Author: Jon

This weekend I sailed aboard Wavelength in the the Southern Bay Leukemia Cup Regatta.  On Saturday we started with a postponement while few storms moved through the area.  An hour later it cleared up and the wind continued to build throughout the day.  We started out with a new No 1 Genoa and we liked the way it was working and how we were able to point. We did well in the first race, had good crew work and maneuvers and finished 4th.   While we were beating a couple faster boats on the water, we were just not able to reel in Afterthought, Double Eagle and Voodoo to be able to correct over them.

7/14 Leukemia CupSunday race 1 start.

By the 2nd race of the day the wind picked up and we switched down to the 2.  Just after starting the wind dropped down for a short time before the sea breeze really started to crank.  By the 2nd downwind we were seeing winds in the low to mid 20’s and along with a few other boats – we elected not to fly a spinnaker.  We had a 4 & 5 on the day to keep us in 4th.

The party was fun and the live charity auction featured one of my prints that raised some money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

On Sunday we pretty much just had light air all day.  We did two races and sailed well, but still weren’t really able to reel in the 3 boats at the head of the pack.   All in all it was a another fun weekend of sailing with the Wavelength team!  Thanks Rob & Steve for having me and if anyone would like to donate to our fundraising effort this link can be used.  Results.

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On Saturday I had the unplanned opportunity to be the PRO (Principle Race Officer) for Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s Summer Sea Breeze regatta.  I was all set to race a Front Runner, but we didn’t end up having a fleet and my crew Stephen Boling came along to help run race committee.  Now I’ve been on signal boats and race committees a hundred times for everything from club races to national championships – but this was my first time actually being a PRO.  Lucky for me the wind was steady enough not to have to change the course and we were able to get 5 races off for the Flying Scot fleet and all went very well.

Phil Webb, John Wake, Clark Dennison, Len Guenther

Pictures | Results

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Thursday was July 4th and Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s annual one design long distance race.  I was able to borrow a Front Runner and a co-worker of mine – Stephen Boling came out to crew.  Stephen had never been on a sailboat before.  We headed out, got to practice each maneuver once and then the race started.

Getting ready to go sail

The race started right of the FBYC dock and the first leg took us south out of Fishing Bay 3/5 of the way across the river to the far side of the channel.  We had perfect start, right at the boat, right at the gun and were able to pin some of the other boats to the left side of the course for a bit.  Upwind we picked a nice lane of wind right up the middle of the bay and found ourselves 1st at the windward mark.

Braun family as the rest of the Front Runners overtake us while we dealt with spin problems.

We set  the chute on the 2nd leg which took us due east on a race about a mile to another channel marker.  What we didn’t realize when we first set the chute was that it was very twisted at the top.  After a few boats started to pass us, we had to take it up and down a few times to get the twist out.  By the time we close-reached down to the 1/2 way mark, we were easily 300 yards behind the lead pack of 5 boats.

The fleet just ahead of us by the halfway point.

Sailing the next two upwind legs we had good speed and I picked good angles and we actually passed 3 of the boats. By the finish we were within 20 yards of the 2nd boat over the line. If only we had another 3 miles, we could have contended for the lead. Unfortunately, all 3 of the top boats owed the Flying Scot, sailed by John & Sharon Wake, time and they corrected over us, putting us in 4th overall.

I want to thank the Front Runner fleet for letting me borrow a boat and Stephen Boling for coming out to crew.

Photos | Results

Photos above by Stephen Boling.

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I started the day at Hampton Yacht Club where a team from Fishing Bay Yacht Club was invited to a scrimmage Team Racing Sonars.  We started with a quick recap/overview/planning in a classroom and then the team of 11 FBYC sailors were split into 3 boats for our team and Hampton took the other 3 boats.  We spent a couple hours doing drills and practicing team race maneuvers against the Hampton team.  The wind was in the low to mid teens which made boat handling a little more challenging, particularly for the FBYC sailors who hadn’t had a lot of time together nor a lot of time in Sonars.  But we still were able to put on a good showing and I think it was a very successful scrimmage for both teams.  A big thank you to Gary Bodie and Hampton Yacht Club for having us!

6/22 Hampton Team Race Scrimmage - Gary Bodie explaining the drills.

Immediately after getting off the water in Hampton, I got on the road to Deltaville to sail Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s Moonlight Regatta on Wavelength.  The start was delayed 30 minutes while some weather approached the area, but never really came near us.  Out on the water we had beautiful sailing conditions with mostly clear skies and a steady 12-15 out of the south.  None of the overcast and occasional rain we had seen in Hampton earlier in the day.

We started at 8pm and sailed out of the Piankatank with the sun setting behind us just a short time later.  I grabbed this shot of Mad Hatter just behind us passing in front of the sunset. Just goes to show that the best pictures don’t necessarily come from the best camera, but from the camera you’ve got. This was a 2-take photo taken with the iphone.  Here’s an alternate version of it on Instagram.

6/22 FBYC Moonlight Race - Mad Hatter sailing through the sunset.

The race went pretty well and we had a good group aboard for sailing at night.  I was jib grinder for the first 3 legs, spin trimmer downwind, and drove the last 2 legs upwind.  We finished around 10:30. While we didn’t make the podium, the ice cream smothered in rum after racing was reward enough.

Results | More photos from today starting here.

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The forecast for today was for better wind and we got it. Out on the course in the same racing area, just north of the Newport Bridge, we started out with 8 knots out of the south and by the last race we had 12-13.

In the 4 races we had some decent starts and seemed to get a little faster and had better boat work as the day went on. While we didn’t have any great results to show for it – it was fun sailing in the J/70 fleet. And being my first time in Newport it was nice to see the town and New York Yacht Club. Thanks Noel Clinard for having me along for the weekend – it was a pleasure sailing with you, Jerry and Carrie.

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This morning we headed out for the first day of the New York Yacht Club 159th Annual Regatta. Heading out to the course it was amazing sailing past all of the bigger boats including the 12 meters on the way to the course.

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We were sailing in area A which was just on the other side of the bridge in an area called Potter’s Cove. Our fleet included 10 other J/70’s. We got to sail one race in breeze before we started a 2nd one and abandoned it when the wind shut off.

A little light (air) reading:

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An hour or more later the wind came out of the South and we got two more races in.

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Following racing we headed over to the New York Yacht Club for cocktails and dinner.

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Traveled to Newport today in preparation for the 159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta.  I’m sailing with Noel Clinard on his J/70 Loonatictu.

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Team New Zealand has their boat docked right next to us at Sail Newport.

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We launched the boat and tried to go for a practice sail.  By the late afternoon the wind had nearly died so we didn’t get much practice.

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We finished the night off with a drive past all of the mansions and dinner at Scales and Shells.

Here’s the entry list for tomorrow.

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