Nabeel Alsalam postponed on-shore and Lars & Dylan Rathjen went out on the river looking for any kind of sailable breeze. It wasn’t there and Nabeel after consulting with assistant-PRO Dana Howe.abandoned the day’s races at 11:30.
That was too bad as 6 Lightning, 5 I-20s, 2 Albacore, and 2 or 3 Laser skippers were present.
This past weekend 15 of 18 registered Albacores competed in the President’s Cup Regatta in Washington, D.C., with around 50 boats of various classes in total. We had a good turnout with a few people from other countries and from nearby states. The regatta took place over the course of two days on the sunny Potomac with the D.C. skyline always in view. It was beautiful to see many sailboats with colorful spinnakers sailing about with the sunlight glistening on the water.
Saturday had very light wind and the races were cancelled, though everyone seemed to be in good spirits regardless. Sailing teaches you that while you can’t control the conditions, you can control how you respond to them. I enjoyed simply being on the water and talking with my skipper. As a less experienced sailor, I find that I learn a lot about sailing (and life in general!) from crewing with more experienced sailors. After sailing, everyone gathered for Mexican food at the picnic tables and there was a visible sense of community. On Sunday, the wind picked up and conditions were ideal for racing. Because of the gathering storm clouds, we went back to the docks a little early for the awards ceremony before the rain set in.
Thank you to everyone who participated and to the Ware River volunteers!
David Metcalf ran the races with his team of Joshua as recorder and Jim Greenly and Joe as mark boat. He reports:
The wind was a steady 10 mph (per Windalert), 81 degrees, A beautiful day to be on the water.
Jim and Joe in Mark Boat set up a very good course, each race took 30 to 40 minutes. We were able to run 5 races for the Lightnings and Albacores, we ran 4 races for the combined lasers / buccaneers / I-20.
We used the VHF radio and about half the boats were able to get updates via radio.
Last winter several members completed a safety study for the club. The report is linked here. Please pay special attention to page 9 as it lists the new requirements and recommendations for safety.
Some of the recommendations are for individuals or skipper. I wanted to get these out to the members in time to get prepared for fall sailing, which starts on September 11th. Please read the points below and take appropriate action.
All competitors are strongly encouraged to carry both a safety whistle and a rescue knife in or tethered to their PFD.
PRSA sailors are strongly encouraged to have a VHF radio on board for use in case of emergency.
PRSA sailors are strongly encouraged to carry a cell phone (in a waterproof case) for emergency use.
All vessels should have the following on board:
an extra line suitable for towing
a bucket or other appropriate device for bailing.
PRSA sailors should assess the condition of their safety equipment (i.e., PFD’s) prior to the season and at regular intervals throughout the season, to ensure that they are in good condition and properly sized for the crews that will be sailing the boat.
Thank you again to the members who worked so hard on this study to put all this together.
The Friday Night Capitol Riverfront Concert Series is kicking off on June 10th, this Friday! It’s a free concert on Friday nights at The Yards Park; which is on the Anacostia near Nationals Stadium. The concerts start at 7:00 pm and the first band playing is La Uncia who play Irish Latin Rock. There are more details about the bands and concert if you follow the link below.
The Yards Park is about a 45 minute sail from WSM, give or take the wind levels. The plan would be to leave the docks around 6:15pm to give time to sail over and listen to the first half of the concert. On June 10th the sun sets at 8:32 pm and nautical twilight until 9:44 pm. Leaving after the first half should give enough time to sail back to the marina with plenty of light.
Boats under 7 meters (23 feet) are required to “keep ready at hand an electric torch or lighted lantern (flashlight) that shows a white light”. So skippers should keep this in mind and bring a flashlight just in case getting back takes longer than planned. It’s also suggested to bring an anchor, as there may be other boaters and being able to stop and listen is helpful.
