We had two fantastic days of racing for the PRSA Spring Regatta, with PRO Nabeel Alsalam and his crew getting us 5 races on Saturday and 3 more on Sunday. 37 boats in 5 classes came out for the fun and we all enjoyed spectacular sailing conditions with sunny skies, flat water, and moderate southerly breezes. Results are posted here and you should feel free to add your comments below!
Tag Archives: Flying Scot Class
Spring Series Starts in 2 Weeks!
We are just a few weeks away from the start of the PRSA Spring Series! Make sure that you have reviewed the NOR and SIs for our Spring Series. Now is also the time to sign up for Race Committee for the season. Please make sure to read the details below, and then sign up on our PRSA RC Duty Signup Sheet. Here are the details and requirements for the 2108 Spring/Fall racing season:
- Each skipper racing in the spring or fall series is required to fulfill RC service obligations in the spring/fall series. The number of slots each skipper is responsible for filling depends upon the boat class:
- Albacores: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Buccaneers: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Catamarans: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- I-20s: 4 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Lightnings: 6 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- WETA/Laser (single-person boat): 2 RC slots over the spring/fall series
- Serving as PRO or Regatta Chair (rows highlighted in orange on the spreadsheet) count as two slots given the extra organizational responsibility for these roles.
- Detailed RC & boat instructions are posted to our PRSA website: http://potomacriversailing.org/dues-rc-duty/
- As we get into the season I will send out a reminder and some additional instructions to each PRO a few days prior to the weekend/event for which they are signed up.
Sign up now so that you know you have your dates reserved, and so that we don’t have to scramble week-to-week to find RC. As always, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.
Race Committee Training Opportunity
West River Sailing Club in Galesville, MD, is hosting a 2-day Race Management Seminar on Feb. 17-18, 2018. This class is for people who want to learn more about how to run sailboat races. No prerequisites are required other than a basic understanding of sail boat racing and some previous race management experience. Follow this link for information and registration details (scroll down the page to the date of Feb. 17-18):
http://www.ussailing.org/race-officials/find-a-seminar/race-officer-seminar-calendar/
Attendees must be members of US Sailing. The course fee is $80 which covers the class, materials, continental breakfast & coffee, plus lunch. The two day class will begin each day at 0830 and run through 1630. There is an on-line quiz after the course if attendees are interested in becoming certified.
This is a great opportunity, especially according to this endorsement from Nabeel: “I endorse this class. Bill Kleysteuber and I travelled up to Newport, RI about a decade ago to take the class. We learned a lot. It is primarily based on the RRS but not completely. You get a nice certificate at the end and become certified as a club race officer.”
Order Your 2018 PRSA Calendar!
The 2018 PRSA Calendar is now available for order! Use this link – http://www.calendarlink.org/prsa/home.html – to preview the calendar and order your very own. Congratulations to Lindsay Bach for snapping the winning cover photo!
Falls Series #3 – October 1, 2017
The combination of low tide, hydrilla, and light air made it difficult to get to the course. Once there, is was easier but the light air and winds that came in from the east, the west, the north, and often privately provided to a small group of sailors made it particularly challenging. Here is the writeup on PRSA Fall Series #3 from John Van Voorhis in the Lightning Fleet. Scores and more info are posted below. Kudos to John and David for taking 1st on the day in the Lightnings with three well-earned 2nd place finishes!
Last Sunday, 10/1, started out a little chilly, but by the time we were done sailing we had a gorgeous fall day. The Race Committee tried starting us early due to the wind forecast, but the wind didn’t cooperate. It really didn’t cooperate all day, but the RC did a great job getting off three races for the Lightnings. The wind was shifting from back and from from the NNE enough that the favored end of the starting line would switch back and forth through the starting sequence. For races one and two, the wind tended toward the east, then in race three it was going all the way around the clock as small convection cells moved across the race course.
David and I managed to get three seconds on the day, so we felt pretty good. In the first race we had a not so great start, but managed to catch the right shift correctly and get to the first mark first. With the way the shifts came in it seems as if being rightmost boat, but near the middle of the course worked best for us in the first race. Think it was Nabeel who passed us on the second weather leg and we couldn’t pass him down wind.
In the second race, we got exactly the start we wanted at the favored end by the committee boat, and were able to hold on near the front through the whole race. I don’t remember who passed us, but again there was a lot of shifting wind and middle right with clear air worked for us. In those conditions we let the jib tell us when to tack and eased out the main a lot when we couldn’t see the wind. We blew it on the last down wind leg by setting the spinnaker, when we shouldn’t have. Don’t forget to check if you can lay the mark!
In the last race we had an ok start, but that first leg took forever as the wind was coming straight down. Again we stayed calm as we passed and were passed by other boats.
Thankfully the wind filled in enough for all of us to get back to the marina under sail.
Thanks to Jim Graham for stepping up yet again to do RC along with Barney Harris, John Hart, and Steve Young.
Thanks to Tom Hutton for doing our scores every week.
Results:
2017-Fall-3-Albacore
2017-Fall-3-I-20
2017-Fall-3-Lightning
2017-Fall-3-Multi-Hull
PRSA President’s Cup: Light Winds Didn’t Stop Us From Having Fun!
We didn’t have much breeze for the 2017 PRSA President’s Cup, but that didn’t stop us from having fun! With 50 boats in 6 classes registered we were all ready to race on Saturday morning. Mother Nature had other plans. However, we did get to go racing on Sunday, and among other highlights we were happy to welcome a couple of new sailors — John and Amanda — first spotted sailing a Thistle on Saturday but convinced to sail an Albacore on Sunday, thanks to Barney. As it turns out, they beat Barney at his own game! 🙂
It turned out to be a great regatta with good fun had by all. Keep reading for some of my observations from aboard Lightning #14592 and, by all means, please add your own observations as comments on this post! Scores are here and you can view the great photos from Lindsay Bach here.
Continue reading PRSA President’s Cup: Light Winds Didn’t Stop Us From Having Fun!
President’s Cup Regatta: September 16-17
The 2017 PRSA President’s Cup Regatta will be held September 16 & 17 at Washington Sailing Marina, continuing the long tradition of competitive one-design racing started by the President’s Cup in 1934. Once again we will feature two days of top-notch one design racing on the Potomac River on two courses. Visit the regatta website to register for the regatta. The NOR and additional information will be posted soon. Register and pay by September 11 to take advantage of the early registration discount and save yourself a bit of cash!
Special thanks to Annapolis Performance Sailing for sponsoring the regatta and providing some additional prizes. We will also have a spectator boat once again – the historic 65′ schooner American Spirit – thanks to the generosity of DC Sail and the National Maritime Heritage Foundation! Make sure to tell your friends and family about this fantastic opportunity to view the sailing from the water on Saturday, September 16.
PRSA Distance Race: June 18
Come one and come all — try out your speed and tactics against other boats and other classes in a distance race on the river on Sunday, June 18. We will use government marks and the course will be determined by weather conditions on Sunday. The NOR, Sailing Instructions, and Course Diagrams are all posted below. Scoring will be done using the Portsmouth Yardstick system. Questions should be directed to the PRO for the Distance Race, John Van Voorhis.
PRSA Spring Regatta: May 27-28
The NOR for the PRSA Spring Regatta (May 27-28) has been posted and registration is now open. Visit the regatta website and register by May 21 to take advantage of the early registration discount. Once you’ve registered, help us spread the word about the regatta!
We have partnered with DC Sail once again to organize a spectator cruise aboard the American Spirit on Saturday of the Spring Regatta. Spectator cruise tickets are $20/person (or $25 for a combined cruise and Saturday dinner ticket). Tickets can be purchased via the regatta website. We have also posted complete details on the cruise in the “race documents” area on the regatta website.
2017 PRSA Dues Are Now Due
Now is the time to pay your PRSA dues for 2017! The 2017 membership year starts on December 1, and you have until January 15, 2017 to pay your dues without late fee. Members paying on or after January 15, 2017, will be assessed a late fee of $25. After you fill out the membership form you will be offered the option of paying via PayPal or sending a check to our PRSA Treasurer.
Please remember that having our association members pay dues up front each year is of immense help to all of our PRSA volunteers. We can better allocate expenditures over the year, organize RC requirements, set up scoring systems in advance, and more. Your PRSA dues support boat and equipment maintenance, insurance, slip fees, and everything else that goes into allowing us to race each weekend. Of course, skippers must be paid PRSA members in order to qualify for the Laser Frostbite Series and the Spring and Fall racing series, and to be eligible to vote at the PRSA AGM.
As you pay your dues I would also encourage you to support the PRSA Commodore’s Club (a donation can be added to your 2017 membership payment). Whether big or small, any additional donation is a great help as we work on maintaining our equipment and conducting safe and fun racing each year. Many thanks, as well, to all of those who contributed to the PRSA Commodore’s Club in 2016: http://www.potomacriversailing.org/applications/membership/CommodoreClub.php.
I’m already looking forward to the 2017 sailing season, and I hope that you are as well!