Tag: 2011 Laser District 8 Championship

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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.

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Laser in front of Sayville Yacht Club

The forecast for today started out looking pretty dismal.  5 knots out of the North West at 11am building to all of 8 by the middle of the afternoon and then dying.  We sailed out to the course in almost nothing.  The committee set the line and right at the time we should have started the first race the wind started swinging around to the South.  A 15-minute postponement later we had a 15-20 knot sea breeze.

My day consisted of some solid sailing with some moments of brilliance and stupidity thrown in to keep it interesting.  I was able to stay with or in the lead pack in most of the races and I was pretty happy being competitive in the 15-18 knot range whereas I traditionally haven’t been able to keep up in that.

Race 4 Start

All in all it was good racing and a fun but grueling day on the water with 5 races.  I finished 2-7-4-3-5 putting me into 3rd overall in the 14-boat fleet.  After racing we relaxed on the deck of Sayville Yacht Club, ate burgers, met some new people and listened to some live music.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

The regatta continues tomorrow with 3 more races planned.  I’m really hoping for just a couple knots less of wind so I can show my speed and stay up front.  Fingers crossed.

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Today was my driving day to get to the District 8 Championship at Sayville Yacht Club in Long Island.  I left Richmond at 4:30 in t he morning and arrived at the club around 2:30 in the afternoon.  I lost track of how many wrong turns I made.  It took over two hours to cover 40 miles transiting New York City.

George Washington Bridge

Sayville Yacht Club is located about halfway out Long Island on the south bay near Patchogue Bay.  The forecast for tomorrow is for it to be a little on the lighter side – under 10 knots.  Sunday we should have a little more wind with the south west sea breeze blowing through.

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