We had a beautiful day for racing in the July 4th Long Distance Race at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. 28 boats ranging from J/70 to S2 7.9 to Flying Scot to Front Runner to Laser to 420 were on the starting line for a Portsmouth Handicap race of about 8 miles. Being short of crew I took the Laser and did my best not to fall too far behind the fleet especially as one of the smaller boats. I could do pretty well on the upwind and downwind legs, but on the reaches – the boats with 2 sails and especially those with asymmetrical spinnakers would just walk away. In the end it was a respectable 13th – just above mid-table.
Following racing there were over 200 people for a cookout followed by a little rain followed by fireworks well into the night.
For the final day of the weekend I invited a few friends to come sail Lasers. Len loaned me his boat and we had mine and two others to take 4 people out. It was a beautiful day as the wind built and Bob, Lisa, Jenn and Mike all had a great time sailing around.
Bob:
Once they had their fill and the wind really settled in, Len and I went out and did some tuning by doing a couple laps on a 1.5 mi course.
Today was a dual day of running Fishing Bay Yacht Club‘s Crew Training Program and trying to get some Laser racing in during the Laser Spring Regatta. After meeting with the training class early in the morning and seeing them off for their training sails – I joined the Laser fleet for a race and a half before retiring to meet the training class on their return to shore.
The wind today was a lot like yesterday with 8-10 out of the north. Just enough to be sitting out, but not so much to have to depower or spend a lot of time fully hiking in the puffs. The Lasers were started with the Front Runners and I was able to quickly pull away from the other Lasers. But that put me smack in the middle of the Front Runner fleet for the remaining 4 legs of the race. I had a fun time balancing between trying to beat the Front Runners, not getting between them and screwing up their race, and making sure I didn’t do something stupid and get caught by the Lasers behind me. In the end I was the first Laser across and finished just behind the 1st Front Runner.
Even though I missed the next 3 races, it was fun to get out on the water and get to hang out with the crew trainees, the laser sailors and the other fleets.
This weekend Greater Richmond Sailing Association invited Fishing Bay Yacht Club Flying Scots and Lasers to join them for frostbiting out on Swift Creek. Dan and I were the only two Lasers; there were 10 Flying Scots and 3 Thistles. The goal for the day was simply get back in the boat and try a few things out. I tried a new GoPro Camera (Hero 3+) and a new stern mount for it. I got to try out some new boots and I got to try sailing at a club I had never been at before. Thanks again to GRSA for inviting us to come sail!
We sailed around the corner from the club on the North side of the lake. This became important because those who sailed near shore got an incredible lift. Of course I didn’t learn that in the the first race and found myself out to the left on the first beat and deep in the fleet, settling for 11.
It amazed me how fast the top 10 boats were. Even though it was only 5 knots of breeze, everyone had good speed. So it really came down to picking the shifts right.
In the 2nd race I played the right a little better and climbed through the fleet for a 6th. In the 3rd and final race of the day I was doing well as the 2nd boat clear ahead on the first beat, but I still didn’t play the right as well as some other boats and found myself deep again, especially after a couple sailors made the left work and came out of nowhere.
So I’m in 10th a good few points out of 9th. They’ve moved up the start time to 9am in hopes of getting more racing in before the 1pm cutoff and before the remnants of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Karen come through late Sunday evening. Tomorrow’s another day and hopefully we’ll have something other than light air and flat water for me to work with and climb up in the standings.
After sailing we hung out on the fabulous porch at the club watching football, sharing sailing war stories and singing along to guitar with the other campers.
Sunday
Woke up to a pretty thick fog this morning and little prospect of wind. The race committee had bumped up the start time to 9am for a first warning hoping to get a few more races in. Most of the fleet headed out into the thick fog and in the distance I could hear the horns of a race starting and later being abandoned. In the picture above you can barely make out the lasers just behind the point.
Rather than race in nearly no wind, I decided to get on the road and get home at a reasonable hour, so I packed and headed out. Turns out no races ended up being run at all and Saturday’s results stood.
Despite the lack of wind, it was still a fun time and I got to meet a lot of cool D12 sailors. Thanks again to Columbia Sailing Club for having the Laser sailors back and putting on a great regatta!
The trip to Columbia South Carolina for the Laser District 12 Grand Prix Regatta & South Carolina State Championship at Columbia Sailing Club was a smooth one. I hit only a little rush hour traffic on the way in to town, set up my tent at the club and went out to a nearby Italian restaurant for a nice dinner. This will be my 3rd weekend in a row of Laser racing and I’m just hoping we have some wind. Here’s my recap from last year at this regatta.
This weekend is the Laser District 11 Championship at Severn Sailing Association. The J70 North American Championship is going on Thursday through Saturday with 90 boats and so I decided to come up a day early to go out and spectate. The wind didn’t cooperate much and after 4 hours sitting on the water, racing was cancelled for the day. While we didn’t get to see any sailing, it was still nice to get on the water. Thanks to Brian Reagan for the ride out to spectate.
Tomorrow we’ll have 40+ Lasers and Radials out for our two-day championship. Lighter winds are expected which just means – it’s anyone’s race to win!
Saturday
We started the 2013 District 11 Championship with 32 standards and 9 radials at Severn Sailing Association. It was overcast with and the wind was blowing 8-12. Out on the water we had a bit of a time getting started with the current pushing us over and multiple general recalls and restarts.
I didn’t have a particularly great start in the first race, but I made my way to the right and picked the shifts up the beat catching boats on every upwind. As the race went on the wind started dropping and was 7 or 8 with left over lumps and chop. I ended up 7th.
In the 2nd race I had a terrible start and won the 6th row getting shut out at the boat. I worked my way up the first beat just looking for clear lanes and only had 4 boats behind me at the first mark. Downwind I picked up boats and I picked up another handful on the upwinds. Salvaged a 10th.
For the 3rd race we still had a 7-8 knots and the chop started going down a bit. I had a great start, but let Brady and Mike get ahead and to the right. I followed and when they broke to the left I hung out to the right and crossed both of them. I was first at the top mark and lost a boat downwind. Mike Russom was fast and made a good comeback. But Ted Morgan had the best lines and speed and beat everyone at the top mark. I held onto 4th.
After racing we had crabs and listened to a band on the SSA deck.
Sunday
Sunday’s racing at the Laser District 11 Championship in Annapolis started out much like Saturday, but with less wind. We started the first race under mostly cloudy skies and 8-10 knots of breeze.
After a general recall under P flag the RC went straight to the black flag. I had a decent start near the boat end and worked my way out to the right along with Ted Morgan. Karen long hit the right even better than we did and rounded the mark first with me and Ted just behind her. Downwind I got ahead and put some distance between myself and the group just behind me. From there I just kept ahead on the remaining 3 legs and took the gun.
Sunday’s 2nd race didn’t go so well. My start wasn’t as good and I got behind early by being on the wrong side of the shifts on the first beat settling for a 12. The thing I learned in the 2nd race was that the mode I was using to make the boat go fast upwind in a little more wind and more chop, stopped working when the wind lightened and the water got flatter.
By the 3rd and final race the wind was pretty light and the chop was just the random power boat variety. We were moving, but it was slow going at times, particularly downwind. I won the boat at the start and again worked my way up the middle right. This time the far right didn’t pay. And much of the fleet had gone left hoping it would pay off like it did last race – it didn’t. I rounded 2nd just behind Brady White with Brett Morris behind me. Brady extended his lead and I was able to hold off Brett. We would go on to finish 1-2-3.
With that finish and knowing several boats would have black flags, I knew the top 2-7 boats would all be pretty close. The 1 & 2 today certainly helped, but the 12 meant I’d have to keep a 10. In the end it was the bullet that won me the tiebreaker for 3rd place overall.
Despite the light winds, it was fun to be competing at the top of the fleet – especially with some sailors who I’m usually following around the course. And with 34 boats there were plenty of sailors keeping the competition close. Thanks again to Steven Cofer and everyone at SSA for hosting our championship! And congratulations to winner Mike Russom who sailed a very consistent regatta with top 5 finishes.
This evening I arrived at Lake Norman Yacht Club for the 2013 Board Bash Regatta. This is a regatta for ‘board’ boats such as Lasers, Sunfish and Optis and it looks as if 80 total boats are signed up with the biggest fleet being the Sunfish with 19 and 16 Lasers in the fleet I’ll be sailing in.
I’ve never been to LNYC, but heard a lot about it from FBYC Flying Scot sailors and wanted to give it a try. I’ve also wanted to do more events on the Laser District 12 Series and this will be the first of 2 events I’ll be at this year.
After setting up the tent in a primo spot on the point, I got the boat off the car and finished up my daggerboard project. The club has a lot of property and I smartly brought my bike to get myself from one end of the property to the other. All we need for tomorrow is for the rain to hold off and the wind to give us something to sail with.
Saturday
There is no better way to spend a rainy day outside than sailing a Laser. We might have had drizzle most of the day, but the racing in the Board Bash Regatta at Lake Norman Yacht Club was great. I got a good sleep in my tent and put the boat together using the new board that I had recently rebuilt and gave a paint job. I also ran into an old friend -Jaime Espinosa who I used to play club soccer with at ECU.
We got racing with 14 Lasers and 11 Radials starting on one line shortly after 11 with wind 9-13 out of the south west. In the first race I had a good start in the middle of the line. Just a short way up the first beat I miss-judged a cross as a port tack boat and ended up crash tacking, missing the hiking strap and going for a swim. I recovered quickly and was able to pick my way back through the fleet to round 6th. Downwind I picked off a boat and another in the upwind to finish 4th.
I had a good start in the second race, but just off the line my daggerboard stopper came apart and I stopped briefly to secure the parts. The fleet sailed by once again and I had to pick my way upwind through the shifts. One again I found myself in the top 5 and continued to pick off more boats to a 3rd place finish.
By the 3rd race I was determined not to make any mistakes or have anything fall apart. While I was successful in there I didn’t have a good start and came to the line late getting pinned under a couple Radials. At the top mark I was deep and tried to take the right side of the course downwind. It didn’t work – I got passed by a bunch of boats and ended up 9th.
For the 4th race I had another poor start and had a bit of a time picking my way upwind. Downwind I was around 4th, but deathrolled 2/3 down the leg and found myself just behind a pack of 10+ boats at the leeward mark. I went left and picked a couple shifts and passed a bunch of boats to almost get back to where I was before the death roll finishing 6th.
The final race of the day was a Modified Olympic, two laps – a triangle followed by a windward leeward. By now the wind had shifted left a bit so I started at the pin. I went left only for a minute and was able to tack and cross the fleet on the layline and rounded the top mark 1st. I held ahead of Stanley Hassinger and John Mellnik on the reaches and we rounded the leeward mark bow to stern. The upwind was a long beat on port and John just had a little more speed upwind and was able to stay ahead of me. On the final beat Stanley got to the left and passed me, but John overstood the finish line allowing Stanley to finish 1 and me 2.
The final race was probably the best one of the day despite the skewed course. I had a lot more fun racing John and Stanley closely than I did picking my way through the fleet after bad starts. After racing we got to catch up with the other sailors and had a good dinner with a band for entertainment after racing. Tomorrow should see a little better weather for the 2nd day.
Sunday
We got an early start on Sunday of the Board Bash Regatta at Lake Norman Yacht Club with our first warning at 9:25. My tent was only slightly wet through the overnight rain showers.
We started the race with winds in the mid-teens and out of a completely different direction than yesterday. It was a bit cooler too. I had a great start and made my way upwind just ahead of the pack of boats. In these conditions I was fully de-powered and holding the boat down… but John Mellnik and Stanley Hassinger just kept the boat a little flatter and a little faster all the way around the course and I was never really able to catch them ending up in 3rd.
In the 2nd race I was OCS at the start and had to come back and restart behind the fleet. This race was a 5 leg race with a finish to windward. Stanley and John got away again and I was just behind the next pack – Mark, Stephen, Finn and Conner. Downwind we mostly stayed the same. Upwind I had just a little more speed despite some of them picking better shifts. On the final upwind I was able to get ahead and finish 3rd giving me 3rd overall for the regatta. I also won the social media award for posting to facebook and twitter during the regatta and racing.
Having never been to Lake Norman Yacht Club I was incredibly impressed with the place and all of the people there. I had a great time and will definitely be back again. Thanks again to Bill and Angie Wiggins for all their work to put together the regatta. I’m looking forward to sailing with some of the D12 Laser sailors again in Columbia in a couple weeks.
It was a bit of a drifter for most of the Fishing Bay Yacht Club Fall One Design Invitational. We had 6 Lasers out for the 3rd of our 4-race series.
After a bit of a delay we finally started a race in about 4 knots out of the west. The course was just on the outer edge of Fishing Bay and still inside of Stove Point. The wind proceeded to die to a knot or less. Suddenly what is usually a very light current became a big deal. In fact – I’ve never even thought to play the current that much in that location so far away from the Piankatank channel.
Luckily I was far enough behind the leaders – Brad Squires and Luke Hayes on the downwind that I could see how they were getting swept out of Fishing Bay and out into the bay. I played it conservatively by heading up into the bay and letting the current pull me down to the mark. When Luke was swept past the mark and couldn’t go upwind against the current to get back to it, I slipped in ahead of him and finished the last upwind just behind Brad.
The .6 mi race took us over an hour. We sat for at least another hour and by 2pm we started to see signs of a sea breeze. We moved the course out into the river a bit more so the windward mark was just outside of Stove Point. It was still shifty, but at least we were able to sit out and almost hike at times. I didn’t have a great upwind and had to settle for a 4.
Since we were past the time limit for more racing and we still had some wind, Mike Toms and Ron Jenkins and I sailed out towards Gwynn’s Island to get a little upwind speed testing it.
It probably wasn’t the best day for racing, but since I haven’t sailed the boat in a month and I’m about to do 3 weekends in a row of racing, it was just what I needed to get back into the boat.
In the first race I had a good start at the boat, hit the shifts and just led the around the whole course to get a bullet. The second race was set a bit longer and I messed up the start and wound up behind most of the boats going out to the left. Halfway up the course I made my way to the right while all of the leaders went left, and I caught some good wind and shifts to the right to round just inside Brad Squires. Brad had a gear I didn’t have downwind and got ahead and led the rest of the way to the finish.
We were sent in as a storm approached and were in by 2pm.
I did two video experiments today. One was taking a bunch of time lapse pictures around the club of everyone launching and heading out to the course. The other experiment was mounting a video camera to the stern of the laser with an extension. It was a cool view, but was a little shaky. I’ll have to figure out how to stabilize it a little more.
With no prospect of wind for the second day of the Fishing Bay Yacht ClubAnnual One Design Regatta, racing was called off early and yesterday‘s results stand. Being tied for first, it would have been fun to have another race to break the tiebreaker, but we wouldn’t get it and I wound up second after the tie was broken. Congrats to Brad Squires for winning the race that counted and getting it done. Results.
On Saturday I ran the GoPro cameras to do some time lapse around the club. Here’s the video of it all put together:
After awards and sailing we took out a few of the junior opti sailors and their coaches in Lasers and 420s for some fun sailing in the very light winds. I took a friend’s 9-year-old son, who is an experienced opti sailor, out on my Laser and after a few pointers he sailed the boat alone for the first time. He then proceeded in the first race to crush his college-aged coaches. He didn’t do quite as well in the subsequent races, but it was a thrill for him to sail anything other an Opti, even if it was only 4 knots of wind.
