2013 Commonwealth of Virginia Junior Championship Regatta
Photographed the Commonwealth of Virginia Junior Championship Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club on Sunday. Here are all of the photos, and here are some of my favorites:
Hampton Team Racing & FBYC Moonlight Regatta
I started the day at Hampton Yacht Club where a team from Fishing Bay Yacht Club was invited to a scrimmage Team Racing Sonars. We started with a quick recap/overview/planning in a classroom and then the team of 11 FBYC sailors were split into 3 boats for our team and Hampton took the other 3 boats. We spent a couple hours doing drills and practicing team race maneuvers against the Hampton team. The wind was in the low to mid teens which made boat handling a little more challenging, particularly for the FBYC sailors who hadn’t had a lot of time together nor a lot of time in Sonars. But we still were able to put on a good showing and I think it was a very successful scrimmage for both teams. A big thank you to Gary Bodie and Hampton Yacht Club for having us!
Immediately after getting off the water in Hampton, I got on the road to Deltaville to sail Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s Moonlight Regatta on Wavelength. The start was delayed 30 minutes while some weather approached the area, but never really came near us. Out on the water we had beautiful sailing conditions with mostly clear skies and a steady 12-15 out of the south. None of the overcast and occasional rain we had seen in Hampton earlier in the day.
We started at 8pm and sailed out of the Piankatank with the sun setting behind us just a short time later. I grabbed this shot of Mad Hatter just behind us passing in front of the sunset. Just goes to show that the best pictures don’t necessarily come from the best camera, but from the camera you’ve got. This was a 2-take photo taken with the iphone. Here’s an alternate version of it on Instagram.
The race went pretty well and we had a good group aboard for sailing at night. I was jib grinder for the first 3 legs, spin trimmer downwind, and drove the last 2 legs upwind. We finished around 10:30. While we didn’t make the podium, the ice cream smothered in rum after racing was reward enough.
Results | More photos from today starting here.
159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta: Sunday
The forecast for today was for better wind and we got it. Out on the course in the same racing area, just north of the Newport Bridge, we started out with 8 knots out of the south and by the last race we had 12-13.
In the 4 races we had some decent starts and seemed to get a little faster and had better boat work as the day went on. While we didn’t have any great results to show for it – it was fun sailing in the J/70 fleet. And being my first time in Newport it was nice to see the town and New York Yacht Club. Thanks Noel Clinard for having me along for the weekend – it was a pleasure sailing with you, Jerry and Carrie.
159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta: Saturday
This morning we headed out for the first day of the New York Yacht Club 159th Annual Regatta. Heading out to the course it was amazing sailing past all of the bigger boats including the 12 meters on the way to the course.
We were sailing in area A which was just on the other side of the bridge in an area called Potter’s Cove. Our fleet included 10 other J/70’s. We got to sail one race in breeze before we started a 2nd one and abandoned it when the wind shut off.
A little light (air) reading:
An hour or more later the wind came out of the South and we got two more races in.
Following racing we headed over to the New York Yacht Club for cocktails and dinner.
159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta: Friday
Traveled to Newport today in preparation for the 159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta. I’m sailing with Noel Clinard on his J/70 Loonatictu.
Team New Zealand has their boat docked right next to us at Sail Newport.
We launched the boat and tried to go for a practice sail. By the late afternoon the wind had nearly died so we didn’t get much practice.
We finished the night off with a drive past all of the mansions and dinner at Scales and Shells.
Here’s the entry list for tomorrow.
2013 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship: Sunday
The 2nd day of the Laser Atlantic Coast Championship started out early and started with no wind. We had a 0930 first warning and they sent us out – towed most of us out to where we sat for 2 hours. By 11 the wind started coming in from the south and built from there. The Standard rigs got 3 more races in, 2 for the other fleets. By the 3rd race we had solid hiking conditions.
I had a tough day. I didn’t start well and the short first beat meant everyone went around the first 3 legs in a clump. The 2nd beat was always where I made my gains picking out the shifts upwind and picking off 10+ boats to get me back closer to the middle of the fleet. Thanks again to Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club for putting on a good regatta and I had a great time meeting new people and seeing friends.
2013 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship: Saturday
Quite a day for the first day of the 2013 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club on Long Beach Island NJ. Looking at the scores – everyone was up and down and very inconsistent. We had 4 races with 4 very different conditions for each.
In the first race I had a poor start, but picked my way into mid fleet. Right at the end I tapped someone at a mark rounding and had to do turns. Finished 41.
By the second race we had 6-8 knots of breeze. I picked out the pin end to start and nobody was down there. I won the pin and just punched out and kept going out to the left and stayed out front. By the top mark only Eric Reitinger was just ahead of me. On the downwind a couple boats caught me and on the 2nd upwind I found a hole and lost 10 boats. I held there and finished 15.
In the 3rd race we started under black flag and had what I thought was a great spot, but suddenly I found myself bow out, chickened out and backwinded so I didn’t get black flagged. As we went upwind the wind continued to die and it started to rain. That continued throughout the race and by the last leg we were barely going along and I finished deep.
In the last race the wind came up to 9-11 with clear skies and I had another terrible start. I immediately tacked out and got bounced further to the right and found myself on the layline at the mark about 25th. Both downwinds I went way right mostly just to stay away from the other sailors and picked up a spot or two on each. On the 2nd upwind we had a course change with the wind shifting. I picked the phase perfectly and picked up at least 10 spots upwind. Finished 13th.
All in all it was a tough day but still a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to day 2 tomorrow. Keep an eye on Twitter on @LaserACC for my updates.
2013 Orange Coffee Pot Regatta/D10 Championship: Sunday
Day 2 of the Orange Coffee Pot Regatta and Laser District 11 Championship was forecast to start a lot like Saturday finished: windy. Already a number of sailors weren’t going out. I rigged hoping to hang in there for as many races as I could. As I was about to head to the launching ramp, I noticed that my traveler fairlead was starting to pull out of the deck. Luckily Don Hahl had a spare hull sitting on a trailer (thanks Don!!!). In a 10-minute mad dash we pulled everything off my boat and re-rigged it on the spare hull.
I hung in there through 2 races in winds in the 20+ range. There were some shifts to be found, but mostly it was just hanging on, keeping the boat moving and keeping it upright. By the end of the 2nd race I started getting the tipsies. I started the 3rd race, sailed to the windward mark and just sailed in for the dock. At that point I was worn out and wasn’t really doing much racing anyway. Back at the dock I packed up, made arrangements to get the boat fixed and got on the road (without the boat).
2013 Orange Coffee Pot Regatta/D10 Championship: Saturday
We had a windy first day of racing at Surf City Yacht Club for the Orange Coffee Pot and Laser District 10 Championship regatta. I sailed consistently with finishes averaging just out of the top 10 to be sitting 10th overall after the first 7 races.
Throughout the day the wind built from about 12 in the first race to over 20 by the 7th race. The sailing location was slightly behind a shore that kept us the waves down. In fact it was disorienting to have 18 knots of wind later in the day and only 1′ waves. On the shorter courses that we had I found it was important to get good lanes, keep clear air and pick lanes to cross so I didn’t have to duck boats.
We’re looking at another windy day on Sunday.
2013 Orange Coffee Pot Regatta/D10 Championship
I have arrived in Surf City NJ on Long Beach Island for the Orange Coffee Pot Regatta and Laser District 10 Regatta. I got here late in the afternoon and joined a few other sailors for about an hour of practice. The wind was in the middle to upper teens which is what we are going to see a lot more of this weekend.