How do you organize a crew that’s never sailed together? How do you organize them for a regatta? For anyone who’s shuffled crew before (wouldn’t that be everyone?), it’s a vital question. At July’s monthly meeting we’ll see what Keith Magnussen suggests.
Keith has been an integral part of the Ullman Sails Viper 640 program, doing much of the R&D and assisting with the advancement of sail design in this high performance class.
The meeting is Tuesday, July 8, beginning at 7pm (but arrive early for dinner). Monthly meetings are held at the Caddy Shack @ Rolling Hills Golf Course, 1415 North Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281-1205 (map) and both members and non-members are welcome to attend.
Some of Keith’s resume highlights include Ultimate 20 North American Champ in 2013 as tactician, second overall in the recent Newport to Ensenada race as navigator and helm, second in class in the 2011 Transpac as watch captain, and first overall in the 2012 Long Beach Race Week as tactician aboard a Viper 640. He’s now optimizing two boats for the 2015 Transpac, a Jeanneau 45 and a J/125.
Keith grew up racing in Southern California and started working for Ullman Sails four years ago. Now he deals with a wide range of boats, from the Viper to 70-foot cruising boats−and he says that’s what keeps the job exciting.
In addition to Keith’s presentation, we’ll hear from Marshall Williamson of the Tucson Sailing Club. He’ll fill us in on the club’s San Carlos Regatta, a twice-annual event that happens within a day’s drive of here. Marshall began racing in the Philadelphia area, crewed for races in Annapolis, and has been crewing at Lake Pleasant with Gene Muller on his J/24. He’ll fill us in on the kind of sailing and racing you can expect at San Carlos.
