Join us for the 2023 Potomac River Sailing Association Capital City Laser Regatta on March 25 and 26.
Close out your winter Laser Season with this 2 day event. We will be sailing Saturday and Sunday and will be having dinner at the marina on Saturday after racing.
PRSA Sailors:
We are just 2 weeks away from the start of the PRSA Spring Series! We are writing now to provide information on some important changes that are going into effect this spring. Please make sure to read through these details carefully so that you’re prepared to race as our Spring Series kicks off on 30 March.
First, you will need to register for the series in advance. Use this link to register: https://forms.gle/9riR85toVRbdvZ976. When you register, you will be prompted to sign up for at least ½ of your required Race Committee (RC) slots. We have had a difficult time filling RC slots in recent seasons and this change will help to address the issue. We will be providing opportunities to help train RC and will look to pair individuals with less RC experience with those that can mentor.
In 2023 all skippers of multi-person boats are responsible for the same amount of RC duty: 4 slots over the Spring & Fall series. Skippers of single person boats are responsible for 2 slots over the Spring & Fall Series. Each skipper may serve your 4 slots all in the Spring, all in the Fall, or spread throughout the spring and the fall. If you bring your crew or friends to help you, make sure to enter the last name of the skipper receiving credit for these volunteers on the RC spreadsheet. You can find the link to the RC Service Signup Sheet here: http://potomacriversailing.org/dues-rc-duty/. And remember, serving as PRO for any race day or as Regatta Chair for one of our 2-day regattas counts as 2 slots.
Second, make sure to review the NOR and the Sailing Instructions for the 2023 Spring and Fall series racing (posted here: http://potomacriversailing.org/spring-fall-sunday-series/). We have made several important changes on scoring that should both bolster participation and enable sailors to travel to away regattas to still compete in, and be competitive for trophies, our Sunday Series races. In brief:
These changes were discussed at the AGM and then refined through input provided to Tyler, our Rear Commodore, by members and at the 23 January Race Program Committee Meeting. On behalf of the PRSA Executive Committee, I want to thank Tyler in particular for all of the work that he has put in to update our NOR and SIs and to streamline the organization of our Spring and Fall series.
Summary of relevant links:
Please make sure to review the NOR and the SIs and to register so that you are all set to start racing when the 2023 Spring Series begins on 30 March! We look forward to seeing you on the water!
Port City is a family friendly brew pub. Please note that Port City is only licensed to serve the beer they produce, no outside alcohol is permitted.
Join the Potomac River Sailing Association to race in the largest one-design regatta on the Potomac with the National Capitol and monuments as a backdrop, and to carry on the tradition of competitive one-design racing that started with the 1934 President’s Cup! All one-design classes 20 feet or under are invited.
Earlier this month the Safety Review Committee complete their review and report on Safety and Standard Operating Procedures at PRSA. They took a deep dive into what we do for safety, and what we need to look at to increase safety and reduce risk going forward. There are new safety rules that will be going into effect in the Spring Series.
There are also a number of recommendations that we’ll be looking to implement going forward.
The report itself is a very good read and a compact 12 pages so I’d suggest
Safety Review and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Committee Report
Thank you to Aaron and the rest of the committee for your many hours of work and dedication to the safety of your fellow sailors.
-Tom Hutton
Mark your calendars! Plan to sail. It as the end of winter and the start of spring. The pandemic and winter have kept you cooped up for too long. So plan to get out on the water.
Visit regattanetwork for the latest information.
Regatta chair: Kaitlyn Lucey (kslucey@gmail.com)
David Metcalf and Carlo Sdralevich ran the races. It was their first time doing it. Thank you!
The wind was generally over 10 mph and relatively steady. The last race the wind picked up briefly to over 15 – no whitecaps but close. The racers were beating block-to-block for the most part, and they enjoyed the relatively steady wind. Some looked worn out by the 5th race, I know I would have been.
The low tide was lower than usual and setting a course in line with the wind in the deep parts of the river was challenging. For most of the races the pin end of the starting line was favored, the best starts were made from the middle of the line, away from traffic. Tom Hutton got in a groove and finished 1-1-1 in the last three races.
— Dave Metcalf
Results (Race 31-35)
LaserFrostbite2122_11
It had been a while. We could not race for three consecutive Sundays due to icy ramps and ice on the river. So although the wind was very light and current was a factor, the “we will do this” RC and six intrepid sailors hit the water and got in two races.
Kaitlyn Lucey and Dan Miller were the RC.
Photos by Kaitlyn.
Results (I understand managing the current was the key):
Gray day with a soft rain and a southwest wind in the 10-15 mph range. Air and water temperature both around 41.
John Van Voorhis and Jim Graham ran the races.
Day’s Results
LaserFrostbite2122_6 (races 26-28, January 9)
Thoughts from Farley —
Sunday was an interesting day on the river. The front mostly came in as expected and the wind built throughout the 3 races. It was a little different though because while the wind built, it continued to be mostly a southerly. The wind did generate some waves that were definitely surfable and it was still kind of puffy. Each race the wind built and started around 10 and was definitely gusting above 20 by the last race. Oh and it was raining the whole time. A huge thanks to Jim and John for doing race committee on a nasty day and putting a triangle mark to give us olympic courses!
For myself, I was struggling a bit with my first day out on the laser with high wind in basically 2 years (last year was decidedly not windy for the days I sailed). The first race I started near the pin and that did not work too well for me since the course was starboard tack and boat favored (I was running late and did not check anything). I did have some fun downwind tactics in the first race with Ethan where I was able to use the waves and wind to pass him on the inside right before rounding the leeward mark. The second race the wind had picked up a little more and I was starting to get overpowered. I snugged up my vang, outhaul, and cunningham to depower and stopped sheeting in quite as much. I got a little lucky and passed some people that capsized in that race. Some people went in for the last race. In the last race, it was getting windy. This was my “bad” race. I got stuck in irons 2 times during tacks and capsized 3 times during the race and was generally exhausted by the end (and glad it was the last race). For the stuck in irons, I did not think my vang was on too hard but I let it off and got the boat moving again before resetting.
All in all it was still a fun day but definitely harder than I was ready for!
So far this season, 30 boats have sailed and 15 have sailed half or more. Farley is learding the qualifiers, but Steen is way out front among the non-qualifiers and is likely to reach the quali fying threshold.
Cumulative Results Through #6
Jim Klein and Kevin Cowley ran RC. They and the sailors had a long discussion about whether it was safe to go out. In the end they and 11 sailors did go out.
The winds where in the high teens (white caps were not constant) and gusts were up in the 20s. The air and water temperatures were similar — mid 40s. Colds hands were an issue for several sailors — we need to compare our methods of keeping hands warm. Capsizing and hard hiking was tiring.
Conditions at Reagan National Airport:
Results:
Thoughts from Mike Renda
Well, the wife took the kids and went to NY this morning, and the weather forecast was for 45F and gusts in the low 20s. Seemed like a good day to get out and go sailing. Anyways, some thoughts.
On the water, my mantra is this on days like this: 90% fast, 100% of the time. In general, this focuses on minimizing mistakes, avoiding problematic situations and risk, thinking ahead, and keeping good boat speed.
Racecourse: My general observation is that I think there were better puffs out left. Current didn’t really seem to be a factor, or at least I didn’t really think about it. There were small gains on shifts to be had, but tacking on them required a bit of calculation to determine if the shift was big enough to warrant the extra tack (tacking too much on a breezy day can be slow, and the course wasn’t really long). I believe most of my first beats were: start at boat, go left until near port layline, tack on port, tack back on starboard when on layline with about 2-4 boatlengths to the mark.
Pre-start: I believe the boat was increasingly favored throughout the day (though never that much). My general approach on days like this is to err on being near the boat, with a focus on getting off without a hitch (low risk). Vang should be loose in case you need to duck / maneuver, though drastic moves should be avoided — no gybing. Also, I try to keep my head out of the boat a bit and avoid starting near crowds of boats (again, trying to avoid big problems). Outhaul & cunningham should be set for upwind mode (in lighter breeze I’ll start with them looser). Finally, on these breezy days, when the fleet sits and waits for the last 30 seconds, nobody ends up quite on the line, as everyone drifts downwind and gets going too late. Trim up a touch early and take advantage.
Upwind: In general, vang was at least two-blocked, outhaul near the end of the boom, and cunningham pretty much as tight as you can get it. Once going, I try to keep the main two-blocked as much as possible, easing in the puffs when needed. Body position, I’m focusing on getting my weight outboard and forward to keep the bow down. The laser does really poorly when healed up, and you should really do whatever you can to avoid the big heels in the puffs. I also focus on trying to keep the bow knuckle touching the water. Every time the bow gets picked up by a wave, you’re getting tossed off the wind, losing forward progress. I also think it’s important to find a body position that you can hold for most of the leg rather than be consistently resetting. Once you’re set, your head can focus on the sail, boats around you, and the puffs. When the sail gets really flat on days like this, the groove gets really narrow, so I find that getting set bodywise can help eliminate a variable and allows me to more easily find the groove via the rudder and mainsheet.
Windward mark: It’s really important to be able to ease and turn the boat downwind at the windward mark. Get your vang off early (do what you can to make this happen). Having the vang line tied to the centerboard is a really good idea, as you can more easily reach it when hiked (and the end never ends up to leeward). As I approach the windward mark, I reach down at the mainsheet block and make sure I can let the mainsheet slide through my hand as I raise it up above my head. This ensures I can ease the mainsheet a good 6 feet as I turn downwind without hitting any knots. Once turned downwind, I always tighten the hiking strap — this is extremely important. Once tight, wrap your aft leg around it (when on starboard, this is your left leg). This will help you physically control the boat through the waves with your bodyweight, as you are effectively tying yourself to the boat.
Downwind runs: With your aft leg wrapped around the hiking strap, your front leg / knee can be used to help get the boat up on waves. Lean forward, put your knee on the diagonal part next to the centerboard slot, and lean back once your boat hops up on the wave. I thought the runs were particularly well aligned to the waves for small periods of surfing. I did a bit of the “wave carving” business, but I’m not very good at it, and again, safety / stability is a paramount concern. It’s important to be looking backwards every 15 seconds or so to look for puffs.
Leeward mark: Get your boat setup for the upwind leg. Board down, cunningham tight, vang tight, outhaul tight, hiking strap back to loose. Turn the boat upwind (even if you don’t have the main trimmed) right at the mark so that you’re in as high of a lane as possible (“wide, then tight”).
Final leg strategy: If you round right behind someone, tack off and make them cover. Stress them out and make them make mistakes in the breeze. If they’re responding to your move, they’ll never tack as well as they can. This applies on light air days as well.
Between races, I’m always thinking about how I get the blood flowing again. Hiking contorts your body up and limits blood flow to the legs. I think it’s important to stand up between races and get the blood moving around. Pro tip: Leave a thermos of hot chicken noodle soup on the committee boat for between races. Be sure to provide RC with beer afterwards.
Nice racing Steen, and thanks to Jim & Kevin for RCing. Good seeing everyone, and happy holidays to all.
