Day 2 of the Orange Coffee Pot Regatta and Laser District 11 Championship was forecast to start a lot like Saturday finished: windy.  Already a number of sailors weren’t going out.  I rigged hoping to hang in there for as many races as I could.  As I was about to head to the launching ramp, I noticed that my traveler fairlead was starting to pull out of the deck.  Luckily Don Hahl had a spare hull sitting on a trailer (thanks Don!!!).  In a 10-minute mad dash we pulled everything off my boat and re-rigged it on the spare hull.

6/2 traveler fair lead pulled out of the deck.  Also note the damage through the gelcoat from the traveller block.

I hung in there through 2 races in winds in the 20+ range.  There were some shifts to be found, but mostly it was just hanging on, keeping the boat moving and keeping it upright.  By the end of the 2nd race I started getting the tipsies.  I started the 3rd race, sailed to the windward mark and just sailed in for the dock.  At that point I was worn out and wasn’t really doing much racing anyway.  Back at the dock I packed up, made arrangements to get the boat fixed and got on the road (without the boat).

6/2

Pictures | Results

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We had a windy first day of racing at Surf City Yacht Club for the Orange Coffee Pot and Laser District 10 Championship regatta.  I sailed consistently with finishes averaging just out of the top 10 to be sitting 10th overall after the first 7 races.

Throughout the day the wind built from about 12 in the first race to over 20 by the 7th race.  The sailing location was slightly behind a shore that kept us the waves down.  In fact it was disorienting to have 18 knots of wind later in the day and only 1′ waves.  On the shorter courses that we had I found it was important to get good lanes, keep clear air and pick lanes to cross so I didn’t have to duck boats.

We’re looking at another windy day on Sunday.

Results

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I have arrived in Surf City NJ on Long Beach Island for the Orange Coffee Pot Regatta and Laser District 10 Regatta. I got here late in the afternoon and joined a few other sailors for about an hour of practice. The wind was in the middle to upper teens which is what we are going to see a lot more of this weekend.

Orange Coffee Pot Regatta Group Photo

Surf City Yacht Club’s 41st Orange Coffee Pot Regatta turned out to be a great day of sailing.  We had wind that built from about 10 to the mid- to high teens by the last race.  We had a very competitive fleet of 31 boats ranging from pretty elite sailors to those sailing their first Laser regatta.  And we got off 7 races.  Clay Johnson ultimately won the event taking bullets in all but one race.  Granted, he didn’t exactly run away with it, Kyle Rogachenko and Peter Shope definitely gave him a run for it.

Rounding the top mark with the lead pack.

My own racing was a little ho-hum and I found myself getting bad starts and on the wrong side of the course more times than I care to remember.  I had the speed to stay with the lead pack and in one race I had a stellar start and sailed my way to an 8th.  All in all it was fun to make the trip and to sail in the oldest Laser regatta.  Thanks to Newt Wattis and Surf City Yacht Club for hosting the event and everything they did to put it together.

Results | Photos | Video

Arriving at Surf City Yacht Club

This afternoon I made the trip to Surf City New Jersey to sail the 41st Orange Coffee Pot Regatta.  This is the oldest Laser regatta and has been on my list to do for some time.  This year the event is also the US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination.  Looks like we’ve got a great forecast for wind tomorrow and up to 7 races planned.  The competition ranges from reigning North American Champion to first-time Laser regatta with a ~35 boat fleet expected.  Should be fun racing tomorrow and thanks to Newt Wattis and his wife for putting me up for the night.