Tag Archives: Laser Class

News

2012 President’s/Leukemia Cup: What A Blast!

Saturday saw breezes of 15-20 kts with gusts to 30.  Rigs came down, boats were upside down, and crews were swimming.  Thankfully everybody made it through safe and sound and we were all on shore when the storm front (with 50+ kt winds!) hit.  Unfortunately, that storm meant that the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society had to shut down the party before fundraising and racing awards were handed out and before the raffle and silent auction winners were announced.  We’ll pass along updated information from the LLS as soon as we receive it, including any information concerning prizes or awards you may have won if you were fundraising for LLS.

Sunday ended up being a gorgeous day with a 10-12 kt NW breeze, wonderful sunshine, and great racing.  The RC did a great job in getting us four races and we all enjoyed a nice BBQ after the racing.  Make sure to post your own comments and recollections from the weekend below!

President’s/Leukemia Cup Results

Frostbite, Lasers

Laser Frostbite Day #5, 12/18/2011

It was a beautiful day on the Potomac River with the wind from the northwest 7-15, which was more than the forecast that I saw. The sun was behind the clouds making it feel like a frostbite race but the wind was enough to keep you working. It was another great turnout with 23 boats making it on the last sailing day in 2011. Will Summers and Istvan Pely set up a windward leeward out in the river. The current was coming in/slack at the beginning of the day and was going out pretty aggressively by the last race keeping the fleet off the line.
Getting a good start was essential and the mark roundings were crowded which put an emphasis on making the right decision in a short amount of time. The firsts were well spread out in six races with six different people winning a race (Erich, Frank, , Len & Robert). The wind was very shifty which caused many lead changes. Results are posted here.
I have been excited by all the new faces this year and the turnouts thus far. I hope that we can keep it up in 2012.
The next Sunday is the Hangover Regatta January 1. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year and hope to see you on the water on the 1st.

-Erich

Lasers, Pictures, Regattas, 2011, Results

PRSA Spring Regatta 2011, Lower Course Results

If you missed Saturday you missed a great sailing day with a south breeze 10 mph and warm temps. We had sixteen boats with a few people who have not sailed in quite sometime. Steve Parsons sailed with us for the fist time in about a year and Cheryl Taylor has not sailed in over a year.

The day started out with a very solid breeze with very few wind shifts (unusual conditions for the river) but by the fourth race the river had found its wind shifty groove.

Cary Comer came out of the gate rounding all of the marks in the first race in first and finished fourth on the day. Len Guenther warmed up after the first three races and finished with a 3-1-3-4 and good enoguh for third place overall. Justin Pollack was very consistent and finish the day with a first in the last race and second in the overall standings. Erich Hesse loved the steady southerly and took the first place honors.

Thanks to Jim Graham for organizing the regatta. Big thanks to Rick Welch, Aaron Boesenecker (thanks for the pictures) and another Lightning crew member for great RC and crunching the numbers by hand afterwards. Thanks to Steve Parsons, Len, and Farley with helping flipping burgers and rolling hot dogs. I think a great time was had by all.

Erich Hesse (Laser Fleet Captain)

2011 PRSA Spring Regatta – Lasers

Pictures: Lasers on the Lower course

Regattas, News

Annual Spring Regatta Next weekend!!

Next weekend is our annual Spring Regatta. Information including the schedule, NOR and pre-registration is located on our Web site here:

http://potomacriversailing.org/SpringRegatta/

Sailing Instructions:
Upper course: 2011 PRSA Spring Regatta Upper Course SIs
Course board: Courses – simplified no graphs

Lower course: 2011 PRSA Spring Lower Course SIs

As always we will be having both an upper and lower course. Lower course will be racing Saturday only. After racing Saturday there will be a BBQ. If you are planning on sailing, please take a moment to pre-register. You can Pay online through PayPal or bring cash or a check Saturday. Hope you can make it.

Saturday:3 (or 4) races are planned

Registration: 9:00 to 10:00 near the cranes
The skipper’s meeting is at 10:00 a.m. near the cranes.
The first warning signal is at 11:30 a.m.
No warning signal after 4:00.
If sailing conditions are good on Saturday, the RC may run a 4th race, especially if the forecast for Sunday is poor.

Sunday:3 (or 4) races are planned

The first warning signal is at 11:30 a.m.
No races will be started after 3:00.
Four races will be attempted if 2 or fewer races were completed on Saturday or if sailing conditions are particularly good.
Awards as soon as possible after the last race.

Lasers, Pictures, Results

Laser Frostbite 1/30/2011

Fourteen people showed up to take part in a 40 degree day on the last Sunday of January. The wind was from the east-northeast starting out light to variable in the last race. Erich Hesse and Ridley Nelson set up a windward-leeward course in the cove with the starting line within a stone’s throw of the Mount Vernon bike path. The winner of the day was Nabeel Alsalam and his winner’s write-up below. We had one new boat owner join us for the first time, Justin Pollack, who bought a boat that has been sitting at the marina. Justin had a good day after a long hiatus from Laser sailing and finished 2nd overall. We also had a friend of Alex Jacob, Shawn Golden, join us and they both showed the older/heavier people how to do it in the light air.

Here is a cool shot by Erich of Nabeel ghosting toward the finish. (Click to enlarge)

Continue reading Laser Frostbite 1/30/2011 →

Lasers, Regattas, News, Videos, 2011, Results

PRSA Hangover Regatta – January 1, 2011

What a day! We had our biggest Laser regatta ever today, 33 boats. Thanks to all that traveled to join us to help us push over the 30 boats mark. The weather could not have been better with temps in the 50’s and a south breeze 7-12 mph. We sailed in the river with the current coming in throughout the racing. There were 5 races.

Tim Zimmerman was untouchable with four firsts in five races and won the regatta handily.

Special thanks to our RC for the day Nabeel Alsalam, Rob Young, Collette Bolton, Mike Heinsdorf & Tom Berlin. Thanks also to Adam Dolezal who provided hot dogs for those who stuck around after racing.

— Erich (Laser Fleet Captain)

Some of the 2011 Hangover Regatta Sailors

Continue reading PRSA Hangover Regatta – January 1, 2011 →

Announcements

Sunday, July 4 at Washington Sailing Marina!

The usual July 4th restrictions will be in place, as follows: there will be a police check point at the entrance to the marina beginning early morning on the 4th. Police will search and confiscate any alcohol, fireworks or firearms you may have. NO EXCEPTIONS for slipholders.  Marina staff will set up a second checkpoint around 2 PM. They will be checking for valid parking passes. If you have not picked up your passes for this season please do so before the 4th. If you would like a guest pass please stop by the office. The office is open 9 – 6 seven days a week. Traffic on the Parkway will be a nightmare. If you want a hassle free holiday, show up as early as possible.  As always grilling is prohibited on marina grounds as well as on boats docked at the marina. For questions, contact the marina at wsm@guestservices.com, 703-548-9027.