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.

IMG_2854

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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Saturday

At the Columbia Sailing Club for the 1st day of the the District 12 Grand Prix and South Carolina State Championship regatta and we had lighter than light wind to start the day.  We postponed ashore for about 2 hours before a wisp of wind appears and we headed out.

10/5 Columbia Sailing Club - D12 Grand Prix Regatta & SC State Championship

We sailed around the corner from the club on the North side of the lake.  This became important because those who sailed near shore got an incredible lift. Of course I didn’t learn that in the the first race and found myself out to the left on the first beat and deep in the fleet, settling for 11.

It amazed me how fast the top 10 boats were.  Even though it was only 5 knots of breeze, everyone had good speed.  So it really came down to picking the shifts right.

In the 2nd race I played the right a little better and climbed through the fleet for a 6th.  In the 3rd and final race of the day I was doing well as the 2nd boat clear ahead on the first beat, but I still didn’t play the right as well as some other boats and found myself deep again, especially after a couple sailors made the left work and came out of nowhere.

So I’m in 10th a good few points out of 9th.  They’ve moved up the start time to 9am in hopes of getting more racing in before the 1pm cutoff and before the remnants of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Karen come through late Sunday evening.  Tomorrow’s another day and hopefully we’ll have something other than light air and flat water for me to work with and climb up in the standings.

After sailing we hung out on the fabulous porch at the club watching football, sharing sailing war stories and singing along to guitar with the other campers.

Sunday

10/6 Columbia Sailing Club - D12 Grand Prix Regatta & SC State Championship

Woke up to a pretty thick fog this morning and little prospect of wind.  The race committee had bumped up the start time to 9am for a first warning hoping to get a few more races in.  Most of the fleet headed out into the thick fog and in the distance I could hear the horns of a race starting and later being abandoned.  In the picture above you can barely make out the lasers just behind the point.

Rather than race in nearly no wind, I decided to get on the road and get home at a reasonable hour, so I packed and headed out.  Turns out no races ended up being run at all and Saturday’s results stood.

Despite the lack of wind, it was still a fun time and I got to meet a lot of cool D12 sailors.  Thanks again to Columbia Sailing Club for having the Laser sailors back and putting on a great regatta!

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Friday

9/27/2013 J/70 NAC - J/70 waiting around.

This weekend is the Laser District 11 Championship at Severn Sailing Association.  The J70 North American Championship is going on Thursday through Saturday with 90 boats and so I decided to come up a day early to go out and spectate.  The wind didn’t cooperate much and after 4 hours sitting on the water, racing was cancelled for the day.  While we didn’t get to see any sailing, it was still nice to get on the water.  Thanks to Brian Reagan for the ride out to spectate.

Tomorrow we’ll have 40+ Lasers and Radials out for our two-day championship.  Lighter winds are expected which just means – it’s anyone’s race to win!

9/27/2013 J/70 NAC - out spectating.

Saturday

We started the 2013 District 11 Championship with 32 standards and 9 radials at Severn Sailing Association.  It was overcast with and the wind was blowing 8-12.  Out on the water we had a bit of a time getting started with the current pushing us over and multiple general recalls and restarts.

I didn’t have a particularly great start in the first race, but I made my way to the right and picked the shifts up the beat catching boats on every upwind.  As the race went on the wind started dropping and was 7 or 8 with left over lumps and chop. I ended up 7th.

In the 2nd race I had a terrible start and won the 6th row getting shut out at the boat.   I worked my way up the first beat just looking for clear lanes and only had 4 boats behind me at the first mark.  Downwind I picked up boats and I picked up another handful on the upwinds.  Salvaged a 10th.

For the 3rd race we still had a 7-8 knots and the chop started going down a bit.  I had a great start, but let Brady and Mike get ahead and to the right.  I followed and when they broke to the left I hung out to the right and crossed both of them.  I was first at the top mark and lost a boat downwind.  Mike Russom was fast and made a good comeback.  But Ted Morgan had the best lines and speed and beat everyone at the top mark.  I held onto 4th.

After racing we had crabs and listened to a band on the SSA deck.

Sunday

Sunday’s racing at the Laser District 11 Championship in Annapolis started out much like Saturday, but with less wind.  We started the first race under mostly cloudy skies and 8-10 knots of breeze.

After a general recall under P flag the RC went straight to the black flag.  I had a decent start near the boat end and worked my way out to the right along with Ted Morgan.  Karen long hit the right even better than we did and rounded the mark first with me and Ted just behind her.  Downwind I got ahead and put some distance between myself and the group just behind me.   From there I just kept ahead on the remaining 3 legs and took the gun.

Sunday’s 2nd race didn’t go so well.  My start wasn’t as good and I got behind early by being on the wrong side of the shifts on the first beat settling for a 12.  The thing I learned in the 2nd race was that the mode I was using to make the boat go fast upwind in a little more wind and more chop, stopped working when the wind lightened and the water got flatter.

By the 3rd and final race the wind was pretty light and the chop was just the random power boat variety.  We were moving, but it was slow going at times, particularly downwind.  I won the boat at the start and again worked my way up the middle right.  This time the far right didn’t pay.  And much of the fleet had gone left hoping it would pay off like it did last race – it didn’t.  I rounded 2nd just behind Brady White with Brett Morris behind me.  Brady extended his lead and I was able to hold off Brett.  We would go on to finish 1-2-3.

With that finish and knowing several boats would have black flags, I knew the top 2-7 boats would all be pretty close.  The 1 & 2 today certainly helped, but the 12 meant I’d have to keep a 10.  In the end it was the bullet that won me the tiebreaker for 3rd place overall.

Despite the light winds, it was fun to be competing at the top of the fleet – especially with some sailors who I’m usually following around the course.  And with 34 boats there were plenty of sailors keeping the competition close. Thanks again to Steven Cofer and everyone at SSA for hosting our championship!  And congratulations to winner Mike Russom who sailed a very consistent regatta with top 5 finishes.

RESULTS | PICTURES

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Saturday

Quite a day for the first day of the 2013 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club on Long Beach Island NJ.  Looking at the scores – everyone was up and down  and very inconsistent.  We had 4 races with 4 very different conditions for each.

In the first race I had a poor start, but picked my way into mid fleet.  Right at the end I tapped someone at a mark rounding and had to do turns.  Finished 41.

2013 Laser ACC Race 2 start

By the second race we had 6-8 knots of breeze.  I picked out the pin end to start and nobody was down there.  I won the pin and just punched out and kept going out to the left and stayed out front.  By the top mark only Eric Reitinger was just ahead of me.  On the downwind a couple boats caught me and on the 2nd upwind I found a hole and lost 10 boats.  I held there and finished 15.

2013 Laser ACC Race 3 -a

In the 3rd race we started under black flag and had what I thought was a great spot, but suddenly I found myself bow out, chickened out and backwinded so I didn’t get black flagged.  As we went upwind the wind continued to die and it started to rain.  That continued throughout the race and by the last leg we were barely going along and I finished deep.

In the last race the wind came up to 9-11 with clear skies and I had another terrible start.  I immediately tacked out and got bounced further to the right and found myself on the layline at the mark about 25th.  Both downwinds I went way right mostly just to stay away from the other sailors and picked up a spot or two on each.  On the 2nd upwind we had a course change with the wind shifting.  I picked the phase perfectly and picked up at least 10 spots upwind.  Finished 13th.

All in all it was a tough day but still a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to day 2 tomorrow. 

Sunday

The 2nd day of the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship started out early and started with no wind.  We had a 0930 first warning and they sent us out – towed most of us out to where we sat for 2 hours.  By 11 the wind started coming in from the south and built from there.  The Standard rigs got 3 more races in, 2 for the other fleets.  By the 3rd race we had solid hiking conditions.

I had a tough day.  I didn’t start well and the short first beat meant everyone went around the first 3 legs in a clump.  The 2nd beat was always where I made my gains picking out the shifts upwind and picking off 10+ boats to get me back closer to the middle of the fleet.  Thanks again to Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club for putting on  a good regatta and I had a great time meeting new people and seeing friends.

RESULTS | My Photos | Regatta Photos | VIDEO

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