USODA New England Optimist Champs

Day 2 of the 2009 USODA Opti New England Champs is in the bag, with the weather and excitement one would expect from the Capital of sailing, Newport, RI.

The day provided an excellent opportunity for all sailors to prove their meddle with sustained breeze of 12 and gusts above 18. The shifty New England wind proved to be a true test of the sailors attention to detail and kept everyone looking across the race course to be the first to the puffs and shifts.

Day 3 is about to get under way and looks to be offering the lightest conditions of the event. Sail Newport is truly proving to give sailors a little of every condition as a real test of sailing abilities. Photos from day 1 are now available on the Dave Hein Photography site.

Opti New England Champs

As if just being in Newport, RI is not enough on it's own for a sailor; this week Sail Newport is hosting the 2009 USODA New England Championship regatta. With nearly 400 boats competing for an opportunity to qualify for the 2010 US Team Trials Invitational regatta, you can bet the level of sailing is at it's top.

Day 1 of racing ended after 4 complete races in the 4 flights. With shifty winds that did not top 10 knots, the sailors were required to stay attentive and watch for the shifts ahead while navigating the changing tidal currents.

I shot nearly 3000 photos of the first day of racing, and they will all be posted on Optisailing.com as soon as I get near adequate Internet access. Keep watching for more exciting sailing photos to follow!

2009 Opti National Championiships

The 2009 Opti US National Championship regatta took place in July at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in San Pedro, California.

220 sailors turned out for the championship event and were honored with the most hospitable club and regatta committee ever! To make the event tops, the Commodore even arranged to have the wind build from 10 knots at the start of sailing each day to over 20 knots by the end of racing each evening.

Sailors in both the championship and green fleets enjoyed excellent sailing, plenty of wave surfing and hiking to prove their talents as the top Opti sailors in the country.

Photos of the event can be seen at Dave Hein's Boatyard Photography site and at OPTIsailing.com.

Lake Ontario Opti Team

The Lake Ontario Opti Team, or LOOT is one of a few teams that have been formed over the past fifteen years to help local Opti sailors grow in their knowledge of sailing and build advanced racing tactics that propel them to the top of the class. LOOT however is a bit different in that it is truely International in flavor. With 50% of the team (this year) from Canada and 50% from the US, and Roberto Fabini, full-time opti coach from Uruguay; the team is a collection of top sailors that are destined for success through this season and beyond.

The team format is to travel the entire summer, staying approximately one week at each venue to train before their regatta. This gives the sailors a variety of waters to train in and helps them to acclimate to the area before a big race. In 2009 the team is travelling to Cleveland Race Week, USODA Great Lakes Championships, Fogh Boorman Regatta, Island Heights Junior Olympics, Rochester Junior Olympics, USODA New England Championships, CORK International Regatta and Conadian National Championships.

If your Opti sailor is growing beyond the coaching at your local club, I strongly recommend looking into LOOT or any one of the other teams around the country that bring advancing sailors together to help build their skills while providing the most awesome summer experience any sailor can have!

CORK International Regatta

I have just received a request from the organizers of CORK asking me to be the photographer of the 2009 International Regatta in Kingston, ON!

Last year's event was the first time I had experienced CORK, and I have to say, the facilities, the race management and the waters are among the best I have seen anywhere. I constantly tell everyone involved with youth sailing that if there is one regatta to travel to in the season, CORK would be it! Make plans to attend. Register today and we will see you in August!

2009 Fogh Boorman Regatta

When a severe storm blew through at 9am on Saturday, I figured this regatta was going to be light and short on races.

After the storm had passed, it appeared that all of the wind had gone with it. Boats launched and it looked as if it would be a day of light and variable wind, basically a day of bobbing on the water.

Within a hour of launching, the wind started filling in and continued to build all day. In fact, the weather proved to provide for exciting sailing on the Opti, Laser/Radial and 420/29er courses. All fleets had tremendous wind and awesome sailing across the board. You can see photos of the Opti races at OPTIsailing.com and all others at Dave Hein Photography

2009 Cleveland Race Week

The 2009 Clevenad Race week Opti regatta hosted by Edgewater Yacht Club was bigger and better than ever, with sailors in town to compete the following weekend at USODA Great Lakes Champs at LSYC. The regatta provided the perfect venue to experience sailing in the waters of Lake Erie and preview the competition that would be present at the upcoming championships.

Featured in this photo is Edgewater Yacht Club sailor, Ian Moran completing a roll-tack in light breeze.

Make sure to see all of the photos from this event, and vote for the photos to be included in the 2010 OPTIsailing calendar by visiting OPTIsailing.com

RHYC Lilac Regatta

Spring sailing is always great. If the winds and air temperature are not ideal, at least we have the thoughts of the warm and windy summer to come.

This May, Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in Hamilton, Ontario hosted it's spring event, the Lilac regatta. While the winds on day 2 were disappointing and did not allow for a single race to get off, day 1 was great with a building breeze all day and some terrific conditions on the Opti course. As always, you can see thee complete set of photos at DaveHeinPhotograpy.

2009 USODA Great Lakes Championships

The 2009 USODA Great Lakes Championship regatta, hosted by Lorain Sailing and Yacht Club in Lorain, Ohio was an event for the record books. With light and shifty breeze throughout day 1. The race committee was able to challenge the sailors with a true course that provided difficult navigation through the constant oscillating winds.





Day 2 proved to be a test of strength and deft understanding of race tactics as the winds provided 18-25 knots of force to blow the sailors quickly across a long and trying windward-leeward course. The sailors swiftly navigated the legs, twice around to demonstrate their abilities in all conditions aboard the world's largest one-design fleet! Opti sailors are awesome!

In the end, the top 18 sailors at Great Lakes Championship regatta qualified for the 2010 USODA Team Trials Invitational Regatta. Congratulations to everyone!

To see all of the photos from this event, visit daveheinphotography.

USODA Team Trials Regatta

The 2009 USODA Team Trials Regatta hosted by Noroton Yacht Club in Dairen, CT was an awesome event, providing a litte of all wind conditions and lots of cold wet rain. Here is one of my favoriate photos from the regatta. You can see more at my site http://www.daveheinphotography.com and OPTIsailing.com.

When I grow up I want people to smile.

Fun guy with attitude and innovation!

Do you remember when looking at a picture of yourself captivated your attention and made you smile? I am amazed every time I watch someone pick up a print of their action on the slopes or on the water and they smile as if in disbelief of their abilities and the action that is evidenced forever in the photograph.

My goal as a photographer is to capture those moments every time I am on an assignment, and deliver the thrill of personal accomplishment in a large format print of the best athletes ever! To give everyone unlimited access to my sailing photos, I have developed http://www.OPTIsailing.com, a site that gives everyone free access to every Optimist picture I take of them on the water and around the best Opti regattas in North America and beyond.

I hope you can smile as you look at pictures of yourself at a recent event.

I could eat nothing but Tuscan Cuisine for a year, or forever!

Of all the places I have traveled in my life, I could spend the rest of my days basking in the warm and inviting Tuscan culture.

Toscana - Tuscany by allegra_

Have you ever seen a skinny Italian?

I am not implying that every Italian person is fat, or by any means out of shape but you have to admit that there are not a whole lot of Italian people running around the streets with their ribs showing through their skin...

The reason for this is pretty simple. Italians view dinner as a celebration. Yes, dinner every night is a party not to be missed.

In the time I have spent in Italy, I have had the opportunity to spend many nights enjoying the variety of food and the process of enjoying the entire process of eating dinner. What an awesome experience!

First of all, dinner in Italy is a time to spend with family and friends. Dinner starts around 7 and rarely ends before 10. That entire time is spent eating (and for many drinking wine) something. Because you are with family and friends, dinner is spent talking about the day, the family issues and business. Because family is large, there are a lot of people to talk, and so there is a lot of food to make sure everyone has an opportunity to share their story of the day.

I have never left a meal in Italy feeling hungry, for that matter I have never left dinner in Italy feeling anything less than completely full! The food, from beginning to end is plentiful and awesome. When you feel you are all done, they bring something else to "just try", then they fill your plate with the "sample". Where else in the world can you be so well taken care of?

If I had to choose one cuisine to eat for a year, I would insist on spending that year in a small village in the Tuscan hills, enjoying the company and the food they serve!

Is your beauty under covers?

Beauty is a gift from God. Don't hide it from the world!

Looking down the hall of the office building I notice a nice, shapely young woman and because I am afflicted with maleness I continue to watch her walk towards me. Not in a creepy way mind you, but I watch as she gracefully walks down the hallway towards me.

As she gets closer, I notice that she is wearing a stunning business dress-suit. The jacket is long and cut to her curves, and I had to look twice as she grew near to see that her skirt was just a hair longer than her jacket. Her legs were as long as the hallway and as perfect as the warm sunshine outside. Covered with silk, they glistened as she walked by the window.

As the sun hit her legs, I briefly noticed the 3 inch heels her feet were cradled by. They absolutely completed the image.

A few moments later, the elevator came and it was my time to go. This memory will stick with me throughout the day.

Making out in In the basement at my 5th birthday party.

Cathy, you made my 5th birthday one for the record books.

Well, I surely do not want to toot my own horn; at 5, I liked the ladies and was goin for gold!

I honestly don't remember all that much about it , I was 5 after all; but I do remember that we were hiding behind the wooden rocking chair (didn't provide too much privacy) and Cathy Covey wanted to make sure it was a birthday I would never forget! I am pretty sure that my mom didn't plan any birthday parties for me after that, I guess she was pretty concerned at what might happen at age 6.

Well, I forgot, but many years later my mother reminded me while we were going through old photo albums. Wow, how did I let that one slip my mind?

Anyhow, the kiss must have set my expectations high because it would be some time before number two would come along.

'The Little Red Book of Selling' will make you LOL

I mainly read business and growth oriented books. As the result, I have to find humor among other things in the writings of awesome business authors. What are you reading today?

Life is funny, if you look at it from the right perspective. Everything we do, everyone we encounter, each thought we have effects our attitude, our response to situations and our ability to laugh at ourselves.

The Little Red Book of Selling talks about real life situations and how to change your perspective on life and how to make that perspective work to your advantage. Read it and laugh your way to the next sale!

I'll spend my golden years in Park City, UT

Dave Loves to ski, and play in the alpine environment when he is not sailing!

Park City is a vast alpine worderland designed with every lifestyle in mind. From winter sports of skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and just the simplicity of lazy horserides in the snow to the summer activities of mountain biking, jogging, hiking and more.

Located just 20 short minutes from downtown Salt Lake City and it's international airport, Park City is one location you can enjoy every day of the year without being far from civilization.

The athlete in me?

Worldwide superstar amazes crowds as he tops the competition on the water daily, and at his age!

Dave Hein, world renound for his photographic work in the alpine and marine environments is the worlds superstar when it comes to capturing the excitement, emotion and thrill of sports for everyone to enjoy. And doing all of this at more than twice the age of the average athlete appearing in his photographs. "Shooting sailing is one of the most difficult assignments a photographer can have." states Hein; "having to shoot moving yachts from a boat that is constantly moving itself with the motion of the sea limits the people that can even consider shooting the sport professionally."

Dave Hein spends considerable time on the water, shooting at least one major regatta per month, with nearly every weekend at an event in the summer season. His career as a photographer started in his teen years, shooting school projects and as photo editor of his high school yearbook.

Today Dave's images hang in the homes and offices of sailors and enthusiasts worldwide. As he continues his upwards rise in notoriety, his travel to events grows. He can be seen worldwide shooting sailing and some of his shots can be seen online at http://www.optisailing.com.

Seat me next to the quiet starer, please

While it has been a long time since I have been on a bus ride, I do take a lot of flights every month...

When a person sitting next to you on a long trip talks the entire time it is always nice to meet someone new and learn about them, however when I travel, I typically reserve that time to get work done as I am confined and away from calls and interruptions.

In defense of my vice: cigar

Once in a while, I enjoy sitting outside on a warm afternoon with a great maduro.

Rolling single leaf cigars_Cuba 168 by hoyasmeg

Sitting in a small open air cafe in Miami. The air around me is damp, warm and well it has a sweet and distinct essence.

I look to the other site of the sidewalk to see an old man smoking a cigar with his coffee after lunch. He was sitting there, enjoying himself and relaxing in the spring afternoon.

Noticing the air around me getting stronger, I got up and walked down the street to and saw a store selling stogies and decided to walk in. Entering the door, I was immediately aroused at the blended scent of many different memories of my life. I walked into the humidor and began looking at the hundreds of different styles. Color, size, blends, strengths. So much to learn, so many different options.

Enjoying an occasional cigar reminds me of days gone by. It is a brief escape from the stress and pressures of business today and a reminder of the relaxing days to come as a reward for hard work through the tough times.

'Everything About You' will help you through a break-up

You know what? It also helps with the process of loosing a job. I guess a job is a lot like a girlfriend anyhow, always demanding more of your time and attention until they are gone.

Wow, it is so much more appealing to spend life driving your car down to the local marina and sail your days away with the strong winds filling your sails.

Everything About You by Ugly Kid Joe

The first step in dealing with grief is denial. Like young children banging their spoon and fork on the high chair tray, this song helps.

Click Click Boom by Saliva

Then anger then sets in and everyone knows that it is much better to express anger in a popular song then with text messages.

America by Simon & Gafrunkel

As you come to accept the fact, it begins the process of searching for yourself and the beginning is in front of you.

My song about Ellicottville, NY.

We ski at Holimont. What a great way to pass the dark days of Winter.

When the skies are gray and the air is chilled people fret and loose their will.
Many folks jump up and exclaim "its time for the frozen rain!"

They get in their cars and head out on the road
To Ellicottville we are bound and nothing will slow us down
Drive, drive drive
some down from the great white North
many from the land of hot wings
still others from the town of burning rivers
All to enjoy the too few days of frozen precipitation known as snow in the hills of Western New York.