Showing posts with label Florida District Championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida District Championship. Show all posts
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Lake Eustis, Day 2
Sunday morning was clear, cool and calm with some forecasts of about 5 knots of wind. After a short postponement it filled in so we all hit the water, we'll most of us. Ron did the boat launch about 10 feet short of the water trick. It sounds really bad but the times I've seen this done not much damage is really done. A bunch of us picked up the stern while Ron cranked it back on the trailer and all was well. The is some heavy negative karma so we decided then to steer clear of the black boat!
The first race was the highlight for us as we flirted with winning it. On the first run we passed Zeke to take the lead and so he returned the favor at the end of the second run to grab the bullet, one of several. We were happy with a 2 though and think there is a lot to the idea of starting with the rest of the fleet.
The last race was a real scramble for us, we had a poor first beat and got seriously deep. Got a couple on the run as the lake was getting seriously flakey. The second beat was a lot better, we spotted one puff that looked like an auto tack so we were ready and hit it just right and that seemed to launch us. A pile of boats hit a hole near the weather mark and we hit another shift and it turned into a 4 th.
Being RV ers at these things we often rely on our friends for ramp launching/retrieving the boat. On the way out we called on Andy to help us out. He backs the trailer in, stops with the axel still dry so I walk out to attach the strap to the bow eye. I just get the hook on when we start backing into the water rather quickly! I turn to holler obscenities at Andy and notice his truck is not moving but the trailer is. Uh oh. As the trailer continues to disappear I grab the winch handle and try to hang on. This and the boat as an obstacle keeps the trailer from disappearing completely, so we straighten things up and hope the cameras were not at the ready! The culprit; 2 inch trailer plus a 1 7/8 inch ball plus someone standing out near the end of the trailer and voila! or, negative karma.
Congratulations to Zeke Horowitz and his dad Jay for a great regatta and really solid win! Mark and Andy were second filled by David Ames, Tom McNally and us.
Next up is Tampa March 8 and 9. Out.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Lake Eustis, day 1
Lake Eustis
Happy Valentine's Day, all!
The dogs knew something was going on today with all the packing and repeated trips in and out of the house! We were glad to be taking them with us, I think they were happy too.
We arrived at LESC around 2:00 this afternoon, got the boat ready, and watched a couple of Wayfarers try to sail in no wind. It was a beautiful afternoon to be setting up the boat. Calm wind, sunny skies. T-shirt weather in Feb, not bad! We'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us tomorrow! The last few days the forecast has become less good, which means not as warm and maybe too much wind.
Fun, "extravagant" dinner served up at The Troff, a walkable local fave. Only the most romantic for Valentine's! (Can't believe they spell it that way!)
To those of you up north, it's no biggie, but were glad we packed the flannel sheets, blankets and down comforters to keep us warm.
During the night the breeze kicked up and was coming in straight off the lake. Hard to believe but it was strong enough to be jiggling the RV a bit. This is not a sound sleep inducing thing. Then at about daybreak a little rain squall came through, thoughts of packing it in and hitting the road were setting in. After the squall the breeze kicked around to the northwest and it looked a lot like last year. RC did a little postponement since the forecast had the breeze dropping a bit. This proved to be a wise move, an hour or so later we were getting off the dock for a little racing.
In what is not at all wise, we checked in and did some upwind work, a little too much. Not hearing any of the signals, duh, we were upwind in a stiff breeze! Then looking down at the pack of scots and we have the "that looks an awful lot like the start of a sailboat race" horrifying realization. What a great way to start a regatta! So the sail down to the line takes forever, not really but it seems like forever, but we start among the sounds for the Wayfarers sequence. Ugh. Wtf. Dfl by a lot.
Somehow that turned into an eighth after a particularly fun planing spinnaker run.
In the second race we start at the boat thinking the right side is it. Sure of it in fact. This is a good thing. The bad thing was we were a little early and when you are two feet from the RC, well, you know. The iffy thing was we knew we were a tad early so we dipped back, thinking we may be good we start. Then there's that sound, but no flag, now what? Go back, don't go back, go back, d..... We are side by side with David Ames (sailing one of my former boats) and my thoughts return to hitting the right side. I am also thinking he has the same idea so the heck with restarting and we tack to port. Umm, a few minutes later and no one else seems to think this is a good idea. Undeterred we stick with it and hit the right side hard, solidly into Ron territory. It didn't work and we get to the top around tenth with David crossing us by about 200 boat lengths, or so. A couple decent runs later and we finish 6. We'll take that, but for the ocs fears. We had a little delay while waiting for the wayfarers to finish so we cozy up to the boat for some small talk. We manage to work in the question of "gee were there any ocs boats in that last race?" The RC said no, Bonus! Then he commented that had the I flag been up we would be out. I knew that.
The third race was generally lighter except for a fun little plane downwind. It was also getting more Lake Eustis ish, a word? Probably not, but you been here, you know. If not, think about sailing along in 15 knots and seconds later you are in a hole and watching the fleet sail away. We end up with a four so we can't complain.
After three races and one day we have Zeke Horowitz first, David Ames second, Mark Taylor third and so on.
We are battening down for a low in the high thirties Saturday night and wind gusting to 4 on Sunday. See you then.
Happy Valentine's Day, all!
The dogs knew something was going on today with all the packing and repeated trips in and out of the house! We were glad to be taking them with us, I think they were happy too.
We arrived at LESC around 2:00 this afternoon, got the boat ready, and watched a couple of Wayfarers try to sail in no wind. It was a beautiful afternoon to be setting up the boat. Calm wind, sunny skies. T-shirt weather in Feb, not bad! We'll see what Mother Nature has in store for us tomorrow! The last few days the forecast has become less good, which means not as warm and maybe too much wind.
Fun, "extravagant" dinner served up at The Troff, a walkable local fave. Only the most romantic for Valentine's! (Can't believe they spell it that way!)
To those of you up north, it's no biggie, but were glad we packed the flannel sheets, blankets and down comforters to keep us warm.
During the night the breeze kicked up and was coming in straight off the lake. Hard to believe but it was strong enough to be jiggling the RV a bit. This is not a sound sleep inducing thing. Then at about daybreak a little rain squall came through, thoughts of packing it in and hitting the road were setting in. After the squall the breeze kicked around to the northwest and it looked a lot like last year. RC did a little postponement since the forecast had the breeze dropping a bit. This proved to be a wise move, an hour or so later we were getting off the dock for a little racing.
In what is not at all wise, we checked in and did some upwind work, a little too much. Not hearing any of the signals, duh, we were upwind in a stiff breeze! Then looking down at the pack of scots and we have the "that looks an awful lot like the start of a sailboat race" horrifying realization. What a great way to start a regatta! So the sail down to the line takes forever, not really but it seems like forever, but we start among the sounds for the Wayfarers sequence. Ugh. Wtf. Dfl by a lot.
Somehow that turned into an eighth after a particularly fun planing spinnaker run.
In the second race we start at the boat thinking the right side is it. Sure of it in fact. This is a good thing. The bad thing was we were a little early and when you are two feet from the RC, well, you know. The iffy thing was we knew we were a tad early so we dipped back, thinking we may be good we start. Then there's that sound, but no flag, now what? Go back, don't go back, go back, d..... We are side by side with David Ames (sailing one of my former boats) and my thoughts return to hitting the right side. I am also thinking he has the same idea so the heck with restarting and we tack to port. Umm, a few minutes later and no one else seems to think this is a good idea. Undeterred we stick with it and hit the right side hard, solidly into Ron territory. It didn't work and we get to the top around tenth with David crossing us by about 200 boat lengths, or so. A couple decent runs later and we finish 6. We'll take that, but for the ocs fears. We had a little delay while waiting for the wayfarers to finish so we cozy up to the boat for some small talk. We manage to work in the question of "gee were there any ocs boats in that last race?" The RC said no, Bonus! Then he commented that had the I flag been up we would be out. I knew that.
The third race was generally lighter except for a fun little plane downwind. It was also getting more Lake Eustis ish, a word? Probably not, but you been here, you know. If not, think about sailing along in 15 knots and seconds later you are in a hole and watching the fleet sail away. We end up with a four so we can't complain.
After three races and one day we have Zeke Horowitz first, David Ames second, Mark Taylor third and so on.
We are battening down for a low in the high thirties Saturday night and wind gusting to 4 on Sunday. See you then.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Jeff Penfield Regatta, Sarasota Sailing. Squadron
Well, we certainly haven't done much (any) sailing since NAC, and we definitely haven't been blogging about what we HAVE been doing...till now!
This is the Sarasota weekend, State Series #2, The Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta. State Series #1 in Miami was won by Sarasota's
own, Ron Pletsch!
During any normal summer, we would fleet race in Tampa or Sarasota occasionally, but primarily we would try to keep cool. This summer, we had a ton of rain curtailing some sailing activities, and we decided to do something a little different...Kim applied for a job transfer from Largo Medical Center to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, instigating a new activity...searching for a new home in the Sarasota area. The start date was scheduled for September, so we were very busy during June, July, August weekends looking at houses, and during the week, scouring the realty websites.
Finally, we found the neighborhood we love, and a house that suited most of our needs. In the meantime, Dave's parents visited for almost 2 months and found a builder and a model they love and are beginning their journey moving from Scottsdale, AZ.
So, we have a contract on a house in Bradenton. Due to some complications on the seller's side, we weren't able to close on the initial set date of Oct. 7. Some lawer-y and judge-type things have to happen, and closing is now set for Nov 15. In the meantime, we closed on the Dunedin house on Fri, Nov. 1, so we had to get our stuff out! We worked out a program with the owners of the next house, and we are storing our stuff in the garage. That big move happened last weekend and Dave had to go through quite a time with the Uhaul folks and some pretty crappy customer service. The initial truck leaked all of it's brake fluid on the driveway (fortunately, NOT on the highway). Several thousand phone calls later, he went to the assigned pick up place for a new truck with Beau (thank goodness he was helping!), and was told they had nothing for him. He went to the place where he picked up the first truck, and they did have a replacement. Then Dave had to progress with unloading and loading. Kim eventually came home, and we did some more loading, moved into the RV, and finished loading on Saturday am. By early afternoon, we were on the road to Bradenton, and unloaded the truck with the help of Beau, Lainie and Marshall. Lainie and Marshall have been a great help through all of this, so has Ron. Our power boat and Sunfish have been at Lainie and Marshall's, Kim stayed there, too, while she started work. (Kim totally made out on the deal. Dave stayed home and did the hard part of packing, while Kim rested at L&M's.) Ron helped store and transport the Scot!!
Dave made a trip down with the van every day this past week with more loads of stuff to empty the house. Thursday, we left the CRV at the Bradenton house, drove to Dunedin in the van, closed Friday am, and Dave drove the RV with Kim following in the van to the Squadron and got ready to race!
Friday night, the Tampa gang arrived and we all had a nice get together near the barbeque area while the Sarasota kids celebrated Halloween in the pavilion. Saturday came bright and early, but maybe not so bright, a storm loomed offshore and we kept watch on the radar while the PHRF fleet from Sarasota Yacht Club and the Scow fleet from here attempted to start races. The Scot fleet was not scheduled to start till 12:30 and calmer heads prevailed and postponement till after the storm was called. Some of the boats from the other fleets made it to their courses, but turned around and came back due to the storm. the Scots made it out to the racecourse and started the first race in very light conditions. Those conditions went from light to drifting, and the race was abandoned. The wind shifted north, the RC changed course, and we sailed 2 races in fairly light air. The cold front went through making for lovely sleeping conditions, and with the extra hour of sleep, we were refreshed and almost ready for the heavier winds today. We sailed 2 races, watched a couple of crew members on other boats go swimming, (great recovery David and PJ!) and one boat capsized, and a couple of boats broke things...The RC adjusted the line since the mark boat was busy with the capsize and we started a third. We were reluctant participants in this one, but off we went.
A successful regatta, with Zeke and Jay Horowitz pulling off 2 spectacular bullets today to win the event, the establishment of a Charlie Fowler Memorial Award, and John and Susan Domagala winning the Jeff Penfield Award in an emotional ceremony. Good job to all the Sarasota volunteers and Bob Twinem Race Chair and Fleet Captain!!
This is the Sarasota weekend, State Series #2, The Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta. State Series #1 in Miami was won by Sarasota's
own, Ron Pletsch!
During any normal summer, we would fleet race in Tampa or Sarasota occasionally, but primarily we would try to keep cool. This summer, we had a ton of rain curtailing some sailing activities, and we decided to do something a little different...Kim applied for a job transfer from Largo Medical Center to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, instigating a new activity...searching for a new home in the Sarasota area. The start date was scheduled for September, so we were very busy during June, July, August weekends looking at houses, and during the week, scouring the realty websites.
Finally, we found the neighborhood we love, and a house that suited most of our needs. In the meantime, Dave's parents visited for almost 2 months and found a builder and a model they love and are beginning their journey moving from Scottsdale, AZ.
So, we have a contract on a house in Bradenton. Due to some complications on the seller's side, we weren't able to close on the initial set date of Oct. 7. Some lawer-y and judge-type things have to happen, and closing is now set for Nov 15. In the meantime, we closed on the Dunedin house on Fri, Nov. 1, so we had to get our stuff out! We worked out a program with the owners of the next house, and we are storing our stuff in the garage. That big move happened last weekend and Dave had to go through quite a time with the Uhaul folks and some pretty crappy customer service. The initial truck leaked all of it's brake fluid on the driveway (fortunately, NOT on the highway). Several thousand phone calls later, he went to the assigned pick up place for a new truck with Beau (thank goodness he was helping!), and was told they had nothing for him. He went to the place where he picked up the first truck, and they did have a replacement. Then Dave had to progress with unloading and loading. Kim eventually came home, and we did some more loading, moved into the RV, and finished loading on Saturday am. By early afternoon, we were on the road to Bradenton, and unloaded the truck with the help of Beau, Lainie and Marshall. Lainie and Marshall have been a great help through all of this, so has Ron. Our power boat and Sunfish have been at Lainie and Marshall's, Kim stayed there, too, while she started work. (Kim totally made out on the deal. Dave stayed home and did the hard part of packing, while Kim rested at L&M's.) Ron helped store and transport the Scot!!
Dave made a trip down with the van every day this past week with more loads of stuff to empty the house. Thursday, we left the CRV at the Bradenton house, drove to Dunedin in the van, closed Friday am, and Dave drove the RV with Kim following in the van to the Squadron and got ready to race!
Friday night, the Tampa gang arrived and we all had a nice get together near the barbeque area while the Sarasota kids celebrated Halloween in the pavilion. Saturday came bright and early, but maybe not so bright, a storm loomed offshore and we kept watch on the radar while the PHRF fleet from Sarasota Yacht Club and the Scow fleet from here attempted to start races. The Scot fleet was not scheduled to start till 12:30 and calmer heads prevailed and postponement till after the storm was called. Some of the boats from the other fleets made it to their courses, but turned around and came back due to the storm. the Scots made it out to the racecourse and started the first race in very light conditions. Those conditions went from light to drifting, and the race was abandoned. The wind shifted north, the RC changed course, and we sailed 2 races in fairly light air. The cold front went through making for lovely sleeping conditions, and with the extra hour of sleep, we were refreshed and almost ready for the heavier winds today. We sailed 2 races, watched a couple of crew members on other boats go swimming, (great recovery David and PJ!) and one boat capsized, and a couple of boats broke things...The RC adjusted the line since the mark boat was busy with the capsize and we started a third. We were reluctant participants in this one, but off we went.
A successful regatta, with Zeke and Jay Horowitz pulling off 2 spectacular bullets today to win the event, the establishment of a Charlie Fowler Memorial Award, and John and Susan Domagala winning the Jeff Penfield Award in an emotional ceremony. Good job to all the Sarasota volunteers and Bob Twinem Race Chair and Fleet Captain!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Lake Eustis FL District Regatta 2013
This regatta has become the best attended of the FL series events and is one we look forward to every year. The weather forecast may keep the crowd down a little since it includes a passing front, healthy breeze and overnite low temperatures in the thirties.
The club has room for 5 RV's so we planned to head over Friday, so we could be sure to get one since it is first come, first served. The Lintons had a better plan and got there Thursday night and they were the third to arrive already. So much for being early. We arrived Friday after lunch and got a spot but it was getting tight, if you count trailers and pop ups there may be about 10.
The cold front was scheduled to pass through Saturday bringing a NW wind around 25 -ish and a cold night to follow. The breeze was picking up nicely during the skippers meeting, hmmm. Most boats were launched by the time the RC boat left the dock but not too many seemed interested in heading out. A little while later the RC signaled abandonment and that was that. Normally, quite a few boats will spend the night on a mooring ball but there was some discussion about how much wind the moorings could take and a note of caution from the organizers. I had no interest in taking a chance and after Hunters boat dragged the mooring and ball back to the club dock it was kind of a no-brainer.
We had a fun afternoon at the club and in town at a local establishment going by the name of Turkleton's. The building was from the early 1900's and was an auto repair facility of some kind. In the area that was once the auto bays they now have seating, pool tables and other arcade games. It was kind of cool but they are in need of more customers.
So the weatherman thought it should be around 32 for a low Saturday night, we imagine the Sunday starting time of 9:30 will get bumped back some to allow the ice to melt. The other thing is Sunday's high is supposed to be 54 degrees and the wind is only 8 to 10. You must be thinking how could this wind die down so quickly?
We sleep in a little in the toasty RV and say our thanks that we were not one of the dozen or so tent campers. We head over to the clubhouse a little after 8 and to my amazement there are about 15 Scots in the water already, and more launching. It is mid to high 30's outside, but sunny, still not getting it though. Also, no indication of a postponement. Kim and I are discussing whether or not to go out so knowing she hates cold weather I let her make the call. There is no way she will want to be on the water in this cold and it will only get to the fifties. She, of course, said "let's go" and in total disbelief I mumble something like ok if you are sure, among other things. So we go uncover the boat and launch it. More disbelief here.
It appears most of the Scots are launched, huh? WTF. Apparently I have entered the twilight zone?
We are one of the last to depart but figure we should at least try to make the start if we are going to freeze are asses off. The area near the club is fairly sheltered but out in the middle you can see a healthy breeze. We broad reach on out and reach the RC boat in time to check in. After about 10 minutes of getting spray, having my hands and ears freeze and observing few rescue boats in the area, I ask Kim if she will be pissed if we head in. I know her hands are cold too since she has been having a harder time tieing knots. Thankfully she puts up no resistance. So we take the long port tack back to the club, in typical lake fashion the lulls are low maybe 7 or 8 then an instant puff of maybe 17 or 18. This is a "be ready for an auto tack" kind of day, not me.
We notice another boat or two is ahead of us on the way in and a couple more are following. The whole time I am thinking; there was my boat sitting on the trailer, minding its own business and I had to come along and launch it. It was even covered!
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
So we are all packed up when we can see the second race is about done. We are thinking of sticking around and helping the haul outs if they head back. They instead start a third race, so we attach boat to RV and hit it.
We heard they did three races, don't know any scores or who Won. Did hear that several folks fell out of there boats and did some swimming but were ok.
We now have a new boat rule that is now in effect forever; Boat stays on trailer unless the temperature is 50 degrees or more.
We are now officially members of the fair weather sailing club.
Oh, and not to forget, John Kreidler's boat has been re-named "In the weeds" Not after the TV show you watch or the stuff you smoke....Be sure to ask him.
UPDATE --- The Lintons Win! Congrats!!
Here are the results;
Pl Last Name First Name Div Club/St Fleet# Sail # R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Linton Jeff Flying Scot 5982 1 2 1 4
2 Shaw Steve Flying Scot 5755 6 3 2 11
3 Harowitz Zeke Flying Scot 4901 2 6 3 11
4 Chapin Dave Flying Scot 5020 4 1 8 13
5 Whittemore Robert Flying Scot 5566 5 5 4 14
6 Riddle Hunter Flying Scot 11 3 9 5 17
7 Ames David Flying Scot 812 7 7 6 20
8 mcnally thomas Flying Scot 77 8 4 10 22
9 Grimes Dean Flying Scot 3360 10 10 7 27
10 Kreidler John Flying Scot 2677 9 8 11 28
11 Boekema Randy Flying Scot 5697 14 11 9 34
12 Bowling Bronson Flying Scot 2321 12 14 12 38
13 chennells gus Flying Scot 3059 13 13 14 40
14 Tillema Scott Flying Scot 680 15 16 13 44
15 Picco III George Flying Scot 5636 19 12 15 46
16 Stickley Todd Flying Scot 4171 11 15 DNS 56
17 Willsey Paul Flying Scot 5031 22 17 DNS 69
18 Simon Francois Flying Scot 5554 16 DNS DNS 76
19 Klick Larry Flying Scot 5690 17 DNS DNS 77
20 Mohr Donna Flying Scot 5502 18 DNS DNS 78
21 mcnally John Flying Scot 5179 20 DNS DNS 80
22 Dove Thomas Flying Scot 3153 21 DNS DNS 81
23 Thinel Dave Flying Scot 2925 DNF DNS DNS 90
24 Taylor Mark Flying Scot 4321 DNF DNS DNS 90
25 ireland1 anne1 Flying Scot 5366 DNF DNS DNS 90
26 Laguna Ray Flying Scot 5957 DNF DNS DNS 90
27 Hayward Andy Flying Scot 5257 DNC DNC DNC 90
28 Shore Douglas Flying Scot 5455 DNC DNC DNC 90
29 Pardey Marshall Flying Scot 400 DNC DNC DNC 90
Monday, January 14, 2013
FL District Championship - Charlotte Harbor 2013
We continue the 2012 - 2013 FL District Championship with a stop in Charlotte Harbor where the newest FL fleet continues slow, steady growth. We had a nice looking forecast that included temps in the 80's so all we needed was a little bit of wind for a perfect weekend.
With the close of registration we had 21 entries which may be a new high for this event. The crowd left the harbor in a solid ESE breeze that included some white caps in the puffs. The RC set a fairly long WL course, twice around and we were off. The sailing was nice but pretty shifty especially up near the weather mark. Big gains and losses were the norm, make a mistake and pay big time. The breeze held up all afternoon and by about 3:00pm we had three races in and were heading back to the club.
The Lintons were sitting on a nice little lead and were being chased by Zeke Horowitz who just bought a Scot a couple weeks ago. I don't have results but I'm fairly sure Jim Egan was a close third. After that there were a bunch of us giving it our best shot and enjoying a perfect day of sailing.
Saturday night included a nice dinner and and the viewing of some NFL playoff games. Can anyone believe how Denver gave that one away? Holy crap!
Sunday morning was nice again, warm and a nice Easterly. For a little while. During the first race it pretty well fizzled out to nothing at times and very little the rest of the time. Let's see, the race started at 10:30 and by about 10:35 the first beer was required, so there you go. RC shortened course to 3 legs or the time limit would have come into play. Only 8 boats finished within 20 minutes of the leader so the other time limit did come in to play. TLE's were scored 2 more than the last finisher so a mess of boats received a 10 for that race. Fortuitous for some.
We loitered a bit while the sea breeze tried to fill in from the west. With a patchy light westerly a race was started and the memories of the drift-a-thon we just had last month in Jacksonville were going strong. UGH! Similar current as well, which had us a little surprised. The course is way up the bay, fairly close to where it becomes a river but the flood current is still very strong.
Jeff and Zeke were having a good go of it and either could have won the regatta depending on the others score. Jeff pulled a little come from behind thing and took the race and regatta by four or five points, overcoming a small beer emergency. There were another bunch of TLE's who could not manage the 20 minute rule, and so it goes. Zeke ended up second and Jim Egan third, nice job to all. Also many thanks to Martin and the volunteers at the club.
Go to Lake Eustis Feb. 16 and 17 and bring your Scot.
I will add some results here when available.
Results;
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Gator Bowl 2012
Friday, Nov 30...Travel day
Left home a little later than scheduled, due to more work at the hospital for Kim. We did make it on the road by 10:45, though, only to discover the book we had started on the last road trip was still at home. Crap! Tragedy strikes as we will not be able to keep up with Serge's new adventures as he blog his way through Florida in Tim Dorsey's book, Nuclear Jellyfish. Fortuately, have some backups to chose from, we read halfway through Janet Evanovich's Notorious 19.
3:30 At the Rudder Club, and it's sunny with some nice breeze but sadly, we arrived too late to join in on some tuning up. The forecast looks good for tomorrow, 10-12 mph and partly sunny.
Dec. 1, Saturday
Early morning, warm, sun breaking through the clouds, Kim enjoyed a little pre-race run and things were going smoothly as we set up the boat.
As boats were being launched, the wind and chop was increasing and a boat decided not to behave on the dock. It broke free and was headed precariously toward the bridge as the wind and current pushed it in that direction. Todd sped into action, starting a mark boat and rescuing the Scot.
The wind decreased as we approached the racing area, and ultimately died as the starting time approached. This was not at all what we expected from the predictions from all weather websites. Did I mention we were rained on several times, too? Mostly, a thick mist, but enough to make everything wet.
Dinner was fantastic and we watched the SEC Championship Game, so all was not lost.
We'll see if the weather websites are on target for tomorrow. So far, at 10:00 am, the wind is supposed to be E at 8 mph, and by 1:00, 10mph, and party sunny. Hope so!
Sunday, at least it was sunny and warm. We started a race in what might have been two knots of breeze. Not too surprising since we had been skunked on Saturday sop we make the best of it. It was a slow torturous affair and the 90 minute time limit looked to be in play. As the leaders began to close in the weather mark a powerboat raced to the scene and quickly dropped a hook and signaled shorten course, three legs. I think there were three minutes or so remaining when the Lintons crossed the line in first.
The next race, UGH!!! was started in about 5 or 6 knots which appeared quickly and disappeared as quickly. Soon it was back to 2 knots and torture. I guess it was good that the current was helping on the runs downwind. The Lintons prevailed again for a sweep of the 2 race regatta. The cream rises to the top as they say. Ryan Malmgren had 2 seconds for a fine showing as well.
Wally will be staying in Florida again this year.
The next district race will be January 12 and 13 in Port Charlotte. Out.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta
The Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta had a very promising weather forecast, lots of sun and highs near 80. We arrived Friday night to find our Tampa friends enjoying dinner at the Squadron. Most of the gang was camping on site in either an RV or tent. We took the primo spot out on the point (water on three sides) and parked the RV for the weekend.
Saturday am was nice but calm so we had a leisurely morning and slightly delayed start. Once the breeze filled in, we had perfect conditions which allowed for three nice W/L races. The Lintons ended the day with a 1 point advantage over the Morgans. The rest of us were grouped in a fairly small pack for places 3 through 7.
A nice dinner was followed by some good socializing under another really nice 3/4 moon.
Later in the evening the fog rolled in which became thick enough to get the trees raining on the tents and RVs.
Sunday morning was calm and with fog burning off we were waiting ashore for the sea breeze to arrive. Eventually it did, kind of, but never really became solid. We got one race in that was a frustrating slow affair. The RC was kind enough to call off the 5th race and we headed back to the club. The Morgans won the last race while the Lintons were 2nd which produced a tie. Congrats to the Morgans who took the tiebreaker! Awards were given to the top five; 2- Lintons, 3- Taylors, 4- Strammers and 5- Silvernail/Fisher.
We had the honor of awarding the Jeff Penfield Leadership award to Ron Pletsch. The award was presented by the Penfield family last year and is awarded to the person best promoting the district, new sailors, fleet growth and actively sailing in the District Championship. Ron has been leading the way for many years and was truly deserving of the award.
Results are posted on fssa.com. The next race is in Jacksonville, Dec. 1 and 2.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Port Charlotte Regatta
Friday, March 16, 2012
Bummer, had to go to work most of the day before leaving Dunedin for Charlotte Harbor YC. Fortunately, we were able to escape Pinellas County (4:00 pm) unscathed by any traffic snafus.
Looking forward to this trip to start the new (older) Nelson DeMille book, The Lion's Game. Heard it was good.
5:00 pm Traffic scan on the phone shows red line coming up in Sarasota. Exit SR 64 was upon us, and we bailed from I-75, we'll try Rte 41 for a while. Able to get back on at University Parkway, unbeknownst to us, what lurked ahead. More traffic. Turned out to be a fender bender, and it took up 2 lanes of the hwy, it just mucked the whole thing up.
It was still light out at 7:00 pm when we arrived at the club, able to plug in, parked next to our favorite RV neighbors, and had beer with the group in the CHYC "Wheel Room" (aka, bar) and then leftovers in the Winnie with Jeff and Amy. Good night!
Saturday, March 17, Happy St Patrick's Day!
Beautiful day, light winds in am. Funny, we heard all predictions last night, everything from from super-windy to drifting conditions forecasted, and it turned out to be jus right.
The first 2 races were in light air and the breeze came in and built for the 3rd race. There was some controversy around the first race initiated by some miscommunication on the RC boat, ahhh, sailboat racing....
L-2, W-2, it's all the same, isn't it?
Really sweet facilities at the CHYC, and we cleaned up, got ready for dinner. Martin and the volunteers and employees did an excellent job taking care of us. Corned beef and cabbage, in true St. Patrick's style, The group got their green on for the evening's festivities, and tried not to look too conspicuous watching the regulars wander in for the YC party.
Early night, sleepy and full.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
More beautiful weather Sunday so we sailed two more races, the second one being a longish five legger in a nice breeze. Try as we might, the group could not reel in Team Linton, Congrats to them for the victory!! Chris Morgan finished second and we were third.
This regatta was the last in the series of six, completeing another great Florida District Championship. Congradulations to Paul Abdullah who took top honors by winning three regattas in a row!! Nice job. Second were Jeff and Amy Linton, Jim Egan and Chris Morgan rounded out the top four trophy spots. We had great attendance this year and look for more of the same next year.
We know March Madness for some people has something to do with basketball, but we are fashioning our own form of craziness this weekend. We sailed today, finished our State Series, visited with Mom and Dad who drove to the West Coast for the weekend, turned over the Governorship to Mark Taylor and hit the road! Must get to NOLA by Monday afternoon. We'll see how far we get tonight.
Sadly, we had to detour to Dunedin to switch out the Pig Rig for the Oddity (Honda van). No camping at Southern YC, but we're looking forward to staying with great folks at the Rose Manor. This added a bit of time to the already kinda long trip.
After awards and good-byes, we were on the road by 3:15, home and re-packed and off again by 6:00 pm. Eyelids started getting heavy and we stopped a little west of Tallahassee, small town called Quincy, but a really nice Best Western had a lovely bed.
Bummer, had to go to work most of the day before leaving Dunedin for Charlotte Harbor YC. Fortunately, we were able to escape Pinellas County (4:00 pm) unscathed by any traffic snafus.
Looking forward to this trip to start the new (older) Nelson DeMille book, The Lion's Game. Heard it was good.
5:00 pm Traffic scan on the phone shows red line coming up in Sarasota. Exit SR 64 was upon us, and we bailed from I-75, we'll try Rte 41 for a while. Able to get back on at University Parkway, unbeknownst to us, what lurked ahead. More traffic. Turned out to be a fender bender, and it took up 2 lanes of the hwy, it just mucked the whole thing up.
It was still light out at 7:00 pm when we arrived at the club, able to plug in, parked next to our favorite RV neighbors, and had beer with the group in the CHYC "Wheel Room" (aka, bar) and then leftovers in the Winnie with Jeff and Amy. Good night!
Saturday, March 17, Happy St Patrick's Day!
Beautiful day, light winds in am. Funny, we heard all predictions last night, everything from from super-windy to drifting conditions forecasted, and it turned out to be jus right.
The first 2 races were in light air and the breeze came in and built for the 3rd race. There was some controversy around the first race initiated by some miscommunication on the RC boat, ahhh, sailboat racing....
L-2, W-2, it's all the same, isn't it?
Really sweet facilities at the CHYC, and we cleaned up, got ready for dinner. Martin and the volunteers and employees did an excellent job taking care of us. Corned beef and cabbage, in true St. Patrick's style, The group got their green on for the evening's festivities, and tried not to look too conspicuous watching the regulars wander in for the YC party.
Early night, sleepy and full.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
More beautiful weather Sunday so we sailed two more races, the second one being a longish five legger in a nice breeze. Try as we might, the group could not reel in Team Linton, Congrats to them for the victory!! Chris Morgan finished second and we were third.
This regatta was the last in the series of six, completeing another great Florida District Championship. Congradulations to Paul Abdullah who took top honors by winning three regattas in a row!! Nice job. Second were Jeff and Amy Linton, Jim Egan and Chris Morgan rounded out the top four trophy spots. We had great attendance this year and look for more of the same next year.
We know March Madness for some people has something to do with basketball, but we are fashioning our own form of craziness this weekend. We sailed today, finished our State Series, visited with Mom and Dad who drove to the West Coast for the weekend, turned over the Governorship to Mark Taylor and hit the road! Must get to NOLA by Monday afternoon. We'll see how far we get tonight.
Sadly, we had to detour to Dunedin to switch out the Pig Rig for the Oddity (Honda van). No camping at Southern YC, but we're looking forward to staying with great folks at the Rose Manor. This added a bit of time to the already kinda long trip.
After awards and good-byes, we were on the road by 3:15, home and re-packed and off again by 6:00 pm. Eyelids started getting heavy and we stopped a little west of Tallahassee, small town called Quincy, but a really nice Best Western had a lovely bed.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Lake Eustis 2012
We head for Lake Eustis midday Friday with a bit of gloomy weather and an occasional light rain shower. The weekend forecast is reasonable though, high 70's, light wind Saturday but a little heavy Sunday due to a front passing to the North. On the way we see this custom rig;
He was traveling slow, like 55mph or so, so I grabbed the camera for a couple shots
Dude does not believe in subtle exhaust...
The Rv park, uh, I mean sailing club fills up early Friday afternoon
Soon the conversation turns to the poisonous snakes hanging out on the club dock. You don't see that at many regattas, turns out they are not poisonous. They are commonly referred to as Brown Water Snakes, makes sense to me. I googled them and confirmed that they are harmless though often mistaken for a cottonmouth.
There were a couple Gators spotted but I, inexplicably, was sans camera.
Saturday morning is a little dreary at first with some fog/overcast but that burned off to leave us with a really nice day except w/o wind.
A shoreside postponement lasted till 2:30 ish when the breeze filled in and we got underway. We got a race in by about 4 pm and then ... headed back to shore! WTF! We then hung out with cocktails and watched a perfect 8 to 10 knot breeze blow till sunset. Just sayin.
The forecast Sunday seemed right on target early with a 15 knot breeze blowing as the boats left the dock. Figuring it would build quite a few of us packed it in. Two races were sailed with John/John winning both and Paul Abdullah getting two seconds. The two seconds were good for a narrow one point victory over JJ and the FLorida District Championship!! Nice job Paul!!
For results; http://www.lakeeustissailingclub.org/forum/showthread.php?319-42nd-George-Washington-Birthday-Regatta-Flying-Scot-Race-Results
The last regatta is March 17 and 18 in Port Charlotte. Out
He was traveling slow, like 55mph or so, so I grabbed the camera for a couple shots
The Rv park, uh, I mean sailing club fills up early Friday afternoon
Soon the conversation turns to the poisonous snakes hanging out on the club dock. You don't see that at many regattas, turns out they are not poisonous. They are commonly referred to as Brown Water Snakes, makes sense to me. I googled them and confirmed that they are harmless though often mistaken for a cottonmouth.
There were a couple Gators spotted but I, inexplicably, was sans camera.
Saturday morning is a little dreary at first with some fog/overcast but that burned off to leave us with a really nice day except w/o wind.
A shoreside postponement lasted till 2:30 ish when the breeze filled in and we got underway. We got a race in by about 4 pm and then ... headed back to shore! WTF! We then hung out with cocktails and watched a perfect 8 to 10 knot breeze blow till sunset. Just sayin.
The forecast Sunday seemed right on target early with a 15 knot breeze blowing as the boats left the dock. Figuring it would build quite a few of us packed it in. Two races were sailed with John/John winning both and Paul Abdullah getting two seconds. The two seconds were good for a narrow one point victory over JJ and the FLorida District Championship!! Nice job Paul!!
For results; http://www.lakeeustissailingclub.org/forum/showthread.php?319-42nd-George-Washington-Birthday-Regatta-Flying-Scot-Race-Results
The last regatta is March 17 and 18 in Port Charlotte. Out
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Lake Tampa
In the days leading up to the regatta I sent a few emails telling everyone how nice the weather would be. Sunny, high seventies, basically about as nice as you get in January. The forecast was true and the gang showed up in numbers, 29 with quite a few from outside Florida. We have been enjoying great attendance this season so keep it up!
We woke up Saturday morning to this beautiful Sunrise from our mobile bedroom window;
and a nice breeze from the SE, somewhat typical for DI. The question is, will it hold up. We have the very civilized start time of 12:00 noon so there is some time to wait. The group leaves the harbor in light air and as noon approaches it fizzles out so we have a postponement. Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long for a southerly to fill in and the racing is on. We spent a little more time with some general recalls but by about 4:30 the third race is done and we head in.
Allan Terhune and John Aras ended the day tied with 6 points and both getting a 1,2 and 3. They were followed by Paul Abdullah with 13 points and Jeff Linton with 15. The breeze was pretty solid but was still tricky in typical DIYC fashion. Consistent scores were hard to come by for most of us.
The forecast for Sunday was equally nice but for less wind so the RC decided to bump the start time to 9:00am. This would allow us to take advantage of the early breeze, at least that is the theory. We woke up Sunday to a sheet of glass for a bay. UGH.
A shoreside postponement was signaled early and we waited. We speculated that the RC would probably make a call by 11:00 but by about 10:30 or so half the sailers were into the beer or spirits. This would be a good time to thank North Sails and Mad Sails for the beer donations!!
At 11 ish the regatta was called and the scores from Saturday were final. Congratulations to Allen Terhune and his crew Dave for a hard fought victory taking the tiebreaker with John and John.
The winners; Dave, Allan Terhune, John Aras, John Wake, Paul Abdullah and Alex Krumdieck
Here is a link for results
The gang from DIYC did an Awesome job!!!
The next regatta is at Lake Eustis February 18 and 19, don't forget to get your room reservations early for the best rates.
We woke up Saturday morning to this beautiful Sunrise from our mobile bedroom window;
Allan Terhune and John Aras ended the day tied with 6 points and both getting a 1,2 and 3. They were followed by Paul Abdullah with 13 points and Jeff Linton with 15. The breeze was pretty solid but was still tricky in typical DIYC fashion. Consistent scores were hard to come by for most of us.
The forecast for Sunday was equally nice but for less wind so the RC decided to bump the start time to 9:00am. This would allow us to take advantage of the early breeze, at least that is the theory. We woke up Sunday to a sheet of glass for a bay. UGH.
A shoreside postponement was signaled early and we waited. We speculated that the RC would probably make a call by 11:00 but by about 10:30 or so half the sailers were into the beer or spirits. This would be a good time to thank North Sails and Mad Sails for the beer donations!!
At 11 ish the regatta was called and the scores from Saturday were final. Congratulations to Allen Terhune and his crew Dave for a hard fought victory taking the tiebreaker with John and John.
Here is a link for results
The gang from DIYC did an Awesome job!!!
The next regatta is at Lake Eustis February 18 and 19, don't forget to get your room reservations early for the best rates.
Monday, December 5, 2011
The Gator Bowl 2011
The unavoidable occurred; we are about packed and ready to leave home and... creepy neighbor (CN) appears seemingly out of nowhere. He is lurking at and around his house under construction right next to ours. Fortunately, we are about to roll so we shoosh him away and head out. The bright side is he wanted to discuss the type of fence that will soon separate his place from ours. My advice; the taller the better to which I get the tilted head puzzled look similar to what you get from the dog. It turns out the cool neighbor on the other side of CN is moving; partly due to CN. Cool neighbor got wind of CN's possible plans of not having a fence at all! Cool neighbor took matters in his own hands and.. OUT!
We are thinking of moving too, but that is a blog topic for another time.
We recently finished a Kay Scarpetta novel by Patricia Cornwell. She has a number of books in the series, the main character is a coroner in and around Richmond VA. The coroner part is pretty interesting but we are both in agreement that her writing style is just too tedious so we are happy to be done with that. For our trip to Jax we are starting a David Baldacci novel, Deliver us from Evil. We shall see. For me, the jury is out on him too, but I am keeping an open mind. I was in the mood for a Thorn book, Robert W. Hall, but our inventory is lacking.
We arrive at the Rudder Club about 2:30 after an uneventful trip. Uneventful is good when considering we are in a new/used RV.
Here we have RV row. We are at right, the Lintons center, and at left we have the John and John/designer/condo/mobile including the much sought-after faux granite countertops.
We intentionally arrived after them for the;
preferred waterfront view...except for the pesky suv's, forest of pines, ratty dock and interstate highway bridge. But hey!
It has become a mini-tradition to gather at Trent's on Friday night for dinner. Trent's is a little dive not far from the club but the beer is cheap and you can eat the food with few ramifications. I think our headcount was 22 which really makes us popular with the hostess/pissed off door cop-ette. Having no real seating choices we settled in on the outdoor patio, outdoor patio in Jax. in Dec. is a lot like the word "brisk". They have one of those gas heaters that went a long way toward keeping us comfortable, until the gas ran out. The staff seemed a little iffy on the refueling process but we had Andy Hayward in the crowd so, no problem.
Come Saturday morning, it was obvious we were going to see a nice turnout of Scot-ticians, 25 to be exact, very cool. There were also a few Snipes and Lasers, this would probably be a good intro to the video that was posted on Youtube so; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDKiHVl1V8 Pretty cool but my advice is, don't blink.
We did three races in about 12 to 15 that was steady from the NE. Pretty sure this was the most steady I have seen at the RC. Oh yeah, there was a mess of General recalls. A strong ebb current opposing the solid breeze and you get the idea. It was a really great day of sailing with much starting practice so all is good.
Donna and Jon always do a great job with the food and this year they brought in some Cuban chow that was up to their high standard. They got on everyone's good side by handing out free beer, so there you go.
We are expecting a little warmer weather and more sun on Sunday but it seems the breeze may be a little iffy. We wake up to...
Fog...WTF
The warning signal was scheduled for 9:55, so at about 9:50, in about 1.8 knots of breeze the RC decided to bang out the first general recall of the day. Did I mention the current is flowing north against the zephyr of a breeze from the north. Hmmm. The RC strategy worked perfectly and killed enough time for the wind do build to about 4 to 5 so we try again. Blah, blah, blah, racing, racing, racing. It was a good race when it was all said and done, especially for Paul Abdullah (Thistle class champion). He managed a huge comeback to grab a bullet and widen his slight lead from Saturday. Those in hot pursuit were John Aras, Jeff Linton and Jim Egan.
The fifth and final race started out ok, but quickly landed on my personal top ten list of most frustrating races of all time. This also earned the "sailing sucks" tag on this blog post, there are more of those if you care. During the second beat the breeze was fading fast but the current was going strong, an ok combo for a shortened finish at the weather mark but not ok for a leeward finish against the flow. Nuff said.
Hearty congratulations to Paul Abdullah and his crew Alex who bested the previously mentioned group of stars! Results should be up soon on the Rudder Club website.
We FL-ians are always grateful for the company of the Northerners who come to play, the Privateer YC sent three; Rob Fowler, Bill Humphreys and Ed Craig. Ryan Malmgren jetted in from WI, while his able crew, Tom Lawton, drove the boat down from the Carolinas. I like that deal! John and John did the MD and VA rep and of course Charlie and Nancy Fowler dropped in for communion on their way south to the Keys. Despite their best efforts Wally remains a Gator!
Still chasing the Linton's, we are used to it!
Out.
We are thinking of moving too, but that is a blog topic for another time.
We recently finished a Kay Scarpetta novel by Patricia Cornwell. She has a number of books in the series, the main character is a coroner in and around Richmond VA. The coroner part is pretty interesting but we are both in agreement that her writing style is just too tedious so we are happy to be done with that. For our trip to Jax we are starting a David Baldacci novel, Deliver us from Evil. We shall see. For me, the jury is out on him too, but I am keeping an open mind. I was in the mood for a Thorn book, Robert W. Hall, but our inventory is lacking.
We arrive at the Rudder Club about 2:30 after an uneventful trip. Uneventful is good when considering we are in a new/used RV.
We intentionally arrived after them for the;
It has become a mini-tradition to gather at Trent's on Friday night for dinner. Trent's is a little dive not far from the club but the beer is cheap and you can eat the food with few ramifications. I think our headcount was 22 which really makes us popular with the hostess/pissed off door cop-ette. Having no real seating choices we settled in on the outdoor patio, outdoor patio in Jax. in Dec. is a lot like the word "brisk". They have one of those gas heaters that went a long way toward keeping us comfortable, until the gas ran out. The staff seemed a little iffy on the refueling process but we had Andy Hayward in the crowd so, no problem.
Come Saturday morning, it was obvious we were going to see a nice turnout of Scot-ticians, 25 to be exact, very cool. There were also a few Snipes and Lasers, this would probably be a good intro to the video that was posted on Youtube so; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDKiHVl1V8 Pretty cool but my advice is, don't blink.
We did three races in about 12 to 15 that was steady from the NE. Pretty sure this was the most steady I have seen at the RC. Oh yeah, there was a mess of General recalls. A strong ebb current opposing the solid breeze and you get the idea. It was a really great day of sailing with much starting practice so all is good.
Donna and Jon always do a great job with the food and this year they brought in some Cuban chow that was up to their high standard. They got on everyone's good side by handing out free beer, so there you go.
We are expecting a little warmer weather and more sun on Sunday but it seems the breeze may be a little iffy. We wake up to...
The warning signal was scheduled for 9:55, so at about 9:50, in about 1.8 knots of breeze the RC decided to bang out the first general recall of the day. Did I mention the current is flowing north against the zephyr of a breeze from the north. Hmmm. The RC strategy worked perfectly and killed enough time for the wind do build to about 4 to 5 so we try again. Blah, blah, blah, racing, racing, racing. It was a good race when it was all said and done, especially for Paul Abdullah (Thistle class champion). He managed a huge comeback to grab a bullet and widen his slight lead from Saturday. Those in hot pursuit were John Aras, Jeff Linton and Jim Egan.
The fifth and final race started out ok, but quickly landed on my personal top ten list of most frustrating races of all time. This also earned the "sailing sucks" tag on this blog post, there are more of those if you care. During the second beat the breeze was fading fast but the current was going strong, an ok combo for a shortened finish at the weather mark but not ok for a leeward finish against the flow. Nuff said.
Hearty congratulations to Paul Abdullah and his crew Alex who bested the previously mentioned group of stars! Results should be up soon on the Rudder Club website.
We FL-ians are always grateful for the company of the Northerners who come to play, the Privateer YC sent three; Rob Fowler, Bill Humphreys and Ed Craig. Ryan Malmgren jetted in from WI, while his able crew, Tom Lawton, drove the boat down from the Carolinas. I like that deal! John and John did the MD and VA rep and of course Charlie and Nancy Fowler dropped in for communion on their way south to the Keys. Despite their best efforts Wally remains a Gator!
Out.
Monday, October 3, 2011
FL District Championship, Miami 2011
The creepy neighbor is stalking the contractors building his new house right next to ours. We try to dodge him as much as possible but with the project in full swing it is getting more difficult. He startled Kim early in the morning “So, what do you think?” Says CN nodding towards the concrete slab and mass of cement blocks. This seems to be his new favorite line, a real conversation starter, especially with the ladies. Later the car and boat are loaded and ready, we are happy to see he must have left for the day. We are pulling out with the boat in tow and gasp, he comes around the corner in his car, pauses for a chat and we hit the gas..... Off to Miami!
We are headed for Naples for the night which leaves an easy drive into Miami Saturday am. The last time we raced we forgot the spinnaker pole (not recommended) so we are hoping not to pull off another bonehead move like that. I’m pretty sure we’re good.
Sadly we are driving while the Rays are playing game one of the playoffs in Texas. Would have much preferred the TV to radio but so far the Rays are hot and off to an early lead so no complaints. During one of the radio breaks there is a news flash; today is the last chance to have sex with an animal! Oh crap, I didn’t know! Yes the FL legislator saw the need to pass a law against it and it takes affect at midnight. Seems the folks in the panhandle are the culprits and are ruining it for the rest of us.
The trip to Coconut Grove Sailing Club is smooth and we quickly see quite a few Scots. We were hoping for a good number of boats this year but I found about two last minute cancellations so we weren't sure how it would go. We get rigged quickly and “Oh shit the mast is bent” oh well, to late to deal with it now. While trailering and looking in the rear view mirror it appeared bent but I figured it was distortion or illusion or whatever. No idea how it happened but it is not too bad.
Light breeze for Saturday’s first race, maybe 5 to 7 or so, and from the Northwest. To which the locals say; “it never does that”. By the end of the first beat we are relieved to see that the bent mast is no issue, we have boat speed. When the pack made it back down to the leeward mark the wind went to about 1, when it wasn’t 0. RC tried a shortened finish at the weather mark but few made it and the race was abandoned.
Back at the very hot and still club we had the bright idea to hang at the Marriott pool, where Jim and Richard are staying. Yes, Jim Egan and Richard E. are back! Another group of travelers including Ron, Barry, John D. Terry, Mark and Dawn were staying at a nearby condo, they had the pool idea too. Upon meeting up at Flanagan’s for dinner we learned that there pool was hot so they retired to the cool a/c in the condo and watched porn. Hmmm...... We have no pictures of that!
Sunday morning is nice and somewhat cool. The weather forecast was for the first cold front of the season to dip down into FL and it felt good. We found a nice 8 knot northerly at the club and the early dark clouds seemed to be dissipating. A promising day. As we head out the Dinner Key Channel we notice some bumps way out toward the east and southeast. Interesting for a light-ish breeze we think. The plan is for a 10:30 start and 3 races to try to make up for Saturday. The course is about set and at 10:20 we have a 50 degree righty and whitecaps. “Crap!” say the lightweights. After a short postponement the course is reset (and bumpy) and we are underway and hiking. After two good W/L four leggers the pack is tight. Jim and Mark are tied with 5 points while Ron, John and I are tied with 7 points. The third race was shortened to two legs, with a mile beat. Jim jumped out to the right and grabbed a bullet and the regatta! Congratulations to Jim and Richard! Mark and Dawn finished second and John and Terry were third. Good job to all.
Here is a summary of the scores; 1-Jim 6 pts, 2-Mark 9, 3-John 13, 4-Bob McElwain 13, 5-Ron 14, 6-Dave 15, 7-Tom McNally 19, 8-Vladimir Stroleny 21, 9-Larry Ames 28, 10- Bud Price 30, 11-Larry Whipple 33, 12-Henry Bernstein 33, 13- Ryan Alexander 39, 14-Henry Picco 44.
Mark your calendar for our next district championship regatta in Sarasota Nov. 5-6. It will be great to see the big crowd in Sarasota.
We are headed for Naples for the night which leaves an easy drive into Miami Saturday am. The last time we raced we forgot the spinnaker pole (not recommended) so we are hoping not to pull off another bonehead move like that. I’m pretty sure we’re good.
Sadly we are driving while the Rays are playing game one of the playoffs in Texas. Would have much preferred the TV to radio but so far the Rays are hot and off to an early lead so no complaints. During one of the radio breaks there is a news flash; today is the last chance to have sex with an animal! Oh crap, I didn’t know! Yes the FL legislator saw the need to pass a law against it and it takes affect at midnight. Seems the folks in the panhandle are the culprits and are ruining it for the rest of us.
The trip to Coconut Grove Sailing Club is smooth and we quickly see quite a few Scots. We were hoping for a good number of boats this year but I found about two last minute cancellations so we weren't sure how it would go. We get rigged quickly and “Oh shit the mast is bent” oh well, to late to deal with it now. While trailering and looking in the rear view mirror it appeared bent but I figured it was distortion or illusion or whatever. No idea how it happened but it is not too bad.
Light breeze for Saturday’s first race, maybe 5 to 7 or so, and from the Northwest. To which the locals say; “it never does that”. By the end of the first beat we are relieved to see that the bent mast is no issue, we have boat speed. When the pack made it back down to the leeward mark the wind went to about 1, when it wasn’t 0. RC tried a shortened finish at the weather mark but few made it and the race was abandoned.
Back at the very hot and still club we had the bright idea to hang at the Marriott pool, where Jim and Richard are staying. Yes, Jim Egan and Richard E. are back! Another group of travelers including Ron, Barry, John D. Terry, Mark and Dawn were staying at a nearby condo, they had the pool idea too. Upon meeting up at Flanagan’s for dinner we learned that there pool was hot so they retired to the cool a/c in the condo and watched porn. Hmmm...... We have no pictures of that!
Sunday morning is nice and somewhat cool. The weather forecast was for the first cold front of the season to dip down into FL and it felt good. We found a nice 8 knot northerly at the club and the early dark clouds seemed to be dissipating. A promising day. As we head out the Dinner Key Channel we notice some bumps way out toward the east and southeast. Interesting for a light-ish breeze we think. The plan is for a 10:30 start and 3 races to try to make up for Saturday. The course is about set and at 10:20 we have a 50 degree righty and whitecaps. “Crap!” say the lightweights. After a short postponement the course is reset (and bumpy) and we are underway and hiking. After two good W/L four leggers the pack is tight. Jim and Mark are tied with 5 points while Ron, John and I are tied with 7 points. The third race was shortened to two legs, with a mile beat. Jim jumped out to the right and grabbed a bullet and the regatta! Congratulations to Jim and Richard! Mark and Dawn finished second and John and Terry were third. Good job to all.
Here is a summary of the scores; 1-Jim 6 pts, 2-Mark 9, 3-John 13, 4-Bob McElwain 13, 5-Ron 14, 6-Dave 15, 7-Tom McNally 19, 8-Vladimir Stroleny 21, 9-Larry Ames 28, 10- Bud Price 30, 11-Larry Whipple 33, 12-Henry Bernstein 33, 13- Ryan Alexander 39, 14-Henry Picco 44.
Mark your calendar for our next district championship regatta in Sarasota Nov. 5-6. It will be great to see the big crowd in Sarasota.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Florida District Championship - Tampa
Friday Evening, March 4, 2011
The beginning of the Midwinter Extravaganza!!
I worked Friday, and Dave had taken the dogs to our friends for safe-keeping during our trip. Beau called Dave within seconds of leaving the house to say that Lexi had already started her vacation by lounging in the hot tub---Have a great week, guys, thank you!!
As some people are traveling straight to Sarasota, we’re off to Davis Island YC for the last Florida State District Race/Midwinter Warm-up. Talk was to prepare for wind on Saturday. Folks were looking for extra weight, and thinking that gaining those holiday pounds wasn’t so bad after all. Jeff and Harry spoke to the gathering crowd and Leslie had done a great job organizing and registering over 30 boats!
It was decided, after the reserve was met and a fierce bidding war, I would sail with Mike and Amy from Fishing Bay!! Yay! Dave headed down to Sarasota to help out for the weekend.
Sat. March 5
It’s supposed to be windy, and it certainly started out so. It was good to be 3 up. The first 2 races went well, and we were pleased. As it became lighter, and, in Davis Island style, more shifty, it became more difficult, but I think I can speak for my team and say we were happy with the day. Hope it goes well for them Sunday, they are on their own and the weather / wind predictions are all over the road.
After racing, Leslie and Pat (Mark’s crew) met us at the dock with a drink cart – fun! Folks enjoyed oysters, beers, and sailing talk by the boats (excellent regatta planning) then snack, showers, and a nice appy/happy hour upstairs. Lest we forget to mention- prizes, prizes, prizes!! Paul had a category for everything, and everybody wins!! (Most importantly, you must be present to win…some missed out!!) Excellent showing of Hawaiian shirt genius – the Flying Scot crowd does fashion and style, too! Leslie and Paul and all those involved in the event did a great job. More fantastic stuff for the winners tomorrow. Mark headed up a round table discussion for the DI version of Top Gun, and the crew of the top 5 boats were interrogated by a tough crowd (not really). Good work, Crew!!
Members of the Washington Street House (our rental for the week) packed it up and caravanned to Sarasota. Harry picked a winner! Super house, super location! A block to St. Armand’s Circle and a few more steps to the beach! I thought I would go walking and window shopping this am, but turned west on John Ringling Blvd. instead, hearing the call of the waves, and lo and ahold (how my sister, Beth, says it, therefore, so do we) Lido Beach beckoned. I half expected to see John Wake out there, too, but the sun was too high in the sky for him. He would have been out there at dark:30.
Sunday, There was some breeze for the 10 am start but also a little left over weather from the front that came through during the night. After a short delay the race started and the breeze picked up. Robby Brown was sitting on first place after the 4 races on Saturday and he picked up where he left off with another top five finish. The breeze had built enough the most seemed to be sufficiently “warmed-up” and headed toward the club after finishing the first race. The RC had the same idea so a five race regatta was in the books. Robby enjoyed a commanding win and was followed by Marshall Pardey, John Aras. The DIYC site is down as I write this so I don’t have the results to post just yet.
We have a new Florida District Champion; Jeff and Amy Linton!!!! They did 4 of the district regattas and won two of them to assume a commanding position. The solid finish at DIYC rounded out an excellent season and secured first place. Marshall Pardey made a strong showing this year as well and came in second.
I will add to this when I have the results and post the final district standings as soon as I can. Congrats to all the sailors!!!!
The beginning of the Midwinter Extravaganza!!
I worked Friday, and Dave had taken the dogs to our friends for safe-keeping during our trip. Beau called Dave within seconds of leaving the house to say that Lexi had already started her vacation by lounging in the hot tub---Have a great week, guys, thank you!!
As some people are traveling straight to Sarasota, we’re off to Davis Island YC for the last Florida State District Race/Midwinter Warm-up. Talk was to prepare for wind on Saturday. Folks were looking for extra weight, and thinking that gaining those holiday pounds wasn’t so bad after all. Jeff and Harry spoke to the gathering crowd and Leslie had done a great job organizing and registering over 30 boats!
It was decided, after the reserve was met and a fierce bidding war, I would sail with Mike and Amy from Fishing Bay!! Yay! Dave headed down to Sarasota to help out for the weekend.
Sat. March 5
It’s supposed to be windy, and it certainly started out so. It was good to be 3 up. The first 2 races went well, and we were pleased. As it became lighter, and, in Davis Island style, more shifty, it became more difficult, but I think I can speak for my team and say we were happy with the day. Hope it goes well for them Sunday, they are on their own and the weather / wind predictions are all over the road.
After racing, Leslie and Pat (Mark’s crew) met us at the dock with a drink cart – fun! Folks enjoyed oysters, beers, and sailing talk by the boats (excellent regatta planning) then snack, showers, and a nice appy/happy hour upstairs. Lest we forget to mention- prizes, prizes, prizes!! Paul had a category for everything, and everybody wins!! (Most importantly, you must be present to win…some missed out!!) Excellent showing of Hawaiian shirt genius – the Flying Scot crowd does fashion and style, too! Leslie and Paul and all those involved in the event did a great job. More fantastic stuff for the winners tomorrow. Mark headed up a round table discussion for the DI version of Top Gun, and the crew of the top 5 boats were interrogated by a tough crowd (not really). Good work, Crew!!
Members of the Washington Street House (our rental for the week) packed it up and caravanned to Sarasota. Harry picked a winner! Super house, super location! A block to St. Armand’s Circle and a few more steps to the beach! I thought I would go walking and window shopping this am, but turned west on John Ringling Blvd. instead, hearing the call of the waves, and lo and ahold (how my sister, Beth, says it, therefore, so do we) Lido Beach beckoned. I half expected to see John Wake out there, too, but the sun was too high in the sky for him. He would have been out there at dark:30.
Sunday, There was some breeze for the 10 am start but also a little left over weather from the front that came through during the night. After a short delay the race started and the breeze picked up. Robby Brown was sitting on first place after the 4 races on Saturday and he picked up where he left off with another top five finish. The breeze had built enough the most seemed to be sufficiently “warmed-up” and headed toward the club after finishing the first race. The RC had the same idea so a five race regatta was in the books. Robby enjoyed a commanding win and was followed by Marshall Pardey, John Aras. The DIYC site is down as I write this so I don’t have the results to post just yet.
We have a new Florida District Champion; Jeff and Amy Linton!!!! They did 4 of the district regattas and won two of them to assume a commanding position. The solid finish at DIYC rounded out an excellent season and secured first place. Marshall Pardey made a strong showing this year as well and came in second.
I will add to this when I have the results and post the final district standings as soon as I can. Congrats to all the sailors!!!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Lake Eustis Day 2 Still 37 boats!
Though not all 37 sailed... My back was acting up so we were the first casualty.
Sunday was another day of perfect weather and a nice breeze filled in after a short postponement. The time limit for the last race was set at 2 pm so three more races were sailed, in addition to the one Saturday.
Congratulations to Ray Laguna and Andy Fox for an impressive win!!!!!! Lots of talent on the water so this is no small feat. If I'm not mistaken, Ray was sailing the newest boat in the fleet, certainly very fast. If anyone is in need of a new, fast boat, I bet Harry could squeeze was into the schedule for you!
Did we mention there were 37 boats? This is the most boats ever to attend a Florida District Regatta in the History of the World!! Get that Hans? Here is a link to the regatta results
Thanks to all who attended especially the many nomads from the North. Two weeks till Tampa, and the Midwinters.
I still cannot edit the District site so results/standings will be emailed.
Sunday was another day of perfect weather and a nice breeze filled in after a short postponement. The time limit for the last race was set at 2 pm so three more races were sailed, in addition to the one Saturday.
Congratulations to Ray Laguna and Andy Fox for an impressive win!!!!!! Lots of talent on the water so this is no small feat. If I'm not mistaken, Ray was sailing the newest boat in the fleet, certainly very fast. If anyone is in need of a new, fast boat, I bet Harry could squeeze was into the schedule for you!
Did we mention there were 37 boats? This is the most boats ever to attend a Florida District Regatta in the History of the World!! Get that Hans? Here is a link to the regatta results
Thanks to all who attended especially the many nomads from the North. Two weeks till Tampa, and the Midwinters.
I still cannot edit the District site so results/standings will be emailed.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Charlotte Harbor District Regatta
Charlotte Harbor Yacht Club
Florida State Series Race
Jan 22-23 2011
Kim's report (mostly)
Yay! Another State Series Race! We were looking forward to a return trip to Charlotte Harbor since the location is beautiful, the folks are nice, and the fleet has been growing, and developing their Scot sailing skills.
John Wake swung by as he was driving home from an (unexpected) trip to Key West for Race Week. We love to see the out-of-staters! He called up Terry from the minors to join him; Mrs. Wake is recovering from a surprise heart catheterization, or she may have made the trip.
Blast from the past, Jim Egan, also made an appearance crewing with Marshall Pardey, recently back from a trip overseas. The two were OCS in the first, crap! On Sunday, we think they cruised to a beautiful finish in the first race (we were watching from land).
Saturday started out with everyone talking about the weather and forecasted winds were pretty heavy, but one website had nothing over 15 kn all day, so we liked that one and went with it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close. The field and parking lot were buzzing with activity for the 11:30 start, and all boats were in and off the dock except our old friend, FS 38, who grappled with a “mechanical problem” that we didn’t quite get the full story on.
Sadly, due to our own “mechanical problem,” we didn’t make it to the racecourse ourselves. A bit of swimming and a lot of mud on the mast later, we returned to the dock to get warm and dry. Turns out, a missing nut on the rudder head may have been the culprit. With it gone, there was not enough tension keeping the rudder in place (the “down” position), and, when I (Kim) tried to take the spinnaker down, a puff hit, and splash!
Warning: Don't try this at home
We were the first to swim, but not the last. Increasing winds (and some unofficial reports of wind readings after the fact were recorded in the 25-30 range) resulted in more carnage. Henry Bernstein and crew, Paul Cocatos and Chuck Tanner, Ron Plesch and Barry, and Martin Holland and Bob all took a refreshing dip in the harbor. Just about everyone looked like they had gone swimming upon return to the dock. I suspect there was a lot of wet gear hanging in bathrooms overnight. Fortunately, the club’s rebuild after Hurricane Charley included bathrooms with wonderful heat and lots of hot water!
Ron and Barry won the first race, we heard that going right got you to flatter water and that was helpful. Mark and Tina won the 2nd, and the Safety Boat folks had their hands full with the swimmers, so the plan was for 3 races on Sunday, especially with better weather in the forecast. If you look at the results, there was a bit of alphabet soup, so just finishing races without being OCS put you in pretty good standing for Sunday.
The reports of racing Saturday, were not only was the windspeed a challenge, but the shifts were tricky, as they are when they come off the land, taking many by surprise.
The schedule allowed for a bit of downtime at the hotel prior to return to the club for rehashment of the experiences of the day. The van has some regatta funk and the spinnaker smells fishy, VERY fishy. Martin had race trophies for the top three finishers in each race. Way to go, Martin!
Wake turned us on to a great hotel that he pricelined and we took advantage of it, and passed the word on to Mark. Nice having us all next to each other, and this particular Country Inn and Suites had the benefit of large bathrooms and W/D to hang wet stuff in, as well as dry Dave’s sneakers. Note to self, bring more than one pair of shoes to a regatta. Not a problem for the girl who had no less than 4 pr this weekend!
Distance kudos goes to Mark Fleckenstein who made it to Sarasota in November AND here from Lake Scheneyadelas (Dave, please look this up for me)(no, its close enough)in NY. Again, great to see the folks making the trip.
Sunday morning was chilly. Dave said, “Forget it,” or something like that…Chilly enough that we stayed in bed, but had thoughts of catching 1 or 2 races later in the am. Weather Channel said, 33 deg with an optimistic “Feels like 28 deg.” Nice. The sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day, so, at least the long distance travelers and the folks who were still drying out from the gray, windy day yesterday had some great racing today. We found quite a bit of mud on, and water in, the mast and thought it better that we do some safety inventory and try again another weekend, our luck hadn’t been too good this time. We watched a little from land as we packed up the boat.
Nice job by Chris Morgan with Monica crewing, no letters and they cruised to a nice win. Here are the results
Nice job also by all the volunteers at the club. This looks like it will be a great annual stop on the District schedule.
We’re thinking of coming back for the Charlotte Harbor Regatta in a couple of weeks for some practice and to shake off the bad juju from this weekend before the State Series in Eustis. Speaking of Eustis the dates are Feb 19 and 20. Registration is open here is a link to the club website. Look for the George Washigton Birthday Regatta.
The fleet will be doing a sunset celebration Saturday night, sunsets on the lake can be awesome. Here is a link to last year's Eustis Regatta Hope to see you in the big crowd.
Florida State Series Race
Jan 22-23 2011
Kim's report (mostly)
Yay! Another State Series Race! We were looking forward to a return trip to Charlotte Harbor since the location is beautiful, the folks are nice, and the fleet has been growing, and developing their Scot sailing skills.
John Wake swung by as he was driving home from an (unexpected) trip to Key West for Race Week. We love to see the out-of-staters! He called up Terry from the minors to join him; Mrs. Wake is recovering from a surprise heart catheterization, or she may have made the trip.
Blast from the past, Jim Egan, also made an appearance crewing with Marshall Pardey, recently back from a trip overseas. The two were OCS in the first, crap! On Sunday, we think they cruised to a beautiful finish in the first race (we were watching from land).
Saturday started out with everyone talking about the weather and forecasted winds were pretty heavy, but one website had nothing over 15 kn all day, so we liked that one and went with it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close. The field and parking lot were buzzing with activity for the 11:30 start, and all boats were in and off the dock except our old friend, FS 38, who grappled with a “mechanical problem” that we didn’t quite get the full story on.
Sadly, due to our own “mechanical problem,” we didn’t make it to the racecourse ourselves. A bit of swimming and a lot of mud on the mast later, we returned to the dock to get warm and dry. Turns out, a missing nut on the rudder head may have been the culprit. With it gone, there was not enough tension keeping the rudder in place (the “down” position), and, when I (Kim) tried to take the spinnaker down, a puff hit, and splash!
Warning: Don't try this at home
We were the first to swim, but not the last. Increasing winds (and some unofficial reports of wind readings after the fact were recorded in the 25-30 range) resulted in more carnage. Henry Bernstein and crew, Paul Cocatos and Chuck Tanner, Ron Plesch and Barry, and Martin Holland and Bob all took a refreshing dip in the harbor. Just about everyone looked like they had gone swimming upon return to the dock. I suspect there was a lot of wet gear hanging in bathrooms overnight. Fortunately, the club’s rebuild after Hurricane Charley included bathrooms with wonderful heat and lots of hot water!
Ron and Barry won the first race, we heard that going right got you to flatter water and that was helpful. Mark and Tina won the 2nd, and the Safety Boat folks had their hands full with the swimmers, so the plan was for 3 races on Sunday, especially with better weather in the forecast. If you look at the results, there was a bit of alphabet soup, so just finishing races without being OCS put you in pretty good standing for Sunday.
The reports of racing Saturday, were not only was the windspeed a challenge, but the shifts were tricky, as they are when they come off the land, taking many by surprise.
The schedule allowed for a bit of downtime at the hotel prior to return to the club for rehashment of the experiences of the day. The van has some regatta funk and the spinnaker smells fishy, VERY fishy. Martin had race trophies for the top three finishers in each race. Way to go, Martin!
Wake turned us on to a great hotel that he pricelined and we took advantage of it, and passed the word on to Mark. Nice having us all next to each other, and this particular Country Inn and Suites had the benefit of large bathrooms and W/D to hang wet stuff in, as well as dry Dave’s sneakers. Note to self, bring more than one pair of shoes to a regatta. Not a problem for the girl who had no less than 4 pr this weekend!
Distance kudos goes to Mark Fleckenstein who made it to Sarasota in November AND here from Lake Scheneyadelas (Dave, please look this up for me)(no, its close enough)in NY. Again, great to see the folks making the trip.
Sunday morning was chilly. Dave said, “Forget it,” or something like that…Chilly enough that we stayed in bed, but had thoughts of catching 1 or 2 races later in the am. Weather Channel said, 33 deg with an optimistic “Feels like 28 deg.” Nice. The sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day, so, at least the long distance travelers and the folks who were still drying out from the gray, windy day yesterday had some great racing today. We found quite a bit of mud on, and water in, the mast and thought it better that we do some safety inventory and try again another weekend, our luck hadn’t been too good this time. We watched a little from land as we packed up the boat.
Nice job by Chris Morgan with Monica crewing, no letters and they cruised to a nice win. Here are the results
Nice job also by all the volunteers at the club. This looks like it will be a great annual stop on the District schedule.
We’re thinking of coming back for the Charlotte Harbor Regatta in a couple of weeks for some practice and to shake off the bad juju from this weekend before the State Series in Eustis. Speaking of Eustis the dates are Feb 19 and 20. Registration is open here is a link to the club website. Look for the George Washigton Birthday Regatta.
The fleet will be doing a sunset celebration Saturday night, sunsets on the lake can be awesome. Here is a link to last year's Eustis Regatta Hope to see you in the big crowd.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Photos from 2010 Gator Bowl
Lori was volunteering on the mark boat and was kind enough to snap some nice photos on Saturday. I have posted a few of them, they are high resolution so clicking them will show some nice detail. Enjoy!
The Lintons (4925) leading the way to the top mark
Dave Thinel 4901, Hunter Riddle 19, John Kreidler 2677, Donna Mohr 5502
Al Terhune 5761, Chris Morgan 842, John Wake 5341
Hunter Riddle 19, Mark Taylor 4321
Tommy Smith 4909, Thomas Darcy 5828
A good portion of the fleet
Todd Stickley 4171, Charlie Fowler 2496, John Kreidler
The run
Vincent Gubbini 5309, Thomas Mcnally 5179
Rob Smith singlehanding 4145
Check back with the Rudder Club website for some more photos soon.
The Lintons (4925) leading the way to the top mark
Dave Thinel 4901, Hunter Riddle 19, John Kreidler 2677, Donna Mohr 5502
Al Terhune 5761, Chris Morgan 842, John Wake 5341
Hunter Riddle 19, Mark Taylor 4321
Tommy Smith 4909, Thomas Darcy 5828
A good portion of the fleet
Todd Stickley 4171, Charlie Fowler 2496, John Kreidler
The run
Vincent Gubbini 5309, Thomas Mcnally 5179
Rob Smith singlehanding 4145
Check back with the Rudder Club website for some more photos soon.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Gator Bowl, Day 2
We were thinking that early morning rain would totally suck so when we woke up at the hotel and saw a lot of light peaking through the curtains we were hopeful. We pulled back the curtains and.... Blue Sky! Sweet! Some cool weather is much easier to take if the sun is out and it is not windy either.
We arrived at the club around 8 to get ready for the 10 am start and as we were all leaving the dock the clouds came and breeze filled in.
Still having some issues with the red gust line, I guess
Just before the start we saw Rob Smith capsize while singlehanding again. Being fairly close to the bridge this had the ugly potential going big time. Rob reacted quickly and was over the high side and standing on the board. In what seemed like record time he had the boat coming upright and he climbed in and seemed to be dry. We were impressed! We also hoped he would head back to the club since the breeze was building and it was too much to singlehand. Thankfully, he did.
We left off yesterday with Jeff Linton leading Al Terhune by 2 points but that lead was cut in half when Al won the first race with Jeff second. The last race would decide the winner and Al jumped out to an aerly lead. At the top mark Al was first and Jeff was back in fifth or sixth but Jeff made up ground on the run then rounded the left gate and banged the right side hard. We were shocked to see him cruising back in on starboard and he crossed the leaders by a healthy margin. The run was uneventful, Jeff got the bullet and Al was second. It was an incredible turn around to see. Congrads to the winners and thanks from Wally Gator who has grown fond of Davis Island.
It was also nice to see several new scot owners along with a good group from outside the District. I'll get some results up soon.
We arrived at the club around 8 to get ready for the 10 am start and as we were all leaving the dock the clouds came and breeze filled in.
Still having some issues with the red gust line, I guess
Just before the start we saw Rob Smith capsize while singlehanding again. Being fairly close to the bridge this had the ugly potential going big time. Rob reacted quickly and was over the high side and standing on the board. In what seemed like record time he had the boat coming upright and he climbed in and seemed to be dry. We were impressed! We also hoped he would head back to the club since the breeze was building and it was too much to singlehand. Thankfully, he did.
We left off yesterday with Jeff Linton leading Al Terhune by 2 points but that lead was cut in half when Al won the first race with Jeff second. The last race would decide the winner and Al jumped out to an aerly lead. At the top mark Al was first and Jeff was back in fifth or sixth but Jeff made up ground on the run then rounded the left gate and banged the right side hard. We were shocked to see him cruising back in on starboard and he crossed the leaders by a healthy margin. The run was uneventful, Jeff got the bullet and Al was second. It was an incredible turn around to see. Congrads to the winners and thanks from Wally Gator who has grown fond of Davis Island.
It was also nice to see several new scot owners along with a good group from outside the District. I'll get some results up soon.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Gator Bowl In Jacksonville, Day 1
A pretty healthy group of Scot sailors turned out for the 2010 Gator Bowl. I think the final tally was 26 boats which is well above the average of 18 over the last 5 years or so.
The weather on Saturday was actually really nice, a little better than was forecasted on Friday. It was cool early but by 10:00 am it was nice enough to be shedding clothing. The breeze looked a little shaky but it filled in before lunch and was at times more than the lightweights would have preferred.
Not sure what happened to the red gust line but you get the idea
Three W/L (twice around) races were completed by 3-ish and we were heading in. As usual there was an abundance of trickiness (a word?) to be had, as the wind did the lake thing. The current was flowing north at a good pace, as well, so some good stategy would come in handy to deal with that.
We don't have a Wild Man award, but if we did John Kreidler would get it. While we were heading out to dinner in Jax, John Wake traded a text or 2 with JK. JK was sitting in a bar with Dennis the Lightning guy, in South Carolina with a proper frame of mind when they said "want to go?" With the all-important wife's permission they decide it was a go. Sadly, the boat was sitting at the club which added 2 hours to the drive. After catching a little sleep they departed at 2 am to get the boat then head south to FL.
About 10 am they rolled into the club, looking none the worse for wear. Talk about wanting to go racing.
Two locals receive runner up awards for sailing solo today- Kudos to Rob Smith and Warren Keene!! Singlehanding in 5 knots is one thing but when it is shifty and gusting over 15 its another deal.
Oh yeah we should mention the Lintons have a one point edge on Al Terhune who is just ahead of Robbie Brown.
Tomorrow; rain early, high 59, NW wind 15 to 20...
Out.
The weather on Saturday was actually really nice, a little better than was forecasted on Friday. It was cool early but by 10:00 am it was nice enough to be shedding clothing. The breeze looked a little shaky but it filled in before lunch and was at times more than the lightweights would have preferred.
Not sure what happened to the red gust line but you get the idea
Three W/L (twice around) races were completed by 3-ish and we were heading in. As usual there was an abundance of trickiness (a word?) to be had, as the wind did the lake thing. The current was flowing north at a good pace, as well, so some good stategy would come in handy to deal with that.
We don't have a Wild Man award, but if we did John Kreidler would get it. While we were heading out to dinner in Jax, John Wake traded a text or 2 with JK. JK was sitting in a bar with Dennis the Lightning guy, in South Carolina with a proper frame of mind when they said "want to go?" With the all-important wife's permission they decide it was a go. Sadly, the boat was sitting at the club which added 2 hours to the drive. After catching a little sleep they departed at 2 am to get the boat then head south to FL.
About 10 am they rolled into the club, looking none the worse for wear. Talk about wanting to go racing.
Two locals receive runner up awards for sailing solo today- Kudos to Rob Smith and Warren Keene!! Singlehanding in 5 knots is one thing but when it is shifty and gusting over 15 its another deal.
Oh yeah we should mention the Lintons have a one point edge on Al Terhune who is just ahead of Robbie Brown.
Tomorrow; rain early, high 59, NW wind 15 to 20...
Out.
Monday, November 15, 2010
FLorida District in Sarasota
The second stop on the district tour was in Sunny Sarasota. Twenty seven skippers attended and enjoyed nearly perfect conditions. I failed to get any photos but here is a wind graph for saturday showing a nice afternoon sea breeze;
We started at 12:30 and sailed three races saturday with the result being a tightly packed bunch, aside from the Lintons who were cruising with three bullets!
Here is Sundays graph;
We started at 10:30 in a light easterly but as the lead boats approached the weather mark the wind vanished. As is normal with an abandonement nearly everyone was leading the race!
The transition to sea breeze was slow (as the graph shows) but around 1-ish we got going again and had nice conditions for the Lintons to grab two more bullets. Marshall Pardey was going strong as well and finished with a solid second. We were ocs in the last race and finished tenth (I think), Chris Morgan had one too so that was costly.
Awesome job by the volunteers led by Charlie Clifton, PRO and Chuck Tanner, Regatta Chair. I'll add a link to results when they are up.
Next up is Jacksonville, December 4 and 5, here is a link to the Rudder Club website; http://www.rudderclub.com/ . Lets Go!
We started at 12:30 and sailed three races saturday with the result being a tightly packed bunch, aside from the Lintons who were cruising with three bullets!
Here is Sundays graph;
We started at 10:30 in a light easterly but as the lead boats approached the weather mark the wind vanished. As is normal with an abandonement nearly everyone was leading the race!
The transition to sea breeze was slow (as the graph shows) but around 1-ish we got going again and had nice conditions for the Lintons to grab two more bullets. Marshall Pardey was going strong as well and finished with a solid second. We were ocs in the last race and finished tenth (I think), Chris Morgan had one too so that was costly.
Awesome job by the volunteers led by Charlie Clifton, PRO and Chuck Tanner, Regatta Chair. I'll add a link to results when they are up.
Next up is Jacksonville, December 4 and 5, here is a link to the Rudder Club website; http://www.rudderclub.com/ . Lets Go!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Miami/FL District Regatta
A light turnout of Scots was met with mostly light wind but enough to get the five scheduled races in over two days. Ron Pletsch with Barry crewing took 4 out of five bullets for a solid win. Congrats to Ron and Barry!
Flying Scot FL District #1/ Miami Results
Pos Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 5= Total Points
1 15 Flying Sidewalk Pesch, Ron 1 1 1 4 1= 8
2 5672 Volee Kurtz, David 2 2 3 1 7/OCS= 15
3 5399 Margaritaville Whipple, Larry 5 5 4 3 2= 19
4 5220 Air America Price, Bud 6 3 2 2 7/OCS= 20
5 5104 Holland, Martin 3 4 5 6 3= 21
6 4595 Being There Stroleny, Vladimir 4 6 6 5 4= 25
The points for the District Standings will be; 1st- 90, 2- 85, 3- 80, 4- 74, 5- 67, 6- 60.
Next up on the schedule is Sarasota, November 13 and 14, let's hope for good weather and a big turnout!
Flying Scot FL District #1/ Miami Results
Pos Sail Boat Skipper 1 2 3 4 5= Total Points
1 15 Flying Sidewalk Pesch, Ron 1 1 1 4 1= 8
2 5672 Volee Kurtz, David 2 2 3 1 7/OCS= 15
3 5399 Margaritaville Whipple, Larry 5 5 4 3 2= 19
4 5220 Air America Price, Bud 6 3 2 2 7/OCS= 20
5 5104 Holland, Martin 3 4 5 6 3= 21
6 4595 Being There Stroleny, Vladimir 4 6 6 5 4= 25
The points for the District Standings will be; 1st- 90, 2- 85, 3- 80, 4- 74, 5- 67, 6- 60.
Next up on the schedule is Sarasota, November 13 and 14, let's hope for good weather and a big turnout!
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