DF95 Champ Talks About How He Approaches Racing and Setup

Interview with Jon Rogers DF95 #44, winner of the DF95 Traveler Series held at Long Beach Yacht Club, on December 28, 2024.

Jon has an extensive and impressive resume including winning the J/24 and Snipe Worlds Multiple times. Jon is currently head of sailing instruction at San Diego Yacht Club. At the age of 13, his nickname was ‘Barnacle’, hard to get him away from sailboats.

 Q: Do you have a practice routine with the DF95? If so, what is your regimen for improving Your sailing and racing skills in the DF95? My analogy is golf. You can go out and practice, but if you practice the same mistakes, it’s not productive. What are your thought processes for productive sailing practice?

 A: One of my biggest thought processes is I treat everything like practice even the regattas. I usually like to practice solo. About 10 – 20% of the time my sailing is alone. I call it pretend Sailing. I simulate situations in my mind. I’m pretending that I’m racing. Often Kenny Read is the boat that’s right on my tail and I practice racing up and down the pond. I usually do that on Mondays for about one hour and fifteen minutes by myself. On Wednesdays, we have unofficial racing at the pond (Mission Bay). I usually set

Two or three goals, mostly related to starting and close-hauled sailing. I really only treat The Nationals or Regionals championships as a real regatta. Everything else is just practice so I don’t even look at the results.

 Q: So, when you don’t look at the results does it free you up a little?

 A: Yes, because I look at sailboat racing as a series of races, so I’ll block out 25 – 30 races.

In the next three to four months I’m going to use the skills that I have practiced and I’m going to use the odds and keep trying to do what’s right every single time, I try to avoid thinking about what place I’m in. I try to sail like I’m winning every race all the time.

 Q: When you arrive at a regatta venue, for instance, Traveler’s at Long Beach Yacht Club what is your routine?

 A: I pretty much follow the exact routine every time. I kept a checklist for a long time, like for the first two years. I kept a checklist of every step, making sure there were no cracks in the hull, making sure the sheets were not stuck around the mast, and making sure the sheeting angles, foot, rake, backstay, and boom clearance were all proper. Just a detailed checklist. Now all I do is set the boat up at home. I try to set my boat up the same for all conditions. So I really practice with one base setting a lot and when I get to the venue I’m just trying to get the weather helm perfect. I like to have the tiniest amount of weather helm I can possibly have but almost none. The way I check for rudder angle is to sail the boat directly at myself on a broad reach four or five times before the first race and keep watching. That’s the one point of sail where your boat should sail straight if the rudder is aligned.

 Q: Do you go out and sail the course just to get a feel for predominant shifts and current before the start?

 A: I keep track of time, so I don’t mess that up, but usually try to sail without a lot of tacks, going in straight lines for the first 5 to 6 minutes, then go downwind. The next time I go up and play the shifts more, trying to figure out which tack is the difficult tack. I felt in Long Beach the starboard tack was the one I didn’t have an easy time with so anytime I had a good starboard angle I stayed. I try to figure out which tack is not going up the pond as much and during racing if I get one of those I just stay on it. I felt in Long Beach the port tack was often lifted. Anytime I got on a starboard tack and got lifted I would just keep the boat rumbling just even foot a little bit, bow down but not too much. You can never go more Than 2 degrees lower than the wind because any lower will be a detriment to VMG. I’m tapping my boat down on starboard lifts to keep full speed ahead toward the next easy Port tack.

 Q: What is your basic tuning?

 A: I think the best tuning video is Ken Read’s. Everyone should follow that first because he and I think exactly alike. He says the boom should be 1-2 mm from the eye almost touching the eye. Change that you change a lot. I sail at 1133, right in the middle. If it's windy I go to 1130 and in really light air 1135.1133 is my average setting. When setting up the boat if there is too much weather helm, I will tighten the backstay or loosen the vang. If there is not enough Weather Helm or lee-helm I will do the converse.

 Q: Recently, at your pond (Mission), Jess Atkinson gave a DF95 tuning tutorial. He discussed in detail setting the twist of the jib in terms of the break of the sail. How do you set the twist of the jib?

 A: I’m a little more on the side of adjusting the topping lift so I’m almost luffing at the top. Jess is a big believer in the jib breaking at the top. I only want the top of the jib luffing in any boat in overpowered conditions, so I’m very cautious not to overdo it.  Jess pulls his topping lift so he sails with a little more twist. I sail with less twist and therefore less break at the top of the sail. I just think we are underpowered most of the time sailing in relatively flat water, so slightly less twist, more power.

 Q: For the less experienced sailor explain how you choose where you will start on the line.

 A: Before the two-minute gun to windward of the line, I reach on port and starboard without touching my sails. If there is no luffing on either tack the line is pretty square, If you’re on Starboard tack and your jib is luffing and you’re parallel to the line, then you go back the other way, and on port tack, it is not luffing then the pin is favored. Theoretically, if you’re beam reaching down the line both ways it's even; if you're close reaching it is not. At one minute to 1:15, I am on port tack below the line going parallel to the line with my sails in the exact halfway point. On my transmitter with the sails about 45 degrees out then it helps me read wind shifts.

 Q: In Long Beach, it seemed like the pin end was slightly favored. The tide was going out, the pin end was in deeper water. You seemed to start mostly on the pin end.

 A: I personally look at everything as practice. I liked having 30 boats on the line. I don’t think the sport is designed for guys like me. I think it’s more designed for the weekend warrior. The line was very dangerous. You get the sharks that dive to leeward of you right before the start. They don’t have right of way, but they think they do, so I started down at the pin end because I knew out there it was the only way II could get a start with less chance of getting completely screwed up by other boats.

Q: On the course, we are all looking for that first shift or to get over to the favored side. How do You approach tactics on course?

 A: I practice a lot of starboard tack close-hauled sailing and staying on it a long time because I find jumping onto port tack can be really hard. This regatta in particular the wind was a little west/ northwest making the docks and the right side of the course in slightly lighter wind. My tactic was to stay on starboard and be one of the last boats to attack the right. As soon as I would tack someone would get a lift and force me to tack over again. I would keep going until I had a lane.

 Q: As you get into the 8th race of a 12-race regatta do you have an acute awareness of your competition?

 A: I can't say I am never putting it in my thought process, but my main thought process is wanting to sail the most efficient VMG race. I want to beat them. I don’t really look at points. Believe it or not, I went about 20 years from the age of 13 until I was almost 30 never looking at results. When I became a pro sailor, 28ish, I had to start looking at results, But I’m still really good at not letting the results get into my head. I’m just trying to get 1st, 2nd or 3rd. My goal is to round the weather mark in the top quarter of the fleet and then Anything in the top three I consider 1st.

 Q: At the end of the day, what maintenance do you do in addition to hosing your boat down?

 A: I don’t take my boat completely apart. I release the Cunningham, take a paint brush And Corrosion X, and pay attention mostly to the gooseneck and metal parts. The Gooseneck gets the most care on the boat.

 Q: Jon, this has been great is there anything else you want to add?

 A: I just think the Kenny Read video is really good. I am going to do a little video of my own Regarding the tuning used for the Long Beach Regatta. I suggest once you get your base measurements the only adjustments are your boom vang and backstay paying attention to your weather helm. If it’s windy I pull the mast a little forward to 1130. All Adjustments are in tiny increments.

 Q: How do you approach sailing in some chop?

 A: I watch the bounce of the boat. If I see the boat bouncing, I am barely tapping the boat down and as soon as the bouncing stops, I just let the boat sail itself. When another wave hits again I’m barely tapping the boat down but not letting it foot too much.

 Q: So slightly bow down.

 A: Yes. I practice this on Mondays. I practice steering as little as I can to accomplish my goals.

 Q: Do you work your sails?

 A: I don’t do that very much except in light air.  Airplane wings are a solid shape for a reason. A sail that’s trimmed holds a certain shape, but the wind direction is different at the top and bottom.

Ken Reid does play the sheets a lot and I consider him the best in the world. I think there are only two to three people that can beat the guy, that’s how good he is.

In lighter winds I do play the sheets instead of steering when the sail stalls, I let it out and then pull it back in. It’s a very finite motion, hard for people to achieve.

 Q: The DF95 Nationals are in Newport, Rhode Island. Are you planning on going?

 A: Yes. That’s my dream to go. I can't make all the traveler series but hope to get to Newport. It’s a real sailing town, one of my favorites. I lived there when teaching at J World, Newport. Brad Reid is a good friend. I have raced against him a lot.

 Q: Thoughts on sailing in Newport?

 A: The current will be a bigger factor than we are used to. Bring your rain transmitter bags. The chop will vary based on the wind direction. Anything from the northeast is going to be very choppy blowing against the dock. South is not too bad.

Jon, this has been great, and very informative. Thank you for your time and expertise. Congratulations

Interview by Eugene Elliott MD. Eugene Elliott is an active RC sailor and member of the OCMSC and The San Diego Argonauts. Sailing DF 95s, IOMs, and Volvo 70s.