July 2008
Interview with Co-Skipper John Burnham:
How long have you been sailing in the Fleet?
John Burnham: This is Reed Baer’s and my 8th season racing #107 Grace; before that we crewed on Nicole Alio’s Karasalet and before that I crewed for Charlie Levy on Stinger #89. Reed’s a minister, so he works on Sundays, and I have an IOD that I race on Saturdays at Fishers Island, NY, so we don’t get out often on weekends.
However, we’ve had some good luck on Wednesday nights, winning the season a few times, not by being brilliant, but by showing up with a good team regularly and trying to sail consistently.
Who normally sails with you and can you tell us a little about them and the jobs they do on the boat?
JB: We’ve had a very steady crew for eight years—a dentist, a clothing designer, a glass blower, a minister and an editor, plus a frequent “sixth” who is more skilled than any of the rest of us. Beyond all the boat prep or anything else we’ve done, having a regular team is why we’ve had as much success as we’ve had. Doctor Pete (Schott) does the bow, trims the jib on tacks, calls the waves, brings an extra VHF, and reminds us to floss. My wife Rachel (Balaban) does the halyards, twings, pole up/down, releases the jib on tacks, calls the time at the start, and does an awesome job calling the wind. (When she started out calling the puffs she didn’t know what a puff was and now, through 100+ races of practice, she’s one of the best puff callers in the business; plus, I always say that even if you’re only right 51% of the time, at least you’re reminding the head cases in the back of the boat that there is this variable factor called wind and to consider changing the sail trim now and then...) Matt (Buechner), our resident artist and the only athlete on our boat claims he has the do-nothing job in the middle but he works on the pre-start line sight, tracks the compass upwind, gets the team totally psyched up for pre-sheeting the guy to get great spin sets, trims the chute downwind and takes it down. When I’m steering, Rev. Baer trims the main, repeatedly asking me about how much helm I have, and he worries about strategy along with me. Before this season when he steered, I used to trim the main but this year Matt does it because I’m a swivel head and we don’t go so fast as a result; so I take over Matt’s do-nothing job and look around all I want. When any of us are off the boat, Ted (Hood) comes aboard, upgrades our performance at any position, and even brings beer along.
Do you have a weekly pre-race routine, if so, what is it?
JB: The key to the pre-race routine is to get out early, or at least try to, and make sure we do a spinnaker set, even if it’s blowing. We always screw something up on our set or douse, which reminds us that we have to pay attention and also douse early; if we skip the set, we always regret it. The other things we do are check out the startling line, get some upwind compass numbers, and discuss if one side of the course is going to be favored. Then one of us always says: “Let’s have fun and sail well.” Usually works, and if not, at least we had fun.
Any tips and tricks you would like to share with the website readers?
JB: Shields don’t like sailing with other Shields. That’s something Charlie Levy always told me, and it’s true. You almost always go faster when you’re in your own patch of wind. The other thing I’d add is that series racing in a Shields is all about playing the percentages; in addition to not hitting anybody, it’s all about taking sterns, letting people cross rather than having them tack on you, and generally not getting involved in boat-on-boat maneuvers except at key points in the race. Sail fast, sail clean, and the chances are that while you’re doing that, you’re gaining on all the people who are slowing each other down. |
