Soling Spring Series
Standing L-R: Paul Murphy, Joe Hildago, Andy Dize, Howard Vickery, Gary Greenwood, Eddie Trevelyan, Karin Olsen Campia, Alex Yakutis. Seated L-R: Henry Thomas, Jeff Connolly, Joe Van Gieson, Mike Udell.
Chesapeake Soling Fleet Kicks Off 2021 Sailing Season
SSA’s Chesapeake Soling Fleet braved the new post-COVID world on May 22 and 23 with their first regatta in 18 months, the Soling Spring Series. Let’s call it “the Post-COVID Spring Bowl.” Six Solings registered and 5 competed over 2 days of hot and unusual spring weather. All skippers and crew have taken advantage of getting vaccinated and were happy to get their boats back on the water.
Saturday greeted the sailors at Area A with an 8 to 10 knot northwesterly breeze and 85 degree temperatures that steadily built to 93 degrees throughout the day. Say it ain’t so - August has arrived in May! The fleet completed 3 two-lap windward leeward races before the wind decided to die. Karin Olsen Campia was the clear winner of the day with Eddie Trevelyan (St Michaels) and Alex Yakutis (Eddie’s cousin from San Diego) crewing USA 857. Finishing 2-1-2 they were going to be tough to beat for the weekend. PRO Pat Fitzgerald’s Race Committee did a commendable job keeping the race course square to the wind in shifty and light air conditions.
On Sunday the Soling fleet enjoyed a steady northwest wind of 10 knots and a variety of gusts and shifts which built throughout the day. USA 798, Andy Dize and Joe Hidalgo, this day a two-some, jumped out to a lead in Race 4 only to see it evaporate at the finish with USA 852, Henry Thomas, Mike Udell and newcomer Ton Zwaard taking the gun in the same form of their Race 3 run for the rhumb on Saturday (see results). Sunday did not open well for USA 857 as they took a 5th place and put the fleet a bit tighter for podium positions. Race 5 had a steady breeze of 12 to 15 knots, a tough go for double-handers - also including USA 828, Joe Van Gieson and Jeff Connolly. Karin and her skilled crew got a good start, played the shifts much better than race 4 and, with improved crew work, marched off to another win in race five. Copycatting USA 852’s closing strategy in races 3 & 4, USA 798 played an advantageous right side shift to stay in the race on the second windward leg to finish second and snookered USA 852 to a standing third at a point down. The final Race 6 was a dogfight drama for a series second with Howard Vickery and Joe Van Gieson jealous for a piece of the action. In Race 6 fresher winds kept up the pace with few shifts -- much a repeat of Race 5. USA 857 notched the win in a solid breeze and USA 852 edged out USA 798 in a series tie for second place with an extra bullet. A special thanks to the Race Committee for doing a super job in helping to make this regatta fair, memorable and fun.
Results show great competition fleet wide. Everybody got a nibble and nobody was perfect as follows:
USA 857 – Campia/Trevelyan/Yakutis – 2/1/2/5/1/1 - 12 points
USA 852 – Thomas/Udell/Zwaard – 5/5/1/1/3/2 - 17 points
USA 798 – Dize/Hidalgo/Sturr – 1/4/5/2/2/3 - 17 Points
USA 835 – Vickery/Greenwood/Lewton/Kline – 3/2/3/4/5/4 - 21 points
USA 828 – Van Gieson/Connolly/Gorokhov – 4/3/4/3/4/5 - 23 points
Takeaways: Having weathered the hard loss of our beloved Stuart Walker, the Chesapeake Soling Fleet is growing once again. Howard Vickery in USA 835 had a new Soling owner/club Member, Steve Kline, as crew. We hope to get his vintage boat put together for the next event in July. Will Turner will be back from Houston in his newly acquired USA 831 and USA 799 has re-joined the fleet with a new owner, Geoff Gales. Now at 8 boats, the Soling Class is again establishing a strong presence at SSA and welcomes newcomers to join our fleet. If all holds on the COVID front, the 2021 Soling North Americans in Annapolis will be a go in late October 28-31, 2021! - Andy Dize, Captain, SSA Chesapeake Soling Fleet
Post Script: Newcomers and old salts shared a wonderful weekend of memories and new friendships. Here’s how ’84 Olympic Soling Gold medalist Eddie Trevelyan summarized his experience in a quick note:
Notes from April 22-23,2021 SSA Spring Soling Regatta
By Eddie Trevelyan
I was happy to get back into the hobbles after some initial trepidation about hiking on a Soling after a 37 year hiatus. This was all made immeasurably comfortable by the patience and good humor of my skipper, Karin Olsen Campia and bow partner (also first cousin) Alex Yakutis.
I was also impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of the SSA race committee, as well as the low-key kindness and generosity of other Soling teams ... Henry Thomas, Andy Dize, Howard Vickery, Joe Van Gieson and their crews.
A final note on the overall mood and culture would be the contrast I see with other class racing that I’ve done recently, where serious competitiveness — spun up by overuse of paid crews and high-priced personal coaching — tends to siphon away some of the fun we all ultimately seek. Racing in the SSA Spring Soling Series was a breath of fresh air!
Crew work notes:
Karin is a natural on the helm and a time-distance wizard on the starting line, which frees Alex and me to focus on sail handling and rig adjustments. We were rusty at the mark roundings, but re-learned the basic rule to plan and execute early until the moves become second nature. This is important so we crewmen can get our heads out of the boat to help Karin with course management and wind / wind shift spotting.
Soling tuning setup and gear shifting:
Rake should be set for main sheet 2-block in 15 knots, accounting for significant mast bend and open twist at top batten.
In puffy conditions, this means powering up in light spots an/or lumpy sea state by considerable mainsheet and backstay ease. Particularly important to induce headstay sag when needed.
Jib halyard and tack should also be adjusted frequently to keep luff tension on the verge of puckering in light to moderate conditions. Easing tack to about 2-3 inches off deck allows big ease and round powerful lower section without excessively dumping upper leech. As breeze comes on, put tack down to deck, which allows blading the lower section while maintaining sufficient twist aloft to match main twist.
Spinnaker runs:
Rig twings for ease of use, which I believe should be a skipper responsibility in jibes.
In light to medium air, be sure to maintain VMG and pressure on sheet, while riding puffs as low as possible. Get jib down and rig forward ASAP.
Be sure to communicate as a crew and always know where the next mark is. Don’t let competitors beat you to the gybe and claim the inside.
Have FUN and learn from mistakes, without excessive criticism, complaining, or sarcastic back biting. Always work to pick off that next boat, and try hard to be encouraging and supportive of your teammates.
Thanks to Karin, Alex, the Soling fleet, and SSA for making my Soling racing comeback enjoyable and inspiring!!!