Tag Archives: Lightning Class

News

Fall Series #4 Wrap-Up

The PRSA Fall Series #4 was primarily a Lightning class affair, with 5 boats coming out to race and 2 taking care of RC duties (and another 7 representing Fleet 50 up in Annapolis at the Frigid Digit regatta).   For the second weekend in a row we had great conditions for racing, with a 12-15 knot SW breeze that allowed PRO Frank Gallagher and his RC to get us four races.  Jeff Neurater came out to represent the Buccaneer fleet, Mike Heinsdorf was out in his Albacore, and a trio of Hobie Cats also came out to play.

Keep reading for some more details from Sunday’s Fall Series #4 (from my vantage point in the Lightning fleet), and be sure to post your own comments and observations from the day (just click the little “speech bubble” next to the title of this post, above).  You can also scroll down a bit to see a separate post with details from the action up in Annapolis at the Frigid Digit.

Continue reading Fall Series #4 Wrap-Up →

News

Fall Series #3 Wrap-Up: We Had Breeze!

For the first time since the President’s/Leukemia cup we had very good breeze for our racing!  The steady NW breeze (which had a lot of left shift in it at times) gave us great conditions, and PRO Jim Graham and his RC did a fantastic job in getting us three races.  Eight Lightnings, six Albacores, two Buccaneers, a Laser, and a Hobie came out to play and after a solid day of racing we all enjoyed a great BBQ (thanks to Red and Susan for bringing burgers!) in the picnic area afterwards.  Carrie Quinn took some amazing photos from the day, and I’ve posted some of my observations below from the Lightning fleet below.  Keep reading for more details from the day’s racing, and make sure to post a comment with your own thoughts, recollections, and tall tales from the day — especially if you were in one of the other fleets!

Continue reading Fall Series #3 Wrap-Up: We Had Breeze! →

Fall Series

Fall Series #3 Results – 10/02/2011

It was cool, cloudy, and breezy this past Sunday. Winds were NW in the teens as we sailed up to the race course, but slowly faded as the day progressed. Jim Graham and the Albacores did a great job setting up a nice long Windward-Leeward course for us. They got three races off in good fashion before the rain came in and spoiled things for us. In all, Six Albacores, 2 Buccaneers, and 8 Lightnings came out to play. Correction, one Hobie also made the trip up, but capsized before starting a race and went home. We also had one intrepid Laser who came out and raced solo. The racing was exciting on the Lightning course with lots of lead changes and close finishes. All in all a fun day. Here are the scores:

Albacore Fall Series #3

Buccaneer Fall Series #3

Lightning Fall Series #3

News

President’s/Leukemia Cup Photos!

Follow this link for some excellent photos of the racing taken by Carl Schaefer during the 77th Annual President’s/Leukemia Cup.  Many thanks to Carl for volunteering his time, as well as to Whit Overstreet from Potomac Riverkeeper for the use of their boat as a photograph platform during the regatta.

If you wish to use these pix for marketing, for posting online, or for any other commercial purpose other than for private viewing, please contact Carl (cgschaefer@gmail.com).  At a minimum, picture credit should be attributed to Carl G. Schaefer, Jr, Copyright 2011.

News

Fall Series #2 Wrap-Up

Greetings PRSA Sailors!  As many of you know, I’ve been writing reports from our spring/fall series racing for the Lightning fleet over the past year.  We’re going to start posting these write-ups here as well, in the hopes of starting a conversation among all the fleets and sailors out for our regular races.  I’ll do my best to capture what I see on the racecourse each Sunday, but here is where we need your help: if you are sailing in one of the other fleets, go ahead and post a comment with your own experiences from the racing (just click the little “no comment” link above the post to add a comment).  We definitely want to hear from you, and we hope to start a pattern of weekly postings and emails (via our listservs) that recount the day’s racing and generate some enthusiasm for the next event.  So read on to hear about Fall Series #2, but more importantly, feel free to chime in with your own voice!

The PRSA Fall Series #2 was another day of tricky river sailing.  Light and variable NE winds combined with a strong current and stiff tidal flow made for challenging strategic and tactical decisions.  If you went south to get a patch of breeze, you then had to fight your way back north against the current to get to a mark.  If you sailed to far into the NE corner under Hains Point you found yourself being pushed down the river with no breeze to power you across the way to the leeward mark.  As with any given Sunday, there was an element of chance involved…but in talking to folks afterwards, it became clear that the boats that did well also made good decisions–most notably, in “connecting the dots” between patches of breeze.  Overall, we were thrilled to see Chris Kozel and his team (Palmer Phillips and Chris Lewton) win their first race in Lightning Fleet 50 on Sunday–congratulations Chris!  It was also great to see a few new faces out on various boats, and to welcome back some folks that we hadn’t seen in a bit.  Keep reading for a detailed wrap-up of the day’s racing and post-race fun, and be sure to post your own comments and stories from the weekend here!

Continue reading Fall Series #2 Wrap-Up →

News

Fall Series #2

As we conducted the Skipper’s Meeting there was no noticable wind on the river, so we discussed the merits of delaying on shore or towing boats out to the race course.  Ultimately, the Lightnings decided to take a tow and the Hobies and Albacores otped to wait for the wind to fill in.  As we arrived at the upper race course, the wind filled in right on schedule.  The race committee quickly set a course and sent the Lightnings around the course as the wind fluctuated between 2 and 5 knots.  As the Lightnings sailed around the race course, the Hobies and Albacores worked their way out the race course.  As soon as they arrived, the RC started them.  The light winds hung around long enough to get two races off and then everyone went back to shore for some well deserved beverages and grilling.

Fall Series

Fall Series #1 Results – 09-18-2011

The skies were grey with a threat of rain so I think a lot  of people decided to stay home. What a shame, it turned out to be an excellent day of sailing. The breeze was out of the NE for the most part with some huge right shifts throughout the day. It came in at about 12kts while we were standing around on the docks for the skippers meeting and slowly faded as the day progressed. The RC, ably headed up by Nathan Marsh and the Albacore fleet, set up a nice Windward-Leeward course running diagonally across the river. Four Albacores, Four Hobies, and Seven Lightnings came out to play in the shifting breezes. With the big right shifts, Jibe Sets were the order of the day for the Lightning fleet which made good crew work a premium. We got four races in before the dying breeze gave up for the day. A good day was had by all. Here are the scores:

Albacore Results

Hobie Results

Lightning Results

 

2011, Results, Spring Series

Spring Series #8, 06/05/11

Well the Spring Series is now a wrap. We had great turnout on the last day of the series with Albacores, Buccaneers, Hobies, and Lightnings all coming out to play. The weather was… Well it was… what? A bit cloudy, hot, the breezes were light to non existent, and generally east except for the thermals coming off the airport. The current was a major factor. The RC, headed by Nathan Marsh did a good job in some trying conditions. The first race was almost time limited, but most boats managed to finish. The next two races were better, but all in all it was a painful day for everyone. Still a rough day on the water is better than a day spent doing anything else. Here are the scores:

Albacore Spring 8

Buccaneer Spring 8

Hobie Spring 8

Lightning Spring 8

2011, Regattas, Results

PRSA Spring Regatta 2011, Upper Course Results

Another great day of sailing with south winds of 12 to 13. I wish the whole summer would be like that. Khin & Thant , Bill Buck, Dan Miller, and scorer/recorder Jen gave us 3 W2 races. Several more sailors came out to join the fun. Jim Graham gave us another nice picnic.

Results:
PRSA_spring11_Albacore
PRSA_spring11_Buccaneer
PRSA_spring11_Hobie
PRSA_spring11_Lightning

The Katherine Hearst award to the woman who beat the most boats in her class went to Kyra Tallon.
The Len Penso award to the sailor over 50 who beat the most boats in his/her class went to Nabeel Alsalam.

Pictures Upper course and Lower course