| Greetings!
I shouldn't admit this but I am actually a little surprised at how successful we continue to be at Oakcliff. Remember we are a training and coaching center. This means that we will try new things, push ourselves and each other beyond our comfort zones and reach for our goals which by definition are nearly unattainable. As we always say, if goals were easy they wouldn't be goals, they'd just be a 'to do' list. Read on for the rest of the story.
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Oakcliff AAOT Fastnet: 2nd & 3rd Overall
|  Believe it or not it hasn't even been a week since the Oakcliff All American Offshore Team finished the Fastnet. When we last left you they were just miles from the finish and sitting in 3rd in class and 4th overall with a slight chance to move up. We asked that everyone kept their fingers crossed and it must have worked. They finished an awesome 2nd in class and 3rd overall. If you haven't gone to their blog and read all about it or gone online to the utube channel - YOU HAVE TO! The video and reporting is top notch. In my humble opinion, Amory Ross should be a media crew-member on the Volvo but we don't want to loose him. |
| Singsen Wins Grade 5, Mayer Second |  Jon Singsen and his team from King's Point won Saturday's Grade 5 at Oakcliff. Singsen was warming up for this week's Knickerbocker Cup in Manhassett Bay and the Oakcliff International the week after. Coming in second was Acorn Jacon Mayer assisted by Mike "Koko" Komar. Jacon showed huge improvement in the past 3 weeks (his total match race skippering career). As a matter of fact they were winning until the last race where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a bruising 3 penalty race against Ebeneau but a great day of racing. |
Jeff and Claudia Win by Almost and Hour!
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NEWPORT, R.I. (August 21, 2011) - This past Saturday morning (August 20), as the sun was barely peaking out from behind the horizon, the Ker 11.3 Oakcliff Sailin, with its double-handed crew of Claudia Delahoy and Jeffrey MacFarlane (of Oyster Bay, N.Y.), began its entrance back into Newport Harbor after becoming the first boat to cross the finish line in the 2011 Ida Lewis Distance Race (ILDR): the only distance race that starts and finishes in Newport, Rhode Island. Delahoy and MacFarlane, who had never sailed together before, mastered the variable wind conditions on the 104 nm Buzzards Tower course, making it back to Newport by 5:44 a.m. after starting on Friday off Forth Adams at 1:05 p.m., with the rest of the 35 boat fleet.
"We didn't get any sleep the whole time," said Delahoy, explaining that the winds were much more consistent than originally forecasted, especially for those who took the southern route around Block Island rather than the northern route, which had lighter breeze. "We kept planning that if the wind died off we could take some breaks, but it didn't and so we didn't stop pushing. I think that is what got us the lead in the end." The strategy worked and Oakcliff Sailing took home first in the PHRF Double-handed Class, correcting out a little under one hour ahead of Jason Richter's (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) J/35 Paladin. |
Super Yachts and Super Opportunities
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Oakcliff is training people in ALL areas of the sport. Some acorns may want to race in the America's Cup and some may want to start their own business. One aspect for financing their dreams might be working on super yachts. This weekend Annie Gardner will be taking two of our team with her to the Newport Bucket Regatta aboard Zefiro a Farr 100. Jacon Mayer will be navigating his second race, the 1st being the 3rd place in the Halifax Race. Mike Komar will be using his Oakcliff taught rigging and hardware skills to keep the crew safe and effective on the deck. You can follow their progress on Oakcliff's Facebook Page.  The following week I will be headed to Porto Cervo to race on Helios again. We will be racing the Perini Navi Cup. I hope to continue to spread the word to individuals who are willing to support our programming at Oakcliff. I also will be connecting with a lot of the professional sailors on the Perini Navis as well as those there to race the Rolex Maxi Cup the following week. I would love to get more of the pros to come and train at Oakcliff and see what we are doing with their own eyes but at the very least I will deliver the message that we are training awesome individuals who will have the skills to 'deliver' on the deck of a yacht or behind the wheel of a racing machine. Oakcliff is 'THE' place to go when building your next team. |
So - it is a huge push through the end of the summer. Wednesday night racing continues. Thursday is the second to last race of the Classic's Summer Series, the Shields Nationals and Tune Up Regatta are coming up. This week you can see the Oakcliff Boats at the Knickerbocker Cup in Manhassett Bay. They will be racing Thursday through Sunday. Next week you are encouraged to come out and watch the racing at Oakcliff Wednesday through Saturday. Ten of the world's top teams will be competing for the Oakcliff International as well as the Grand Slam Series Title. Party Alert: Next Thursday, September 1st the Classics Awards Ceremony will be combined with the Oakcliff Invitational Dinner so it is going to be a good night! If you haven't already you should follow Oakcliff on Twitter and join the Oakcliff Facebook Group for the latest up to the minute reporting.
Signing Off Crazed but Excited from Everyone at Team Oakcliff,
Dawn Riley
Oakcliff Sailing Center |
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Nantucket Community Sailing
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Last Thursday and Friday I joined 13 other 'Pros' including US SAILING President Gary Jobson, for the Nantucket Race Week Pro-Am Regatta. We were all there to race and raise funds for the Nantucket Community Sailing Center. We were successful in bringing in $57,000 in 2 days and over $200,000 for the whole race week.
I was representing Oakcliff and doing some very physical coaching on board my boat. Lesson Learned: Do not try to 'step down' the 5 1/2 feet from the cabin top to the bilge on an IOD!
Judging by the jokes and laughter, the team led by John Dane with Sally Barkow as their pro, had the most fun on and off the water. They won the regatta but really, the kids are the winners.
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| NO Tuesday Drills |  | There will not be any Tuesday Drills for the next three weeks. This week the boats are at the Knickerbocker Cup. Next week we will be using them for the Oakcliff Invitational and the Tuesday after Labor Day is not scheduled. The next night will be September 13 and you can sign up here and now.
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