The Lake Michigan Sail
Racing Federation (LMSRF) is sponsoring The Americap II Sailboat Rating
System & The Chicago Mackinac Race seminar, free upon admission to the
show,LAKE MICHIGAN SURF
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN SAIL RACING FEDERATION
Volume XXIII, Number IV December 2002
Area III 2002 Racing Schedule & Results
10/ 2002 Offshore Series Participation Up 10% Over Last Year
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LMSRF Seminar to Clear the Air on Americap II Rating System
By Cristen Bolan
The Lake Michigan Sail
Racing Federation (LMSRF) is sponsoring The Americap II Sailboat Rating
System & The Chicago Mackinac Race seminar, free upon admission to the
show,
Speakers, Dan Nowlan and Jim Teeters, both of the US SAILING Offshore Office, joined by Richard Lillie, Vice Chairman of the Chicago to Mackinac Race Committee, will address why they consider Americap II the best rating system, how to obtain a certificate, as well as discuss the measurement process for boats who’s data needs to be added to the US SAILING database.
“Among LMSRF’s various goals are to prescribe and promote racing rules and standards in yacht racing competition on Lake Michigan. To that end, LMSRF is partnering with the Chicago Yacht Club in sponsoring the Americap II seminar at Strictly Sail – Chicago to educate Lake Michigan sailors about the specifics of this new measurement rule,” indicates John Strassman, LMSRF Commodore and Delegate to US SAILING. “Once the large Chicago-Mac fleet gets Americap II ratings, it will be relatively simple for other organizing groups to implement Americap II for their local races.”
The impetus for designing Americap II is to meet the need for a more accurate handicap-rating system than the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) measurement, and provide it at less cost and rigor than the more exacting International Measurement System (IMS), say sources at US SAILING.
Americap II’s dual-calculating method, which provides adjustments for slow and fast races by measuring both time-on-distance and time-on-time, has won the confidence of the Chicago Yacht Club’s Mackinac Committee. So much so, that it will be the sole ruling for the monohull fleet at next year’s Chicago to Mackinac Race.
“Americap scoring has been applied as an overlay to a portion of the Mac fleet for the last two years--one race particularly slow and the other fast,” says Lillie. “The system shows a tighter scoring result from the incorporation of a time-on-time factor in addition to time-on-distance handicapping.”
With the adoption of Americap II, all monohull contenders in the 2003 Chicago to Mackinac Race are required to obtain an Americap II certificate. To facilitate the transition, Americap ratings are available for around 90% of last year’s Mackinac race participants, and US SAILING is offering new Americap certificates at the reduced rate of $2 per foot of boat length. In addition, most flotation measurements will not be mandatory for the initial year, with the issuance of a special Great Lakes-only Americap II certificate, if there are sister ships in the US SAILING database.
“Their database list covers most of the type boats in this area, so obtaining an Americap II Great Lakes certificate based on US SAILING’s data will be very similar to obtaining a LMPHRF certificate,” points out Don Glasell, LMSRF Executive Secretary and Selection Chairman of the Chicago to Mackinac Race Committee. “And we intend to shed a lot more light on the situation at the Americap seminar LMSRF is sponsoring at Strictly Sail-Chicago in February.”
Strictly Sail-Chicago, The Americap II Sailboat Rating System & The Chicago Mackinac Race seminar is FREE upon admission to the show and will be held Saturday, February 1, 2003, at 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., in Room 309, Navy Pier, Chicago IL.
For more information, see www.sailamerica.com or www.strictlysail.com
or call LMSRF at (773) 278-3130.
It seemed like just a couple of weeks ago that we were in the boatyards masking off waterlines and mixing noxious chemicals. Now we’re back again hauling our boats and getting them ready to be shrink-wrapped.
I want to thank and congratulate everyone who participated in race and regatta organization this summer. There were many excellent events held on the Lake this summer, events that were the result of untold hours of planning and worrying by the event organizers, race committees and protest committees in every club. I believe the LMSRF has played a significant role in improving the quality of race management on Lake Michigan, and continues to do so.
We encourage you to take advantage of LMSRF’s experts and programs that help your club and its members be better racers for next season.
LMSRF also continues to grow its very successful Sail Fast, Sail Smart series. The program allows you to simply contact the LMSRF office to set up Race Management Seminars to train race officers.
Finally, I want to invite everyone to the Strictly Sail – Chicago boat show. LMSRF will have a booth and will be sponsoring a seminar explaining the Americap II rating system to be used for the Chicago to Mackinac Race next year. The Americap II Seminar takes place on Saturday, February 1, 2003 at 1:30 p.m.
I hope that you have a merry holiday season and I look forward to seeing you next year.
Best Regards, John Strassman Commodore Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation
Those of you familiar with Lake St. Clair understand that the chance of having good, consistent, breeze during the dog days of summer is rare. And as luck would have it, the best breezes of the week blew for four days prior to the event!
Before launching the O’Day Finals, held August 9 to 11 at Crescent Sail Yacht Club, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, myself and other sailors headed out on the water to get used to the local conditions. I quickly found out that I had a few new tricks to learn about upwind speed and pointing in light, choppy conditions, but my downwind speed was in the ballpark.
Friday morning, the first day of the race, we were re-acquainted with the same high pressure and light easterly conditions as on the practice run. While most major Laser regattas in the U.S. and Europe have a 5 knot minimum, the race committee decided to try and set a fair course in unfair conditions. Canada’s David Wright and west coast sailor, Chris Raab found the conditions to the liking, posting finishes of 4-1-2 and 3-4-8 respectively.
Saturday saw Detroit’s entire population take to their powerboats and kick up a great chop to go along with our persistent 2-3 knot easterly. The pressure held steady throughout much of the day and to the fleet’s dismay, provided near drifting conditions for racing. I must admit that the frustrating conditions were a little much for me and I decided to call it a day after abandoning the 2nd race on the downwind leg.
I returned to the club on Sunday morning with a fresh outlook, and was greeted by a 5-knot southwesterly breeze. This direction was much better than the previous two days and with the powerboat chop to a minimum, we were able to hold the last two races in true light air conditions. The last race of the day saw some match racing by David Wright and Andrew Campbell — each trying for an overall win. Things were looking good for Campbell until he missed the hiking strap on a very aggressive roll tack and fell overboard! Final score, Wright first, Campbell second, Raab third.
I learned a few lessons from this year’s O’Day Finals: It’s important to practice in the conditions you’re likely to find at the event. If you know that the odds are good for a light air regatta, either spend time practicing in those conditions or take a pass on the event. A second important lesson I learned is that it pays to be persistent. If you choose to attend the event, stick with each race; put the bad finishes behind you and try to adapt your sailing style to the conditions.
I’d really like to thank LMSRF and Area K for supporting my representation of Area K at the O’Day Finals. It was great to compete against the best single-handed sailors in the class.
Boater participation in Area III sail racing hit its highest mark in five years, shoring up 274 total competitors in the 2002 season as compared to 261 in 1997.
Out of the 40 Area III races, 274 total boats started in all scheduled regattas. BOUY and Port-to-Port (PTP) were on an even keel as 78 boats competed in BUOY races only, and 75 that strictly sailed PTP. 121 boats raced in both.Looking only at the total 274 boats, the average number of starters dropped to 11.
While the PRHF boats led the area in participation with 170 boats that started during the year, the one design T-10 fleet finished strong, with 42 contenders in its 2002 championship series and 37 in its T-10 Buoy Championship. The J/105’s stayed solid at 21 boats in its Buoy Championship to match the PHRF section’s PTP competition.| Area 3 Participation | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Entrants | 261 | 243 | 237 | 235 | 260 | 274 |
| Series Participation | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| BOY PHRF Port-to-Port Championship | 31 | 31 | 32 | 26 | 23 | 21 | |
| BOY JAM Port-to-Port Championship | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| BOY T-10 Port-to-Port Championship | 10 | 5 | 24 | 27 | 27 | ||
| BOY PHRF Buoy Championship | 36 | 29 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 28 |
| BOY T-10 Buoy Championship | 15 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 31 | 32 | 37 |
| BOY J-105 Buoy Championship | 5 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 21 | ||
| BOY Sydney 38 Buoy Championship | 5 | 6 | |||||
| T-10 Season Championship Series | 31 | 29 | 29 | 42 | 48 | 42 | |
| TOTAL BOY Participation | 51 | 71 | 84 | 78 | 117 | 129 | 183 |
LMSRF Re-elects 2002 Officers to Serve in 2003
| Commodore | John Strassman |
| Sr. Vice Comm. at Large | Guy Hiestand |
| Secretary | Donald Thinschmidt |
| Treasurer | Nancy Glover |
| Area I Vice Comm. | John Engle |
| Area II Vice Comm. | John Archibald |
| Area III Vice Comm. | Joe McGinnis |
| Area IV & V Vice Comm. | Donald Crandall |
Fujio Focuses on Chicago Saiboat Racing - When Kurt Fujio has freetime he stays focused on his passion for sailing photography and videography. And he has put it up there for all sailors to see on his personal website – http://www.stargate-usa.com/kurtfujio/sailing.html. Get a glimpse of your own 2002 sailing adventures online.
Collector's Item for 'J' Enthusiasts - The recently released book ‘J Class’ traces the heritage of the J-boats in 448 pages of never before published photographs, drawings, sail plans and watercolor reproductions. Find it online at www.yachting-heritage.com.
Solo to Inspire All Sailors - "This
is her story - how, from her childhood in land-locked Derbyshire, Ellen made it
to the startline of the Vendée Globe. It’s also the incredible story of the
race that catapulted her on to the front pages and into the nation’s heart. Taking
On the World will inspire and enthrall all who read it."
Overall the level of competition at the Mallory Cup was very high. There were no marshmallows—every competitor was capable of winning this national event. In fact, upon completion of eight races, only eight points separated third through ninth place.
Sailing in J/24’s with small jibs instead of genoas proved challenging under light and choppy conditions. We struggled early, but were able to put together a string of good finishes.
Going into the final day, we were in the running for third overall, but due to an unfortunate wind shift and a very tight fleet, a perfect layline call became a traffic management disaster and our second place quickly became a tenth. We did, however, recover to a sixth on the final run of the ninth race.
Although our results were not as successful as we had hoped, we are very proud to have participated and been chosen to represent Area K. We are now hungrier than ever to win the cup next year!
Sailors Get Feet Wet in Americap Hands-On Measurement Workshop
By Gary Hendrickson, Chair, LMSRF Offshore Advisory Committee
Attendees,
LMSRF Commodore John Strassman, Lloyd Karzen, Area III Race Management
Chair Andy Kiener, CYC PRO Dick Van Schweers, Larry Kwiatt, and Mac
Committee's Rick Lillie, get the dinghy ready to go into the water.
On Nov. 16 and 17, CYC's Mackinac Race Committee Vice Chair, Rick Lillie, organized a hands-on Americap measurement workshop. Rick arranged with US SAILING for International Measurer Andrew Williams to come to Chicago to train some 16 freeboard measurer candidates from several areas of Lake Michigan in attendance. The snowy weekend workshop was hosted on the Chicago River front by Crowley’s Yacht Yard and was financially supported with a $1,500 grant by LMSRF on behalf of Lake Michigan sailors.
A great majority of boats on Lake Michigan with LOA over 28 feet or so will be able to apply for and obtain a 2003 Americap Great Lakes Only rating certificate for a special one-time offer of a third off the application fee from US SAILING. This is without further measurement, as a set of boat measurements for their hull, or sistership, already exists in US SAILING’s database. This rating certificate is regarded as a generic one, and the assumption is made that the actual displacement of your hull is at least as light as any similar one in the database.
Another option is to obtain a standard 2003 Americap rating
certificate that is optimized to your specific hull, and thus results in a
somewhat more favorable rating. For most boats, this will require a
freeboard (sink) measurement of your boat in calm water. A very small
percentage of boats might require further effort - a heeling moment (tilt)
measurement, or else a full measurement. In either case, US Sailing’s
special one-time
discount certificate application fee will still apply for 2003.
John Strassman picks up an aft freeboard measurement, while Larry Kwiatt steadies the dinghy.
Say Seasons Greetings to a Sailor with these Unique Gift Ideas!
By Cristen Bolan
It’s the holiday season again, and you’re trying to come up with an original gift for the sailor who has everything. Well, here are some of the more unique items that will be sure to outsize any stocking stuffers on your favorite sailor’s list.
Nautical ornaments: colorful
glass balls contain beautifully constructed lighthouses, old sailing ships
or cup racer sail boats. http://store.yahoo.com/rosepetal/nautholtreor.html 
Why not just send your seasons
greetings with Americards.com. Bet you they never guessed Santa was a
sailor. http://www.americards.com/card_08.htmLMSRF's 2002 Offshore Series Championship Results and Awards Announced
By Gary Hendrickson, Chair, LMSRF Offshore Advisory Committee
LMSRF's “Best On Lake Michigan” Offshore Championship Series were scored for the 2002 season for skippers in the Farr 40, Beneteau 40.7, Sydney 38, 1D35, J/105, Tartan 10, and PHRF fleets, with 81 boats participating.
All of these series were vigorously contested, and a few of them were really tight in the top three places. Participation was up somewhat over last year, with 5 fleets taking advantage of LMSRF's lump sum fleet entry program, which enters all skippers and boats in a fleet into the series, at a substantial discount.
The Area IV Sailing Team won the Palmer Johnson/Edward Willman Offshore Team Championship Trophy for the second year in a row, edging out Area III's three Team skippers.
See the table of overall series championship results summary on page 10.This year's awards were announced and presented at the annual LMSRF general membership meeting held November 9th at the Chicago Yacht Club. However, several of the fleets have plans to distribute these awards as part of special fleet awards ceremony meetings or parties.
Please contact me with any suggestions you might have for promoting and improving racing for the Lake Michigan sailor.
2002 LMSRF Offshore Championship
| Fleet | Place | Boat | Captains |
| Best FARR 40 on Lake Michigan | 1st | Inferno | Housten/Dowd |
| Best BENETEAU 40.7 on Lake Michigan | 1st | Finesse | Alan McMillan |
| Best SYDNEY 38 on Lake Michigan | 1st | Eagle | Jerry & Shawn O’Neill |
| Best 1D35 on Lake Michigan | 1st | Windquest | Dick DeVos |
| Best J/105 on Lake Michigan | 1st | 370 | George Petkovic/Team Zot |
| Best TARTAN 10 on Lake Michigan | 1st | Cheap Thrill | Tim Snyder |
| Best LM-PHRF Boat on Lake Michigan | 1st | Gauntlet | Guy Hiestand |
|
2002 LMSRF "Best on Lake Michigan" Offshore Championship Series |
| Fleet Entries History | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 |
| J-35 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 |
| T-10 | 5 | 6 | 28 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 |
| IMS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| PHRF | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 17 | 27 | 32 | 47 | 40 |
| Mumm 30 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | |||||
| J/105 | 24 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 6 | ||||||
| 1D35 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | ||||||
| Farr 40 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 8 | |||||||
| Sydney 38 | 6 | 5 | 1 | ||||||||
| Beneteau 40.7 | 9 | 9 | 4 | ||||||||
| Totals | 81 | 74 | 64 | 72 | 66 | 42 | 59 | 56 | 56 | 66 | 75 |
2002 Offshore Series Participation Up 10% Over Last
Offshore Championship Series Gained Participants - Five fleets once again accepted our discounted lump-sum fleet entry offers. Both entries and entry fee receipts increased just under 10% over last year due to strong growth in J/105 and 1D35 participation. The J-35 and Mumm 30 fleets elected not to participate. The low PHRF series participation is cause for concern and needs further attention.
2002 YRUGL Match
Racing Championship for the Richardson - Hosted last month off Duluth
Harbor by the Lake Superior Yachting Association, the YRUGL Match sailed in
matched J-24’s with new sails contributed by North. Bob Hughes’
Heartbreaker Team sailed for Lake Michigan against three other Great Lakes
teams from Lake Ontario, Lake St. Clair and Lake Superior. Two complete round
robins, including 12 matches total were sailed on Saturday. Rod Syck of Duluth
Yacht Club, sailing for LSYA, beat Lake Michigan in the last match of round
robin two to clinch the win, and so Lake Superior kept everyone in the regatta
in Stingers all night Saturday.
2002 national
Offshore Championship for the Lloyd Phoenix - Sailed in Catalina 37’s
off Long Beach in early October, with 10 teams competing, Scott Sonnier of New
Orleans won the event for the second time. Lindy Thomas of CYC, representing
Area K, placed 10th overall.
The 2003 Richardson
Cup Championship The 2003 Richardson Cup Championship is slated to be run
by LHYA and co-hosted by Sarnia and Port Huron Yacht Clubs, and to be sailed
in T-10’s. In 2004, the Richardson comes to Lake Michigan.
UBS Challenge -
Cliff Black, our Area K delegate to the Prince of Wales National
Match-racing Championship Committee, is tentatively planning to run the 2003
Area K sail-off for the UBS Challenge, a Prince of Wales Bowl ladder event, at
the Chicago Yacht Club in Etchells, May 10 to 11.
See Shawn O'Neill for all your insurance needs!
