Category: Video

Any posts that contain videos that I’ve created

Friday

We had as good of conditions as we could have asked for on the first day of racing at the Annapolis NOOD Regatta.  Sailing in the J/109 fleet aboard Afterthought we had a pretty good day going 3-2-5 and ending up 3rd in the 7-boat fleet.  We sailed on the southern-most course by Tolly Point and had winds building through the 10-17+ knot range.

In race one we had a tough start and had to tack out.  We were DFL around the windward mark.  We enjoyed watching that on the big screen at the race party knowing we made some smart moves on the rest of the race to claw our way up to a 3rd.

In the 2nd race we got a great start and picked the first upwind well and just extended the entire race.  Rush was just ahead of us and while we could almost hang with them, we certainly weren’t closing on them.

2013 Annapolis NOOD - Friday - Jon Trimming Jib

For the 3rd race we had another good start and for this race the fleet stayed bunched on the first windward leg.  We were 3 or 4 downwind and then on the 2nd upwind we ended up on the wrong side of a shift and dropped to 6th.  Picked up on boat downwind to finish 5th putting us into 3rd overall – 3 points out of 2nd and 5 points ahead of 4th.

Tomorrow we’re expecting a little lighter winds and a chance to move up a bit.

2013 Annapolis NOOD - Friday - FBYC Sailors
Some of the sailors from Fishing Bay Yacht Club.

Saturday

With winds up and down it was a tough day on the water today.  We’re still 3rd on points, but ceded a few points and are tied with several boats very close behind us.  We’ll need a few good results tomorrow to stay on the podium.  All in all our maneuvers went much better than yesterday, but we did find ourselves on the wrong side of some shifts making it hard to  stay in the top spots.

2013 Annapolis NOOD - Saturday - leaving hte harbor

Racing today was in anywhere from 5 knots all the way up into the mid-teens in the last race of the day with mostly sunny skies and temperatures comfortable in the 60-70’s.  I’d have more pictures today, but the camera with all of the shots on it was left in the boat for the night.

2013 Annapolis NOOD: Saturday going downwind

This seemed to be the story of my day… more overrides on the winch in a day of racing than I think I’ve had in years of racing.

2013 Annapolis NOOD: Saturday - Winch override.

Here is a Spinsheet photo of us approaching a mark during racing on Friday (I’m on the low side about to ease the jib):

Sunday

Lighter winds and cooler temperatures for the final day of the Annapolis NOOD regatta. We gave it what we had, but just weren’t able to improve our score in the final two races.  With winds up and down and forming lanes up and down the course, we just weren’t able to string enough pressure together to keep us moving.  Despite the scores, it was still a fun weekend and I want to thank Craig & Susan Wright on Afterthought for having me along.

2013 Annapolis NOOD: Sunday - Trimming Spin
2013 Annapolis NOOD: Sunday - Looking for wind

Photos above courtesy of Carrie Russell

2013 Annapolis NOOD: Sunday - Watching Fleets start

Photos | Results

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Front Runner

Got to sail a Front Runner in the One Design Opening day with Paul as crew.  Started out with winds reaching the low teens and it dropped from there through 3 races.  The first race was mostly getting re-acclimated to the boat.  In  the 2nd and 3rd races we had great starts and got around the course in 2nd.  We just couldn’t seem to catch the speed of David and Rob who had 3 bullets and won the day.

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This video describes how to remove sail numbers from a Laser Sail.  Note that this technique only works with Goo Off Professional*

  1. Apply goo remover to the back side of the sail.
  2. Work it in to separate the goo from the sail
  3. Flip the sail back over and peel off the number
  4. Apply goo remover where the number was just removed from to clean up the area

Tips:
Use a soft cloth like an old tshirt for rubbing the goo on the sail.

The reason we first apply goo remover to the backside of the sail is to separate the goo from the sail so that the goo comes off on the number.  If you start by applying goo remover over the number, it separates the vinyl number from the goo, then you’ve got to scrub the sail a lot harder to rub the left over stick goo on the sail.

*I’ve used Goo Off Professional for years for this and it worked fine.  Only after I ran out of it and bought Goo Off Heavy Duty did I realize it didn’t work with all solvents.  It works with Acetone, but that stuff evaporates so quickly you can only do small sections at a time.

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This article also appeared in the Fall 2012 Edition of The Laser Sailor and is now featured here as well.  It was written with help from Kyle Martin.

Sport cameras are a relatively new breed of cameras that are compact, waterproof, durable and can be easily mounted on all kinds of surfaces.  This makes them great for boats and sailing and especially the Laser.  The footage from these cameras is great as a training aid, as a keepsake of your sailing and as a way to share sailing with friends and family – just don’t bore them with 20 minutes of you sailing upwind with nothing happening.  Not only do most of these cameras do video, but they can also be used for time lapse photography either to watch the whole series, or just to pick key photos of maneuvers , scenery or technique.

Disclaimer: While great for training and pleasure sailing, cameras are not legal equipment for racing on a Laser.

There are several different brands of cameras on the market each with their own strengths, weaknesses, price points, features etc.  Kyle and I both use the GoPro Hero2 cameras, but any of these cameras could be mounted in the shots below.

Bow
Pro: Easy to set and forget, sees a great scene into the boat and all of the activity in the cockpit
Con: Often submerged leaving wet spots on lens, risk of snagging others mainsheet
Tip: Use a tripod mount on the bow eye for the most secure attachment.
How-to Video		 GoPro Bow Mount GoPro Bow Mount View
Mast Facing Forward
Tip: For best results, angle slightly off center to port. This ‘looks’ ahead around a mark or down the line on a start.
Pro: Shows boats ahead of you
Con: Boring video if you are in front
How-to: Go Pro Mast Mount		 GoPro Mast Mount GoPro Mast Mount View
Side Mast Facing Aft
Tip: To mount use a roll-cage mount with extra long screws
Pro: Similar scene as the bow, but from a higher elevation.
Con: Only works upwind		 GoPro Side Mast Mount GoPro Side Mast Mount View
Masthead
Pro: Wide view shows boats around and position in cockpit
Con: Unsteady in waves, weight aloft		 GoPro Masthead Mount GoPro Masthead Mount View
Mid-Mast
Pro: Closer view of cockpit than masthead
Con: Good video one tack, ok video other tack
How-to Video		 GoPro Mid-Mast Mount GoPro Mid-Mast Mount View
Side of Boat
Tip: Use a suction mount on the smooth hull surface.
Pro: Interesting angles
Con: more likely to be underwater, greater risk of getting banged against something		 GoPro SIde of Boat Mount GoPro Side of Boat Mount View
Chest
Pro: Great shots of hand-over-hand activity in the cockpit, putting the viewer in your seat
Con: easy to obstruct the view with hands or bang camera with tiller extension and hiking out shows all sky		 GoPro Chest Mount GoPro Chest Mount View
Head
Pro: Nice point-of-view shots
Con: Scene changes fast as the wearer quickly looks around the boat to sail		 GoPro Head Mount GoPro Head Mount View
Boom Facing Starboard
Tip: Wrist mount fits boom perfectly
Pro: Unobstructed rear view downwind
Con: Completely obstructed view on port tack by sail		 GoPro Boom Facing Starboard Mount GoPro Boom Facing Starboard Mount View
End of Boom Facing Forward
Tip: Use roll cage mount
Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind		 GoPro End of Boom Facing Forward Mount GoPro End of Boom Facing Forward Mount View
Stern Facing Forward
Pro: Shows sailor plus what’s ahead
Con: Slight risk of snagging your mainsheet
Pro: Shows sailor in cockpit and what’s ahead when sailing upwind		 GoPro Stern Facing Forward Mount GoPro Stern Facing Forward Mount View
Side of Dolly
Pro: Can be used right-side up, or down		 GoPro Side of Dolly Mount

Jon Deutsch
Races Lasers, PHRF boats and anything else he can find to race and usually has a video camera running. Check out his YouTube channel.

Kyle Martin
Races Lasers and makes a variety of tips and tricks videos on how to make the most of GoPro Cameras. Check out his tips on his YouTube channel.

Other YouTubers posting Laser footage:
laserinternational, ClaySails, DCSSInstructors, Districttwelvelaser, ericjpetersen1, GRSALaser, jondeusch5, kylemartin101, laserd8, LaserPerformance, LaserTrainingCenter, lightningfleet192, nalsalam, paigesailor, prsalaser, robsuhay, rwbeigel, SailProCameras, sdalin27, syelland100, ussailing2, wjsymes, xdlaser, zorgetbetty, 5FishBoy5, raffak1, GreatDaneLaser, pgihockey13, sailingshack, lasertouring, jonemmettsailing, eshedsailing

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