Ramping up to the World's and North American's
THE 1997 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Crescent Sail Yacht Club, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, August 10-15, 1997

Tim Healy, 1997 North American Champion

I began preparation for the 1997 Worlds and North Americans about 18 months ago. I purchased #14763 and rigged it for the Southern Circuit. Our regatta success in the winter and spring encouraged us to set high goals for the summer, to win both the North Americans and the Worlds.

We won the North Americans but lost the Worlds because of a Z-flag during a general recall which cost us first place which we would have had by eight points. We were successful with our performance but disappointed by our placing.

The first thing I felt I needed was ultimate confidence in my sails. I worked with Bill Shore to develop a winning main and jib design as well as a great spinnaker. Just before the Worlds, I knew we had created really fast designs. Our sails required few rig adjustments across a broad spectrum of wind, so I didn't have to think about shroud tension and mast block placement which can be distracting.

Having great crew really helped me perform this summer. For the Worlds, I had my brother Bill and Maria White. We came together only a few weeks before the regatta as a result of my regular crew breaking his foot. At the North Americans, I had Mike Breault and Adam Walsh, both excellent dinghy sailors.

My boat was basically a stock Nickels. I requested that the boat be built to minimum weight and that the maximum amount of correctors be used in the middle of the boat. Additionally, I requested the heaviest centerboard. Before the Worlds, I reweighed the boat, took out lead and recertified the boat at the Worlds. Otherwise, I left the boat building to the experts and rigged it myself.

My rigging systems were simple, designed for efficiency and many took several generations to perfect. I centralized the weight pulling systems out of the ends as much as possible. Knowing the boat was as ready as I was for competition gave me tremendous confidence.

I spent time on the water tuning the rig and developing base settings for all conditions. I did speed testing, which is critical for holding lanes with the good racers and developed my confidence for having good speed and height, when I needed it. I changed to a stiffer spreader bar.

As we sailed, I worked out better solutions for some of our systems, which made the crew work smoother. This was really important as the practice highlighted areas where rigging was getting in the way of our performance. We installed a new jib lead system which took two generations of rigging to get the way we wanted it. We installed working barberhaulers. I changed to Bill Fastiggi's mainsheet system. We tested three spinnaker poles until we found one with the right ends, a Soling pole 2.5 inches in diameter with tapered ends and great fittings.

I installed a new pinnel/gudgeon system using C-Sure fittings which are lighter and tighter fitting. I changed my tiller and straightened the centerboard. I installed a new centerboard pulley system with fiddle blocks and aligned the system next to the board to get the weight out of the bow.

I set a goal to complete all the tasks by two regattas before Worlds so we could get used to the systems we had developed. I completed 50% of them by the Cedar Point regatta two weeks prior to the Worlds and 90% of my tasks were completed one week before the Worlds. I had confidence that the boat was ready to go and win the regatta.

Knowing my boat was in top condition and that my crew was first rate allowed me to concentrate on the tricky wind and water conditions on Lake St. Clair. We found we were fast and focused, leading at most weather marks throughout the week and had extra speed downwind. I never changed my rig tune adjustments through the large variety of conditions, a tribute to the sail designs. I attribute our success this summer to our preparation. Getting the boat ready got me ready, too.