Category: ILCA Sailing

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

Friday

I completed the last bit of the drive to Austin and after a work meeting during the morning in town, headed over to Austin Yacht Club for some practice ahead of the Easter Laser Regatta.  This is an event that had been on my bucket list some time and everything worked out to be able to do it this year.

Late in the afternoon, me and Forest Atkins, from the Dallas Laser Fleet, headed out for some practice.  The wind was a perfect 10-12 with mostly flat water.  This was my second day out with the MkII sail and nearly 5 months since the last Laser regatta I sailed.  And it showed.  I spent most of the first hour just remembering what the boat felt like and getting the new sail tuned correctly.  The more we sailed the more speed I found.  2 hours later we headed in and then met up with some more of the Dallas Laser Fleet members for dinner nearby.

Saturday

The first day at the Easter Laser Regatta at Austin Yacht Club started out as a beautiful morning.  Granted the night before was quite cold and I woke up in the van shivering a couple times even in my sleeping bag.  After registering and a quick skippers meeting we were rigged and heading out to the course in light but definitely sailable conditions with 21 standards and 9 radials.

In the first race I had a great start, picked some shifts up the first beat and rounded the first mark in 3rd.  That rounding was a little tighter than it should have been with Doug K tacking under me and Griffin at the mark and fouling us.  I hated to have to protest him for it, but it was a clear foul and he didn’t do his turns – leading to a DSQ for Doug. The course was an 8 leg race with a windward leeward, a triangle followed by another windward leeward and a final windward leg to finish.  It was a long race, but I managed to get passed by one boat and pass another boat to stay in 3rd.

After another good start in the 2nd race I was in the top 5 or 6 around the top mark and then just worked on passing boats upwind while not loosing any downwind and managing a 4th.  The conditions continued to be very up and down requiring a lot of mode changes to keep the boat tuned.  I was also sailing with the mkII sail and getting the hang of tuning it.

By the 3rd race the wind was starting to fill in more consistently.  On two of the upwind legs I managed to miss a couple shifts and could never seem to get around the 5-10 clump of boats and wound up in 11th.

We headed ashore for lunch and returned in the afternoon to see the wind a little stronger and varying between 8 and 15 knots.   The course was a little shorter and the shifts were fewer and while I don’t feel like I sailed any worse – I could definitely tell that the rest of the fleet was sailing a lot better and making the races a lot more competitive.

In the 4th race I got behind on the first leg, but had a great 6th leg picking shifts to come back and get ahead and finished 6th.

The 5th race I found myself mostly in the trailing pack after a not so great started and managed to pick some folks off upwind.  By the last leg we had light hiking conditions and I was starting to figure out more of the modes in the mkII sail.  I made it work for me when I pinched off Jody S in a mkI sail as we went into the finish to leave me in 5th for the race and tied for 4th overall.

Following racing we all had dinner at Mexican restaurant followed by drinks on the porch at the club.  I mostly hung out with the folks from the Dallas Laser Fleet and enjoyed meeting them and feeling like a member of their group.

Photos of me by McDonald Photography here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, & here.

SUNDAY

Sunday at the Easter Laser Regatta started with very light winds and the race committee postponed us ashore.  Before we knew it, it was blowing stink and we were headed out on the course to start a race.  I won the boat and immediately went right while the entire rest of the fleet went left.  The name of the game was just gritting it out and when we came back together at the top mark – it didn’t seem to have mattered which way folks went.

As I rounded the top mark with about 5 or 6 boats  ahead of me, I misjudged it and hit the mark with the boom.  Given the wind speed, my conditioning, the boats ahead wiping out all over the place I knew there was no chance I was going to successfully execute a jibe in doing my 360 to exonerate myself.  Knowing it was only going to get worse on the day – I made the decision to just call it a day.  9 other boats followed.

Two races were sailed and the event rules for DNF were actually a little more favorable than Appendix A and because so many other boats bailed – I was still able to finish in 8 after not having a finish for either of the 2 races sailed.

Landing the boat at the club was a little tricky with the wind shooting right down the dock into the ramp, but after pulling up on a floating dock and de-rigging, the naked hull was easier to get out of the water without banging anything up.  Onshore I got packed up and got on the road.  I was bummed to miss the awards – glad I got to sail the Easter Laser Regatta and thanks Fred for everything you do to put this on.

RESULTS | PICTURES

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We had a windy start for the first day of racing at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club 76th Annual One Design Regatta.  Two lasers were unfortunately involved in a collision before the first race that left one boat severely holed and not sea worthy.  A broken mast and traveler on other boats rounded out the rest of the carnage.

The second day was much lighter.  We hadn’t sailed on the same course as Flying Scots in a while and with 16 of them on the course – it was important to find clear air.  In the end I finished 2nd to Charlie Brewer who sailed a great regatta and found a way to win the last race to take the regatta.

RESULTS

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Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

The 2nd day of the Laser District 8 Championship at Sayville Yacht Club started out slow with nearly an hour postponement on shore as we waited for the wind to build.  As expected it did and we had another 3 races in 8 building to 14.  With a little less chop than yesterday afternoon along with some good starts enabled me to stay with the fleet and I even led some of the last race.  The downwinds were tough for me – an area I still need to work on.

Sunday’s finishes of 5-7-5 were enough to move up to 7th overall.  Another fun trip to Sayville – nice club, well-run regatta (even without the corn on the cob) and a beautiful place to sail and camp.

RESULTS | PICTURES

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No Quarter At Sayville Yacht CLub 2015

Arrived at Sayville Yacht Club Friday afternoon as a junior regatta was wrapping up with 150 sailors scattered all over the place.  I got out to practice for a little over an hour in similar conditions to the first day of racing.

On Saturday the wind slowly built throughout the morning and afternoon with a nice sea breeze and mostly sunny skies.  The course was a long one and something I hadn’t seen as much of yesterday was the seaweed that definitely slowed us down.  And having sailed so much at FBYC I realize I had gotten used to the waves and was a little thrown by the more irregular pattern here.  So it was a tough slog through 5 races today where I had some good moments and some bad ones.  It was still fun and is a very competitive fleet and I’m sitting right at mid table.

Tomorrow a little lighter winds are expected and 3 more races are scheduled.

Day 1 Results

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Manasquan River Yacht club before the 2nd day of the Laser District 10 Championship

Despite a dismal forecast we ended up with better wind than Saturday for the 2nd day of the Laser District 10 Championship at Manasquan River Yacht Club.  Out on the ocean course we started on time and sailed 3 races in 6-9 knot breezes.  I generally didn’t start well which put me in a tough spot for the first beat and I settled for just below mid-fleet in each race.

The excitement for the day was the ride in – since we had better wind than expected, we finished the racing sooner than expected and before the current turned to go back into the river.  So to return to the club we were sailing downwind and up current.  Most of the trip was fine until we got to the bridges.  The railroad bridge is only about 40-50ft wide and only 1 maybe two boats can get through there at a time.  The current also rips through the 1 span that boats can go through.

With some well-timed and vicious sculling and pumping I made it through on the first try.  Others weren’t so lucky and had to make a couple attempts, get a tow, or one unlucky sailor made it through only to be pushed back into the bridge where he went back under it tipped over while trying to be towed out.  The 2nd bridge was a little easier, but still a struggle to get under.

RESULTS

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In NJ this weekend sailing the Laser District 10 Championship at Manasquan River Yacht Club.  Prior to sailing here all I had hear about the place is that the channel was really narrow and the current runs really strongly.

The ride out to the course was pretty interesting.  Not only is was the current taking us out, but there is a bridge to go under and a railroad bridge that closed just before we got to it, so we had to circle and not be swept into it by the current.  We made it out to the channel where the wind was blowing 15+ on the ocean with small white caps and a bit of a swell coming out of the south.

DCIM\130GOPRO

The first race got underway in quite a bit of wind.  I made a mistake while repairing my bailer that kept me from being able to open it.  So in the sloppy waves my cockpit filled up with water.  I got around the course, but just never really had it figured out and was deep.

DCIM\131GOPRO

By the second race the wind had mostly died out to just a few knots.  I won the boat and got a righty just after the start allowing me to just punch out by 1/4 way up the beat.  I led until the last 1/4 of the last leg where Mike Russom finally reeled me in and picked a few better shifts at the finish of the shortened course leaving me with a 2.

The 3rd and 4th races were also sailed after waiting for the wind to settle.  Both light-air affairs.  The only highlight was banging the left corner so hard to hook into more pressure that I was able to reach into the mark passing 5 boats.  Why there were so many boats to pass was given my finish position is another story.

I’m currently in 11th and with a couple good races tomorrow I should be able to move up a few spots.

RESULTS

 

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My first race of 2015 and why not do it at a District Championship.  Severn Sailing Association held the District 11 Championship in conjunction with their Sunshine Open Regatta.  27 Lasers and 16 Radials were out in what were nearly frostbite conditions on the first day.

I started with a great race sailing in 2nd most of the way around the course and loosing a spot on the final leg finishing 3rd.  I’d go downhill from there, but not before a few top 3 roundings before giving up spots downwind.  I met my goal of all top 10 finishes.

Back on short after 4 races I warmed up and enjoyed the dinner and band.

Sunday was a little better wind and we sailed 2 more races.  i had a tougher go of it finishing 1 in double digits followed by an 8 to finis 6th overall.

No pictures this time but results can be found here.  Big thanks to SSA for hosting, congratulations to Luke who sailed a great regatta to win it and thanks again for Steve for the place to stay.

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Today’s forecast looked even worse than yesterday so the postponement flag was hoisted in the morning.  We then proceeded to do all of the things that ensure wind – namely other things like packing the boats, going power boating and canoeing. And by 10:45 the faithful who stuck it out were treated to a 7-9 knot breeze from the SSE.

We got 4 more races in before the time limit.  I won the first race using a similar strategy to yesterday.  But as the conditions changed in the 2nd and 3rd races and as I went into lead-conservation-mode – I found that everyone else was suddenly just as fast as I was and there weren’t many passing lanes.  I settled for 3rd in the next two races and not knowing if there was a drop or not in the last race, I just figured I just had to be better than DFL.  A 6 in that race ended up being my drop and I ended up 1st by 5 points.

It was great for me to finally put more than a just few races together and get a good result.  Thanks Steve, Dorian and everyone else for doing everything they did to put on the regatta.  I enjoyed sailing with the SSA Laser sailors and look forward to sailing with them again soon.

2014 Crab Claw Standard Winners

RESULTS

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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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