ROUGH SAILING ON THE BALTIC

With winds of 20-25 knots and 200 miles of fetch across the Baltic Sea the AYST was undaunted. After the second race and winds over 30 they were "tired". But at the end of the day they had hung in (or out in hobbles as the case was) and are placed in the mid fleet with smiles and determination headed into day 2.
Lessons learned: read the sailing instructions and persevere.
Race committee will try to have tracking for boats tomorrow...check it out at: http://multisportlive.com/Competitions.aspx

Race Day 1

Going into the first day of racing, our plan was to ease the other competitors into a false sense of security. First, we have a painted boat and it's never been measured before (they all have white and measure them all the time). During the measurement process we had to alter the shape of our rudder, bend a metal ring so its distance from the mast was significantly less, and finally, our boat was approximately 40 kg overweight. I can't say for sure how the other boats did with their measurements, but we didn't see any drastic changes. One crew came up to us and asked how the spinnaker ring bent so much and the guy that had measured it laughed and said 'you're really going to trust this thing?' On top of all this, after getting through the measurement process and fixing everything, we took three tries and one halyard run to get the mast up properly... directly in front of our other competitors! Afterward, we confused all their opinions by being the only team to go out in a rainstorm to practice.

Today is the first day of racing and the plan is to do well! It has been really windy the past few days, but according to the locals the weather is very diverse. All through the OK Dinghy regatta there seemed to be pretty consistent and good wind. With a light crew, we were nervous how the other teams would do with speed in heavy air, but it doesn't really seem like that will be an issue now that we're here and have sized up the competition... it's anyone's game!

Other than the sailing, there are a few other things to get used to since I've never traveled overseas before. You wouldn't notice it, but all of the doors in the United States seem to be pretty universal on how they open and close. Here, all the doors to our bedrooms open out to the hallway and after a few minutes of trying to pull what seems to be a very heavy door you feel stupid when it pushes. Walking down the street and hearing different languages surround you is a pretty neat experience and watching all the different fashion trends is even more exciting! Finally, reading menus in different languages makes for an exciting meal.

Overall things are going well and we're excited to see how the first race day goes!

Measurement Day

The measurers spent the morning making sure Anniversary was a proper Yngling without unfair advantage over her competitors. The spinker pole ring was 5mm too far from the mast and the rudder edge was too sharp. So... get out the vice-grips and sanding block.
Once the measurement committee was satisfied the crew rigged Anniversary, launched, and went out for a practice in 20 knots of wind and rain.


Friday the first race begins at 2:00 pm (8:00 am EDT) with a forcast of rain and 20-25 knot winds gusting to 35!

While waiting for Jurgen to finish keel and transom repairs on Anniversary, the team toured Kalmar Castle. The 800 year old castle, just a short walk from the harbor, was the main defense for Sweden until it conquered the Danes and the southern border moved 100 miles to the south. Then Anniversary was assmbled and took a short training session on the Baltic in a strong breeze.

We made it!

Everyone and all our luggage are officially in Kalmar, Sweden!! :)

This is the view from Mark and Karen's hotel... we stopped here first and are going to the youth hotel after.

Oh, and the cobblestone roades are a nice touch with our rolling bags!

Bring on the bruises!

After some intense rolltacks (resulting in many bruises and Joe's complaints for being too tall...), countless spinnaker maneuvers, and practice calling lay lines over the weekend , we are ready and confident to compete internationally. Although a few accidental elbows were thrown between the crew, laughter and smiles followed as we have worked out all the kinks to have quick tacks and jibes for great boat speed. :)

We were interviewed by the local TV station after the races on Sunday and given a camera to record any and everything that happens along our trip -- We're local celebrities now and creating a documentary!

Joe, Val, and I along with our coaches, Mark and Karen, depart from Alpena this afternoon with layovers in Detroit and Amsterdam before arriving in Copenhagen, where we will proceed to take a train to Kalmar, Sweden. We are very excited to get the trip started!!

AYRT Receives Michigan Commendation

More kudos for the AYRT. State Representative, Andy Neumann, presented the AYRT with a Michigan State Flag that had been flown over the state capital and gave a Proclamation to each crew as a representative of the State of Michigan. The Michigan flag will be flown along with the U. S. flag in the parade of nations in Kalmar.

Tragedy Strikes Anniversary!

Helsingborg, Sweden:
The container transporting Anniversary and John Ingall's boat was damaged and cannot be onloaded to a truck for delivery to Kalmar. We are awaiting an inspection of the boats by International Yngling Association Executive Secretary, Mattias Dahlstrom before the boats are removed and other transport arrangements are made. More to follow...

Inspection revealed damage to the keels and transom. Time to don the gloves and get out the epoxy! The AYRT will be immersed in the technique of boat repair while jet-lagged! One of life's valuable lessons, to be sure.

For a more humerous account of the trials and tribulations of Anniversary (made before news of the container damage) read "Shark Bytes" published on the Alpena Yngling Fleet web site: www.alpenayngling.com

New entries to regatta increase number of boats!

The Netherlands are now registered so the total number of youth boats has raised to 8 and open championship boats have raised to 31! Exactly two weeks until USA 415 leaves for Sweden!

Strong Finishes

A heavy air practice session turned into a blowout Staurday as the winds gusted to 39 mph. With a moderate 12-16 knot wind on Sunday the team posted 1,1,2 finishes. With superior boat speed and pointing they beat their coach and father for the first time.

Alpena Youth Sailing Team now paracticing

Val Arrived from Charleston on Monday and the team, composed of Val Upham, skipper, Julie Mitchell, spinnaker trimmer and Joe Jacquemin, tactician, had their first sail and race on Wednesday. Racing against a strong 10 boat fleet on Thunder Bay, Michigan, they showed superior boat speed and finished 4th despite having to restart. They are now practicing on a daily basis, preparing for the European Yngling Youth Championships and Yngling Open World Championships in Kalmar, Sweden starting July 31st.