First Day or Practice for Waterfront Teams

Today started practice for our Waterfront Varsity Sports, and the introductions to some new sports for lots of the class of 2012. Learning the right way to carry a crew shell, how to pack a spinnaker, and the daily rigors of Dinghy Practice......welcome to the team.

M/N Casey Penney KP'11 Talks about the Chicago to Mackinac Race

Boat Prep in Chicago

For the KP sailors; Phil Ientile, Mike Dybvik, Jeff Miller, and me; the week before the Mackinac race was spent in South Chicago putting Defiance back together. We had to put the keel on, fare the hull, step the mast, etc. It was a lot of work. We started most mornings at 6:30 and didn’t stop until it was near dark outside. Needless to say, putting a maxi boat together in 3 days is a great feat.

If you were to ask a sailor about the 100th Chicago to Mackinac Race, they’d pretty much say light wind and dense fog as both were experienced quite a bit in this race. At the start there were hundreds of boats waiting for their start with the Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinaw and the magnificent skyscrapers of Chicago looming in the fog. The start for the turbo class was very light, but the breeze picked up a bit directly afterwards. The weather kept us on our toes and we frequently switched between our wind seeker, light and medium jibs, and a variety of spinnakers and staysails. On the second and final night of the race, about 90 miles from Mackinac Island, we hit a squall which brought heavier winds, rain and lots of lightening. It seemed like the lightning was all around us. It made me wonder just what it’s like to get struck while on a boat.

The next morning we sighted the Mackinaw Bridge; we knew we were getting close. The finish of the race was signified by a cannon blast from Mackinac Island. Everybody on the boat was glad to be finished. Then it was time to go out and have a good time on the Island. Mackinac is really unique because nearly the entire island is a state park, and no cars are allowed. Transportation is by bicycle and horse and buggy. It’s a really cool historic island, and the downtown area is awesome. I’ve been going up there to visit my grandmother every summer for the past 19 years. I remember watching the yacht races finish and the marina workers trying to cram all the boats into the marina. I never dreamed that I would actually be part of the race. The race is 333 miles, making it the longest freshwater race in the world. This year was the largest race with over 4,000 sailors.

Waterfront Competition Day

The Waterfront Competition is the last event of Indoc, and is a test of many of the seamanship skills that the new Plebes have learned at the Waterfront during Indoc. The final monomoy race had to be cancelled this year due to thunderstorms, however the rest of the competions including knot-tying, boyancy challenge, survival suit relay, heaving line toss, and life-raft boarding and survival swimming took place.

Defiance and Genuine Risk finish Chicago to Mackinac Race

Genuine Risk was took Line Honors as the first boat to finish this years 100th Chicago to Mackinac Race. Crew by a combination of Kings Pointers and professional sailors the boat beat the next finisher by nearly an hour. Defiance finished a few hours later.

VIDEO OF GENUINE RISK SAIL CHANGE

New Candidates jump right into Waterfront Training

One of the first and most important task of any merchant mariner is water survival. Candidates received a "sneak peak" of how to properly don lifejackets and immersion suits during one of their many waterfront classes. During this particular class they learned how to enter a liferaft while wearing a lifejacket and how to proper enter the water while wearing an immersion suit.

Kings Pointers Preparing for 100th Chicago to Mackinac

Kings Point Brothers Jeff and Dan Miller

The Kings Point Offshore Sailing Team is in Chicago with two fast boats getting ready for tomorrows start of the 100th Chicago to Mackinac race. Defiance and Genuine Risk are both in the fastest class of the 450 boats entered in the race. With good wind the boats should arrive Sunday evening. RACE DETAILS AND TRACKING HERE

Offshore Sailing Director Ralf Steitz Racing to Hawaii

Ralf Steitz will be sailing in this year's Pacific Cup Regatta from San Francisco to Hawaii starting this week. He will be sailing aboard Holua Girl, Paul Cayards Santa Cruz 52. News and position tracking for the race is HERE and HERE.

Indoc Training on the Schooner Lettie G. Howard

Each Candidate in the class of 2012 gets to spend three hours aboard the Gloucester Fishing Schooner Lettie G. Howard learning the ropes of traditional sailing and seamanship while practicing the roles they will learn as part of the emergency team aboard ship. The ship was built in 1893 and is home ported at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City. Topics learned include seamanship, helming, station bill, sail handling, and working as a team to raise the 2000 pound mainsail.

MORE PICS HERE

Water Survival Training for Class of 2012

The Class of 2012 started their waterfront training this morning with 4th Company getting an introduction to exposure suits, life jackets, and life rafts in Eldridge Pool.

Class of 2012 Sailors Report for Indoc

Alex Nielsen KP 2012 with Parents Eric KP '81 and Jaqueline KP '83 and sister Katy.Dan Liberty KP '12 with Parents Ed and Allison

It could not have been a more beautiful day on Long Island Sound for the Class of 2012 to report for Indoctrination. We'd like to welcome all of our new sailors to Kings Point, and look forward to introducing them to seamanship at the waterfront during indoc.

Waterfront Indoc Trainers Take the East River to Chinatown

Waterfront Indoc Trainers have been spending long days working on the boats, equipment, and teaching skills they will need to introduce the 309 Plebe Candidates of the class of 2012 to a life at sea, but that still leaves some time to explore and enjoy New York Harbor. Last night took two vessels up the East River to explore Newtown Creek, on of the most historic waterways in New York, and at one time the busiest waterway in the nation. After checking out the site of the country's largest oil spill we headed to Chinatown for soup dumplings and ice cream at the famous Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Waterfront Trainers Try Some New Games

Always looking for a new training tool, the Waterfront Trainers tasked the Regimental Officers and Drill Instructors with building a "Trash Boat" and floating it across the basin-- as you can see some of the Midshipmen might need to review their naval architecture notes.....

Watefront Trainers getting ready for Indoc

Waterfront Trainers aboard Ten & Ten

Fourteen Waterfront Trainers, led by the new Regimental Waterfront Officer Joe Gaudiano have been working hard for the last week prepping equipment and refining their teaching skill in preperation for the arrival of the class of 2012 next Thursday. Waterfront training during Indoc includes rowing, sailing, water safety, shiphandling, and loads of basic seamanship training, all taught by the watefront trainers who have given up thier summer break to help prepare the new members of the class of 2012. It's not all hard work however- they did find time for a cruise aboard Ten and Ten- and today they will take Mariner on a trip to see the July 4th Fireworks.

450 Mile Upwind tour of Lake Michigan and Huron on Genuine Risk

John VanWylen overtakes a Laker aboard Genuine Risk

Several years worth of Kings Pointers joined up in Sarnia, Ont last weekend to take the 90' Genuine Risk from her storage berth to Holland, MI in preperation for the Chicago to Mackinac Race. Kings Pointers aboard included John VanWylen '07, Dan Miller '06, Pat Showell '09, Chris Gasiorek '95, and Offshore Coach Ralf Steitz. The trip was upwind for all but a short portion in the Straits of Mackinac, and when cracked off a bit GR quickly got up over 15 knots with small delivery sails.