This has been a beautiful weekend and it would have been a shame not to get out on the water. The Hampton Roads Laser Fleet was having a frostbite at the ODU Sailing complex and I decided to get the boat out and join them. This being my first time out since October it was a chance to get the cobwebs out as well as a shake down for regattas in the next couple weekends.
We ended up having the best fleet they’ve had out all year with 9 boats. The weather was gorgeous with 12-17 knots in the Elisabeth River. We set up short 2-lap courses that took about 15 minutes to complete. The short courses really put a premium on picking the right side of the course and on boat handling. There’s no time for that shift to come back in an oscillating breeze.

After the first couple races everyone really got into their grooves and we had some nice tight racing. Overall I kept in the upper-middle part of the pack, usually just a couple boat-lengths out of the lead. I had a 4th over all. All in all it was a good day on the water, and I’m looking forward to getting the season started next weekend at the Capital City Regatta in Washington DC.