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.
Today was my driving day to get to the District 8 Championship at Sayville Yacht Club in Long Island. I left Richmond at 4:30 in t he morning and arrived at the club around 2:30 in the afternoon. I lost track of how many wrong turns I made. It took over two hours to cover 40 miles transiting New York City.
Sayville Yacht Club is located about halfway out Long Island on the south bay near Patchogue Bay. The forecast for tomorrow is for it to be a little on the lighter side – under 10 knots. Sunday we should have a little more wind with the south west sea breeze blowing through.
Saturday
The forecast for today started out looking pretty dismal. 5 knots out of the North West at 11am building to all of 8 by the middle of the afternoon and then dying. We sailed out to the course in almost nothing. The committee set the line and right at the time we should have started the first race the wind started swinging around to the South. A 15-minute postponement later we had a 15-20 knot sea breeze.
My day consisted of some solid sailing with some moments of brilliance and stupidity thrown in to keep it interesting. I was able to stay with or in the lead pack in most of the races and I was pretty happy being competitive in the 15-18 knot range whereas I traditionally haven’t been able to keep up in that.
All in all it was good racing and a fun but grueling day on the water with 5 races. I finished 2-7-4-3-5 putting me into 3rd overall in the 14-boat fleet. After racing we relaxed on the deck of Sayville Yacht Club, ate burgers, met some new people and listened to some live music. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.
The regatta continues tomorrow with 3 more races planned. I’m really hoping for just a couple knots less of wind so I can show my speed and stay up front. Fingers crossed.
On Sunday for the second day of the Laser District 8 Championship Regatta we had 12-15 knots out of the east. We sailed three 2-lap windward-lewards just off the beach in front of the club. I stayed with the leaders and usually made the left side of the course work upwind. I had good upwind speed, but usually lost a spot or two on the downwind legs. I finished 3-4-5 on the day, good enough to hold onto 3rd place overall. (results)
The trip home went well considering I drained my EZPass account on the way up and had to stop at every toll booth on the way back. When I got into Richmond the warning lights on the dash started coming on and as I pulled into my driveway the car stalled. I’m glad to have made it home.
After a half day of work and an afternoon drive to Wrightsville Beach North Carolina I’m at Carolina Yacht Club for the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship this weekend. It looks like we’re going to have some beautiful weather with warm conditions and mostly sun. That also means the wind could be a little light at times.
This evening I hung out with the SSA crowd who have a house a couple blocks down from the club. We had a lasagna dinner and watched the sunset. Approximately 16 sailors from District 11 have made the trip down. We’ve all got D11 pinnies so we should be easy to spot.
Saturday
First day of the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship at Carolina Yacht Club in Wrightsville Beach NC. I was on the fence and decided to go with the standard rig. We had mostly clear skies with 10-14 knots of wind. The first race started around 11:45 and I had a good start out to the left. On the very first tack of the very first leg of the first race my vang broke. I’m not sure if I just didn’t have the pin in all the way or what happened, but I spent two minutes getting that straight and being DFL at the first mark. I made up a little over 5 boats and ended up 37 out of 45 boats.
In the second race I had a great start and was able to hold my lane most of the way up the first beat. I hung with the main pack and managed a 26th place finish. In the 3rd and 4th races the wind calmed down a bit and the lumpy sea state made it tough to maintain boat speed. I was well into the 30’s boat races putting me in 33rd for the regatta.
After racing I cleaned up and put away the boat. We ate the regatta dinner and then hit downtown Wilmington with the Annapolis crowd.
Sunday
Sunday just wasn’t my day. I sailed out to the course, but knew it was going to be a rough day for me. Overpowered with big waves and not feeling so great so I headed back in.
The trip to Clearwater Florida for the 2011 Laser Midwinters East was an easy one. Ted brought brought my boat down last week when he came for Masters Midwinters and so this afternoon I was able to fly down. Once in town I settled into the hotel, got the boat checked in and went to dinner with Bob, Ted and Adam.
Tomorrow will be the first of 4 days of racing in the standard rig. The forecast is for lighter winds on Thursday with a little more on Friday and Saturday. There will be close to 80 other boats with me in the Standard rig fleet and over 200 total at the regatta. This is my first time at Midwinters and I’m looking forward to a great weekend of sailing.
Thursday
We had some light winds and chop for the first day of the Laser Midwinters in Clearwater Florida. They split the 78 boat standard rig fleet and I was sailing with the blue fleet with the 3rd start of the day. I was one of the last to arrive at the race course and after a quick postponement they got the fleets started. In the first race I had a bit of a slow start and was in the 30s around the first mark. As I got more comfortable in the boat I clawed back a few spots at a time and came back to 27th. On the last downwind leg I was going downwind on starboard with another boat sailing parallel to me on port. Our masts touched so I protested him. I normally wouldn’t follow through with a protest that doesn’t really affect my finish, but I wasn’t a fan of how the guy handled it on the water so he got tossed later that evening in the protest hearing that he failed to show up to.
We sat on the water for over an hour while the wind clocked around to the right and the course got reset. We started the 2nd race in about 8 knots of breeze. I had a good start and was on the favored side of the course. I had better boat speed than the first race and hung right behind the lead pack. Up until the last two legs I held my place pretty well, but by the last two races I made some positioning mistakes and let some boats sneak inside me and ended up 23rd.
All in all it was a good day of sailing. The weather was comfortable and the water is not too cold. I’m sitting in 50th and if I can put up some solid finishes tomorrow, I might be able to sneak into the top fleet going into the weekend. The forecast tomorrow is for more wind in the 10-15 knot range.
Friday
For the second race day at Laser Midwinters we had 12-14 knots all day. I sailed with the leaders all day long … that was the leaders of the fleet behind me. It was a beautiful day with warm weather and we sailed 3 races. It wasn’t my best day as I am not competitive in the top end of that range wind range. I’m getting more experience in that kind of wind and getting my muscles used to hiking again after a few month hiatus.
I was in the back of the pack so I’ll definitely be in the silver fleet. Looking forward to sailing with the back half of the fleet in what should be some laid back and competitive sailing at more my level.
Saturday
Light air day in Clearwater for the Laser Midwinters. To begin the day we were postponed on shore due to lack of wind at the racing area. There was a nice wind blowing through the sailing center which made it even that much harder to sit around. I did some sightseeing and walked across the street to see the beach.
Around noon the wind filled in enough at the race course for them to send us off. We waited around at the course for a bit while the wind settled and the Standard Gold fleet eventually started in 4-6 knots out of the West South West. Our fleet started under black flag and I had a reasonably good start towards the middle-pin end. I made my way to my left and kept my tacks to a minimum arriving in at the windward mark just behind the top 10 boats. I held my speed pretty well with the rest of the fleet and managed to stay ahead of the scrum of about 15 boats behind me. With 4 boats ahead of me black flagged, I ended up finishing 10th in the silver fleet.
Tomorrow is the last day at midwinters. The weather has been great and the sailing has been fun. We have an earlier start tomorrow and are hoping for a little more wind than we had today. And as soon as we are off the water tomorrow, Ted and I will start the long drive back to VA/MD.
Sunday
We started the final day of the 2011 Laser Midwinters east a little earlier. We had to check out of the hotel and be out on the water for a 10am first start. Despite being one of the first to leave the dock, I was one of the few without a coach boat and therefore one of the last to reach the race course. It wasn’t much of a problem because we were postponed on the water for over an hour before the sea breeze finally came in with 5-10 knots of breeze.
The silver standard rig fleet only got to sail one race before we reached the mid-afternoon time limit. The first start was recalled and we restarted under black flag. I had a terrible start and was so far behind so fast I just ended up ducking a couple stragglers and banging the right corner. It ended up paying off as I was in the 15-20 range at the top mark. I did pretty well reaching and downwind but lost a few more boats when the right DID NOT pay off on the second beat. I finished somewhere in the low 20’s.
The sea breeze made it an easy sail in and Ted and I got the boats and car packed up in record time to begin the drive back to Richmond and then on to Annapolis.
I definitely enjoyed my first trip to the Laser Midwinters East Regatta. I learned a lot, got to sail alongside some great sailors, met some new people, and got back into the boat after a few months off. I’m looking forward to getting a little more practice and going ready to compete at the ACC’s and NAC’s later this spring and summer.
Today was the first day of the District 10 Championship at Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May. The day started with a nice sail out to course out the channel and in the ocean. At that point the wind died and the confused seas were rather uncomfortable to try and sit in.
An hour later the wind picked up and the race was started. I had a great start in the middle of the line on Port! Found a great hole in the mid-line sag and jumped out to a 4 boat lead. I was first boat around the windward mark with one boat close behind. He got me on the downwind and I followed him to a 2nd place finish.
The wind picked up a little in the 2nd race, but I still wasn’t overpowered and managed a 5th. The wind picked up for the final two races and I finished 11th and 12th in the 26 boat fleet. What started out as a pretty miserable day sitting on the water really turned into a great day of racing.
Sunday
Day 2 of the District 10 Championship brought a lot more wind than we saw yesterday. Given that and the fact that the tide would be going out when we were coming in, the race committee decided to sail us in the harbor.
I got a great start in the first race and was hanging with the leaders until I botched a tack and dumped the boat. I was able to right myself and stay with the lead pack on the downwind.
On the next beat upwind a large yacht (130ft?) was transiting the channel and was about to go right through the middle of the course. I was a little behind the fleet and rather than being cut off, I figured it would be best to duck behind the yacht and sail upwind on the other side of the channel and by the time I got to the mark, the yacht would be well past the course.
I aimed to pass about 20ft behind the boat while knowing it was still going forward and would probably be even farther away by the time I got to it. I also was anticipating a bit of a wind shadow. What I didn’t anticipate were the other sailors in the fleet yelling to this boat that they had right of way (they didn’t) and cutting in front of it.
Just as I got behind the yacht in the wind shadow the captain stopped the yacht and put it into full reverse. In no wind I had no way to get out from behind the yacht as it got closer. The wind behind the yacht ended up sucking me towards it and caused me to capsize to windward with the mast on the swim platform. Thankfully I wasn’t further away or the mast would have hit the water and the yacht would have driven backwards over it. My sailboat eventually turtled and I swam it around to the side of the yacht. A couple parents, coaches and safety boats were there 20 seconds later and helped me right the boat and get away from the yacht.
I believe this was taken from the weather mark boat. At the point the picture was taken, I’m already along side the yacht, and my boat is on its side and I’m sitting on top waiting to right it.
After that scary experience I was pretty exhausted. In the second race I was making all kinds of dumb mistakes from being tired and ended up death rolling the boat a few times downwind. At that point I knew no more good was going to come out of this day and felt it was best to just hang it up before I get even more tired and frustrated, or worse, do damage to a borrowed boat.
An hour later I was packed and ready to go. I stopped on the shoreline near the racecourse and was able to get a few good photos of a radial start and a standard rig mark rounding.
To avoid some of the 95 traffic I decided to give the Cape May to Lewes Delaware ferry a try. The rest of the ride home was thankfully less eventful than my day of sailing.
All in all it was a fun trip. I had good results on day 1 and it was great meeting all the sailors from D10. CYCCM did a great job with the regatta and I want to thank Mark for the loaner boat and Dave for the place to stay.
Today was the first day of Laser racing in the Sunshine Open and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination held at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, MD. We started the day in little wind with a long sail out to the race course. I took us over 2 hours to sail a little more than an hour to the race area. Eventually the wind filled in to just over 5 and we got a race off.
The course was supposed to be an Olympic and it was set a little less than a mile to the windward mark. After the first 3 legs the RC smartly shortened to course otherwise nobody would have finished within the time limit. I did my best to get clear air and pick the shifts, but had a tough time making the boat go fast. I started, sailed and finished mid-fleet.
After the first race, the RC postponed again. The wind filled in to a steady 10+ by about 3pm and they started another race. I had a good start and had clean air, but by the time we were at the top mark, I was on the wrong side of a few shifts and found myself in the middle of the 30+ boat fleet. It was nice sailing in some wind. I held my position and finished 16th.
We had a great dinner and camaraderie between the sailors after racing. All and all it was a good day. Tomorrow we’re hoping the rain stays away so we can get in 4 races.
Sunday
The second day of the regatta was supposed to start an hour earlier, but the wind wasn’t really cooperating. The RC towed us all out to the race course, but we ended up sitting at anchor for over 2 hours before the wind finally settled in and we could get a race off.
The wind was light and fortunately I had a bad start near the boat. I say fortunately because it forced me to go out to the right side of the course which ended up being brilliant. I was 5th around the first mark, 4th around the second mark and 4 around the final mark. I wasn’t able to hold on to my position on the final beat and surrendered a few boats, but a top 10 finish (8), was nice to have.
In the second race the wind picked up to 10-12. Again, I had a bad start and this time ended up more on the wrong side of the course. I hung right behind the lead pack of about 15 boats and ended up chasing them all around the course with out ever breaking into the pack. I ended up 17th in that one.
All in all it was a good regatta. 13th overall in the 34 boat fleet. I still have a lot of work to do to hike harder and get my boat speed up. The first big regatta of the season is down. Looking forward to some small local regattas in the next few weeks before the ACC in June.
Today was the first day of the Capital City Regatta at Potomac River Sailing Association near the Regan International Airport in Washington DC. Fortunately we got clear weather despite the temperatures still being pretty cold. 24 boats came out to race.
We headed out to the race course for a noon start with light and fickle winds. We ended up with puffy 4-6 mph winds all day with occasional gusts to 12. It was a good day on the water and I had some good moments and some not so good moments. I went from contender to pretender almost every other leg. Today was all about finding wind and sailing in the puffs.
All in all it was an up and down day for me. I had finishes of 2 to 22 and everything in between. I’m in the top half of the fleet and with a drop and decent finishes tomorrow I should be able to get near the top 5.
Sunday
Day 2 at the Capital City Regatta did not start out looking very promising. Upon arriving to rig the boats there wasn’t a breath of wind. The RC smartly postponed for an hour and we all stood around in full gear shooting the breeze. The minute someone opened a beer and another began to de-rig the wind started coming in so the postponement was lifted and we headed out.
Georgetown was also running a regatta and we swapped sailing areas today putting us in the cove. The flotsam in the cove was to be avoided, but it was not nearly as bad as it was yesterday . The winds were light and shifty, and began to build as the front got closer.
Racing today went well. I did fine moving the boat whenever I wasn’t guessing which way the wind was coming from. Today was a much better day boat-handling-wise and I think I’ve gotten back into the groove and gotten the cob webs out.
We ended up getting in 4 more races before the time limit. Aside from one race where I took out a mark to avoid fouling someone I sailed fairly consistently in the upper half of the fleet. That put me into 6th overall which was a good result for my first time out this year. Scott and everyone as PRSA did a great job running the regatta and the BBQ each day was great. I also want to thank Len and Barb for the place to stay Saturday night.
Tropical Storm Hanna may have prevented us from sailing on Saturday, but we were still able to have a nice dinner Saturday and some good sailing on Sunday.
Severn Sailing Association – 50 Years of One-Design Excellence
The sun was shining Saturday at the Sunshine Open as 35 lasers took to the waters of Annapolis for the 36th running of this event. That group included 3 sailors from Canada and a couple from New York and New Jersey.
After waiting on the water for about an hour for the wind to fill, we were treated to a 8-10 knot breeze. The large starting line gave everyone a lane and the fleet got off cleanly on the first try. For the first leg the wind went left and that meant all of the pin-end starters who stayed to that side made out much better as the fleet reached the windward mark. The next two marks were changed to square up the course to the new wind. From here the wind held in place although it let out a bit towards the end of the race.
Only one race was sailed and Jon Deutsch (FBYC) finished first followed by Rodger Link (WRSC) and Chad Coberly. Kyle Swenson (FBYC) was the first Junior with a 5th place. Kin Couranz (SSA) was first Radial and Karen Long (SSA) was first Woman.
Following that race the fleet stuck around for almost another hour waiting for some more wind to get another race off, but it never came. We were lucky to get in one race because other courses out on the water such as the J22 and Etchells didn’t get any races off.
Back on shore the fleet was treated to a Mahi Mahi diner and everyone sat around with their favorite drink talking about how their race went.
Sunday started with 8-12 knots of wind, partly cloudy skies and lumpy waves. The Race Committee took us way out into the bay to away from potential powerboat traffic and to get clear air. As everyone was getting to the course we were watching a small rain cell moving from the south to the east of us. It appeared to be going right past us.
In the course of just 5 minutes, that tiny cell off in the distance became a wall of showers headed straight for us. As soon as everyone realized it we started heading in. Minutes later it was raining and gusting into the middle and upper 20’s. Thankfully it was a broad reach back to Annapolis.
Several Vanguard 15’s were coming out to race with us and hadn’t quite made it out to us yet. Just two minutes after we turned to head in, all of the lasers watched as one of the V15s in front of us lost its rig. Soon the rain hit and it was coming down sideways in sheets.
That ride back was the wettest, fastest, scariest and most fun ride I have ever had on a laser. Reaching in, we were flying across the harbor. Several times I could feel the boat lift off the top of one wave and come down on the next. In the peak of the rain about halfway to the dock, the visibility was reduced to 1/4 mile or less and that was one of the few times I’ve been on a laser and had to resort to navigating by compass and buoys. We were in the middle of the harbor yet couldn’t see downtown, the naval academy, or the towers behind us.
Reaching along in high winds it was imperative to keep the boom out of the water and keep the boat flat. I did great at that until I got in front of East Port Yacht Club just a few hundred yards from our own dock. At that point I just lost it and spectacularly crash jibed and came to a screeching halt. If that wasn’t bad enough, there were about 25 high school sailors sitting on the dock in the rain watching us come in and they gave me 10’s for my dismount and a standing ovation. Never before have I actually caught air as I was launched off the boat and into the water.
Once boats starting hitting the docks everyone pitched in to get everyone’s boat landed and on dollies. We all made sure to get everyone out of the water as soon as possible and we grabbed the results from last night and checked off every sailor as they came in to be sure no one was left out there. Once everyone was on shore we swapped stories of our trip in. All in all everyone made it in safely, relatively unscathed, and with a new appreciation for hard ground.
We only ended up with one race, but everyone still had a great time and probably a few good stories they’ll be telling for the rest of the season. I want to thank Dorian Haldeman, the Race Committee and all of the folks at SSA for putting on another great regatta and I look forward to coming back in the fall for the Crab Claw.
