Tag Archives: Laser Class

SI's & NOR's, Announcements, News

Get Ready for the Fall Series!

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We are just one week away from the start of our Fall Series!  Please make sure that you are registered for the series and that you’ve signed up for RC duty, using the links provided below.  In addition, we will be holding a “Running Races at PRSA” Webinar on September 5 (details below).  Finally, make sure to sign up for the PRSA President’s Cup, our signature fall 2-day regatta.  Keep reading for all the links and details!

Prior to the start of the Fall Series, we will hold a Running Races at PRSA Webinar on Thursday, September 5, 7:30 pm (on Zoom: https://american.zoom.us/j/99437900322?pwd=EQCvuR2F7Ml6whtDdoR2qZORelIGHb.1).  No matter whether you have extensive experience running races or are just learning, this is a good opportunity to review our procedures at PRSA so that we can have safe, fast, and smooth racing each Sunday.

Fall Series#1: with hopes of good weather, we are planning on grilling out after the racing.  I’ll bring some extra brats and beverages.  Please make sure to bring something for your crew and feel free to invite friends and family for the post-race fun!

PRSA Fall Series: Our PRSA Fall Season starts on Sunday, September 8.  Please keep the following in mind as you prepare for the series:

 

  • Registration and RC Service: if you didn’t in the Spring, don’t forget to register for the Fall Series! In addition, make sure that you have signed up for Race Committee service.  As a reminder, you’ll need to fill at least one RC slot to be scored for the series and two to qualify.  The complete details are available here. Thank you for taking the time to volunteer to help run races, without your support and time PRSA would not be possible!
  • NOR and Sailing Instructions: there are no changes to the NOR and SIs.
  • Crew Connection: as you prepare for the fall season, remember to post to the PRSA Crew Connection (link on our homepage) and to peruse the postings there.  We’ve had a number of new people interested in sailing with us join the Crew Connection forum since May.  If you are interested in crewing, please go ahead and put up a short post with your experience and availability.

PRSA President’s Cup: our signature fall 2-day regatta will be held September 21-22, and registration for the President’s Cup is open!  Visit https://nextsailor.com/regatta/PRSAPresidentsCup2024 to register.  Mark your calendars, organize your boats and crew, and spread the word to sailors you know at other clubs!  We’d love to welcome visiting boats in all of our classes for a great regatta.  Many thanks to Tyler, who will be serving as Regatta Chair.  Finally, if you’re interested in some President’s Cup history, check out this Regatta Program from the 1955 President’s Cup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2wMQVqjmo-XODh0Z1NHWEVYUTQ/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-iYyMWIjUUpp4oDwrGCC7Kw (this booklet was spotted in a secondhand bookstore by Bobby Astrove’s son several years ago—a great find!).

SI's & NOR's, Series, Announcements, News, 2024

Commodore’s Summer Update

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Greetings PRSA Sailors!

I hope everybody has had a relaxing summer and has also hat the chance to do some sailing.  For me, I enjoyed racing in a very competitive Lightning District Championship Regatta down at Leesylvania State Park (a beautiful venue) and I also enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July weekend cruise aboard a Dufour 430 with some PRSA and SSA Friends.  I’m writing now to share some summer updates as we head towards the start of the fall sailing season.

PRSA Fall Series: Our PRSA Fall Season starts on Sunday, September 8.  Please keep the following in mind as you prepare for the series:

  • Registration and RC Service: if you didn’t in the Spring, don’t forget to register for the Fall Series! RC sign-up will open around noon Monday! As a reminder, you’ll need to fill at least one RC slot to be scored for the series and two to qualify.  The complete details are available here. Thank you for taking the time to volunteer to help run races, without your support and time PRSA would not be possible!
  • NOR and Sailing Instructions: there are no changes to the NOR and SIs.
  • Crew Connection: as you prepare for the fall season, remember to post to the PRSA Crew Connection (link on our homepage) and to peruse the postings there.  We’ve had a number of new people interested in sailing with us join the Crew Connection forum since May.  If you are interested in crewing, please go ahead and put up a short post with your experience and availability.
  • Running Races at PRSA Webinar: we will hold another webinar on running races on Thursday, September 5, 7:30 pm.  We will send out the Zoom link and additional info a bit closer to the date.

PRSA President’s Cup: our signature fall 2-day regatta will be held September 21-22, and registration for the President’s Cup is open!  Visit https://nextsailor.com/regatta/PRSAPresidentsCup2024 to register.  Mark your calendars, organize your boats and crew, and spread the word to sailors you know at other clubs!  We’d love to welcome visiting boats in all of our classes for a great regatta.  Many thanks to Tyler, who will be serving as Regatta Chair.  Finally, if you’re interested in some President’s Cup history, check out this Regatta Program from the 1955 President’s Cup: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2wMQVqjmo-XODh0Z1NHWEVYUTQ/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-iYyMWIjUUpp4oDwrGCC7Kw (this booklet was spotted in a secondhand bookstore by Bobby Astrove’s son several years ago—a great find!).

PRSA Executive Committee Positions: we are seeking individuals interested in serving in the PRSA Vice Commodore and PRSA Secretary positions as members transition out of their service roles.  You can read the position descriptions in Article IV of our PRSA Bylaws: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hTChVfws3VvGSUgKhIOBLU5gaqIOs2Xr/view?usp=sharing.  As an all-volunteer organization we rely on the idea that everybody steps up to take a turn at volunteering for our various positions so that we can spread these service obligations around, learn from new people in new roles, and not be reliant on the same small cast of individuals each year.  Please let us know if you are interested.

PRSA Financial Audit: our bylaws stipulate that we conduct an audit of our books each year.  If anybody has relevant expertise and would be willing to volunteer for this task (we think it should be fairly straightforward), please let us know.

PRSA Membership: we have good news to report here!  Our membership numbers are up a bit compared to this time last year.  In August 2023 we counted 77 total members (skipper, junior, associate, and life members).  As of August 2024, we have 84 total members.  This modest growth is good news!  Keep telling your friends about PRSA (and tell them to tell their friends!) so we can continue this growth.

PRSA Annual General Meeting & Awards Ceremony: save the date, November 16, for our 2024 AGM.  Specific information on the exact time of day and location will be sent along as soon as we’ve finalized those details.

Awards Nominations: later this fall we will open up nominations for several of our PRSA Awards: the Founder’s Trophy, the More Boats on the Water Trophy, and the Yates Dowell III Award.  I’ve included the award descriptions below.  Now is a good time to reflect on the spring season and to keep these awards in mind as we start the fall so that you’re ready when we start collecting nominations.  The awards ballot will be circulated a few weeks before the Annual General Meeting (November 16) and the awardees will be announced at the AGM.  Here are the award descriptions for the awards that the PRSA membership will vote on prior to the AGM:

  • Founder’s Trophy: this award is the highest recognition for service to PRSA.
  • More Boats on the Water Trophy: awarded for exceptional efforts leading to more boats racing through such activities as providing encouragement to sailors, helping get an old boat race-ready, creating a snowball by getting a critical mass of sailors to commit to racing, and so forth.
  • Yates Dowell III Award: awarded for exceptional administrative service to  PRSA

Please note that, per consensus among the Fleet Captains, the PRSA Fleet Captain’s Award (for exceptional RC Service) will be decided on by the Fleet Captains (not by a general membership vote, like the other awards).  If you have somebody who you’d like to recommend for this award, please talk to your Fleet Captain.

PRSA Merchandise: PRSA has partnered with Lands’ End so that you can choose the items you want and have them embroidered with the PRSA logo.  Here’s how you can get the gear of your choice with the PRSA logo on it: Navigate to our PRSA Lands’ End page: https://business.landsend.com/store/potomacriversailing/.  Pick out any item you would like to have embroidered with the PRSA logo.  (Please note some items require a minimum purchase amount.  There is a handy filter on the menu sidebar to get to items that require no minimum purchase quantity).  Pick the color and size of the item(s) you wish to purchase.  Hit the “Apply Logo” button (usually on the bottom left hand side of the website).  The Lands’ End website will allow you to 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.  Should you have any questions regarding your order please contact Lands’ End directly at https://business.landsend.com/store/potomacriversailing/customerservice/contact-us

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us (prsaboard@gmail.com) if you have any questions.  I look forward to seeing you all on the water this fall!

Cheers,
Aaron

Albacores, Lasers, Buccaneers, Inland-20s, Flying Scots, Lightnings, Lasers, Announcements, News

DISC Three Bridges Fiasco on Saturday, July 13!

Greetings all,

We’ve got 5 dinghies registered for the DISC 3 Bridges Fiasco race this Saturday.  Who else is interested?  If you need crew, or are looking to crew, don’t forget about the “Crew Connection” (link on our PRSA Homepage).  Fleet Captains: please forward this reminder to your Fleet listservs.  This is a really fun race and the weather forecast for Saturday looks promising.

The NOR and the registration link are both posted at https://discsailing.org/ (scroll down a bit to the “Upcoming Events/Registration” area.  The SIs will be posted soon.

I’m also including here some informaton from DISC Commodore PEte Fanta, who will also run the RC on Saturday.  From Pete:

  • “I will be the RC for the Three Bridges this weekend.  The RC boat will be the Georgetown Sailing Team Boat. My intention is to follow in the powerboat, as best as possible, the majority of boats around the course to render assistance as needed.
  • The start times will be set using Portsmouth Handicaps on a Pursuit Race.  This means the slowest boat will start first and can sail the course designated in either direction, as long as they round the correct marks.  The fastest boat will start last.  When we do this with only the PHRF boats, there can be as much as a 15 minute gap between first starter and last starter. The boat finishing first across the line after sailing the course…wins.  The appropriate ratings are taken into account by the start times.  This method allows us to sail a Laser against an Albacore, against a Flying Scot, against an S2 7.9.  I understand that in some conditions certain boats are hard to beat, but that is the nature of handicap racing.
  • SIs will be posted soon.”

I hope to see you out on the water on Saturday!

Cheers,

Aaron

Albacores, SI's & NOR's, Lasers, Buccaneers, Inland-20s, Flying Scots, Lightnings, Lasers, Regattas

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!

Announcements

PRSA Spring Series: Important Information!

The PRS Spring Series is underway!    Please make sure that you’ve registered for the series, signed up for spring RC dates, and read through the rest of the information included below.  Please don’t hesitate to let us know (prsaboard@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

  • Sign up for Race Committee: Skippers must fulfill RC obligations in each series that they wish to be scored in Frostbite, Spring or Fall. Skippers that do not sign up for at least half their slots before the series begins may not be scored for the series. PRO still counts as 2 slots. Starting this season, Skippers must fill 2 slots in the Spring and 2 slots in Fall. This changes the practices of doing all your RC in one series and racing in the other–a change that was requested at the AGM. Skippers may carry over 1 RC slot from the Spring to the Fall series. Non-Lasers Skippers must fill 2 slots for the Spring Series (Lasers only 1).
  • Post-Race Potluck: we will be grilling in the grove after racing on each Sunday.  We encourage your friends and family to join us for these BYO post-race BBQs!  Hanging out around the grill is a great opportunity to reconnect with everybody and perhaps even introduce some new folks to PRSA.  Please remember to bring something for you and your crew for the grill and to drink.
  • Sail Upcycling: we will collect used sails for the Sea Bags sail upcycling program on April 14th.  If you have used sails that you want to donate, bring them to the marina and drop them at drysail slip C-17 (Stas Burgiel’s I-20).  PRSA receives a tool bag or tote bag made from each donated sail that we can use or sell (and the rest of each sail is sold by Sea Bags in support of various good causes in sailing).  Now is a good time to clear out that inventory of old sails and support a good cause in doing so!
  • Email lists: now is a good time to make sure that you and your crew are subscribed to all of the relevant email lists.  If you are receiving this note, you are on the PRSA Google Group (potomacriversailing@googlegroups.com) but you should also make sure that your crew or others you sail with are members.  Instructions on joining are on our website: https://potomacriversailing.org/contact-page/.  You should also make sure that you are on your fleet email list (reach out to your fleet captain for info).

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.  I look forward to seeing everybody on the water and then at the post-race BBQ (along with your friends and family!) on April 14!

Announcements

PRSA Happy Hour February 27, 7pm, at Solace (Navy Yard)

Hi sailors,

Our next happy hour will be at Solace in Navy Yard at 7pm on February 27th. This is a great opportunity to connect with other PRSA members, as well as possibly recruit new members to PRSA and find yourself crew! Sailors from DC Sail will be invited as well. Please RSVP (natalierehberger@me.com).
Solace has food options and is close to the Navy Yard metro stop. There is some street parking and there are parking garages in the area.
Hope to see you there!
Natalie Rehberger
PRSA Social Chair
Frostbite, Lasers, Lasers, Results

2023-2024 ILCA FROSTBITE #10

Good evening, Frost biters!

As Kaitlyn had promised us, we got a nice day on the river with light to medium wind from a (by Potomac standards) stable northerly direction. The results are attached thanks to Farley – both for today and the totals. Below are a few highlights.

Eva gave the tip of the week of the year: When you’ve capsized enough times, find your way back to shore.  Last time we sailed, for me that number was one.

With the strong current and medium wind, be aggressive on the start line. If you find yourself too close to the line, all you need to do is head to wind for a moment, you’re back where you need to be, and there’s enough wind to get going again.  Today’s conditions really provided a safe environment for practicing getting a front row spot.

As my mother has told me for fifty years, dress appropriately.  I thought with the mild temperature today, I’d skip a layer, and I ended up being a bit cold.  A warm torso keeps your fingers warm, and more importantly, I think I had poor focus today partly because I was cold.

The current in the Potomac remains an enigma to me.  Today’s current was strong, so it mattered.  Current runs strong where the water is deep, so logic would suggest staying on the left side (west) upwind and on the left side (east) on the downwind. I think this tended to be true, but certainly not always.  If someone has cracked the code of the Potomac currents, please let us know.

As you can see from the totals, we’ve had just 26 races, with hopefully more than that ahead of us, so everyone has a good chance for a good spot by the end of the season. Hope to see many of you next week.

Steen

23-24 PRSA Frostbite Series #10

23-24 PRSA Frostbite Totals as of 1/28/24

Announcements, News

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!
Frostbite, Lasers, Lasers, Results

2023-2024 ILCA FROSTBITE #7

Sunday was a nice day. The air was warmer than it had been the previous week, and the sun was shining. Everything was perfect, except for the wind. While on shore at the start of the day, the wind felt sporty but manageable. I was running a radial sail. The airport reported 13 knots from the south at noon. When sailing out, it was clear that conditions had changed drastically since then. Significant breeze to plane was found in the lagoon, however the area of the course was experiencing a very weak wind from the south. This was very quickly replaced by a very strong wind from the northwest. At 1, the airport recorded 15 knots gusting to 27. The course was set and racing began. 

The first race I was OCS, and decided to tack to port and duck the line. I stayed on port for a long while and found a large right shift. This was noticeable throughout the day, the wind was oscillating between weaker wind from the west and strong puffs from the northwest. I made most of my ground back up on the right side and rounded the weather mark mid-fleet. The downwind was a lot of fun in full planing conditions, and most of the boats that I saw doing well stuck close to the rhumb line. Almost no boats gybed more than once. I maintained position for this downwind and had a fairly good mark rounding that put me in pretty clean air. I made a mistake in staying too far to the right on the second upwind and lost a boat or two. I saw one or two boats capsized near the windward mark. The final downwind leg was very similar to the first, except near the end I hit a puff wrong and auto gybed. I managed to stay upright and finished the race somewhere in mid fleet. 

By the time of the second race, the wind had increased greatly. At 2, the airport recorded eighteen knots gusting 28.  I put on all the controls as tight as I could except for the vang, which was in block to block position. I was late to the start, so tacked out early again. By this time, I was not really trying to be in the optimal spot on the course. My tacks and gybes are not very good, especially not in wind like that, so I did my best to play it safe and minimize the risk of capsizing by minimizing the number of tacks and gybes. I did not tack again until the layline, and ended up overstood due to another right shift. Still, I rounded in the top half of the fleet. The downwind was a survival leg. I saw at least two boats flip and when I pulled up my centerboard a little I immediately began to oscillate. I left the vang on for stability and because I wasn’t sure I could get it back for the upwind. While the wind was challenging, the waves were relatively small and there was sufficient power to go over them without much worry. This was when things started to get crazy. Almost half the fleet capsized at some point. I autogybed downwind and spun out, but managed to dry capsize and get moving relatively quickly. By the time I got to the second upwind mark rounding, most of the fleet was sailing in. I dropped one place on the final downwind but managed to stay upright.  

By race 3, only six boats were left on the course. The wind had now increased to 30 knot gusts and sustained winds over 20. I was on time to the line, but hit some waves wrong and lost my lane. Again, I tacked out early and tacked back at the layline. I set a rule for myself, two tacks or one gybe were allowed per leg. Even if I didn’t capsize, my tacks often ended with the boat heeled over like crazy and side slipping. I rounded the weather mark in fourth. Race committee had set a triangle course, so the downwind was a lot of fun and very simple. I tried to stay a little low on the first reach to get the puffs that would come from the right. On the second reach, I would sail to the mark or maybe a little high for the pressure. On these reaches, the boat began to hum and I had to fight the tiller to keep going in a straight line. I left all controls on because I didn’t think I could adjust them safely while being ready for the puffs.  On the finish leg, I caught a boat that had capsized right before the finish. 

Race 4 started similarly. I was late due to a bad tack and again hit the right corner. While definitely not optimal, this strategy was pretty close and got me to the windward mark with no complications. I rounded in fourth with lots of space between me and third. On the first reach, all three boats in front of me flipped. They got up before I reached them, but I closed almost all of the distance. A massive puff was chasing me the entire first reach, and I barely gybed before it hit. I had to hold the tiller with both hands on that reach to keep from spinning up and out. When I got to the lee mark, I had passed a boat. I let the boat round up, but lost control and flipped. I dry capsized, but had been overtaken and got fourth in the race. 

Overall, it was a hectic but incredibly exciting day. I capsized more times than I can count on the way in and on the course.  Race committee did an excellent job balancing rescuing boats and maintaining the course. I don’t think that I was sailing at peak in terms of boatspeed from hiking or strategy, but getting around the course with as little capsizes as possible was far more important. I don’t think there was a single boat that didn’t flip at some point. I was very surprised by my third place, but I think that I was consistent throughout the day and did well as a result. My starts were often not quite where I wanted them to be, but the general conditions and small fleet size reduced the importance of the start significantly. 

Logan

23-24 PRSA Frostbite Series #7

Announcements, News, Results

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!