Tag: Deltaville

Deltavile Virginia

Rain cleared the way for a nice sailing day – albeit a cloudy one with some puffy conditions. Four ILCA sailors made it out for what would be 3 races before rain chased everyone off the course.

The first race started with winds in the low teens out of the East with a course set just south west of Stove Point on the Piankatank River. I had a great start at the boat. Len had a better first leg out to the left side of the course and lead at the first windward mark. As we were coming to the final hundred yards of the downwind leg I set a course to intersect with Len while on Leeward pushing him out to the right and once we neared the 3-length circle and went for the finish, I was able to blanket him just enough to finish ahead by a foot or so. Mike was not far behind as was Holly.

By the second race the wind eased a bit with 10-12 knots out of the same direction. Len had a better start at the boat and just stayed ahead the entire upwind. Downwind he caught a nice puff on the right and took that to the finish without any challenge from me.

In the 3rd race I started mid-line with Len just below me. Seeing I wasn’t going to get by him, I tacked to the right out into the river where I found more pressure. I carried that into the top mark with a nice lead and then went the same way Len did downwind to catch the wind/wave angle and took off to finish 1st.

All throughout the afternoon rain threatened and we could even see i 2-3 miles west of us raining on the Piankatank and we only got a few sprinkles where we were. But after 3 races we weren’t going to try our luck with more rain and were safely ashore and packed up as the rain did eventually come. Thanks to Donna and crew for running our races!

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We had a beautiful light air day to sail the first FBYC Offshore Fall race day aboard Battle Rhythm.

We were among the 7 boats in the PHRF-A fleet. The first two races were sailed in 7-10 knots.

By the time we got to the 3rd race the wind was 5-7 – enough to race, but not fast. The current helped everyone to a general recall and after we got a successful start the wind continued to drop and the RC wisely shortened the race at the first leward mark.

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The 3rd Annual Rescue Regatta brought together 30 boats for a day of racing and fundraising off Stingray Point, all in support of the Middlesex County Volunteer Rescue Squad. With sunny skies and steady 7-9 knot winds, conditions were ideal for the pursuit-style race that began at the mouth of the Piankatank River.

Luna firing her cannon as she crosses the starting line.
Luna firing her cannon as she crosses the starting line.

Unlike traditional handicap racing, pursuit races start with the slower-rated boats first and the faster-rated boats later. Finishing order reflects actual placement, eliminating the need for post-race time calculations.

I sailed aboard Battle Rhythm alongside Todd, April, David, Len, Dennis, Dwight, Case, Jen, and Heidi. We were among the last to start, with only one boat –Afterthought– beginning just behind us. Equipped with larger overlapping headsails, Afterthought overtook us early on the first leg.

That first upwind leg stretched more than four miles out into the Chesapeake Bay. As we settled into our pace, we began catching some of the early starters, rounding the first mark just behind a small group of boats.

The second leg-a continued upwind stretch up into the Rappahannock River-gave us a few more opportunities to gain ground. We picked off a handful of boats along the way and ultimately finished in 15th place.

With the race complete, we hoisted the spinnaker for a relaxed sail back around Stingray Point. Back on shore, the day wrapped up with pool time, followed by dinner, a silent auction, awards, and a party at the rescue squad – capping off a great day on the water for a worthy cause.

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The 86th Annual One Design Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club began under light and challenging conditions on Saturday. With little wind at the scheduled start time, racing was postponed for about an hour before the race committee was able to get one race underway in the Piankatank River. Even then, the breeze faded significantly as the final fleets were finishing. After waiting on the water for another two hours with no wind in sight, the remainder of the day’s racing was abandoned and competitors were towed back to shore.

The ILCA fleet saw 10 boats on the line. James and David established an early lead in the opening race and maintained their advantage throughout. Conditions proved difficult, and I struggled to stay in the breeze and find favorable shifts, finishing 8th.

Sunday brought a much-improved forecast and racing began an hour earlier. I launched early and had time for a short practice lap before the first start. The fleet completed a short H3 course before waiting for the other classes to finish and for the course to be adjusted as the wind shifted right.

Throughout the day, I began to feel more comfortable in the boat. Early races were marked by inconsistent decisions and sailing out of phase, but by the final race, things began to click. I had a strong start and was first to the weather mark, though Dave passed on the reach and maintained his lead. On the final downwind leg, James caught up and edged ahead at the finish.

Despite the ups and downs, I finished 4th overall, narrowly securing the position. Thanks to Rick, Holly, Mason, Craig, and the entire race committee team for making the regatta possible.

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Twenty-four boats, including two Lasers, lined up under sunny skies and light winds for a distance race on the Piankatank this July 4th at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. With breeze holding steady around 5–6 knots from the NNE, the fleet saw a short postponement before starting under a single unified start. The course (#4) would take the fleet from Godfrey Bay – out around Stove Point and back.

After the start I favored the left side of the course sailing toward Stove Point and picking up a bit more pressure. However, once past the point, an adverse current set in and allowed boats on the right to gain an advantage by the time we reached the Piankatank 8 mark.

The leg to mark B was a close reach, where I managed to close the gap on Scuba Cat. On the return leg, the Flying Scots began to reel me in and momentarily pulled ahead.

The final two legs from Piankatank 8 to the finish were broad reaches in continued light air. I was able to regain ground on the Flying Scots and ultimately pull back in front of Scuba Cat.

Out of the 23 boats that finished the race, I crossed 14th but placed 7th overall on corrected time. Thanks to Miles, Frank and everyone on the RC for running our race!

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We had a classic Chesapeake spring day for the Open House Regatta — cool temperatures, clear skies, and a steady breeze out of the northwest at 6–10 knots. Perfect conditions to spend the day racing on the water.

I sailed aboard the J/99 Battle Rhythm with a solid crew: Chris B, Chris R, Todd, David, April, Jon, and Kevin. This was a pursuit race, which meant the slower boats started first, and the faster boats (like us) started later. We ended up starting near the back of the fleet, side-by-side with Orion, another fast-rated boat.

The course took us from Godfrey Bay into the Piankatank River channel, then out toward Gwynn’s Island. We passed east of Stove Point before turning back upriver and finishing in Fishing Bay. It was a fun, tactical sail — plenty of opportunities to chase down boats ahead and make the most of every shift and puff.

After crossing the finish, the fleet gathered for a raft-up with about a dozen boats tying together — a great chance to relax, catch up with friends, and relive the race. We eventually headed back to the dock and capped off the day with a BBQ dinner at the club.

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We had a beautiful day for the first ILCA Regatta at FBYC this year.  8 boats came for some shifty winds out of the NNW and clear sunny skies.

The first race was a short 1 lap H3 course. The pin was favored and I had a great start just up from the pin while a few boats missed the mark and had to restart. I sailed out to the layline and led at the top mark and held that to the finish.

The second race was similar, I had a great start and pulled ahead on the upwind leg. This was two laps and I led until the final leeward rounding where I flubbed the gybe, put the boom in the water, and capsized while Mike M and Mike C sailed by leaving me with 3rd.

The wind continued to be quite shifty. It would go left and come down the river strongly with some whitecaps. Then a few minutes later it would shift back to the right and get light and patchy. At times there were different winds on different sides of the course, but there was no consistency, sometimes the right had wind and sometimes it was the left.

I sailed the next few races about as inconsistently as the wind itself. I would catch some shifts and other times miss them while others caught them.

Mike M had a great day finishing first or second in every race to win the day.  Mike C was just ahead of me overall and I finished in 3rd for the day.  This was a great tune-up for next weekend’s Atlantic Coast Championship in Annapolis.

Thank you to Holly, Mason, Marc, David, Jen and Jen’s brother for being out there and running our races today.

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I joined Battle Rhythm for their first race of the 2025 season—a gusty, northwesterly day that tested our teamwork and shook off some winter rust. We hadn’t sailed together since last fall, and the breeze reminded us of it. On the line with us were Nanuq, Orion, and Corryvreckan. We had a solid crew of nine: Todd, Jennifer, Holly, Lauren, Tina, April, Jon, Chris R., and Dennis.

We got a decent start at the pin, staying low and ahead of the fleet. When Nanuq threatened to roll us, we bailed early and tacked out toward the layline near Stingray Point. Most of the fleet went up the Piankatank, but our gamble to the north paid off. As we approached the weather mark tucked near Jackson Creek, we were less than a minute behind Nanuq, with Orion trailing another minute or two back.

We set the kite and started the long run toward Gwynn’s Island. That’s when things got interesting. During the gybe, strong breeze and rusty coordination wrapped the spinnaker around the forestay—briefly, but enough to throw us off. We got it flying again and pressed on, only to tangle it again as we tried a weather take down at the leeward mark. We then missed the mark, had to re-round, and lost some time.

On the final downwind leg, a northward wind shift made for an awkward angle. A delayed gybe and another wrap left us low on the course, forcing us to luff hard and nearly broach just trying to fetch the finish.

With breeze still pushing into the low 20s and with no injuries or broken gear, we decided we’d had our fill of fun and headed in before race two. It wasn’t flawless, but it felt good to be back on the water shaking out the cobwebs.

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Fishing Bay Yacht Club opened the season with a beautiful race day for a 12.5 nm course. After a flag raising and skippers meeting,  the fleet headed out on the water. The crew from our sailboat was the race committee today and I was on the mark boat to set the start/finish line. I also had a front row seat to the start and finish and got to fly my drone around the boats when the wind subsided enough while most boats were finishing.

The three fleets started in sequence, sailing out into the bay near the Rappahannock’s mouth, then turning south before heading back to the finish line in the Piankatank River.

Though I wasn’t racing, it was rewarding to help run a smooth event and capture the action from a unique perspective.

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The final sailing day of the year was a blue-bird day of frigid winter sailing aboard J99 Battle Rhythm at Fishing Bay Yacht Club’s Winter Series #3. After the pursuit race against 3 other [crazy] boats we delivered the boat up the Rappahannock to Irvington where it’ll be hauled for the winter.

When I left Richmond in the morning for the trip to Deltaville it was 25 degrees outside. I don’t think I’ve ever scraped ice off a car to go sailing and I’ve never sailed in conditions this cold – not even the limited ILCA/Laser frostbiting that I’ve done. I did come prepared with plenty of layers and all of my heavy weather sailing gear and warm underlayers.

After arriving at the club we all stood in the sun as long as we could before going to boat which sat in the shade given how low the sun is on the horizon at this time. Aboard for the race were 9 of us – Jennifer, Holly, Len, Louise, Abigail, Tina, April, myself and the owner Todd. We had Len at the helm, Todd was up front with April and Abigail and I was in the middle doing tactics and tuning with Holly, Louise and Tina.

The boats we were racing against were Rhapsody, Wendas and Exit Strategy. Being a winter race, there was no race committee so we did a pursuit race around government marks and each boat had their own starting time according to their rating.  As the fastest boat of the fleet, we started over 20 minutes after the first boat to start and 10 minutes after the next closest competitor. The first leg was a bit of a broad reach out of the Piankatank – we set the spinnaker just after starting. Once out of the Piankatank we bore off a little bit for more of a run in the NNW wind of 14-18 knots.  This was definitely a windier day for what we had sailed the spinnaker in and it took us a little while to settle down with the right trim and angles as well as getting the maneuvers clean.

By the time we got to the far mark to turn upwind we were just behind Exit Strategy and Rhapsody. We tacked early to head inshore out of the current and it wasn’t log before we were ahead of both boats and stretching out. I had taken over at the main so I could constantly adjust trim to keep the boat heel and speed up working with Len on the helm. This leg was a little chillier going into the wind and occasionally having some water on deck.  By the time we were approaching the entrance mark to the Piankatank, Wendas was in our sights and still about 1 mile ahead of us when we were at 3 miles to go. The last let was fairly close to the wind and I think we were able to point so much better and held the lay line to the finish. Wendas couldn’t hold the angle we could and got pushed down to Gwynn’s island having to put in a tack to fetch the finish. And with that extra distance we were able to go right around them and finish a few minutes ahead.

Back at the dock we dropped off everyone not doing the delivery and quickly turned around to head up the Rappahannock with Todd, Jen, Holly, April and myself. We did some cleanup/stowing on the way out before we got into the waves and then went around Stingray Point. As we were entering the Rappahannock a tug approached behind us that we needed to avoid by a bit. The rest of the trip was fairly smooth and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset as we approached the route 3 bridge. We cautiously entered Carters Creek in the dark and when we made the turn to the marina we were greeted with a boat Christmas Light Parade.  We were at the dock just after 6, unloaded and left the boat for the haul out.

That was definitely one of the coldest sailing experiences I have had and a pretty one with the sunsets and light parade. Thanks to Todd for having me along for the day and looking forward to warmer weather again next year!

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