Last week I had the opportunity to serve as the coach for "Legend" owned by Dan and Dave Shriner during the beneteau 36.7 National championship held at Buffalo Yacht Club. It was my first time in a coaching position and I really enjoyed it. Wally Cross was onboard as tactician along with many of the regular SC 70 Pied Piper Crew including Ron Sherry, J.B Shumaker, Mike Rehe and Todd Jones. The night before the regatta I met with Wally and Ron to go over what was expected from the coach boat during race days.

Heres my check list:

Prior to Race:

• Check the current
  The waters near buffalo flow into Niagra falls so there is always some current flow to the North the important thing to know was how much current and how it was effecting the race course.
• Check for wind strength on the course
  Try to determine which part of the race course had the best wind strength and were the puffs are coming from
• Check the sailing trim of Legend 
  Dave was looking to maximize sailing length up wind so an important part of this was carefully looking at fore and aft crew placement to make sure the boat was at proper trim during the upwind legs.
  
• Try to assess wind direction up the coarse
  I tried to use several different sources for this
             Other boats sailing up the course prior to the start
             Flags on the mark set boat
             Ripples on the water
  
• Bearing of the gates from right to left
  When the race committee had set the gates I would take a bearing from right to  left to help Wally judge which gate was favored.

When I finished my check list I would call Wally on the cell phone and give him my best guess as to how I would strategically approach the upwind leg. I did my best to only give him information that I was very confident in.

During the Races I had a new check list:

• Watch the line at the start
  Check to see if there was significant mid line sag
  Look at Legend to see if they were part of the sag, on the line or over early
• Video mark rounding when there may be a potential protest
  I could of done a better job with this, needed to be in better position
• Look at other lead boats and assess how they went up the beat and there sailing trim.

After the race I would tell the team what I saw in a constructive manner. Then start the process over again for the next race.

It was a good experience. What I learned most is that when you truly can get your head out of the boat you can make observations that can give you an edge on the rest of your competitors. Between races it is very important to stay alert and check to see how the conditions are changing throughout the day. On the coach boat it is important to stay alert and use multiply sources to check your information and only report the information that you are sure of. Overall the event went well, the crew work improved each day and the boat recorded many top finishes.  With the exception of two protests that went against Legend the team had an excellent chance at winning the event. We ended the event in 6th place out of 47 boats. 

-Jack Jennings