The forecast was glum, which I am sure caused a lot of people to stay home. Shame on you if you did! The weather turned out to be beautiful, with near perfect sailing conditions. Winds were from the south at 8-12 knots. What more could you ask for. We got three races in before the RC, believing the erroneous weather report, sent us home for the day. What a shame, we could have gotten a fourth race in. Lesson learned – Never believe the weather man over the evidence of your own eyes! Oh well, a good time was had by all anyway. Scores after the break:
Tag Archives: Sailboat racing
2010 Len Penso Penguin Regatta
On Saturday 04/24/2010 five Penguins came out for their annual Len Penso Regatta. This Regatta has been held here at PRSA for 75 years making it the longest running annual event in our history. The day was cloudy with occasional light rain and breezes from the south at 4-8 knots. PRO Jeff Storck, with the help of Paul Maher and Dan Miller set up a windward-leeward course in the cove and got off five races in the light air conditions. The day was dominated by Charlie Krafft who scored 4 bullets and a deuce for a total score of 6 points. See all the scores after the break:
PRSA Spring Series # 3, Sunday, April 25!
Updated 4/26/10 — Seven Lightnings came out along with 4 Hobies, 3 Albacores, and a Laser on a day with a NOAA forecast of heavy weather arriving sometime after 2 PM (which it did, but north and west of DC). Before 2 PM, the winds were predicted to be from the south at 8 – 9 MPH under cloudy skies, with a high temperature of 75 degrees, and that’s exactly what we got, except that the clouds dissipated by the end of the first race. PRO David Thompson and RC set up a windward-leeward course and got off three races in quick succession, finishing the 3rd race at exactly 2:00 PM, then sending boats home to ensure a safe ride and retrieval at the cranes before the heavy weather hit (which never did here, except that winds increased to 20 MPH after 3 PM). Results to be posted soon.
PRSA Spring Series # 2, Sunday April 18!
UPDATED 4/19/10 — The AccuWeather Forecast called for sunny skies, a high of 60 degrees, and winds from the NW at 14 – 18 MPH, and that’s about what we got, except that it was cloudier and chillier than predicted. The river flow, at 9,150 CFS (gage height 3.9 ft) was below normal for this time of year, and the water temperature was down to 62 degrees. High tide was at 11:26 AM. 10 Lightnings and 3 Albacores came out. Yates Dowell and the Hobie fleet set up a triangular course and got off three races in quick succession, and we were all back at the docks by 3 PM. During docking on the return, Erich Hesse in his Albacore came screaming straight in to the slot between two of the crane docks, made an incredibly tight U-turn, and stopped the boat along side the north dock with bow pointed out — stunning! Crew Lars Rathjen, standing on Eric’s forward deck, then stepped neatly off the deck — and right into the water! It was a site worthy of a bloopers video. Fortunately, no injuries, other than to Lars’ psyche. Results after the break:
PRSA Spring Series # 1, Sunday April 11!
What an outstanding day, weatherwise, for the first race day of the 2010 season — sunny skies, a high of 75 degrees, and gentle breezes made for Bermuda shorts attire and fun conversations. Erich Hesse and his ace Albacore RC crew got off three races in somewhat challenging wind conditions — a 9 MPH southerly at the start of the first race, but dying off to an ESE at 3 MPH at 2 PM, then coming back up later in the afternoon, reaching 12 MPH at 6 PM, well after we were off the water. The river flow was slightly below normal for this time of year, at 12,500 CFS (gage height 4.2 ft) and the water temperature was 62 degrees. Low tide was at 1:42 PM; High tide at 7:31 PM. 8 Lightnings came out, along with 3 Hobies, 2 Albacores, and a Flying Scot. Results after the break:
Committee Boats Powerwashed and are Nice and Clean!
Thanks to the good work of Bill Swanson, Jeff Neurauter, Laurie Duncan, Paul Maher, Frank Gallagher, Nabeel Alsalam, Bobby Astrove, and Rick Welch on Saturday afternoon, April 10, the Bayliner, the 19 Skiff and the 16 Skiff are nice and clean, after their powerwashing and polishing. Thanks, Nabeel, for bringing the equipment! Thanks Bill, for powerwashing all the barnacles off the bottom of the Bayliner, and the cleaning the topsides. Thanks, Jeff and Laurie for cleaning the cabin of the Bayliner — it was really grungy. Thanks, Nabeel, Frank, Paul, Bobby, and Rick for emptying out the skiffs and powerwashing them and putting equipment back. Thanks also to Jeff Storck, who used his 4-Runner to launch the Bayliner, and to Laurie, Paul, and Jeff who drove her part way to her slip, and to Frank and Nabeel for performing a rescue and towing her the rest of the way over. Without the great work of this team, we would not be racing today.
PRSA Spring Series # 1 Sunday, April 11!
UPDATED 4/11/10 — Today’s AccuWeather Forecast calls for sunny skies, a high temperature of 74 degrees, and winds from the SSW at 6 – 9 MPH. The river flow is slightly below normal for this time of year, at 12,500 CFS (gage height 4.2 ft) and the river water temperature is 62 degrees. First high tide is this morning at 7:09 AM; Low tide will be at 1:42 PM; Second high tide at 7:31 PM. Take off your winter covers and get ready to race!
Video of the Week: Screaming Albacores!
Here are a couple of videos shot 03/21/2010 at Sarasota when racing was called off due to high winds. Wow! SCREAMING ALBACORES!!
PRSA Spring Series # 1 – Sunday, April 11!
Time to remove our winter covers, shake out the cobwebs, and get ready to race! Sunday April 11 is the date. Skippers meeting at 10; first gun at 11:30. Be There!
Capital City Regatta, Day #2
We got off to a slow start on day two of the regatta, there was no wind
in the morning. We waited an hour or so, and the breeze filled in, so
we set sail hoping to get a few races in. RC set up a course in the
cove and we preceded to get off four races. The wind built through out
and we got a steadier breeze then yesterday.
Sam Dobbs took first place, with Ray Wulff taking second place and Calab Dorfman taking third. Thanks to everyone for coming out, we had another great regatta on the river. Links to results and pictures are below.
Results:
http://potomacriversailing.org/lasers/results/09-10/capital_city.php
Pictures:
http://potomacriversailing.org/lasers/gallery/09-10/capitalcity/index.php
