All posts by Aaron

Goofy Conditions, Good Competition for PRSA Fall Series #7

The conditions were a bit all of the place on Sunday, with an easterly breeze that swung as far south as due south and as far north as due north, with times in between when it would shut off altogether.  Depending upon the shifts, you could enter a mark rounding first and come out last (or vice-versa), or pick up (or lose) the whole fleet on one shift.  Nonetheless, PRO Farley Will and his RC crew did a good job getting us four races in some sunny conditions before we all headed back to shore to enjoy beverages and a BBQ.  It could have been far worse for a late fall afternoon of racing!  Scores are posted below, and you can see some great photos from Lindsay Bach here.

Albacore Fall 7

Buccaneer Fall 7

I-20 Fall 7

Lightning Fall 7

Multihull Fall 7

 

Beautiful Sailing for Fall Series #6

We had a cool, crisp morning for Fall Series #6 but the day ended up being fantastic — one of our best for sailing this year — as the sun came out and the breeze came in.  PRO Jim Antonovich and his RC crew got us a series of great O2 and O3 races, some of which involved some exciting reach legs with good breeze and some of the interesting shifts that happen with a westerly breeze.  Great fun was had by all and we enjoyed a nice sunny cookout to wrap up the day.

Albacores Fall Series 6

Buccaneers Fall Series 6

I-20 Fall Series 6

Lightnings Fall Series 6

Week 2 and Week 4 Scores Posted!

We’ve managed to get two racing days so far this fall, which nearly equals our total for all spring!  Fall Series 2 was a drizzly, grey day but the wind was good and the racers enjoyed some quality racing.  Fall Series 4 was one of the most beautiful days we’ve had all day with breeze, sunny skies, warm temps, and a good turnout.  Scores are as follows (also available on the results page):

Albacores Fall Series 2

I-20 Fall Series 2

Lightning Fall Series 2

Buccaneer Fall Series 4

I-20 Fall Series 4

Lightning Fall Series 4

Multihull Fall Series 4

PRSA Dinghy Open: 14 October

PRSA Sailors — this weekend we take a break from our regularly scheduled fleet racing of the fall series for our dinghy open.  The NOR and SIs are posted at  http://potomacriversailing.org/nors-sis/  The basics are the same, 10 am skipper’s meeting, 11:30 first warning, and après-sail pot-luck cook out, but this week you get to pit your skills and tactics against sailors in the other fleets!

If the forecast holds we should have another beautiful fall weekend, so come out for the sailing and stay for the cook-out! PRSA will supply soda and beer, please bring some snacks/grill treats to share.

PRSA President’s Cup Results

We had a good turnout for the 2018 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta, fantastic racing weather all weekend, and a packed spectator boat on Sunday.  It was especially nice to see some new faces on varius boats, including Emily sailing with with the Lanes on As You Wish, Bryanna who joined David Beckett on a Flying Scot, and Andrew who stepped in to sail with Aaron on Saturday before going back to his regular ride with long-time PRSA and Fleet 50 member Joe Warren on Joe’s new Flying Scot on Sunday.  What a great regatta!  Many thanks to PRO Jim Graham (upper course) and PRO Will Phillppe (lower course) and their RC crews for all of the work that they did to get us lots of racing.  Results are posted here.  Stay tuned for links to photos and more!

Register for the 2018 President’s Cup Regatta!

President's Cup Logo

The 2018 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta will be held September 15 & 16 at Washington Sailing Marina, continuing the long tradition of competitive one-design racing started by the President’s Cup in 1934.  The regatta will be sailed on the Potomac River on two courses.  Visit the regatta website to view the NOR and register for the 2018 President’s Cup!  Registration fees increase after September 10, so make sure to register and pay online before September 10 to save yourself a bit of cash.  We will once again offer a spectator cruise aboard the historic schooner American Spirit on Sunday, so be sure to tell your friends and family!

Thanks to our regatta sponsor, Annapolis Performance Sailing, and to DC Sail for the partnership that allows us to offer a spectator cruise aboard the American Spirit!

APS-Logo-OrangenoText DC Sail

PRSA Spring Regatta Results

We had two fantastic days of racing for the PRSA Spring Regatta, with PRO Nabeel Alsalam and his crew getting us 5 races on Saturday and 3 more on Sunday.   37 boats in 5 classes came out for the fun and we all enjoyed spectacular sailing conditions with sunny skies, flat water, and moderate southerly breezes.  Results are posted here and you should feel free to add your comments below!

Register now for the PRSA Spring Regatta: May 26-27

The NOR for the PRSA Spring Regatta (May 26-27) has been posted and registration is now open.  Visit the regatta website and register by May 22 to take advantage of the early registration discount.  Once you’ve registered, help us spread the word about the regatta!

PRSA Rookie Regatta Results

We had a good turnout for the PRSA Rookie Regatta this past Sunday, with 6 I-20s, 6 Lightnings, 3 Albacores, and 2 Buccaneers coming out for the fun.  Several boats had a true rookie on board, and those that didn’t had crews driving and drivers crewing.  Results are posted below, and I’ve included a few of my observations from the course on Lightning #14592 (from the middle position while Piercarlo drove his first races in a long while!).  You should feel free to add your observations in the comments section!

The weather looked much more promising than the forecast as we arrived at the marina on Sunday.   We sailed up to the course in a nice northerly breeze…only to see it become soft and spotty as the first starts got going.  PRO Allen Griffen and his RC crew did a great job in adjusting the course but also getting us as many races as possible in a very shifty and variable N/NE/NW wind.  With short T1 courses the start was important, and we found that getting a good start and staying in the pressure (generally up the left side of the course along the airport, though this was not the case in the first race) was paramount.  Making sure to keep the boat moving forward fast, even when headed, was also important in all of the shifts and swirls.  Over the 3 races we saw conditions ranging from nearly no wind to full on hiking conditions (for a few moments at least).  Overall, though, the racing was fun and clean, and it was great to see new faces on boats and familiar people in new positions.  The sun even came out enough for us to enjoy a nice post-race BBQ and awards ceremony!

Rookie Regatta Results

PRSA Rookie Regatta This Sunday!

Back by popular demand, this Sunday’s PRSA Rookie Regatta is a chance to introduce new people to sailing, switch up skipper/crew positions, and just have some fun sailing in different combinations than normal for a 1-day regatta (not scored as part of the PRSA Spring Series).  Please make sure to review the Sailing Instructions and the Bonus Categories (below).  We will have Bonus Sheets for each boat to fill out on Sunday.  If you want a hard copy of the SIs, please print them for yourself in advance.