Point Loma Outfitting - sailing clothing, outdoor performance wear, foul weather gear in San Diego

VALENCIA, Spain (21 July 2010) – The America’s Cup television evaluation kicks off tomorrow with a small army on hand to carry out a water-borne lab experiment the likes of which the “Auld Mug” has never seen.

The trials continue Friday with the two X40 catamarans. Guest helmsmen Roman Hagara of Austria and Murray Jones of New Zealand will lead those crews. Hagara is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the Tornado class and Jones raced multihulls extensively in the lead-up to the 33rd America’s Cup Match.

VALENCIA, Spain (2 July 2010) – Rating rule authorities in America and Britain have
been commissioned to draft the rules for the next generation of America’s Cup yacht.
In asking US SAILING and the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Seahorse Rating affiliate to
write the rules, BMW ORACLE Racing and Golden Gate Yacht Club, winner of the 33rd
America’s Cup last February, has ensured the process is neutral and independent.
“We’ve always said that the new design will be for the America’s Cup community. The
result with be a ‘non-partisan yacht’ rather than a ‘defender’s yacht’,” said Ian Burns,
Design Coordinator for BMW ORACLE Racing. “A great deal of input was sought from
the America’s Cup community and the concept briefs given to the rule writers reflect that
feedback.”
In a twin-track process, US SAILING will author a multihull rule and the RORC’s
Seahorse Rating a canting-keel monohull rule.
“It would be premature to rule either a monohull or multihull in and the other out at this
stage,” commented Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing. “Which type of boat
is best for racing and media impact is one of many evaluations we will be testing over
the coming months.”
The choice between monohull and multihull will be made after the conclusion of these
trials, the first round of which is scheduled for Valencia in late July.
“Either option will provide high performance, exciting viewing and challenges to
design, build and sailing teams,” commented Burns.
Versatile performance in light and strong winds is considered essential to minimize
delayed or postponed racing.
In response to feedback from potential teams, the original concepts for both types have
been scaled back from 26m (82 feet) LOA to 22m (72 feet) for tangible cost reduction.
An engine will be used to cant the keel on the monohull and move appendages on the
multihull. The rule authors have been tasked to specify an environmentally friendly,
smart, low-emission engine or power-pack.
“This offers a great opportunity for the America’s Cup community to take a leading
role in this increasingly applied technology,” said Burns. “But there will be no powerassistance
for crews to trim or hoist sails. Both the monohull and multihull will be very
athletic boats to race hard.”

To ensure fairness, all teams will simultaneously receive updates and information from
the authors with regards to progress.
The briefs to the rule authors outline parameters for both types of boat to give base-line
dimensions.
This ‘box rule’ method should ensure boats designed by different teams are similar in
style to guarantee the close racing the America’s Cup thrives on. Otherwise, the
instructions to the rule writers are deliberately open to afford them full creative freedom.
Seahorse Rating has asked Nick Nicholson and James Dadd, with their wide
experience of previous America’s Cup class rules, to lead the monohull development.
The multihull rule is under the purview of multihull designer Pete Melvin, a two-time A
Class catamaran world champion, and US SAILNG.
Other cost-cutting measures include limitations on the number of hulls, masts,
appendages and sails a team can build. And the reduced crew size will mean fewer
personnel.
“These boat concepts are all about similar performance between competing yachts
throughout the wind range,” said Burns. “Unique configurations are the expensive part
of the America’s Cup. We don’t want a light-air boat taking on a heavy-air boat. The rule
should ensure close racing while being able to sail in a wide range of conditions.”
Rule writing is the seventh stage in an exhaustive process. The objective is to publish
the new America’s Cup Class Rule by the end of September.
The Concept Paper for each design is available at www.americascup.com.
                                  Target Features
                              Monohull & Multihull
                 High-performance and close racing
                Light to strong wind range capability
                   Ease of shipping & transportation
                          22m max overall Length
Monohull                                                                       Multihull
1.0 x wind speed upwind performance                    1.2 x wind speed upwind performance
1.4 x wind speed downwind performance               1.6 x wind speed downwind performance
Narrow displacement range                                      Displacement 4000-4200kg
Combination of bow and twin rudders allowed       Up to four moveable appendages
Bowsprit                                                                       Wing sails permitted
Unlimited gennaker area                                           Demountable assembly
13 crew                                                                         12 crew

America’s Cup Design Rule Process (since 1 March 2010):
Step 1: Dialogue and discussions with stakeholders
Step 2: Initial Concepts created for monohull and multihull by non-aligned experts
(Bruce Nelson and Peter Melvin)
Step 3: Design conference (held 18 May 2010) for ‘who’s who of yacht design’ in
Valencia
Step 4: On-line follow-up survey for conference attendees
Step 5: Aggregating feedback
Step 6: Concept brief prepared
Step 7: Rule writing commissioned from US SAILING and Seahorse Rating
Step 8: Choice of monohull or multihull based on July trials in Valencia
Step 9: Rule finalization
Step 10: New America’s Cup Class rule published

Washington, D.C., June 30, 2010 – The BMW ORACLE Racing team celebrated their historic America’s Cup win at the White House with President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Led by team owner Larry Ellison (USA) and representing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, BMW ORACLE Racing won the America’s Cup in February – the first time an American team has won the Cup in 18 years.
“We are enormously proud to bring the America’s Cup back to the United States after a very long absence,” Ellison said. “This team represents what can be achieved when talented people pursue their dreams with a single-minded sense of purpose. The America’s Cup is the pinnacle of every sailor’s ambition; now that we’ve won, we will focus equally hard on successfully defending the oldest trophy in international sport.”
The America’s Cup represents one of the most demanding sporting and technological achievements in the world. The oldest trophy in international sport, it has been contested 33 times, and held by just six yacht clubs over its 159-year history.
Ellison’s BMW ORACLE Racing team is an international line-up of the best sailing, design, engineering and boatbuilding talent in the world. With 150 people from 17 nations, the team built an innovative 90-foot trimaran, powered by a towering wing sail - the largest wing of any type ever constructed - to prevail 2-0 over the Swiss defender, Alinghi in a match off Valencia, Spain in February.
The trimaran, USA 17, was a reflection of the American tradition of innovation and cutting-edge technology. USA 17 is the fastest and most technologically advanced Cup boat in history and, like several of Ellison’s previous America’s Cup boats, USA 17 was built in Anacortes, WA. The sailing team then spent over one year testing and refining the design at its training base in San Diego, CA.
The America’s Cup has been to the White House on one other occasion - President Reagan welcomed the iconic Cup skipper Dennis Conner to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue after his American team won the trophy back from Australia in 1987.
The visit to the White House marked the beginning of an East Coast tour for the BMW ORACLE Racing team and the America’s Cup. On Wednesday, the team made an appearance on ‘The Early Show’ on CBS in New York City, before skipper Jimmy Spithill rang the opening bell of the NASDAQ exchange. The tour continues on Thursday in Newport, Rhode Island, where the Cup will be on public display and the team will be featured at a Sail Newport luncheon and a special presentation for junior sailors at Fort Adams.

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New York, New York June 29, 2010 — The BMW ORACLE Racing team, winners of the 33rd America’s Cup in February, will ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell on Wednesday June 30th at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City’s Times Square.
Skipper James Spithill (AUS) will lead the American team in ringing the bell to mark the opening of the trading day.
The NASDAQ Opening Bell ceremony will be simultaneously displayed on the NASDAQ MarketSite tower, NASDAQ’s iconic digital sign in the heart of Times Square and the NASDAQ MarketSite broadcast studio wall.
The America’s Cup represents one of the most demanding sporting and technological achievements in the world. The oldest trophy in international sport, it has been contested 33 times, and held by just six yacht clubs over its 159-year history.
The BMW ORACLE Racing team is an international line-up of the best sailing, design, engineering and boatbuilding talent in the world and was created 10 years ago by Larry Ellison (USA) with the goal of winning the America’s Cup and bringing it back to the United States. The team realized its ambition in February, beating the defender, Alinghi, 2-0 in a Match off the coast of Valencia, Spain.
The visit to New York City is part of a tour of the east coast of the United States. The team will visit Newport, Rhode Island (Thursday), the home of the America’s Cup for much of the 20th century.
The America’s Cup, first contested in 1851, currently resides at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco, the home club of BMW ORACLE Racing. Only two other American yacht clubs have held the trophy – New York Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club. SDYC lost the Cup to Team New Zealand in 1995, the last time the America’s Cup was held in the United States. In 2003 the Swiss-based Team Alinghi won the Cup from New Zealand. On February 14, 2010, off Valencia, Spain, BMW ORACLE Racing defeated Team Alinghi 2-0. Intensive planning for the next edition is underway, with the finals expected in 2013 or 2014 at a venue to be determined by the American team.

VALENCIA, Spain (23 June 2010) – In a joint initiative by the defender, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club and the Challenger of Record, Italy’s Club Nautico di Roma, a draft of the Protocol rules for the 34th America’s Cup was sent to the
challenging teams today. 
Foremost amongst numerous innovations is a forward-thinking structure that allows funds and assets to transfer from one America’s Cup to the next. The draft is a ‘listening and living’ document. Teams have been invited to comment and,
contribute to its final form.
This follows an already unprecedented level of cooperation with the Challenger of Record and a dialogue with potential teams. It offers another chance for input before the Protocol is finalized and published by the of 31st August 2010 target.
“This has been a painstaking process, but we believe it sets out a New Deal for the America’s Cup and fair play for all teams. It also incorporates the vision of the Cup held by Larry Ellison and BMW ORACLE Racing,” said Russell Coutts, CEO of BMW ORACLE Racing.
“To create a fair playing field we plan to issue all of the event rules before the end of the year, and this is a significant first step in that direction,” Coutts said. “Teams will know exactly what they are signing-up to.” Potential teams asked for these key elements to be included the 34th America’s Cup Protocol and they have been:
  • neutral race management body
  • wide-ranging powers for the Jury
  • cost cutting measures
  • initiative to transform television & media output
  • added-value to sponsors & business partners
  • sustainable, long-term business model
Building on the initiative by the World Sailing Team’s Association, a maximum of eight pre-regattas per year is planned for consistent racing and exposure for the teams in the years leading up to the America’s Cup.
The Protocol will rein-in costs by reducing the number of racing crew, introducing nosailing periods and limiting the  numbers of hulls, masts, appendages and sails teams can build.

At the end of the 34th Match, the New Deal leaves an inheritance of substantial funding and assets to the next Defender in a move to end the stop-start cycle teams have faced previously. This sustainable legacy is dependent of the 35th America’s Cup defender continuing with neutral race management and a schedule of regular competition.
In keeping with GGYC’s pledge of fair-play for all, among the many measures which will achieve this is a commitment that GGYC’s defender will not will not compete in the final Challenger Selection Series but that there will be defense trials if there is more than one viable US team. Television and media output have been prioritized in the draft Protocol to deliver more pictures, more audio and more data than ever before to audiences for an immersive experience, either through television or online broadcast.
Progress on a new, exciting and physically-demanding class of America’s Cup yacht, again with a dialogue with stakeholders fundamental to the process, is moving strongly ahead.
Key dates (as announced at the joint Defender & Challenger of Record Press Conference on 6th May 2010):
  • Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup will be issued by 31st August
  • Design rule released by 30th September
  • Race rules published by 30th December
  • Challenge Period open from 1st October – 31st January 2011
The draft Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup may be read at: www.americascup.com

by Chris Rast 

After the first two days of racing at the Olympic Games Tim and I were sitting in 13th place. Not exactly where we were planning on being. We had had some minor issues in the last couple of months of preparation, but in the last two training camps we had shown excellent boat speed and felt comfortable in our racing strategies. We had raced surprisingly well in all practice regattas on the Olympic waters and were considered serious medal contenders.
What went wrong? And more importantly how were we going to turn it around?
Well, apart from the normal Olympic jitters, on day one we also had encountered REALLY light airs, combined with strong current and way nasty chop on race course 1. This threw us a bit of a curve ball, which resulted in some early mistakes and bad finishes. This then resulted in us taking higher risks in order to try to undo some of these first mishaps. It seemed like we were caught in a vicious cycle…
So how did we get out of it again? Well, as boring as it might sound, it was pretty simple.
Routine.
Tim and I had established pretty stubborn routines, which allowed us to focus on what really matters and not get too distracted. The Olympic Games Regatta must be the most intense competition that any sailor will ever race in. Believe me, I know, I sailed in three Olympic Games. What keeps you on track are your routines.
It starts with how and when you get up, what you eat for breakfast, how you rig your boat, the girls you flirt with in the boat park, how you do your pre-start routines, debriefs between the races etc. all the way until climb back in to bed and turn the light off.
I like to make the analogy with your routines being your life line through the day (or even through out the whole event). The stronger your routines, the more sturdier and grippy that life line will be. Now in smaller, less important events, you rely less on that line, because there are less things that can get you off course. There’s less crazy stuff happening around you, there’s less pressure etc. So you allow yourself also to sway further away from it. At the Games however things are pretty nuts. There are so many opportunities that distract you, so many people that want to hear from you, so many all-you-can-eat free buffets (and yes, there are parties too!), so you better make sure that life line is solid and within reach when things start going south.
On the third day of racing Tim, our coach Skip and myself met up outside the breakfast hall and discussed our approach of the day. We went through the weather forecast, what the tide was expected to do, what we would look out for. We discussed what kind of information we needed from Skip.
Basically we just went through our routines. Yes, it’s boring I know…
That day we raced three races on race course 2. We won every race. We didn’t do anything crazy or different. We just stuck to our routines. Except that I almost jumped out of the boat after the finish of the last race! Listen here to an Interview with Stuart Streuli from Sailing World (about 2 minutes in to the pod-cast).
The next day we had another stellar day with a 3rd, 8th and a 4th and this put us back in medal contention for the last day. (And the last day is a whole story on its own…)

photo credit by ??

So how you can you apply this to your sailing? Well the same way as we did. Figure out what works for you and your team. Routines give people confidence and puts them in the right spot from where they can perform at their best, over and over again. Remember, in sailing you’re looking for continuity, not just a bulls eye every few regattas.

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 Chris Rast

Three-time Olympian (1996, 2004 and 2008) in the 470 and 49er Class. His experience includes Melges 20, 24 and 32, Etchells, Decision 35 and TP 52. Chris has extensive coaching experience in Melges boats, Junior and Olympic Classes. He was an accredited coach for the Swiss Sailing Team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

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 The Etchells North Americans 2010 are being held in San Diego from June 9 - 13 and are sponsored by SLAM Sailing Gear and Point Loma Outfitting.

Jun 03, 2010 – The Etchells North Americans 2010 are being held in San Diego from June 9 - 13 and are sponsored by SLAM Sailing Gear  and Point Loma Outfitting. This is a warm up for San Diego which will be hosting the Etchells Worlds here in 2011.

Point Loma Outfitting along with SLAM are two of the Regatta sponsors for this years event.  Together the have provided high quality SLAM sailing gear including hats, shirts, jackets and polos for men and women.

Point Loma Outfitting will be onsite all during the racing event with a selection of sailing clothing and accessories from their retail location in Liberty Station. This is going to be extra special for the sailors and attendees of the event since Point Loma Outfitting will have on hand for the first time to the general public the Kaenon Soft Kore Polarized Sunglasses.

The Etchells Fleet will have an opportunity to be the first to own what is sure to be on of Kaenon’s best sellers for the summer. The Kaenon Soft Kore sunglasses come in White Pearl and Metallic Black and offer all of the lens color combinations Kaenon offers.

The Kaenon Soft Kore Sunglasses offer a stylish wrap around sunglass that is light weight and unisex in design so it fits both men and women. Best of all these sunglasses have the same high quality SR-91 lens that makes Kaenon Sunglasses one of the best sunglasses on the market.

The Kaenon Soft Kore Sunglasses are going to be made available to Point Loma Outfitting just in time for this Etchells North Americans. If you want to show your support for this years Etchells North Americans check out the line of SLAM clothing specifically ordered for this years event.  

On most boats you have five controls to properly shape and control your mainsail; the mainsheet, traveler, outhaul, cunningham, and mast bend. For this article we are looking at a typical masthead rig with overlapping headsails. In making trimming the main you need to be well aware of what effect changes in trim will have on performance. A flatter sail will cause less heeling and have less drag which means more speed in conditions where you are over powered, making the sail fuller will produce more power when need. A tighter leech will improve pointing (up to the point where the sail is stalled) while a more open leech will improve acceleration and speed. A fuller sail will inherently be tighter leeched than a flat sail which will help pointing.

In medium air, usually 7 to 10 knots of wind where you aren’t overpowered, the sail should take its natural shape without much adjustment. This condition is what a typical mainsail should be designed and cut for. You want to use a combination of mainsheet tension and traveler position so that the boom is right on centerline and the top of the sail is twisted just enough so that the back half of the top batten is pointing straight aft, parallel to the centerline of the boat. The traveler will have to be pulled well to weather of the centerline to achieve this. The tell tale on the top batten will be streaming back most of the time but the leech should be tight enough so that the tell tale does stall out now and then. The cunningham should be tensioned just enough to remove wrinkles along the luff and the outhaul so be set so the center of the foot is 2” to 4” away from the boom, a little more if the sea conditions are bumpy.

As the wind increases and you start to have more power than you can use flatten the main a little bit. Tighten the outhaul so the foot is pulled up close to the boom and tighten the cunningham a little more if needed to take the wrinkles out along the luff. If you have a bendy rig you should tighten the backstay to increase mast bend and flatten the sail. As you do this the leech will become more open so you will need to tighten the mainsheet enough to keep the leech tight. In this condition the top tell tale should be streaming back most all the time and you want the leech as tight as you can get it before the top tell tale starts to stall. As the wind increases you will have to starting to let the traveler down an inch or two at a time to keep from being over powered.

By the time wind gets over 12 knots you want to get the main even flatter. Pull the outhaul all the way tight and bend the mast to flatten the sail even more. If you are consistently overpowered ease the mainsheet an inch or two to let the top twist open a little more. Generally I let it twist just enough so that I’m not over powered in the average wind and then play the traveler up and down in the puffs. Pull the cunningham tight to keep the draft in the sail forward and the leech open. The top tale should be streaming aft all the time.

In the 5 to 7 knot range you want the main a little fuller to produce more lift in the under powered conditions. Ease the outhaul off so the foot is 6” to 8” away from the boom and ease the backstay to reduce mast bend. This will also make the headstay looser which will help the genoa shape in light air, making it fuller and the entry rounder. Let the traveler down a few inches so that the boom is a little below the centerline to increase speed. In these conditions you need to point slightly lower to develop speed and increase your apparent wind. Ease the cunningham so that you have a few wrinkles along the luff. You want the sail as soft as possible so that it responds to very slight changes in wind pressure. The tell tale on the top batten will be stalled 50 to 60% of the time.

In very light conditions, under 5 knots, you actually want the mainsail to be a little flatter. Too much camber and the flow in light air won’t stay attached. Pull the outhaul out just snug so the foot is up close to the boom and put on enough backstay to slightly bend the mast. This will flatten the sail and open the leech which both help to keep good flow over the sail. The cunningham should be completely loose so you have some wrinkles along the luff.

Below is a quick reference summary.

Boom position

Light air – boom 4” – 6”  down from center
Medium air – boom on centerline
Heavy air – boom down far enough to keep flat
 

Shape:

Medium air – 7-10 knots, no tweaking, shape should be what was built into the sail, -Including designed pre-bend. Foot should have some shape, tighten the outhaul so the center of the foot is 2” to 4” away from the boom. Sheet tight enough so that top batten is PARALLEL to centerline. Top Tell tale should be stalled some of the time
Light air – 5-7 knots, main should be slightly fuller, less mast bend, ease foot so that it is 6”-8” deep. Sail with a little more twist, top tell tale will be stalled most of the time.
 

Very light air – 0-4 knots. Bend mast a little more than designed bend amount to open upper leech, tighten outhaul a little
 

Med-Heavy – 10-13 (or where you are getting overpowered) Tighten outhaul so foot is starting to wrinkle, bend mast a little more, tighten cunningham enough to take out luff wrinkles. Sheet so that top batten is parallel, top tell tale should be flying all the time.
 

Overpowered – Bend mast to flatten sail as much as possible without over-bend wrinkles. Pull outhaul tight, enough cunningham to remove wrinkles, drop traveler down 3 or 4”. Sheet so that top batten is slightly twisted open. Drop traveler as needed in puffs.

This article was provided from our good friends at Elliott/Pattison Sailmakers! Check them out!