Jon did a great job of describing the regatta, but I'll add my view, which was much more distant. Laura and I arrived Friday afternoon, rigged the boat, had a drink and then went back to her mother's house for dinner. Batton Kenyon, our third crew, arrived sometime after 1:30 - I was well asleep.
The racing Saturday was exciting with the wind and chop building from race to race. We were hampered by a series of bad starts (except for one that had a general recall). Getting off a line with 60 aggressive boats is something I didn't do well. As a result, after 3-4 minutes, we were at least 100 yards behind the first row of boats, and the distance increased throughout the race. We were clearly too light for the 18+ kts that we were sailing in, and although I remembered Larry MacDonald winning the FD with his two kids 2 years ago, I couldn't simultaneously get enough speed and keep the boat flat.
We got the only reasonable start of the regatta in the 3rd race on Saturday, but we hesitated on a jibe, I fell into the boat, and then the boat fell into the water. Had a dickens of a time righting it; came to find out that the tip of the mast was stuck in the mud. The water must not have been much more than 4'. Lost a lot of stuff, but none expensive. Had a great ride back to the dock and joined all the others who had capsized or broken their mast and retired.
Sunday was a tough day. The NOR said that the tow would begin at 8:30 with races at 10, but the SI's said races at 11. So, we got towed out, had to wait around, got towed out into Barnegat Bay, and finally started racing after being on the water for 4 hours. The wind was already howling and we slogged the 1-1/2 upwind legs and then planed literally the whole way back to the leeward mark. Batton did a great job of keeping us on a plane and the boat on its feet. Then disaster struck on the first upwind leg of the second race. We tacked to port, crossed one boat and tried to duck Nabeel and failed. Big holes in both our boats, but Muller has done a great job repairing them.
Barnegat Bay is a great place to sail, and the NA's should be a lot of fun. The sea breeze is strong, and there's tide to contend with, as well as cigarette boats going up and down the Bay at full throttle. Take a heavy crew!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Duck Challenge Aug 22-23
Five Fleet 329 boats made the trip up I-95 for the annual Duck Challenge this past weekend. Jon, Jason W., Joan & Gary, Mark B. and I with our respective crews made for some serious fleet 329 competition. The Duck is always one of the most enjoyable events on the Dixie District circuit, not necessarily for dependable breeze but for their warm hospitality, easy access to the racecourse, always enjoyable cookout and party, and the barhopping. Everyone up at Harve DeGrace is so nice, we always have a great time and this year was no exception. 17 boats in all attended this years Duck Challenge.
Saturday’s light and variable breeze from the north made for some interesting racing. Shifts would appear and disappear with no discernable reason. You looked good one moment only to sail into the abyss and have the rest of the fleet sail around you the next moment. Fun stuff. Jason was fast from the start and paced everyone with two firsts in the first two races. Jon opened up with a 2nd & 4th while we struggled with a 7th and a 3rd. Races 3 & 4 we found our way to win both races. Jon would sail his drop race in race three with a second in race four. And sailing consistent was Joan & Gary who opened with a third and then had two fourths in race 3 & 4. Throw in Mark B. with a fifth in race two which was awesome in such tough conditions. OK, are you confused by all the numbers, I am. Jason led us by two points, with Jon 7 points back and Joan & Gary a few points behind Jon after Saturdays racing. Factor in a projected drop if we reach seven races and the scores were even tighter.
Saturday’s evening cookout as always was quite enjoyable. Normally you pick either a steak or salmon and you gather around the grill and cook it yourself. This year we had some nice volunteers who braved the wind and rain to cook for the competitors. Then it was off to the favorite local watering hole, McGregor’s, where one becomes part of a whole cast of characters.
Joan had plenty of energy to burn and hit the dance floor with Gary, not hubby Gary, but the ever-effervescent Gary Hofer. A sight to behold indeed, but luckily not on YouTube.
Sunday morning showed promise as the front had gone through and a nice northwesterly was blowing as we reached the club. But the promise would be fleeting, even though the first race of the day was held in a steady 8 knots of breeze. The remaining two races would be more of the patchy light stuff we had on Saturday. Jason struggled some on Sunday while Jon was hot out of the blocks and had two bullets in the first two races. Joan showed no ill effects from her dancing and opened with an 3rd & 2nd and we stayed close with an 2nd & 3rd. With a throw out going into race seven, Jon and I were tied. Race seven was as exciting as racing can be in two-four knots of breeze, we reached the weather mark ahead of Jon, Jon passed us downwind, we passed Jon upwind, and then were able to pass Pat Phelan with a hundred yards to the finish to win race seven and take a two point lead over Jon. With boats struggling to finish, the race committee decided to call it a day and a regatta. Final results were: 1st Steve 11 pts, 2nd Jon 13 pts, 3rd Jason 21 pts, 4th Joan 25 pts. Complete results can be found at:
http://www.lightningclass.org/fleet50/dixiedistrict/2009/DuckChallengeResults.htm
A special thanks to Pat Phelan and Tom Compton and everyone else up at Fleet 192 for putting on a good regatta. See you next year at the Duck.
Five Fleet 329 boats made the trip up I-95 for the annual Duck Challenge this past weekend. Jon, Jason W., Joan & Gary, Mark B. and I with our respective crews made for some serious fleet 329 competition. The Duck is always one of the most enjoyable events on the Dixie District circuit, not necessarily for dependable breeze but for their warm hospitality, easy access to the racecourse, always enjoyable cookout and party, and the barhopping. Everyone up at Harve DeGrace is so nice, we always have a great time and this year was no exception. 17 boats in all attended this years Duck Challenge.
Saturday’s light and variable breeze from the north made for some interesting racing. Shifts would appear and disappear with no discernable reason. You looked good one moment only to sail into the abyss and have the rest of the fleet sail around you the next moment. Fun stuff. Jason was fast from the start and paced everyone with two firsts in the first two races. Jon opened up with a 2nd & 4th while we struggled with a 7th and a 3rd. Races 3 & 4 we found our way to win both races. Jon would sail his drop race in race three with a second in race four. And sailing consistent was Joan & Gary who opened with a third and then had two fourths in race 3 & 4. Throw in Mark B. with a fifth in race two which was awesome in such tough conditions. OK, are you confused by all the numbers, I am. Jason led us by two points, with Jon 7 points back and Joan & Gary a few points behind Jon after Saturdays racing. Factor in a projected drop if we reach seven races and the scores were even tighter.
Saturday’s evening cookout as always was quite enjoyable. Normally you pick either a steak or salmon and you gather around the grill and cook it yourself. This year we had some nice volunteers who braved the wind and rain to cook for the competitors. Then it was off to the favorite local watering hole, McGregor’s, where one becomes part of a whole cast of characters.
Joan had plenty of energy to burn and hit the dance floor with Gary, not hubby Gary, but the ever-effervescent Gary Hofer. A sight to behold indeed, but luckily not on YouTube.
Sunday morning showed promise as the front had gone through and a nice northwesterly was blowing as we reached the club. But the promise would be fleeting, even though the first race of the day was held in a steady 8 knots of breeze. The remaining two races would be more of the patchy light stuff we had on Saturday. Jason struggled some on Sunday while Jon was hot out of the blocks and had two bullets in the first two races. Joan showed no ill effects from her dancing and opened with an 3rd & 2nd and we stayed close with an 2nd & 3rd. With a throw out going into race seven, Jon and I were tied. Race seven was as exciting as racing can be in two-four knots of breeze, we reached the weather mark ahead of Jon, Jon passed us downwind, we passed Jon upwind, and then were able to pass Pat Phelan with a hundred yards to the finish to win race seven and take a two point lead over Jon. With boats struggling to finish, the race committee decided to call it a day and a regatta. Final results were: 1st Steve 11 pts, 2nd Jon 13 pts, 3rd Jason 21 pts, 4th Joan 25 pts. Complete results can be found at:
http://www.lightningclass.org/fleet50/dixiedistrict/2009/DuckChallengeResults.htm
A special thanks to Pat Phelan and Tom Compton and everyone else up at Fleet 192 for putting on a good regatta. See you next year at the Duck.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
ACC's - Tom's River, NJ
This is coming a little late, but thought I'd share of few brief thoughts from the ACCs, held July 25-26 at Tom's River Yacht Club. What a tremendous 2 days of "atlantic coastal" sailing we were treated to. If you like breeze (which our heavy team does), it was absolutely ideal. Arrived fri night around 10:30 pm to drop off the boat and a few stragglers were still imbibing around a fire-ring overlooking the scenic Tom's River. Sat morning came fast and early, and we rigged up, launched and hooked up to the nearest tow for the long trip out to Barnegat bay. By the way, this is where next year's NA's will be, and I hear they plan on towing out to the race course every day, which is pretty cool. About the time we arrived at the sailing area, the sea breeze was starting to fill nicely. We sailed the first race in about 10-12 knots as I recall, but steadily building. The right was paying most of the time it seemed, and when we had a lane to get over to that side, the waves weren't as bad, and we seemed to pick up boats. At this point, I can't recall the details, but we had a mediocre first day and were in about 17th out of 59 boats. TRYC put on a great dinner at the club in some ideal weather for sitting outside and enjoying a few adult beverages. David Starck was leading, having won races 2 and 3, with Allan and Bill Fastiggi each trailing by 2 points. Given the 3 long, breezy races, most of the crowd seemed to retire fairly early.
Sunday started out with a tow out to the mouth of the river to sail on the "inside" course, but after one abandoned start in a dying westerly, the RC smartly rounded everyone up and towed to the Bay. Again the sea breeze delivered it's punch, and we got off another 2 races in 15-20 knots with some higher puffs. De-powering (except in the big waves) was critical, keeping the boat on it's feet, and staying in control downwind while trying to surf on as many waves as possible to keep up with the really fast guys. They seemed to have an extra gear downwind in the waves. We managed to hover around the low teens in both races, (with some not-so-good starts), to finish up 11th overall (losing the 10th place tiebreaker to Bill Bogardus). Dave Starck and Allan battled it out in the last race, Allan having won race 4 and taking the overall lead, but Dave won the last race convincingly to take back the regatta. The ride in the from race course on Sunday was possibly more fun than the actual racing, as we were planing almost the whole time, first under spin, then just tight reaching with jib. For those thinking about NAs next summer, the exhilarating sail in each day may be enough reason to go! Other Fleet 329 boats that attended were Geoff Becker who finished 4th, Steve (who had a jib halyard breakdown in the last race), Jason Werner who had a sweet 4th in the last race, Joe Friebele, and Gary and Joan Hurban. And the District sent a total of 17 boats, probably the best represented District at the regatta! TRYC is a fantastic place to sail and runs a great show, and it's only 3 hours away. Hope to see some of you at the Duck Challenge next.
Here's a Link to Results
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/acc.asp
Sunday started out with a tow out to the mouth of the river to sail on the "inside" course, but after one abandoned start in a dying westerly, the RC smartly rounded everyone up and towed to the Bay. Again the sea breeze delivered it's punch, and we got off another 2 races in 15-20 knots with some higher puffs. De-powering (except in the big waves) was critical, keeping the boat on it's feet, and staying in control downwind while trying to surf on as many waves as possible to keep up with the really fast guys. They seemed to have an extra gear downwind in the waves. We managed to hover around the low teens in both races, (with some not-so-good starts), to finish up 11th overall (losing the 10th place tiebreaker to Bill Bogardus). Dave Starck and Allan battled it out in the last race, Allan having won race 4 and taking the overall lead, but Dave won the last race convincingly to take back the regatta. The ride in the from race course on Sunday was possibly more fun than the actual racing, as we were planing almost the whole time, first under spin, then just tight reaching with jib. For those thinking about NAs next summer, the exhilarating sail in each day may be enough reason to go! Other Fleet 329 boats that attended were Geoff Becker who finished 4th, Steve (who had a jib halyard breakdown in the last race), Jason Werner who had a sweet 4th in the last race, Joe Friebele, and Gary and Joan Hurban. And the District sent a total of 17 boats, probably the best represented District at the regatta! TRYC is a fantastic place to sail and runs a great show, and it's only 3 hours away. Hope to see some of you at the Duck Challenge next.
Here's a Link to Results
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/acc.asp
Friday, July 17, 2009
CAD Districts July 11-12
The lure of sailing in the ocean and good competition (30+boats) was enough to entice Allan and I to take our teams up to Ocean City, NJ for the Central Atlantic Districts, held this past weekend. Ocean City Y.C. is home to Gidge and Chappy(Mr. Pinky fame), and they did a great job organizing the event and providing ample entertainment and libations.
Oh, and how was the sailing you ask? Saturday goes down as one of those days that you wish you could repeat throughout the sailing season, just about perfect! Three races were held in the ocean in a building southerly, first race wind about 12 knots, second race 15 knots, and third race 18 knots. Yes, the downwind legs in the third race were awesome. Surfing and planing, everyone came in from racing with big(s---a--) smiles on their faces. That's all I will remember from the weekend, though here's a snapshot of other regatta highlights. Blimp overhead,two boats capsize and break their masts, helicopter rescue, pork rolls, the long tow to the course, O.C. is a dry town?/?, dancing on Saturday night, current ripping through launching area, drifter on Sunday.
Like I said, Saturday was awesome . Allan and his team of Katie and Sarah Mergenthaler sailed great and won the regatta. My team included Todd Johnson and Sarah Evans and we sailed well, finishing fourth. I look forward to seeing everyone next week as we go back up to Jersey for the ACC's.
Oh, and how was the sailing you ask? Saturday goes down as one of those days that you wish you could repeat throughout the sailing season, just about perfect! Three races were held in the ocean in a building southerly, first race wind about 12 knots, second race 15 knots, and third race 18 knots. Yes, the downwind legs in the third race were awesome. Surfing and planing, everyone came in from racing with big(s---a--) smiles on their faces. That's all I will remember from the weekend, though here's a snapshot of other regatta highlights. Blimp overhead,two boats capsize and break their masts, helicopter rescue, pork rolls, the long tow to the course, O.C. is a dry town?/?, dancing on Saturday night, current ripping through launching area, drifter on Sunday.
Like I said, Saturday was awesome . Allan and his team of Katie and Sarah Mergenthaler sailed great and won the regatta. My team included Todd Johnson and Sarah Evans and we sailed well, finishing fourth. I look forward to seeing everyone next week as we go back up to Jersey for the ACC's.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
SSA Summer Series - Day 1
This past Saturday, June 20, our fleet had the first of our 3-day Summer series. Unfortunately, due to either the Father's Day holiday, kids and babies, or other summer plans, we had a small turnout of just five boats. Fred Mertes, a longtime Rehobeth Beach Lightning sailor, showed up with his great-looking 1962 woody, complete with wood rig and jumper struts. The mahogany interior was absolutely beautiful! The rest of the crowd included Joe Friebele, Mark Boaz, Steve Constants and myself. Saturday morning didn't look too promising when we got to the club, with T-storms in the area and rain. But at least there was the promise of wind. We headed out to area C, but the first race was abandoned on the first leg when a storm rolled in with some thunder and lightning in the area. We sailed back to the club, tied up the boats, and by the time we finished eating lunch in the clubhouse, the weather had cleared and there was a new south-easterly breeze building. So Ian Burman, PRO, sent us back out and set up a short course in the river.
From what I can recall, we thought there was better breeze towards the middle-left of the course, which was towards the center of the river, rather than on the right which put you kind of in the lee of Horn point and the far shoreline. So we set up and started beneath the fleet and sailed that out to the left until we thought we could cross Steve who was hipped up on us. When a small lefty came to us, we checked for Steve to go a little bow-down and then tacked. He tacked as well, and we got to the weather mark a couple boat-lengths ahead of them. From there we sailed a pretty conservative race, gybing to the inside early down the run. With the short course, we managed to hold on for the win. Joe was not far behind Steve.
In the second race, I believe we again rounded first, extended a bit on the run as the breeze built, but had a small problem with the spin sheet caught under the boat and Steve closed to within a BL or two by the top mark as we got that sorted out. The puffs were coming in from the upwind-right so an early gybe seemed to be the correct move. Steve was able to gybe a few seconds ahead of us and pull ahead down the run to take the race, with Joe again not far behind us. I recall Mark showing some nice speed as well going to windward.
In the last race of the day, things got a little weird. We started to leeward of the fleet again, but Steve showed nice speed and was able to hold us out past the layline. Joe, who hadn't sailed off the track like we had, had a nice leg and rounded the weather mark first. Steve and us gybed before Joe and slipped past down the left, and on the way back up, we found a shaft of breeze up the middle that for some crazy reason neither Joe nor Steve got. We were able to get bow out from Steve who was to our right, Joe tacked from the left back over to the right, and we hit some good pressure near the port tack layline to bring us into the mark ahead. We learned our lesson and gybed early this time to hold on down the final run. Joe had a good downwind leg and brought some breeze up with him to slip into second at the finish. At that point, some thunder could be heard in the distance, so the RC sent us in for the day.
All in all, we had some fun, tight racing on a day where we weren't sure if we'd get in much sailing at all. Once in at the club, we enjoyed the fine afternoon weather with some dark n' stormys on the cluhouse deck.
Let's get some more SSA boats out for the next Summer Series day on July 11, as well as the final day on August 1. Unfortunately, I will have to miss July 11 as we're heading to Camp Sea Gull in NC, where I first started sailing Lightnings, for an alumni Lightning regatta to raise money for "camperships" for under-priviliged children to attend camp.
From what I can recall, we thought there was better breeze towards the middle-left of the course, which was towards the center of the river, rather than on the right which put you kind of in the lee of Horn point and the far shoreline. So we set up and started beneath the fleet and sailed that out to the left until we thought we could cross Steve who was hipped up on us. When a small lefty came to us, we checked for Steve to go a little bow-down and then tacked. He tacked as well, and we got to the weather mark a couple boat-lengths ahead of them. From there we sailed a pretty conservative race, gybing to the inside early down the run. With the short course, we managed to hold on for the win. Joe was not far behind Steve.
In the second race, I believe we again rounded first, extended a bit on the run as the breeze built, but had a small problem with the spin sheet caught under the boat and Steve closed to within a BL or two by the top mark as we got that sorted out. The puffs were coming in from the upwind-right so an early gybe seemed to be the correct move. Steve was able to gybe a few seconds ahead of us and pull ahead down the run to take the race, with Joe again not far behind us. I recall Mark showing some nice speed as well going to windward.
In the last race of the day, things got a little weird. We started to leeward of the fleet again, but Steve showed nice speed and was able to hold us out past the layline. Joe, who hadn't sailed off the track like we had, had a nice leg and rounded the weather mark first. Steve and us gybed before Joe and slipped past down the left, and on the way back up, we found a shaft of breeze up the middle that for some crazy reason neither Joe nor Steve got. We were able to get bow out from Steve who was to our right, Joe tacked from the left back over to the right, and we hit some good pressure near the port tack layline to bring us into the mark ahead. We learned our lesson and gybed early this time to hold on down the final run. Joe had a good downwind leg and brought some breeze up with him to slip into second at the finish. At that point, some thunder could be heard in the distance, so the RC sent us in for the day.
All in all, we had some fun, tight racing on a day where we weren't sure if we'd get in much sailing at all. Once in at the club, we enjoyed the fine afternoon weather with some dark n' stormys on the cluhouse deck.
Let's get some more SSA boats out for the next Summer Series day on July 11, as well as the final day on August 1. Unfortunately, I will have to miss July 11 as we're heading to Camp Sea Gull in NC, where I first started sailing Lightnings, for an alumni Lightning regatta to raise money for "camperships" for under-priviliged children to attend camp.
Monday, June 15, 2009
2009 Dixie District Championship
Congratulatons to Allan Terhune, Katie Terhune, and Collin Kirby on winning the Dixie District Championship, held at Southern Maryland Sailing Association (SMSA), June 13-14. 21 boats competed, with 7 boats representing Annapolis - Fleet 329. Steve Constants and Jon Guth battled it out for 2nd, with the tie-breaker going to Jon this time. Peter Rich and Martin Hermida sailed with Jon, while Todd Johnson and Chloe Constants were on board with Steve.
Other Fleet 329 skippers were Joe Friebele, Jason Werner, Jason Cosler, and newcomer Mark Boaz.
The conditions were particularly light and shifty on saturday, and Sunday brought a bit more breeze, but with large velocity changes and huge shifts as well. The RC did a nice job to get 2 races in on Sat, and three on Sunday.
Next up for our fleet is the start of the Summer Series at SSA this coming Saturday. Hope to see a good turnout!
Other Fleet 329 skippers were Joe Friebele, Jason Werner, Jason Cosler, and newcomer Mark Boaz.
The conditions were particularly light and shifty on saturday, and Sunday brought a bit more breeze, but with large velocity changes and huge shifts as well. The RC did a nice job to get 2 races in on Sat, and three on Sunday.
Next up for our fleet is the start of the Summer Series at SSA this coming Saturday. Hope to see a good turnout!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
No Gas, May 16-17 - Who's Coming...
Greg Virgin
Steve Constants
Jon Guth
Joe Friebele
Jason Werner
Gary Hurban
Joan Hurban
Jason Cosler
Diana Lohmeyer
Jonathan Lange
Steve Constants
Jon Guth
Joe Friebele
Jason Werner
Gary Hurban
Joan Hurban
Jason Cosler
Diana Lohmeyer
Jonathan Lange
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Who's Coming - SSA Spring, April 18-19
Steve Constants
Jason Cosler
Jonathan Lange
Greg Virgin
Geoff Becker
Mark Boaz
Joan Hurban?
Gary Hurban?
Jon Guth (Sunday)
Allan Terhune (Sunday)
Joe Friebele (Sunday)
Jason Cosler
Jonathan Lange
Greg Virgin
Geoff Becker
Mark Boaz
Joan Hurban?
Gary Hurban?
Jon Guth (Sunday)
Allan Terhune (Sunday)
Joe Friebele (Sunday)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Fleet 329 at Southern Circuit
Fleet members Allan and Katie Terhune won the first leg of the Southern Circuit at the Deep South Regatta in Savannah over the weekend, moving up from 2nd after Saturday. Sailing with them was Fleet 50 boat grant sailor Collin Kirby. Here are links to the SC blog and Savannah results.
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7178
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/deepSouth-2009/results2009.asp
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7178
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/deepSouth-2009/results2009.asp
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
2009 Fleet 329 Schedule
Here is our Fleet 329 SSA Schedule:
April 18-19: Spring Series
May 16-17: George Shapiro No Gas Invitational
June 20: Summer Series I
July 11: Summer Series II
August 1: Summer Series III
September 20-21: Fall Series
October 17-18: Frigid Digit
Here are some other key regattas of 2009:
May 2-3: Doc Gilbert Potomac Cup
June 13-14: Dixie District Championship
July 25-26: ACCs, Tom's River, NJ
August 4-14: NA's, Sodus Bay, NY
August 22-23: Duck Challenge, Havre De Grace
September 11-18: World Championship, Burlington, VT
Here is a link to the full Dixie District Schedule:
April 18-19: Spring Series
May 16-17: George Shapiro No Gas Invitational
June 20: Summer Series I
July 11: Summer Series II
August 1: Summer Series III
September 20-21: Fall Series
October 17-18: Frigid Digit
Here are some other key regattas of 2009:
May 2-3: Doc Gilbert Potomac Cup
June 13-14: Dixie District Championship
July 25-26: ACCs, Tom's River, NJ
August 4-14: NA's, Sodus Bay, NY
August 22-23: Duck Challenge, Havre De Grace
September 11-18: World Championship, Burlington, VT
Here is a link to the full Dixie District Schedule:
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