Tag Archives: Buccaneer Class

Fall Series #5: If you went home early, you missed some great sailing!

I’ll admit, I was the first to think that we’d never sail on Sunday.  Having seen the forecast, the glassy calm river on my drive along the GW Parkway, and the somber faces at the marina, it seemed clear that we’d postpone a bit, then end up grilling and going home.  Well, let me just say that if you went home early, you missed some of the best racing that we had all season.  The wind filled in around noon, we headed out to the river, and Mike Heinsdorf and his RC did a great job of getting us 3 excellent races!

I’ve included here a wrap up of the days racing (which proved to be quite challenging and exciting) from Jeff Storck in the Lightning fleet.  Jeff, Becky, and Bruce on Team Ariel won the day with two seconds and a spectacular bullet in the second race, and Jeff has sent along an excellent writeup of his “view from the front” – a view that he enjoyed far more than most of us on Sunday!  I highly recommend that you click the “continue reading” link below to read Jeff’s reflections on Sunday’s racing; as always, I’ve learned something from Jeff’s account of the racing, and I’m sure that you will as well.  It’d be great to hear from anybody else that was out on the river, as we did have a couple of Albacores, a Buc, and a handful of Hobies out racing as well.

Continue reading Fall Series #5: If you went home early, you missed some great sailing!

Fall Series #5 Results, 10/23/2011

Well it was looking pretty grim when we all showed up for the skippers meeting on Sunday. The river was glassy, and there was not a puff or air in sight. After an hour and twenty minutes of on land postponement Mike Heinsdorf, our intrepid PRO, informed us that some breeze was slowly making its way up the river and took a vote. We all decided to take a shot and get out there. Boy, were we all glad we did. The breeze filled in nicely to a beautiful S5-10kts and we had a great day. Mike and the all Albacore RC set up a really nice long Windward-Leeward course for us and got us 3 races before calling it a day. 6 Lightnings, 4 Hobies, 2 Albacores, and 1 Bucc came out to play on this gorgeous fall day for some of the best racing of the season. Here are the scores:

Albacore Fall Series #5

Buccaneer Fall Series #5

Hobie Fall Series #5

Lightning Fall Series #5

Fall Series #4 Wrap-Up

The PRSA Fall Series #4 was primarily a Lightning class affair, with 5 boats coming out to race and 2 taking care of RC duties (and another 7 representing Fleet 50 up in Annapolis at the Frigid Digit regatta).   For the second weekend in a row we had great conditions for racing, with a 12-15 knot SW breeze that allowed PRO Frank Gallagher and his RC to get us four races.  Jeff Neurater came out to represent the Buccaneer fleet, Mike Heinsdorf was out in his Albacore, and a trio of Hobie Cats also came out to play.

Keep reading for some more details from Sunday’s Fall Series #4 (from my vantage point in the Lightning fleet), and be sure to post your own comments and observations from the day (just click the little “speech bubble” next to the title of this post, above).  You can also scroll down a bit to see a separate post with details from the action up in Annapolis at the Frigid Digit.

Continue reading Fall Series #4 Wrap-Up

Fall Series #3 Wrap-Up: We Had Breeze!

For the first time since the President’s/Leukemia cup we had very good breeze for our racing!  The steady NW breeze (which had a lot of left shift in it at times) gave us great conditions, and PRO Jim Graham and his RC did a fantastic job in getting us three races.  Eight Lightnings, six Albacores, two Buccaneers, a Laser, and a Hobie came out to play and after a solid day of racing we all enjoyed a great BBQ (thanks to Red and Susan for bringing burgers!) in the picnic area afterwards.  Carrie Quinn took some amazing photos from the day, and I’ve posted some of my observations below from the Lightning fleet below.  Keep reading for more details from the day’s racing, and make sure to post a comment with your own thoughts, recollections, and tall tales from the day — especially if you were in one of the other fleets!

Continue reading Fall Series #3 Wrap-Up: We Had Breeze!

Fall Series #3 Results – 10/02/2011

It was cool, cloudy, and breezy this past Sunday. Winds were NW in the teens as we sailed up to the race course, but slowly faded as the day progressed. Jim Graham and the Albacores did a great job setting up a nice long Windward-Leeward course for us. They got three races off in good fashion before the rain came in and spoiled things for us. In all, Six Albacores, 2 Buccaneers, and 8 Lightnings came out to play. Correction, one Hobie also made the trip up, but capsized before starting a race and went home. We also had one intrepid Laser who came out and raced solo. The racing was exciting on the Lightning course with lots of lead changes and close finishes. All in all a fun day. Here are the scores:

Albacore Fall Series #3

Buccaneer Fall Series #3

Lightning Fall Series #3

President’s/Leukemia Cup Photos!

Follow this link for some excellent photos of the racing taken by Carl Schaefer during the 77th Annual President’s/Leukemia Cup.  Many thanks to Carl for volunteering his time, as well as to Whit Overstreet from Potomac Riverkeeper for the use of their boat as a photograph platform during the regatta.

If you wish to use these pix for marketing, for posting online, or for any other commercial purpose other than for private viewing, please contact Carl (cgschaefer@gmail.com).  At a minimum, picture credit should be attributed to Carl G. Schaefer, Jr, Copyright 2011.

Fall Series #2

As we conducted the Skipper’s Meeting there was no noticable wind on the river, so we discussed the merits of delaying on shore or towing boats out to the race course.  Ultimately, the Lightnings decided to take a tow and the Hobies and Albacores otped to wait for the wind to fill in.  As we arrived at the upper race course, the wind filled in right on schedule.  The race committee quickly set a course and sent the Lightnings around the course as the wind fluctuated between 2 and 5 knots.  As the Lightnings sailed around the race course, the Hobies and Albacores worked their way out the race course.  As soon as they arrived, the RC started them.  The light winds hung around long enough to get two races off and then everyone went back to shore for some well deserved beverages and grilling.

Spring Series #8, 06/05/11

Well the Spring Series is now a wrap. We had great turnout on the last day of the series with Albacores, Buccaneers, Hobies, and Lightnings all coming out to play. The weather was… Well it was… what? A bit cloudy, hot, the breezes were light to non existent, and generally east except for the thermals coming off the airport. The current was a major factor. The RC, headed by Nathan Marsh did a good job in some trying conditions. The first race was almost time limited, but most boats managed to finish. The next two races were better, but all in all it was a painful day for everyone. Still a rough day on the water is better than a day spent doing anything else. Here are the scores:

Albacore Spring 8

Buccaneer Spring 8

Hobie Spring 8

Lightning Spring 8

PRSA Spring Regatta 2011, Upper Course Results

Another great day of sailing with south winds of 12 to 13. I wish the whole summer would be like that. Khin & Thant , Bill Buck, Dan Miller, and scorer/recorder Jen gave us 3 W2 races. Several more sailors came out to join the fun. Jim Graham gave us another nice picnic.

Results:
PRSA_spring11_Albacore
PRSA_spring11_Buccaneer
PRSA_spring11_Hobie
PRSA_spring11_Lightning

The Katherine Hearst award to the woman who beat the most boats in her class went to Kyra Tallon.
The Len Penso award to the sailor over 50 who beat the most boats in his/her class went to Nabeel Alsalam.

Pictures Upper course and Lower course