Boots and Boats was the theme for Fleet 1 end of the summer fun regatta this year. This event has moved around the harbor over the years, taking place at the Reuben E. Lee, Nautical Museum and now has moved over to the Lido Isle Yacht Club.

The day started with a relay race which, unfortunately, my wife Jennifer and I missed. It was rather gratifying sailing up the harbor, on this warm sunny summer day, and seeing thirty Harbor 20’s sailing on the south side of Lido. We gave our trusted stead, Only Child, the spurs and quickened our pace in an effort not to miss the second race of the day. On our arrival we found John Whitney and Peter Haynes to give us the quick run down on the upcoming random leg race.

This being my first rodeo with Only Child I was doing my best to listen closely to the instructions Whitney and Haynes were giving me. Now I must have been in the sun to long this last weekend because I heard Haynes tell me to read the story, find the marks and if you win the race you get the prize in the story. I’m not sure if you all read the A fleet story but, no pun intended, the last paragraph made me a little confused and bunched up. I kept looking for Wyatt Earp and I was not about to try and win the race. In fact, I was doing my best not too. In each fleet, A, B and C, were all given their own course chart with a different story and course description. As the fleets would get tangled within each other I could hear people say “I just passed TeXas, I need to find the whisKey next.” The red letter was our mark to round as you read through the story.

For those of you fleet one members, that did not attend, you missed a perfect relaxing day on the harbor. For the class members and fleets directors this idea should be remembered and copied.

What happened next was classic fleet one, which the other fleets can try to copy although something tells me there is only one Shana Conzelman. Shana is our fleets social director and she is more important to our fleet than a new bottom is to your boat. The Boots & Boats event, was all hers and not only did she come up with this idea she sold it to most of the fleet members.

Now if I heard John Whitney, the awards presenter for the Harbor Heritage Perpetual, correctly “ This award was originally given out by the Nautical Museum and we took it from them.”  He then went on to explain the whole event is in fun and we give the award to who ever we want.” This year Bridgett and Argyle Campbell took home this prestigious award. Hearing all the names of the past winners it became a goal of mine for the future. I’ll have to turn up the fun meter a couple of notches next year to make sure we can get in the running.

The turn out for this event was fantastic, I think I was the only one who did not dress too the theme of the party. Good food, an open bar, dancing and Jennifer and I came home with a new pair of glass boots.

On our way home Jennifer commented “ That was a great day, I want to go out with you an learn how to trim the jib and jybe that metal bat thing forward better.” It does not get any better than that.

For those of you that want to improve your “Strategy & Tactics”, and learn when to gybe that metal bat thing,  for the up coming fleet championship we do sell a pill for that and that’s Peter Haynes seminar September 6th at BCYC. For information look on the class web site.

Sea ya

If you did not make it to BCYC Taco Tuesdays # 2 you plum missed out on an epic night! The breeze was out of the west at about 11-15 knots with a few intimidating dark clouds lingering in the sky. The A’s and B’s started together and had nine boats on the line. While in C fleet five boats showed up at the starting line.

The first thing I noticed on the race course was “I like my boat.” Zack Maxam and his girl friend Christine, volunteered to sail my boat while I hopped back into the coaching boat. I knew that the breeze would be up and I set up my upper shrouds at 28 and my lowers at 18. During the last beat of the night I powered through the fleet and got in front of the two lead boats #109 & 108. By looking at this photo from this angle it appears that boat 108 headstay is not following off as much as 109. Also notice that boat 108 had its traveler down all the way, look how the top of the main is opened up. From my perceptive I still going to keep my traveler centered in the bigger breeze and should the breeze reach 17+ knots I will throw in a reef between races.

What else did I observe? There are many people sitting to far back in the boat while sailing to weather.  Scroll through the photos and take a look and what I am talking about. While attending Peter Haynes boat handling course, keep in mind the next course is June 21, I learned that the helmsmen should be sitting to weather in front of the tiller, with the crew sitting shoulder to shoulder with the helmsmen in heavy breeze.

I also noticed people, with tiller extensions, move the helm more than people with two fingers on the tiller.

While attending Haynes seminar on June 21 at BCYC pay close attention on how to flatten out your sails. Again scroll through the photos and look for your boat. Then tell me if you have enough downhaul on your jib or backstay and outhaul on your main?

I would encourage everyone to come aboard the coach boat, at least once this summer, and watch the races from a different perspective. Peter Haynes has told me he is willing to coach the month of July. I would like to keep the coach boat out every week and get other opinions on how to achieve optimal performance from our boats and take photos.

I am going to start racing next week and need some volunteers coaches?  We are just looking for one night, showing up at BCYC by 5:15 and the boat will be ready for you.

Quotes of the night:

Shana Conzelman was quick to inform me that I had added Marks points incorrectly and he still needed to win one more B fleet race before he goes up into A Fleet. When I asked Shana and Mark if they would place a web cam from their house onto the race course for this summers Tuesdays and Thursdays races they said they would look into it. The Conzelman’s have a perfect view of the course from their dock and if anyone can pull this off they can. This would be a perfect tool to sell the fleet and increase attendance.

Nik Froehlich “ I like what you are doing out there Len.”

David Levy “ I can’t figure out why my main is inverting so much down wind?”

Emile Pilafidis came up to me twice “ Did you get photos tonight, it’s a spectacular evening.”

For up to date photos and comments go to my facebook page at Harbor 20 Fleet 1 Newport Beach or my blog site at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com

That was one of the better nights we have had in a long time!

Sea ya

Len Bose

This last Tuesday night started the 2014 Taco Tuesdays summers series. Fourteen boats made it to the starting line and were greeted with an un-seasonally warm weather and puffy conditions.

Prior to race time the wind had shifted from a prevailing Santa Ana, wind out of the northeast, to our normal westerly at about 8-12 knots with puffs getting close to 15 knots. For a H20 sailing in Newport Beach,  it was “breeze on!”

In an effort to support the fleet and the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club I thought it would be a good idea to be present on the race course from the advantage of a coach boat. With this in mind I used Walter Johnson’s idea of setting three marks sixty feet to weather of the leeward mark to indicate the three boat length zone.

As the race committee went into the practice start sequence, I estimated that we had a least five practice starts, I went around to C and B sailors and asked them if they would like my assistance and observations before and after racing to increase their performance.

One of the first people on the starting line was Jesse Rivera aboard the syndicated boat # 14 “Harbor Sol”. Rivera has been sailing on the harbor for many years as part of the Peterson 34 Pussycat team. But when you throw a new person, with a new boat, into the H20 fleet on a windy Tuesday night it can be a bit overwhelming. When I approached Rivera and asked if he would like any coaching, he quickly accepted. The first thing I told him was that he needed to flatten his main by raising the halyard all the way up to the black ban, maxing out his outhaul, backstay and then vang. He sailed rather consistently throughout the night and became much more comfortable in the boat.

Next I approached Michael Volk aboard boat # 81 “Lighting”. After accepting my invitation to coaching we did the same thing as Rivera and flattened out his main. I also spent some time following Volk around the race course and made a number of suggestions after the race was completed.

I noticed that many people where having a difficult time pulling in on their main sheet while rounding the leeward marks and placing themselves in the right position within their own boats. Last winter I wrote a short blurb on how I practice my boat handling, so if a couple of skippers would like to meet me at BYC some weekend, I would be willing to run a ninety minute practice at M mark.

You have all noticed Peter Haynes seminars schedule? From what I observed last Tuesday night most all of us should attend Haynes next seminar “Boat Handling and Sail Trim” on June 21.  I have attended these seminars in the past and can attest that this is time well spent.

I will be coaching next Tuesday and will be following the same format. The best way for you to take advantage of this coaching, other than sailing Tuesday nights, is to attend the after race festivities at BCYC. Buy me a drink, and we can review what we learned on the water that night. This is also the perfect time to review the racing rules.

The after racing activities was fun this week with quotes from John Whitney: “ That’s what those little white marks where for.” Michael Volk” “ Thanks for helping me out Len, is there a time when we practice together?” Jesse Rivera: “ I got the boat Tuesday nights and will be here all summer long. I want to learn more!”

We need volunteers! I would like to make this program work throughout the summer and not give up all my racing time. Is anyone interested in joining me next week and then taking it upon yourself the following week? Call me if you can help!

sea ya

Len Bose

Over time I have taken part in many fleets from Hobie 16’s, handicapped fleets, Schock 35’s, Lido 14’s and now Harbor 20’s. During my involvement in these fleets I have taken away different lessons from each.

Like so many of us my first exposure into the sport of sailing was racing Hobie 16‘s. This fleet had every component to keep sailing fun and its fleets healthy. In my view its strength grew from within by supporting its D through A fleets. This along with a camping environment where everyone who attended these regattas would camp at the events together. This led to good times and fantastic social events. In fact, I feel a lot of this class strength was because it was not based out of a yacht club (cut s) environment. Class rules kept competitors from out spending each other and race courses were less than five minutes from the beach.

Why did I leave the fleet?  It was simple, I became too heavy and I could no longer compete. The boat is very physical from launching to hiking out. I can recall many windy regattas pitch pulling the boat and swinging out in front of the headstay and into the water. The speed was fun but it quickly became a young person’s game.

Today I have moved to the Harbor 20 and yes I miss the times of spilling out of my Toyota camper shell like Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. What has kept me so passionate about this fleet is that I can compete, at the highest level, with my son, wife or even my seventy five year old father as crew.

One of the biggest lessons I learned, while sailing Lido 14’s, was that the strength of the fleet is in its B fleets members. One of the strongest features to the Harbor 20 fleet is that if you do not qualify to stay in A fleet, within a season, you must move down to B’s. This has kept the B fleet very strong. In fact Fleet 1 in Newport Beach has now created a C fleet. What happened in the Lido fleet was once you made it into A’s you did not have to go down to B’s. This kept the B fleet very small and all the attention was kept on the A’s. As a competitor there is only so long you can keep taking a beating from the top of the fleet before you lose interest.

The Harbor 20 fleet was very fortunate to be designed for Newport Harbor by a group of founding members that blended their past experiences into one of sailing’s best one design sailboats to date. With its class rules. a competitor will not be outspent by an opponent. Because the fleet can race in the harbor the competitors are only five to fifteens minutes from the race course. Because of its design a skipper can sail by himself or with any of his family members no matter. what their age. Fleet one continues to promote social events from a summer party to a holiday awards banquet.

Keeping the class sailing, by the sailing rules, is also an important factor to the fleet’s success. The fleet grew very fast and in the beginning the rules where very, shall we say, relaxed. Bumper boats is what started to occur and what everyone quickly experienced was the cost of gel coat repairs was not fun and very unhealthy for the fleet. In an effort to stop the bumper boats effect, three rules seminars are offered each year. Members are encouraged to do their circle if they have fouled an opponent and discuss their opinion of the rules after racing. This alone has reduced the bumper boat syndrome by half and more ideas will be used this coming season. Such ideas are marking the three boat length circle to an on the water umpiring and coaching during our summer races.

This fleet understands that a great deal of its strength will come from sailing youth. With a local effort towards team racing the fleet continues to attract sailors from the age of twenty-two to thirty.

All the variables keep lining up to keep the Harbor 20 fleet strong. I just cannot explain how fortunate I feel to be at the right place and time to take advantage of it.

If these types of variables line up for you in your area, perhaps you should consider the Harbor 20 fleet.

12-8-13 Lido Isle Yacht Club, Harbor 20, Fleet 1, Awards Ceremony.

Starting time 1800 with close to 110 members attending. Shana Conzelman chaired the event and after a tremendous amount of effort by Shana and her committee, one word comes to mind, and that is spectacular.

The first awards given out was for the High Point Series. Gary Thorne 1st Bob Yates 2nd and Len Bose 3rd. The High Point awards are given to A, B, & C skippers who have the best total score for the season in their respective fleets.

The Rain or Shine Series is presented to the fleet one skipper who races in the greatest number of Rain or Shine races for the season. This year’s recipient was Michael Volk who participated in seventy six races. In a close second was Rod Swift with seventy four and in third was Peter Haynes with seventy two. The inflection in Peter Haynes voice, as he graciously presented the award to Michael, indicated that this award will be contested next season. From what I can tell the record is eighty two races set by Peter in 2012.

The Arthur Strock is awarded to the member who has performed outstanding service for the Harbor 20, fleet one organization. After observing the fleet for the first time, as a skipper, this year I could have guessed this one. I first noticed John Whitney busting his butt in The Baldwin Cup this year. He helped organized the rules seminar, and helped us at BCYC obtain boats for our club championships. I mean everywhere I went this season John was already there. Well done John, you raised the bar on this award and thank you.

Next was the Broken Rudder Award. This fine awarded is given to the skipper whose boat sustained the most damage in the heat of battle. I was sailing that fateful Tuesday night, the wind was in the high teens and the racing area was very tight. Mark Conzelman aboard Shana’s Secret sailed just past the leeward mark on the starting line and with all the excitement of a windy starting sequence did not notice the bow sprint of the big power boat and caught one of his stays that caused his mast to collapse. That one could happen to anyone in those conditions. Unfortunately it happened to one of our fleets newest members with his new boat.

This years First Mate Awards goes to the highest placing husband and wife teams in A and B fleet at the fleet one championships. In A fleet Diane and Bill Menninger won and in B fleet Barrie & Len Connelly took home the award.

Next was Fleet 1 Grand Masters Trophy that is awarded to the highest placing skipper over the age of sixty five at the Fleet 1 championships in A & B fleet. In B fleet Win Fuller received the award and in A’s Bob Yates was the winner.

This year a new award was donated to the fleet by the Drayton family. The “Phyllis Rawlins Drayton” trophy. This award is presented to the top women finishers in A and B divisions (either skipper or crew). Now this award was particularly emotional as it was awarded and received. John Drayton and the family had obviously spent a lot of time putting this together and it meant a great deal to them and the fleet. What made the inaugural presentation so special, to me, was the reaction from one of its first recipients

Jessica Newman. Jessica and her father Greg where sitting at our table and Jessica reaction was truly emotional, inspirational and priceless. In A fleet Diane Menninger received the award and it was obvious she to was also very grateful to have received this award.

It was a perfect night and good times will be remembered for years to come.

12-8-13

The forecast was for light wind, sunshine and cooler temperatures. In fact more racers made it to the starting line than I had expected. The forecast for Saturday night was “Dark and Stormy”, and this time I am talking about cocktails, with three yacht clubs in town having their installation dinners and Fleet 1 was having their Awards Banquet after the racing on Sunday.

We had a good turnout with thirty six boats out. Thirteen in A’s and 21in B’s. The racing was difficult in the light breeze because you needed a little luck to find it. I received a rather kind complement from Bill Menninger “You seem to find the breeze when it’s coming in from every direction” with a little bit of frustration in his voice. In the second race of the day Bill got off the line and found the first shift coming in from the right side. He punched out to a big lead as we worked our way downwind towards the PCH bridge. Unfortunately for Bill the wind filled in from behind and Kurt Wiese and I interrupted his party. Kurt won that race and Bill went on to win the day to take home the high points.

In B fleet Carter Ford had his game face on and sailed through most of A fleet through out the day keeping the hammer down until he returns back to A’s. Kathryn Reed aboard “Wood In It Be Nice” has been sailing very consistently and has a good hold on second place.

12-7-13

The first words that come to mind is “Dark and Stormy” and I am not talking about cocktails. Starting time was 1300 and that’s exactly when the largest squall of the day rolled through. Eleven skippers ignored the gale wind forecast and the two red flags above the harbor department and watched the squall roll in from the west.

I had to work this day, at least that’s what I was telling everyone, but it was my understanding that prior to the squall arriving many skippers had thrown a reef in their mains as they watch the wind speed push into the twenties.

Chris Killian told me he had his wife Cathy and son Porter with him and was one of the skippers who placed a reef in his main before heading out onto the race course. To quote Chris “We had green water rolling over the top of the boat, I mean lots of green water,” he explained with excitement still in his voice. Fleet one races inside Newport Harbor and it does take some breeze before we get water rolling over the tops of our boats.

After the squall rolled through the wind eased some and the race committee took down the postponement. Skippers sailing with two crew members and a full main had the advantage off the wind. BYC races lean more towards random leg than windward/leewards.

Per Trebler was the only C fleeter to make it to the starting line. This allowed him to catch up in the series after missing the first day of the series. Rod Graham extended his lead in the B fleet with two firsts. In A fleet Ed Kimball and Gary Throne split the day both getting a 1 & 2. Tucker Cheadle is in a close third place in the series and has been sailing very consistently.