Description
Performance Race Week®, April 17-21 2023!
We’re excited to return to Austin for our second Performance Race Week on a fleet of J80s. The boats feature a large comfortable cockpit with sprit and asymmetric spinnaker. We sail with a crew of four plus a coach on each boat.
You’ll spend five days developing and honing your racing skills with a combination of onboard coaching, seminars and video review. Friday, April 21 is devoted to a championship regatta and awards banquet. (Plan your departure travel for Saturday, April 22.)
A Coach on Every Boat
Using a one design fleet of twelve J80s with a coach aboard each boat, each sailor receives close personal attention for the five full days of sailing.
The J80
The J80 is a comfortable, responsive, stable racing boat that features a large open cockpit with plenty of room for each crew member to do their job.
Sailing, Seminars, Video
The Clinic is Five Full Days! We’ll be sailing six hours each day with a midday seminar and lunch break thereafter. Each day concludes with a video review following the afternoon sailing session.
The clinic includes 30 hours of sailing, and upwards of 50 starts. In the event of unsail-able weather we have shore sessions planned on Rig Tuning, Rules at Starts and Marks, Crew Organization and Communications, Self-Directed Practice Planning, and more.
A Note from North U Director Bill Gladstone:
You’re Invited to the North U Performance Race Week®!
Please join us and raise your game at this North U Performance Race Week. Come to Lake Travis for some Spring Training. The clinic provides an incomparable experience, with expert coaches, great boats, an incredible setting, and an action-packed curriculum we’ve refined for over 20 years.
We’ve finessed the schedule and enhanced our on-water sessions to make the most of your sailing and shore-side time – but we haven’t messed with the coach-on-board, hands-on focus that has made North U Performance Race Weeks exceptional.
Sailing J80s at Austin Yacht Club you’ll receive detailed expert training from an onboard coach. You’ll also enjoy shoreside seminars and video review with our team of expert coaches led by North U Director Bill Gladstone.
There’s nothing like a North U Performance Race Week®.
I could try to lure you to the clinic by detailing all you will learn about racing strategy, tactics, sail trim, spinnaker handling, helming and starting. I could draw you in by describing the insights you’ll get from our team of expert coaches – not just champion sailors, but expert sailors with decades of teaching experience. I might entice you by touting the combination of 30 hours of on-the-water training with onboard coaches coordinated to 10 hours of shoreside seminars and video review.
Even with all that, the best reason to be there – the closer – is the fun. We love this event. You will too.
Come to the Performance Racing Week for the fun and go home a winning racer!
I wouldn’t miss it. You shouldn’t either.
See you there!
Bill Gladstone
Director, North U.
Bring your team or come alone
Sign Up as a crew of Four and we’ll turn you into a team; or sign up alone and we’ll team you up with other sailors.
A Full 5 Day Clinic
At North U we believe racing success is built of on a pyramid of boat handling, boat speed, and tactics. At our clinics we work our way up the pyramid building a solid foundation on our way to the top. The clinic starts with training in crew work, spinnaker handling, helming, and upwind trim. From there we move on to racing trim with a focus on the teamwork required to optimize performance.
Next, we build racing skills, with a big emphasis on starting. Throughout, we build on existing skills and add new skills through a series of drills and races. We cover every facet of racing and combine hands-on on-the-water experience with shoreside seminars and video review.
The program will be led by North U Director Bill Gladstone.
Author of the renowned North U Performance Racing Trim and North U Performance Racing Tactics books, and Director of North U since 1997; Bill has been teaching racing for decades. Graduates of his seminars and clinics are racing and winning in fleets around the world. In Austin Bill will be joined by a cadre of outstanding coaches: Not just great sailors; these are championship racers with years of coaching experience. Working as a team, and with a coach aboard each boat, you will get close personal attention to help you build and refine your racing skills.
Add Bill’s Books
If you do not already own them you can add Bill Gladstone’s Performance Racing Trim and Performance Racing Tactics to your registration. While not required for the class, these books are a great addition to any racing sailor’s library. They offer complete coverage of Racing Trim and Racing Tactics in an easy, accessible style. Add the books at registration with FREE Shipping (US only) and we will send them right away.
Full Schedule and Program*
* subject to change
Monday
8:30-9:00 Check-In
9:00-11:30 Sailing Session:
Check In / Sign In / Boat Draw
Trim, Boat Handling, Crew Org
Upwind Trim: Angle of Attack/ Depth/ Twist
11:45-1:00: Class Session with lunch
Spinnaker Trim and Handling
1:30-4:30: Sailing Session
Boat Handling and Sail Trim
Trim and Sail Controls, Tacking
Windward/ Leeward Loops
Upwind and downwind boat handling and sail trim.
5:00-6:30 pm: Welcome Party
Welcome Party!
Tuesday
8:30-11:30: Sailing Session
Spinnaker Trim and Handling
Windward/ Leeward course for spinnaker practice
Continued work on upwind trim and performance
11:45-1:00: Class Session with lunch
Starting Strategy and Tactics
1:30-4:30: Sailing Session
Starting Drills & Practice
Series of rolling starts with sprint to ladder rung.
Positioning, Control, Acceleration and Lane-Holding Drills
5:00-6:00: Video Debrief
7:00-9:00: Dinner at Austin YC
Wednesday
8:30-11:30: Sailing Session
Starting Drills & Practice
Races with Practice Starts
Spinnaker Trim and Handling Drills
11:45-1:00: Class Session with lunch
Starting Strategy and Tactics – cont.
Spinnaker Trim and Handling – cont.
1:30-4:30: Sailing Session
Races with Practice Starts
Two rolling starts leading into a race.
5:00-6:00: Video Debrief
Thursday
8:30-11:30: Sailing Session
Races with Practice Starts
Two rolling starts leading into a race.
11:45-1:00: Class Session with lunch
Upwind and Downwind Strategy & Tactics
Buoy Racing/ Pt to Pt Racing
1:30-4:30: Sailing Session
Races with Practice Starts
Windward Leeward Races
Open Water/ Pt to Pt Races
5:00-6:00: Video Debrief
Friday
8:30-11:30: Sailing Session
Regatta!
Races with Practice Starts
Keep score! Coaching between races…
11:45-1:00: Class Session with lunch
Rules, Tactics, Morning Video
1:30-4:30: Sailing Session
Regatta!
Races with Practice Starts
Keep score! Coaching between races…
5:00-6:00: De-Brief and Prize Giving
Performance Race Week® Registration
Enrollment is limited.
Enroll online or call Bill Gladstone at North U to sign up: 203 245-0727
Clinic Fee: $2490/ person
Save $600: Sign up as a crew of 4 and save $150/ person.
Team Fee: $2340/ person for a crew of 4
Pre-Register Now Risk Free: Paid in Full or $500/ person Deposit fully refundable until January 6, 2023.
What’s Included
– Five days of sailing including on the water training
– Coach On Board
– Race Ready J80
– Class sessions and video review
– Five days of lunches
– Dinner on Tuesday evening
What’s NOT Included
– Travel
– Accommodations
– Other meals
Requirements
– Strong sailing skills and some racing experience.
– Ability/ Agility to sail on an active 26 foot boat.
Questions? Contact Us:
Bill.Gladstone@NorthU.com
203 245-0727
