The 2025 PRSA Spring Regatta was held May 24-25 in some great sailing conditions. 15 Albacores, 3 Flying Scots, and a Laser participated in the racing. Saturday saw gusty conditions with NW breezes in the hight teens, gusting into the high 20s at times. PRO Aaron Boesenecker and his RC crew (Dana Howe, Jim Graham and Dave McCaskill on Saturday; Jim Greenley, Jim Graham, and John Hart on Sunday) were able to get the Albacores 7 T-2 races (!) on Saturday. Sunday saw NW breezes but warmer temps and diminished wind velocity. The RC got the Albacores 6 more races (the Laser joined in for a few) and the Flying Scots 5 races.
Tag Archives: Washington DC Racing
Spring Regatta Registration Open
PRSA Spring Regatta – 05/24/2025 – 05/25/2025
Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend Annually
Potomac River Sailing Association
Washington Sailing Marina, Alexandria VA
Register Here: https://nextsailor.com/regatta/PRSASpringRegatta2025
Photo Credit: Nic Bogren
Potomac River Safety Zone Update
Hello PRSA Sailors,
This notification contains important information about the current restrictions on the Potomac River. The current Safety Zone is adjacent to National Airport, extending E-W from the airport shore to the navigation channel and N-S (roughly) from the end of Runway 33 (the gravel “bump out” in the river) to the southern tip of the airport. Please see the attached diagrams for reference (the zone is denoted by the “box” diagram on chart #1 and by the pink “T” symbols demarcating a box on chart #2, which is the current NOAA ECR Chart).
Entering the Safety Zone is prohibited. We have been in touch with The Captain of the Port (COTP) Maryland-National Capital Region and received the following information:
- There are no exceptions to the Safety Zone prohibitions. Being a sailboat needing to traverse the area does not exempt you from the exclusion zone rule.
- Entering the safety zone to avoid traffic in the channel is prohibited.
For the time being, please keep in mind that all river traffic will be using the marked channel on the east side of the river in this area. At PRSA, we are assessing what this might mean for our Spring Series and we are in contact with local officials. We will update you if/when we receive new information.
2024-2025 ILCA Frostbite #3
Sunday was our coldest and most prolific day of the young season. Race committee managed five races (with one shortened finish) in up-and-down wind and temperatures sitting in the low-40s. Overall, it was a pretty good day of racing. Here are a few things I noticed or focused on today.
I am relatively new to sailing on the Potomac, but it has lots of similarities to my native Deep Creek Lake. The wind was often light and the direction could change in an instant. I feel like a lot of my (modest) success today was based on skills I picked up to counter Deep Creek winds: constantly looking around, trying to find the next puff, and keeping the boat moving in the lulls. I was doing my best to stand up and survey the upwind leg during the start sequence so I had a good idea of where and when the first few puffs of the race would be. You can see the course more clearly from six feet above the water than from three. For instance, I saw the wind filling from the left at the start of race four and changed my start plan to get to that wind faster. It worked out and I was first to the weather mark.
Another thing I’ve been trying to work on is teamwork on downwinds. Sometimes it’s helpful to work with the boats in your pack to make ground on the clusters ahead of or behind you, ESPECIALLY in light air. I worked with both Lars and Kaitlyn at different points today to make sure we were communicating and staying out of each other’s air. You can always fight your battles at the mark and on upwinds and have more margin for error.
Last week, Farley highlighted Tom Hutton for footing slightly on a long upwind tack to get clear air and better boatspeed. I’d like to shoutout Kaitlyn Lucey for doing the same thing today and ultimately beating me (going from mid-pack to second in one leg) by doing the same thing. Laser sailors often try too hard to keep the boat on the knife’s edge of the wind. That’s not always the most VMG-friendly path to the mark, especially in low, shifty winds.
Final tip: wear warm clothing. I lost mobility in my toes sometime around the fourth start. Learn from my mistakes and dress for the weather.
Thank you David Metcalf and Mike Scardaville for running the races in tough conditions. Congrats to Steen for winning the day! Everyone have a good week, and I hope to see y’all next Sunday!
-Connor
2024-2025 ILCA Frostbite #2
Well today was a tough day. We had a mostly westerly that seemed to have oscillating directions of about +/-45 degrees at times and velocity chances from 2 to 10. Generally speaking the breeze was out of the west at about 5 knots I would guess though. The shifty conditions made racing tough with lots of position changes throughout the race and no one really owning the day.
Eva and Dan did a nice job running races and were able to get 4 races off in the tough conditions. They adjusted the windward mark and line after the first race which made things a bit more even for the shifts.
I do not really have any great tips for the day but would like to highlight a decision that Tom Hutton made in the last race. There were several of us stacked up at the leeward mark rounding and Tom and I rounded in 4th and 5th with 3 boats ahead of us. I had a nice tight rounding and managed to not be getting bad air from the 3 boats stacked in front of us and Tom was outside of me on the rounding. He chose to foot off some and get to clear air for the “upwind” beat which was mostly just point at the mark and get there. Several lifts occurred on the leg and I eventually found myself in bad air from the 3 boats ahead of me. Tom on the other hand had clear air all the way to the mark and won the leg and race due to his choice at the leeward mark. Just a reminder that pointing high and being inside at the mark is not always the best choice!
I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing who shows up on Sunday for Series #3!
Farley
2024-2025 ILCA Frostbite #1
On a puff and a shift: First 3rd place write-up of the season
To those who are new to frostbiting, it is our tradition that whoever gets 3rd place circulates a short write-up about the day, and I volunteered to do this first one. It was great to see 18 boats on a day when the forecast wasn’t exactly promising. Also great to see both familiar and new faces. The first gamble of the day was whether to race at all, and we gave it a go. After bobbing around with no wind from changing directions, we ended up with a slowly building southernly light breeze and had three good light-air races. Good on Farley and Tyler for calling when the wind direction stabilized, resetting the course, and getting us going. A few lessons from the sailing today:
Starting well and not early with light breeze and the current pushing us to windward is tricky. My plan was to stay a bit behind the line and make sure I have space to build up speed before the start. I didn’t execute any of the starts particularly well including being the sole boat across the line in race three – thanks to Farley or Tyler who called out a crisp “405”.
Being fast upwind required staying alert while the boat imitated the motions of a crib lulling you to sleep. I had the vang slightly looser than 2-blocked, a deep curve from the outhaul, and absolutely nowhere near using the cunningham. Finding clear air, doing your best to roll tack, not having to duck others unless really necessary helps. But the big gains were on calling the puffs and the shift. In my read, the puffs were particularly important, and they’re easier to spot than the shifts. It’s always a gamble whether you get it right, but you can improve the odds by looking at the water down river and at the boats ahead of you.
Downwind legs felt long with the current against us, but they seemed more predictable to me than the upwind legs. Speed came from keeping the wind flowing across the sail either by the lee or on a broad reach, i.e. avoiding going dead downwind, and keeping that slight windward heel that avoids weather helm. Also, with 18 boats, being on the left side is tactically helpful when you approach the mark.
Racing on the Potomac in light air has a crapshoot element, so take the knocks in your stride – sometimes it really works out. At the last leeward mark of the last race, I was well behind Jim and Laura. A strong puff and a nice shift helped me catch up so much that Jim had to yield to me on starboard just before the finish line, and I barely crossed the line ahead of him. I surely didn’t deserve that one, but it will help me feel better next time the puffs and shifts don’t go my way.
Altogether a nice and easy kick off to the frostbite season, and thanks to Farley and Tyler for running the races today.
Steen
PS: don’t forget to sign up for RC duty!
PRSA AGM & Awards Banquet Summary
Greetings Sailors,
The Potomac River Sailing Association held its Annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, November 16, at Alexandria Bier Garden. We had a wonderful time celebrating the 2024 racing year and planning for 2025 (things are always more fun with Bier and Bratwurst!). Many, many thanks to our PRSA Social Chair, Natalie Rehberger, and our PRSA Secretary, Melissa Morgan, for all of the work that they did to organize a fantastic event!
You can read a summary of the meeting proceedings here. You’ll also find some fantastic photos taken by Kaitlyn on Facebook. Final racing results from 2024 are posted on our results page. I’m grateful for all of the people who stepped up to volunteer time, effort, and knowledge this year and am grateful for those who have stepped up for the coming year. Here are a few highlights from the meeting:
Perpetual Trophy Awardees
- Founder’s Trophy: Nabeel Alsalam
- Nabeel Alsalam “More Boats on the Water” Award: Stew Harris & Mike Scardaville
- Yates Dowell III Award: Aaron Boesenecker
- Fleet Captains Award: Nelson Pemberton
- Norman C. Shaller Award: Marty Hublitz
- Len Penso Award: Barney Harris
- Katherine Hearst Award: Eva Hogan
Your 2025 PRSA Executive Committee
- Commodore: Aaron Boesenecker
- Vice Commodore: Nabeel Alsalam
- Rear Commodore: Tyler Phillips
- Treasurer: Mike Scardaville
- Secretary: Ed Ryan
Good luck to all of our frostbite sailors as the frostbite season starts. Please keep an eye on your email and on this website for more updates from PRSA!
2024 Fall Series #4 Oct 6
With nothing but glass as far as the eye could see, Dana Howe (PRO) postponed for an hour at the dock. At noon he sent the mark boat out to look at the ripples starting to appear to the south. It was still glassy looking north. The sea breeze kicked in, boats put in, and a building southerly carried the fleet up to the race area. At 1315 boats were racing in winds steady from the south at 10 in “it don’t get any better than this” conditions. ”
Many thanks to Gonzalo helping Dana on the signal boat and to Justin and Nic for spectacular mark-boating and boat towing! Nic also took some great photos–thank you!
Call for Executive Committee Officer Nominations
PRSA Sailors,
We are seeking nominations for vacant and soon-to-be vacant Executive Committee positions. Specifically, Vice Commodore and Secretary. You can read the position descriptions in Article IV of our PRSA Bylaws at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hTChVfws3VvGSUgKhIOBLU5gaqIOs2Xr/view?usp=sharing.
As an all-volunteer organization we rely on the idea that everybody steps up to take a turn at volunteering for our various positions so that we can spread these service obligations around, learn from new people in new roles, and not be reliant on the same small cast of individuals each year. Without folks willing to donate a bit of time and effort, we would not exist. Please let us know if you are interested.
The election for ExCom positions will be held at our Annual General Meeting & Awards Ceremony (November 16; precise location and time TBD))
PRSA Fall Series #3 (29 September) CANCELLED
PRSA Sailors:
Due to several unresolved maintenance issues, including the motor on the 19′ skiff (it is not pumping/spitting water) and issues with some of our other equipment, we will have to cancel racing this Sunday. I know this is disappointing, but it is also a consequence of being reliant on a very few people (who also have full regular lives and full time jobs) to keep everything up and running.
I really want to thank Nabeel Alsalam, Bob Gotthardt, and Will Phillippe for the extra time they have volunteered over the past weeks to try to diagnose and replace/repair various things. Unfortunately we’re not there yet with the motor on the 19. Hopefully we can get things repaired to resume racing on October 6 with Fall Series #4 (note: we also need a PRO for October 6).
Looking ahead, we will need some extra volunteer hands to help with equipment maintenance (including some more basic tasks such as patching marks, replacing some lines/tackle on marks, and more–we’re compiling a list). Please let us know if you can help.
Best,
Aaron
P.S. — if you do decide to go for a sail on Sunday, please be aware that a power boat rally is scheduled to make its way up and down the river on Sunday afternoon: https://piratesguidetoboating.com/trump-boat-parade-sept-29/