After spending the night at the Big Wheel Park in St. Mary's GA we had a fairly short trip to Orlando. We were jones'ing big time to see the girls, nothing like seeing them after a week, they practically come out of there skin with excitement. This time was no different except that there was a golden retriever named Sterling in the house that stuck to us like glue. Sterling is five and has just been used to breed and has not had much of a life. Carol thought the 9 days with our two did some good for Sterling, got to see what it is like to be a dog. Cool!
We made it home just before 3 pm, the only traffic we hit was passing through Tampa which is mostly to be expected with the construction. The RV did well after the brake repair done on Saturday. We have to give a plug to Huntersville Ford, they were a pleasure to deal with. We got lucky that we broke down only 2 miles from them, which allowed us to limp to them after the brakes cooled down for a couple hours. We were also fortunate that we did not get them really hot, so we did not damage the bearings, rotors or even the pads.
The folks at LNYC did a fine job with the regatta. Holding an event there during summer is always a little risky due to the high chance for light wind. However, unlike some recent NAC's we got all the races in and the RC did a really good job. We were reminded again why this is one of our favorite venues. I would not have wanted the job of PRO with the weather we had.
The Lintons staged a solid come from behind victory to repeat as NAC champions. This is no small feat considering they needed to overcome Allan Terhunes lead who is a multiple champion himself. Not to mention a bunch of great teams that filled out the rest of the top 10. Way to go Amy and Jeff!!!
John Kreidler is the man! Well most of the time, at least when he is not it he weeds. He was kind enough to stop and offer to help as we waited, stuck on the side of the interstate. It appeared we were going to have to leave the boat behind since the wrecker was unwilling to double tow the RV with the boat attached. He went and found a place off the highway and dropped his boat and came back for ours. In the end we never got a tow, which is a long story but he did take our boat to the Ford dealer. Thanks John, we owe you big time!
Speaking of thanks, we also need to thank Harry Carpenter for his above and beyond assistance with our boat. When we were at LNYC for the Great 48 regatta Harry took our boat back to the factory and left his boat at the club. Our boat had soft side decks that led to a bunch of cracks in the gelcoat around the cockpit. He re-cored the side decks then re gelled the entire deck which turned out excellent. That is an unpleasant enough job that I would have put it off probably forever. After doing these and a few other repairs Harry brought the boat to LNYC for us to sail at the NAC. That is some awesome service! If your boat needs some fixin give Harry a call.
That's it for now, our future event plans may include a trip to Fishing Bay YC for their annual regatta in August. Next year the NAC is in Toms River NJ, like last time we will probably skip that one but we will see. Planning to visit New Orleans in March for the 2014 Midwinters.
Thanks for reading.
Showing posts with label NAC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NAC. Show all posts
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Getting home
First thing, off to see Jeff, our Ford dealer service guy at 8:20 am to encourage him to start working on the RV --quickly. He said they would be working on it "soon." At 10:00, we did a little happy dance and cheers went up from the crowd as they moved our rolling home into a bay!
Jeff came to us with the news that we needed new calipers. The parts were a half hour away... So, some quick mental calculation, a couple of more hours of work and an hour to retrieve various pieces and parts and we figured we would be on the road again around two-ish, we hoped.
At right about 2:00, Jeff said they would be ready to take it for a test drive! The verdict is it rides nicely, no pulling, so it seems we are good to go. At 2:20, the boat is hooked up and we are on the road again. So we get a few miles down the road and , it's fine. Our next stop is to be picking up our dogs in Orlando but that will likely take until midnight or 1 am which won't work so we decided to shoot for st. Mary's GA. It is near the FL/GA line and there is a nice little rv campground there that we stayed at before.
We ended up arriving there just a it was getting dark so the timing was good for some dinner and the much anticipated beer.
Should be under four hours to get to the dogs in the am. Looking forward to seeing them!!
Jeff came to us with the news that we needed new calipers. The parts were a half hour away... So, some quick mental calculation, a couple of more hours of work and an hour to retrieve various pieces and parts and we figured we would be on the road again around two-ish, we hoped.
At right about 2:00, Jeff said they would be ready to take it for a test drive! The verdict is it rides nicely, no pulling, so it seems we are good to go. At 2:20, the boat is hooked up and we are on the road again. So we get a few miles down the road and , it's fine. Our next stop is to be picking up our dogs in Orlando but that will likely take until midnight or 1 am which won't work so we decided to shoot for st. Mary's GA. It is near the FL/GA line and there is a nice little rv campground there that we stayed at before.
We ended up arriving there just a it was getting dark so the timing was good for some dinner and the much anticipated beer.
Should be under four hours to get to the dogs in the am. Looking forward to seeing them!!
Friday, July 19, 2013
The last day of racing
Everyone was awake early and in the water. It's serious, and this is the last day to make the regatta. With only 2 races completed, the RC needs one more to constitute a regatta. They extended the time frame till 3:00 pm, to make sure they get it. Turns out, we raced 3, 4 leg races today. Downwind finishes are our fave, and we had a pretty good day in building 4-6-8 kt breeze. Its kind of strange that we have once again finished 11th at the NAC, third time in four tries. team Tampa had a good time of it with 3 in the top 10 and 5 in the top 13 or something like that. The RC did their best to make good courses, but maybe a little too much time between races getting everything, "just right."
Jeff and Amy Linton prevailed, so happy for them!! two in a row!!
We decided to hit the road before awards, since the ceremony was taking some time to get started and we were anxious to see the girls and get home tomorrow.
Unfortunately , the highway gods had other plans for us. About 12-15 mi down the road from the club, Dave started feeling some resistance on the right side front brake. When we weren't able to roll downhill, and it was pulling hard to the right, we decided it might be time to stop and further assess the situation. Sitting on the side of the road, nervous about the RV and the boat, Chris and Monica Morgan were the first to stop to offer assist. We were on the phone with the roadside assistance people and thought they would send a tow quickly to the nearest Ford dealer, or RV service center. Sadly, they had some misinformation regarding the tow companies who actually tow RVs and service centers who service said RVs. Kreidler was the next poor sod to come along and stop to offer assist. By then, we realized the roadside assistance co was of little help, and we were making other plans. With 3 smart phones and an iPad, we were able to rule out some other tow companies and convince a Ford dealer in Huntersville to work on the RV. After this amount of time, (2hours) the brakes cooled off enough that we were able to drive the 2 miles to the dealer. Kreidler dropped his boat off at a parking lot nearby, and towed our boat to the dealer, as well. Gosh, what a fortunate series of events. Conveniently, a Best Western is located across the street from the dealer, and we are comfy and cool in our post-pool and beer temporary location. Hope to have the rig fixed in the morning sometime, but we'll probably only make it part of the way home, as it would be poor form to wake the Dogsitter up at midnight to get the girls. Miss them so much, but glad they didn't have to play this game, although the Best Western would have been happy to accommodate them, too, for a nominal fee.
So, didn't quite make it as far as we thought we might today, but, for this to happen, it probably occurred at the best time in the best place.
We will see what happens in the am.
Jeff and Amy Linton prevailed, so happy for them!! two in a row!!
We decided to hit the road before awards, since the ceremony was taking some time to get started and we were anxious to see the girls and get home tomorrow.
Unfortunately , the highway gods had other plans for us. About 12-15 mi down the road from the club, Dave started feeling some resistance on the right side front brake. When we weren't able to roll downhill, and it was pulling hard to the right, we decided it might be time to stop and further assess the situation. Sitting on the side of the road, nervous about the RV and the boat, Chris and Monica Morgan were the first to stop to offer assist. We were on the phone with the roadside assistance people and thought they would send a tow quickly to the nearest Ford dealer, or RV service center. Sadly, they had some misinformation regarding the tow companies who actually tow RVs and service centers who service said RVs. Kreidler was the next poor sod to come along and stop to offer assist. By then, we realized the roadside assistance co was of little help, and we were making other plans. With 3 smart phones and an iPad, we were able to rule out some other tow companies and convince a Ford dealer in Huntersville to work on the RV. After this amount of time, (2hours) the brakes cooled off enough that we were able to drive the 2 miles to the dealer. Kreidler dropped his boat off at a parking lot nearby, and towed our boat to the dealer, as well. Gosh, what a fortunate series of events. Conveniently, a Best Western is located across the street from the dealer, and we are comfy and cool in our post-pool and beer temporary location. Hope to have the rig fixed in the morning sometime, but we'll probably only make it part of the way home, as it would be poor form to wake the Dogsitter up at midnight to get the girls. Miss them so much, but glad they didn't have to play this game, although the Best Western would have been happy to accommodate them, too, for a nominal fee.
So, didn't quite make it as far as we thought we might today, but, for this to happen, it probably occurred at the best time in the best place.
We will see what happens in the am.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The real racing has to wait
another day. It turns out the forecast for little to no wind turned out to be spot on for Thursday. We did a couple hour postponement but at about 11:30 the RC canceled for the day and we were free to roam. We spent a good part of the afternoon at the rental house (SWEET!) with the gang. The house is the second house south of the club and right on the lake. This one is a keeper, for sure. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon in the lake since it was pretty hot, could be worse.
Friday looks a little more promising with the forecasts generally calling for 5 or 6 knots. The time limit for the last race has been adjusted from 1 pm to 3 pm. The start time is 9:30 so if breeze is on we could get 2 or maybe 3 races in.
Fingers are crossed....
Friday looks a little more promising with the forecasts generally calling for 5 or 6 knots. The time limit for the last race has been adjusted from 1 pm to 3 pm. The start time is 9:30 so if breeze is on we could get 2 or maybe 3 races in.
Fingers are crossed....
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The real racing begins...
Today is the first "real" day of racing. This morning, the water was calm, and folks were saying it's starting off worse than yesterday. (Lighter wind)
The RC was going with the forecast and set up a course. We were slow to get going, and they politely postponed to let everyone leave the harbor and have a chance to get to the racecourse.
The RC gamely went after 2 races today. The first, a 5 legger, with variable breeze. The second, in somewhat less breeze, dying around some of us on the torturous downwind leg, and they shortened to 3 legs. We had an ok day, could have been better but after talking with some others it could have been much worse. Results are posted on www.lnyc.org.
If you are into another take on things there is Amy's site www.amysmithlinton.com she has a lot more words than us plus she's smart, so check it out.
Phew! Races over, time for swimming, drinking, snacking, kibitzing, napping, reading, boat adjusting (wow, we were busy), dinner with ferocious ankle biters! Sleep. The RC is already suggesting that we find alternate activities for tomorrow. Hmmmmmm...
The RC was going with the forecast and set up a course. We were slow to get going, and they politely postponed to let everyone leave the harbor and have a chance to get to the racecourse.
The RC gamely went after 2 races today. The first, a 5 legger, with variable breeze. The second, in somewhat less breeze, dying around some of us on the torturous downwind leg, and they shortened to 3 legs. We had an ok day, could have been better but after talking with some others it could have been much worse. Results are posted on www.lnyc.org.
If you are into another take on things there is Amy's site www.amysmithlinton.com she has a lot more words than us plus she's smart, so check it out.
Phew! Races over, time for swimming, drinking, snacking, kibitzing, napping, reading, boat adjusting (wow, we were busy), dinner with ferocious ankle biters! Sleep. The RC is already suggesting that we find alternate activities for tomorrow. Hmmmmmm...
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Day 2 of qualifying, or not
One would think that with all the time we had to write today, that we would have a bunch of stuff written...sadly, there was nothing much going on, so not much to write about.
We were quite amazed that 8 hours could pass, without much notice. A summary : sitting, sweating, swimming, socializing, siesta-ing, stretching, snoozing... Also a good Top Gun chat with Allan Terhune, Paul Abdullah, Steve Shaw, and Jeff Linton. Good questions from the group, and good feedback from the experts.
Then the talk turned to dinner. Team Florida and friends planned for pizza at a local fave Pie in the Sky, and the Mad House and friends have reservations at Joe Fish.
The forecast is not too favorable for racing tomorrow, either, although some seem to feel it is "solid".
While we were chatting on the porch and listening to the RC on the radio, apparently some radio pirates captured the airwaves with a Buffet tune, something about being 5o'clock somewhere? Who could that have been. Then, a rogue rendition of the chicken dance heard between wind reports. Those RC folks are doing quite a job, too bad the wind isn't cooperating for them, much. Funny quote of the day, on the radio topic... A time when "let's go private on channel 70" was heard at an event, just made everyone giggle.
Goal for the day: stay cool and in the shade.
As for sailing, the fleet is split based on the race from yesterday, top half championship and bottom half challenger. There were a couple of requests for championship fleet placement but the committee did not grant them. There is some criteria to these things....
Starts for the rest of the week are scheduled for 9:30. The forecasted wind for tomorrow is solid all afternoon, but it is for 4 knots. Time will tell but we think it is on.
Team Tampa is out for dinner.
We were quite amazed that 8 hours could pass, without much notice. A summary : sitting, sweating, swimming, socializing, siesta-ing, stretching, snoozing... Also a good Top Gun chat with Allan Terhune, Paul Abdullah, Steve Shaw, and Jeff Linton. Good questions from the group, and good feedback from the experts.
Then the talk turned to dinner. Team Florida and friends planned for pizza at a local fave Pie in the Sky, and the Mad House and friends have reservations at Joe Fish.
The forecast is not too favorable for racing tomorrow, either, although some seem to feel it is "solid".
While we were chatting on the porch and listening to the RC on the radio, apparently some radio pirates captured the airwaves with a Buffet tune, something about being 5o'clock somewhere? Who could that have been. Then, a rogue rendition of the chicken dance heard between wind reports. Those RC folks are doing quite a job, too bad the wind isn't cooperating for them, much. Funny quote of the day, on the radio topic... A time when "let's go private on channel 70" was heard at an event, just made everyone giggle.
Goal for the day: stay cool and in the shade.
As for sailing, the fleet is split based on the race from yesterday, top half championship and bottom half challenger. There were a couple of requests for championship fleet placement but the committee did not grant them. There is some criteria to these things....
Starts for the rest of the week are scheduled for 9:30. The forecasted wind for tomorrow is solid all afternoon, but it is for 4 knots. Time will tell but we think it is on.
Team Tampa is out for dinner.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Monday Day 1 Qualifiers
Last night they awarded the Women's NAC Winners, Edie Sullivan, Wendy Diard, and Heidi Gough on the 1st place boat and Morgan Iriel, Kenzie Currie and Kaaren Rue on the 2nd place boat. They had some good wind yesterday, and those we spoke to said they had fun! Team Tampa was solid in the Junior division with father/son representatives Hobbs and Taylor taking home the trophies for 1st and 2nd. Great work, so proud!
Tis morning was interesting because the start was to be at 9:30, which means we all had to be early risers. Several folks launched their boats with their own vehicles to ensure making it to the warning signal on time. The club has tractors available to assist with launching and hauling out, as well, but the addition of the trucks seemed to make the process more smooth. The fleet is split between the ramp and the hoist side of the cove, so we can only really speak to the ramp launching side of the business. We were one of the first to launch with the tractor, so we were able to leisurely put the sails on and head out to the course. Why is it we only see a mark boat? The RC boat remained on the dock, due to the on shore postponement during which we all came back to the dock, as the wind (light to start with) started to die. As folks tied their boats up, John Wake performed a lovely reverse triple lindy to the delight of the crowd! After lunch, a training swim for Deb Aronsen, and a quick siesta for some, listening intently to the radio, we heard they were planning to take down the postponement flag as the random puffs started to organize into some measurable breeze. Everyone scattered! We left the pleasant porch of the Ryan/Kreidler house, re-loaded the cooler and hopped on the boat! If only Dave weren't so tired! Why is Jeff Linton running to the boat? Oh, the dock is hot and his shoes are on the boat...overheard, "I've never seen Jeff Linton run before!"
One race completed, light air, and a crazy shift at the end, not sure why they didn't try for 2 shorter races, but it was nice to have some time to work some bugs out. Again, Team Tampa finished strong (it is still qualifying races, but we're pleased) Morgans were 7th in their race, Lintons 2nd, then in the other group Hobbs were 9th, Taylors 11th, and we were 3rd. Good work, team!
Dinner and, more importantly, beer and wine served to the 68 boats present. One boat retired before starting, hope everything's ok.
Quote of the day; Amy is wearing a fluorescent orange sailing shirt (can be seen from about 10 miles away) and proclaims, "Don't round me bro". If you don't get it you probably don't race sailboats...
Tis morning was interesting because the start was to be at 9:30, which means we all had to be early risers. Several folks launched their boats with their own vehicles to ensure making it to the warning signal on time. The club has tractors available to assist with launching and hauling out, as well, but the addition of the trucks seemed to make the process more smooth. The fleet is split between the ramp and the hoist side of the cove, so we can only really speak to the ramp launching side of the business. We were one of the first to launch with the tractor, so we were able to leisurely put the sails on and head out to the course. Why is it we only see a mark boat? The RC boat remained on the dock, due to the on shore postponement during which we all came back to the dock, as the wind (light to start with) started to die. As folks tied their boats up, John Wake performed a lovely reverse triple lindy to the delight of the crowd! After lunch, a training swim for Deb Aronsen, and a quick siesta for some, listening intently to the radio, we heard they were planning to take down the postponement flag as the random puffs started to organize into some measurable breeze. Everyone scattered! We left the pleasant porch of the Ryan/Kreidler house, re-loaded the cooler and hopped on the boat! If only Dave weren't so tired! Why is Jeff Linton running to the boat? Oh, the dock is hot and his shoes are on the boat...overheard, "I've never seen Jeff Linton run before!"
One race completed, light air, and a crazy shift at the end, not sure why they didn't try for 2 shorter races, but it was nice to have some time to work some bugs out. Again, Team Tampa finished strong (it is still qualifying races, but we're pleased) Morgans were 7th in their race, Lintons 2nd, then in the other group Hobbs were 9th, Taylors 11th, and we were 3rd. Good work, team!
Dinner and, more importantly, beer and wine served to the 68 boats present. One boat retired before starting, hope everything's ok.
Quote of the day; Amy is wearing a fluorescent orange sailing shirt (can be seen from about 10 miles away) and proclaims, "Don't round me bro". If you don't get it you probably don't race sailboats...
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Flying Scot NAC lake Norman YC, Pre regatta crap
The journey begins, Friday, July 12,2013. We finally started packing for real this morning after a busy week with family in town. Dave's parents have been house hunting for a little over a month in the Sarasota/Bradenton area and staying in the Palace de Pardey in Sarasota (thanks so much Lainie and Marshall!!). They have been successful and are showing off the model home to Christy (sis) and Ashlee (niece), who flew in to town Tuesday, today.
The weather forecast seemed a little iffy (thunderstorms likely), in Moorestown, so even though we Pre-registered, the decision to attend still Seemed a little silly. Tis morning, though, final preparations were made, everything (we hope) packed, and we're on the road. The boat has been under refurbishment in MD so it is not behind us, which feels weird. It went to the Homeland with Harry after the Great 48 for some repairs so we have not seen it since then. We may call it the Guinea Pig this week.
Almost exactly 2 hours to the dogsitter's in Orlando. Dropped off the girls with old friend Mia, a small, white dog, and new friend, Sterling, a very sweet golden retriever who enjoys holding hands and being next to you. She even placed a paw on Missy's shoulder for attention. Too cute. Hope Missy doesn't try to eat her. Lexi was busy cleaning up after someone else's breakfast mess to notice new friends. On the road again just in time to experience some noontime Orlando traffic. Mixed in with the traffic is major downpours or the look of one just ahead. the trip through Orlando has us traveling north on 95 on the FL east coast which kind of sucks since that has us closer to the tropical storm offshore. We actually got off lucky with traffic jams considering the weather and were grateful for the traffic feature on the smartphones.
Found a nice state campground in SC, and miraculously it finally stopped raining. It's a smallish state park, but really nice. Very woodsy, lots of dogs, reminding us of the girls. The Edisto River is swiftly running by, good sized sites, electric, clean and mostly bug-free bath houses are pleasant aspects of the park. We were surprised to not have Mosquitos descending all evening. When Kim tried to take pictures in the morning, however, it was a different story! Still, a great stopping point close to I-95 for future trips.
Saturday, July, 13
Awoke to a light rain...it's never far away, some clouds. Able to pack up and said good bye to the friendly Park Ranger by 1000, and pulled into LNYC just before 2:00. Longer (again) than the stated 3 hours that certain electronic devices predict. Everyone seems great! Busy with boat measurement and registration! So many folks helping to make the process run smoothly. With all the land saturated by rain, the parking areas had to be rearranged. Amy and Jeff Linton brought their bikes to make the frequent trips around the cove less taxing and significantly faster. Mark and the Family Taylor, the Hobbs family and us are here to represent Team Tampa.
Dinner with part of the Ryan/Kriedler house gang ended up at the Hickory Tavern. Plans started with Vinnie at his Oyster House, but he apparently got whacked by Eddie, who has evidently taken over, but he hasn't been heard from in a while, either.
More rain expected tonight, as well.
Sunday, July 14
More arrivals and more boat measurement. We needed to finish up, but that required the assist of another vehicle, since the Rv is parked, and pushing the boat from it's assigned spot in the (did we mention mushy?) grass field to the cove would have been difficult. At least we pulled the green list from the measurement lottery (the easiest to measure). Ever-helpful John Wake pulled us around and helped with out boat covers, etc. brief appearance by Ryan at the Rv, looking forward to meeting Stacey! They arrived early this am, probably as Kriedler's crew, Mike, was about to embark on his 20 mi training run, sadly, in on and off rain, which was good from a cooling off standpoint, they may have passed in the driveway. Wake and Kim were not as ambitious but were able to join Mike for a few minutes!
Women's and Junior's NAC events scheduled for today. One came back after breaking the out haul, and another was towed back swamped.
Skipper meeting and welcome party on the slate for Sunday evening, later.
The weather forecast seemed a little iffy (thunderstorms likely), in Moorestown, so even though we Pre-registered, the decision to attend still Seemed a little silly. Tis morning, though, final preparations were made, everything (we hope) packed, and we're on the road. The boat has been under refurbishment in MD so it is not behind us, which feels weird. It went to the Homeland with Harry after the Great 48 for some repairs so we have not seen it since then. We may call it the Guinea Pig this week.
Almost exactly 2 hours to the dogsitter's in Orlando. Dropped off the girls with old friend Mia, a small, white dog, and new friend, Sterling, a very sweet golden retriever who enjoys holding hands and being next to you. She even placed a paw on Missy's shoulder for attention. Too cute. Hope Missy doesn't try to eat her. Lexi was busy cleaning up after someone else's breakfast mess to notice new friends. On the road again just in time to experience some noontime Orlando traffic. Mixed in with the traffic is major downpours or the look of one just ahead. the trip through Orlando has us traveling north on 95 on the FL east coast which kind of sucks since that has us closer to the tropical storm offshore. We actually got off lucky with traffic jams considering the weather and were grateful for the traffic feature on the smartphones.
Found a nice state campground in SC, and miraculously it finally stopped raining. It's a smallish state park, but really nice. Very woodsy, lots of dogs, reminding us of the girls. The Edisto River is swiftly running by, good sized sites, electric, clean and mostly bug-free bath houses are pleasant aspects of the park. We were surprised to not have Mosquitos descending all evening. When Kim tried to take pictures in the morning, however, it was a different story! Still, a great stopping point close to I-95 for future trips.
Saturday, July, 13
Awoke to a light rain...it's never far away, some clouds. Able to pack up and said good bye to the friendly Park Ranger by 1000, and pulled into LNYC just before 2:00. Longer (again) than the stated 3 hours that certain electronic devices predict. Everyone seems great! Busy with boat measurement and registration! So many folks helping to make the process run smoothly. With all the land saturated by rain, the parking areas had to be rearranged. Amy and Jeff Linton brought their bikes to make the frequent trips around the cove less taxing and significantly faster. Mark and the Family Taylor, the Hobbs family and us are here to represent Team Tampa.
Dinner with part of the Ryan/Kriedler house gang ended up at the Hickory Tavern. Plans started with Vinnie at his Oyster House, but he apparently got whacked by Eddie, who has evidently taken over, but he hasn't been heard from in a while, either.
More rain expected tonight, as well.
Sunday, July 14
More arrivals and more boat measurement. We needed to finish up, but that required the assist of another vehicle, since the Rv is parked, and pushing the boat from it's assigned spot in the (did we mention mushy?) grass field to the cove would have been difficult. At least we pulled the green list from the measurement lottery (the easiest to measure). Ever-helpful John Wake pulled us around and helped with out boat covers, etc. brief appearance by Ryan at the Rv, looking forward to meeting Stacey! They arrived early this am, probably as Kriedler's crew, Mike, was about to embark on his 20 mi training run, sadly, in on and off rain, which was good from a cooling off standpoint, they may have passed in the driveway. Wake and Kim were not as ambitious but were able to join Mike for a few minutes!
Women's and Junior's NAC events scheduled for today. One came back after breaking the out haul, and another was towed back swamped.
Skipper meeting and welcome party on the slate for Sunday evening, later.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
NAC 2012 Wrap Up
So we are home and back to the norm (sweating a lot) while doing the usual stuff. We usually do a wrap, final thoughts, or whatever you call it after a regatta. So here goes...
Heat is a relative thing, then there's that old humidity discussion that you have to have when discussing extreme heat or cold. The majority of time we spent in Carlyle was pretty nice with temps in the 90's and pleasant evenings. We were running the RV A/C and I was perplexed about why there was so little or no water running of the roof. Yep, it is that humidity thing. When we run it here in FL there is a heavy drip or slight stream that runs off the roof and down the side wall. So at one point I went online and discovered the humidity was only 30 something percent that day in Carlyle. That would be a new record in Florida. So today it is a typical 93 degrees and I was outside for a few minutes at lunch and I was drenched in sweat. Welcome home and Happy Humidity!
You may recall that we were unable to post pics while on the trip. Wait, let me begin with, we got a new Ipad which is awesome except for the part where I could not figure out how to add pics to this blog. This may be related to some Java script thing, I really don't know. Not even slightly aware of what java does inside a computer, familiar with how it works in a coffee mug but that may not be the same thing. Anyway, since we are able to post pics from home i am dropping a few in this post.
The Carlyle Sailing Ass. sits within the Eldon Hazlet State Park. This park is pretty nice with lots of sites, trees, bugs, cabins, deer, etc. If you are ever in this area and happen to have your RV with you it would be worth a visit. I cannot recommend tent camping for a variety of reasons but many people do it.
Tuesday was the second day of qualifying and only one raced was needed so we had some free time to kill. We hit the Walmart for some supplies and once again could not find any Walmartians. Must be something in the water... Then we went "downtown" to have some lunch at Lubars, which was really good.
Back to sailing for a moment, the club did a good job hosting the event. I will say that it appeared that a relative few volunteers were all doing a lot of volunteering. I guess this would be a good time to urge you all to help pitch in when your club is hosting a regatta. There is nothing like a good number of friendly volunteers to make a regatta a really good time. That's enough about that.
We were really glad to make this trip with Missy and Lexi, our two black labs with us. They travel really well and are good for entertainment along the way.
Missy is not shown here but if you use your imagination you can picture another black dog that looks a lot like Lexi. Sort of. The main difference between the two is Missy is in almost constant motion, so a pic of her is likely to be blurry.
Ok, more about sailing. We ended up 13 which seems about right to us though we would enjoy winning way more. The problem with winning is you have to be much better than we are and that would take practice, and lots of it. Honestly, I am not all that interested in the practice part so it is what it is.
The other thing is that we are talking about lake sailing. It seems that the best strategy was to pick a side, commit to it and hope like hell you picked the right one. In this way, it reminded me of sailing at Davis island, stay away from the middle and hope.
We were really mediocre on the windward legs but had some steller runs where we passed many boats. I think the racing would be a lot more fun if we could start with the chutes up and drag race to the bottom of the lake. Just sayin.
Apparently there were a lot of tire issues with the other racers. Not sure why but my bet is that most trailer tires seem to be real crap, lots of chinese manufacturing these days. The bright side is car/truck tires seem much better.
Another theory is that some of the interstates are in such bad shape these small tires get the shit beat out of them. So much for all those "shovel ready jobs" we here about all the time. More like shoveling BS.
Another nice thing about towing a Scot with an RV is you can and do completely forget its there. If you look closely at the following picture and check the rear view mirror you will see the view of the boat. See it? That's because you can't. Unlike towing with the van or car you can't hear it either. Talk about denial. I am guessing that we would have no idea if the tire had blown or not. As a responsible driver I do click on the rear camera about every hour to see if it is still back there. It's seems good to narrow down the search area if it should go missing.
What next... Oh Yeah the Lintons ROCK!!! This is the second time they have won the NAC, the first was in 2007 at Fishing Bay. Amy and Jeff celebrated by selling their boat! can you believe that?!! They also were wearing bow number 13 which is just flat wrong!
Anyway they traded the boat on a new one Harry was sailing all week. It is number 59 hundred something or other and is white on white on white on white like Jeff wanted, so they are happy campers. Congrats Again!!!
Thanks to all who followed this blog all week. Out
Heat is a relative thing, then there's that old humidity discussion that you have to have when discussing extreme heat or cold. The majority of time we spent in Carlyle was pretty nice with temps in the 90's and pleasant evenings. We were running the RV A/C and I was perplexed about why there was so little or no water running of the roof. Yep, it is that humidity thing. When we run it here in FL there is a heavy drip or slight stream that runs off the roof and down the side wall. So at one point I went online and discovered the humidity was only 30 something percent that day in Carlyle. That would be a new record in Florida. So today it is a typical 93 degrees and I was outside for a few minutes at lunch and I was drenched in sweat. Welcome home and Happy Humidity!
You may recall that we were unable to post pics while on the trip. Wait, let me begin with, we got a new Ipad which is awesome except for the part where I could not figure out how to add pics to this blog. This may be related to some Java script thing, I really don't know. Not even slightly aware of what java does inside a computer, familiar with how it works in a coffee mug but that may not be the same thing. Anyway, since we are able to post pics from home i am dropping a few in this post.
The Carlyle Sailing Ass. sits within the Eldon Hazlet State Park. This park is pretty nice with lots of sites, trees, bugs, cabins, deer, etc. If you are ever in this area and happen to have your RV with you it would be worth a visit. I cannot recommend tent camping for a variety of reasons but many people do it.
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| Here we have a view of the lake from our campsite, the sites were heavily shaded and perfect for the hot sunny weather we had all week. |
Tuesday was the second day of qualifying and only one raced was needed so we had some free time to kill. We hit the Walmart for some supplies and once again could not find any Walmartians. Must be something in the water... Then we went "downtown" to have some lunch at Lubars, which was really good.
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| A view down Main Street in the town of Carlyle which, according to the sign has a population of 3500. |
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| Kim, Susie and John Damagala in front of Lubar's where we enjoyed a good lunch Tuesday afternoon. |
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| Train tracks, Silos and silly tourists, what can you do? |
Back to sailing for a moment, the club did a good job hosting the event. I will say that it appeared that a relative few volunteers were all doing a lot of volunteering. I guess this would be a good time to urge you all to help pitch in when your club is hosting a regatta. There is nothing like a good number of friendly volunteers to make a regatta a really good time. That's enough about that.
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| Threw this one in in the event anyone was curious about the scenery in this part of the world. It all pretty much looks something like this. |
We were really glad to make this trip with Missy and Lexi, our two black labs with us. They travel really well and are good for entertainment along the way.
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| Lexi assuming her position in the Dinette of the RV. Her main hobby is collecting shoes. |
Missy is not shown here but if you use your imagination you can picture another black dog that looks a lot like Lexi. Sort of. The main difference between the two is Missy is in almost constant motion, so a pic of her is likely to be blurry.
Ok, more about sailing. We ended up 13 which seems about right to us though we would enjoy winning way more. The problem with winning is you have to be much better than we are and that would take practice, and lots of it. Honestly, I am not all that interested in the practice part so it is what it is.
The other thing is that we are talking about lake sailing. It seems that the best strategy was to pick a side, commit to it and hope like hell you picked the right one. In this way, it reminded me of sailing at Davis island, stay away from the middle and hope.
We were really mediocre on the windward legs but had some steller runs where we passed many boats. I think the racing would be a lot more fun if we could start with the chutes up and drag race to the bottom of the lake. Just sayin.
 |
| Arrived home to discover a slightly worn trailer tire. |
Apparently there were a lot of tire issues with the other racers. Not sure why but my bet is that most trailer tires seem to be real crap, lots of chinese manufacturing these days. The bright side is car/truck tires seem much better.
Another theory is that some of the interstates are in such bad shape these small tires get the shit beat out of them. So much for all those "shovel ready jobs" we here about all the time. More like shoveling BS.
 |
| Only a small amount of damage was done to the fender, an easy fix. Just in case you are wondering the tire still has 75 psi, so it was NOT operator error! |
Another nice thing about towing a Scot with an RV is you can and do completely forget its there. If you look closely at the following picture and check the rear view mirror you will see the view of the boat. See it? That's because you can't. Unlike towing with the van or car you can't hear it either. Talk about denial. I am guessing that we would have no idea if the tire had blown or not. As a responsible driver I do click on the rear camera about every hour to see if it is still back there. It's seems good to narrow down the search area if it should go missing.
 |
| We noticed several areas where a tornado had recently cleared a path in the brush/woods along the interstate in Georgia. Bad pic though... |
What next... Oh Yeah the Lintons ROCK!!! This is the second time they have won the NAC, the first was in 2007 at Fishing Bay. Amy and Jeff celebrated by selling their boat! can you believe that?!! They also were wearing bow number 13 which is just flat wrong!
Anyway they traded the boat on a new one Harry was sailing all week. It is number 59 hundred something or other and is white on white on white on white like Jeff wanted, so they are happy campers. Congrats Again!!!
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| Passing the Flamingo with John and Susie so I had to get a pic, we did not actually go there but since I shot it out the sunroof of the "Clifford" I felt compelled to add it here. |
Thanks to all who followed this blog all week. Out
Friday, June 29, 2012
NAC 2012, Leaving Lake Carlyle, Friday 6/29
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RC made wise decision and had 2 races Thursday, although the wind didn't cooperate exactly as planned. The original schedule was for one race Thursday, and one race Friday. Forecasted temperatures were for 104-107 deg or, at least over 100 deg for both Thurs and Fri, and they wanted to try to get us in and out early Thursday, and off the parking lot before the heat of the day. They rescheduled racing to start at 0900 on Thursday, hoping their plan would work. Unfortunately, the wind died during the first beat, the Challenger division couldn't even get off the line, and the RC abandoned the race in swift fashion. We floated around for a bit, then they sent us in for an on shore postponement. The predicted wind was out of the West / Southwest, and we weren't seeing any of that early in the day. They rescheduled us for a 1:00 start. So much for getting out of the parking lot in the heat of the day.
Fortunately, the wind came up, and after a trip back to the campsite to see the girls (who are really doing great, by the way, this camping thing seems to agree with them), they got 2 races off in the afternoon. Did we mention it was a dry heat? Like a convection oven left on long after the Thanksgiving turkey was finished and dessert was served. The weathermark was near the most southern part of the lake and the puffs that came down from the dam were quite something. Weird to have such a hot breeze near the cool water, but smart hydration kept Team FL in the game!
Yummy pig roast and awards dinner, much nicer to have the racing done, and have all the awards presented at this evening event instead of after racing on Friday when we're all hot and trying to get ready to leave. As stated on previous post, Jeff and Amy won the belt buckle for the 2nd time, Davis Island won the Fleet Award, and Team Hobbs takes home the Father/Son award. There were some other awards, too...
It was really nice to have so many boats from FL represented!
Next big things: Wife/Husband Regatta in October, Muscle Shoals, AL We have our lodge reservation, do you??!!!
Sarasota Midwinters in March, Team FL- get your volunteer hats on!
Next NAC, Lake Norman, NC Only 10 hours from Tampa area! Team FL- let's do it again!
Friday, we left the campsite around 8:30 am. Crossed bridge into KY around 1040, or so, we started thinking about where we would stop for the night, and had anticipated we would stop before Atlanta if it looked like we would be in the midst of rush hour on Friday evening, so Adairsville it is! We contacted Amy and Jeff who left after us from IL, when they said they might not be meeting us at the campground (and pool) because of a breakdown. ugh. They were by the side of the road in Paducah, and at the time of this post, it looks like that's where they'll be spending the night.
The new boat is ok, though...there was a wicked 3-way with boats at the end of the regatta. (A wild transport crew shuffle started the regatta...John Kreidler and Tom Lawton rode together to the regatta, Adam Keene flew into Indy and rode with Carrie Carpenter, and Ryan Malmgren and Harry Carpenter rode alone from what I know. Adam ended up crewing with JK, TL crewed for Ryan, and Carrie was with Dad, but back to the boat story...) Jeff bought the new boat Harry brought to the regatta, Mark Taylor bought Jeff and Amy's 4925, and Harry went home with Blastoff - Mark's 4321. Neato!!
We arrived into GA around 4:50 pm ET and one more hour to Adairsville. Harvest Moon RVPark. Good reviews on the site. Has pool, 'nuff said.
6:00 pm ET 105 deg. Forecast is a low of 68 deg. tonight, how can that happen? Unlike Lake Carlyle, we are sweating like "Piggies." The RV did well in the heat, we worked it hard today. By 8:30 pm, we had been in the pool twice. Slight negative, no bevvies allowed in the pool area...we'll get around that somehow, no worries : )
RC made wise decision and had 2 races Thursday, although the wind didn't cooperate exactly as planned. The original schedule was for one race Thursday, and one race Friday. Forecasted temperatures were for 104-107 deg or, at least over 100 deg for both Thurs and Fri, and they wanted to try to get us in and out early Thursday, and off the parking lot before the heat of the day. They rescheduled racing to start at 0900 on Thursday, hoping their plan would work. Unfortunately, the wind died during the first beat, the Challenger division couldn't even get off the line, and the RC abandoned the race in swift fashion. We floated around for a bit, then they sent us in for an on shore postponement. The predicted wind was out of the West / Southwest, and we weren't seeing any of that early in the day. They rescheduled us for a 1:00 start. So much for getting out of the parking lot in the heat of the day.
Fortunately, the wind came up, and after a trip back to the campsite to see the girls (who are really doing great, by the way, this camping thing seems to agree with them), they got 2 races off in the afternoon. Did we mention it was a dry heat? Like a convection oven left on long after the Thanksgiving turkey was finished and dessert was served. The weathermark was near the most southern part of the lake and the puffs that came down from the dam were quite something. Weird to have such a hot breeze near the cool water, but smart hydration kept Team FL in the game!
Yummy pig roast and awards dinner, much nicer to have the racing done, and have all the awards presented at this evening event instead of after racing on Friday when we're all hot and trying to get ready to leave. As stated on previous post, Jeff and Amy won the belt buckle for the 2nd time, Davis Island won the Fleet Award, and Team Hobbs takes home the Father/Son award. There were some other awards, too...
It was really nice to have so many boats from FL represented!
Next big things: Wife/Husband Regatta in October, Muscle Shoals, AL We have our lodge reservation, do you??!!!
Sarasota Midwinters in March, Team FL- get your volunteer hats on!
Next NAC, Lake Norman, NC Only 10 hours from Tampa area! Team FL- let's do it again!
Friday, we left the campsite around 8:30 am. Crossed bridge into KY around 1040, or so, we started thinking about where we would stop for the night, and had anticipated we would stop before Atlanta if it looked like we would be in the midst of rush hour on Friday evening, so Adairsville it is! We contacted Amy and Jeff who left after us from IL, when they said they might not be meeting us at the campground (and pool) because of a breakdown. ugh. They were by the side of the road in Paducah, and at the time of this post, it looks like that's where they'll be spending the night.
The new boat is ok, though...there was a wicked 3-way with boats at the end of the regatta. (A wild transport crew shuffle started the regatta...John Kreidler and Tom Lawton rode together to the regatta, Adam Keene flew into Indy and rode with Carrie Carpenter, and Ryan Malmgren and Harry Carpenter rode alone from what I know. Adam ended up crewing with JK, TL crewed for Ryan, and Carrie was with Dad, but back to the boat story...) Jeff bought the new boat Harry brought to the regatta, Mark Taylor bought Jeff and Amy's 4925, and Harry went home with Blastoff - Mark's 4321. Neato!!
We arrived into GA around 4:50 pm ET and one more hour to Adairsville. Harvest Moon RVPark. Good reviews on the site. Has pool, 'nuff said.
6:00 pm ET 105 deg. Forecast is a low of 68 deg. tonight, how can that happen? Unlike Lake Carlyle, we are sweating like "Piggies." The RV did well in the heat, we worked it hard today. By 8:30 pm, we had been in the pool twice. Slight negative, no bevvies allowed in the pool area...we'll get around that somehow, no worries : )
Thursday, June 28, 2012
NAC 2012 Races 4-5
The Lintons rallied to overcome a pretty big deficit to win the NAC for the second time.
We rallied a little as well to get 13th.
Davis Island won the best fleet award using Jeff's, our's and Greiner Hobb's scores.
It was way HOT, reported by many to be 107 at the high. The puffs down by the dam were like opening the oven door and getting the heat blast.
Scores are up at fssa.com. Will write more tomorrow, we are zapped.
We rallied a little as well to get 13th.
Davis Island won the best fleet award using Jeff's, our's and Greiner Hobb's scores.
It was way HOT, reported by many to be 107 at the high. The puffs down by the dam were like opening the oven door and getting the heat blast.
Scores are up at fssa.com. Will write more tomorrow, we are zapped.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
NAC 2012 Race 1 -3
The RC decided to change the schedule so we did 3 races today. The forecast for Thursday and Friday is for highs around 103 to 105. Today was only 90 something and breeze was nice.
So after a relatively short postponement to address some scoring issues in the Qualifying series we got out on the water. With nice wind and no general recalls it didn't take long to knock out 2 races. Sadly, they favor returning to the club for lunch so around 12:30 thats what we did. The next harbor gun would be at 2:30 for a 3:00pm warning, this was widely unpopular with most racers but....
It worked out and we got the 3rd race done and were back in the club by 5 or a little before. All the races were tricky but the third had less wind and seemed trickiest, at least to us. We never had much going and ended up with all three scores in the teens. What can you do, make a little mistake and lose 5 boats.
The Red boat is kicking butt, Kelly is second and The Lintons are third!!
So back to the weather, the start on Thursday has been bumped to 9 am to try to get us off the water before it gets really hot. If it works out there will be 2 races sailed and that will be a series so no sailing Friday. Works for us, we can head south to Florida and cool down.
Results= fssa.com.
So after a relatively short postponement to address some scoring issues in the Qualifying series we got out on the water. With nice wind and no general recalls it didn't take long to knock out 2 races. Sadly, they favor returning to the club for lunch so around 12:30 thats what we did. The next harbor gun would be at 2:30 for a 3:00pm warning, this was widely unpopular with most racers but....
It worked out and we got the 3rd race done and were back in the club by 5 or a little before. All the races were tricky but the third had less wind and seemed trickiest, at least to us. We never had much going and ended up with all three scores in the teens. What can you do, make a little mistake and lose 5 boats.
The Red boat is kicking butt, Kelly is second and The Lintons are third!!
So back to the weather, the start on Thursday has been bumped to 9 am to try to get us off the water before it gets really hot. If it works out there will be 2 races sailed and that will be a series so no sailing Friday. Works for us, we can head south to Florida and cool down.
Results= fssa.com.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
NAC Qualifying Day 2
Schedule-wise this was the lightest day of the week since we only needed to get one more qualifier race in. There was a nice breeze left over from Monday, so we had no delays. Most crews were prepping for heavy air but by the time the signal sounded it had dropped to under 10. The first group started clean and the second did the same with only a slight delay between signals. The two fleets became one which made the RC's job of scoring everyone a little tricky. There were big packs of boats finishing at nearly the same time. UGH!
The gang from Florida seems to make the cut for the Championship Division which is a releif to all. You never know about these things. As of now we have not actually seen the results but we think we know...
The best place to get results is fssa.com.
The rest of the day was pretty much filled with beer drinking with a little diversion in to the town of Carlyle. An interesting little place.
A bunch of the sailers rented lakeside cabins and they got together to host a party. What a sweet arrangement, a nice elevated bluff with a great view out over the lake.
So tomorrow starts the real racing and rumor has it they may attempt to get 3 races in instead of just 2. The weather forecast for Thursday and Friday is HOT, depending on the source they are calling for highs between 102 and 106. Yike! So the idea is to avoid some of that heat.
Out.
The gang from Florida seems to make the cut for the Championship Division which is a releif to all. You never know about these things. As of now we have not actually seen the results but we think we know...
The best place to get results is fssa.com.
The rest of the day was pretty much filled with beer drinking with a little diversion in to the town of Carlyle. An interesting little place.
A bunch of the sailers rented lakeside cabins and they got together to host a party. What a sweet arrangement, a nice elevated bluff with a great view out over the lake.
So tomorrow starts the real racing and rumor has it they may attempt to get 3 races in instead of just 2. The weather forecast for Thursday and Friday is HOT, depending on the source they are calling for highs between 102 and 106. Yike! So the idea is to avoid some of that heat.
Out.
Monday, June 25, 2012
NAC 2012 Qualifying Day 1
Finally, the day we've been waiting for! Racing!! There are 3 Qualifying races scheduled for today and tomorrow, and we were able to sail 2 of them today. Wind was good, another knot or two higher and it would have been uncomfortable. It came from the Northeast and was able to fetch down the 15 mi long lake and that made for some nice swells to surf downwind.
The first race was 4 legs, downwind finish, and the second race, to our disbelief, was a 5 legger. sheesh. More upwind practice in breeze, though, I guess. Seems like finishing downwind would have been preferred since that end of the course was near the marina cove, but maybe they had difficulty seeing boat numbers downwind.
Team Florida is doing well so far, and Team Mad Sails had some good finishes, too. Tomorrow looks to be a little less windy, so that will be nice.
The pups seem to be taking this all in stride. Presently, sleeping on the floor of the RV. Missy found the front seat this morning and she thought she looked pretty cute riding shotgun!
Looking at the weather at home, though....tornado watches, floods, craziness!! Everybody- hunker down!!
The weather here has been nice so far, hopefully they are wrong about the forecast high temps for the end of the week (102-104 deg. yikes!) The campsite area has been really comfortable with nice breeze and shade. (We'd love to post some pics, but technical difficulties prevent it at this time - isn't that always the case. Thought we had it worked out since the change to Apple-ness. Come back to the site after we get home, we'll see if we can figure it out!) The marina parking lot, on the other hand, where the boats are is quite a bit like Africa-hot. After racing we were happy to get back to the coolness of AC and shade. Dinner plans include some chicken on the barbee, yum.
Still no pics.
The first race was 4 legs, downwind finish, and the second race, to our disbelief, was a 5 legger. sheesh. More upwind practice in breeze, though, I guess. Seems like finishing downwind would have been preferred since that end of the course was near the marina cove, but maybe they had difficulty seeing boat numbers downwind.
Team Florida is doing well so far, and Team Mad Sails had some good finishes, too. Tomorrow looks to be a little less windy, so that will be nice.
The pups seem to be taking this all in stride. Presently, sleeping on the floor of the RV. Missy found the front seat this morning and she thought she looked pretty cute riding shotgun!
Looking at the weather at home, though....tornado watches, floods, craziness!! Everybody- hunker down!!
The weather here has been nice so far, hopefully they are wrong about the forecast high temps for the end of the week (102-104 deg. yikes!) The campsite area has been really comfortable with nice breeze and shade. (We'd love to post some pics, but technical difficulties prevent it at this time - isn't that always the case. Thought we had it worked out since the change to Apple-ness. Come back to the site after we get home, we'll see if we can figure it out!) The marina parking lot, on the other hand, where the boats are is quite a bit like Africa-hot. After racing we were happy to get back to the coolness of AC and shade. Dinner plans include some chicken on the barbee, yum.
Still no pics.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
NAC 2012 Pre Regatta Prep
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Measurement Day 1, arrived early, received our assignment, and discovered that yellow is bad. There were 3 randomly assigned colors to organize measurement, and yellow includes weighing the hull and measuring the centerboard. We were yellow... and bummed.
3rd to the hoist to be weighed, CB didn't quite make it, but Dave had the forethought to ask Harry to bring a new board and we made quick work of switching out and we were done. Other competitors began to arrive and it was a neat reunion time.
The club offered brat night for dinner and the beer trailer opened early. Nice beer trailer ... 4 selections to choose from! Dog walking and biking to the bath houses for showers in the dark, and all asleep at a reasonable hour. We seem to be settling in to a pattern of early to bed and early to rise, guess it is an RV thing.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
We still needed to measure our sails to complete registration, soooo, after a morning walk with the beasts, and a run for Wake and Kim, it was on the bikes for the ride to the club. We are very appreciative for the bikes, the location here, requires them if there are no 4 wheeled vehicles for transport. The campground is large and it even doesn't make sense to shower at the bath houses because you work up a sweat riding back to camp! sheesh!
Finished measurement, adjusted a few things on the boat, and returned to let the dogs out and grab some lunch at the RV. The wind came up this afternoon, and we decided to do some practice and tuning, unfortunately, the wind died. Team Hobbs from Tampa won the Junior Championship and friends Melanie Dunham and Carrie Carpenter won the Women's Championship. We all came in, and got ready for dinner back at the club including awards. Back to camp walk with the animals, and sleep. Gotta be ready for tomorrow!!! First day of racing, Qualifying rounds.
Skippers meeting 9:30 with first start at 10:30. Out.
P.S. We are unable to upload pictures, hope to figure that out.
Measurement Day 1, arrived early, received our assignment, and discovered that yellow is bad. There were 3 randomly assigned colors to organize measurement, and yellow includes weighing the hull and measuring the centerboard. We were yellow... and bummed.
3rd to the hoist to be weighed, CB didn't quite make it, but Dave had the forethought to ask Harry to bring a new board and we made quick work of switching out and we were done. Other competitors began to arrive and it was a neat reunion time.
The club offered brat night for dinner and the beer trailer opened early. Nice beer trailer ... 4 selections to choose from! Dog walking and biking to the bath houses for showers in the dark, and all asleep at a reasonable hour. We seem to be settling in to a pattern of early to bed and early to rise, guess it is an RV thing.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
We still needed to measure our sails to complete registration, soooo, after a morning walk with the beasts, and a run for Wake and Kim, it was on the bikes for the ride to the club. We are very appreciative for the bikes, the location here, requires them if there are no 4 wheeled vehicles for transport. The campground is large and it even doesn't make sense to shower at the bath houses because you work up a sweat riding back to camp! sheesh!
Finished measurement, adjusted a few things on the boat, and returned to let the dogs out and grab some lunch at the RV. The wind came up this afternoon, and we decided to do some practice and tuning, unfortunately, the wind died. Team Hobbs from Tampa won the Junior Championship and friends Melanie Dunham and Carrie Carpenter won the Women's Championship. We all came in, and got ready for dinner back at the club including awards. Back to camp walk with the animals, and sleep. Gotta be ready for tomorrow!!! First day of racing, Qualifying rounds.
Skippers meeting 9:30 with first start at 10:30. Out.
P.S. We are unable to upload pictures, hope to figure that out.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
NAC 2012 - Getting There
10:00 Wednesday, July 30, 2012
Take off! So many things to prepare! Kim was able to get out of work, thanks to her fine coworkers, and we were able to get on the road earlier than expected. Puppies have known for a while that something was in the works, and today, their excitement level peaked.
Our goal today was to drive north of the FL state line to avoid high traffic times in Atlanta and Nashville tomorrow. We figured if we got within 2 hours of Atlanta we could try to start the next morning and be just after the morning rush. That would also allow us to hit Nashville around 3:00pm and beat the afternoon rush. So that was the plan.
The dogs surprised us upon entering the RV. Lexi, the less outgoing one, usually seeks refuge under the dinette table, and Missy, the navigator, likes to sit between us and is on the alert watching the action through the front window. Today, Lexi scooted to Missy's spot in the front, and Missy established herself under the table. Missy quickly figured out something was off, stepped over Lexi, sat on her, and encouraged her to take a back seat. Lexi caught the drift and all was well.
We occupied our time with the third installment of the Hunger Games series, The Mockingjay, Almost done! They go quickly, interesting stuff, not exactly cheery but interesting.
4:00 Arrival! first stop, Twin Oaks Campground in Elko, GA. Only 1/10 mi off the highway, EZ on, EZ off! More than just convenient, Dave did some research pre-trip, and this came highly recommended on the RV and camping sites. Even better, Dave joined a camping club called Passport America (and we highly recommend this to all the RVers) and we get 1/2 price on the site! this place has a pool, hot tub, dog walk and a fenced in run. Missy says, "Tennis ball!"
After experiencing the pool and dog walk area, we found very few Mosquitos, but a whole lot of gnats. No biggie. A lovely evening with a nice breeze, and way better than overnighting in a Walmart of Truck stop where we would need to run the generator to power the AC.
Day 2 of travel, 6/21/12
The girls were very good last night (much better than on a "trial" sleepover in the RV last week), only woke up a couple of times, ready for the next adventure. When we finally did wake up, they were calm, patiently waiting for Kim to tie up her shoes.
The park has a 1/4mi loop, just like a track! the girls took Kim for a 3/4mi training run--wheeee! With frequent sniffing stops, so many new scents since many campers seem to travel with their dogs.
Can't believe while writing all this, Kim forgot to feed the girls this am.
She remembered around 10:00 while fixing herself a snack. Very wrong!!
Oops! The license plate is coming loose from the trailer as we are passing through Atlanta. It's really one of the only parts of the trailer we can see in the rear view mirror from the RV. It is dangling down a bit and possibly dragging a corner but the traffic is thick but moving so we are not stopping. The idea of effecting a roadside repair with a million trucks passing seems really stupid, plus how much could a new plate cost? We consult the map and find the next rest stop is 20 miles northwest of town and decide we will stop there, the plate will be there, or it won't. Finished Mockingjay, phew! got a little emotional toward the end. (Read; Kim is crying alot and I hate it when that happens) Now, on to something a little more lighthearted and fun...Tim Dorsey? Carl Hiaasen?
Seen on a license plate : BLESSD, like.
Around 10:40, we're past Atlanta- unscathed.
Rest stop just past exit 306, the plate is still there so we replace a bolt do a little dog walk and were off.
12:45 Into and out of TN/GA. Hwy 24 is a little schizophrenic near Chattanooga. Had us concerned for a moment that we were going the wrong way. Ah, there we go, back into TN and the Central time zone. Fun! An extra hour we weren't counting on this would help our plan for getting through Nashville. It had been a while since I passed through here and I forgot how mant times you have to exit right or exit left to continue on I-24. We were going good and almost through when we spot the sign stay left for I-24 while we are in the extreme right lane. Ugh. So we try to tuck in behing 18 wheeler guy but little car guy won't let us in. With RV and trailer were are about 55 feet so a bit of room is needed. With time running out Dave decides to gun it and we pass 18 wheeler guy and another car and cross 3 lanes of traffic to just make our left exit. You don't see too many RV'ers trying moves like that and for good reason.
2:45 Central time
crossing state line into KY. Puppies are sleeping, even over the rough roads.
After a little research, we decided on a campground just to the NW of the Land Between the Lakes National Rec. area in KY. It's a little east of Paducah which probably means absolutely nothing to you but we thought that was a fun name so had to work it in.Still a lot of daylight left to set up, catch a swim in the pool, take care of the pups. That leaves only a few hours left for tomorrow.
So the Nashville Atlanta plan worked like a charm, gotta love that.
4:00pm Central time
Fill up with gas and stop for the night at Cypress Lakes RV park in Calvert City, KY. We are in the pool and the cocktails by 5:00pm and thinking that this is a fine way to travel.
Day 3, Friday 6/22/12
Short drive to Carlyle. Departing Cypress Lake Campground. Some thoughts...bathrooms: seen better, pool bath reminds us of the beach baths on Dunedin causeway en route to Honeymoon Island. Kim has noticed she appreciates hand soap and paper towels at the bathroom sinks.
Met some nice folks, lots of full-timers there. Interesting site. Gary Yamamoto's custom bait was adventurous and impressive. Huge advertisement wrap (will have to go to baits.com when we have a chance) on a trailer towing a double decker boat/car trailer. Watched him load up this am, a one man show with a power boat and a 4-Runner below. Hooked everything up and was out in less than an hour. He had done this before!
Decided on Janet Evanovitch, we're up to Explosive 18...amazing how many books can be written about a bumbling bounty hunter. Nice brain candy after the seriousness of Hunger Games.
Missy couldn't be any closer to Dave. Wish I could take a picture, but it would be too dark. She's practically in the footwell. Guess she didn't mind being in the hottest place in the cab, she decided to lie on the floor right above the transmission which gets pretty hot.
Seen on the back of a car being towed.. "Be patient, I'm pushing this big RV!" Think this would be fun on the back of the Flying Scot.
Road to CarlyleRte 127 from south-all kinds of farmland around. Apparently these folks specialize in corn, dabble in soybeans and try their hand at something that resembles corn but not quite. May have to stop and ask...
Walmart stop before campground, Carlyle is a small town with a crowded, but clean and fairly new Walmart. 1/2 hr in the store, and no "Walmartians" were spotted this must be a world record. We notice a white truck towing a Scot leaving the store parking lot. After a few minutes, we caught up at the sailing center, and said hey to Henry Picco!
Dropped the boat off with help from the lovely Harbormaster, Mary. Team Taylor right behind us, with Team Hobbs not too far behind.
Notice another boat across from ours in the parking lot with a Masthead Enterprises top cover. Could it be? Team 4925? Jeff and Amy had been dealing with some deferred maintainence on their RV which delayed the departure. They got everything straightened out, and drove straight through. Hard Core.
We're in campsite spot Lucky #7, hope that works out for us! Sho'nuff, the Chalet and her inhabitants look settled in. By 2:00, we're getting settled in our spot.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Get a new Flying Scot for the NAC
Dreaming of a new boat for the North Americans this June? Flying Scot builder Harry Carpenter is offering a once-in-a-lifetime GROUP DISCOUNT deal!! Check it out. Get your sailing buddies on board and take advantage of this amazing opportunity!
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| A fresh new Flying Scot like one of these could be yours at a great price. |
Package price complete $19,995.00
Package price on two boat group order $17,995.00
Package price on three or more group order $16,995.00
Group Order Discounts for the 2012 NAC June
Free freight to the NAC in Carlyle, IL
These boats will be ready to sail, just add crew!
Flying Scot complete – white deck and hull with no trim stripes, fiberglass centerboard cap
Mad main, jib with AirX spinnaker
Galvanized trailer and tie-down
Mast hinge
Jib sheet cleated on seat with Harken auto ratchet
2:1 jib sheet rig
360 swivel cleat for centerboard
Ronstan X-10 fixed h-o stick
Mainsheet – 5/16 polypro - rigged 2:1 with Harken Carbo blocks
Spinnaker rig and spinnaker pole
Two rings on mast for pole
Spinnaker halyard led aft with take-up reel
Spinnaker guy hooks on deck with cleats at chainplates
Spinnaker sheets – ¼” Ultra-lite - internal system with self-ratchet cheek blocks under seat
Spinnaker turtles on forward seat corners
Outhaul – 6:1 internal wire
Cunningham system led aft to console
Vang – 12:1 cascade purchase led aft to console cleat
Pole lift – 2:1 - led through deck to console cleat
Pole downhaul – shock cord through deck
Mast head fly
Break-away rudder blade hold down pin
Tack-Tick compass and mount
Safety equipment - anchor & line, paddle, cushion, whistle, bucket & chamois
Package price complete $19,995.00
Package price on two boat group order $17,995.00
Package price on three or more group order $16,995.00
Terms – 50% down and the balance on delivery
Friday, May 11, 2012
NAC 2012 Preview
So the NAC is about 6 weeks away but the early registration discount ends next week, May 20. Looks like we may have a fairly good sized group from Florida but so far only 3 are signed up. Back in the day the discount would have been good for a tank of gas but nowadays... well, never-mind. It'll get ya some beer though!!
The organizers have put together a very nice event website with all kinds of detailed info. We will be staying at the State Park Campground which is also where the sailing facility is located.
For the first time, we will be traveling by RV this year and are looking forward to hanging out with the Lintons and John & John who will also be RV'ing it. We all have spots reserved at the the campgrounds southern end which is close to the sailing center.
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| Here we have the RV trio, as seen at the Rudder Club in Jacksonville |
Our dogs will be attending again this year so that is a highlight, for sure. Missy (the oldest) has been to 2 NAC's already so she is a veteran.
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| On the way to Ephraim WI for the 2009 NAC we stopped at Flying Scot Inc. for the Sandy Douglass where Missy got to meet Buffet (like Jimmy), the Carpenter's golden retriever |
Missy and Lexi both went to the 2010 NAC at Bay Waveland but like us they may have successfully blocked that one from the memory banks.
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| Missy and Lexi crashed out in the van on the way home from Bay Waveland, watching the weather channel all week wiped them out |
We think scheduling the regatta in June was a good plan. With some luck it will be before the big heat of summer and after the spring storms die down. Fingers are crossed!
Get your entry in and we will see you there!
In case you won't make it,
we will do updates, maybe even with a new Ipad.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
NAC Series Day 3 Final
Final race of the series in the Chamber of Commerce conditions we had been expecting on Long Island Sound: warm, lovely, 6 knots of breeze, sunshine. We got the old boat revved up and brought a little game to the day.
One general recall, and then one five-legged race in which the leaders switched positions back and forth between Al and Katie, Andrew and Jackson (an especially Southern team), with the Goughs, us, and Team Morgan nipping at their heels.
Al and Katie won the race, followed by the Goughs, and then photo finish put Andrew ahead of us (by about one foot, according to the RC), giving him the championship over Al and Katie by a single point. Tight racing up top! For the regatta, the Goughs finished third, John Aras and John Wake (skipper John is a master, btw – AND he dated Dave Perry’s sister. Cool the stuff you learn in the parking lot) we shook into fifth place, and stable-mates Team Pletsch finished sixth. Way to represent, Florida.
As always, the awards ceremony is quite a spectacle: the class has folks sign for every perpetual trophy, and there are a LOT of perpetual trophies. Al and Katie got a beautiful silver teapot trophy among the loot, which might have been for top family with female aboard? Anyway, it was a big vanload of prizes, expertly expedited by John Cooke, one of the best MCs in the biz.
Wonderful regatta. Sorry it’s over. Jeff was offering flyfishing lessons early this morning -- (ten and two Ryan! ten and two!), so the week is complete (fishing at least once every seven days). We’ve packed up the various bits and bobs (extra mast for Mark and Dean and Judy – check. Bow-bag for Ed – check. Bikes – check. Lawn furniture – check. Small dog – trick question. She’s always packed and ready), and flirted with the idea of trading the Mighty Majestic in on a less seasoned model from Harry Carpenter. We said our au reviors, had a last cocktail hour with Donny Brennan and Josh Goldman and Andrew and Jackson. We are hopeful that Andrew and Jackson will have a pleasant adventure in Manhattan and that we won't get the call for bail should any such call be needed.
Tomorrow the less scenic route home down the big highway---maybe. We’ll see what mood strikes us and the GPS gal Beatrice.
One general recall, and then one five-legged race in which the leaders switched positions back and forth between Al and Katie, Andrew and Jackson (an especially Southern team), with the Goughs, us, and Team Morgan nipping at their heels.
Al and Katie won the race, followed by the Goughs, and then photo finish put Andrew ahead of us (by about one foot, according to the RC), giving him the championship over Al and Katie by a single point. Tight racing up top! For the regatta, the Goughs finished third, John Aras and John Wake (skipper John is a master, btw – AND he dated Dave Perry’s sister. Cool the stuff you learn in the parking lot) we shook into fifth place, and stable-mates Team Pletsch finished sixth. Way to represent, Florida.
As always, the awards ceremony is quite a spectacle: the class has folks sign for every perpetual trophy, and there are a LOT of perpetual trophies. Al and Katie got a beautiful silver teapot trophy among the loot, which might have been for top family with female aboard? Anyway, it was a big vanload of prizes, expertly expedited by John Cooke, one of the best MCs in the biz.
Wonderful regatta. Sorry it’s over. Jeff was offering flyfishing lessons early this morning -- (ten and two Ryan! ten and two!), so the week is complete (fishing at least once every seven days). We’ve packed up the various bits and bobs (extra mast for Mark and Dean and Judy – check. Bow-bag for Ed – check. Bikes – check. Lawn furniture – check. Small dog – trick question. She’s always packed and ready), and flirted with the idea of trading the Mighty Majestic in on a less seasoned model from Harry Carpenter. We said our au reviors, had a last cocktail hour with Donny Brennan and Josh Goldman and Andrew and Jackson. We are hopeful that Andrew and Jackson will have a pleasant adventure in Manhattan and that we won't get the call for bail should any such call be needed.
Tomorrow the less scenic route home down the big highway---maybe. We’ll see what mood strikes us and the GPS gal Beatrice.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
NAC Series Day 2
Seems as if no matter where in the world we go, the hosts of any given sailboat race declaim loudly, “It’s NEVER like this here!” At Cedar Point YC – no one even begins to suggest that Long Island Sound won’t throw everything and anything at us. It’s always like that here…
Flying Scot Championship Racing Day 2
In the overall Winnebago adventure clock, this is Day 9.
So today, after the sailing predictions suggested that either there would be a fading Northerly dying and backing into a sea-breeze, or that the sea-breeze would kill the remaining cold front wind, or that it wasn’t nearly as windy off shore as on it. Bull. It was windy all day long.
Windy so that we even had some nice downwind runs today. And we had some holes going upwind. And there were streaks of shifted wind that could open passing lanes for people brave and lucky enough to give them a shot.
The results? Oh, I can explain. We had a rotten first race, and were lucky to end up with only 19 points. A giant cone of confusion must have settled over our mast overnight. Maybe it was the revenge of the lobster Jeff ate. Perhaps we just got, as Steve Davis says, Beflustercated. In any case, we came off the line at the pin-end in traffic and watched in noisy frustration as the right side of the course – the place we just couldn’t get to – had a big old lift in breeze. See yuh! We might have been in the 30s around the top mark. Blah blah blah, broken gooseneck track (BANG! Followed by a chorus of “oh crap, what was that??”) blah blah blah no passing lanes, no pressure, blah blah blah, deleted expletive, finishing downwind in 19th.
Luckily, Mr. Linton is no stranger to fixing problems on a boat without much equipment. That piece of fuzzy line we’d been using to tie up the main at the dock? Perfect for lashing the boom gooseneck to what was left of the track that holds it onto the mast. We watched it dubiously as we got ready for the second start. Then of course we forgot about it. This is racing. Go until it breaks, right?
Second race, we started at the pin, and despite a few moments where it looked questionable, made a one-tack beat of it, bee-lining for the dark sign of breeze along the shore. We rounded the top mark in WHOOHOO fourth place, and then hung on throughout the five legs to finish in fourth.
Andrew Eagan led the whole way, but our own Team Pletsch of Sarasota finished in second that race, edging out Al and Katie at the finish line by the power of starboard tack. Mighty black boat ahoy!
There was some carnage: I saw a couple of trailer-wheels-over-toes (ouch! No blood), plenty of bumps and oopsies at the dock, which is only natural given the ratio of Scot to dock divided by Junior Sailing boat. Watery carnage: at one point I looked upwind to see what looked like bookends in the water way off in the distance: a matched pair of flipped Scots. According to my Challenger-fleet mole, the two bookended boats turned out to be Mark and Maria Brenner, and Sandy and Keith Eustis – and then Sandy got a hand squished between mast and powerboat during retrieval. No hospital visit, so we are hopeful it’s a minor squish. Got a glimpse of it, and ouch: there is blue bruise on his palm AND on top of the hand.
He doesn't need this. Brian Hayes is calling the class upstairs for the annual meeting. I claimed this time to explore the wonders of Blender Bob’s contraption. As I mentioned earlier, this started life as a Thistle. ("Best use of a Thistle EVER," says Capt Winnebago) Powered by a gas two-stroke ("Sounds like your lawn man is bringing you a pina colada," John Aras), that runs half a dozen industrial-strength blenders. RPM control is like on a motorbike: throttle grip action!
On the other side of the contraption is a music center and my all-time-favorite technical device name, the BU 350 by American DJ, which is, of course, an automated bubble blower. It can even blow technicolor bubbles, which leaves my favorite clown joke WIDE open. (Ask me!)
Of course, hanging from a yardarm (All boats should have at least one, right?) is, of course, the piece de resistance: a disco ball. Just add liquid refreshment and you have yourself every excuse for excess and party!
One more race tomorrow -- if the wind doesn't completely crap out, which is what we have been promised. We are expecting it to blow 20.
Flying Scot Championship Racing Day 2
In the overall Winnebago adventure clock, this is Day 9.
So today, after the sailing predictions suggested that either there would be a fading Northerly dying and backing into a sea-breeze, or that the sea-breeze would kill the remaining cold front wind, or that it wasn’t nearly as windy off shore as on it. Bull. It was windy all day long.
Windy so that we even had some nice downwind runs today. And we had some holes going upwind. And there were streaks of shifted wind that could open passing lanes for people brave and lucky enough to give them a shot.
The results? Oh, I can explain. We had a rotten first race, and were lucky to end up with only 19 points. A giant cone of confusion must have settled over our mast overnight. Maybe it was the revenge of the lobster Jeff ate. Perhaps we just got, as Steve Davis says, Beflustercated. In any case, we came off the line at the pin-end in traffic and watched in noisy frustration as the right side of the course – the place we just couldn’t get to – had a big old lift in breeze. See yuh! We might have been in the 30s around the top mark. Blah blah blah, broken gooseneck track (BANG! Followed by a chorus of “oh crap, what was that??”) blah blah blah no passing lanes, no pressure, blah blah blah, deleted expletive, finishing downwind in 19th.
Luckily, Mr. Linton is no stranger to fixing problems on a boat without much equipment. That piece of fuzzy line we’d been using to tie up the main at the dock? Perfect for lashing the boom gooseneck to what was left of the track that holds it onto the mast. We watched it dubiously as we got ready for the second start. Then of course we forgot about it. This is racing. Go until it breaks, right?
Second race, we started at the pin, and despite a few moments where it looked questionable, made a one-tack beat of it, bee-lining for the dark sign of breeze along the shore. We rounded the top mark in WHOOHOO fourth place, and then hung on throughout the five legs to finish in fourth.
Andrew Eagan led the whole way, but our own Team Pletsch of Sarasota finished in second that race, edging out Al and Katie at the finish line by the power of starboard tack. Mighty black boat ahoy!
There was some carnage: I saw a couple of trailer-wheels-over-toes (ouch! No blood), plenty of bumps and oopsies at the dock, which is only natural given the ratio of Scot to dock divided by Junior Sailing boat. Watery carnage: at one point I looked upwind to see what looked like bookends in the water way off in the distance: a matched pair of flipped Scots. According to my Challenger-fleet mole, the two bookended boats turned out to be Mark and Maria Brenner, and Sandy and Keith Eustis – and then Sandy got a hand squished between mast and powerboat during retrieval. No hospital visit, so we are hopeful it’s a minor squish. Got a glimpse of it, and ouch: there is blue bruise on his palm AND on top of the hand.
He doesn't need this. Brian Hayes is calling the class upstairs for the annual meeting. I claimed this time to explore the wonders of Blender Bob’s contraption. As I mentioned earlier, this started life as a Thistle. ("Best use of a Thistle EVER," says Capt Winnebago) Powered by a gas two-stroke ("Sounds like your lawn man is bringing you a pina colada," John Aras), that runs half a dozen industrial-strength blenders. RPM control is like on a motorbike: throttle grip action!
On the other side of the contraption is a music center and my all-time-favorite technical device name, the BU 350 by American DJ, which is, of course, an automated bubble blower. It can even blow technicolor bubbles, which leaves my favorite clown joke WIDE open. (Ask me!)
Of course, hanging from a yardarm (All boats should have at least one, right?) is, of course, the piece de resistance: a disco ball. Just add liquid refreshment and you have yourself every excuse for excess and party!
One more race tomorrow -- if the wind doesn't completely crap out, which is what we have been promised. We are expecting it to blow 20.
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