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2007 Santana 20 Nationals

North Sails 1,2,3!

Report by Chris Winnard


2008 National Champion Eric Kownacki (921) tacks to leeward of Bruce Golison (911) and Chris Winnard (138)
Robin Avery and crew from Vancouver B.C. round the weather mark with their GP-09 Genoa.
Eric Kownacki, Bob Martin and Tom Jenkins

North Sails powered boats took 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Santana 20 Nationals held in Eugene, OR July 28- Aug 1. 39 boats from five states and Canada converged on the Eugene Yacht Club and the conditions were challenging for the first two days with the more standard westerly filling in on Friday. Eric Kownacki with crew Bob Martin and Tom Jenkins sailed a solid series and won the event. Second went to the local team skippered by Jim Martinez and third place was snapped up by Chris Winnard.

Several boats used the new GP-09 Genoa, which proved to be extremely fast in the wide variety of conditions the lake had to offer.

More details can be found at www.s20.org  

For the latest information on our Santana 20 sails please contact S20 experts!

To order Santana 20 sails online, click here.










 



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2007 Santana 20 Nationals

Report by Andrew Kerr

North sails 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the 2007 Santana 20 National championships!

The Santana 20 National Championships were held at Windy Crest sailing club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 18th to the 22nd. Eight races were sailed in wind velocities between 4 and 13 knots. Windy crest sailing club and all the volunteers, led by regatta chairs Steve and Mary Snider did a fantastic job of running the regatta both on the water and on the land The team of Bruce Golison, Andrew Kerr and Blair Wallace on #911 - Tinker Toy won the championships posting a score of 13 points.

Placing second overall and sailing an excellent series was the team of Eric Kownacki, Tom Jenkins and Bob Martin on # 921 - Alexa with 16 points. In third overall were local sailors Kenny Baggett, Ken Madewell and Daniel Weatherholt on # 568 - Team Madewell with 17 points, this team showed great speed and smarts all week.

North sails proved fast in all conditions both upwind and downwind and won 6 of the eight races. The new vision window in the mainsail proved very effective in providing extra vision for boat to boat tactics. A big thank you to Windy Crest sailing club for hosting a great championship for the class, full results can be seen at www.s20.org

Photo: 2007 Santana 20 National Champions Bruce Golison, Andrew Kerr, Blair Wallace.

TOP 3:

1st- Bruce Golison/ Andrew Kerr / Blair Wallace
2nd - Eric Kownacki/ Bob Martin/ Tom Jenkins
3rd- Kenny Baggett/ Ken Madwell/ Daniel Watherholt

For more information on our sails, contact our S20 experts!
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2006 SANTANA 20 MIDWINTERS
North clients 1,2,3! * on top 10 powered by North Sails!!!

Report by Chris Winnard

Another great Santana 20 regatta for the North Sails clients. Our Santana 20 sails are faster than ever! Give our Santana 20 experts a call today to learn the latest news on our Santana 20 program for 2006!
1 914 Pete Hunter     1 2 2 1 1 7
2 921 Erick Kownocki  2 1 4 2 3 12
3 276 John Porteous    3 3 5 10 2 23
  4 906 Jerald Skeen 6 8 7 3 6 30
  5 904 Thomas Kopp 4 6 9 8 5 32
6 926 Derek Martin 12 11 1 6 4 34
7 167 James McBride 11 4 6 7 8 36
8 783 Dave Wright 7 7 10 5 7 36
9 110 Richard Hoffman 8 5 11 9 10 43
10 476 John Weightman 5 10 3 14 ocs 14 dnc 46
11 458 Robert Noe 10 9 8 11 9 47
  12 341 Doug Whitaker 9 12 12 4 11 48
  13 672 Jeff Kelley 13 13 13 12 12 63

2005 SANTANA 20 NATIONALS
North sails 1st and 2nd!

Report by Andrew Kerr

Team Mini Me (Alamitos Bay YC), 2005 National Champions
Bruce Golison, Anika Olsen, Stevie Washburn , Steve Washburn

This years National Championships were held at Cascade Locks on the Gorge in Oregon – August 8th to the 12th.

The event was hosted by the Columbia Gorge racing association (CGRA) and Santana 20 Fleet’s 19 (Eugene, Oregon) and fleet 16 (Washington, Pacific Northwest and British Columbia). Fleet 19’s Rick Gilstrap and Fleet 16’s Derek Hardy put a lot of work into making this championship a successful event for the class.

Twenty three teams from Oregon, Washington, Florida, California, Colorado & Oklahoma made the journey to the Gorge and were rewarded with great race management and sailing conditions. The class held a pre regatta seminar that was lead by Andrew Kerr and onshore activities included a BBQ, the class association annual meeting and also an event banquet on the Thursday evening. Teams pitched tents and brought there RV’s and there was great camaraderie both on the land and on the water as there was not one protest filed in the whole series.

7 races were held (with one throw out) in winds velocities ranging from 8 knots to 28 knots. In races one through 5 the fleet mostly elected to fly 100% jibs while the more moderate conditions of the last day called for the 150% Genoa in Race # 6 & 7.

With the wind oscillating 10 to fifteen degrees and the velocity gradually increasing over the course of the day the premium was on clean starts & boat speed to be able to head to either the Oregon side of the course for a left shift or the Washington side of the course for more positive current and the occasional right shift.

Team Disaster Area going downwind

Teams enjoyed the long planing runs down the river under spinnaker with spectacular scenery on both sides! After an excellent series, the defending National Champions – Bruce Golison, Steve Washburn, Stevie Washburn and Anika Olsen on Mini Me, with a full inventory of North sails, won a tie breaker with four time National Champions Chris Winnard, Andrew Kerr & Bill Ramacciotti on Disaster Area. Both teams ended up with 12 points and between them won 4 of the 7 races. The tie Breaker was decided in Mini Me’s favor as they had one more second place than Disaster Area.

Both teams used the new North Kevlar 100% jib and the new Kevlar Genoa as well as the Dacron mainsail and were very fast upwind. The Airex spinnaker was very fast & stable on the long & gusty runs down the river.

This was a terrific event for the class, a big thank you to Kerry Poe and his team at the Columbia Gorge racing association for putting on a great event and congratulations to Bruce and his team on winning the National Championships.

For more reports and results go to: www.s20.org , also: www.cgra.org. For a web cam view of the race from the weather mark go to: www.skamania.org and click on the “live event link.”

For more information on our sails, contact our S20 experts!
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INTREVIEW: Kerry Poe

Interview by Andrew Kerr

Kerry Poe - North Sails Oregon
Email: kerry@sales.northsails.com

Kerry Poe and his wife Amy run the North sails loft in Portland, Oregon , when they are not making sails they are sailing in a wide variety of one design classes ranging from Cal 20’s , 505’s, Thistles, Lasers, & J24’s to name just a few. Kerry sailed in the Santana 20 class for a number of years with Keith Hammer and Kent Sisk, and his boat, currently under new ownership, is part of Eugene’s fleet 19.

Kerry is a multiple champion in a wide variety of classes; he was 3rd in the Olympic trials in the 470 class after a very successful campaign in that tough class. When you watch him sail the first thought that comes to mind is what a total natural sailor he is, comfortable in any boat he sails on – just give him the tiller extension & the mainsheet and the rest all falls in to place. He can make any boat go fast from the get go.

Any person who has met Kerry will tell you how approachable & helpful he is to anyone who has a question about their sailing. He is an enormous resource of information on everything from tuning, to sail shape & design and all aspects in between. In addition to sail making and servicing customers sails needs, Kerry also helps run the events of the Columbia Gorge Racing Association and the Santana 20 class association is very pleased to have him as our principal race officer for the National Championships – to be held at Cascade Locks – August 8th to the 12th. Andrew Kerr sat down with Kerry to find out more about his sailing, plans for the future and the Cascade Locks venue.

How long have you been sailing and what got you started?

KP: I have been sailing for over 25 years. When I was a kid I had a paper route and there was a picture of a sailboat in the paper. I clipped the picture out and tacked it to my peg board and decided I wanted to buy a sailboat. I went to the Portland Boat Show with my parents and looked at all kinds of crazy sailboats. I decided I wanted the plastic catamaran with colored sails that you could motor or row. It was the all in one boat that I thought was perfect for a boy of 13 years of age looking for a cool ride to get the chicks out on. Fortunately, one of my mother’s co-workers steered me down the right path and I purchased a Sunfish and started racing at Willamette Sailing Club. The first time I set foot on a sailboat was on my own Sunfish. Good thing I liked it!

What was it like sailing in the 470 class and campaigning to go to the Olympics?

KP: A great life experience. I think I can honestly say I got more out of campaigning for the Olympics than I did from college. When I was growing up in Portland we did not have a very good junior program or coaching available. I learned how to be very disciplined in coaching myself and then eventually working with US Sailing Team coaches. I learned how to organize a campaign and fundraise. We were the first US boat to display corporate sponsorship, thanks to Full Sail Ales. I also had the opportunity to travel to many different parts of the World and meet people from many different countries.

You sail in a multitude of one design classes, do you have a favorite class or is each one a different challenge?

KP: I actually enjoy sailing in all different kinds of boats. I think that the diversity of boats is what makes sailing so interesting. The Lido 14 is not a very exciting boat, but when everybody is going around the course slow together in a tight group it makes for some great tactical racing. On the other end of the boating spectrum is the 505. With its carbon hulls, high aspect foils and strings to adjust everything from the mast bend to the trapeze twings (to keep the mast up when going downwind), the 505 is a tweaker’s dream boat. Santana 20s pretty much go the same speed around the course so the racing is tight; however you have to depend on crew work more with a crew of three and you have to make sure you keep your foredeck crew on the boat.

Tell us about the Columbia Gorge racing association and your involvement with it, I know you have long been a proponent of sailing on the Columbia River and in the Portland area, how are sailing progressing in this area and how do you see the future of sailing in the area shaping up?

KP: In the 80’s I use to practice at Hood River with my friends. We would take turns trashing each other’s boats in the big breeze of Hood River. We had a great time and greatly improved our breeze sailing, but Hood River has some pretty extreme breeze and you have to dodge a lot of sailboards. When I won the 470 Pacific Coast Championships in 1996, I also won the opportunity to host the next year’s PCCs. I knew I wanted to have the regatta in the Gorge, and eventually settled on Cascade Locks. The great breeze, the sailboat accessibility and the width of the river there made for a great regatta and a great sailing venue. As the word got out more fleets kept calling to have me run races for them, so I founded the Columbia Gorge Racing Association as a non-profit organization to help organize regattas and clinics. CGRA has been working with the Port of Cascade Locks and the community to hopefully one day build a world-class sailing facility in Cascade Locks. We currently run our events off of a beach, some docks and a parking lot. The marine park we operate out of is beautiful, but we do not have room to expand and keep up with the increasing demand.

How about the Cascade Locks venue- what can a team expect conditions wise do you think?

KP: The average wind speed is 17 knots. It is rare to get above 25. I would expect most of the racing to be between 12-20 knots. The water will be warm so you may find yourself sailing in shorts and a spray top. Depending on where we put the course you will find fairly flat water to short waves. Of course you will be sailing in freshwater with maybe a ½ to 1 knot of current. The wind conditions are such that there is not one side of the course that is always favored, so it keeps the racing interesting. The breeze usually starts light in the morning and builds until 2:00 PM when it reaches its peak velocity. After about 4:00 PM the wind velocity begins to subside. Depending on how the fleet is handling the breeze and how strong the wind is building, we may go out for one race in the lighter breeze and take a long lunch break and go back out for a later race when the wind dies down again.

Any advice to a team that is sailing at Cascade Locks for the first time?

KP: Come early and practice in the breeze. I had a San Diego Melges 24 sailor come early to a regatta and he said it was the best thing they could have done, since they spent the first day just ogling over the scenery. Once they got that out of the way they could actually concentrate on the sailing. I would check your rigging. Make sure your tiller does not have dry rot and every thing on the boat works well.

How does your summer schedule look? I am guessing it’s booked! Tell us about the highlights on the calendar for you.

KP: Yes, this is a busy summer for the CGRA. Besides the S-20 Nationals, we also had some college regattas, the Laser and Laser Radial PCC’s, International 14 North Americans, 49er and 29er North Americans, A-Class US Nationals, Santa Cruz 27 Nationals and Wind Youth Clinic.

Thank you Kerry.

2005 Western Regional Champs

Report by Andrew Kerr

This year’s Western regional Championships were held at the annual SOCKS regatta (Seattle one design centerboard and keelboat series) in Seattle over the weekend of May 14th & 15th.

10 boats were entered in the event – 6 boats from fleet 16 and 4 boats from fleet 19. Notable travelers were from Eugene ‘s fleet 19 - SOCKS veterans Ron Fish & his team on Giddy up, Doug Smith and his team on one eye Jacq& Jerald Skeen and his team on Atomic Punk and Brian Genovese and his team on Wing and a Prayer. The latter team are Eugene YC juniors and it was there first SOCKS regatta, it was great to see them compete at this event.

Fleet 16 was represented by Fleet Captain Derek Hardy and his team on Already Gone from Olympia, Barry Williams and his team from West sound CYC, Kevin Swackhamer and team from WINSA, Steve Orsini and his team from Anacortes YC, Matt Wallis and his team from STYC and Chris Winnard, Andrew Kerr and Bill Ramaciotti on Disaster Area representing Corinthian YC and Southwestern YC.

7 races were completed by the super efficient Seattle YC race committee who do an outstanding job of setting marks in very deep water with strong current. The race management is top notch at SOCKS and is one of the many reasons competitors come back every year for this excellent one design event.

Saturday saw a light southerly wind with a building ebb current all day. With the current against the fleet, the wind oscillating 10 degrees and the velocity very patchy, the key was to be in good current and sailing in the velocity as much as possible. The general trend was to head left for current relief but also to take advantage of some of the right shifts which occurred later in the afternoon.

Another important element was fleet management of the other fleets, particularly finding lanes of clear air and avoiding the crowd (sometimes not possible!) at mark roundings. Just about every S20 team experienced a congested mark rounding that they either negotiated well or got tangled up in.

Team Disaster Area won race # 1 and #2 with Steve Orsini (Anacortes YC) and his team on Inferno applying plenty of pressure. Ron Fish and team and Jerald Skeen and team were also going very well and there was good competition through out the fleet. Race # 3 and # 4 were won by Team Inferno. In race # 3 Team Inferno took advantage of a 25 degree right shift off the starting line and lead from wire to wire with team Disaster Area climbing through the fleet and applying pressure, in Race # 4 Team Disaster Area was in the lead only to relinquish it at a leeward mark rounding having been boxed in by two Melges 24’s allowing team Inferno to get by at the finish.

After sailing the fleet enjoyed Pizza and refreshments at the Corinthian YC, it had been a full day of sailing with intense concentration and the teams were tired but psyched about at all the racing they had done.

Sunday was the windier day – the front had come in bringing with it a little rain to start with and then a glorious day of 10 to 20 knots with a strong ebb current and short chop. Three races were held in quick succession, the fleet opted for the jib while Disaster Area used the Genoa to get through the chop. On this day Disaster Area led from wire to wire in all 3 races and consequently won the Western Regional Championships, Team Inferno sailed very well with three 2nd places for 2nd overall and Ron Fish and his team on Giddy up just pipped Jerald Skeen and team on Atomic Punk by a point for 3rd overall.

The fleet racing was very competitive with and every team had a race where they either had a good race or simply went faster. The young team on Wing and a Prayer should be congratulated for there persistence and participation, they sailed hard in every race.

This was another great SOCKS regatta, come and join us next year for this really fun event. Until then, hitch up you trailers as there is plenty of good S20 sailing to be had all over the country with plenty of good local sailing and good regatta’s to attend leading up to the National Championships at Cascade Locks , Oregon, August 8th to the 12th.

For complete results, click here.

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2005 SANTANA 20 WD SCHOCK MEMORIAL REGATTA

We are pleased to report the victory of team Mini Me - Andrew Kerr, Steve Schock and Bruce Golison - in the WD Schock Memorial regatta.

Class president Mark Forrest (in a brand new S20) with a full North Sails inventory won the day on Sunday with 3 second places and was 4th overall.

For more information on our sails, contact our S20 experts!

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2004 SANTANA 20 NATIONALS

Report by Chris Snow

Long Beach, CA/Aug. 13-15
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club abyc.org

GOLISON WINS SANTANA 20 NATIONALS AT LONG BEACH

LONG BEACH, Calif.---Concerning sailboat races, Bruce Golison has been better known for running them than winning them over the last 20 years. His baby, North Sails Race Week, was the largest keelboat event on the West Coast until he decided to shut it down after the last one in June.

Now, apparently, he'll have more time to sail, and his victory in the Santana 20 class national championship this past weekend signaled a serious intent. As it happened, Golison's Alamitos Bay Yacht Club was hosting the event's first appearance in Long Beach.

As something of a hometown favorite, he led the first two days, then on Sunday fell one point behind Willem van Waay of the Coronado YC before the last race on the final day---apparently, right where he needed to be to pull off his first class title among 28 boats in the Long Beach outer harbor.

Golison's team of co-owner Steve Washburn as trimmer and Washburn's young son Stevie as bowman had never won the title, although they had come very close.

"Four years ago at Balboa we were one point ahead going into the last race and [van Waay] beat us," Golison recalled. "It's hard to be the boat ahead."

He solved that by finishing fifth in the next-to-last race Sunday, sailed in light and shifty winds under a gray marine layer. Van Waay, with his brother Peter and co-owner Travis Wilson as crew, blew out of the start at the pin end of the line and ran away to a lopsided two-minute victory.

The Coronado team appeared to have a victory cooking, especially after a strong 1-3 performance in the last two races Saturday when the breeze came up to about 14 knots, the best of the weekend.

But then, as the skies cleared with a moderate southwesterly sea breeze, a disorderly start to the eighth and last race flipped fortunes around.

Both Golison and van Waay returned to re-start---Golison because he knew he was over the line before the starting horn, van Waay because the race committee thought he was. He didn't agree but followed Golison around the pin end to re-start, crossing behind most of the other boats and up the right side of the course.

Finally, sailing in Golison's disturbed wind, van Waay had to tack away to the left, where there was less wind strength. Golison ground his way back to a third-place finish to eclipse van Waay and four-time national champion Chris Winnard by two points each.

Winnard, with co-owner Andrew Kerr and Bill Pamacciotti, represented San Diego's Southwestern Yacht Club, although he now lives in Seattle. In the last race he placed second behind Long Beach's Payson Infelise, sailing with his father Philip, the class president from Boulder, Colo. They wound up fourth overall by winning the first and last races of the regatta.

Van Waay sailed the race flying a red flag, signaling his intent to protest the race committee for ruling him over the starting line. Boats perceived as guilty are hailed by sail numbers over a designated marine radio channel.

Van Waay said, "We heard 919 [Golison], 138 [Winnard] and a pause---then our number. I don't mean to be negative, but I know we weren't over."

However, after discussing the issue informally with race officials ashore, he decided a protest hearing would be fruitless, so he dropped it.

"I'm just disappointed because my whole goal was to be in position to win going into the last race, and we were leading by one point," he said. "My team sailed real well all weekend."

Golison felt less confident than van Waay before the last race.

"Racing was painful with that light air and the [Sunday] power boat traffic running through the course," he said. "But in the last race our plan was just to protect the right side, which had a bit more wind."

Golison, 48, figures he and Washburn have been sailing with or against each other for about 40 years, since growing up around the Long Beach docks. Thus encouraged, he now intends to be more of a competitor than an organizer.

"I hope so," he said. "I'll certainly have more time in May, June and July."

Complete results and more: abyc.org or s20.org

For more information on our sails, contact our S20 experts!

Photos Rich Roberts

2004 NORTH SAILS RACE WEEK

Report by Chris Snow

North on top of small boat classes at North Sails Race Week

Sailors using North Sails won both of the smaller one design divisions at the 2004 edition of North Sails Race Week. Congratulation to Bruce Ayres and his team on “Monsoon” and Chris Winnard and crew for winning the Melges 24 and Santana 20 classes respectively. The regatta was held out of Alamitos Bay in Long Beach.

In the Melges 24 class, Ayres powered by an AP Pentex main, J-6 Kevlar jib and AIRX Runner spinnaker walked away from the fleet by winning every race save the last. Mark Golison using North Sails finsished second and Kevin McCarthy and Kathy Woods using a North jib and spinnaker finished third.

The Santana 20 class was won by North’s own Chris Winnard using our latest designs. Using this event as a tune for the upcoming Santana 20 Nationals scored a consistent 2,2,2,4,3 to win the event.

North Sails is proud to be the primary sponsor of North Sails Race Week, arguably one of the premier regattas in the Southern California season. With a great location and consistent winds and professionally run races on 3 courses this is an event not to be missed. Many thanks to Golison and Golison for putting on such a great show.

Photo: Chris Winnard, 2004 Western Regionals Winner

For more information on our sails, contact the M24 experts or the S20 experts!

 

2003 SANTANA 20 WESTERN REGIONALS

Report courtesy Mark Forrest

Western Regional Championships drew twenty-five boats to the Eugene Yacht Club's 40th annual Memorial Day Regatta. Team Disaster Area once again proved their skill in a variety of conditions, finishing the regatta with 4 bullets in 5 races. "We registered as Team Disaster Area because we do sail as a team and everyone deserves equal credit," said skipper Chris Winnard as he, Andrew Kerr and Bill Ramacciotti accepted the Western Regional perpetual trophy. Filling out the top five were Charles Witcher in second, Paul Stephens in third, Evert Sjliper in fourth and Kerry Poe in fifth and Class vice president Ken Cardwell 6th overall.

Team "Disaster Area" Andrew Kerr, Chris Winnard, Bill Ramacciotti
winners of the Santana 20 Western Regional Championships

It looked cool and cloudy Saturday morning, but by the time the fleet reached the start line, the sun was out and clothes were coming off. Fair weather and a 6-12 knot southwesterly allowed the committee to pull off four straight races. The first race was a triangle course in light air. Andrew Kerr offered this advice for sailors trying to break out of the pack in big fleet starts. "One of the important elements, because the start was so crowded, was picking a low density area on the line and tacking on the first shift to get in phase with the wind," he said. “If you started in the second row, you had better have your oxygen masks ready to deploy.”

During the first beat of the second race, the wind progressively veered right. After riding this lift to near the port tack layline, several early leaders tacked back only to find themselves seriously over stood. Even Team Disaster Area had to find a hole through the starboard tack boats that had already rounded the mark and were setting their chutes. Good breeze and a twice around windward-leeward course, gave ample opportunity to make up for early mistakes, however. (Number) of the over stood boats finished in the top 10?

With the boat end heavily favored, the fourth race started with a general recall as a flotilla formed and barged up and onto course side. To counter, the committee moved the line until the pin was favored by 15 degrees. Boats that won the pin end were able to port tack the entire fleet. "Anyone who started at the boat end and did not tack immediately was four boat lengths behind,” according to Andrew Kerr. “In this class that is enormous. It is worthwhile to verbalize on board that when the boat end is favored, it is easy to be early and when the pin end is favored, it is easy to be late.”

Leading is the Ken Cardwell/ Austin Quilty/ Kris Cardwell team on " Moon" with
Team Disaster Area - Winnard/ Kerr/Ramacciotti in second, and followed closely
by the Evert Slijper/ Mike Sherlock/ Tim Gleason team on " Bob". Photo Colin Morton

Sunday brought with it the dreaded east wind and light, fluky conditions. This made for a race with lots of opportunity for big gains (and losses). After a delayed start, the teams finessed their way around the course taking advantage of every breath of wind to keep pressure on the sails. Most of the fleet was compressed at the leeward mark rounding and the last beat tested many sailors’ patience. By the finish, many boats found themselves ghosting on less than a knot of breeze.

The Eugene Yacht Club hosted a well run event with socializing that allegedly lasted late into the night. Fleet 19 extends special thanks to all the out of town boats, especially the four boats from Folsom Lake, who made this a memorable regatta.

INTERVIEW
2002 S-20 NATIONAL CHAMPION ANDREW KERR

North Sail's Chris Snow sat down with Andrew Kerr who is the co-owner of the 2002 Santana 20 Nationals Champion "Diaster Area". Andrew has crewed for winning skipper Chris Winnard for 12 years and is a expert crew and teacher of sailboat racing. Chris, Andrew and Bill Ramacciatti just won the Nationals for the 4th time with 6 first places and 4th and had the regatta clinched by the last race which they were able to sit out. They used a complete North inventory.

Congrat's on a great regatta. Look's like you guys really dominated the event. How did you guys get ready for the regatta? Did you do anything special to prepare for the regatta?

Andrew: Many thanks Chris.

We were a close 2nd to Charlie Ogletree's team at last years Nationals in Klamath Falls and we were determined to ratchet our performance up for this years championship.

Our on the water preparation included sailing a number of big regatta's in Sacramento, Seattle, Eugene and Klamath falls in the spring and early summer.

Preparation is so important in this sport, ( like any sport) so to that end we arrived in Marina Del Rey 3 day's before the practice race, were one of the first boats to be completley measured and were able to get some
excellent practice and tuning sessions in prior to the championship.

Our goal is not to rush anything -- to be meticulous with all aspects of the boats preparation and our practice time and to be deliberate in the use of this time.

We are keen to develop a daily routine so that we can reproduce the same consistency on the water. I have noticed that all the successful teams I have been lucky enough to be involved with have a consistent daily routine that gives them the structure to remain focused on sailing as best as they can as a team.

We are first and foremost really good friends and it is really great to be together with a common goal of doing the best we can as a team.The class is really fun with terrific people in it and the competition is very tough.



What position do you do on the boat and how do you break up the responsiblities on the boat?

Andrew: I do the middle, the middle trims the spinnaker and Genoa, Bill does the bow and Chris drives. Our crew organization is such that it is a very quiet boat. Chris and I have sailed together a long time and we are completely on the same page tactically , strategically and boatspeed wise.

Going upwind, Chris and I focus a lot on boatspeed and short term tactics while Bill keeps us apprised of the mark position, our performance against boats to windward and also tells us where the competition is. He also keeps us honest about the big picture, ( covering, the series, etc.) and does an absolutely fantastic job on the bow. He is a great team mate. He gives us so much confidence with our boathandling that we can fly the
spinnaker right to the leeward mark, we blink and the spinnaker will be down and Bill will be hiking out!
When we are going upwind our main goal is to go as fast as possible with the cards we have been dealt with. If our lane closes we think nothing of it, tack away and work on fine tune adjustments and staying in phase with the wind.

I verbalize the compass #'s, Bill writes them down and we make appoint of knowing where the mark is at all times. Our goal is to be on the lifted tack in clear air, we go to the layline very close to the mark so our judgment is more accurate and we stay in touch with the bulk of the fleet in case of an adverse shift.
When tacking - Bill looks for flatter water or a gust of wind, we want to make every maneuver count and be as smooth as possible. We use the Genoa window tactically as well -- if oncoming boats are in themiddle of the window we are likely bow to bow, if they are in the lead partof the window they are likely crossing and if they are in the aft part of the window then we are likely crossing. this really helps with our tactical anticipation. We consider the window in our Genoa an extremely valuable and well designed feature. Bill will spot the oncoming boats and I will relate to Chris how close they are and what the likely upcoming scenario is -- i.e., wehter we are crossing or in a lee bow or duck situation. Chris is a very focused helmsperson, he is never distracted and focuses on consistent heel angle, steering the waves and speed at all times.

Like most top drivers he likes relevant and concise information delivered at the right time and we have developed terminology over the years that is efficient. Top teams like Charlie Ogletree's team , Bruce Golison's team and Payson Infilese's team, ( amongst others) are very much the same - they are focused on speed and pointing and their team provides the driver with accurate information and essentially a picture of the race course.

Downwind I talk about the pressure on the spinnaker sheet and also note the compass headings so we can jibe on the lifts, Chris drives fast and Bill looks for breeze, keeps us apprised of the competition and is ready to jibe
at any time. The great thing about the S 20 is all 3 on the team contribute so much to the performance of the boat, this makes it really fun. We all have our 33 and a third percent in the mix.


Obviously you had really good speed. Did you do anything differently? What was your sail inventory? How did you have the rig set up? Is there any one factor that contributed to your success?

Andrew: We had a full inventory of North Sails from North sails One design in San Diego. Our Genoa was brand new for the regatta. We used the Main, Jib and spinnaker at last years Nationals. The sails gave us excellent speed in all conditions -- light, medium, heavy, choppy or flatter water. Rig wise we tuned the uppers to the tuning guide #'s for the different conditions and we adjusted the lowers a full turn off as the wind lightened for more side sag and a full turn on for when it was windier. We kept at least 50% of the aft lowers on when going upwind even when it was lighter to keep the rig steady in the waves and when it was windier we went with Max
aft lowers to keep the mast in column and the the luff curve and draft position consistent when we had a lot of backstay on.

We used our adjustable jib halyard a lot on the day's when the breeze was up and down, we would ease it in the substantial lulls for Max power and the tighten it as the wind got up and was more consistent. We have learnt to typically err on the side of setting the boat up for the lulls -- especially in chop and waves.
I would say our biggest factor this year that helped us was our collective determination to sail as well as a team as we can and to stay focused on doing well in each race of the series.


I know Marina Del Rey to be pretty choppy and light air which are difficult conditions to sail in. What advice can you give about sailing a 20 in these conditions?

Andrew: It's very tricky and requires a lot of team concentration. We typically identify flatter water to point with, play the Genoa sheet and backstay all the time and concentrate on tacking in flatter water. Powering up in the
lulls is critical, ( Backstay off, Main and Genoa sheet eased) as well as anticipating the next puff and wave set. If the lull was long enough we would review Jib halyard tension and ease the aft lowers a small amount as well.
We strive to maintain a consistent heel angle as much as possible and try to sail the boat as level as we can and still maintain feel in the boat.

When going downwind in a following swell we tried to jibe on the top of a wave to go fast down the backside of the wave, if it was constantly choppy going upwind with no flatter water then we would tack on the top of a wave or swell. The best thing to do is to go out and practice and practice and practice ! Their is no real substitute for going upwind for long distances and concentrating as a team in the chop and swells.
The other thing the helmsperson has to do is to keep the foils flowing and lifting at all times, so pinching or sailing in a narrow lane is to be avoided as much as possible. This is of prime importance and requires a lot
of mental concentration especially in the last race of the day when teams are tiring.

Tactically going upwind one was looking for the biggest gap to leeward and a wide a lane as possible that one could find so that the team could put the bow down and go fast forward for Max speed lift from the foils -- this then translates into increased pointing and increased tactical options.

Thanks for your time Andrew and good luck in your next event!

For more information on Santana 20 sails, contact the North Santana 20 experts.

 

 

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