Flying Scots enjoy the steady breeze at DIYC

I know what you are saying "There's no such thing as steady breeze at Davis Island" which is true 99% of the time. We just did the 1% day! The breeze was both steady in velocity and direction.

Here's proof for the non-believers

One thing about the chart; the yellow directional arrows were off a bit, maybe more than a bit, more like about 100 degrees. We started at 2 pm in a westerly, maybe 270 - 280 (but we left our compass at home) and just enough for some micro-whitecaps. The W/L course was short with only about 20 minutes needed to finish the 4 leg races. I think we did 6 races but it might have been 7, hard to keep track. I do remember we started with a last (we decided it was time to practice sailing over the spin sheet) and finished with a first.

It was a little strange to be sailing again at DI, seems like a really long time since we did. This is our home fleet but it seems there have been a variety of very excellent reasons why we have't been able to sail. Hard to beleive but it may be like 6 months or so...

Here is Andy's official report;

Saturdays practice had 10 teams on the premises and 8 out on the line. Dave and Kim Thinel # 812, Mark Taylor with Dean Bell #4321, Jeff and Amy Linton #4925, Al Thompson and Cameron Salmon # 504, Andy and Lisa Hayward #38, Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher # 5026, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron # 4156, Chris Morgan and Crew # 2052, Keith Lockey and Darren sailed # 3185 near us but did not race, and Bill Adikes # 3998, never got it wet.

The weather was the best I can remember, if not perfect, a full hike, vang on Westerly with fairly smooth water. (Although the studs on #4321 did not appear to be hiking!)

Big thanks to Dave Clement and Andrew Fuddy for some super Race Committee! Here is the blow by blow from them;

Race #1

Pack bunched up at the pin for the first start of the day. Amazingly, there was not one boat called OCS. Was this a practice race? A left shift helped the boats on the left get ahead and #4925 rounded first and never looked back, winning the race. They were followed by #2052 and #4321.

Race #2

All clear with #38 winning the start. Nice start! It appeared there was a port starboard issue between #4925 and #4321. You must have a plan in case the other boat does not respond to a ‘tack or cross’ request. It appeared 5026 or 4321 rounded first. At this point there are two packs with tight racing in each. #38 is working low on the run and is looking good until Thomas the train showed up to steal ALL of the breeze. #4321 and #4925 managed to escape the chaos (an understatement) at the leeward mark. #4925 was able to sail a little higher and eventually lee bow #4321 and take the lead which would last till the finish.

Race #3

General recall after RC calling the line stated, “There all over!”.

Second start was clean except for #4321 who was OCS.

We think #504 rounded first, but 5026 definitely had the chute flying first and lead the pack to the leeward mark. Somehow #4925 passed #5026 at the rounding and led the fleet up the second beat. The finish was #4925, #5026 and #38.



Race #4

All clear with Al and Cameron really, really, really close. Nice start! Three boats take the left side and 4 to the right. #38 is the first to the mark from the left hand side. Then #504 and #4321. There is some separation to the next pack. #504 rounds the leeward mark in first. Up the beat, there is better breeze on the left hand side. #4321 is smoking the fleet up the beat and extends the lead. Get the chute up!!!!!!!!! A good gybe coming into the finish and while crossing the line, the skipper hails, “I GOT YA!!!”

Race #5

Clean start, but just barely. Either a very aggressive fleet or better yet, “It was the current pushing us over.” –Al Thompson #4925 rounded first and held on the lead for the win. #504 decided to move the weather mark a little to the left. Thanks guys!


Race #6

There is much debate over whether or not this race counted due to the horrible line and windward mark placement. I guess the RC can’t get it right every time. There are some rumors that the two boats near the pin end of the line were over, but no flags were flown. #812 had a nice beat and were first to the windward mark followed closely by the pack. With blistering speed, #5026 passed #4925 downwind and rounded in third behind #812 and #504. #812 won the race with #504 in second.


Back to Andy; The shorter courses and a practice format kept the racing tight, and brought out the aggressive side of some teams (Guilty!) But we all got in some badly needed reps to help us prepare for the Thanksgiving Regatta.

The Lintons did their thing, but Mark and Deano got them in a race, did someone else get them? and I think most of the teams lead a race or was close to leading.



R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Tot

#4925- 1 1 1 2 1 5 =11

#5026- 5 3 2 6 3 3 =22

#812- 8 5 4 5 2 1 =25

#504- 4 6 5 4 6 2 =27

#2052- 2 4 6 7 5 4 =28

#4321- 3 2 ocs 8 1 dnf 8 dns 7 =29

#38- 6 7 3 raf 8 raf 8 dns 7 =39

#4156- 7 8 dns 7 dns 7 dns 7 dns 7 =43



The gang hit Tates but alas, the Dominoes stayed in the box, next time!

So far it's only the Lintons and the Haywards present on the online registration list for the DIYC Thanksgiving Regatta, it's November 28th and 29th register now!

This is the most words ever for a fleet race, thanks Dave C.!

Sarasota Smash!

Remember when you and your sisters and brothers were little and mom wasn't home and you took turns in the Maytag on 'full wash' ? It was like that.

The wind graph for Saturday in Sarasota

The hurricane Ida edition of the Fl series took place this past weekend at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Attendance was off this year as sailors fell into 4 categories...

-Those that showed up and sailed

-Those that showed up, left their boats on the trailer, and jumped on someone else’s boat (to break it)

-Those that showed up and decided better of it once they saw the breeze on the bay

-and lastly those (including our district gov) that looked at the weather on the web and stayed home with the 20 knot flu!!



The fleet was down to nine boats that made the quick sail to the race course in ~20 knots of building breeze. The prestart took its toll with Mike Smith dropping his mast in Sarasota bay without doing any significant boat damage (hey, kind of like BMW Oracle). With breakdowns taking a second boat before the start, 7 boats made it through the start line. Jim Egan, sailing with Richard and John, hit the line with speed for 90 seconds of glory before the familiar sound on a boom going pop. It appears that Jim had sucked down an energy gel just before the start and had not observed the mandatory waiting period before putting his hands on the vang line.. After that it was a long sail back to the club under jib only (upwind).

The story for the rest of race one (and the weekend) was Robbie Brown and Billy Icely. They took off upwind, separated, from the fleet and were never challenged. Marshall and Chuck were the only chute spotted on the run and demonstrated that sailing the without a pole was the order for these conditions.

Race 2 was much like the first with Robbie & Billy putting on a clinic, some fast downwind legs, and Jim and crew trying to get to the club under jib. Fred and crew had a nice run as they were the first boat of the day to take their spinnaker pole out of hiding.

The decision to have a 3rd race was met with mixed reactions from some. The well rested crew on the Egan boat (new boom in hand) saw the opportunity to hike hard and take advantage of the crews that had been working hard all day. Jumping out to an early lead they looked as they would be able to take it easy only to break the jib sheets twice, sending crew John Domagala in the water with the second break. Jim and Richard managed to fish him out in time to jury rig the sheet and round the mark just ahead of Ron Pletsch who was riding a nice lift out of the left corner (surprise to see him out there, NOT!!). The downwind leg was close enough to be quite exciting with Jim and company holding on to the lead ahead of the Marshall and Robbie who were showing the leg of the course where they were happy to be 2 up. Fred Strammer and crew took a knockdown in the 3rd race that ended their day a bit early, but in good spirits.

The Sat Dinner was excellent but the beating everyone took on the water ensured that most crews were either in bed or the Jacuzzi by 9PM.

Race committee extraordinaire Alan Broadribb made it clear Sunday AM that the races would start on time Sunday due to the forecast build. It worked out quite well as they were able to get everyone out to the course and actually start the race early, before the 30 knot puffs filled in.

The breeze picked up a little on Sunday

The race started out much like the prior race with Jim and crew coming off the line fast with Robbie and Billy not far behind. Jim let Robbie split tacks to the right where he found a right shift and a lead he would not give back. Jim and crew held in there for 2nd with Marshall winning the battle for 3rd. Fred & crew played it safe Sunday (already having earned the swim badges for the weekend) but after seeing Chris Morgan and Jed Lee on the Linton boat pass them on the 1st run with the chute up, they got the last laugh sailing by them on the 2nd run after a flamboyant capsize under spinnaker. No, Jeff and Amy didn’t make it this weekend, but the story tells better when you talk about planning by the death rolled Linton boat on the way to the finish.

Death Roll fall out

With the breeze continuing to build and Robbie and Billy untouchable, Alan and company called it a day. The hardest sail of the weekend was upwind back to the squadron in 25-30 knot puffs. The fleet limped there under sounds only a sailmaker could love, heavily flogging sails.

Thanks to everyone who helped, Alan and his crew for RC, Lainie for arranging the fine dinner on Sat and Lunch Sun. Thanks to Jim Egan for painting the trophies and Lastly, thanks to Nigel Vick for not only helping with crash boat but providing the Great Photos

Fall 48 Wrap Up

We are back home with FS 4901 and a pile of soaked sails to dry out. The drive home was uneventful which is good. We stopped for dinner Sunday and got a room without using Priceline which seemed a little wasteful with the good luck we've had. We arrived home early afternoon today to sunny weather and an expected high of 82 degrees, quite a change from Lake Norman.

Weather aside, we loved the club and could add that area to our ever growing list of summer getaway spots! We plan to return there again next fall for the FSSA Wife/Husband Regatta scheduled for October 9 and 10, 2010.

If you would like to see a little video clip from Sunday's race, here you go. It was taken from the clubhouse so it is a little far off but well worth watching.



One observation from being there and watching the video is Allan Terhune's (FS5761) technique is great in all conditions. This regatta really was a battle for second, third, etc, the winner was never in question.

The "Oops" boat in the video was our new boat which was being sailed by Hans Nordanus and John Wake. Hans was kind enough to bring the boat from Annapolis to LNYC where I could pick it up and take it back home to FL. It was good to see them going fast, hopefully I'll be able to do the same. Sadly, we discovered the mast was bent from the capsize, it is a gradual bend just below the topping lift tang. Harry Carpenter has a reputation for being an expert "mast straightener" so we will be calling on him in the near future. I am fairly certain it can be made good as new.

A limerick (inspired by Amy Miller) in honor of it all...

Scot racing at Lake Norman was grand
On Sunday it got out of hand
John and Hans went for a swim
From a boat owned by Dave and Kim
At least the mast didn't get stuck in the sand.

We don't need a bow bag!

Before we get to the racing business the Pricline/Fairfield deal was most excellent dude. I almost felt a little guilty about paying so little for a nice scene, Nah. Not really...

So Sunday morning is a little chilly and still very grey, the Weather Channel reports the local temp at 51 and wind NNW 13. Too be honest, it did not seem that cold when we left the hotel, maybe we have been hot too long, not sure. We are sure about a 9:30 warning signal being too freaking early. Things happen, or they should, but they take some time and 9:30 is not enough. The starting line is mostly downwind from the club, a good thing for us, as we sail toward the line we cannot decide if the class flag is up or not. On our way we see pass several boats returning to the club, cold and wet is the word. The prep flag is obvious, and though we are some distance away we are moving well and looking good for making the start. We arrive at the start line to a hale from our pal Mike Miller "minute 30" were are good to go. The breeze is up and the the start is clean. The only nagging thing is Kim heard the sound of something metal landing on the foredeck and looking quickly, thinks it may have been a clevis pin falling over the side. Hmmmmm, we have started and are on Staboard tack, that clevis pin is good. She asks me if I heard it and I really didn't, I'm hoping it is just the sound of a different boat. Time to tack to port and I hold my breath a little, tack finished and the rig is up so we are safe. We make our way up the beat and a after taking a few heavy puffs decide to head for the club which is easy since it means staying on starboard and sailing right into the cove. Days like this make sailing a borrowed boat a little nerve racking, definently the kind of day when a mishap can cause serious damage.

Several of our friends did very well today, and were pleased with their finishes. We watched some of the race and saw Joe and Stacey flying their chute after rounding the windard mark in second place, and Hans and John were kicking butt in our "new" boat FS4901 (they had towed it to Lake Norman for us, interestingly, Chris Smith, the previous owner, was crewing for Alan Terhune - they were in first, of course). We were busy putting the boat away, so we stopped spectating. Turns out, Hans and John were to be busy soon, too. The race was cut short, after the second upwind leg, so we met the folks coming in. There was a comment or 2 about H & J giving us a nice, clean boat. I first thought they were talking about the waves and spray, and the fresh water...then I heard they were probably cold, and someone said something about John getting his swim in for the morning. All of these comments were leading to a conclusion that I really did not want to think about. We can now confirm the lake is at least 25 feet deep, it's true, they were chilly, and had been towed in, and the boat was much cleaner than when we saw it on Sat. am when Hans had said the fateful words that would prove to haunt him..."Naw, we won't need a bow bag."

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