Week 11 scores are below. We are going to break from the 3rd place tradition and have a first place writeup since the 3rd place boat actually had a DNS.
Week 11 started as a light day and slowly built all day. We were able to get 5 races in with the last race starting to get breezy. My thoughts from the day were that the pin was favored and I started at the pin 4 of the 5 races. In the last two races, the downwinds started getting quite interesting because the southerly was going against the current and created some really nice waves for surfing downwind. You were really able to work the boat and make gains going downwind. I know that I did this in the last two races and picked up a couple of boats.
Additional Thoughts from the Race Committee:
Hopefully it will be of some interest to also have a perspective from the Race Committee (RC) on the Feb
2 racing.
The forecast (Windfinder) for this past Sunday (2/2) was for 8-9 mph winds from the W or SW with gusts
into the high teens. It was also supposed to be sunny, which turned out to be true. All things considered, a
great forecast. But right after the Skippers’ meeting, the direction of the wind changed substantially. In
fact, once out on the river, the wind was from the South. This necessitated a change of plan with respect
to setting the course. Actually, it was easier now because of the much larger playground available. After
setting the pin end of the starting line, the windward mark was dropped near the (former) power plant and
then the leeward mark up-river, near the airport. To lessen the chance of mayhem at the windward mark,
we set the starting line so that the first upwind leg of our W/L course would be as long as was reasonable.
The group had agreed at the Skippers’ meeting that there was no need for a reaching mark because of the
light wind prediction.
The RC was ready at 12:35, but our wonderful Ollie timer had decided to stay home; instead, Jim
provided us with a decidedly low-tech whistle for the count-down. To see how long it would take to sail
the course, the RC decided on a ‘once around’ for the first race. A sigh of relief from the RC boat once the
fleet got going without anyone being OCS (‘over early’). It took about 15 minutes for the winner (Nich) to
finish, and the others followed in the next five minutes or so. Therefore, we stuck with that format for the
next three races. Sometime after (or during; not sure) the third race, the wind increased significantly. We
had no wind meter, but the report from National Airport indicated 12 mph around 2 PM and 16 mph an
hour later. And yes, we did see small white caps. Because of this development, we decided (with gentle
encouragement from Farley) to do a ‘twice around’ for the fifth race. Once the fleet got going, several
sailors got themselves into ‘unusual’ situations. Fortunately, most everyone was able to self-rescue, but we
must give a shout out and much credit to two (Michael L and ?) who helped getting the Georgetown #3
Laser back on its feet near the windward mark. To make it more interesting, the RC also had to keep its
eyes on Mike S who had trouble as well getting his boat right side up. We could see that his boom (which
had gotten loose), and likely also his mast, had gotten stuck in the shallow area not too far from the RC
boat. With no ready resolution in sight, we decided to pick him up and let his Laser sit, to be rescued
later. After lifting anchor and turning on the engine, our (recently serviced) 17′ skiff behaved admirably.
Mike was hoisted aboard, but was, fortunately, in no distress. By the time we got back to our proper
position on the line, the fifth race was still ongoing. Tom finished first, way ahead of the others, but credit
should be given to the lighter weight sailors in the breeze. By now, several of the fourteen boats that had
raced today had gone back to the marina, and we decided to call it a day.
Later on, a small group went out again with our fleet captain to retrieve Mike’s Laser and the marks. The
rig was put on the skiff and the hull towed back to the marina without further issues.
We hope that everyone had a good time at least some of the time; it was quite a day for the RC (Greg &
Jacob)!
2 racing.
The forecast (Windfinder) for this past Sunday (2/2) was for 8-9 mph winds from the W or SW with gusts
into the high teens. It was also supposed to be sunny, which turned out to be true. All things considered, a
great forecast. But right after the Skippers’ meeting, the direction of the wind changed substantially. In
fact, once out on the river, the wind was from the South. This necessitated a change of plan with respect
to setting the course. Actually, it was easier now because of the much larger playground available. After
setting the pin end of the starting line, the windward mark was dropped near the (former) power plant and
then the leeward mark up-river, near the airport. To lessen the chance of mayhem at the windward mark,
we set the starting line so that the first upwind leg of our W/L course would be as long as was reasonable.
The group had agreed at the Skippers’ meeting that there was no need for a reaching mark because of the
light wind prediction.
The RC was ready at 12:35, but our wonderful Ollie timer had decided to stay home; instead, Jim
provided us with a decidedly low-tech whistle for the count-down. To see how long it would take to sail
the course, the RC decided on a ‘once around’ for the first race. A sigh of relief from the RC boat once the
fleet got going without anyone being OCS (‘over early’). It took about 15 minutes for the winner (Nich) to
finish, and the others followed in the next five minutes or so. Therefore, we stuck with that format for the
next three races. Sometime after (or during; not sure) the third race, the wind increased significantly. We
had no wind meter, but the report from National Airport indicated 12 mph around 2 PM and 16 mph an
hour later. And yes, we did see small white caps. Because of this development, we decided (with gentle
encouragement from Farley) to do a ‘twice around’ for the fifth race. Once the fleet got going, several
sailors got themselves into ‘unusual’ situations. Fortunately, most everyone was able to self-rescue, but we
must give a shout out and much credit to two (Michael L and ?) who helped getting the Georgetown #3
Laser back on its feet near the windward mark. To make it more interesting, the RC also had to keep its
eyes on Mike S who had trouble as well getting his boat right side up. We could see that his boom (which
had gotten loose), and likely also his mast, had gotten stuck in the shallow area not too far from the RC
boat. With no ready resolution in sight, we decided to pick him up and let his Laser sit, to be rescued
later. After lifting anchor and turning on the engine, our (recently serviced) 17′ skiff behaved admirably.
Mike was hoisted aboard, but was, fortunately, in no distress. By the time we got back to our proper
position on the line, the fifth race was still ongoing. Tom finished first, way ahead of the others, but credit
should be given to the lighter weight sailors in the breeze. By now, several of the fourteen boats that had
raced today had gone back to the marina, and we decided to call it a day.
Later on, a small group went out again with our fleet captain to retrieve Mike’s Laser and the marks. The
rig was put on the skiff and the hull towed back to the marina without further issues.
We hope that everyone had a good time at least some of the time; it was quite a day for the RC (Greg &
Jacob)!