The combination of low tide, hydrilla, and light air made it difficult to get to the course.   Once there, is was easier but the light air and winds that came in from the east, the west, the north, and often privately provided to a small group of sailors made it particularly challenging.  Here is the writeup on PRSA Fall Series #3 from John Van Voorhis in the Lightning Fleet.  Scores and more info are posted below.  Kudos to John and David for taking 1st on the day in the Lightnings with three well-earned 2nd place finishes!

Last Sunday, 10/1,  started out a little chilly, but by the time we were done sailing we had a gorgeous fall day.  The Race Committee tried starting us early due to the wind forecast, but the wind didn’t cooperate.  It really didn’t cooperate all day, but the RC did a great job getting off three races for the Lightnings. The wind was shifting from back and from from the NNE enough that the favored end of the starting line would switch back and forth through the starting sequence.  For races one and two, the wind tended toward the east, then in race three it was going all the way around the clock as small convection cells moved across the race course.

David and I managed to get three seconds on the day, so we felt pretty good.  In the first race we had a not so great start, but managed to catch the right shift correctly and get to the first mark first.  With the way the shifts came in it seems as if being rightmost boat, but near the middle of the course worked best for us in the first race.  Think it was Nabeel who passed us on the second weather leg and we couldn’t pass him down wind.

In the second race, we got exactly the start we wanted at the favored end by the committee boat, and were able to hold on near the front through the whole race.  I don’t remember who passed us, but again there was a lot of shifting wind and middle right with clear air worked for us.  In those conditions we let the jib tell us when to tack and eased out the main a lot when we couldn’t see the wind.  We blew it on the last down wind leg by setting the spinnaker, when we shouldn’t have.  Don’t forget to check if you can lay the mark!

In the last race we had an ok start, but that first leg took forever as the wind was coming straight down.  Again we stayed calm as we passed and were passed by other boats.

Thankfully the wind filled in enough for all of us to get back to the marina under sail.

Thanks to Jim Graham for stepping up yet again to do RC along with Barney Harris, John Hart, and Steve Young.

Thanks to Tom Hutton for doing our scores every week.

Results:
2017-Fall-3-Albacore
2017-Fall-3-I-20
2017-Fall-3-Lightning
2017-Fall-3-Multi-Hull