INTERVIEW WITH 2002 SANTANA 20 NATIONAL CHAMPION ANDREW KERR

North Sail's Chris Snow sat down with Andrew Kerr who is the co-owner of the 2002 Santana 20 Nationals Champion "Disaster Area". Andrew has crewed for winning skipper Chris Winnard for 12 years and is a expert crew and teacher of sailboat racing. Chris, Andrew and Bill Ramacciotti just won the Nationals for the 4th time with 6 first places and 4th and had the regatta clinched by the last race which they were able to sit out. They used a complete North inventory.

CS: Congrat's on a great regatta. Look's like you guys really dominated the event. How did you guys get ready for the regatta? Did you do anything special to prepare for the regatta?

AK: Many thanks Chris.

We were a close 2nd to Charlie Ogletree's team at last years Nationals in Klamath Falls and we were determined to ratchet our performance up for this years championship.

Our on the water preparation included sailing a number of big regatta's in Sacramento, Seattle, Eugene and Klamath falls in the spring and early summer.

Preparation is so important in this sport, ( like any sport) so to that end we arrived in Marina Del Rey 3 day's before the practice race, were one of the first boats to be completley measured and were able to get some
excellent practice and tuning sessions in prior to the championship.

Our goal is not to rush anything -- to be meticulous with all aspects of the boats preparation and our practice time and to be deliberate in the use of this time.

We are keen to develop a daily routine so that we can reproduce the same consistency on the water. I have noticed that all the successful teams I have been lucky enough to be involved with have a consistent daily routine that gives them the structure to remain focused on sailing as best as they can as a team.

We are first and foremost really good friends and it is really great to be together with a common goal of doing the best we can as a team.The class is really fun with terrific people in it and the competition is very tough.

CS: What position do you do on the boat and how do you break up the responsiblities on the boat?

AK: I do the middle, the middle trims the spinnaker and Genoa, Bill does the bow and Chris drives. Our crew organization is such that it is a very quiet boat. Chris and I have sailed together a long time and we are completely on the same page tactically , strategically and boatspeed wise.

Going upwind, Chris and I focus a lot on boatspeed and short term tactics while Bill keeps us apprised of the mark position, our performance against boats to windward and also tells us where the competition is. He also keeps us honest about the big picture, ( covering, the series, etc.) and does an absolutely fantastic job on the bow. He is a great team mate. He gives us so much confidence with our boathandling that we can fly the
spinnaker right to the leeward mark, we blink and the spinnaker will be down and Bill will be hiking out!
When we are going upwind our main goal is to go as fast as possible with the cards we have been dealt with. If our lane closes we think nothing of it, tack away and work on fine tune adjustments and staying in phase with the wind.

I verbalize the compass #'s, Bill writes them down and we make appoint of knowing where the mark is at all times. Our goal is to be on the lifted tack in clear air, we go to the layline very close to the mark so our judgment is more accurate and we stay in touch with the bulk of the fleet in case of an adverse shift.
When tacking - Bill looks for flatter water or a gust of wind, we want to make every maneuver count and be as smooth as possible. We use the Genoa window tactically as well -- if oncoming boats are in themiddle of the window we are likely bow to bow, if they are in the lead partof the window they are likely crossing and if they are in the aft part of the window then we are likely crossing. this really helps with our tactical anticipation. We consider the window in our Genoa an extremely valuable and well designed feature. Bill will spot the oncoming boats and I will relate to Chris how close they are and what the likely upcoming scenario is -- i.e., wehter we are crossing or in a lee bow or duck situation. Chris is a very focused helmsperson, he is never distracted and focuses on consistent heel angle, steering the waves and speed at all times.

Like most top drivers he likes relevant and concise information delivered at the right time and we have developed terminology over the years that is efficient. Top teams like Charlie Ogletree's team , Bruce Golison's team and Payson Infilese's team, ( amongst others) are very much the same - they are focused on speed and pointing and their team provides the driver with accurate information and essentially a picture of the race course.

Downwind I talk about the pressure on the spinnaker sheet and also note the compass headings so we can jibe on the lifts, Chris drives fast and Bill looks for breeze, keeps us apprised of the competition and is ready to jibe
at any time. The great thing about the S 20 is all 3 on the team contribute so much to the performance of the boat, this makes it really fun. We all have our 33 and a third percent in the mix.

CS: Obviously you had really good speed. Did you do anything differently? What was your sail inventory? How did you have the rig set up? Is there any one factor that contributed to your success?

AK: We had a full inventory of North Sails from North sails One design in San Diego. Our Genoa was brand new for the regatta. We used the Main, Jib and spinnaker at last years Nationals. The sails gave us excellent speed in all conditions -- light, medium, heavy, choppy or flatter water. Rig wise we tuned the uppers to the tuning guide #'s for the different conditions and we adjusted the lowers a full turn off as the wind lightened for more side sag and a full turn on for when it was windier. We kept at least 50% of the aft lowers on when going upwind even when it was lighter to keep the rig steady in the waves and when it was windier we went with Max
aft lowers to keep the mast in column and the the luff curve and draft position consistent when we had a lot of backstay on.

We used our adjustable jib halyard a lot on the day's when the breeze was up and down, we would ease it in the substantial lulls for Max power and the tighten it as the wind got up and was more consistent. We have learnt to typically err on the side of setting the boat up for the lulls -- especially in chop and waves.
I would say our biggest factor this year that helped us was our collective determination to sail as well as a team as we can and to stay focused on doing well in each race of the series.

CS: I know Marina Del Rey to be pretty choppy and light air which are difficult conditions to sail in. What advice can you give about sailing a 20 in these conditions?

AK: It's very tricky and requires a lot of team concentration. We typically identify flatter water to point with, play the Genoa sheet and backstay all the time and concentrate on tacking in flatter water. Powering up in the
lulls is critical, ( Backstay off, Main and Genoa sheet eased) as well as anticipating the next puff and wave set. If the lull was long enough we would review Jib halyard tension and ease the aft lowers a small amount as well.
We strive to maintain a consistent heel angle as much as possible and try to sail the boat as level as we can and still maintain feel in the boat.

When going downwind in a following swell we tried to jibe on the top of a wave to go fast down the backside of the wave, if it was constantly choppy going upwind with no flatter water then we would tack on the top of a wave or swell. The best thing to do is to go out and practice and practice and practice ! Their is no real substitute for going upwind for long distances and concentrating as a team in the chop and swells.
The other thing the helmsperson has to do is to keep the foils flowing and lifting at all times, so pinching or sailing in a narrow lane is to be avoided as much as possible. This is of prime importance and requires a lot
of mental concentration especially in the last race of the day when teams are tiring.

Tactically going upwind one was looking for the biggest gap to leeward and a wide a lane as possible that one could find so that the team could put the bow down and go fast forward for Max speed lift from the foils -- this then translates into increased pointing and increased tactical options.

CS: Thanks for your time Andrew and good luck in your next event!