I had an awesome weekend in Deltaville.  It started with the Inaugural Deltaville 5k.  With zero training I ran the whole thing and had a respectable finish of 26:07.

Jon at the Deltaville 5k

I took the weekend off from sailing to heal a minor wrist sprain and so  I went right from the 5k to doing race committee at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the offshore Cut Channel Race.  I got a lot of great pictures of the offshore fleet here.

downwind during the Cut Channel Race

Saturday night was 4th of July partying, fireworks and swimming.  For Sunday’s racing we thought it was going to be a bit windy so I jumped on a Front Runner as a 3rd crew member, but halfway through the race the wind died and I sat out the next two light wind races and instead went sailing on a Byte in the afternoon.  Saturday night we again watched Fireworks.

Fireworks as seen from Fishing Bay Yacht Club. On the left is a firework from Stove Point while in the background are fireworks from Matthews County.

Monday was FBYC’s One Design Long Distance Race.  I normally would have sailed my Laser in this, but again I was sitting out to rest my sprained wrist.  I went out for the start and the first two legs to get some photos.  The entire collection is posted here.

Front Runners and a Mobjack sailing downwind in the One Design Long Distance Race

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Last weekend I was up in Brant Beach New Jersey for a Laser clinic.  I can’t say I am a better sailor just from being there, but I did learn a lot of things I need to practice and apply to my sailing that I hope will make me a lot better in the future.

One of the tenets of the training was to use practice to find where the ‘edge’ is.  Here’s plenty of footage of me ‘finding the edge’.

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I sailed on Wavelength for the 2010 Southern Bay Leukemia Cup Regatta and not only was our picture featured in a Leukemia Cup Ad in Sailing and Cruising World, but now we’re on the cover of this year’s regatta poster and flier.  Wavelength was the top fundraising boat at last years regatta.  We’re hoping to repeat and would like to ask anyone who would like to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to do so via this link.  Thank you!

2011 Leukemia Cup Regatta poster

 

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This evening was our annual Parents Laser Race during Junior Week at FBYC.  The goal is to get as many parents as possible, after the kids activities are done for the day, and get out on the water for some fun short-course racing right off the dock. Tonight was a superb evening for it.  The wind started around 12 knots when we left the dock at 5:30 and died out around 7:30.  We had about 10 boats come out and we got in at least 7 or 8 races.

2011 Laser Parent's Night Races

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On Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend I participated in my first Oyster Shell Triathlon.  It’s an event that started about 4-5 years ago among a group of friends looking for something to do on Memorial Day Weekend and so they started this race.  There were just under 30 participants this year and there have been as many as 40 in the past.

The course is a little nontraditional – it starts with swim which turns into a slog – a combination of running in water and swimming.  Then a 2-mile bike ride followed by a swim back to the starting point.  The final stretch is a ~1 mile run around the Deltaville Maritime Museum and back to the finish.

No times are kept and it’s all for good fun.  Considering I signed up for it about 10pm at a party the night before, I felt pretty good about finishing mid-pack.  It was a ton of fun and I look forward to doing it again next year.

At some point I’ll post some video [update: video here].  In the mean time, here are some pictures of the Oyster Shell Triathlon.

At the start

The Course:

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Sunday was the Salsa Bowl Regatta and I borrowed a Front Runner from Mike Karn to take out and race.  My crew was friend of a friend Bri Paxton, a recent William & Mary graduate who was on the sailing team there.  Being my first time on a Front Runner since spring of 2010 and Bri’s first time sailing an asymmetrical spinnaker, we were a bit boat-challeneged for  first couple races.

Sailing upwind in a Front Runner

By the second two races we had most things running smoothly and were able to sail well upwind and hang with the fleet on the downwinds.  We ended up 4th in a fleet of 5 in 4 races.  It was a ton of fun and thanks Bri for coming and crewing!

Jon and Bri on the Front Runner

More on-board photos from the day of sailing on the Front Runner can be seen here.

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