A-Class North American Championship by San Diego Yacht Club

[Lost in Translation]

The A-Class has their annual North American Championship at SDYC this week.  The event is organized by Olympian and North Sails VP Vince Brun and DN, Moth, and A-Class sailor extraordinaire Matt Struble as co-chairs through prestigious SDYC who have been gracious hosts so far in preparations.  

More info: https://sdyc.org/calendar/event/a-cat-north-american-championship/

We are running the event in south Mission Bay where the wind is best at the Crown Cove Aquatic Center.  Please come by and check it out if you are nearby.

Now for the smack talking:

First, Mischa Heemskerk is sailing a new F1 that was just delivered to Houston, TX for a new sailor there.  He is always a factor and will be brining some new sails for himself and Bruce Mahoney.  

Bruce Mahoney is coming off Poland where he won his first race in Gold Fleet and finished 8th overall.  He is on his F1 now after sailing a new eXploder at the Worlds in August in Poland.  Bruce is already on site and training, so expect him to be a serious contender.

Matt Struble is the current overall North American champion.  The guy generally only gets bullets and will be sailing Emmanuel Cerf's new eXploder.  This is the same eXploder that Bruce used in Poland.  Will be very interesting to see where Matt takes the boat.  Matt put away his moth today after getting all first places at their North American championship in the same venue.  This is home sailing location and one he is developing for high performance sailing in Southern California.

That is likely your top 3 but it's still a boat race.  What order will them come in?  Traditionally would have to say Mischa finishes 1st, but now the eXploder platform looked dominant in Poland.  How quick of a study will Matt be?

After that group, you have many seriously quick sailors like the Woods brothers, Matt Keenan, Bob Hodges, Brandon Wallace, Robbie Daniel, etc in foilers and people like Woody Cope on the Nikita and Ken Marshack on DNA C board going fast with classics.  Robbie has Darren Bundock's eXploder from Poland on loan to him from Ken Marshack.  Very nicely set up boat with differential rudder controls.  

The class recognizes overall and classic North American champions so the competition will be very close among a large number of sailors across the two scoring divisions. 

The Class is sponsoring coaching before the event with Red Gear Racing.  You can get a full day of coaching with our fleet sponsorship for $75 a day.  Can't be beat.  The Class is also sponsoring lecture and information sharing from Mischa Heemskerk during the event as well as help on the tuning guide we are creating. 

Would be awesome to see The Editor there!

 

[Lost in Translation]

 

[ClickClickBoom]

Best of luck to all of the racers, especially the classic folks!!

 

[Doug Halsey]

We are running the event in south Mission Bay

Correction - actually it's in south San Diego Bay.

 

[F18 Sailor]

Sounds like a great event. Hopefully the breeze cooperates!!

 

[Lost in Translation]

Thanks for the correction, Doug.  

First report is that 27 boats are were on site this morning in the lead up to racing on Thursday.  I love the way this fleet gets to any regatta early.  

Matt Struble reported the breeze being up to 17 knots on the water on Sunday.   I think if we see 8 to 14, no one will complain. 

 

[Lost in Translation]

 

[F18 Sailor]

Nice shot! Glad to see a rockstar make the trip!!!

 

[Lost in Translation]

We now have a final list of boats complying with all measurement and tabulation of the types of boats entered. 10 eXploders, 10 DNAs, Struble, Hall, Morelli and Melvin, and even a Bimare and Auscat Flyer. This is double the turnout we had at our last West Coast Championship and shows the growing strength of the class nationwide. 

Today is the first day of racing. 

Ben Hall's latest update with Day 3 of warm-ups from yesterday:

Yesterday was pretty much the same as Day 1. Went out with Robbie Daniels again in the rib for his clinic. Great staring drills and speed testing...kinda like herding cats for the speed testing as boats were having trouble lining up correctly. Then we ran a few 1 lap races. Matt Keenan and Larry Woods led the pack with some spectacular foiling. Everyone learning a ton from Robbie's on the water coaching and video debriefs.

After sailing I got my dose of driving on "The 5"....8 lanes going 70mph....only in California....and nobody uses their turn signals to change lanes...they say that would be a sign of weakness....hmmmm. (Editor's note: 70 is slow in the South). 

Picked Emmanuel Cerf at the airport this morning...he was immediately impressed with the weather, regatta site and the scene in general.

Carla and John have been full on in measurement mode and everything seems to be running smoothly. A few predictable measurement issues with boards and rudder winglets.

Talking with a cross section of sailors, the consensus Is that the site is really nice due to moderate breeze, flat water, warm water and consistent weather. Forecast looks to be a little lighter over the next few days so that may give the Classics a chance to shine.

Tonight is the opening reception at San Diego YC and we plan to have the class meeting on Thursday after sailing. Today is final prep for racing tomorrow when the rubber will seriously hit the road.

Rudder tuning, sail checks and on the water practice. Many sailors are here to learn as much as they can...and with Robbie, Mischa, Bruce and Matt sharing their knowledge, most will learn more in 5 days than sailing at home for a year.

Admiral out

 

[Lost in Translation]

nice looking new sail. 

 

[Doug Halsey]

This is the "non-foiler" mentioned on the front page.

 

[Lost in Translation]

kinda hilarious somehow Mischa was classified as classic.  I let SDYC know yesterday and it is fixed: https://sdyc.org/assets/results/results17/a-cat-na-res.htm

 

[Editor]

The A-Class has their annual North American Championship at SDYC this week.  The event is organized by Olympian and North Sails VP Vince Brun and DN, Moth, and A-Class sailor extraordinaire Matt Struble as co-chairs through prestigious SDYC who have been gracious hosts so far in preparations.  

More info: https://sdyc.org/calendar/event/a-cat-north-american-championship/

We are running the event in south Mission Bay where the wind is best at the Crown Cove Aquatic Center.  Please come by and check it out if you are nearby.

Now for the smack talking:

First, Mischa Heemskerk is sailing a new F1 that was just delivered to Houston, TX for a new sailor there.  He is always a factor and will be brining some new sails for himself and Bruce Mahoney.  

Bruce Mahoney is coming off Poland where he won his first race in Gold Fleet and finished 8th overall.  He is on his F1 now after sailing a new eXploder at the Worlds in August in Poland.  Bruce is already on site and training, so expect him to be a serious contender.

Matt Struble is the current overall North American champion.  The guy generally only gets bullets and will be sailing Emmanuel Cerf's new eXploder.  This is the same eXploder that Bruce used in Poland.  Will be very interesting to see where Matt takes the boat.  Matt put away his moth today after getting all first places at their North American championship in the same venue.  This is home sailing location and one he is developing for high performance sailing in Southern California.

That is likely your top 3 but it's still a boat race.  What order will them come in?  Traditionally would have to say Mischa finishes 1st, but now the eXploder platform looked dominant in Poland.  How quick of a study will Matt be?

After that group, you have many seriously quick sailors like the Woods brothers, Matt Keenan, Bob Hodges, Brandon Wallace, Robbie Daniel, etc in foilers and people like Woody Cope on the Nikita and Ken Marshack on DNA C board going fast with classics.  Robbie has Darren Bundock's eXploder from Poland on loan to him from Ken Marshack.  Very nicely set up boat with differential rudder controls.  

The class recognizes overall and classic North American champions so the competition will be very close among a large number of sailors across the two scoring divisions. 

The Class is sponsoring coaching before the event with Red Gear Racing.  You can get a full day of coaching with our fleet sponsorship for $75 a day.  Can't be beat.  The Class is also sponsoring lecture and information sharing from Mischa Heemskerk during the event as well as help on the tuning guide we are creating. 

Would be awesome to see The Editor there!

I will be there Sunday for sure!

 

[Doug Halsey]

Just so this thread isn't left hanging, here are the final results: https://sdyc.org/assets/results/results17/a-cat-na-res.htm

 

[Rawhide]

So any comments on gear, performance etc? 

 

[A Class Sailor]

So any comments on gear, performance etc? 

Yet again we see how good a sailor Mischa is. At the worlds, Bruce beat Mischa sailing an Exploder but in identical boats with identical rigs, Mischa was boss. Reading the reports it seems that Matt was very fast downwind on the Exploder but upwind he wasn't that flash. Was that his lack of time on the boat or the sail, because the sail was the only difference between his boat and the worlds winning exploder. I presume it was lack of time on the boat.

All the above could simply be rubbish! When you have Mischa at an event, he could probably sail any foiler with any gear and still win. The 2 best foilers at the event came 1st and 2nd. What a surprise! 

 

[Doug Halsey]

Yet again we see how good a sailor Mischa is. At the worlds, Bruce beat Mischa sailing an Exploder but in identical boats with identical rigs, Mischa was boss. Reading the reports it seems that Matt was very fast downwind on the Exploder but upwind he wasn't that flash. Was that his lack of time on the boat or the sail, because the sail was the only difference between his boat and the worlds winning exploder. I presume it was lack of time on the boat.

All the above could simply be rubbish! When you have Mischa at an event, he could probably sail any foiler with any gear and still win. The 2 best foilers at the event came 1st and 2nd. What a surprise! 

Granted, it's hard to say what the most important factors were, but it may not be a coincidence that the only 2 DNA F1's in the fleet finished 1st & 2nd. The attention to detail in the platform aerodynamics is very impressive. In contrast, the 3rd place Exploder was at a bit of a disadvantage, having torn his lower tramps on the 1st day & was sailing most of the series without them. But who can say how big a factor that might have been?

And what about the narrower square-tops on the F1's? (See the blue boat in the earlier post by Lost in Translation)

 

[A Class Sailor]

Granted, it's hard to say what the most important factors were, but it may not be a coincidence that the only 2 DNA F1's in the fleet finished 1st & 2nd. The attention to detail in the platform aerodynamics is very impressive.

I think this is a long way off the mark. The only reason why the DNA's finished 1st and 2nd at this event is that they were being sailed by the 2 best foilers. Mischa ad Bruce have proved before that they are way ahead of other US sailors, with the exception of Matt in 3rd, who had not been sailing A's at all. All you need to do is look at what happened at the worlds recently. Mischa went in as favourite and got outclassed. The question is was that because the others have got so much better or that he didn't have a s good a boat. Considering how he won the F18's this year and other results, the reason has to be that the Exploder is currently a better boat.

The aero is not as clear cut as you seem to think. An Exploder with a Brewin tramp, sail and under tramp mainsheet is probably as good aerodynamically. Starting from the front, Mischa is sailing around with long rotator "spanner" sticking out the front which the Exploders have done away with. He uses a boom and has the drag of the mainsheet system sticking up in the air. The flow over the exploder front beam and a brewin tramp is no worse than a DNA and brewin and a few others tucked their Exploder tiller bars under the airflow, maybe not as well as the DNA but still I am sure it made a difference. The Exploder platform was designed by an AC aerodynamics specialist who says it might not look as flash but there is next to no advantage in the DNA. Jakob of Exploder has said if there is a benefit to be had, he will change the moulds and his track record of doing so suggests this isn't an idle comment. He did copy the DNA tramp for some people but that doesn't allow for under tramp sheeting which some see as significant.

Th real difference between the DNA and exploder isn't in the platform. It is in the foils. The exploder foils are now well ahead of the DNA. Reports from the worlds talk of how much more stable the Exploders were when up on foils. The first DNA at the worlds was 9th, being sailed by somebody ho many say is the best foiling A Class sailor, although I am sure Stevie Brewin wouldn't agree!

In contrast, the 3rd place Exploder was at a bit of a disadvantage, having torn his lower tramps on the 1st day & was sailing most of the series without them. But who can say how big a factor that might have been?

I think we can say ho big a factor it is. The person who came second in the worlds sailed without his lower tramp and still came second, so it shows that if you are good enough, it isn't as important (although every bit helps). The simple truth is that Matt has not sailed an A, struggled upwind against 2 sailors who could foil upwind but was said to be quick downwind.

And what about the narrower square-tops on the F1's? (See the blue boat in the earlier post by Lost in Translation)

My personal view is that it is too narrow. It seems he is trying to drop the CoE without going for a short rig, but while I suspect there re some gains, I have always believed that going back too narrow at the top is done at the expense of drag. I asked Landy about this at the nationals and he said that he had commissioned some analysis of this. His sail had  a 650mm head so make of that what you will.

I am sure that Mischa turning up at the North Americans will have helps sell some DNA's and will help his order book for sails. Mischa would have won any foiler and he would have won with his old sail and is a great marketing tool 

We might learn more over the Australian summer because there are now 3 DNA F1's in Australia, 2 of which are in the hands of proven top 10 sailors. I am not sure if they have sailed them yet, but it will b interesting to see how they get on.

 

[F18 Sailor]

The DNA foils are outdated, but we also don't know what Mischa was running at NA's. Unlike Exploder, the DNA camp doesn't change product number(s) when the change foil designs for Mischa (yes, I don't believe Mischa has been running stock gear for the past year, possibly 2).

What this event proved is that the folks who practice the most in their boats do the best, period. Only Mischa was foiling upwind at this event, which means that the U.S fleet is already behind the Euros and Aussies by at least 6 months. I suspect Bruce will close the gap quickly, and a few other top sailors.