Tropical system Ophelia confounded our attempts at racing on both days of the 2023 President’s Cup Regatta. We had too much wind, high surf, and flooding on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, we had one of the calmest days on the Potomac in recent memory (absolutely no wind!). None of this stopped the competitors from having a good time socializing over the food and drinks on Sunday afternoon, though. Many thanks to all who attended, and especially to those who traveled for the regatta. At least we were treated to a nice double rainbow over the cove as we wrapped things up on Sunday.
Debris line on Sunday after some launch area flooding.Double rainbow over the cove at WSMFull rainbow over the cove at WSM.
A cross-club and multi-team effort led to a win in the Spinnaker Division of the Old Dominion Boat Club Foundations Regatta (August 26). PRSA Sailors Aaron Boesenecker (helm and main trim), Bob Gotthardt (jib/spin trim), and John Van Voorhis (helm and main trim) combined with DISC Sailor Tara Brannigan (pit) and SCOW Sailor Marco Ovando (bow) for a great day of racing on the S2 7.9 Too Many Cooks (with thanks to PRSA members Nelson Pemberton and Tim Dickson for letting us sail their boat!) in support of local and national charities. We had fun, we went fast, and we helped raise funds for some great causes!
Cloudy conditions threatened rain all day, but we managed to escape with only a drizzle on the sail out.
A shifty southwesterly settled into a nice southerly after the second race allowing the racecourse to be stretched out for some longer races in the slightly stronger breeze.
In total, four races were sailed. A huge thank you to the rest of the race committee helping out this week: Bob, John, and Piercarlo, and thanks to all the sailors for coming out and making it a fun day off and on the water. See you all next week!
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.
Register now for the PRSA Spring Regatta (May 27-28) and enjoy two days of racing on the Potomac River with the monuments and Capitol as a backdrop. Head to the Regatta Network site – https://www.regattanetwork.com/event/26050 – to register and to view the NOR. Additional regatta information will be posted on the Regatta Network site.
Jim Graham ran the races with Barney Harris running the mark boat. Natalie Rehberger, Mike Heinsdorf, and Eva Hogan assisted.
The Lightnings were finishing day 2 of the Doc Gilbert Memorial Potomac Cup.
The winds were from the NE with shots from the ENE. During the 3rd race, the winds died completely leaving the sailors helpless against the current pushing them up river. The wind finally came back in to allow them to finish.
Dana Howe, John Van Voorhis, David Roberts, Austin Bradham, and Walter Truluck ran the races.
Winds were very light and a number of boats were still working their way up to the starting area at 1125 prompting a postponement. About 25 or so minutes later the Southerly filled in enough that we could manage two starts but we sent them on a W1 for Race One. The breeze filled in a little more allowing us to post W2 courses for races two and three.
At best I’d say we saw 8 kts with moderate current all day. The wind was mostly from the south (strait upriver) and would drift easterly once in a while.
