Eight Hobies outnumbered the seven Lightnings on the race course on a beautiful fall 69-degree sunny day! Not only that, five of the 7 Lightnings were short crew! PRO Nabeel Alsalam set a long leeward – windward course with the windward mark near the entrance to Roaches Run, and the leeward mark near the entrance to the Anacostia, and got off four races in quick succession. The winds were in the range predicted (7 MPH) but were up and down, with some serious shifts. One gust knocked over a Hobie in the second race, but other than that the winds were gentle enough to allow double-handed spinnaker flying, some successful. Low tide was at 9:14 AM and high tide at 2:32 PM. The river flow was well below normal for this time of year, at 1,410 CFS (gage height 2.7 ft) and the water was a seasonal 64 degrees. Results and stories to be posted soon
Category Archives: News
Fall Series #3 10/04/2009 Scores
8 Lightnings and 8 Albacores came out to play on a beautiful gusty day. The RC set up a nice long 3 lap Olympic course with the windward mark all the way up by Roaches Run. Because the wind was out of the NW with frequent shifts west, the “Triangle” portion of the course was not much of an angle. It was more like a very long offset. At the start, winds were in the 10-15 range with gusts to 25. This faded as the day progressed, and actually got quite light by the time everyone came in. Rick Welch won the day for the Lightnings, while Barney Harris took top honors for the Albacores. Special thanks for Special Olympians Frank Altrichter, Rod Sellers, and Isaac Sellers for help on RC. Scores after the break:
How to recover a Lightning from a Capsize!
Jeff Storck had the unfortunate experience on October 4 of catching a strong gust as he was tacking, with his centerboard temporarily on the river bottom, and quickly found his boat capsized and his crew in the water. He was asked how he recovered; his story is listed below, along with the subsequent comments that were exchanged in the email dialog.
One point not made in the dialog is that if there is ever any possibility of a capsize, you must put on your PFDs before you leave the dock, and keep them on until after your return. Also, pay attention to the water temperature and be aware of the effects of hypothermia and how quickly it can slow down your mental processes — which is why it is very important, when the water is 64 degrees, as it was yesterday, to have crash boats on the race course when capsizes are possible — to rescue CREW — not boats.
PRSA Fall Series # 3, Sunday, October 4!
(As of Monday, 10/5/09) Yates Dowell was PRO, with RC provided by the Cats. The brisk, refreshing days of October have arrived, promising dry sunny days and good winds. The AccuWeather forecast (always subject to change) called for mostly sunny skies, winds from the NW at 8 – 14 MPH, and a high temperature of 74 degrees. The river flow was slightly below normal for this time of year, at 2,070 CFS (gage height 2.8 ft), and the water had cooled to 64 degrees. High tide was at 8:59 AM and low tide at 3:23 PM. Gusts to 25 from 10 AM to 1 PM made for challenging conditions, causing multiple boats to capsize, and sending some competitors back to the dock early.
Fall Series #2 09/27/2009 Scores
What a beautiful day it turned out to be last Sunday, although as my crew will tell you “I hate Westy’s!” 🙂 The RC set up a long (or maybe I should say wide) Triangle course that made it a real tactical choice for the Lightnings on whether to try and carry the kite on the very tight reach legs. It also made for some interesting reach-to-reach jibes at the jibe mark. As usual when we get a westy (Did I mention I hate Westy’s!) crew work was at a premium. Frank Gallagher was very consistant in winning the day for the Lightnings, while Steve Parsons took the honors for the Albacores. On a side note, it was great to see Khin & Thant on their beautiful new Albacore fresh in from England. Click the “Read More” to see the scores:
PRSA Fall Series # 2, Sunday September 27!
(Posted 9/28/09) David Thompson was PRO, with RC provided by Lightnings. The AccuWeather forecast (always subject to change) called for cloudy skies in the morning, clearing in the afternoon, with a possible morning shower, and a high temperature of 76 degrees. Winds were forecasted to be from the west at 8 – 12 MPH, with higher gusts. Low tide was at 10:21 AM and high tide at 4:06 PM. The river flow was currently near normal for this time of year, at 2,120 CFS (gage height 2.9 ft) and the water temperature had cooled to 69 degrees. 10 Lightnings came out, along with 5 Albacores, on a mostly sunny day with westerly winds 6 – 10 MPH. RC set a triangular course with the windward mark near the airport’s radar tower (the one on stilts) and the leeward mark to the east, at the edge of the navigable channel, and started the first race promptly at 11:30. Winds did change direction and intensity over the course of the afternoon, fading to almost nothing at the end of the third race, before David decided to call it a day and head home. We had most boats put away by 4 PM when an intense, but short rain squall hit, soaking all those who were still securing their craft. Scores to be posted soon.
TEAM SPOT (BARNEY HARRIS AND DAVID BYRON) WINS 2009 CANADIAN NATIONALS COMPETING IN A FORTY FIVE ALBACORE FLEET!
Canadians report day 3
Sailed out in drifting conditions with a light to no wind forecast – but at 1100 or so the breeze filled in from the east – the best wind so far this week end. probably 10-12 kts. after initially botching the line and first leg length the RC fortunately called a general recall, lenghtened the wwd leg (to greater than the start line length) and set a line that one could at least cross on both tacks. we nailed the pin end, with us at 20 sec 3 BL off the pin and right on the cut off. boats below could not lay the pin and those above were held stopped until we pulled the trigger at about 12 seconds. our bow was at the pin right as the horn blew, fully hiked and at full speed. we sailed for 100 feet, tacked and crossed the fleet, laying the first mark. break away bullet. boom shakalaka!
How Not To Launch The PRSA Committee Boats!
A picture is worth a thousand words…
Photo courtesy of Keith Strasser.
Fall Series #1 09/20/2009 Scores
What a great day on the water Sunday. 9 Lightnings, 8 Albacores, 1 Hobie, and 1 Laser came out to play on a beautiful sunny afternoon. We decided to sail the lower course because the breeze was looking pretty iffy at the Skippers meeting. As it turned out, we could easily have gone up to the upper course as we had nice 5-7 kt breezes that started out of the SE and slowly shifted around to SSW. The RC headed up by Jeff Storck got 4 races in before it got too shallow to continue and calling it a day. Congratulations to the days’ winners – Albacore Skipper Daphne Byron, and Lightning Skipper Rick Welch. Follow the “Read More” link to see the scores:
Jeff Neurauter Takes First PLace in the Buccaneer Class at the SMSA Small Boat Invitational!
We had two great days on the water at Solomons last weekend, with sunny skies, temperatures in the mid-70s, and northerly breezes at 8 – 12 MPH on Saturday and southeasterly breezes at 6 – 7 MPH on Sunday. Only four Lightnings competed, so they were lumped with 3 Albacores, 2 Interlakes, a Flying Scot, two Force-5s, a Capri 14 and a JY 15 into a Portsmouth Class for scoring. On the race course also were 14 Buccs (Aarrghhh); 6 Lasers; and 5 Windmills. Congratulations to PRSA’s Jeff Neurauter who took first place in the Buccaneer class!