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!
Category Archives: News
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!
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.
At Long Last, Spring Series Racing Starts!
After a couple of weeks of frustrating weather we finally got the chance to go racing this past Sunday! We had a great turnout this past Sunday with 3 Multi-Hulls, 6 Albacores, 2 Bucaneers, and 9 Lightnings (with 3 more represented on the RC for a total of 12!). I was PRO for the day (with Bob Gotthardt and Lisa-Marie Lane rounding out the RC). All I can say is that it was a very goofy day, with “east” winds varying wildly in velocity and direction all day long. We saw the breeze swing from 35 degrees to 115 degrees and back in just a minute or two. There was more than one instance of a breeze directly out of the south settling over the course for a few minutes, before reverting back to an easterly. Given the wind direction the O2 courses were short, but they were surely challenging for the sailors given the shifty and puffy conditions. We were able to get 5 (!) races in before sending the boats back to shore to enjoy the PRSA season-opening BBQ. Here are the results!
Capital City Laser Regatta: March 24 & 25, 2018
It’s around the corner. The daffodils are out. The cherry trees are ready to explode. Plan to sail your Laser! On Saturday after racing we’ll have a BBQ/picnic and trade stories and plans for the season which is well worth the $20 registration fee.
NOR, registration, who’s coming, sailing instructions and more.
That link, results from past years, and Tom’s email if you have questions.
Spring Series Starts in 2 Weeks!
We are just a few weeks away from the start of the PRSA Spring Series! Make sure that you have reviewed the NOR and SIs for our Spring Series. Now is also the time to sign up for Race Committee for the season. Please make sure to read the details below, and then sign up on our PRSA RC Duty Signup Sheet. Here are the details and requirements for the 2108 Spring/Fall racing season:
- Each skipper racing in the spring or fall series is required to fulfill RC service obligations in the spring/fall series. The number of slots each skipper is responsible for filling depends upon the boat class:
- Albacores: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Buccaneers: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Catamarans: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- I-20s: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Lightnings: 6 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- WETA/Laser (single-person boat): 2 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Serving as PRO or Regatta Chair (rows highlighted in orange on the spreadsheet) count as two slots given the extra organizational responsibility for these roles.
- Detailed RC & boat instructions are posted to our PRSA website: http://potomacriversailing.org/dues-rc-duty/
- As we get into the season I will send out a reminder and some additional instructions to each PRO a few days prior to the weekend/event for which they are signed up.
Sign up now so that you know you have your dates reserved, and so that we don’t have to scramble week-to-week to find RC. As always, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.
2017-2018 Laser Frostbite Series #11 – 2/4/18
After some wavering back and forth on land, once our numbers grew to six we decided to test the light drizzle and the faint zephyrs from the south. By the time we had rigged and pushed our boats into the water the wind strength and lessened and some of us watched the first to launch struggle to hold ground against the ebbing tide (the water was quite high, even for high tide).
For race one the faint wind and swung more north/northeast and the leaders did well to stay in the shallows as much as possible. I was solidly in the back (holding my position several yards above the start line) when I noticed smoke from stacks on the eastern shoreline pointing towards me. I adjusted my sail for a starboard reach and waited. There didn’t seem to be much evidence of the wind, but I slowly crept towards the front of the pack. After roughly 30 minutes, I finally rounded the windward leg and the easterly, though light, began to establish itself.
With the ever so slightly increasing wind, came an increasing rain and chill. We all voted to test our limits saying “just one more,” until we found ourselves concluding a third race and ready to call it a day. The outcome of the remaining races seemed to largely dependent on the start, some boat speed, and staying on the east side of the course.
Nich Allen
2017-2018 Laser Frostbite Series #10 – 1/27/18
Today turned out to be a nice and much needed day on the water. After all the cold weather and lack of wind, we decided to wait and see what happened. We decided after a 30 minute postponement to try and go out and hope the forecast proved to be true. Frank setup a course for us in the cove using the channel markers and a start line. We ended up doing several short windward leeward races and with each race, the breeze improved more and more. The rain stayed very light and the temps were very nice for a January day. Today the sailing was tough as the wind was pretty light . As usual, with the short duration of the races, the starts were pretty important. Frank had the boat on the port side of the start line. I almost had an altercation due to the fact that I was thinking about the start and where the boat was over how I was sailing and what tack I was on.
Hope to see everyone out next weekend!
2017-2018 Laser Frostbite Sailing Has Started!
Our Laser frostbite season has started. We race on Sundays on the Potomac River from November 19 to March 18, and we wrap up our season with the Capital City Regatta on March 24-25. Skippers meeting is at 12PM with the first start at 12:30PM. No races are started after 3:30PM. Come out and join us!
While the fleet welcomes out-of-town guests, we ask in-town skippers to join PRSA (see the membership application). Contact Laser Fleet Captain Tom Hutton with questions.
Order Your 2018 PRSA Calendar!
The 2018 PRSA Calendar is now available for order! Use this link – http://www.calendarlink.org/prsa/home.html – to preview the calendar and order your very own. Congratulations to Lindsay Bach for snapping the winning cover photo!