Category Archives: Results

Announcements, News, Results

PRSA President’s Cup Results & Photos

With over 50 boats, over 125 sailors, and 2 days of great racing on both courses the 2016 President’s Cup Regatta was a fantastic success.  Results are posted here and here are the links to the amazing photos that Lindsay Bach took on both days:

A beautiful S/SW breeze both days meant that most classes got 7 races over the weekend and the Laser class ended up completing 12 races!  A huge thank you to all who helped to make the 2016 regatta such a great success, including PRO Frank Gallagher and his RC crew, Heather Howard and Melissa Morgan for organizing a great BBQ, Nabeel Alsalam for scoring, Lindsay Bach for taking photos while on the RC, Lisa-Marie Lane for managing merchandise sales and check-in, DC Sail for their partnership in organizing the spectator cruise aboard the American Spirit, and all the other individuals who pitched in along the way.  Dan Dunham also did a great job in getting us some local press coverage on the regatta!

News, Results

PRSA Distance Regatta v.2 Results

Here is a writeup from Nabeel, on RC, about the 2nd PRSA Distance Race,  held on Sunday, August 21:

The sky was partly cloudy and the breeze was a gorgeous 13 mph or so from the south.   The weather reports predicted a storm from coming through at about 2 or 3 pm, so we started the races a bit early (11:11 am) and chose a course of a moderate length.

Four boats competed in the re-instituted distance race.   They started off of the green can (G7A) east and south of the marina and raced around red nun just north of the bridge (N2), back up to the bifurcation buoy that marks where the channel splits between the Anacostia and the Potomac and back to the start — about 9 nautical miles.     

The elapsed times were:

  1. Barney Harris and Lars Rathjen (Albacore)   1:29:44
  2. Nic Bogren and Gabriela (Buccaneer) 1:30:13
  3. Jeff Neurauter and nephew (Buccaneer) 1:32:02
  4. Geoff Fuller and … sorry, I didn’t get their names (Lightning): 1:38:05

Chris Porter was out on his Buccaneer but did not race because he did not have a crew.   John Ely was out on his Hobie-16 but did not race because his old boat has a bent mast and can’t point.   A sailor on a Laser (178xxx) was also out their having fun.  Stew Harris was on land working on yet another resurrected I-20.  Will Phillippe was also there working on both of our Skiffs.  

The RC was staffed by Frank Gallagher, John Kirchner, Chessie the sea monster (see pictures), and myself.   Thanks to John for his pics and to Barney for the pre-race pic!

Announcements, News, Results

Fantastic Fun at the PRSA Rookie Regatta!

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We had a great turnout for the 2016 Rookie Regatta, with 15 boats on the water and new sailors or crew in new positions on almost all of them!  The wind was a bit tricky, but we still managed to run 4 races.  There was plenty of time left afterward to enjoy a beautiful sunny afternoon on shore with some BBQ & beer as we all chatted about the racing and celebrated the rookies!  Thanks to all who volunteered and — especially — to all the rookies who came out to give things a try.  We hope to see you out on the water again soon!

Congratulations to the following teams for winning their respective classes in the 2016 PRSA Rookie Regatta:

  • Albacores: Michael Heinsdorf & “Rookie Pam” (who drove at least 2 of the 4 races!)
  • Buccaneers: Jeff Neurauter & “Rookie Adam”
  • I-20s: Molly Houston (Rookie Skipper!!) sailing with Rick Loheed
  • Lightnings: Brint (Rookie Skipper!!), Kendra (Rookie Crew!!), and Will, providing tutelage to two rookies on his boat and guiding them to a win in the class with two bullets in four races!

Continue reading Fantastic Fun at the PRSA Rookie Regatta! →

Spring Series, 2016, Announcements, News, Results

2016 Spring Series #8 Wrap-Up

A handful of Lightnings and one hearty Buccaneer came out Sunday for what turned out to be a beautiful day of sailing.  The forecast was for high winds and possible thunderstorms, but despite a few gusts early in the and some grey clouds it ended up being a wonderful day on the water.  PRO Kyra Tallon and her crew got us 4 beautiful races in a steady southerly breeze.  The wind filled in over the course of the day such that the gusts diminished and the overall velocity became more consistent in the 12-15 range.  There were a few shifts on the day, notably a big lefty in race 3 that ran counter to the overall advantage one gained by sailing right (west) to find breeze and some shifts.  It was a great day to work on boat balance, trim, and downwind angles in a bit of breeze (but not too much).  Fun was had by all and we were back to the dock by 2:30 thanks to a high tide that allowed us to sail just outside the airport pier (though I did dig my centerboard into the mud a few times later in the day).  Overall it was a great way to round out the Spring Series racing!

Related Links:

2016, Announcements, News, Results

PRSA Spring Regatta Results

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What a fantastic weekend!  The weather cooperated, and our excellent race committees (headed by Rolf on the upper course and Stephanie on the lower course) did a fantastic job of getting us a lot of great racing.  The lower course boats completed 7 races on Saturday and the upper course boats completed 8 races over two days.  We had 47 boats and nearly 100 sailors competing overall, which is a fantastic turnout!

Final results have been posted to the Regatta Website and you can see some great photos from Day 2 taken by Lindsay Bach here.  I also want to extent a huge thank you to Heather, Melissa, and Lisa-Marie for all of the time and effort that they spent organizing food and beverages (the BBQ was amazing and the drink selection was phenomenal!) and for managing our PRSA merchandise.  A lot of folks now have fantastic PRSA bling to sport on the water!  Overall I’m very thankful to all of the dozens of people who volunteered to help make this such a fantastic regatta.

Announcements, News, Results

2016 Spring Series #7: March Weather in May

On the one hand it is crazy that we had cold rain and temps in the 50s today.  On the other hand, it is also crazy that this might have been one of the best days we have had all spring!  The weather certainly has been crazy, and once again a group of intrepid sailors made the best of it for a day of river racing.  We had 5 Lightnings, 5 or 6 Albacores, 3 I-20s, a Buc, and a couple of Lasers out on the race course.  PRO Bob Gotthardt and his RC crew did a good job to get us 4 races in a shifty, spotty NE breeze.

I was especially pleased to have my parents out on the race course despite the dreary weather.  My Dad sailed with me on #14592 and my Mom took some great photos from the RC boat!  Scores are posted below, and you can keep reading for some details from my vantage point on Lightning #14592.

Continue reading 2016 Spring Series #7: March Weather in May →

Spring Series, 2016, Announcements, Results

2016 Spring Series #4

The day turned out to be quite nice.  There was a good  bit of breeze when we showed up but it died as we launched and it was a slow sail up to the course.  After getting up there around noon, we drifted for a bit while the wind switched directions.  RC did their best to get a square course set but for the first race the wind was every where with most of the race being a reach but finishing with the leeward mark being a windward mark and a downwind finish.  After the first race, they moved the marks and we had 2 more races with a decent breeze.  The first 2 races were windward leewards and the last was an olympic.  During the second 2 races the wind was still shifty so playing the shifts was quite important.  All day we had a strong out going current.

2016 Spring Series #4 – Albacores

2016 Spring Series #4 – Buccaneers

2016 Spring Series #4 – Lightnings

2016 Spring Series #4 – Multihulls

Announcements, News, Results

Spring Series #3: Light and Challenging!

We had a great turnout for Spring Series #3.  Unfortunately the weather was a bit less cooperative, providing us summer drifting conditions.  A determined RC eventually got us off on a W2 race in a very light and patchy southerly after numerous attempts to find breeze and set a course.   I know that at least a few boats were glad that we got that race though, as Sunday saw Lisa-Marie Lane earn her first ever bullet in the Lightning fleet.  Staying patient, staying focused on the conditions, and being mindful of finding clear air appeared to be key for her & team As You Wish.  Lisa-Marie was followed closely by Kristen Burke (skippering Progressive Plastics) in 2nd, and I’m told that this might mark the first time in Fleet 50 history that we had female skippers finish 1-2 in a PRSA series race.  Congrats all around!

I was finally out for my first racing of the spring season aboard Lightning #14592  (sailing with regular crew Piercarlo and welcoming new/interested crew Claudio Purificato aboard) and we quickly relearned some of the cardinal lessons of light air sailing: find clear air (especially after the start), find the next patch of breeze, and mind the current.  I was caught to windward of a pack of boats on the start, which was a mistake.  Groups of boats go very slow together in light wind, and we saw that firsthand.  We were too close to bear off and gain speed; tacking away killed the speed we had, so we were fighting back from the rear from the start.

Piercarlo and Claudio did a great job finding breeze and clear air up the first leg, though, so we were in the hunt at the top mark.  The incoming tide was a big  factor on the afternoon, and I saw numerous boats in different classes take themselves out of the race by cutting it too close to the windward mark.  By the time you got clear and did circles you were at the back of the pack.  We all did a good enough job with the current and we maximized our gains on the few easterly puffs that came through such that we were able to reel in many, but not all, of the 11 Lightnings on the course.

After the racing we all enjoyed a great BBQ around the grill.  Keep reading for the scores and for some more details from the racing.  Please feel free to offer up your own comments here or on the PRSA email listserv!

Continue reading Spring Series #3: Light and Challenging! →

Spring Series, 2016, Results

2016 Spring Series #2

The day ended up being a great day of sailing.  On shore we decided that we would have all boats start together as we had no more than 4 boats in any of the fleets.  After a slow sail to the race course while the wind died before shifting to the south, we all got up to the course around 12:15.  The Grahams and Griffins were able to set a course and get the first race off.  The first race had the wind starting out of the southeast and swinging more south during the race.  As the afternoon progressed, the wind continued to swing to the south.  We ended up have different levels of breeze with it varying between 5 and 15 knots.  Race committee was able to get off 4 races and I thoroughly enjoyed having everyone starting together as it allowed for a larger fleet to race against and added more competition,

After sailing, Melissa and Heather held the BBQ and everyone stuck around and had plenty of food, drink, and fun!

2016 Spring Series #1 – Albacores

2016 Spring Series #1 – Buccaneers

2016 Spring Series #1 – Lightnings

2016 Spring Series #1 – Multihulls