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.
Tag Archives: PRSA
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!
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!
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)
Laser Frostbite Series 2
So here is the 3rd place write up for Sundays racing, what started out as a partly overcast day with light Southerly winds soon materialized into a relay good day for sailing on the river with a steady 10 – 13 mph. The tide was fairly high but was not running much and did not factor into the racing.
We had some miner changes in wind direction and very little in the way of shifts to tack onto going upwind. As the wind freshened the line became more boat favored, this was quickly recognized by most of the fleet. I general went into the line late at 20 sec with some speed and just looked for a descent space to cut through, a coupe of times that boat favored end opened up enough space. The fleet seemed to split of early between the two sides of the course, for a time that left side was favored but going to the left became risky as it meant that you had to tack across boats to get onto that Starboard lay line. Going down wind the legs did not seem to be long enough with the triangle course to shake the fleet up, so it was just a case of protecting your inside rights for the mark rounding.
Thanks to Michel and helpers for running the races, I think his dogs were getting restless towards the end!
Laser Frostbite Series #1
I have won the highly coveted 3rd place write-up for the day. Below is my summary and the scores are attached.
First off I would like to congratulate Jim Klein for tying Len for first place for the day. I believe that this is his first time winning a day.
Today was a gorgeous day for frostbiting. Temps were in the 50s and the wind was around in the 5 range with maybe some puffs near 8. The RC was able to get off 4 races. We did a little of everything starting with a triangle, 2 olympics, and a final windward leeward. The breeze slowly died off as we stayed out on the water.
As for sailing, the races that we run for frostbiting are relatively short races so the start is important. You can screw it up a little and make out OK but in general you need to come off the line with speed and clean air. On a light air day like today, finding the breeze and staying in clean air are paramount. At the starts of the first 3 races, I decided that the pin end of the line was favored and went for it. It worked fairly well in all three races for me and with each race, more people joined me at the pin end. The last race had a small shift (from my view at least) and I think the line was very even. But the shift came in the last 30 seconds of the start so everyone was stuck where they were. Other than starts and clear air, the important thing on light air days is to be patent with your boat and not get frustrated.
I look forward to seeing all the new people out on the water the rest of the season. And remember that we are still sailing next Sunday!
Farley
PRSA Merchandise: Perfect for the Holidays!
Looking for for the perfect holiday gift for all of your sailing friends? Look no farther than our PRSA Merchandise Page! Just click the “PRSA Merchandise” link above to view the offerings. We have PRSA hats, tech-tops (men’s and women’s), mugs, and tide calendars available. We should be adding long-sleeve polo shirts soon as well. Place your orders now!
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
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.
Fall Series #7
Yet again we were given another windy day. This time with cold temperatures. Two brave Albacores came down to the marina but the decision was made to attempt a practice day instead of running races. Also as it turns out, the water level of the river was too shallow to launch the crash boats from the ramp. After launching the 16 and 1 Albacore, the decision was shortly made to cancel the “practice” and call it a day.
The last series of the fall is next weekend. In order to sail, we need to have someone sign up for RC! Also there are several boats that need 1 more day to qualify for the fall. Check your Series scores and make the decision to come out next week.