Category Archives: Fleets

PRSA Fleets

2024 Lightning Dixie District Championships & 38th Annual Potomac Cup Regatta

This double-header regatta was held at Leesylvania State Park on June 29 and 30 where the Potomac is 2.5 miles wide!

Six races were scheduled and completed in solid 10-15 mph breezes.  Well, it went light in one race which challenged the sailors as the boats had to choose the best VMG angles downwind.

Trevor Prior and team from the Susquehanna Yacht Club won.   PRSA’s own Aaron Boesenecker with Rick Welch and Lisbet Kugler were second.  Joe Buczkowski and team were third.

PRO Nelson Pemberton, mark boat captain, Barney Harris,  and team set up the courses and ran the races.  Dan Trammel, our judge, ran a redress hearing and provided anyone who asked with help interpreting the rules, Thank you!

Red Fehrle and Suzanne Humphrey prepared a steak and salmon dinner for us while we were out racing.  Lindsay Bach, Sheila Campbell, Maryann Gallagher, Christy Chen and many others brought sides to complement the main course.  Frank Gallagher and Pam Maple brought breakfast to get the sailors going.

Jim Dillard was one of the forces behind the creation of Leesylvania State Park back in the 1970s. And he made sure it was sailboat friendly with two cranes for launching out boats.  It is now the home of a sailing school.    Jim was there competing at age 90 in the latest of his series of green Lightnings with his son-in-law Justin and daughter Christy as crew.

Yuengling was again the sponsor of our regatta and we appreciate that continued support.

Results:

2024-Dixie-Districts-Days 1 & 2

2024 Lightning Dixie District Championship

And the 38th Annual Doc Gilbert Memorial Potomac Cup Regatta is being held on June 29 and 30 at Leesylvania State Park about 20 miles south of the Washington Sailing Marina on the Potomac River.  There the Potomac is 2.5 miles wide.

Before 9 am the park had reached capacity and State Police were preventing more people from entering.  Fortunately, our sailors and volunteers had special status and were being admitted.

Nelson Pemberton (PRO) and Barney Harris (course setter) are running the races with help of Albacore sailors and spouses of Lightning sailors.

Day 1 was warm though the beautiful southerly breeze disguised that warmth.

Day 1 results below:

2024-Dixie-Districts-Day-1

2024 PRSA Spring Series #7, #8, and Whole Series

Dane Pederson and team ran Spring Series #7.

John Van Voorhis and team ran Spring Series #8.  A front came through and we had a westerly with strong gust from the northwest and a strong current running out.  A line of thunderstorms caused the RC to send us home after two races.  The storms broke up but its better to be safe rather than sorry.

Key Rules for Scoring the Series:

  • For the series total, I asked the program to exclude each sailor’s worst 50% of races — if there were 13 races, 6 were excluded.
  • If you registered on shore but did not start a race you should get the number of finishers + 2.
  • If you started a race but did not finish you should get the number of finishers + 1.
  • If you did not sign up on shore and did not race, you get the number registered in the series + 1.

Spring Series #7 (June 2) 

2024-SS7-Albacore

2024-SS7-Buccaneer

2024-SS7-I20

2024-SS7-Laser

2024-SS7-Lightning

Spring Series #8 (June 9)

2024-SS8-Albacore

2024-SS8-I20

2024-SS8-Lightning

Spring Series Total

2024-SS-Albacore

2024-SS-Buccaneer

2024-SS-I20

2024-SS-Lightning

Spring Series Total (Fixed)

(DNS = Number came + 2, DNF = number came + 1)

2024-SS-Albacore-F

2024-SS-Buccaneer-F

2024-SS-I20-F

2024-SS-Laser-F

2024-SS-Lightning-F

2024 PRSA Spring Regatta – Final Results

Spring Regatta racers had a great two days on the water!  Yesterday winds ranged from 10-15mph and were ideal Potomac conditions for five races.  Albacores, however, earned the eye flag for their starts after two general recalls to start the day – currents pushed many boats across the line and were strong both days.  Today we fit in one race before winds emptied to then fill in from the South after we got off the water.  There was a lot of paddling and taking advantage of the airplane wash to get back to shore.

Albacore-final

Buccaneer-final

Flying Scot-final

I-20-final

Upcoming Lightning Regattas

Lightning Dixie District Championship and 43rd Annual Doc Gilbert Memorial Potomac Cup  on June 29 and 30 at Leesylvania State Park.    Skippers register here, or volunteer to crew, and volunteer for a shore task.  Thank you.

Only 2 PRSA spring series Sundays left before the SSA No Gas Regatta or the PRSA Spring Regatta, both on MAY 25-26.

It looks like several PRSA skippers will be going to the SSA No-Gas Regatta, To go to this regatta, Go to https://www.lightningclass.org/
To see regatta details and links to the Regatta sign-up pages.

If you’re not going to SSA, you can still sign up for the PRSA Spring Regatta at… https://www.nextsailor.com/app/page/regatta/672
Or sign up to help on race committee for this regatta.

Still time to get in some good practice before these regattas so plan to do one or two Sunday races on the Potomac!

Also….
The Lightning Dixie District Championship and the Doc-Gilbert Potomac Cup will be combined and run simultaneously on June 29–30, at Leesylvania State Park.  This combo Regatta satisfies Fleet 50’s requirement to run the Dixie District championship every five years or so.  Plan to be there.!!!!  Go to https://www.lightningclass.org/ 
to see regatta details and links to the Regatta sign-up pages.

Call or text me if you have any questions or need help getting to one of these regattas.

Thanks,

Frank Gallagher
Captain – Lightning Fleet 50 
703-599-0144
frankjgallagher@gmail.com

PRSA Spring Regatta May 25-26

Registration is open for the PRSA Spring Regatta!  Sign up now and help us spread the word about our signature spring event:  https://www.nextsailor.com/app/page/regatta/672.

If you are interested in volunteering to help out with some regatta organization, please let Regatta Chair Kaitlyn Lucey know.  This is a great chance to get involved with one of our events, learn more about regatta organization and operation, and help out PRSA!

2024 Spring Series #4

Just not the right day for sailing today. Rain, current, debris, and very light wind caused us to cancel all the racing today.

And even after the rain pretty much stopped we wouldn’t have been able to sail as the wind dropped from light to nothing.

But Piercarlo, Dane, and John had their boats ready to go. Nabeel & Frank were there as well working on revitalizing the Fleet 50 website. And Aaron was there to sail w’ Piercarlo & Lisbet

I had RC.

We are kind of having a bad run of weather this spring. This was the 4th Sunday, half way through the Spring Series and so far we have only completed 5 races. The good news here is those who have yet to come out aren’t behind in the series. See everyone next Sunday!

Bobby Astrove

Memorial Day Weekend

Whoever is not going to the 50th Anniversary of the No Gas Regatta at SSA on memorial day weekend, should help out with race committee for the PRSA Spring Regatta.

No Gas Registration is OPEN!!!

Please Register here for the 50th Annual No Gas Regatta 05/25 – 05/26

Also, please sign Up here for ILCA Who’s Coming List.

-Lisa-Marie Lane
Mobile 703.209.3653
#15126 As You Wish…Fleet Captain, Lightning Fleet 329
#186551 Buttercup, Laser District 10

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.—Mark Twain