, click here for a link to the official Yachtscoring.com event page.