Sunday saw the conditions lay down a bit from the winds we saw Saturday and we were back out on the ocean sailing under overcast skies and 10-15 knot winds in rather large and lumpy swells. I made it out to the race course, but felt absolutely awful out there as we waited to get racing started. After being so uncomfortable out there I left before the first race and would get an early start on the trip back home. I would later figure out that the breakfast bars I had been eating hadn’t been agreeing with me and had actually been making me feel bad all weekend. Make that a lesson for next time.
Even though I didn’t get as much sailing as I might have wanted, it was still nice to enjoy some warm weather, see some old friends and get away for a bit. I am looking forward to more sailing in a few months when it warms up in VA.
After postponing on shore in what was looking to be some gnarly winds, the race committee took everyone out to the harbor for some short course racing in an alternate format. I made the decision to bail on the day and jump on the committee boat for a front row seat. The alternate format meant todays races only counted as one race in the regatta. In the end it wasn’t as bad as it felt on land or was predicted and I was a bit bummed to skip sailing it.
The first day of the Florida Masters was a nice one with temps in the 70s, partly cloudy skies and 86 boats in two fleets. We sailed outside in the ocean. The wind started around 7 or 8 out of the WNW and shifted around to NNE and built to 11-13. We got in 3 races for both fleets with the radials starting under the prep flag and the standards starting under U-flag after general recalling twice each of the 3 races.
In the first race it was lighter and a little lumpier and I picked the wrong side of the course on the first beat and found myself pretty deep at the first mark. By the second leg the wind had shifted much more north making it a parade upwind and down. I topped it off by hitting the same leeward mark both times I went around it and settled for 21st place finish.
After moving the course west and orienting it with the wind out of the North we got our 2nd race started. I was mid-line and had a great start and legged out to the left. I got to the layline and sailed right in to the mark and found myself first around. I lost a couple boats on both downwind legs and settled for an 8.
For the 3rd race I started closer to the pin and had to pinch above a few boats barely laying it. I stayed to the left of the course and by now the wind was 11-13 – requiring some sitting out and occasional hiking. I was making the boat move well upwind and even started figuring out how to work the waves downwind so I didn’t loose boats. I finished 5th and after 3 races I’m first Apprentice Master and 14th overall in the Radial fleet.
The trip to West Palm Beach went pretty smoothly for a 850mi journey with only 1 brief slowdown for construction traffic. I spent the night in Jacksonville Florida and finished the trip this morning arriving at Palm Beach Sailing Club around 12:30.
The forecast for this week is going to be for quite a bit of wind on two of the days. Having not sailed much in the last year and not at all since October, I’ve opted to join the radial fleet this weekend.
After unpacking I went out to practice in 10-11 knots out of the east, mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s.
I got out into the bay and the wind current was ripping, so I sailed around the harbor and got used to the Radial again. In the distance I spotted Rambler 88 and sailed by it.
The boats were put away, I went for a run and ready to camp out at the club and go racing tomorrow in a 30+ boat Radial fleet.
Day 2 at the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship saw a little stronger wind that yesterday out of nearly the opposite wind direction. In 3 more long races I was able to move up one spot in the Apprentice Division while only falling one spot overall finishing 12th.
Ahead of the first race I did my prep, checked the wind current, favored side of the course, etc. I would learn pretty quickly in the first race that I was exactly wrong on all of it. I also managed to hit a mark, did my turn and then on the 2nd beat I flubbed a tack and capsized. So much for dropping the 23 from yesterday, I’d now have a 32 to drop.
As the wind picked up to light hiking conditions I did much better to get a good start and hold my lane up the first beat. I rounded 10-12 and held my own downwind. On the 2nd upwind I made some good moves and passed some boat holding onto 5th the rest of the way around the course.
In the 3rd race of the day the wind eased back to 8-10. I had a good first lap rounding in the top 6, but I picked some bad shifts on the 2nd beat and lost 10 spots.
All in all I was pretty happy finishing near the top 1/4 of the fleet. The regatta ran as smoothly as it could have and I have the members of FBYC’s Laser fleet as well as Rick Klein and our race committee to thank. I can’t wait to finish grad school and have some more time to do more masters events.
We had a busy morning checking in 44 competitors and making sure our RC and safety boats had all of their equipment – on top of rigging a boat. But it all came together for the first day of the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club and we were able to sail 4 races in light conditions out of the North. Approaching the club was a challenge – the tide was very high and most vehicles drove through 6-8 inches of water on Fishing Bay Road. Never had I seen a line at the hose stations to wash the salt water off the cars.
At the skippers meeting this morning I was made a marked man with a shirt to wear for sailing making it very clear it was my first time sailing the event.
Out on the water had high 60’s air temp, 72 degree water and cloudy skies with winds 5-7 out of the North. Occasionally we’d get some 8 or 9 and occasionally it also die out to 3. We were sailing in area B and given the super high tides we’re having, there was a lot of water flowing out of the river going left to right across the course at almost a 90-degree angle.
The first race was a slow H3 on a course that was just under a mile in length. I didn’t follow my plan to go left and despite a decent start – worked my way out to the right, was the wrong side and paid for it never really being able to climb through the fleet and finished 23rd.
The 2nd race was a two lap race and I did better playing shifts in the middle of the course to stay just behind the lead pack. Going left downwind was paying well and I picked up a few boats there on both runs and wound up 10th.
Jon sailing downwind
The 3rd race was a similar but just 1 lap. With the first beat being over 20 minutes long there are definitely passing lanes and the fleet spreads out a bit up wind. I was top 5 0r 6 around the top mark, but this time the left didn’t pay off as well. I lost some boats downwind, but picked a couple upwind and settled for 9th.
In the 4th race I started to worked the middle on the first upwind and found myself in the mid-teens around the top mark. Downwind I held my spot down the middle. I rounded the right gate – took a hitch to the right to clear my air and then banged the left corner going into the current, but doing it in the lee of a shore. When I came back on the port layline I crossed all but the top 3 boats. That position held for the rest of the race finishing 4th.
Given the forecast and the possibility that it was going to die – we were very happy to have gotten in 4 races and we weren’t in until 4pm making it a rather long day.
Jacque Kerrest, Luke Shingledecker, and Gavin O’Hare were all consistently at the top of each race and are on top of the leaderboard. Tomorrow’s forecast had been for more wind, but that might not be true anymore so we’ll see what happens in that one especially after the drop.
Alain prepared another fabulous meal of ribs, crab cakes, and mac and cheese. Everyone hung out for a couple hours and finally turned in. Over half of the fleet is camping at the club.
This has been the most anticipated regatta I have ever been a part of. Back in 2005 I was the event chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Championship for the first time. I got put in charge then because I was the most active fleet member at the time who couldn’t sail it yet. It would be 12 more years before I finally aged into being able to sail and something we’ve been discussing ever since. I got a taste of masters sailing earlier this year when I went to Florida Masters Week and I can’t wait to finally be able to participate in an event I have put so much effort into over the past nearly 20 years I’ve been a member at FBYC.
The last two days have been a whirlwind of pulling all the details together. Being the 13th edition of this event I’ve chaired – the script for it is pretty well established, but it is a bit of a 48 hour mad dash to get all of the food, trophies, souvenirs, and other gear plus my own sailing equipment loaded, transported and readied at the club for the weekend.
Throughout the day sailors began to arrive and some went for a sail in the mid-teens wind and light misty rain. Later we piled a bunch of folks into the van and all went into town for dinner.
I also got to check out Rob’s new setup. He now has a sprinter van loosely modeled after my setup – so now there’s two laser sprint vans on the circuit.
Each year one of the preparations is to make a breakfast casserole that can be easily heated up and served for breakfast. I make 4 of these a couple days before the regatta and keep them refrigerated. Here’s the recipe I’ve been using:
Ingredients:
1/2 role breakfast sausage
1/3-1/2 bag cubed potatoes
3-4 slices of bacon
18 eggs
13×9 pan
2 cups of cheddar cheese
preheat oven to 325
Brown breakfast sausage
Cook strips of bacon, once cool – crumble into small bits
Cook cook cubed potatoes
eggs into a large mixing bowl and mix
Add potatoes, salt, pepper, mix
Add sausage, bacon, mix
Add all but 1/8 of the cheese, mix
Pour mixture into a pam-sprayed tin
Bake 45 minutes
Add remaining cheese over the top, bake another 6 minutes, let cool.
The FBYC Summer Laser Regatta was a pretty light-air affair with only two races sailed. 11 boats out including the club’s junior coach who schooled us all with 2 bullets. Charlie Brewer took 2nds and I had 3rds. Thanks to Rick F for running our races.
In July I drove out to Dallas for a week to help Jess pack up and move. It wasn’t all work though – I got to go sailing two days with the Dallas Laser Fleet and raced a night in their summer series.
It was tight fit getting everything into the van and ended up spilling a few things over into a Uhaul trailer.
We visited with Jess’ Dallas friends and said some farewells.
And two days of driving later we were back in Richmond.
In an about face in weather from the rest of the week – wind is what we got on Wednesday with winds in the upper teens and gusts into the lower twenties. Slightly overcast skies with temperatures in the lower 70’s. Having sailed in light air all week and most of 2016 – I wasn’t well prepared for these conditions. My goal would be to just get around the course and salvage as much as I could.
In the first race I had an ok but not stellar start. I made my way out to the right of the course and I moved the boat ok, but was a few rows back. Towards the top it was clear the left was coming in better and I was in the back quarter around the top mark. On the reach to the offset I lost my hand hold on the mainsheet and ended up capsizing to windward as what remained of the fleet sailed by.
I continued the race sailing conservative downwind to keep the boat under me and managed to pick off a few boats on the next two legs. At the final jibe mark to the finish I messed up the timing of my duck and thwacked the boom on my head to add a little injury to insult. I’d have a bruise for the next several days.
At that point it was clear I wasn’t competing and I decided to get home and save some time-off for later in the year. And to finish it up – my dolly broke as I recovered the boat on the beach. Thankfully the ride home was uneventful including an overnight stop in Florence SC.
