I have been away the last couple of weeks so I can’t comment on sailing conditions and such, but here are the scores you have been waiting for:
Spring Series #5:
Open Cats Spring Series #5 050612
Spring Series #6:
Buccaneer Spring Series #6 051312
Tag Archives: Lightning Class
Spring Series #4 Results
Well it was a nice day at least… Sunday came with sunny skies and a forecast of 5-10 from the Northwest. Sounds perfect doesn’t it? Would have been if the breeze (and I use that term loosely) had ever once come from the NW. Instead we got 0-4 from almost every other direction on the compass. The pain factor was very high. Eight Lightnings, five Cats, two Bucc’s, and a lone Albacore came out for the fun and games. The Race Committee, headed by Mike Heinsdorf did the best they could under the circumstances – hats off for a valiant effort – and got two races in before showing mercy to the drifting masses and sending them home. Here are the scores:
Spring Series #3 Scores
Well it may have looked miserable outside to most of us, but the sailing conditions were reputedly excellent… FOR A DUCK! 🙂 Winds were North 13-16 with some gusts. Clouds were grey, temps in the low 50’s and the rain was wet. While most of us were staying warm and dry yesterday, 5 Lightning nutjobs intrepid sailors were out on the course for some racing. The Race Committee, headed up by Eric Hakanson, braved the elements and got three races off before coming to their senses calling it a day. Here are the scores:
Spring Series #1 & #2 Scores
I was out of town for the first Spring Series day, so I am a little behind in posting these scores. This past weekend was great, and if you missed it, well you missed it. Temps were in the low 80’s and the winds were south 10-15. Conditions don’t get better than that on our river. The Race Committee for week 2 was ably headed up by Bob Astrove and a mostly Lightning crew of assistants. It was nice to see Bill Buck out there lending a hand as well. 6 Lightnings, 5 Albacores, 4 Hobies, and 4 Buccaneers came out to play and were all glad they did. Scores after the break:
Fall Series #8 Results
Wow, what a way to end the season. 8 Lightnings, 5 Albacores, and 2 Bucc’s came out to play on our last day of the Fall Series, and what a day it turned out to be. Winds were SW 14-21 with a few gusts over 30. Most of the afternoon the wind stayed up in the 20 range so it was exciting out there. We got 4 races in before crying uncle and the Race Committee, headed up by yours truly, was kept busy with multiple capsizes and a couple of broken boats. Pat McGee broke his rudder in the third race, and one of the Albacores (Can’t remember who) broke his Jib Halyard(?). We anchored the 2 of them while we got 1 more race in for the die hards. We then towed the wounded sailors back to the docks and put the boats away for the last time this season. Here are the scores:
And here are some pictures taken by James Vavricek while on RC at the windward mark:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111908965227869597659/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCM6GxIb3tN7migE#5674913539383060162
Fall Series #7: Another spectacular day of racing!
Fall Series #7 was another great day on the river, with 4 races and a good turnout all around. It was predominantly a Lightning affair, with 10 boats showing up to race. A couple of Bucs and Albacors also came out to play, and with all fleets starting together we had a lively starting line and good racing all day long. I’ve included my observations from the Lightning perspective below. Keep reading for all of the details and, as always, be sure to contribute your own comments and recollections!
Continue reading Fall Series #7: Another spectacular day of racing!
Fall Series #6 & #7 Results
I was out of reach last week, so I have scores for both weeks here. This past Sunday was a nice day for racing. Breeze from the NW when we got out there, but after a 40 minute lull a really nice southerly came up. Here are some comments from Yates, our PRO:
Fall Series No. 7 was a pleasant day on the water this late in the year with lots of sun and with moderate winds in the 5-8 range most of the day. For the first race, the wind was generally from the East but it died, so we shortened course. Then new wind came in from the southwest and during the day gradually moved to a more southerly direction. With the tide coming in all day, there was plenty of water for the later races.
At the Skippers’ Meeting, the consensus was to start all classes together which we did. So there was a long start line with Lightnings, Albacores and Bucaneers all jockeying for positions but being conservative, so the only over early boats all day were several in the final race, the fourth race.
Early on, we noted that the classes spread out a lot, so for the last two races, we favored somewhat shorter courses to help lessen the lag between the first finisher and the last finishers and therefore the wait time until the next race start, also mindful that we wanted to get everyone heading home a bit early because of the loss of an hour of daylight.
Here are the results:
Week #6 Results:
Week #7 Results:
Fall Series #6: A bit chilly, but some great racing!
I think that the last thing that folks thought as they watched the snow swirl down last Saturday was that we’d get in 5 races under a sunny blue sky and in temps that were much milder than the frostbiting conditions we all expected! As it turns out, Fall Series #6 ended up being another fantastic day of sailing as PRO Ron Buchanan and his RC got us 5 races and then had us back on shore in time to enjoy some cold beers and hot dogs around the grill. Read all about the racing below – hopefully the writeup will spark your appetite for some great racing in Fall Series #7! Also, be sure to post your own comments and recollections, especially if you were one of the Albacores or Buccaneers that came out on Sunday!
Continue reading Fall Series #6: A bit chilly, but some great racing!
Fall Series #5: If you went home early, you missed some great sailing!
I’ll admit, I was the first to think that we’d never sail on Sunday. Having seen the forecast, the glassy calm river on my drive along the GW Parkway, and the somber faces at the marina, it seemed clear that we’d postpone a bit, then end up grilling and going home. Well, let me just say that if you went home early, you missed some of the best racing that we had all season. The wind filled in around noon, we headed out to the river, and Mike Heinsdorf and his RC did a great job of getting us 3 excellent races!
I’ve included here a wrap up of the days racing (which proved to be quite challenging and exciting) from Jeff Storck in the Lightning fleet. Jeff, Becky, and Bruce on Team Ariel won the day with two seconds and a spectacular bullet in the second race, and Jeff has sent along an excellent writeup of his “view from the front” – a view that he enjoyed far more than most of us on Sunday! I highly recommend that you click the “continue reading” link below to read Jeff’s reflections on Sunday’s racing; as always, I’ve learned something from Jeff’s account of the racing, and I’m sure that you will as well. It’d be great to hear from anybody else that was out on the river, as we did have a couple of Albacores, a Buc, and a handful of Hobies out racing as well.
Continue reading Fall Series #5: If you went home early, you missed some great sailing!
Fall Series #5 Results, 10/23/2011
Well it was looking pretty grim when we all showed up for the skippers meeting on Sunday. The river was glassy, and there was not a puff or air in sight. After an hour and twenty minutes of on land postponement Mike Heinsdorf, our intrepid PRO, informed us that some breeze was slowly making its way up the river and took a vote. We all decided to take a shot and get out there. Boy, were we all glad we did. The breeze filled in nicely to a beautiful S5-10kts and we had a great day. Mike and the all Albacore RC set up a really nice long Windward-Leeward course for us and got us 3 races before calling it a day. 6 Lightnings, 4 Hobies, 2 Albacores, and 1 Bucc came out to play on this gorgeous fall day for some of the best racing of the season. Here are the scores: