Category: ILCA Sailing

ILCA Sailing and Racing. (Prior to 2021 known as Laser Sailing and Racing)

It was all doom and gloom on the forecast all week ahead of the Crab Claw Regatta at Severn Sailing Association and we were pleasantly surprised with the 3 races were were able to get in.  We headed out to the race course and got the first race off on time in a 6-8 easterly breeze just off Bembe Beach.  I had remembered sailing in this exact location and with this exact wind direction and I remember the strategy was to go right or to go left – I just didn’t remember which way.

At the start I wanted to be at the boat and to go right where there appeared to be more wind.  I took a second row start just behind Luke Shingledecker and tacked to the right as soon as I cleared the boat.  About a minute and a half later I realized it was the left that I wanted to be on because of the left-to-right current, so I tacked and continued, taking a few sterns, until I was left-most boat on nearly the lay line.  Once on the layline the current carried me to the mark in the lead.  I led the rest of the race favoring the right on the downwind and just doing my best to stay between myself and the pack of Jonathan Phillips, Luke and Bill just behind me.

2014 Crab Claw 1

After the first race was completed – the wind completely shut off – just as was expected.  We sat around in power boat chop for over 2 hours before the wind started to fill.  This wasn’t the 6-8 that we had earlier in the day but it was a solid 6 – enough to call it racing – and not punishment.

By the time we started the  current was supposed to have changed so I again took a second row start behind Luke and worked the right.  Once there I realized it hadn’t changed yet and again worked my way out to the left.  This time Luke came in ahead of me and I followed him downwind.  At the gate I saw some nice pressure on the lower right of the course so I stayed right while Luke went all the way to the left.  I came back to the left lay line and was 5-8 lengths ahead of him when we reached the top mark.  On the final downwind he closed the gap, but I was able to finish just ahead of him.

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For the 3rd race the pin was a little favored so I planned to start down by the pin with Carlos and Luke below me.  I got there a little too quick and was OCS and so was Luke so we both tucked around the mark and restarted.  I ended up with a nice lane and crossed behind most of the fleet on port until I got to clear air.  Once in clear wind I worked my way back across to left-most boat and rounded only behind one other boat who was ultimately tossed for OCS.

On the 2nd upwind of the 3rd race the course was moved to the left  and this time I played a conservative middle-left to stay ahead of the guys behind to finish 1st.

Despite the light wind and washing machine seas due to the power boat chop – it ended up being some fun racing.  I appreciate that the RC stuck it out and we were able to race. I had the upwind boat speed thing figured out and while there were some things I could have done better – I didn’t make any mistakes and that got me to the front and let me stay there.  It was a nice accomplishment putting a whole race day together after the mistakes I made last time I was racing at the Laser District 11 Championship in August.

The forecast for Sunday is even more dismal than today’s, but we do start an hour earlier so I’m hoping we get some more racing in and I can keep the streak going.

RESULTS

Photos courtesy of Carlos Linares

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Sunday at the Laser District 11 Championship at Tred Avon Yacht Club saw much better wind and 4 more races for the standard fleet.  We sailed out in 8-12 and little current and partly cloudy skies.

In the first race I didn’t have a stellar start, but tacked out immediately and was able to cross a few boats on port and get to clear air on the right.  I worked my way up the middle left of the course and rounded the top mark in ~5th and turned to go downwind.  Only I wasn’t supposed to turn downwind – I missed the offset and had to sail back upwind 100 yards.  By the time I did my obligatory capsize and returned to round the offset I was in last place.  I stayed there until the 2nd upwind beat and I started sailing fast and picking up boats.  I continued to do that in the next two legs picking off 8 boats and managed to get back to 11th.

By the 2nd and 3rd races the current started to come in and was coming right down the course.  As a result our speed over ground was diminished and it felt like we had much less wind than we did.  Couple the wind/current with a little chop and the going started getting a lot tougher only because the feel of the boat was off.  I didn’t have great starts and found myself bouncing around in the middle of the pack and pulled a 9-7.

Going into the final race the current started to slow down a bit and I got my head on straight and I was determined not to make any mistakes.  I won the favored end of the start at the boat and just sailed to windward of leaders Luke Shingledecker and Henry Amthor.  I lead at the first mark, but Luke had better downwind speed and overhauled me.  Henry got me on the next leg and I continued to follow them around the course finishing with a 3rd.

While I had hoped for a top 5 finish, I ended up with a 6th and it goes to show despite flashes of brilliance it still came down to time in the boat and some unpolishedness that pulled me back.  All in all it was a fun event. I was glad to finally have a chance to visit Tred Avon Yacht Club and the volunteers there including PRO Mike Waters did a great job putting on our regatta.  Congrats to Luke and Henry who sailed a great regatta!

Final Results | PICTURES

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This year’s Laser District 11 Championship is being held at Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford Maryland.  Since FBYC and TAYC have their annual regattas on the same weekend – after all these years I’ve never had the opportunity to sail at TAYC and I was excited to see the place and sail there.  The racing is being run in conjunction with TAYC’s Heritage Regatta and so there were Shields, Stars and Log Canoes also out racing.

As we headed out to the race course the wind was somewhat light out of the north east with mostly overcast skies.  The race committee set a nice long mile+ course and got a start going for the 20 boats in the Standard fleet.  The wind was going a bit left at the start and a lot of boats were trying to win the pin.  I found a nice hole about 1/4 up from the boat and started there.  It wasn’t a great spot and I quickly found myself in a 2nd or 3rd row spot.

2014 Laser D11 Mark 1

Up the first beat I knew from watching the wind pre-race that I wanted to be on the left side of the course.  So as boats tacked out I just kept going left until I found myself in clear air.  I took that most of the way to the layline and found a wind lane to tack back on.  That worked out great because the right side of the course had less pressure.  I found myself 3rd around the top mark behind only Ted Morgan and Bill Lawson who had gone slightly more left than I did.

Downwind I made my way down the same side of the course I had come with and made sure I was the outside boat.  The better pressure and a little better current there helped me pull just ahead of the rest of the fleet at the windward mark.

Upwind 2 just ahead of the fleet before falling behind.

With the wind starting to die out the RC shortened the course at the next windward mark.  With the patchiness of the wind Joe Moran and I traded the lead a couple times before I ultimately banged the left too hard and he, Luke Shingledecker and Jeff Robbins were able to slip by leaving me 4th at the finish.

After the race we sat around in no wind as some light showers moved through the area.  We eventually called it a day without any further racing.  Back on shore we had a great vantage point of the Log Canoes capsizing – 3 of them.

Results

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The 75th Annual One Design Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club got off to a bit of a slow start with hardly any wind to be found.  The Laser fleet sat on the shore, boats rigged and communicated with the RC for when to come out to sail.  Eventually a whisper of something showed up on the course and we headed out.  Once on the course it was another 2 1/2 hours of sitting around before admitting defeat that the wind wasn’t going to fill and calling it a day.

By race time on Sunday we had a nice 6 knot breeze out of the ESE.  We had 8 Standard Lasers in our fleet.

75th FBYC AOD

In the first two races of the day the wind was still what I’d call ‘light’ with some shiftiness.  Eric Roos did a great job picking the shifts and put a nice lead on the rest of us on the first beat and held that to the finish.  I never felt comfortable with the boat in the first two races and just didn’t like my setup or boat speed.  I was hanging within sight of the leaders, but had to work to stay ahead of Brad, Mike and others all around me and settled for 3 & 5.

By the 3rd, 4th and 5th race we had another knot or two of pressure and I had settled down and gotten the boat setup right.  At the starts I was careful not to get pinned to one side of the course and to have clear air.  Upwind with the boat finally moving well I was able to pick my head out of the boat and really start picking the shifts.  On all 3 first upwind legs I was really well in phase and had 10+ boat length leads at the windward mark.

In one of those 3 races I made the downwind work and actually pulled away in one of them.  On the other 2 I felt like I was in a hole and struggled to not loose too much ground on the boats behind me.  In the final beat to the finish  of race 3 and 4 I was able to just cover the fleet and finish comfortably in 1st.  In the 5th race I made a few mistakes getting out of phase early in the final beat and had to play some catchup to finish just ahead of James Jacob who had been consistently 2nd all day long.

By the 6th and final race of the day the wind started easing just a bit.  I had a bad start, let myself get pinned on the wrong side of the course and rounded the first mark in 6th.  I clawed back to a 4th, but James Jacob’s consistency and my 4 & 5 put me 2 points behind him settling for 2nd place overall.

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Having had the new Laser out 5 times and this being the 2nd race day for it – it was really nice to finally have some races where I felt good and had it dialed in.  Two weeks from now is the District 11 Championship at Tred Avon and I can’t wait to give it another go.

Thanks to all of the other Laser sailors who came out and sailed with us and thanks to Matt Lambert for putting the regatta together and to Alex Alvis, Geoff Cahill, Donna Alvis, Cindy Corbett, David Lennarz, Brad Miller and everyone else who helped on RC.

Results

 

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We started the day with steady rain and plenty of it and hoping for a clearing to enable us to get some racing in for Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s Summer Laser Regatta.  After watching the weather for a bit we were going to have a break around mid-day so we made the call to race right off the dock in the 8-10 SSW breeze we had.

We got off to an on time start with 11 boats on the line.  The racing was fun and competitive.  The wind was shifty.  A few quick sprinkles rolled over the course before clearing later in the day.

Alex Jacob did a masterful job in the first 4 races and stretched out in all of them to take bullets.  Robert Suhay, Len Guenther, myself, Mike Moore, Brad Squires and James Jacob all sailed in a pack just behind with any one of us challenging for 2-6 in every race.

PRO Lud Kimbrough and his crew of Eliza Strickland, Anna Matchett, Clay Harris, Katherine Harris, Miles Kimbrough & Just Wilton did a great job being out there under threat of storms and adjusting the course as the wind flaked back and forth.  The course lengths were great allowing us to stretch out just enough, but still keeping the starts and the races close.

My day and my first race with my new boat – No Quarter – was a bit of a mixed bag.  I had the boat together well enough, but my lack of time in the boat this year clearly showed.  I stayed with the pack and had some great legs, but wasn’t able to put a whole race together.  I’ll be Laser sailing the next 3 weekends and should be ready by then for the District 11 Championship at Tred Avon August 23-24.

RESULTS | PICTURES

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I spent most of today at Fishing Bay Yacht Club putting the new boat together.  After 4 hours and 3 trips to West Marine and I had it all tricked out like I wanted and ready to sail.

6/14 drilling holes in and tricking out the new boat.

6/14 about to launch the new boat for the first time.

What really surprised me when I was sailing was how much stiffer the mast seemed.  I haven’t sailed many boats and am pretty used to the feel of the old boat.  I’m guessing after 17 years the old mast has been flexed so many times it’s lost a bit of stiffness.  Couple the stiffer mast with control lines that are just a little thinner than I’m used to and I really felt like a wimp trying to crank everything in.  I’m sure it’ll loosen up a bit as I get used to it.  The other difference was the all Holt-Allen fittings which were just a little different than the Harken ones I’m used to.  I’m not sure yet which I prefer, but I’m sure I’ll be able to tell in time.

6/14 first sail in the new boat.

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I was supposed to be on my  way to Cape May New Jersey today for the District 10 Championship Regatta at Wildwood Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May.  I was looking forward to visiting with NJ sailors and visiting a new club.  I was also looking to avenge a demon of the last time I was in Cape May and had a run-in with yacht in the harbor.

That wasn’t going to be.  Last night when I was loading the Laser I slipped with it and it fell off the car with the bow hitting with a thud.  It got a small crack in the gunwale and there were several inches of the hull/deck joint that separated where the boat flexed so it was clearly out of commission.  It’s fixable, but it will be a while. Me, the car and the ground made out with out any scratches.

159785 was one of the boats at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, has a great logo on the side of it and was a very well made boat.  I was fortunate that the boat was a spare for that regatta and didn’t get as beat up as the other boats.  We picked it up at the beginning of 1997 and it served me well for the 17 years since. But with any boat sailed that hard for that long – it was beginning to show its age and have little things go wrong with it from time to time.  Almost exactly a year ago I was in NJ and the traveler fairlead pulled out.  I had planned on getting a new boat in the next year anyway so might as well move that up and pick up a new boat to use while the old one is getting fixed.  Eventually, I’ll keep the old boat at the club for local sailing and keep the new boat in Richmond ready for travel events.

The name for this boat will be No Quarter.  That’s the beloved battle cry of my ECU Pirates and loosely means show no mercy, take no prisoners and accept only unconditional surrender.

I ultimately decided I had enough things go wrong for one weekend and didn’t want to temp fate any further by trying to race on a brand new boat… so I thought it best to sit this D10 Championship out and get the boat put together and take it easy this weekend.  I’ll have the boat out for it’s maiden voyage tomorrow.

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Friday

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This afternoon I arrived in Wickford, Rhode Island for the Wickford Regatta that’s also going to be the Laser District 7 Championship. I found the club and the beach across town where we are sailing out of and unloaded the boat and got to go for a practice sail in a dying breeze. In the evening I hung out at the club meeting some of the other members, sailors and volunteers and met the couple that is hosting me. This is my first time sailing anywhere on Narragansett Bay let alone anywhere in Rhode Island and I’m looking forward to a great Laser fleet and good racing conditions tomorrow!

Saturday

Wickford Regatta Jon Sailing Upwind

The forecast for Sunday called for wind to come up and build in the mid-teens shortly after mid-day.  We got exactly that and then some with gusts in the upper teens by the 3rd race.  With the failure of the outhaul/cunningham base block screw yesterday I rigged the cunningham normally and rigged the outhaul the old way on the boom.  Not as adjustable, but it’d get me through the day.

Wickford Regatta Outhaul Rig

We were the first start of the day and I didn’t do so hot on the first one.  I was coming to the first mark mid-fleet and the race committee abandoned us before the first boat go to the windward mark because a large fishing trawler was very close to the mark and on the rhumb line to our reach mark moving slowly.

We restarted and this time I had a good start and did well to hold my lane.  I had reasonable upwind speed, but still not quite as much as those who could hold the boat down better.  I rounded in 10-12, caught one on the reach, caught another on the run, and then picked up 2-4 more spots on the 2nd upwind where I picked the shifts well and held onto that for 8th.

Wickford Sunday Reach

In the 2nd race of the day I had another good start and held my lane well up the beat.  By now the wind had increase a few more knots and I just wasn’t moving the boat upwind as well as others who sailed more in heavy wind.  (It was probably some time last summer since I spent more than an hour racing in 15+).  I finished around 12-13, but a few folks were OCS pulling me up to 9.

The wind built more for the 3rd race and by new we were getting some 2’+ waves rolling through.  At that point I was just hanging on and just trying to keep the boat moving as fast as I could while trying to minimize tacking and slowing down.  I played the downwind pretty conservatively to keep the boat upright and finished 10th.

By 2pm the RC planned one more race and I could see we were going to be getting rained on within the hour.  I didn’t think another race was going to change my score much and I had accomplished what I came for which was competitive racing in wind and I decided I better get on the road so I don’t get back too late.

Traffic back was miserable in Connecticut.  What should have been the first 2 1/2 hours took over 4.  South of NYC everything cleared out and I got home at 1:30am.  Overall it was a good trip.  I got to sail a new venue, meet some new sailors and get some more competitive racing in before the D10 championship and ACC coming up in a few weekends.  Thanks again to everyone at Wickford Yacht Club for putting on a great regatta and to the Northrups for the great place to stay.

Results | Pictures: here here here here here here here

Sunday

2013 Wickford Regatta Saturday Reach

We had great wind and racing for the first day of the Wickford Regatta & Laser District 7 Championship. We had 24 boats and sailed 3 races in 10-15 out of the south and overcast skies with temperatures in the mid 60’s.

I got out to a bit of a slow start and continued to feel better in the boat each race and put up better results each race. In the first race I was a little slow at the start and got bounced around a bit on the first beat. I was fast on the reach and held on downwind to end up 14th.

2013 Wickford Regatta Saturday Start

In the second race I had a better start, but still had a tough time on the first beat and rounded the first mark deep. I had a great second beat and picked off some boats and ended up 11th.

After finishing the 2nd race I realized that one of the heads of the screws holding the outhaul/cunningham block at the base of the mast sheared off and was only being held down by one screw. I re-rigged the outhaul so it was fixed and not deck-led to relieve some pressure to get me through the rest of the races.

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As a result of fixing the outhaul and setting up for the start a little late, I didn’t have a good lane at the start and wound up tacking out early and ducking a lot of boats. That worked out pretty well when the wind started going right and I was able to pick the shifts to round top-5. Downwind I rounded 3rd and luckily went to the right gate (looking upwind) and went right upwind where we got a 30-degree righty, so I immediately found myself on the layline. I got out-ground in the higher winds, to round in 5th and then lost 2 more on the downwind to finish 7th.

The RC tried to start another race, first under P and then under I, but we general recalled both times and they sent us in as it was already after 4pm.

All in all it was a good day on the water and other than not being able to adjust the outhaul, I felt like I was getting into a groove and making the boat go well. Hopefully we’ll have another couple of races tomorrow.

Results

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Friday

Arrived at the Columbia Sailing Club this evening and ready to sail the District 12 Championship tomorrow!

Saturday

We had a great first day of the District 12 Championship at Columbia Sailing Club in Columbia South Carolina.  We sailed 5 races that at some point in each of the races we had 4 knots and 10 knots.  In the lighter winds I did well on the first upwind leg most races and worked hard to hold onto my spot on the downwinds.  I put up a 3-2-8-1-2 and am currently 2 points out of first behind John Potter from Beaufort SC.  Tomorrow will be another light air day and hopefully I can keep up the top 3 finishes to have a shot at the title.

Provisional Results (the winner in race 3 will be RET and everyone moves up one)

Sunday

The forecast for the last day of the Laser District 12 Championship was for light air and as we were sailing out to the race course we had great wind – 10-12 knots.  By our 10am start it had dropped at bit and it continued to go down from there.  Today was a basically a two-boat race.  Unless I put up two DFLs it would have been hard not to get 2nd place.  Once a drop would be factored in, I was effectively 1 point behind John Potter, so it would come down to today’s races as to who won the regatta.

first race start tacked out to the right

In our first race today I had a crummy start – I just about won the boat, but had no boat speed at the start.  John was to leeward of me and was a boat length and a half ahead when I crossed the line.  I took a big duck and headed out right while he sailed to the left.  Wanting to consolidate I came back to the middle having made up some ground, but John tacked on me and forced me back to the right.   On the middle right of the course I had better pressure and got in front of John, but the boats who went left did much better than us putting me around 6th and John several boats behind me by the time we rounded.

Downwind John caught up a few boats and on the 2nd upwind I stuck to the middle of the course while John went to the left.   When we got to the top 3rd of the course a 50-degree righty came in and I laid the mark while John out to the left still had to tack to fetch it.  At the mark there was one boat between us and downwind I worked to  pass one boat on the way to the finish.  With two boats between us that put me 1 point ahead of John.

After the race we sat on the course for half an hour with no prospect of wind and the race committee abandoned racing for the rest of the day and I won the District 12 Championship Regatta.  Not only was John great competition this weekend, but so were sailors such as Rob Bowden who would have beat both John and I had he not been OCS twice.  All in all it was a fun regatta and I got to visit a an awesome club who put on a great and I got meet a lot of new District 12 sailors.

Results | My Photos | VIDEO

All but the last photo courtesy of Joe Reyes

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Saturday

2012 D11 Championship Saturday on the water

We had an absolutely beautiful day in Annapolis for the first day of the Laser District 11 Championship with 33 boats.  We did 4 races in 15-18 knots with each race taking about 45 minutes.  We sailed in their area C which was just north of Tolly Point with the wind at 200-180.  I did a reasonable job keeping up with the lead pack in winds that were right at the very top if not slightly above my competitive range. Having finished 5-7-7-10 I’m in 7th and looking forward to the slightly lighter winds predicted for tomorrow.  Results.

2012 District 11 Championship Crab Feast

Sunday

DCIM\100GOPRO

We sailed another 3 races on Sunday to complete the District 11 Championship.  The wind started out around 14-15 out of the north, north west and died off to about 8 by the end of the 3rd race.  It was very shifty and challenging.  I put up a 9-4-9 today to finish in 6th.  Best part of the day was on the first beat in the 2nd race when I pulled off a perfect pick move when the Schooner Woodwind crossed behind me and blanketed the entire rest of the fleet (seen above).

Results | Pictures

Here’s a picture from sailing on Saturday that was posted on SpinSheet’s website.

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