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.

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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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ECU put up another dominating performance as they routed UNC in Greenville.  The tailgate was a lot of fun and so was the game.  What started as a slight Carolina blue sky day quickly turned to a purple and gold sunset as the Pirates got rolling.

More pictures and be sure to follow @WhiteTigerRV.

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This weekend JG, Chris and I took the @WhiteTigerRV to Blacksburg for the ECU vs Virginia Tech football game.  We parked at the ‘Dairy Barn’ and were within sight of the stadium and not too far of a walk.

9/13 ECU @ Virginia Tech

When we arrived Friday night it was raining and it continued to pour all night long.  By morning it was just light rain so we tailgated and headed to the stadium for the noon game.

9/13 ECU @ Virginia Tech

Our tickets were right in the middle of the hokie section – 50 yard line, 50 rows up on the visitor side.  We got to do quite a bit of ribbing with some of the hokie fans for the first 8 minutes as we went up 21-0 and they gave it right back up until our final drive of the game.

9/13 ECU @ Virginia Tech

It was a fun game to be at and I’m glad we got to go.

9/13 ECU @ Virginia Tech

Pictures starting here.

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Saturday we raced Wavelength at Fishing Bay Yacht Club to the Wolf Trap Light House and back.  Wolf Trap is a memorable place both because I’ve sailed my own boat there and because it was the first race I ever did on a ‘big boat’ on Wavelength in 1998 after joining FBYC and getting my drivers license.

The weather was perfect for a race with winds 12-19 out of the SSW and mostly sunny skies.  We had a good start and were 2nd boat around the short windward mark.  The next leg was a little less than a mile downwind and chose not to go with a spinnaker and lost a couple spots to the boats behind us.

Nereid at Wolf Trap Light House
Nereid rounding Wolf Trap Light House just behind us

On the close reach out to the Milford Haven mark we had a full main and a No 1 up which was more sail than anyone else and held our ground and may have even picked up on some of the faster rated boats.  From Milford Haven to Wolf Trap was a beat with a heavy current behind us.

Once around Wolf Trap it was all downwind directly into the current.  As we got closer to the Piankatank the wind moved forward and it became a close reach again.  The final leg was a beat up the Piankatank and we ended up 2nd in the 4-boat PHRF-A fleet behind Nanuq.

Results | Pictures

Course:

 

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Friday I started the weekend early and sailed the Stingray Light Distance race at the Stingray Point Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club on Sam Mitchener’s J/109 Double Eagle.

8/29 Stingray Point Regatta: Stingray Light Distance Race

The course was a 13nm route that took just south and north of the Piankatank River entrance.  In our class were Bad Cat, Nanuq, Wairere, Voodoo 2 and Pursuit.  The wind was 8-11 out of the NNE with comfortable temperatures and mostly sunny skies.

Our race went pretty well particularly on the upwind/close reaching sections, we lost a bit on the downwind, but still wound up with 3rd place overall.  I got to do some bow work which was a change since I haven’t done that in quite a number of years.  All in all a great day on the water.

Results | Pictures

Course:

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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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20140815-020

Another beautiful Friday night for some J/70 sailing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.  This evening I was sailing with Steve Quiriconi on his new boat Hotty Toddy along with Jerry Latell.  Steve and Jerry had been out earlier in the afternoon to get everything setup and tuned and so the three of us got out to the race course a little early to practice some maneuvers.

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In the 4 races tonight we did pretty well.  The very short line made for very tight and late starts, but the shifty winds meant anyone could catch a shift up the beats.  We did well to keep up with the leaders and got through our maneuvers pretty well without any major goofs.  We even did some gybe sets and a Mexican take down at one point.

DCIM\124GOPRO

The final race was 2 laps and then the trip up the channel back to the dock.  We were the first boat to legally complete the course and a nice way to end the night and the first time out for the boat.

Jon’s Pictures | Carrie’s Pictures | VIDEO

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