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Winning the pin at one of the starts just a few seconds before the gun.  More photos by Paul MacMenamin.

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)

2011 District 8 Championship Awards

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.

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.

Saturday was my first time back to Deltaville since the Tornado came through last weekend.  I was surprised to see how much had already been cleaned up and put back together.  With last weeks racing cancelled, this was the first day of offshore sailing and I was aboard Wavelength. It was a bit cloudy, but warm and we saw 15 knots with gusts to 30. It was a bit wild at times with the kite up in winds over 25.

Here’s some video of the damage and some highlights from FBYC’s Offshore Spring Series #2.

No racing today for the first day of the Sunshine Open at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis.  With gale warnings and thunderstorms in the area we weren’t able to get on the water.  Through the afternoon we saw winds topping 30 knots.  The regatta dinner and band is still on for tonight.  Here’s some video of the conditions.