Eva Hogan and team ran the races. The winds came in earlier and stronger than forecast. Plus, the big puffs came in from the right — not good when you are flying a spinnaker. Frank capsized on such a shift and puff.
Category Archives: News
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
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
2024 Spring Series #1, #2, and #3
Spring Series #1 was a windy chilly day. Stew Harris and team started off the four intrepid sailors on a W2. Only Barney and Justin Harler finished the race. And that was it.
Spring Series #2 was a light light day. Aaron Boesenecker and team were lucky to give us one W1.
Spring Series #3 started off light but the wind gradually filled in with the sail home after the four W2 that Dana Howe and team gave us being downright beautiful.
PRSA Happy Hour: January 30, 5-8 pm, Alexandria Bier Garden
Join us for a PRSA Happy Hour at Alexandria Bier Garden this coming Tuesday (Jan. 30), 5-8 pm. PRSA members, their families, and friends (especially those seeking to get more into sailing!) are welcome. The beer garden is kid friendly with a variety of food and beverage options, and the address is 710 King St, Alexandria.
Please RSVP to our new Social Chair, Natalie (natalierehberger@me.com) just so we have a good estimate of attendees—and many thanks to Natalie for organizing this opportunity for us to get together! I hope to see you there!
PRSA AGM Wrap-Up
It was wonderful to see so many sailors, friends, and family members at our 2023 Annual Genera Meeting & Awards Ceremony at Port City Brewing! In case you missed it, here is the agenda handout and racing results summary. Huge thanks to Melissa for her work in organizing the event, and to all who pitched in for setup, cleanup, and other tasks in between to make our AGM a success. Here are a few key highlights:
- The high point of the evening had to be, in my opinion, our opportunity to recognize Jim and Susan Graham for Honorary Membership (for life) in PRSA in recognition, per our PRSA Bylaws (Article III, Section D) of “…meritorious serve to PRSA, the sport of yachting, or for outstanding performance of seamanship.” This was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Grahams, who emphasized that they are by no means done with sailing or supporting PRSA (and for that we are immensely grateful!).
- Recognition of series award winners and perpetual trophy awardees (see posted summary)
- Recognition and thanks to our outgoing PRSA ExCom Members and Volunteers (Stew Harris, Vice Commodore; Kyra Tallon, Secretary; Melissa Morgan, Social Chair) along with congratulations and thanks to those who stepped forward to fill various roles (Dave Coughlin, Vice Commodore; Melissa Morgan, Secretary; Natalie Rehberger, Social Chair; Josh Seely and John Van Voorhis, Website Development).
Looking ahead, we are still seeking a few volunteers to help with some 2024 initiatives: reviewing our membership & dues structure and heading up sustainability initiatives (huge thanks to Stas for taking this on in addition to his Fleet Captain role through 2023!). Let me know if you might be interested.
Finally, now is also a good time for everybody to review our PRSA RC policies and procedures (RC & Boat Instructions, and Risk Assessment & Decision to Race, in particular).
I look forward to seeing you all on the water and around the marina!
2024 Dues Are Due!
Hello PRSA Sailors! A quick reminder that your 2024 dues are due now! You can pay your dues and/or check your dues status here: https://potomacriversailing.org/dues-rc-duty/. Dues must be paid on or prior to January 15!
The full terms of our dues are set out in our PRSA Bylaws (https://potomacriversailing.org/about-prsa/prsa-bylaws/ — see Article III, Section 3). Paying dues on time is important for you, but also for your fleets! Per the PRSA Bylaws, a fleet needs at least five or more paid members (active, junior, or life) by January 15 to qualify as an active one-design fleet for the year. Being an active fleet, per the Bylaws definition means, among other things, that your fleet will have a fleet representative on the PRSA Executive Committee and that boats in your fleet will be scored as a Fleet in your racing series (https://potomacriversailing.org/about-prsa/prsa-bylaws/, Article VIII, Section 1) . Long story short, make sure that you’ve paid your 2024 dues! (Note that the information in the “Payment Received” column doesn’t update instantaneously when you renew. When you pay your dues, you will receive an email confirmation, so make sure to look for that email confirmation of your renewal and payment).
PRSA Annual General Meeting: Nov. 18, 1-4 pm at Port City Brewing
Greetings Sailors!
The 2023 Potomac River Sailing Association Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on Saturday, November 18, 1:00-4:00 pm at Port City Brewing Company (3950 Wheeler Ave, Alexandria VA, 22304). Please use this form to RSVP: https://forms.gle/2nDrCkt7XbuKHvuE7
Here are a few AGM details:
- $35 per person (cash, check or PayPal); no charge for children 10 and under.
- Fantastic food from Lebanese Taverna followed by Melissa’s famous cookie bar dessert
- 2 drinks per person courtesy of PRSA; non-alcoholic beverages are also available (please note: no outside beverages).
Brief Agenda:
- Officer Reports
- Awards: racing awards, perpetual awards, and a few special recognitions
- Election of Officers
- New business/discussion
We’ve also added in a couple of fun items this year, stemming from our used sail upcycling effort through Sea Bags, which got us a selection of tool bags and tote bags made from parts of the sails that were upcycled (see photos, below):
- 1 drawing for a PRSA tote bag. Any member who donated to the PRSA Commodore’s Club is eligible and will automatically be entered.
- Silent auction for 1 PRSA tool bag and 1 PRSA tote bag.
And there is more fun news to share! Thanks to Melissa’s hard work, PRSA has established a merchandise option with Lands’ End so that you can order Lands’ End merchandise with the PRSA logo embroidered on it! Here’s how:
- Navigate to – Homepage (landsend.com)
- From there pick out any item you would like to have the PRSA logo embroidered on. (Please note some items require a minimum purchase amount).
- Pick the color and size of the item you wish to purchase.
- Hit the Apply Logo button on the bottom left hand side of the website
- The Lands’ End website will allow you customize the logo and the location of the logo. (As of right now we only have one Logo but in the future we will add iterations of logos that will highlight classes and items that will present well on different fabrics and colors).
- Add the item to your cart. The price for the embroidery will be reflected there.
- If you have questions or run into problems, you contact Lands’ End: Contact Us | Lands’ End Business Uniforms (landsend.com) or 1-800-587-1541
A more detailed agenda and set of notes will be provided at the AGM. I look forward to seeing you all there!
2023 Fall Series – Nov 5
Dane Pederson and team ran four races for us on a beautiful late fall day, which was the last of our fall series.
The wind was absent until about noon when it filled in gently from the north and by the third race there were stronger shots from the NW.
21 boats were on the water — racing and running them.
(races 18-21, but mis-numbered the races for Albacores and Lightnings which are numbered 18, 20-22)
2023 Fall Series – Cumulative Scores thru 10-29
November 5th will be the last of the fall series.
The cumulative scores below are intended to motivate you to come out. Please do!
A few notes about the scores:
The race dates and race number are out of order:
Sep 17 races 8-11
Oct 1 races 1-3 & 17
Oct 8 races 4-7
Oct 15 races 12-13
Oct 29 races 14-16
To be counted as a race for your class, there must have been 1 or more finishers
Half, rounded-down, of your worst scores are thrown out
If you were on RC when there was a race in your class, you will get RDG but that has not been calculated yet. Plus, I often did not know who (sail numbers) were on RC.
I20-thru 10-29 three TOs no RDG for RC
Laser-thru 10-29 4 TOs no RDG for RC
Bucs-thru 10-29 4 TOs no RDG for RC