Deltavile Virginia
With the Strange Bird Snipe restored it was time to take it for a sail. Jess, Laurie and I rigged it and went for the first sale on what turned into a gorgeous Monday of Labor Day Weekend. Even better – she floats! We took turns sailing while figuring out how everything is rigged and what still needs some work.
Labor Day weekend was the 1st Annual YAM Cornhole Tournament at Fishing Bay Yacht Club immediately following the Stingray Point Regatta. Twelve teams saw some fun and fierce competition!
The Stingray Light Distance Race kicks off Labor Day weekend with a distance race as part of the Stingray Point Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. I was sailing on Mad Hatter for the day and we knew the weather was going to deteriorate as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey moved into the area bringing light rain and cooler temperatures.
The course started near Stingray Point and sent us straight out into the bay. The ENE wind made it a beat out. We rounded a mark and came back towards Stove Point on a reach under genoa and main. Goin’ was the closest competitor to us and we mostly were able to hold even and stay ahead until we started reaching more and they were able to plane. Despite the drizzle it was fun being out and sailing.
RESULTS
The FBYC Summer Laser Regatta was a pretty light-air affair with only two races sailed. 11 boats out including the club’s junior coach who schooled us all with 2 bullets. Charlie Brewer took 2nds and I had 3rds. Thanks to Rick F for running our races.
I was at FBYC for the women’s clinic helping launch boats and I was able to get out on the water and take some pictures.
The 2017 edition of the FBYC One Design Long Distance Race started out with a pretty dismal forecast. I had planned to sail the Laser and without somewhere to store a beer cooler in such light wind I took Matt Braun’s offer to crew on a Front Runner with him. The race started in light air and slowly built as the afternoon went on. We had a 2nd row start and had some trouble getting to clear air up the first leg. On the second leg those who went closer to Stove Point were rewarded with breeze a little sooner.
We put our game faces for the 2nd half of the race and caught every shift and puff and clawed our way back to the top 3rd of the fleet. The race got a little interesting about halfway through when a barge came down the course just as boats were exiting the channel. Thankfully everyone had maneuverability and was out of the way by the time they came through. Thanks again Matt for a great day of sailing!
I sailed the FBYC Cut Channel Race aboard Excitation this year and the race had a bit of a twist to it: boats could sail clockwise or counter-clockwise around the same 31nm course. We were among the boats that had read the SI’s earlier in the week and not gotten the memo that it changed the night before until we figured that out about 5 mi into the race and by then it was too late to be competitive. It was still a beautiful day to sail across the bay and thanks Mayo for having me along.
At the end of June I said goodbye to the J/70. It had been a ton of fun and I’m sorry I didn’t get to sail it more, but with school and all of the other commitments I have coming up it was best to downsize my fleet.
The forecast for the Open House Regatta at Fishing Bay Yacht Club improved as we got closer to Sunday and it ended up be great sailing conditions for the few mile progressive start distance race. This race featured boats from 14′ all the way up to 48′ and they were all handicapped against each other with the slow boats starting first and having a head start over the faster boats. The first boat over the finish line wins.
I sailed a Front Runner with Alan as crew and were among the 24 boats racing under mostly cloudy skies with the wind out of the ESE at 9-11. As one of the slower boats we were about the 5th group to start and there were 2 other Front Runners racing with us. The start was across the Piankatank River near Godfrey Bay and took us east and upwind towards the mouth of the Piankatank River. Sailing down the river we stuck to the North shore near Fishing Bay and Stove point to stay out of the current.
That ended up being the key to the race as we extended out a lead and were able to get far enough ahead of the faster boats that they weren’t able to catch up. It also helped us that 1/4 of the race was close reaching rhumb line sailing where putting up a spinnaker didn’t really help any. On the final leg to the finish the J/70 E.L.E. made a pretty good charge and we edged them out finishing less than 1/2 a minute ahead.
Big thanks to Matt for letting us borrow the boat and for Alan doing a great job crewing in his second race.
The Laser Frostbite Regatta was the last event of the year at FBYC and we made it quite easy on the RC by setting a course that allowed them to signal it from the dock. The wind was just the right direction out of the south west where the RC could run the races from the end of the dock. We used a boat to move the weather mark and pin. They had a great time and the proximity to shore enabled the sailors make breaks at the club in between races.
The wind was a little light for this one, but we rolled through the races doing short courses with 10 boats. While I seemed to have good boat speed – I did find myself on the wrong side of some shifts and occasionally out of the top 3. Charlie Brewer once again sailed incredibly consistently and took the day. I followed in 2nd with Len close behind. What a great way to end the season!