2026 USSCA North American Championships
12/4/2024 1:54 pm
63rd USSCA North American Championships
June 4-7, 2026
Barrington Yacht Club, Rhode Island
WOW - Lessons from a Crazy Day of Frostbite
5/8/2026 3:34 pm
Bill Brangiforte 4-2026
We recently sailed a wild frostbite day at Barrington. While the temperature wasn’t too bad (about 45 Degrees), it was blowing 15, with gusts over 25. The tide, which is always strong on the river, was ripping in against us. Since it was supposed to build during the day, the committee was a little concerned about safety and decided to sail us right off the dock at the Yacht club. This would keep everyone close by, in case they got into trouble. I am glad we went out, though, as there were lots of lessons to be learned.
The cove, in front of the club, is stunning with big beautiful houses along the shoreline. The problem with these big houses is that they cause havoc with the wind. The southerly came whipping over them and crashed down onto the water with violent fan shaped puffs. Managing this kind of day requires a very different technique than you would normally use.
My daughter and I participate in Kenpo Karate. If we decided to try Brazilian Jiu-jitsu for a day we would need to think differently. While they are both Martial arts, they require very different techniques. The same is true with racing on a day like this. It is still Sunfish sailing, but it requires a different mindset. Let’s discuss some of these differences.
- The boat setup is unique for these conditions. Optimum boat speed is not the goal here- survival is! The boom is set higher than normal, to allow for auto-tacks and to make it easier to get under it with the extra gear required for the cold conditions. The Jens rig makes this easy, but it is best to do it while still on land. I wished I had mine higher, but was afraid to raise it on the water without getting into trouble. The gooseneck should be farther aft than you would usually put it, to help with weather helm and avoid getting into irons. Everybody got stuck in irons and had trouble getting out of it. The outhaul and Cunningham should be reefed down tight, but I found it best not to have the vang super tight. Keeping the vang off a bit made it easier to keep the boom out of water while close reaching through the big blasts upwind.
- The starts were crazy! Even with a strong opposing tide, we all had OCS’s. There was no favored end, as the wind would shift 50 degrees, every 30 seconds. The only thing that really mattered, was not getting stuck in irons in the last seconds before the starting gun. I found the best way to do this was to keep the boat moving in the last minute. If you luffed on the line or had someone below you keeping you up, you would go into irons and your start was ruined. Keeping some flow over the blades really seems to help here.
- Once off the line, staying on starboard was the only way to go. Until you had decent speed, tacking was disastrous. Clear air is just is not important in these conditions. There is plenty of wind for everyone.
- On the weather leg, maximum focus should be on looking upwind for incoming shifts and planning on how to handle them. If a big blast is coming, get ready to dump the sheet and, if it is a header, don’t tack unless the shift looks really solid. This takes some practice. It took me most of the day to get a feeling for how the incoming puffs were going to play out.
- Never tack once a big puff hits. Just do your best to get through it and reevaluate after it dies down a little.
- If the boat in front of you auto tacks, it may be better to tack before the header hits you, but only if you are moving well.
- Don’t hike! Just get your feet under the strap, your butt outside of the rail and focus on sail trim. A tight strap helps here. Hiking got you into big trouble, as the gusts could just shut off and you would end up in the water. The chine on the Sunfish is your friend here, as it lets you get away with being heeled up. It is not fast, but the alternative is worse!
- Only trim hard briefly, in the moderate lulls. The only way to get through those blasts is to close reach with the sail partially luffing. This worked great in the huge lifting gusts. Close reaching, while sailing on the lifted tack is the best way to get upwind in this stuff.
- Although the course was fairly short, the strong opposing current slowed down the weather leg. Even so, try to minimize tacking. I would say no more than 4 tacks per beat is a good idea for a short course.
- Don’t try to lee bow! Every lee bow turned into a lee stern. While ducking is the way to go, it can be tricky. There were lots of Port/Starboard collisions Sunday. For the last couple of years, I have been the Tactician/ mainsail trimmer on a J-35. Ducking boats in heavy air on the J involves dumping lots of mainsail. Once I call for a duck, I put two hands on the mainsheet and get ready to drop it about 10’. I kept thinking about this while racing on Sunday, as it was good training for the conditions we had. Since the boat is probably healed way over, and the helm is loaded up, you need to be prepared to dump lots of sheet during a duck.
- Be careful at the weather mark! Sail an extra boat length past the layline to allow for a bad tack or unfavorable shift. In this case, the current was against us and shifts were huge near the shore. Having to do two extra tacks is disastrous, and usually leads to being in irons.
- Once around the weather mark however, everything changes. Now is the time to be aggressive. Keep your head on a swivel, looking for those big blasts and get into them. Turn and burn! If you do it right, the boat will be on a near constant plane. The Sunfish, with its chines, is great for this, as you can do dynamic turns without the danger of death rolling.
- At the leeward mark, give yourself lots of room to make your rounding. It always takes more time than you think to get the main in. As you pass the mark, put the bow up. This makes the sail luff and easier to get in. Practicing your two-handed sheeting will help a great deal with getting the main in during these crazy days. Remember, when trimming, your forward hand should come up, over your head, before grabbing the sheet again with your tiller hand.
The most interesting take away I had on the day was that avoiding the big bummers, as Dave Perry used to say, was the key to success. By not being over early, getting caught in irons, hitting anyone, or tipping over, you were pretty much guaranteed a top 3 finish in every race, and it was an extremely experienced fleet. The other important thing to remember is that these tips work would work well on a lake or small body of water anywhere in these wild conditions. All in all, I am glad we went out and I want to thank the Barrington crew for being out there in during these cold days and for their great hospitality.
Bill Brangiforte 4-2026
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CLICK HERE: 2026 USSCA Gulf Coast Regional Championship : Grand Lagoon Yacht Club
2026 Midwinter Series - US Sailing Center Martin Cty
1/11/2026 6:33 pm
CLICK HERE: ISCA International Masters
CLICK HERE: USSCA US Nationals
USSCA Foundation - Matching Grant
11/25/2025 1:14 pm
USSCA FOUNDATION - MATCHING GRANT CAMPAIGN
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Save the date. More information coming soon!
Important Information from the International Sunfish Class Association™ (ISCA®)
2/19/2025 1:48 pm
Important Information from the International Sunfish Class Association ™ (ISCA®)
Emailed on February 19, 2025
We want to update you and provide additional information on recent developments regarding ISCA and the Sunfish®, answer several questions that have come up, and discuss how we can work together to support our class.
As many of you know, ISCA recently selected Zim Sailing as our new builder of ISCA-legal boats [IMPORTANT NEWS November 12, 2024] . Zim has been making excellent progress toward a spring launch, and we are excited about the future of our class. Expect more news shortly as the North American sailing season approaches.
Why ISCA Chose Zim as Our Builder
For the past decade, many of us have been frustrated by the lack of new boats and poor availability of parts, and the situation seemed to get worse instead of better. As a result, ISCA took proactive steps to secure a reliable builder that could provide top-quality boats and a consistent supply of parts. After an extensive, competitive review process between Zim and another US-based builder, ISCA selected Zim as the sole builder of the ISCA class certified boat due to their:
- strong reputation in building high-quality, durable, small sailboats
- engineering expertise to develop a top-quality build
- robust plans to support the class, including marketing, promotion and utilizing and growing their already strong dealer network
- agreement to pay the class certification fees for boats and parts, which will help support the class (more detail further below)
- experience working with World Sailing on the Optimist and ILCA
- years of experience in event support, charters, etc.
- relationship with marine vendors in the US and abroad
- global reach
Feedback from members has been overwhelmingly positive regarding this decision. It is important to note that as an International Class governed by World Sailing (WS), ISCA had to receive permission from WS to search for and select a new builder. This was an exhaustive process that took in excess of one year to complete.
Common Questions and Concerns
Why didn’t ISCA license the Sunfish® name from Laser Performance (LP)?
ISCA leadership spent an entire decade trying to improve the situation with LP, with little progress made that would benefit the class. Prior to ISCA deciding to search for a builder, at least one highly respected small sailboat builder attempted to negotiate a licensing agreement with LP to build the Sunfish®, but the discussion stalled (the manufacturer of the Sunfish® has always owned the Sunfish® trademark – it’s not available for general use.) As a consequence of this and our stagnating relationship with LP that had no hope for improvement, ISCA leadership determined it would be best to find a new manufacturer, and the best way to ensure a vibrant future for the class was to move away from LP. It wasn't until after we made our new builder announcement that LP finally agreed to license the Sunfish® (more below.)
Why not allow multiple builders to make class legal boats – wouldn’t that be a good thing?
After careful consideration, we decided to have a single class-legal builder for several key reasons:
- Lower boat prices – Our boat is not a high-volume boat - currently a few hundred are made annually. Contrary to what you might expect, spreading production across multiple builders would increase the boat price since each builder would sell fewer boats to help distribute their fixed expenses (this has already happened with the ILCA - formerly Laser - class).
- Stronger class support – We want a builder strongly committed to promoting and growing the class. If multiple builders were competing, builder A could spend money to promote the class but sailors might end up buying boats from builder B. With the possibility that a builder’s promotional investment might end up benefiting a competitor, there will be little incentive to support or advertise the class.
- Builder management – ISCA is a volunteer-led organization. Overseeing multiple builders to ensure quality and building to ISCA and one-design standards would require significant resources (ILCA has a paid staff for this purpose.) We want to remain a volunteer organization to keep the class and boat affordable.
Ultimately, our goal is to ensure the long-term vigor and growth of the class by providing Zim with a stable, profitable foundation to invest in the class.
Zim’s Investment in Our Class
Zim is making significant financial and operational commitments to our class, including:
- Developing new molds and sourcing components such as daggerboards and rudder cheeks.
- Better construction of the boat to improve durability (but not performance), including a stronger deck, reinforced mast step, and stronger rudder cheeks.
- For the first time in class history, paying a certification fee to ISCA on every new boat and major part sold, providing direct financial support to the class. These certification fees will allow the class to do things like invest in fleet building, offer things of value to our members, reduce reliance on dues to fund the class, and help bring new recreational and racing sailors to the class.
- Hiring additional staff to support production, sales and marketing.
- Supplying charter boats, parts and staff at the World Championships and other major events like the North Americans.
Why Zim and ISCA Need Your Support
Zim’s willingness to invest in our class was based on their role as the sole provider of class-legal boats, along with an expected share of the recreational market. The more successful Zim is selling recreational and racing boats, the greater Zim’s revenue will be to invest in the class, and the more certification fees ISCA will earn to help support and grow our class.
Zim’s eagerness to be involved in the success of our class is a striking improvement over our relationship with our former builder. We urge all ISCA members to enthusiastically stand behind Zim and encourage fellow sailors to do the same. This has become even more important, as after we announced Zim as the new class builder, LP at last decided to license the Sunfish®. Sero Innovation, the builder of the Sol sailboat, recently announced a deal with LP to take over manufacturing of the Sunfish and use the Sunfish® name and trademarks (these trademarks continue to be owned by a company associated with Laser Performance.) Please note that the Sero Sunfish® will not be legal for sailing in class events and it does not conform to the new ISCA construction manual.
Some sailors have suggested that with LP now out of the picture, we should support Sero. However, since Sero appears to have licensed the Sunfish® brand name from LP, it's reasonable to assume Sero is paying a royalty to LP for the license, likely on a per-boat basis. If that is correct, it means LP is not “out” of the Sunfish® business.
To ensure a bright, fun-filled future for our class, we need Zim to thrive. Their success will directly translate into the strong builder support that ISCA has been missing for so long.
Thank you for your continued dedication to ISCA sailing and racing. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out.
Regards,
International Sunfish Class Association (ISCA)
CLICK HERE for ISCA Leadership Contacts
ISCA Important News - November 12, 2024
11/12/2024 9:59 am
ISCA® Has Approved a New Builder
November 12, 2024
World Sailing Plaques - Breaking News May 12, 2023 (revised 5/16/23 and 1/1/26)
5/12/2023 4:13 pm
IMPORTANT NEWS TO ISCA MEMBERS
WORLD SAILING PLAQUES ON SUNFISH HULLS
ISCA is issuing alert for Sunfish hulls with World Sailing plaques 103679 and higher or no World Sailing plaques. Revised to cover older boats.
Issue May 12, 2023 (revised May 16, 2023)
