Lightning Fleet 50 invites you to the 36th Annual Doc Gilbert Potomac Cup Regatta, May 7-8, 2021 on the famous Potomac River at Leesylvania State Park, just outside of Washington DC, where the Potomac is 3 miles wide!
Both Lightnings and I-20s are invited.
NOR, current registrants, and registration at: https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/24462
Questions? Contact the regatta chair, Nabeel Alsalam, at nabeel.alsalam@gmail.com.
The last day of the fall series. Frank Gallagher and his team ran the races, getting off four in what I believe were light winds.
Below are the results for the day, the fall series, and the year long championship series.
The Day: Lightning_FS8
The Fall Series: Lightning_FS
The Year-Long Championship Series: 2021_Championship_Series_Cum_FS8
To PRO Bob Astrove’s surprise the wind started off from the SW and he set up the course that way. But after the I20s were off and just as the Lightnings were to start the wind shifted to the west.
Tom got a good start at the boat closing off Ed Lane but John came in just behind and he and Janine sailed high and fast to get to the windward mark on a single tack. By that time, the wind had gone even further right and John simply gybed and headed on a reach back to the leeward mark. Meanwhile, on Shadowfax we tried to raise the chute and gybe. It wasn’t pretty. We fell way behind.
The RC reset the course for race 2 and raised the T2 flag — two triangles. The reaching legs were quite tight and so flying the chute was not a given. Frank raised it and passed us on one leg but then foolishly tried to carry it on the next and lost. Otherwise, we did our best to remember how to make the Lightning go fast on a jib reach — we don’t do it very often.
As always it is great fun being out on the water and doing the best one can with the wind and the waves.
Only one more before the boats need to be stored away for the winter.
Cumulative championship results:
A beautiful fall day for sailing.
We had 8 boats racing a great turnout. Bobby was back in the saddle with Potomac Red after a required hiatus after surgery. Beppe, age 14, was helming Shadowfax. Despite an OCS he did great. Kevin’s son was helming 14566. An Aero sailor was helping Jeff Witten on Mighty Moose.
Only two more Sunday to go. Then the long-dark winter sets in. Carpe Diem.
Cumulative Results:
2021_Championship_Series_Cum_FS6
(October 24, races 67-70 of the championship series, 14592 and 14318 sailed with two.)
Winds from from the NW, strong, and gusty. Only Frank went out with Tom Hutton and Scott Bradford as crew – very experienced crew though. His competition was Barney in the Albacore but Frank decided not to fly the spinnaker because of the gusts.
Only three more Sunday to race. Come out to make sure you are over the 50% threshold to qualify.
(October 17, races 64-66 in the championship series)
It was a cloudy day with nice winds were from the NE. Our course was from near the airport shore to the mouth of the Anacostia, twice around. The finish line was an obstruction that could not be sailed through which created a strategic question about which way to sail around it.
Frank started off slow but ticked off three bullets after the first race. He banged the right each time and even though we thought there were some shift worth taking to the left his strategy prevailed.
(October 10th and races 60-63 in the championship series.)
Liz Williams was out with her new boat. (She bought Huma Huma when Mike & Angie Darrah moved to the California coast.)
Three – John Van Voorhis, Piercarlo Brunino, and Lindsay Bach — sailed on the Potomac.
Three – Tim O’Brien, Lisa-Marie Lane, and Jeff Witten – sailed on the Bay in the Frigid Digit.
I see new first names with familiar last names. I expect the younger generation took over. I see only 4 completed races on the Bay. Was it too windy?
From Will Phillipe, PRO on the River:
It was a beautiful day to sail today with sunny skies mid 70s and wind to sail in. As PRO I was certainly challenged today with our NNW winds moving to WNW. I made use of the Postpone before Race 1 because we needed a few extra minutes to get setup (remember as PRO the postpone is your friend). The forecast of NW winds with a later shift to WNW came earlier than I expected so race 1 the windward mark was off. We moved it closer to Gravelly Point to be more NW but it continued to move WNW and the gusts putting it closer to West. I was torn about trying to adjust the course and to get races off but with it shifting back and forth I opted to leave and keep running races. —
The Frigid Digit is coming the weekend September 25th and 26th at SSA and the PA Gov Cup is the following weekend October 2nd and 3rd at SYC. Tim O’Brien and Jeff Witten will each be going to the Frigid Digit. Registration for Frigid Digit will close this Friday September 24th, so please consider coming if you are on the fence! But as Bobby Astrove says, if you aren’t going to travel to Frigid Digit you can sail in the PRSA Fall Series race on Sunday.
Below are the Championship Series scores through Fall Series 1. Quite a few people are below the 50 percent qualifying threshold. Come on out and climb above.