Our NASA Connection

Our cosmic entanglement with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) goes far beyond
our reverse sponsorship ploy. My sailing history and current reality has an interesting connection with this amazing organization. Every time I see this logo, well it makes me smile. The story starts a couple of years back..,  and I hope continues far into the future.  

In 1981 my uncle Buddy, a NASA engineer, took me on my first sailing trip delivering his CAL 27 Shamrock to Annapolis for the Down the Bay Race. It was an absolute adventure in true 80's fashion with plenty of partying. One of the boats sailing with us lost her rudder and we watched another boat round her and scoop up a tow under sail. We stayed with our friends boat several days. I got to enjoy watching my cousin strike out with the waitress at the marina restaurant. It's one of my favorite memories from that summer full of on the water antics. 

The seed was planted and sailing became one of my top 3 passions in life. I am forever grateful. Coincidentally, Fat Bottom Girl was made in 1981 - Hull #78. There are no accidents! 

The NASA crew-up started in 2018 with the Pauls'. Referred by Charmain, they asked the question "how can we get into sailing" and the door of competitive sailing was opened to them. The Pauls' got up to speed quickly and brought friends. Soon we had Mel, Zach and several others from that group. A great rotation of raw talent that Evan taught the moves that they all picked up quickly. Transferrable skills have long been a hiring strategy I promoted professionally and turns out, when building Rockstars, well engineers are not a far stretch. And you get amazing conversations on going to the Mars, aliens, quantum physics and well, all things space. We had a blast racing to Cape Charles in 2019.

Fast forward to our current roster we have Chris, Olivia and Bow Kat. All exceptional Rockstars who have learned advanced sailing skills and are critical players on our team. NASA is a great place to find crew and we look forward to teaching many more the life skill of competitive sailing. Thanks NASA for getting me started and the continued funnel of great talent! 

Give it all you got! 

Fat Bottom Girl 

USA 30812

Chek out these sailing tunes

Teamwork makes the dream work.

 New sails, perfected bottom, ultra light and efficient rigging and all the other features that go into a competitive program are only as good as the team that makes the rocking boat go round the race course. 💪,  I mentioned our culture on our about us page. A safe space for all types is something I believe in hole-heartedly. Its actually a competitive advantage as surrounding yourself with like types limits your perspective while a diverse team expands and grows perspective. The secret sauce is in getting the different instruments on the same sheet of music. For skippers growing a race team below are a few things that work for us: 

Hold on Loosely: People need to grow and expand. Maybe their on the team for a long haul, maybe sometimes, maybe once in a blue moon. Loyalty is about them and not you. Be loyal to their desire to grow, to check out other programs and advance on other boats. I hate to see team members move on but I love to watch them grow and when I have something to do with that growth, its highly rewarding. It sucks being light or not having crew for a regatta but a "free range" approach to crew feels good.

Communicate Appreciation and make it Genuine: I genuinely love everyone who will, has and continues to be a teammate. "Rockstar" is a term used to describe top sailing talent and I address my crew as Rockstars often. It also fits our rock & roll themed program. People live busy lives and being a competitive sailor requires a significant commitment of time. When they give the program their time, I want them to know that it is noticed and appreciated. Social media is one platform where I frequently and publicly thank the Rockstars. I also thank them in person at every opportunity for coming out to race and being their genuine selves.

Recruit Always: Looking through our media you can see a broad range of crew. From 2005 when I first started the Fat Bottom Girl team to now, there has been at least 50 Rockstars. 

We currently keep a crew depth of 20 or so and that works well to get 8 people out for a weekend regatta. Recruiting is everyone's job. It a special feeling watching a Rockstar notice someone on the dock that seems to not know where they are going and instantly invites them to join us. Your bench can never be too deep and when we have more Rockstars than room we can always find them a ride. 

Maintain a Positive Outlook: Setting the tone is a responsibility I do not take lightly. I've sailed with and witnessed many programs that when the regatta results are not favorable, the ride back to the dock is quiet and unpleasant. I understand giving your all to the competition and no one likes to let the team down, but we gave our best and other teams outperformed. I celebrate the fact that we were in the arena. We gave it our all and we've learned new moves, or how to get in front of mistakes, for the next regatta. Leave the negativity on the race course and go to the tent with your head high proud of the race you sailed. 

Own it: On of my favorite reads on leadership is Tim Collins Good to Great where he shares the mirror and window concept of giving public credit for the good and taking personal responsibility for the bad.

It's a solid concept that molds well with competitive sailing. My ability to aggressively maneuver the boat is 100% dependent on how well I have trained my crew. The thing I have noticed when I take Extreme Ownership, another great read by Jocko Willink, the team mirrors this behavior and likewise takes responsibility for their performance. 

After Action Review: During my time with Bradley-Morris / RecruitMilitary I sat in on thousands of AARs and learned the power of candid review and continuous improvement. The key is to not let it turn into a blame session, but to keep the tone positive and the focus on improvement. It's interesting how

extreme ownership can manifest into everyone being quick to take fault, But this is about improving as a team not to be taken personally. What did we do and how can we improve. We keep a notebook specifically for after action, to log conditions, boat settings and performance.

Develop a Training Plan: I share every bit of sailing information with the team and encourage them to watch webinars and read books. We'll have watch parties. They have a thirst for knowledge. This has them seeking out and sharing sailing information independently. Life long learning is essential in developing a depth of knowledge.

Have Fun: One of my early mentors taught me this valuable insight. "If you are not having fun you are doing it wrong" We're competing in a strong field where wins are earned and never given. But when you break it down if its not a good day on the water then what is it? Don't let your ego ruin this special time. We sail home happy no matter how we finished. 

In closing remember that words don't teach. Mastery comes from doing so best of luck in implementing our strategies with your team.  

Give it all you got!

Fat Bottom Girl 

USA 30812 

Good Books for Growing

Track on (well almost) but on track

Wow what a great weekend for boat work. No hurricane or nor'easter or other weather events to contend with and just a few neglected household chores to knock out. Then it was boat time.

Friday I watched as Glenn and Kenny at North Sails Hampton swaged our new lower shrouds. I then caught up with Chris who in minuets had the Filthy Whore going again. We'll have to go back for some fine tuning but as usual, Chris figured her out her issue quickly.

On Saturday, after some extensive living room re-modeling shopping, I was able to get down to the boat and work on the main sheet track. The stiffer track required measuring and cutting to fit. I was able to line it all up and make the cut. Fits great and I plan to button it up later this week. Then I can check new main sheeting system off the list.

Sunday (Veteran's Day) Libbie and I went out one-design racing on the club's Sonars as part of their fall one-design regatta. While Libbie looked great in her new Personal Floatation Device, apparently I offended the guy at the store by asking for a life jacket, the wind did not come out to play. We drifted for a couple of hours, took a nap, ate our snacks and then put away sails. It was some great father daughter time on the water though we did not get any silver.

There were three Vipers out for their class and I am a little bummed I did not get to see them go. They look fast even sitting in no breeze. Also up towards the James we could see the big boat fleet not getting their 2nd Frostbite race going so if we can get the pole up and rigged by next Sunday, we are only one race behind.

I hope that my New York and New Jersey friends are doing better. I talked with a couple this week and it sounded rough. Be strong and carry on!

Happy Veterans Day to all who served. I was in the Navy from '86-'92 on the nuclear attack submarines, USS Louisville (SSN-724) and USS Cincinnati (SSN-693). It was quite the experience. Thanks to all who gave some and especially to the some who gave all. Freedom Rocks! FBG in 2012!    

Tornados, Do-Overs & Dumb Luck

Ever hear that little voice in your head? Ever hear it sound like Keith Darby saying "now do you see what I was talking about dumb ass". Well that was what I heard as I looked at the Baltaplate finish. At first, it looked pretty good; but as I got more into it with the wet sand I discovered a bigger issue. The paint went on well, but there were rough spots under the paint that were not smooth enough. Darby said to "hit the boat with a 220 grit finishing sand and feel it for smooth spots". I did it once, but then put more paint over it. Well I should have done the 220 sand again because I had a ah ha or maybe an ah shit moment. I knew immediately that the paint needed to come off.  It was worse than the thin spots. It was bumpy and thin. In one word - It sucked.  

Soooo the Baltoplate is off, again. I have been hitting the bottom with 220 grt and it looks a lot better. There are 3 or 4 small spots that are going to require some filling. I plan to hit the filler and possibly go after the paint again this week. Everyone on internet forums as well as the folks I speak with locally say I need to hit the bottom with an 80grit sand for the paint to stick. I believe that Darby wanted me to paint the baltoplate over the 220. I can always go back and hit it with a light 80 grit sand, but I would like to see how it works on the 220. I have sanded through so much paint so I am going to try the rudder with the 220 and see how it goes. I'll post it up. 

Working to make SBRW (Southern Bay Race Week) and then a Tornado hits. Everyone was okay but the club was trashed. Boats and windows broken as well as the event cancelled. There was no way to host the races on Saturday and Sunday. I really felt bad for my racing buds. As much as I wanted FBG to be out there, I was not terribly upset we are running behind. I would hate to end a 3 year refit by being trashed by a tornado. Most of the club is back to normal and everyone seems to be focused on the next event. Good luck to everyone that is fix'n their boats now too.


Oh yea and we got a slip - A tornado slammed boat is getting hauled off by the insurance company - We are going to reside on the D dock in slip # 5. Now having a place to go I am going to get busy to get there. Has your boat ever been hit by a tornado?