Jen Glass on Cascadia Sailing's preparations ahead of the NYYC Women's International Championships (Sail World)
by David Schmidt 12 May 11:00 EST
View the article here https://www.sail-world.com/news/295712/An-update-on-Cascadia-Sailing-with-Jen-Glass
Cascadia Sailing takes advantage of a no-wind day at this year's PSSR for a team-building hike in Seattle's Discovery Park © Image courtesy of Cascadia Sailing Collection
By far, one of the coolest regattas that's set to unfurl this year is the New York Yacht Club's inaugural Women's International Championships, which will be contested on the waters of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay from September 12-19. This biennial invitational regatta will see 20 international all-women's teams racing aboard the NYYC's fleet of identical IC37s, and it promises to deliver some of the planet's best keelboat racing action.
The Pacific Northwest will be represented by Cascadia Sailing, which represents the Orcas Island Yacht Club, the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, the Seattle Yacht Club, the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. The talent-riven team is being led by Canadian Joy Dahlgren, who will be trimming the team's mainsail, and American Christina Wolfe (US Sailing's 2023 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year), who is serving as skipper, and tactician Jen Glass.
Dahlgren and Wolfe will be supported by a who's-who list of PNW dinghy and keelboat sailors (see below). Moreover, Dahlgren and her husband, Stuart, own an IC37 (likely the only one on the West Coast), which is a huge gain given the team's isolated geographic location and the fierce one-design competition they will be facing once the starting guns begin sounding.
This is Sail-World's second interview in a mini-series with Cascadia Sailing as they build-up to September's racing. The first interview can be found here:
I checked in with Glass, via email, to learn more about the team's ongoing preparations ahead of this year's NYYC Women's International Championships.
Can you please bring us up to speed on the IC37 racing and practicing that Cascadia Sailing has been doing since we last checked in with you in early February?
Most recently, we raced the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle's Puget Sound Spring Regatta (PSSR) in Seattle in mid-April. We were lucky to be coached by [Olympic gold medalists and longtime friends] Carl Buchan (Saturday) and Jonathan McKee (Sunday). That was about as epic as you can imagine.
We practiced in-person in Victoria in early April with Royal Vancouver Yacht Club Invitational Cup team members Nicole Minielly and Hunter Lowden, who taught us so much about how to sail, and start, the IC37.
In late March, we raced the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club’s Patos Island Race. In February and March, we also held weekly online training sessions covering topics like class rules, our communications list, making a pre-race task checklist, etc.
We've had a productive winter and spring so far. We've been focused across the board on boat speed and maneuvers, and we're making great progress learning the boat inside and out.
How the team-building work coming along? Also, can you please tell us about the what activities/exercises—both on and off the water—that have been the most beneficial to the Cascadia Sailing's team-building efforts?
We started with an exercise last fall on getting to know one another. In one-on-one conversations we shared what makes us tick with one another. Activities like this help with showing self-awareness and vulnerability, which tend to make it much easier to build trust and strong relationships. There were some tensions from lack of knowing each other that instantly eased with this exercise.
Honestly, we have been more focused on the sailing and fundraising aspects [of our campaign], and I would love to make a little more time for teambuilding work specifically. It happens naturally while working together on the boat, or for example, on Saturday of PSSR when the wind didn't fill and we went for a great team hike in [Seattle's] Discovery Park, and then hung out in the evening playing board games and laughing.
It takes time to build a team that just knows one another inside and out—you can't rush it, but spending time together like this really helps.
You mentioned in our previous interview that the team had been spending time determining who would be in each onboard role. Have you guys sorted this out, or is it still evolving?
Yes! We have the following team members: Chris Wolfe, skipper; Jen Glass, tactician, Joy Dahlgren, main trim; Lindsay Bergan, runner; AnaLucia Clarkson, jib trim; Tara Golonka, spinnaker trim; Jaime Mack and Sarah Turpie, floaters; Zoe Folsetter, pit; Becky Kelly, mast; Kate Sargent, bow.
None of us are huge, so a few extra hands really helps us out. The boat has plenty to do, so no one is left bored or without enough to keep them busy all the way around the racecourse.
In terms of boathandling, what are Cascadia Sailing's preferred (or best/strongest) conditions ranges right now? Also, what conditions do you think still need some polishing between now and September?
I don't think we can spend too much time on boathandling in any conditions. That said, we've sailed a lot in light and medium winds and flat water. And plenty of current!
We know that at the Women's International Championships (WIC) they can sail us both inside Narragansett Bay and out in the ocean. We haven't sailed much in big wind, or in waves, so those are on our list for upcoming practices.
We've seen some really cool videos from past [IC37] events that show us [that] we'll need to be thinking about keeping the bow out of the waves when things get big. We are watching the weather and plan to sail in the Straits of Juan de Fuca to gain experience in ocean conditions.
How well do you think that Puget Sound/Salish Sea handicap racing is preparing Cascadia Sailing for September's one-design regatta? Also, are there ways that you and your team can best leverage these races to best prepare for the NYYC's Women's International Championships?
Well, there is nothing that can replace a one-design lineup. That is certainly a challenge that we face, as do many of the other teams who will race at the WIC.
We're currently fundraising to attend the Safe Harbor Regatta in August in Newport, Rhode Island just for this reason as it will be the opportunity to race in the IC37 fleet they have locally, which is full of very talented teams.
Racing locally in handicap events can provide plenty of challenge but it is a bit of a different game. With only a single suit of sails in her inventory (just a main, one jib, and one kite), the IC37 is difficult to sail to its rating across all wind ranges.
Has Cascadia Sailing been using other kinds of racing/classes to prepare for September's racing in Newport? If so, what does this look like, and what do you see as the gains from sailing and racing in smaller numbers off of your IC37?
Yes! We've been racing in the J/70 fleet, which is strong in the Pacific Northwest. There are 20-25 boats at weekend regattas and weeknight series in the Seattle area.
The fleet uses the Vakaros Rase Sense system, which is similar to the Velocitek system that we will use at the WIC, and [this technology is] a really important part of our practice. Local fleet members have been incredibly supportive, including Mike Breivik, Andrew Loe, and David Fasio who have lent us their boat and sails to get us on the water, [as well as coach and J/Pod founder] Ron Rosenberg, who has ensured we had the access we needed.
We find [that J/70s] are great practice for our skipper, trimmers, and tactician to spend time practicing starting, particularly in such a tight fleet. Even with the very talented teams in the handicap fleets, the competition between boats coming off a one-design start is always harder than handicap racing where the boats are all going different speeds.
How are the team's fundraising efforts coming along? Also, based on current fundraising levels, do you think the team will be able to travel to Newport for some IC37 racing, ahead of the NYYC's Women's International Championships?
We're almost there! We have achieved enough of our fundraising goal to attend the Championship itself, and [we] are so grateful to the many, many people and companies [that] have supported us.
We have a little bit left to go in order to race in an additional training event in Newport ahead of the Championship. This is critical for our preparation and results at the WIC. Every donation helps, and anyone reading this who would like to help can find our donation details on CascadiaSailing.org.
Is there anything else about Cascadia Sailing's ongoing efforts that you'd like to tell us about?
Before PSSR we were lucky to enjoy a few hours on the water with some of our Seattle-based supporters. It was a sunny, warm April day in Seattle with a nice breeze. We all enjoyed introducing the IC37 to those who have been helping us along the way.
The highlight of this perfect day was our 8-year-old guest, Claire. She helped hoist the main, trim, and drive. Watching her take on any task, listen, learn, and excel, all while grinning ear-to-ear, gave us all the warm fuzzies. It means so much [to us] to be able to introduce the next generation to high-performance sailing.
