Tag: GoPro

Posts containing containing GoPro footage and photos.

It was another beautiful day for racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the 3rd day of the Offshore Spring Series.  I was again on Wavelength for the 3 races on a mostly sunny day with temps in the high 70’s and wind that varied from 19-8.

5/10 FBYC Offshore Spring Series #2

The first race had the most wind and we started out with the No2 and a reef in the main.  We did well at the start by staying away from the faster boats that outpoint us and we were able to make progress upwind albeit a little under powered.   On a tack halfway up the beet we shook the reef out.  The rest of the way around the course went well, but we couldn’t catch the 3 boats ahead of us and settled for a 4th.

In the 2nd race we lined up next to Voodoo 2 and had to take their bad air off the starting line for a while until we could clear the B boats and tack out.  We kept up on the upwind leg, but it was the downwind legs where we shined and made up time on each leg.  By the 2nd upwind leg the wind had dipped even more and we put up the #1.  We barely missed 2nd place by 15 seconds.

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The 3rd race didn’t start so well for us.  We were over early and had to park it and let the fleet sail by so we could turn around and restart.  Starting so far behind everyone made us get creative on the first beat and we banged the right corner (photo above) while most of the rest of the fleet went left which had been working all day.  Sure enough the wind went right and we caught right back up to the fleet.  Unfortunately, we would get stuck with the bottom 2 boats trying to cover each other for a position and ended up as collateral damage never being able to break free and chase the boats ahead of us and we settled for 4th.

5/10 FBYC Offshore Spring Series #2

We’re currently in 2nd place for the series and we got one more race day left next Saturday.  With a good result we should be able to hang onto 2nd.

Jon’s Pictures | Andrea Zilinski Winner Photos |  Results | Video

Following racing a storm rolled through throwing a 420 into one of the RIBs onshore and bashing Mad Hatter at the dock.  I’ve seen some storms roll through and I’ve been at the club for some pretty serious tropical and nor’easters, but I’ve never seen a storm come up so quickly and with such intensity.  Thankfully everyone was ashore and safe.

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Saturday I got to sail on a Soling for my first time in SSA’s Soling Frostbite.  A Soling is a 27′ 3-person keel boat and I was sailing as the middle crew with skipper Mike Waters and bow Gretchen E.  We had a bit of a slow start as we dialed in the boat and got through each of the crew mechanics the first time.  We learned, we got better and while our results don’t show it, we were actually pretty competitive.

Today’s weather was perfect for frostbiting.  Air temperatures on land in the high 50’s with a water temperature of 38. That created great thermal conditions and we had relatively steady wind that started around 8 and built to about 12 before coming back down to about 10 out of the SSW.

2/22/2014 SSA Soling Frostbite 1

In the first race we had a good start, were 2nd at the windward mark and were the first boat to the leeward mark.  Unfortunately for us we couldn’t get the spin halyard down and ended up sailing 1/2 mile past the leeward mark before we were able to free the halyard to retrieve it.  We took a DNF in that one.

The 2nd race went much better for us.  While we weren’t able to fix the core problem with the spin halyard, at least we knew the problem and could work around it.  We ended up leading that race wire to wire.  We did a great job picking the shifts on both upwind legs and kept a comfortable cover on the boats around.

For the 3rd race we had another great start, got to the windward mark first, but lost a boat downwind.  On the 2nd upwind we got on the wrong side of the course as more pressure came from the other side dropping us back to 5th.

Overall the racing was really tight with only a few points separating the boats, but with our DNF we got the short end of the stick and wound up 5th overall.  It was a great learning experience and I’m looking forward to going back in a couple weeks for the next frostbite day.

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This weekend Greater Richmond Sailing Association invited Fishing Bay Yacht Club Flying Scots and Lasers to join them for frostbiting out on Swift Creek.  Dan and I were the only two Lasers; there were 10 Flying Scots and 3 Thistles.  The goal for the day was simply get back in the boat and try a few things out.  I tried a new GoPro Camera (Hero 3+) and a new stern mount for it.  I got to try out some new boots and I got to try sailing at a club I had never been at before.  Thanks again to GRSA for inviting us to come sail!

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1/14 GRSA Frostbite
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1/14 GRSA Frostbite
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Photos courtesy of Sharon Wake.

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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 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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Friday

Arrived at the Columbia Sailing Club this evening and ready to sail the District 12 Championship tomorrow!

Saturday

We had a great first day of the District 12 Championship at Columbia Sailing Club in Columbia South Carolina.  We sailed 5 races that at some point in each of the races we had 4 knots and 10 knots.  In the lighter winds I did well on the first upwind leg most races and worked hard to hold onto my spot on the downwinds.  I put up a 3-2-8-1-2 and am currently 2 points out of first behind John Potter from Beaufort SC.  Tomorrow will be another light air day and hopefully I can keep up the top 3 finishes to have a shot at the title.

Provisional Results (the winner in race 3 will be RET and everyone moves up one)

Sunday

The forecast for the last day of the Laser District 12 Championship was for light air and as we were sailing out to the race course we had great wind – 10-12 knots.  By our 10am start it had dropped at bit and it continued to go down from there.  Today was a basically a two-boat race.  Unless I put up two DFLs it would have been hard not to get 2nd place.  Once a drop would be factored in, I was effectively 1 point behind John Potter, so it would come down to today’s races as to who won the regatta.

first race start tacked out to the right

In our first race today I had a crummy start – I just about won the boat, but had no boat speed at the start.  John was to leeward of me and was a boat length and a half ahead when I crossed the line.  I took a big duck and headed out right while he sailed to the left.  Wanting to consolidate I came back to the middle having made up some ground, but John tacked on me and forced me back to the right.   On the middle right of the course I had better pressure and got in front of John, but the boats who went left did much better than us putting me around 6th and John several boats behind me by the time we rounded.

Downwind John caught up a few boats and on the 2nd upwind I stuck to the middle of the course while John went to the left.   When we got to the top 3rd of the course a 50-degree righty came in and I laid the mark while John out to the left still had to tack to fetch it.  At the mark there was one boat between us and downwind I worked to  pass one boat on the way to the finish.  With two boats between us that put me 1 point ahead of John.

After the race we sat on the course for half an hour with no prospect of wind and the race committee abandoned racing for the rest of the day and I won the District 12 Championship Regatta.  Not only was John great competition this weekend, but so were sailors such as Rob Bowden who would have beat both John and I had he not been OCS twice.  All in all it was a fun regatta and I got to visit a an awesome club who put on a great and I got meet a lot of new District 12 sailors.

Results | My Photos | VIDEO

All but the last photo courtesy of Joe Reyes

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