Category: No Quarter Sailing

No Quarter Sailboat Racing

We had nice weather and a 10-boat fleet for the Fishing Bay Yacht Club Summer ILCA Regatta. For the first time Jess came out and sailed our second boat so we were on the course together.

In the first race the boat was favored and I started there and played the middle right up the course. The left ended up getting the shift and the guys that went to the left came out ahead – leaving me 6 or 7 around the top mark. I was able to make up a boat downwind and then picked up a couple more on the 2nd upwind and held that to finish 3rd behind James and Mike M.

In the 2nd race the wind was clearly going hard left and everyone started right down by the pin. I started a little down from the pin just to be away from other boats and have clear air. At the start everyone flipped to port and we were all pretty much laying the mark. I pushed the boat through the waves and the chop and what was 6-8 knots of wind. The clear air paid off and I was able to lead the fleet with a comfortable gap at the weather mark. James closed the gap on the downwind and continued to chip away at it on the upwind until he was just ahead and to my right after the long port tack. When he tacked onto starboard I had to give way and I followed him the rest of the way around the course to a 2nd.

For the 3rd race the RC shifted the course to the left and the new wind. I was slightly late to the start after trying to come in at the boat and everyone else was already there. I immediately tacked to the right and worked my way in clear air on that side of the course. I think the new course location sheltered the left of the course a bit and the boats that went left were sailing in less wind enabling me to lead the fleet at the top mark with Len and James just behind. James got around Len downwind and was just behind me at the turning mark. Upwind James did a better job picking the shifts to the right in more pressure and had gotten around me at by the top mark for another 2nd place finish.

With some threat of thunderstorms on the horizon, the RC called it a day and we went in for snacks and awards. Thanks to Matt, Heather and the Cross family for running our races!

PICTURES | RESULTS

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,

A beautiful 4th of July day greeted nearly 30 boats for the Long Distance Race at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.  I was sailing the ILCA against Melges 15, Flying Scot, San Juan 21 and Wetas in a Portsmouth Handicap race that sailed from Fishing Bay, out of the Piankatank near Stingray Point and back into the river finishing in Fishing Bay.  I also used this as an opportunity to try out some new camera positions with the Insta360 X4 on the mast and the insta360 AcePro on a new stern mount (more on that to come).

Out on the water we had about 8 knots out of the south. Approaching the start – with so many boats much bigger than I was, I wanted to be near the boat so I could tack out and keep my air clear.  There were several other Melges 15s hanging around the boat as well.  In the final minute lead up to the start as I was coming up to the boat, one of the Melges 15s tried to barge in and gybed right in front of me causing me to avoid them. I hailed protest and they sailed away to do turns.  Unfortunately, in dealing with that and not having the space I should have had, I got to the boat too early.  Knowing I was over early, I sheeted in to go around the boat and restart with about 20 seconds to go.  But then I looked back and the new mount for the AcePro on the back of the boat was nowhere to be seen.  I slid back to see that the mount had failed and it was now pointed below the water filming the bottom of the boat.  Thankfully everyone else was over the line early earning us all a general recall and a chance for me to fix the camera and restart with everyone else.

The second start went a lot better. I was able to win the boat and stay in clear air on the first beat. I arrived at the first weather mark with 3-4 Melges 15s ahead of me and a San Jaun 21 and a Weta just behind me.  The second leg was a reach to Piankatank 8 and the boats with asymmetrical spinnakers were able to carry them and cruise by everyone. I did my best despite dropping a couple spots.  At Piankatank 8, we headed downwind to the North towards Stingray Point.  Another Melges 15 and a couple Flying Scots got past me on this leg.

The next leg started the journey back along the same course we came from.  Sailing upwind I favored the right towards Stove Point to stay out of the current.  I’m not sure, but I think there was more wind to the Left and Mark W, who was also in an ILCA was further out and made up some ground on me. From Piankatank 8 to 11 was a close reach, thankfully close enough that the spinnaker boats couldn’t deploy them.  I rounded 11 to head downwind on the final leg to the finish in Fishing Bay.  I was the 12th boat to finish and ended up being 8th on corrected time.

Thanks to Lew and his crew for running the races.  It was a great way to spend a Thursday on the 4th of July.

PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , ,

Jon launching from the beach. Photo by Heather Fields.
Jon launching from the beach. Photo by Heather Fields.

A few ILCA sailors decided to crash the 4th Spring Series race day and 3 boats made it out to the line to race. It was a windy day with a South-West wind in the upper teens with some gusts into the low 20’s. We sailed 3 races and I was able to stay close to Scott Adam, but just could match his speed to pass or stay ahead of him for long. Still a fun day on the water and glad to get some more time in plenty of wind. Thanks to Mike Toms for running RC.

PICTURES | RESULTS

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , ,

We had 4 boats at FBYC for the ILCA Spring Regatta on a cool and overcast day. Mike C, Mike M, Todd and myself went out for 5 races alongside a couple Melges 15s. The Flying Scots elected not to sail. Out on the race we had a steady 13-14 knots with some white caps.

In the first race Mike C, Mike M and I all dragged race out to the left. I went a little further left and got some breeze wrapping around Stove Point and almost overstood the mark. I was just ahead of them as we went downwind, but I was able to keep a loose cover on both of them just behind me to finish first.

Race 2 was windy and shifty out of the east at times. The wind had gone a little more left which meant we were a little more sheltered behind Stove Point. I again played the middle left of the course and was able to stay just ahead of Mike C and Mike M.

Race 3 didn’t go as well – I was about to be leading at the top mark, but I missed the cleat after a tack and let the sail out while I was hiking and plunged the boat over me to weather while the other boats sailed by me. I caught up 1 boat to put me in 3rd, but I was never able to catch up to Mike C and Mike M to finish that way.

The 4th race saw a shift to the left, I went down to the pin at the start and almost laid the weather mark with a comfortable lead and finished that way.

For the 5th and final race of the day I knew I had to finish 3rd or better to win first overall. Mike C was ahead as we approached the weather mark and I flubbed the tack allowing Mike M to get by me as well. On the second upwind Mike M would struggle around the weather mark allowing me to sail by him to a 2nd place finish.

All in all it was a really fund day of sailing in a solid breeze and mixing it up with Mike C and Mike M in some close racing. Thanks to the Race Committee for running the race for us and we’ll be back for the Summer Regatta in August.

EVENT WEBSITE | PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , , , ,

We got two days of racing at the Capital City Regatta at Potomac River Sailing Association in cool conditions with plenty of wind on Saturday and not enough at times on Sunday. 9 races were sailed and James Jacob emerged as the regatta winner having won all but one race in the series in the 17 boat fleet.

Saturday saw winds in the mid-teens with gusts into the 20’s and temperatures in the mid-50’s making for a cold day. With 11 boats on the course we started a little south of the club on the Potomac River which had a lot of current that would rip down the course all day.

In the first 2 races I started slow with a bad start, but salvaged a 5th and in the second race I had a great start and stuck with the leaders to find myself in 3rd. While I was out of practice hiking, I did keep the boat moving well most of the time.  With the triangle course we had two broad reaches rather than downwind.

When it came to the 3rd race – I had a good start and was just behind James on the reaches. I passed him on the 2nd reach and shortly after turning to go upwind and was leading the race when I put the main sheet in the cleat to adjust the vang.  When I went to pull on the vang, the tail of it had been wrapped around the main sheet cleat and was underneath the cleated sheet.  As I grabbed the vang the tail lifted up popping the sheet out of the cleat (video). The main instantly went out and I immediately flipped over backward. After a few tries I was back in the boat, but definitely going to be too cold and called it a day and missed the rest of the race and the next one.

Sunday saw some lighter conditions and slightly warmer temperatures with now 17 boats out on the course. The current was still ripping down the course just as much as it was yesterday making it a challenge of knowing when to go right and into it and when to go left and avoid it.  In 4 out of 5 of the races I had decent starts and sailed with the leaders anywhere from 2 to sixth place.

In the 4th race I thought we were going to get a wind shift and I could port tack the fleet.  The shift didn’t come and Tyler defended it perfectly and after I parked it behind the line, I had to let everyone go. When I finally got started the wind did shift and it was a largely a parade with very few passing lanes.

By 2 o’clock w had sailed 5 races and the wind was getting really patchy at time making it almost impossible to made headway against the current and we headed in.

Thanks to Nabeel and the RC for getting as many races as we could get in over 2 days and thanks to all of the other PRSA volunteers for the food and everything else they did to make this possible. Congrats to James, Patrick and Thomas on a well-sailed event and their podium finishes.

PICTURES | RESULTS | EVENT WEBSITE | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,

Tuesday/Wednesday

We had an easy trip down to Florida splitting it up into two days and arriving Wednesday evening with a stop in South Carolina.

Ready for 4 days of what looks to be light-air sailing in St. Petersburg in a 41-boat ILCA 7 fleet.

Thursday

We don’t have a great prospect for wind in the next couple days, but there was 6-7 knots in the morning so we went out relatively on time. After a short postponement on the water they got the ILCA 7 fleet racing.

I had good start at the boat and made my way middle right. The left ended up paying even better, and I was mid-fleet at the top mark. The next leg was a reach and the wind started to drop a bit. We went downwind and then on the second upwind I went right and made up a few boats. I lost a couple downwind and managed to finish 26th.

The 4.7’s also got a race in and the 6 fleets were all abandoned in their races. We stayed out on the water for another hour and a half and with no wind they sent us in to postpone on short. A nice sea breeze filled around 4, but it was too little too late and racing was called for the day.

Friday

Another day without a great prospect for wind at the 2024 ILCA Midwinters in St. Petersburg. The RC was expecting a sea breeze to fill later in the afternoon so they postponed us on shore for a couple of hours with the plan to tow us 4-5 miles south where we’d likely find a sooner and stronger sea breeze.

We floated around for almost 2 hours with no sign of a sea breeze. Eventually they called it and towed us the 5 miles back in with no racing at all.

Saturday

Saturday was a repeat of Friday but with a little more wind. The RC again postponed us on shore until noon and then towed us to the race area 5 miles south. When we got there, we found enough light air to run a race and all of the fleets were started.

We had a light air race and the wind eased as we were raced. I didn’t have a great start and had a little trouble getting a clear lane, but once I did I stayed in it as long as I could up the middle of the course and rounded in top 15 with a nice gap behind me. I only lost a boat on the downwind and upwind and they shortened the course at the end of the reach to the outer course. Once the U-flags were processed I was given a 14th for the race.

With the wind dead, we stayed out on the course for an hour and a half hoping the sea breeze would fill. It eventually did very late in the day and given that the seven fleet had 2 races already and none of the other fleets did, they all got starts and there wasn’t enough time to sail us and we were sent in.

I got a fast tow in. Jess and I got to see St. Petersburg and went out to dinner on Central Ave.

Sunday

Sunday saw a line of strong storms rolling in during the morning and racing was postponed. It cleared in the afternoon with enough time to sail 2 races in windy conditions. We elected instead to do some tourist stuff in town and get an early start on the ride home.

Thanks to St. Petersburg Yacht Club for hosting the event. Check out the video here.

VIDEO | PHOTOS | RESULTS | EVENT WEBSITE

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,

This year we moved the Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters Championship up to a September date to avoid some other masters conflicts in early October so it was a rare treat for the sailors not used to the pool being open to be able to hop in and cool off on a boiling hot Friday afternoon. I spent the afternoon getting things ready for the regatta by alternating between things I could do in the air conditioning and things outside and eventually joined the visiting sailors in the pool and later out to dinner at The Table.

Race 1 Jon (left) following the fleet to the weather offset mark. Photo by Peter Dutnell.
Race 1 Jon (left) following the fleet to the weather offset mark. Photo by Peter Dutnell.

On the Saturday, we arrived to nice weather and much cooler temperatures than the prior few days. There wasn’t much wind to start, but forecast to have some by mid-day and so the 32-boat fleet was sent out. We ended up having a 10-15 minute postponement before getting into a starting sequence. We would go through 2 false starts and finally a successful start under the Z flag. I didn’t have a great position at the start and was blanketed on the first beat. I was deep at the first mark and made up a few boats on the downwind and a couple more on the upwind to the finish on the short course. I would settle for 20th.

Jon (center) ahead of the fleet and heading east on the first downwind leg. Photo by Paul Almany.
Jon (center) ahead of the fleet and heading east on the first downwind leg. Photo by Paul Almany.

The wind continued to be a little shifty, still in the 8-10 range. In this race I had a fantastic start at the boat end with just a couple boats between me and the boat. Soon after the start I tacked and ducked a couple of boats to get out to the right. I continued to play a few shifts in the middle right and found myself out there in clear air with Dave Waiting near me. I would follow Dave into the first mark and on the downwind I went right thinking we were going to have a new breeze from the right. I was really wrong on that and 6 boats past me on the left by the time we got to the bottom mark. On the upwind I stayed to the right (facing upwind) side of the course while most of the boats ahead played the middle left. I got some great shifts and more pressure and by the time we got to the windward mark I had passed everyone and was just ahead of Dave. He has a lot more speed downwind than me and went by in pretty short order. I followed him to finish 2nd with the two of us well ahead of the bunch behind us.

While waiting for the 3rd race the wind started go to light and move around. We postponed on the water and then it became clear there were some storms to the south headed our way and so the fleet was sent in.

Natalie Burls, Alain Vincey, James Jacob, Nancy Vincey, Barbara Jacob, Kat Martin, John Hubbard helping serve dinner.
Natalie Burls, Alain Vincey, James Jacob, Nancy Vincey, Barbara Jacob, Kat Martin, John Hubbard helping serve dinner.

Alain wasn’t able to sail, but he brought food and the fleet had a good time hanging out and eating while it rained on and off outside.

On Sunday the forecast wasn’t very good and that’s what was delivered. After sending the race committee out to look for wind while the sailors waited on shore, they didn’t find any and with more thunderstorms coming – racing was abandoned for the day.

Sailors waiting for wind on Sunday at the Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters Championship.

Congratulations to James Jacob on winning this event for his 7th time. Thanks to David Lee and everyone who helped on RC to make the most of the wind we had.

RESULTS | JON’S PICTURES | PAUL’S PICTURES | PETER’S PICTURES | EVENT WEBSITE | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , ,

This year I did double duty at the 84th Annual One Design Regatta as both a sailor and as the event chair. I hadn’t planned on doing both, but had a bout 2 months to pull the event together. We had a great team and the biggest surprises were a couple fleets we weren’t expecting, but they were great to have and we made it work and work well and we’ll have it even better for next year.

Melges 15 launching at the Fishing Bay Yacht Club Beach

By the time Saturday rolled around most of the hard work of hosting was done – thanks to Doug, Paul, Jess and a number of other volunteers who spent hours and days preparing for the event. I was able to join the ILCA fleet out on the course for some racing. But before I could do that – I had to get to the race course which had been set in Hills Bay ~3+ miles from the launch site very near Gwynn’s island. I missed our first start by 2 minutes. From there it was a matter of playing catch up in the first race and I would settle for a 7th.

In the second race I had a fantastic start with Noah just below me. We went upwind side by side before I eventually split off. I had a good beat and found myself first to the weather mark. Of course Scott would go right by me downwind and then I passed him again upwind and repeat on the downwind. Only on the final beat I would blow it and let Dave by me as well to leave me in 3rd.

The 3rd and 4th races were similar. I didn’t quite have the speed or tactics that Dave and Scott had. I was mixing it up with Natalie, Noah and Mike M putting up a 3 and a 4 and leaving me winning the tiebreaker for 3rd with Mike M.

Sunday stayed true to the forecast and we never really had enough wind to sail and so we called it around mid day and the results stood. Scott sailed a great regatta – he’s so fast down wind I just couldn’t keep up with him.

Jon, Dave, Scott along with PRO Jim at the awards ceremony. Photo by Paul Almany.
Jon, Dave, Scott along with PRO Jim at the awards ceremony. Photo by Paul Almany.

All in all the regatta was a success. Certainly some things to improve upon for next year, but most everyone was pretty happy.

PICTURES | ILCA RESULTS | EVENT WEBSITE | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , ,

Ten ILCA joined 6 Flying Scots and 7 Melges 15 for an afternoon of sailing. The wind started out light in the 6-8 range and by the third race we had gusts into the mid teens.

In the first race didn’t start where I wanted to, but had a clear lane to tack out when I saw a shift and caught some nice wind before everyone else and had a nice lead for the first lap. On the second upwind, Noah was fast and I parked the boat in some waves right at the top mark while he sailed around me. Meanwhile Scott went around both of us and we finished that way.

ILCA Sailing down wind.

The wind picked up a bit for the second race while also going left making the legs a little one sided. Knowing it was going left I tried to win the pin. I won it a little too much and had to unwrap the board from the anchor line and spin and restart. Once i was clear I went a little bit right to find a clear lane. I was 4th by the top mark but all of the boats ahead of me went to the wrong mark downwind that was well past our turning mark. I was first to round the correct mark and led the rest of the race.

Jon hitting the mark at the start.
Hitting the mark on the start.

3rd race I went to the left and just didn’t have the consistent pressure as those on the right. Rounded 3rd and mostly stayed there. Wind was up to about 15 at one point in the race and then eased off.

For the 4th and final race I was in 2nd right behind Scott at top mark. He started to inch away downwind until halfway down the leg he flipped and lost of bunch of places. I had the lead the rest of the race and Mike held off Scott at the finish – leaving me and Scott tied with the same points AND the exact same finishes – my 3-1-3-1 to his 1-3-1-3 and so I won the tiebreaker on account of finishing ahead of him in the last race.

It was really fun racing and great mixing it up with Scott, Noah, Mike, William and the rest of the fleet. Thanks Tom R for race committee.

PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , ,