Preliminary Results

This was the last one for the Spring series.  The Accuweather forecast called for southerly winds at 3 - 5 mph, and a high temperature of 86 degrees, and it was - gasp - accurate!  Actually, the 4 PM reading was 7 MPH, so we had a nice breeze for the trip home.  The river flow had dropped below average, at 5,500 CFS (gage height 3.4 ft), and had warmed up to 73 degrees.  High tide was at 7:36 AM; Low tide at 2:57 PM.

RC towed us up to the race area, set up the marks on a relatively short windward-leeward course, and got off 3 races in good order. 

PRSA Spring Series 2005
Day 8 - Sunday, May 22

Preliminary Results

The Accuweather forecast  called for  sunny skies, a high of 74 degrees, and north-northwesterly winds 9 - 12 MPH.  On the way up to the race course the actual winds were ESE at 3, and RC delayed the start until most boats got there, either by paddling or via a tow.  Fortunately the winds began to pick up at about the time the first race started, first from the northeast and then from the north northwest, eventually kicking up to 16, with gusts to 20.  RC set a long windward-leeward course to take advantage of the alignment of the wind direction with the river direction, and we raced!  Ten Lightnings came out, including old friends Nelson Pemberton, sailing with son John and neighbor Matt Kopecki, and Red Fehrle, sailing with Jack Macklin and friend Mary Lou.  Today also marked the first PRSA race for Lightning 15117, Shamrock, with skipper Marian Bruno and crew of Gary and Ethan Roberts and Rob Tompkins. Way to go Marian!

Rick, sailing with Kristen Lopez and Jose Montiero, was hard to beat, and sailed away with first place.  Pat McGee, sailing with Craig Huzway and Brendan Walsh, sailed a close second.   John Butler took 3rd.

PRSA Spring Series 2005
Day 7 - Sunday, May 15

The AccuWeather forecast  called for westerly winds 8 - 11 MPH and a high temperature of 77 degrees, with  afternoon thunderstorms likely.  The river flow was below average, at 7,100CFS (gage height 3.6 ft), and the water had warmed up, to 68 degrees F.  Low tide was at 8:05 AM and high tide at 1:49 PM, so the tide was with us both on the way up to the race course and back home again.

The thunderstorms never materialized, and the wind swung around, from northwesterly for the first race to westerly for the second race and southwesterly for the third race.  Just before the first race started the wind picked up to about 15, but for the rest of the day it was lighter than that, and for a period of time in the second race it was close to 0 for about 15 minutes.  PRO John Butler and his Lightning-populated Race Committee (Diane Archangli, Ben Forman, Bob Wilbur, Harry Keith Sr., Malinda Keith) did an excellent job of keeping up with the wind changes, and in keeping the thunderstorms away. 

PRSA Spring Series 2005
Day 6 - Sunday, May 8

 Now that was a windy day! All week the weather forecast was for sunny skies and northwesterly 10 - 15 MPH winds,  giving hope that we would all have an opportunity for some great spinnaker runs and exciting competition.  As it turned out the forecast changed on Saturday, and on Sunday it came true -- 20 MPH winds with higher gusts (over 30 in some instances).  Eleven Lightnings rigged; seven made it to the race course, and only six actually raced.  Those that did had a most exciting day -- and nobody set spinnakers.  With winds these strong it didn't take long to get in 3 races, and boats were back at the dock by 2 PM. 

PRSA Spring Series 2005
Day 4 - Sunday, April 24

Well today we finally got some wind.  Not at first, mind you, but eventually it came, a chill westerly wind dampened with light rain, but wind nevertheless.  The AccuWeather forecast  called for westerly to southwesterly winds at 17 - 22 MPH, mostly cloudy skies, the possibility of showers, and a high of 54 degrees.  On the way up to the race course the winds were good, but not anywhere close to 17MPH, and as we got to the 11:30 warning gun they promptly died, making us think of last Sunday -- deja vu all over again.  RC posted a delay flag, but around noon lifted it and started the series, with only 8 Lightnings and a handful of Albacores competing.  The course was set up for westerly winds, but for the first start the winds were from the northeast, so we used the leeward mark as our weather mark and the weather mark for our leeward mark, on a 3-times-around windward-leeward course.  It seemed like it took forever to round the first weather mark, but after that the westerly winds kicked in, averaging around 15 MPH but with higher gusts, and we were racing!  The gusty winds continued for the remainder of the afternoon, and by the end of the day we were exhausted! 

Jeff served on Race Committee

A mostly sunny and pleasant day, with a high of 72 degrees, but with strange light winds that came from multiple directions all afternoon.  The river flow had returned to normal levels, at 12,400 CFS (gage height 4.2 feet).  The tides were in our favor, incoming  during the races, and outgoing on the trip home.  RC set up the course for the first race as two windward-leeward loops on an east-west line, but had to shorten it in order to  finish the race in time.  The weather mark and leeward mark exchanged roles multiple times during the race, causing frustration for all would-be spinnaker flyers.  RC set a short windward-leeward course on a north-south axis for the second race, and, after three attempts, finally got us through a start sequence.  That race ended just before 3 PM, and that was it for the day.