Seminars start at 7PM. Go to www.drya.org for more information, updates, and potential winter weather changes. Unless otherwise noted, these seminars are free of charge to ASI sailors!
Seminar #7 Feb 15 DEMYSTIFYING RATINGS
De-Mystifying Rating Systems" will be presented by DRYA Chief Handicapper David Spiers and DRYA VC and Nautical Historian, David M. Coleman. The Holy Grail of any yacht rating system is the fair and equitable leveling of the playing field for often-disparate vessels.
The first part of the presentation will be a brief historical look at the evolution of sailboat rating systems. Professor Coleman will review the evolution of this concept from the first 'America's Cup' race, through the mighty J's. Included will be a discussion of Herreshoff's "Universal Rule" and the development of the alphabet classes (P, Q, R, and J) and the Meter Classes. The parameters from these early racing systems are precedent to today's and their evolution will be tracked descriptively and with visuals. The majority of the evening will briefly review the IRC, IMS, ORR and One Design handicapping systems and usage in today's yacht racing.
Then we will discuss in detail the PHRF System used by about 80% of the racers in the world today, as well as who administers the databases and how consistency is addressed. We will cover the US Sailing databases, standards and what items affect the rating and how we address them to give fair handicaps and racing across the many types of yachts racing today. Questions are welcome! Comments are expected. The Detroit Yacht Club, on Belle Isle, will be our host for this seminar from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. The Starboard Haven Lounge will be open with a limited (special) menu starting at 5:30 PM. Credit cards please; formal dress code has been waived for the evening
Please note:
No Seminar Wednesday Feb 22, 2012 Winter Break!
Seminars (8-12) resume Wednesday February 29, 2012.
Seminar #8 Feb 29 LOCAL WEATHER FOR LIBERAL ARTS MAJORS
Pat Healy will build on his presentation last year, “Weather for Poets” a non-technical explanation of why there is weather and why weather patterns look the way they do, with another non-technical explanation of why local weather does what it does. This year’s focus will discuss thunderstorms, lightning, lake breezes and review some of the best local weather sources.
Pat has served as head dinghy team coach at the Naval Academy. He was the Canadian National Sailing Coach leading the Canadians to five Olympic medals and twenty-two Pan American medals. In 1995 he ran the Louis Vuitton Cup for the America’s Cup competition. He has been the marketing director for the Commanders’ Weather Corporation, a private weather forecasting company supporting boats worldwide. Pat graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology. Join us on February 29, 2012, 7:00 PM at the Great Lakes Yacht Club. 23900 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores
Seminar #9 Mar 7 A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO REWIRING YOUR SAILBOAT
Com. Skip Gmeiner and sons Ron and Stephen will build on last year's popular presentation on wiring in a sailboat. This presentation will quickly review last year's topics (new battery-saving LED navigation lights; changes in ABYC wiring requirements; and new ways to charge auxiliary batteries). From there they will provide practical information for the do-it-yourselfer; how to effectively re-wire with modern innovations; dealing with 110 VAC and 12 VDC systems, and grounding. The Gmeiners are well versed in this topic area as their commercial venture, SPEMCO, is a large distributor of nautical switches, indicator lights, circuit breakers and many other electromechanical items. Join us March 7th at 7 PM at North Star Sail Club, 32041 South River Road, Harrison Twp.
Seminar #10 Mar 14 SAIL MAKING FROM START TO FINISH
Sailmaking from start to finish will be an exciting and informative evening as Al Declercq and his team of sailmakers at Doyle, Detroit, will host us at their Harrison Township loft and take the group through the entire process from designing the sail to cutting it and then through every assembly step.
Gluing the panels
Laminating the seams
Applying the corner reinforcements
Applying the load path fibers
Applying the Dacron corner reinforcements
Applying the edge tapes
Installing corner rings and finishing details
Measuring the completed sail.
They will have 10 sails partially completed so that they can be working on actual sails at each stage of production. Please join us from 7-9 p.m.at Doyle, Detroit, 24227 Sorrentino Court , Clinton Twp, MI 48035-3237 (586) 790-7500
Seminar #11 Mar 21 UNDERSTANDING AND IMPROVING YACHT RESISTANCE … AND WINNING MORE RACES
The focus of this presentation is to describe how hydrodynamic drag influences sailing-yacht performance. The hydrodynamic drag is conventionally broken into several components including wave, frictional, and induced drag. During the talk an overview of each of the components of resistance will be given with an emphasis on the relative importance of each component in different sailing conditions. This presentation will be by members of the University of Michigan's Naval Architecture Department including Professors Steven Ceccio, Robert Beck, Kevin Maki, and Armin Troesch. Among the faculty are several who are also seasoned sailboat racers as well as designers. Please join us March 21st at 7 PM at Ford Y. C., 29500 Southpointe Road, Grosse Ile.
Seminar #12 Mar 28 MODERN SAFETY AND SEARCH AND RESCUE TECHNIQUES AND RELATED ELECTRONICS
Coast Guard Lieutenant Justin Westmiller will speak on modern safety and search and rescue techniques including a review of how AIS impacts our safety on the water. He will address what to do when the helicopter is overhead and how to get the helicopter to come including transmitting calls for help using EPIRB and DSC.
Tim Metcalf will discuss Digital Selective Calling (DSC) and the familiar red “Distress” button. In order to take full advantage of this technology, boaters must ensure that their identity and location are available in the event of an emergency.
The discussion will led by Tim Metcalf, a USCG ¬licensed captain, experienced offshore sailor and racer, and the owner of a small business that sells, integrates and installs marine navigation electronics. Tim Metcalf is the Rear Commodore of the Double Handed Sailing Association. He has accumulated almost 13,000 offshore sailing miles.
Please join us March 28th at Port Huron Y. C., 212 Quay St., Port Huron
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Racing is a fun way for new or experienced skippers to refine their sailing skills. One learns sailing by doing it; having another boat sailing nearby at your performance level is a great teacher. You don’t have to get competitive about racing to gain confidence in your ability on the helm.