Seventeen boats came out for Day #2. The wind started out lighter than forecast and then picked up to forecast about 10-12 mph. It started out west-southwest and shifted south-southwest half way through the day. Len and Barb Guenther set a windward-leeward course out in the river. The current was the opposite of last week (coming in all day) and I believe played a big factor in the racing today more on that later. There was some big debris/speed bumps (tree trunks) out in the river causing some to fall out of their boats and other to stop for a minute. If you have not made it out yet this season it has been near perfect sailing conditions and just in luck for you we sail again next Sunday same time same place. Keith Barron and William Kruse will be providing the RC.
It was a beautiful day to be on the water. If you could order up breeze like this every day that would be great. The wind turned out to be more than forecast from the low teens with some gust in the high teens from the north-northeast and east. The current was going out all day. It was a shifty day but Justin Pollack and Jim Klein set a windward-leeward course which they did not have to adjust much during the day. Twenty-two boats came out with three boats being the first day sailing with us. Bob Gotthardt took the day for the newbies to the fleet with an eleventh overall. Making it to the top ten was an accomplishment as a lot of the top guns came out to sail today.
Results posted on the website (Thanks Farley and Scott).
Ok I know the scores from #6 are late, but its not my fault this time. I swear! 🙂 It was another typical westie that day – shifty winds, up and down and all around. The sailing was fun until the fourth race that got a little confusing for the Lightnings. Two weeks, one long Redress hearing, and one hurricane later we finally have the results. The Protest Committee decided to throw out the last race for the Lightnings due to the confusion – a wise decision in my humble opinion, so only three races for them. Everyone else got four that day. Here are the scores:
Two weeks later, after the hurricane came and went, we gathered for the final day of racing for 2012 (Except for the Lasers that is). I can’t comment on the day since I was not able to attend. The Hobies handled the RC work and got three races in before calling it a season. Here are the scores:
Sorry for the hold up folks. I have been swamped at work these past two weeks.
Today I have scores for the last two weeks racing. Two weeks ago most of PRSA stayed home fearing the rain that was falling when they got up in the morning. The three Lightnings that braved the weather to come out and race had the last laugh though. The rain stopped and we got them three races down by the power plant before the breeze faded and we called it a day. Here are those scores:
This past Sunday we had a great day of racing. The winds were from the south west and built from 12-13 when we left the dock to 18-30 when the RC wisely called it a day and sent us home. Scores and more after the break:
It was another beautiful day on Sunday. Winds were from the west… Well mostly… They started out WNW with some sharp right shifts, then went the other way and ended up WSW. In other words, a typical Westie day (I hate westies!) with the wind up and down and back and forth. It started off light 5-10 but as it clocked left it strengthened to 10+ with gusts in the upper teens. Sheesh! It was all about crew work and shifting gears on the short across the river courses. Kyra Tallon, heading up the all Buccaneer RC who did a terrific job all day, set up an Olympic course with a Loooong reach. As the wind went left, the Lightnings were unable to carry their kites on the first reach and had to resort to Jib only. We got four races in on the day and would have had another but for the need to reset the course southward after the second race. Attendance was light this week with only five Lightnings, four Albacores, and two Cats out to enjoy the day. It was nice to see Bill Kleystuber out on his Albacore for the first time in a long while. Scores after the break:
It was a beautiful fall day that greeted us as we got boats ready for racing on Sunday. Sunny with puffy clouds that brought puffy winds. The breeze was mostly out of the Northwest 4-11kts with some gusts, but the shifts were big. From the Committee boat we noted that the big puffs came down from the north in a right shift, and the lulls sometimes came from due west. It looked like, for the most part, it paid to protect the right side for the puffs (Although sometimes that would prove to be a mistake). We set up a long WL course and got started on time. My course was maybe a bit too long since the race took just a little over an hour to finish. For the second race we shortened up, and maybe got it too short since that race was finished in about 35 minutes. So we adjusted once again splitting the difference and this time got it right, and got two more races at about 45 minutes each. We finished the last race down wind at the leeward mark to give the racers a head start for home. In all ten Lightnings (Add three more who were on RC for a season record thirteen Lightnings on the water), Four Albacores, Four Cats, and two Buccaneers came out to play on what might be the most beautiful day of the Fall Series. We also had two Lasers show up for the last race (177053 & 173175), which was won by 177053. The rest of the scores after the break:
The forecast was grim: 0-3 from everywhere… Most of the boats had to be towed up to the course… It wasn’t looking good at all… Then all of a sudden a breeze came up and we sailed. The mostly Lightning RC (Thanks for joining us Wilda), headed up by Frank Gallagher, quickly set up a nice Olympic course for us and got 3 races in before calling it a day. The breeze slowly built to 5-10 knots and came generally out of the NW with some big left and right shifts through the afternoon. In fact one such shift occurred during the start sequence in the first race forcing the entire Lightning fleet to start on port tack. On the course you were in big trouble if you got caught on the wrong end of one of those shifts. In all 9 Lightnings, 4 Albacores, 4 Buccaneers, 2 Cats, and 1 lone Laser came out to play on what turned out to be a terrific day. Scores after the break:
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!
Online pre-registration for the 2012 President’s/Leukemia Cup is now up and running! You can pre-register your boat and, if you wish to raise funds to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, simply indicate this preference on the PRSA pre-registration form. The regatta will be held on September 8-9 this year. We’ve posted the link to the PRSA pre-registration form, a list of key dates, and all the rest of the relevant info to the President’s/Leukemia Cup page. You can also access this information by clicking the “President’s/Leukemia Cup” link above on the top navigation menu. If you have any questions, feel free to contact your PRSA Rep to the LLS, Aaron Boesenecker.
It was a crazy day on the river last Sunday. Don’t like the wind direction? Just wait a minute, it will change. Don’t like the velocity? That too will change! Sheesh! Len Guenther and the Lasers did a nice job with what they had and got 4 races off for the 8 Lightnings, 4 Albacores, 3 Cats, and 2 Buccaneers that came out for the punishment I mean fun. Here are the scores:
