ASC 2012 Schedule

Get your pdf copy of the ASC 2012 Schedule here.

AC World Series - The Best Sailors - The Fastest Boats

Ok sailors, while we're waiting for the ice to melt, you have to check out the AC World Series on YouTube.  You'll see absolutely incredible sailing combined with the latest computer graphics of the course, computerized real time penalty system, GPS course boundaries, onboard cams, etc. The AC World Series - Louis Vuitton Cup - is one design racing on AC 45 cats with wing sails and a very busy 5 person crew.  This all leads up to the challenger selection for the 2013 America Cup in San Francisco. They've also modified the racing rules to maximize spectator immersion and satisfaction - finishes are right by the crowd, reaching starts, short elapsed times, big screens onshore, fleet races, speed runs along the beach and match racing. 

YouTube has a channel devoted to it http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup.  This week racing just wrapped up in Naples, Italy.  Previously they sailed in Portugal and UK.  Next stops include the US venues of Newport and San Francisco.  Just click on a venue to see a list of all the coverage.  You can choose highlights or the whole day's racing.

The US racing will have national TV coverage, but the YouTube coverage is great, especially if you can feed it to your HDTV.  One way is via a PC monitor cable, another is a straight HDMI feed off your laptop.  AppleTV works very well too.

Wazzup

The original intention for the upgrade of the Ensign was to fix the soft spots in the cabin roof and rear deck, sand and oil the bright work, sand and repaint the antifouling.

So much for good intentions. The balsa core in the cabin roof was either gone or saturated as was the core in the rear deck.

If that wasnt bad enough sanding the antifouling revealed an even worse issue. A previous repair, which was the result of a severe grounding, was improperly executed and had to come off.

So the villagers gathered and there was much discussion about how to remedy this situation. We needed a mold of the keel bottom but we didnt even have a complete profile to begin with. One villager said "lets try modeling clay" so we did.

Not to bore you with the details, now that we had a profile a mold was made so we could make a mold for a mold which would produce the cap that would go over the HUGE hole in the bottom of the boat.

Firstly we would like to thank the previous repairers for the less than sterling work, it's not like we have better things to do with our time. Then to those who attend every weekend, bravo, your efforts will not be forgotten. Finally to those who havent attended, WHY NOT??
There is every possibility that this boat will not be ready for this season. We will be dock building the weekend before the first workparty and work on the Ensign will come to a screeching halt.

New Alaska Sailing Club Mugs !!!

Brand new etched Alaska Sailing Club mugs will be available at the annual meeting on Thursday. The Brecht Studio in Eagle River has again produced a beautiful mug. These 14oz mugs are available in solid colors of black, green and burgundy. They are in limited supply and will be on a first come first serve basis at the meeting. Priced very attractively $15.

Solo Bucc Racing

Hey Bucc Sailors - If you follow the Buccaneer 18 group you might have seen this.  He's beam reaching with the chute, solo in 5-10 kt.  I though it was worth a second look and a posting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7tX16hgQ0U&feature=share

Cat-Dog Says Sheet In

Paul Willing

Sun and Wind and Friday!

Paul Willing

The Further Adventures of Cat-Dog

Paul Willing

Commodore's Breakfast

2011 Governor's Cup Results

Results are here!

Where's Waldo?

At the Lae Yacht Club, PNG.
Sorry, no burgees...
Paul Willing

Final Wet Wed of The Season :-(

How and Why America's Cup Cats Fly

My Hobie may not fly for the Gov Cup (still stuck in PNG), but you mechanically minded and engineering types will find this article interesting.  It describes the hows and whys of the boat design and the winged sails used.

Fun Factoid - a winged sail puts less stress on the boat than a soft sail, while generating more power.  Thus you can make the boat lighter - hence FASTER!

Winging It: America’s Cup Racers Push the Sailboat to Its Limits

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/08/ff_americascup/all/1

Burgee Exchange with Royal Papua Yacht Club

Met the Commodore (check out his outfit!) and exchanged burgees.

Frontiersman

See the article at http://www.frontiersman.com

Wed Night Buc Series

Labor of Love

2011 Firecracker Regatta Results

Final results here...

Firecracker Regatta Day 1 Results

Day 1 results here.

Into the harbor...

Another fine day at ASC!