Full Report - Day 1
Friday, August 3
US SAILING’s Independence Cup and Chicago Yacht Club’s North American Challenge Cup opened at host Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont facility on Chicago’s north side in high heat and fair breeze. On this the first day of the event, Rolex Watch U.S.A., one of the event’s sponsors, provided for a clinic for the visiting sailors with five-time Rolex yachtswoman of the year and current full-time coach of the U.S. Disabled Sailing Team, Betsy Alison. Amanda Callahan, U.S. Team Racing Champion and Head Coach at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, also provided expertise.
After a short talk ashore about the format of the morning’s activities, the sailors headed out of the harbor onto the open waters of Lake Michigan. Light but steady winds from the North provided excellent conditions for some practice starts and upwind legs. A 20 degree right shift kept the sailors on their toes and served as an example of Lake Michigan’s sometimes fickle winds.
On the water Betsy and Amanda cruised among the sailors and gave individual coaching tips on everything from starting tactics to sail shape. After several hours of starts and practice races the fleets headed in for a debrief and more extensive coaching.
The 2.4 Metres and the Sonars are mostly privately owned and sailed by their owners on a regular basis so there is a high degree of familiarity between the boats and their skippers. Much of the information disseminated during the debrief for these two fleets was of a more highly individualized nature.
Such is not the case with the Freedoms which are all owned by the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program based in Chicago. Here, with some of the skippers new to the Freedoms and some who are old hands, the coaching had to do more with the characteristics of the boats themselves, e.g. the speed at which they are able to power up, adjustments for the breeze, etc. A mixed fleet such as the Freedom fleet is a real boon to the more novice among the sailors. Allison says: “This regatta gives newer sailors a chance to test themselves against the more experienced sailors.”
This regatta is considered one of the best training experiences for the upcoming Paralympic trials to be held in Newport, Rhode Island October 3-14, 2007. There Sailors will compete in the three events selected for the 2008 Paralympic Regatta in Qingdao, China: 2.4 Metre (Open Singlehanded), SKUD-18 (Open Doublehanded) and Sonar (Open Triplehanded). The fleets at the trials are expected to be on the smaller side making the small fleets at the Independence Cup/NACC the perfect tune-up.
While Rolex Watch U.S.A. sponsored today’s clinic, other sponsors have pitched in to make this a great event for all the participants. Additional sponsors include American Airlines, Dry Creek Vineyard and Hyatt Hotels.