All posts by Aaron

Announcements, News

Replica French Tall Ship Hermione in Alexandra, VA on Wednesday, June 10 – Friday June 12

If you are interested in seeing an authentic replica of an 18th century tall ship the French frigate Hermione will be in Alexandra Virginia at the Alexandria Marina behind the Torpedo Factory from Wednesday June 10 – Friday June 12, 2015. She will also be in Annapolis, MD, from Tuesday June 16 – Wednesday June 17, 2015 before making her way further up the eastern seaboard.

The vessel on displa is a reconstructed replica of the 18th century French frigate Hermione (Air-mee-on).  The original Hermione brought Gilbert du Motier the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington with news of French military aid in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. It was a Concorde class 32 gun frigate that participated in the naval blockade of the British contributing to the defeat of General Cornwallis by Washington and Rochambeau in the siege of Yorktown, Virginia.

The British captured the Hermione’s sister ship, La Concorde in 1783.  Before putting it into their service they made a study of the La Concorde including making drawings and plans. These plans were preserved and formed the basis for the Hermione replica. Construction on the replica ship began in 1997.  The ship has sailed from France and is expected in Yorktown, VA on Friday June 5.

Tickets are no longer available to reserve in advance for the tour in Alexandria but some tickets will be available to the public at 8:30 AM and 12 noon each day. Other events will be occurring pier-side 9 AM to 7 PM Wednesday through Friday.

Learn more at:

http://hermione2015.com/voyage2015/alexandria

http://www.visitalexandriava.com/calendar-of-events/hermione-in-alexandria/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32350305

Regattas, News, Results, 2015

2015 Spring Regatta Wrapup

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What a fantastic turnout for the PRSA Spring Regatta!  We had nearly fifty boats and almost 100 sailors out racing over a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.  Even though Saturday’s wind conditions were light and spotty we still got in 3 races on the upper course (and more on the lower course), followed by a wonderful BBQ put together by Lee, Lisa-Marie, and Jim.  It was great to see so many friends and family members at the post-race BBQ.  Our patience on Saturday was rewarded with a nice 8-10 kt southerly breeze on Sunday.  After 3 more fantastic races on Sunday we enjoyed another nice BBQ.

Race Results

Continue reading 2015 Spring Regatta Wrapup →

News

The 2nd Annual PRSA Rookie Regatta: Sunday, May 10

Back by popular demand, we will be holding the 2nd Annual PRSA Rookie Regatta this coming Sunday!  This one-day regatta has two purposes:

  1. To encourage skippers and crews to bring new people on board, hopefully sparking an interest in racing and in sailing with PRSA; and
  2. To encourage PRSA crews to take a turn at the helm to learn about driving, build team rapport on their boats, and perhaps even spark an interest in becoming a full time owner and driver!

Continue reading The 2nd Annual PRSA Rookie Regatta: Sunday, May 10 →

Spring Series, 2015

2015 Spring Series #3

Well, Spring Series #3 was certainly far different than the previous week’s “puff and shift festival” (to quote Bobby Astrove).  Instead of 15-25 from the east we were greeted with a light and variable wind and plenty of sunshine when we arrived at the marina.  At first it looked like the forecast breeze (NE 8-10, shifting to N and then NW) would fill in as predicted.  However, the breeze shut down completely as we tried to make it up to the race course, prompting PRO Nich Allen and skiff driver Stew Harris to organize tows up to the course.

Continue reading 2015 Spring Series #3 →

News

Get Ready for Spring Sailing!

We are just over a week away from the start of our Spring Sailing Season.  Take a moment now to make sure you are ready for the season by doing the following:

If you take care of these things now, you’re all set to enjoy the season.  See you on the water soon!

News

2014 AGM Wrap-Up

It was great to see so many fleet members at the 2014 PRSA Annual General Meeting and Awards Banquet!  A very special thanks to Lee for all of the work that she did in preparing our amazing feast, and to Dave for allowing us to use the Potomac Room at Marina Towers for the event.

The Executive Board report indicated that the state of the Association is good, with membership higher in all categories than in 2013.  At the same time, we need to do more work in getting our  members out on the water (sailing participation in the fall series was down a bit, in particular) and we need to start thinking about the powerboats and engines as we approach 10 years of usage on our skiffs and outboards.  The PRSA Executive Board will consider these questions as part of their regular meetings in 2015 and report back to the Association at the 2015 AGM and Awards Banquet.

Please join me in congratulating the recipients of our PRSA Perpetual Awards as well as the volunteers who will serve on the PRSA Executive Board in 2015.  I’ve listed these individuals below, and included links farther down to the AGM agenda and the summary of race highlights for each fleet in our major sailing events.

2015 PRSA Perpetual Award Winners

  • Founder’s Trophy: Jeff Neurauter
  • Fleet Captain’s Award: Michael Heinsdorf
  • Yates Dowell III Award: Nabeel Alsalam
  • Nabeel Alsalam Award: Lee Sayasithsena

2015 PRSA Executive Board

  • Commodore: Aaron Boesenecker
  • Vice Commodore: Nabeel Alsalam
  • Rear Commodore: Farley Will
  • Treasurer: Yates Dowell
  • Secretary: Nich Allen
  • Social Activities & Outreach (co-chair): Lee Sayasithsena
  • Social Activities & Outreach (co-chair): Lisa-Marie Lane
  • Member at Large: Stew Harris

2014 PRSA AGM & Awards Banquet Agenda

2014 PRSA Racing Results

Fall Series, News, 2014

Fall Series #6: Breezy Fun!

It was already blowing in the 10-15 range when we arrived at the marina on Sunday, and the forecast was for the wind to build towards 20 mph steady with gusts predicted up to 30.  That forecast may have kept some teams away, but 4 Lightnings, a Buc, and a Laser did splash their boats and the Hobie Cat RC crew led by Yates agreed to set up shorter courses (they had little choice with a WNW wind) and keep a close eye on everybody.    The wind did continue to build as we sailed up to the race course, and we definitely saw some gusts in the 20s in the first race according to the handheld wind readings taken aboard the signal boat.  One Lightning retired before the racing started, another (sailing doublehanded) retired after the first race, and the remaining two called it a day after the second race, choosing to sail home rather than keep match racing and possibly breaking something.  We saw some even bigger gusts and some fantastic rides on a plane on the sail back to the marina and everybody enjoyed some hot dogs and drinks after we dried out our boats (and selves).

2014 Fall Series 6 – Lightnings

News

PRSA Email List Moving to Google

We are moving our email list from Yahoo! over to Google Groups.  This is our new group:

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/potomacriversailing

If you’d like stay on the email list, please click on the link above to send us a join request (assuming you have not already been sent an invitation or subscribed).  To send an email the new list, simply send a message to potomacriversailing@googlegroups.com.

We hope to see you on the new list!

News

2014 Annual General Meeting & Awards Banquet

The 2014 PRSA Annual General Meeting and Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 15, 7-9 pm, in the party room at Marina Towers.  Dinner will cost $20 per person (pay at the door) and will feature beef roast, chicken, vegetable dishes, sides, and assorted beverages.   This is always a great chance to see everybody and reminisce about another year of great sailing, so I hope to see you there!  Please sign up here to let us know whether you will be attending.

 2014 PRSA AGM & Awards Banquet Agenda

2014 PRSA Racing Results

Directions: From the Washington Sailing Marina, go south on GW parkway towards Alexandria. Stay to the right and take the Slaters Lane exit. (It is the first exit you come to). Turn left onto Slaters Lane from the ramp. This will take you across the parkway. Go through the intersection and past the first buildings and look for the high rise on the left. That is the building. It is only five minutes from the marina.  When you arrive, please go to the front desk, sign in and ask where the PRSA Party is. They will direct you to the party room.