Tag Archives: One Design Racing

Frostbite, Lasers, Frostbite Series, Frostbite Series, 2014, Results, 2015

Laser Frostbite Series #15

Great day on the water. I had a lot of fun and it seemed like most people did too. The wind was good, 8-12 by my estimate, and it was titanic status with icebergs all over the course.

Seemed like the left payed well but I was able to make gains going right too.

Tried to keep the boat as powered as I could and didn’t feel the need to depower except for at the end when I was tired. If you’re not on the heavier side, I think depowering was needed. But don’t forget to start with some power in the sail off the line and be adjusting in the lulls. I also adjusted the sail controls for the reach and downwind right before the weather mark. This helped get up to speed faster and get ahead if I was with someone at the rounding.

I tried the straight downwind strategy and bigger broad reaches. Each had its advantage. I didn’t like the reach approach when I had to sail very high to induce the plane. I think I just sailed too much extra distance and vmg went to those sailing on dead downwind heading.

See everyone next week. Let’s hope for even more wind!

2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series 15

2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series Totals

News

Get Ready for Spring Sailing!

We are just over a week away from the start of our Spring Sailing Season.  Take a moment now to make sure you are ready for the season by doing the following:

If you take care of these things now, you’re all set to enjoy the season.  See you on the water soon!

Frostbite, Frostbite Series, Lasers, Frostbite Series, 2014, Results, 2015

Laser Frostbite Series #11

1 Comment
There was perfect weather today but not much wind. The windalert.com track never went over 5 knots and at some points the graph drops to zero. On the water the wind was light and oscillating but the race committee did a good job setting up the course for the conditions. We always had enough water to sail in thanks in part to a high tide. Sailing on the lagoon I only noticed current when we finally sailed in by the docks as the tide flowed out through the channel.

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Frostbite, Lasers, Frostbite Series, Frostbite Series, 2014, Results, 2015

Laser Frostbite Series #10

The forecast was for 5mph wind, increasing to 7-8mph, however this did not hold as the wind died out during the second race.
During the first leg of the first race, Len was first to catch a big shift and took off on everyone.  The rest of us battled it out for 2nd.
The second race was very light wind with increasing current.  Everyone needed to be patient and those with good light wind boat speed finished well.
The third race was a windward – leward once around, with wind only on the west side of the course.  Adam had a great start at the boat end, then tacked into the wind.  However, he got stuck in a hole and others caught up.
We finished the day with a great parking lot birthday party for Kevin, who is approaching Grand Master status on the Laser Masters tour.
On days like this, I try to:
  • keep the boat moving – at the start and by not pinching upwind
  • actively look around to figure out where the wind is
  • keep my weight forward – upwind and downwind
  • roll tack
Thanks to Dan and Nich for doing RC!
2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series 10
2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series Totals
2014_2015 Laser Frostbite Series Totals All Races
Frostbite, Lasers, Frostbite Series, Frostbite Series, 2014, Results, 2015

Laser Frostbite Series #9

Awesome day on the water! Great job to the RC for fitting in several quality races.

The wind was very up and down, and then back up and down again, and then way right, and then left, and then…. we’ll you get the point. Fluky day and very important to be on the favored side of a shift, could make or loose half of the fleet on a couple of occasions.
The downwinds were a little tricky for me, tried hard to stay in a lane with clear air and work my way to the inside. Lots of pinwheel roundings.
Tide was very high when we first started, so I can only assume it was going out as we raced – it had more effect when the wind was light. I didn’t rly pay much attention to it when the wind was up.
The starts were pretty aggressive with the boat being way favored a couple times with a lot of people pushing to win the boat.
Great day on the water, looking forward to more wind!
Frostbite Series, Frostbite Series, News, 2014, Results, 2015

Laser Frostbite Series #6

When we first got out I was psyched to see the wind from the South at about 10-12 knots.  As someone on the taller/heavier side I like it when the wind is up and, in my experience on the river, Southerlies tend to be stable both in velocity and direction.  Apparently, though, that was not the Southerly we had today.  The first two races saw big shifts at the start and then the breeze died off for the second two.  The first race it went way right making a boat end start critical.  The second race it went way left.  The puffs, it seemed, were coming in predominately from the right and tended to be right shifts, so I gambled with a midline start and headed right.  Whatever I may have gained from being on the right, however, did not make up for missing the first big shift and not being at the pin.  As the wind dropped off for the last two races finding the breeze became the overriding consideration and it seemed almost as likely to be on the left as the right.  We had an ebb tide for most of the day, but the current seemed negligible.  Justin did a great job as RC finding us enough water to sail in and getting the races off.
Great to get out on Laser again and to see so many new faces.  Looking forward to next Sunday.
Jason Ipe
#175537

2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series 6

2014-2015 Laser Frostbite Series – Cumulative (Through 1/4/15)

Frostbite, Frostbite Series, 2014, News, Results

Laser Frostbite Series #4

Laser Frostbite Fleet,

Today was a great day on the water. We had a very shifty North West breeze which was deceiving upon arriving to the club. I thought today would have been light but instead, we had strong breeze with significant velocity and directional shifts today allowing for lots of passing opportunities. Days like today are reminders of just how demanding the laser is. We sailed out in the river and the tide was fairly slack, I didn’t pay much attention to it today. The starting line and mark roundings were exciting and busy with 25 lasers out! Today it was important to stay in the middle of the course and tack on the headers, have all controls trimmed for the breeze that you were in and hike hard. I trimmed the vang, outhaul, and cunningham much more than i usually would given the wind velocity was constantly changing. It is exciting to have such a large group out, I look forward to the next one.
Cheers everyone.
-Jamie Moran
Frostbite, Lasers, Frostbite Series, 2014, Videos, Results

Laser Frostbite Series #3

First, as newcomer to the fleet – hello to everybody!  I moved to DC late last year and – after seeing the fleet out one day having too much fun while I was driving by in slow traffic — I decided to get back into Lasers.  Turns out, one of the best decisions I’ve made recently.  Actually that’s not a high bar in my case, but still….

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News

2014 AGM Wrap-Up

It was great to see so many fleet members at the 2014 PRSA Annual General Meeting and Awards Banquet!  A very special thanks to Lee for all of the work that she did in preparing our amazing feast, and to Dave for allowing us to use the Potomac Room at Marina Towers for the event.

The Executive Board report indicated that the state of the Association is good, with membership higher in all categories than in 2013.  At the same time, we need to do more work in getting our  members out on the water (sailing participation in the fall series was down a bit, in particular) and we need to start thinking about the powerboats and engines as we approach 10 years of usage on our skiffs and outboards.  The PRSA Executive Board will consider these questions as part of their regular meetings in 2015 and report back to the Association at the 2015 AGM and Awards Banquet.

Please join me in congratulating the recipients of our PRSA Perpetual Awards as well as the volunteers who will serve on the PRSA Executive Board in 2015.  I’ve listed these individuals below, and included links farther down to the AGM agenda and the summary of race highlights for each fleet in our major sailing events.

2015 PRSA Perpetual Award Winners

  • Founder’s Trophy: Jeff Neurauter
  • Fleet Captain’s Award: Michael Heinsdorf
  • Yates Dowell III Award: Nabeel Alsalam
  • Nabeel Alsalam Award: Lee Sayasithsena

2015 PRSA Executive Board

  • Commodore: Aaron Boesenecker
  • Vice Commodore: Nabeel Alsalam
  • Rear Commodore: Farley Will
  • Treasurer: Yates Dowell
  • Secretary: Nich Allen
  • Social Activities & Outreach (co-chair): Lee Sayasithsena
  • Social Activities & Outreach (co-chair): Lisa-Marie Lane
  • Member at Large: Stew Harris

2014 PRSA AGM & Awards Banquet Agenda

2014 PRSA Racing Results

Fall Series, News, 2014

Fall Series #8

Today provided some nice weather and we were able to get in a few races.  2 Albacores, 3 multihulls and 2 Lightnings showed up.  The breeze began to build by 10:30 and stayed until about 12:30.  The last race was cut short due to lack of wind.  Many thanks go to Yates Dowell and his RC for stepping up and volunteering this week.  Scores are below.

2014 Fall Series 8 – Albacores

2014 Fall Series 8 – Catamarans

2014 Fall Series 8 – Lightnings

Final Fall Series scores are below.

Albacore

Buccaneer

Catamarans

Lightnings