Tag: Offshore Racing

Offshore sailboat racing.

Saturday was the final day for the offshore spring series at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.  With winds out of the north west at 8-10 it was expected to go west and die off.  We didn’t end up with that – it built and went east!

On Wavelength we were a little late  at the start of the first race, but we tacked out and were able to get some clear air.  We were sailing a 3-lap .75 mile course.  Not exactly our favorite to be doing so many turns.  Luckily we sailing 10-up and had plenty of help to pack the chute just in time to need it for another downwind.

This being the 5 race day for us this year – we really had some of the crew-work down well.  We were executing maneuvers with less notice and doing them faster with less loss of speed during them.  And even when we did make some mistakes like dropping the sheet-guy over the bow on the take down and catching it around the keel – we recognized it and recovered immediately with little fuss.

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In the 2nd race we had a great start and for the first lap we actually held our own with the faster Double Eagle and Voodoo 2.  Eventually they stretched their legs and started pulling away from us.

In both races we were 3rd over the line and 2-3 minutes out of 2nd on corrected time.  We knew we just need to finished today’s races to finish 2nd overall in the spring series.  Another successful day to conclude a successful series!

Results | Series Results

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It was another beautiful day for racing at Fishing Bay Yacht Club for the 3rd day of the Offshore Spring Series.  I was again on Wavelength for the 3 races on a mostly sunny day with temps in the high 70’s and wind that varied from 19-8.

5/10 FBYC Offshore Spring Series #2

The first race had the most wind and we started out with the No2 and a reef in the main.  We did well at the start by staying away from the faster boats that outpoint us and we were able to make progress upwind albeit a little under powered.   On a tack halfway up the beet we shook the reef out.  The rest of the way around the course went well, but we couldn’t catch the 3 boats ahead of us and settled for a 4th.

In the 2nd race we lined up next to Voodoo 2 and had to take their bad air off the starting line for a while until we could clear the B boats and tack out.  We kept up on the upwind leg, but it was the downwind legs where we shined and made up time on each leg.  By the 2nd upwind leg the wind had dipped even more and we put up the #1.  We barely missed 2nd place by 15 seconds.

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The 3rd race didn’t start so well for us.  We were over early and had to park it and let the fleet sail by so we could turn around and restart.  Starting so far behind everyone made us get creative on the first beat and we banged the right corner (photo above) while most of the rest of the fleet went left which had been working all day.  Sure enough the wind went right and we caught right back up to the fleet.  Unfortunately, we would get stuck with the bottom 2 boats trying to cover each other for a position and ended up as collateral damage never being able to break free and chase the boats ahead of us and we settled for 4th.

5/10 FBYC Offshore Spring Series #2

We’re currently in 2nd place for the series and we got one more race day left next Saturday.  With a good result we should be able to hang onto 2nd.

Jon’s Pictures | Andrea Zilinski Winner Photos |  Results | Video

Following racing a storm rolled through throwing a 420 into one of the RIBs onshore and bashing Mad Hatter at the dock.  I’ve seen some storms roll through and I’ve been at the club for some pretty serious tropical and nor’easters, but I’ve never seen a storm come up so quickly and with such intensity.  Thankfully everyone was ashore and safe.

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Today turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for racing.  With 22 boats in 4 classes we had great racing aboard Wavelength in the 5-boat PHRF-A fleet in the 2nd of the Spring Series at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.

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The wind started around 16-19 and was in the lower end of that range for the first race with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 60’s.  The wind started from the North East and by the end of the day had gone a few degrees further east. The first race was a single windward-leward 1.25nm.  We had a great start and just worked our way up the left side.  With the general trend of the wind going right – there were still nice lifts on the left and more importantly some relief from the currant.  We did well to stay with the fleet, be efficient around the course and not make any mistakes.  Being the slowest boat in the fleet handicap-wise we were 2nd at the finish and less than a minute behind Double Eagle on corrected time and took 2nd place.

The second race was 2 laps and went similarly to the first race.  We had good speed, went the right way and didn’t make any mistakes.  Again we were the 2nd A boat over the line and corrected to 2nd.

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For the 3rd race, another 2 lap race, we started well, rounded the top mark in 3rd and had good speed downwind.  We rounded right behind Nanuq and while everyone else went back to the left that had worked so well all day, we ended up going right.  That paid off when we got a 20-degree righty and found ourselves on the layline and rounding a short distance behind Double Eagle.  Our downwind went well and we held on to correct out 15 seconds ahead of Double Eagle winning the last race of the day and solidifying 2nd place overall.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather and it is so great to out racing again this spring!

Results

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After yesterday’s Opening Day Race, Fishing Bay Yacht Club started the offshore spring series on Sunday with some buoy racing.  We only had about half of the crew we had yesterday and had several new folks in new positions.  Overall we held our own going 3-2-3 on the day. Results.

3/13 FBYC Offshore Spring Series 1
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What a beautiful weekend to start the sailing season at Fishing Bay Yacht Club.  The first race of the season was a middle distance race of 12.8 nm from the mouth of the Piankatank out to the entrance to the Rappahannock River and back.  I was sailing on Wavelength, a C&C37, with Rob Whittet and Steve Utley.  We were among the 20+ other boats gathered in the 8-10 knot northerly breeze and mostly sunny skies.

We had a great start in the 5-boat PHRF-A fleet that consisted of a J/109 Double Eagle, J/105s Corryvreckan and Shamrock, and modified Quest 30 Chilcoot.  The first leg was a short upwind leg inside the mouth of the Piankatank.  We then sailed close-hauled out to the entrance to the Rappahannock followed by a spinnaker run down to the entrance of the Piankatank.  Up until this point we were hanging with everyone except Double Eagle who was starting to get away from us.  At the turning mark the J/70s and the C and non-spin fleets were also using this as a turning mark.

Most of the fleet who had asymmetrical spinnakers went low on their way back to the finish up the Piankatank.  They weren’t laying the mark, but making really good VMG.  With a symmetrical spinnaker, we elected to take the high route with the #1 up.   About halfway back we could see Double Eagle get significantly headed and then drop the spinnaker.  They had to beat back to the mark, while we just cracked off and came back down to the rumb line nice and fast and closed the gap.  We didn’t beat them over the line, but had enough to make up the difference and won the race on corrected time.  What a great way to start the season.

This season will be bittersweet for Wavelength and crew – this will likely be the last spring series for the boat.

Following racing the club held their blessing of the fleet and opening day party.  The food was great – as was the fun!

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10/26 Closing Day RegattaSteve Utley, Rob Whittet, John Hoar, Eric Brendle, John Watlington

Wavelength Need CrewSaturday was the final day of racing for the offshore boats at Fishing Bay Yacht Club followed by an oyster roast.  The race was a pursuit style race where the slower boats start first and the times are calculated so everyone should finish about the same time.  I was aboard Wavelength and for once it was great having boats of all sizes all around us for most of the race.  We ended up finishing 9th in the 17-boat fleet while sailing in winds that started around 8 knots and built to as much as 23 knots during the 1 1/2 hour race.  On top of that we were short-handed with only 6 on board and flew the spinnaker.

10/26 Closing Day Regatta

After racing we enjoyed oysters!  RESULTS | PHOTOS

10/26 Closing Day RegattaOyster Roast

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Smith Point Race - Course AThis year for the Smith Point Race at Fishing Bay Yacht Club I sailed on an Olson 911S called Mad Hatter owned by Bob and Lisa Fleck.  We sailed in the PHRF-B fleet with close competition form a Tarten 40 and a Tarten 10.  The Smith Point Race is a 57nm race starting in the mouth of the Piankatank River heading east across the Chesapeake Bay then North to the the Smith Point Light house at the entrance of the Potomac River and then back to the Piankatank leaving Stingray Point to starboard.

8/24/2013 Smith Point Race - Bob & Lisa Fleck on Mad Hatter.

We started out at 2pm with the race expected to take about 10-12 hours.  The forecast was for an east wind 12-18 all afternoon/evening with an outgoing tide starting shortly after the start.

On the leg across the bay we were close reaching and we stayed above everyone else in the fleet.  When the wind went a little south, this helped give us leverage to round in second – behind only Chilcoot from the A-fleet.  On the reach up the bay we were quickly run down by the J-105 Corryvreckan.  The short choppy and confused waves made the going a little tough. Towards the end of the leg to Smith point we had the chute up reaching and all of the bouncing around kept collapsing the chute.  We arrived at Smith Point just at sun down.

8/24/2013 Smith Point Race

The way back in the dark was almost upwind and the wind slowly eased from 16 to about 12.  Halfway back I helmed and we did a sail change up to the No 1.  When we got to the Piankatank we turned west, put the chute up and finished the race as the 3rd boat over the line and 1st overall on corrected time by 10 minutes.  Results.

8/24/2013 Smith Point Race - Smith Point Light

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Saturday’s Cut Channel Race at Fishing Bay Yacht Club had a bit of everything from the weather.  Light air, heavy air, storms, chop, smooth seas, etc.  Lud Kimbrough, Mike Karn and I sailed the J/70 Nostalgia in the PHRF-B fleet of 6 boats out of 15 total for the race.

The race took us south and east and then due east across the bay before heading north up the shipping channel and back to the Piankatank.  We had a great start and did well on the first upwind and reaching legs.  On the 2nd downwind leg out to the channel we made a bad bet on the weather and fell back into the fleet.

After rounding the channel marker to head North we could see storms in the distance but with being so far out into the bay we didn’t have reliable cell service to check the weather.  We donned our life jackets and battened down the hatch – we really did this – and prepared for some weather.  We were also monitoring VHF 16 instead of the race channel so we could hear ships coming up the channel, etc so we didn’t hear any race announcements that the race was being shortened at the next mark.

Most of the storms stayed away and we could see lightning in the distance.  One frontal system did come through and as the wind hit the boats behind us, we quickly executed our emergency chute down procedure to get it in the boat just before we were hit with a 25-30+ knot gust.  We rode out the rest of the leg under jib and main still making 6 knots and as we approached the mark we saw Mr. Roberts there and saw the race was being shortened.

We didn’t save our time, but we had fun and got to try something different on a boat none of us had ever done a distance race with.  Unfortunately for us, we finished at the farthest point of the course from home, which meant we still needed to sail upwind back home.  We definitely didn’t have enough fuel aboard to motor the whole way, plus the boat goes faster under sail anyway.  2 1/2 hours later and after narrowly dodging another squall line and motoring from about 6 miles offshore once the wind died, we made it back to FBYC.

RESULTS | PHOTOS | VIDEO

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I got to sail my first Screwpile Regatta on Paul and Julie Wash’s S2 7.9 Cheeky Monkey along with Becca Wash and Mike Karn. We had a great weekend finishing 3rd in the 13-boat PHRF-C class (results).  That included finishing out the regatta 2-2-1-1 in the final 4 of the 7 races.

Cheeky Monkey

Saturday

On Saturday I got a ride to Solomons Island Maryland with the Double Eagle crew.  Cheeky Monkey was still being delivered so I got to go hang out with Double Eagle for some practice.  That was followed by some pool time and then boat work when Cheeky Monkey arrived to get it ready – 1st for sleeping and 2nd for racing in the morning.  The transition from sleeping quarters to race boat and visa versa would be repeated each morning and evening.  After getting settled I went for dinner in Solomons Island with the Double Eagle crew followed by a trip to the legendary Tiki Bar.

Sunday

The first day of racing called for light wind – and it delivered.  After a short postponement on the water the wind appeared to fill in and we got started.  We beat the whole fleet off the start by 20 seconds and led the fleet up the beat as the wind started dissipating.  Eventually we had nothing for wind and the race was abandoned.

Back at the starting line we threw the anchor out during the postponement and had fun yelling ‘starboard’ at all of the boats trying to stay near the course in the current while drifting into us.  An hour or so later the wind finally filled in and we started a light wind race.

Most of the racing I’ve done lately has been on boats with 6-8 crew so coming down to a 5-person boat that I had never been on before was a bit of an adjustment.  None of it was hard or really all that new, just the timing and coordination that were a little different.

When we finally did start we were a little late at the line and consequently spent most of the race just following the fleet around, ending up in 9th.  In the second race we nailed the start at the boat and had options going up the course.  We couldn’t quite hang with some of the faster boats, but we did well to stay engaged behind the leaders and found ourselves with a 5th putting us in 7th after the first day of racing.  Not a bad start, but left room for improvement.  By the end of the day we started to get a lot more comfortable as a crew and things started getting easier.

Post-racing was a trip to the pool and out to dinner with the Cheeky Monkey crew.

Monday

Racing on Monday got a lot better for us.  In the first race we still had a bit of a late start and ended up in the middle of the fleet.  On the plus side I think we finally got the crew work figured out among us.  I was on the mast and my responsibilities were raising and lowering the spinnaker, raising and lowering the board, and calling wind.  Now that we were coordinated, I got to pay a lot more attention to the wind, feeding that info back to Mike Karn and Paul in the back, and it really started to pay off for us.

By the 2nd race of the day we had a decent start, were one of the top boats around the 1st windward mark and kept playing it smart and fast to pick off a little more time on the boats ahead.  We ended up being 2nd over the line to a much faster boat who only corrected out 3 seconds ahead of us – ie: 4 seconds faster and that would have been a 1 for us instead of a 2.

The 3rd race of the day went much the same.  We had a good start, played the shifts upwind, had no major foul ups with the spinnaker at the marks and continued to chip away at the boats in front of us.  Unfortunately, the story played out the same and we were over the line 2nd, but the boat ahead corrected to just 5 seconds ahead.

We were happy with a 7-2-2 on the day bringing us up to 6th with a 4 point spread between the 3 boats ahead of us.

Tuesday

Today was our day and our wind.  With a more steady pressure of 8-10 knots and partly cloudy skies we were poised to sail well.  We had a good game plan and a good read on the weather that proved out to be dead on by the end of the day. Mike and Paul got us a good start and having watched the fleets ahead of us and the wind, I picked out a pretty distinct pattern in the shifts and clouds.  From there we punched out, stayed ahead of the shifts and lead wire-to-wire.  Right at the finish a few boats rating either the same (Spinster) or faster than us (Easy Button) came up pretty close, but we managed to get over the finish line just ahead of them.

The 2nd and final race- this one a 5-leg race was similar to the earlier race – only the shifts got even more dramatic.  But the pattern remained and after winning the boat at the start, we got out to the right, picked a couple shifts while covering the fleet and lead at the first mark.  Downwind we got caught by some boats who brought pressure and we found ourselves rounding the bottom mark with boats right on our tail.  We played it a little more conservative up the middle-right side and Easy Button hit the right corner when a big righty came in, and just went right by us.  The 4th leg-downwind kept everyone about the same as the wind began to give out a little bit.  Many of the boats played the middle left where there happened to be pressure at the beginning of the leg.  We knew it was going to go away and eventually come in from the right – just as it had in the previous leg, so we kept ourselves to the right side of the fleet.  When it finally came in from the right and with pressure, it came way more than we were expecting and we went from being in the middle of the course to laying the finish while all of the boats out to the left were hung out.  We took the gun and our second bullet of the day.

We were really thrilled at how we did in the last 4 races to string together a solid set of 1s and 2s.  That jumped us up to 3rd overall and were definitely the best boat on the day with 2 bullets.  Congrats Paul and Julie Wash – you’ve put a great program together and it was a lot of fun sailing Cheeky Monkey to a podium finish.

RESULTS | PICTURES | SPINSHEET PICTURES | VIDEO

Top photo from Spinsheet.

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