PRSA Fall Series 2006Lightning Results(to see cumulative Fall Series Results, Click Here ) Fall Series # 8
PRO Rolf Zeisler Thirteen Lightnings came out on a cool and partly sunny day for the last race of the Fall Series. PRO Rolf Zeisler set a long windward-leeward course and got off three good races before the wind petered out. The Saturday night/ Sunday morning low was 36 degrees, and there was a chill in the air in the morning as we got ready, and it never warmed up past 50 degrees. Still, by dressing warmly, we all enjoyed the day. Three skippers showed their double-handing skills by flying spinnakers with only a single additional crew. We welcomed new crew Ken Zimmerman and Sam Atchui, as well as long-lost crew Carolann Brumfield and Kathy Feig. Congratulations to Nabeel, who sealed the Fall Series championship standings with two bullets and a second. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: High tide 7:15 AM; low tide 2:02 PM; river flow 6,950 CFS (gage height 3.6 ft); water temperature 49 degrees; partly sunny skies with a high air temperature of 50 degrees.
Fall Series # 7
PRO Chris Bolton Seven Lightnings came out on a sunny and breezy afternoon and enjoyed 4 good races in a westerly wind before retiring for the day. The big story for this weekend was the major wind storm that was forecasted -- a continuation of the circulation that dumped 20 inches of snow in Colorado and heavy rains in Ohio before working its way north and east through the DC area on Friday night. Continuous winds in the range of 25 - 30 MPH were forecasted for the entire Northeast for both Saturday and Sunday, with gusts to 50. While the highest gust recorded at Regan National on Saturday was only 37 MPH, the gusts did continue into Sunday here and did cause extensive damage in New England as they passed through there. Bobby was away at the Borderline, but other Fleet 50 skippers canceled regatta travel plans because of the weather forecast. Today we tried out a new system for announcing the course to be followed -- a set of flags -- but the course board was still used, and the course board held the official announcement. Nabeel said the flags were OK, but "no flag" is probably too easy to not notice. The second race was "no flag" but the leader sailed triangles and the rest of of the fleet was too uncertain to do anything else. So there needs to be a W-flag also. Due to the west wind, Chris decided to set up in the middle and did 3 laps each time. New races were started IMMEDIATELY after the last finisher in the class crossed the finish line. There was no recovery time for the last boat across, and that caught some people who had sailed pretty far away by surprise. Luckily the wind was strong enough to get them back quickly. The first race was a triangle so,
with those relatively tight reaching angles, Nabeel decided not to go up
with the spinnaker unless other did. Eventually Pat popped his
chute and so did Nabeel. In the 3rd, and 4th races they did windward/leeward
courses, and Pat, Frank, Rick, and Nabeel popped their chutes
more frequently. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: Low tide 7:47 AM; high tide 12:51 PM; river flow 14,000 CFS (gage height 4.4 ft); water temperature 51 degrees; mostly sunny skies with a high air temperature of 61 degrees. All in all it was a beautiful and exciting day. By the way, at the Pennsylvania Governor's Cup at the Susquehanna Yacht Club they did one fluky race on Saturday before lunch -- started in almost no wind and then the wind shifted 90 degrees and it was a reach reach to the finish. Then no more races. They even mandated no chutes.
Winners Perspective Rose Gentile and Ariel Cohen were the ace crew today….doing a great job all day…Our goal was to not make a killer mistake… like me capsizing in both the previous weekends… don’t take unnecessary chances….. We took our time getting out there…lots of layers….life jackets also… Ariel hadn’t sailed with me before, so we went through the list of 4 or 5 things that can turn you over very quickly on a windy/puffy/shifty day. They are, in order of quickness of turnover, with the least reaction time available:
Once up to the course it became apparent that the shifts were sizeable and often, so whatever wind we were in, we tried to be on the tack that took us closest to the weather mark….assuming it would shift several more times before we got to the weather mark…
We checked out the new course flag
system on the r/c boat…then read the instructions incorrectly…thank you,
Nabeel, for correcting us in the first race… We put up the spinnaker several times downwind on the hot dogs…even gybing once or twice… But one time we put it up …then brought it down after 30 seconds….too scary dead downwind when we had not practiced together … We had one real sweet port tack start that worked out great…. We felt fairly fast all day…staying hiked out…but not killing yourself….much more important to steer well and get the sails trimmed properly... Jib tight…2 inches from the spreader tip… Always….always ….always…a tight mainsheet to keep the leach tight…keeps the boat driving. Traveler way down in the real big air…up a little when it moderated… Snug backstay…real right in the real big blasts…. Very important to power up again when the blast goes away…traveler up….backstay off a bit… We had some of the fastest rides of the year on the way back home…. Thanks again Rose and Ariel ….great job under tough conditions…
Fall Series # 6
PRO: Doug Savage RC set a triangular course and got off three races in good order. Eleven Lightnings came out on a day that, weather-wise, delivered a whole lot more than promised. And, they responded in interesting ways! Our forecast called for southerly winds at 8 MPH, partly cloudy in the morning, mostly cloudy in the afternoon, with the possibility of light showers developing, and a high of 58 degrees. What we got were mostly sunny skies, a high of 61 degrees, and southerly winds that were in the 7 - 10 range in the morning, but picked up to 16 - 20 in the afternoon. The crew of Moonshadow, showing us their Viking toughness, sailed in shorts. Then, in the second race, Doug Kirby thought it was too warm in the boat, and jumped into the 59 degree water to cool off, causing Red to invoke his "man overboard" technique (bring the boat head to wind and shout "swim faster" at the top of your lungs). Pat and Paul saved the day by picking Doug up and bringing him back to Red's boat. All kidding aside, this does show the importance of wearing PFDs at all times when on the water, which in this case changed a potential tragedy into just an interesting story. Then in the third race, to demonstrate their own swimming ability, both Rick and Frank capsized -- with chutes up, while gybing -- Rick while rounding the mark in close proximity to Pat and Paul -- Pat again saved the day by sending Paul into the water to help get Rick's mast out of the mud. For Frank, this was the second capsize in a 2-week period -- very unusual. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: High tide 8:59 AM; low tide 3:28 PM; river flow 6,000 CFS (gage height 3.5 ft); water temperature 59 degrees. Waves were 1 - 2 ft, with a strong outgoing current until later in the day.
Fall Series # 5
PRO Khin Thein We had those wacky westerly winds coming from the airport, gusty with frequent 30-degree shifts, occasional 90-degre shifts, and even a 180. Fortunately they stayed in the 8 - 10 MPH range, so all boats remained upright. This made for an interesting and enjoyable fall sailing day under sunny skies, with a high temperature of 61 degrees and an incoming tide that dampened the effects of the current. RC set a triangular course and got off four races in good order. We welcomed the return of Lord Jim to the race course, sailed by visiting skipper Chandler Owen, sailing with Rose Gentile and Gary Stultz. We also welcomed first-time crew members Dan Berry, Shelly Kirby, and Mike Franzella. Five other Fleet 50 Lightnings were at the Frigid Digit. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: Low tide 10:36 AM; high tide 4:00 PM; river flow 5,500 CFS (gage height 3.4 ft); water temperature 57 degrees.
Winners Perspective Paul drove all day and did an outstanding job.
Cross river courses means shorts legs and shifty conditions. This is when it is more important than ever to jump out from the start.
Paul nailed every start with clear air. He always sailed the longest leg first. He changed gears well. It was a day that you had to keep the boat going until the next puff. Managing the puffs well and pushing through the lulls was the key. I didn’t look at the wind recordings from yesterday, but for those of you out there you know it would be 5 or less knots and the wind band puffs would be 10 to 15 knots.
The current was coming up river strong, and puffs were coming from the left. This was prior to our first starting sequence. As soon as the sequence started the whole game changed. All shifts puffs were from the right.
Paul protected the right side of the course all day. It was shocking to me to see people hung out on the left – I hope you were trying for clear air. The biggest lefty shift would either make the course square or would still be 5 degrees to the right of the windward mark. Left was never the place to be upwind. Slightly wide leeward mark roundings yielded the ability to lay the windward mark most of the day.
Downwind we stayed just leeward of the fleet and pointed for the mark, we knew we risked inside position but, we were playing the current factor. Many of you were going to the new wind (towards the Monument) and it was a tough current fight for you to get back to the mark.
If anything I was a hindrance to a better performance by Paul – I bungled just about every spin set with a twisted chute. This is death in the short leg racing. (Man, do I hate gybe sets!) Collin was consistent. He is quick learner and improving each weekend. We add a little more responsibility to him each outing. Collin has proven to be a good addition to the team.
PRO Rob
Tompkins The AccuWeather forecast called for winds from the NE at 8 - 9 MPH, switching to easterly in the afternoon, warmer than Saturday, with times of clouds and sun, and a high temperature of 70 degrees. What we actually got were winds from the NE at 10 - 7 MPH until 1 PM, after which it became calm until after 4 PM. Sailing on the lower course this week, to keep the Albacore US National Championships Regatta on the upper course, with three lightning skippers (Jeff, Frank, David) and crew running RC up there, and with 2 Lightning skippers running RC on the lower course, we still were able to get 9 Lightnings on the line for an enjoyable, if light-winded afternoon. PRO Rob Tompkins was able to get three races off on a windward-leeward course before coming in for the day. Congratulations to our Junior skippers (Matt Klise and Katie Keith) for taking the the helm today, and for Junior crew Benny Krosner and Collin Kirby for coming out! Looks like we might be able to field a Junior team or two for next summer's WJMs at Leesylvania. And welcome back Hayden Smith, who crewed for Rick Welch today. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: High Tide 9:25 AM; low tide 4:16 PM; river flow 5,200 CFS (gage height 3.4 ft); water temperature 62 degrees.
Winners Perspective Pay Attention to the Wind! Having a boat named
"Sinistra" which is Italian for "Left" can come in handy
sometimes. It also helps to have great crew. The left
was definitely the way to go, at least in the first two races.
The RC did a great job of setting a long windward leeward course.
The wind was out of the north with shifts of 40 degrees coming
from the east and west, so the windward mark was out almost in the
channel and the starting area was right in front of the power
plant. Of course brilliant crew work kept us moving fast without a single boat handling problem that cost us boats.
Fall Series # 3
PRO Jim Graham It was a sailing day to dream for -- Northwesterly winds at 7 - 10 MPH, mostly sunny, a high of 72 degrees, with an incoming tide and reduced river flow. RC set a triangular course and got off 4 races in good order after the wind changed from southerly to northerly between 11 AM and the first race start at 11:35 AM. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: Low Tide 10:12 AM; high tide 3:20 PM; river flow 2,350
CFS (gage height 2.9 ft); water temperature 67 degrees. Winners Perspective Everything just clicked for Team Shadowfax Sunday. In race 1, we had a bad start combined with a lucky tactical break at the first gybe mark and a good guess at how much of a lift we’d get from the current at the last windward mark. The bad start was caused by trying to get a boat-end start. Trying to get a good boat-end start is such risky business. My thinking was that the windward mark was so close that we wanted to have starboard rights and the option to go right early in the leg. However, we ended up with 4 boats stacked up and luffing almost head to wind to leeward of us. We had to wait for all of them to start before weI could bear off and get around the RC boat. However, we fought back to about 5th at the windward mark. Frank was way ahead. Russ was second but, on the downwind leg was trying his first short-handed gybe and was going slowly. We were able to stay close enough to Pat that he had to wait for me to gybe first. At just the right time, we gybed inside of Russ and Pat, and someone else had to gybe outside of Russ. That jumped us from 5th to 2nd. Later in the race, we were able to get a jump on Frank when he sailed a little past the layline on the windward leg anticipating the push of the current at the mark. I made a lucky guess, tacked early, and got my nose ahead as we came to the mark. From then on, we defended our inside position at the marks and were able to cross 1st. In race 2, I did what I have wanted to do for a long time. The line was square and there was a good line site – two smokestacks on the Maryland shore. This allowed us to go for a midline start, because we could accurately judge our position on the line. While the bulk of the fleet was piled up at the boat end, we got a got good top speed start in the middle. We sailed to the left, which I generally think had a little better wind (especially judging from our downwind experience), tacked and got to the windward mark first. Gradually, we were able to pull away from the fleet which allowed us to stay in clear air and go for the fastest route to the next mark. In the meantime, boats behind were attacking each other and slowing each other down. n races 3 and 4, Team Beedobeat recovered from their somewhat slow start in races 1 and 2 and we had some very close racing against them. On one upwind leg they went far right and managed to close a lot of the lead we had on them at the leeward mark. (That is the only time all day long that I think the right paid off.) Downwind, they were always sailing high and fast to get on our wind. That forced us to sail high to stay clear of their shadow. However, I never felt we had the good relative speed sailing high that we had sailing low. So, he kept his threatening position for a lot of the time. Eventually, he’d give up and bear off. In race 3, we covered them all the way to the finish and won the race. In race 4, we failed to cover him on the last beat to the finish. He tacked off to the left and because I felt a small lift I kept sailing to the right. Even though we had a 2 or 3 boat length lead on him at the leeward mark, when we came back together he had passed us by a half boat length. Argh! He was first and we were second. Our sets, gybes, douses, and tacks were flawless all day long. I barely called my tacks. I’d say something like, “Lets go now” and start squeezing up into the tack. Scott and Lisbet would just feel the bow coming up and know what I was doing. Downwind, I would “Let’s gybe now” and within seconds we were most of the way through it. Upwind, Lisbet eased the jib during lulls and trimmed during puffs. Scott constantly let me know when my main can be trimmed a little harder or should be eased some. He moved his weight in during the lulls and out during the puffs. All of this kept the boat going fast and high. Downwind, Lisbet let me know when someone was attacking us and when they gave up and went low. She is always looking for the puffs and making sure that someone isn’t blocking us from the benefits—a great way to pass downwind, by the way. As we headed up to ward off attacks and fell off to gain distance to the mark, Scott was calmly keeping the spinnaker fully powered and on the edge of a luff. Meanwhile, I never forgot to trim the main to keep that leech telltale flowing. It all worked beautifully last Sunday and it felt great.
Fall Series # 2
PRO Steve Kistler Gusty westerly winds and a forecast of thunderstorms led to the decision to race on the lower course on a partly cloudy warm Autumn day. Nabeel and David were away at Solomons where the wind forecast was bad enough to cancel racing for Sunday. Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: Winners Perspective You have read it in your sailing books: Slow down and win the series!. Thanks for a good job by the RC – it was run by the Hamptons – PRO Steve Kistler left the choice of race courses up to the competitors. It’s the Water was disappointed about locating off the power plant, but it was a prudent decision that proved not necessary, yet was still prudent The result was a short course with shifty winds – the races were under 30 minutes each. And we all knew depth would become an issue as tide went out. The wind was SW and had two shifting points, the extreme a righty about 40 degrees right of the dominant oscillation. There was a secondary oscillation about a 20 degree righty in between the other two that had a less predictable appearance. It was a day of shifting gears. The groove was very difficult to hold. In retrospect, every race winner sailed the same way. They all played middle left, just inside the fleet, anticipating and positioned for the righty. Downwind the best position was to drive the exact same upwind shaft down to the leeward mark. People who went too far right got poor air; because they either were too close to the shore for the wind to touch down on the righty shifts, or because the buildings from old town were blocking the shift when it was more SW or towards the predominant breeze. The left side of the course always looked great but only worked if the righty never materialized. I think there was only one leg that a righty did not show itself, otherwise the left was the wrong side of the course. After race 2, expecting one more race, Paul, Collin and I had a discussion. We discerned that there was a three way tie for first at that point and that Rick would win based on tie breakers. So we knew which two boats we had to keep behind us no matter what. After a poor start in Race 3 we knew we had to implement the “let’s just keep those two boats behind us” to win the day (i.e. slow down and do what you have to do to win the series and not the race -- win the day). In Race 4 we had the same strategy. Thunder and Frank’s boat had great races in 3 and 4, as they figured out the wind. Way to go! I’m certain both Frank and Harry would have waxed us regardless of our strategy. They both were very fast in the last two races. In the end our strategy succeeded and that is why I am writing this. We sailed to be consistent, never to dominate. Of course, we all have read about this stuff and we don’t always implement it or we are not successful at implementing it. Paul and I had the wonderful experience of crewing for Nabeel this past summer. There we were having a great regatta but in the last race we had a bad start. It put us deep. Nabeel recovered and worked us up to the back of the front pack. A few tacks from the finish we had an opportunity to improve our finish. Nabeel decided to back off and let the opportunity pass. Paul and I were mildly beside ourselves over this. We followed our skipper orders, of course, but a minor discussion ensued. I believed we could take a slight risk and go for the race win or a second. Nabeel said, we have the regatta won where we are right now. Taking the risk might fail and cost the regatta. At that point we had the correct boats behind us, and going for the race win might give room for one of those boats to slip in. So our philosophy was to slow down and win the series! Thanks Nabeel, lesson learned!
Fall Series # 1
PRO Bob Astrove Light northerly winds allowed two races of one loop each, under sunny skies and a high of 81 degrees. Low tide 12:05 PM; high tide 5:27 PM. River flow 4,750 CFS (gage height 3.3 ft). Actual winds recorded at National Airport were: Winners Perspective A difficult day – Thanks RC, great job. We wound up counting our bullets before they were hatched. We felt we had both races won with a third of the last leg left in each race! Boy, were we wrong!!! I imagine Benjamin Forman should be writing this. Ben, did you quit racing in order to escape the responsibility for this write up? :-)) First race, the windward mark was close to Roaches run, leeward, just north of the radar tower towards the channel. We felt the left side was favored, however, we did not want to get there too early. We started near the boat end of the line; this was wrong. Going left later may have helped us recover a weak start, as we witnessed many go to the middle, half way up the leg, and stall. The breeze did fill in for them, however, we were able to get close to the front boats, rounding in 4th or 5th place. Downwind we stayed right – along the airport shore – longer than anyone else. This yielded us a 2nd at the leeward mark, passing Jeff and Nabeel, who where a few boat lengths windward. We banged the left hard, lee bowed Ben and forced him to the right, late in the leg. We thought this was great. Ben kept his boat moving through the light air and was patient. Great driving through that stuff, Dude! We didn’t see any breeze but he was moving. The wind filled in for him with a right shift and he put the smack down on us. We weren’t even an issue for him! Pushed someone into the new breeze again, nuts! 2nd place! Second, race – course shifted approx 50 degrees right. Our strategy was to go left, get up river, bang the corner or overstand a little. The current was strong, tide had only switched an hour earlier, however, the whole fleet underestimated it, except for us. This yielded a 1st around the weather mark. We drove hot off the mark because of the current, and to try to break away with speed, until we saw the others settling inside of us. We gybed to protect our position. Nabeel asked me why – to them it appeared we had good breeze to the layline – however either they (Jeff and/or Nabeel) were on our air, or the pressure was dropping out for us, but filling for them. So we gybed to get a slot of air between Nabeel and Jeff and to secure inside at the mark and to increase our air pressure, then gybed back. Jeff came into the mark right on our heels. We had them! A simple two tack leg, port tack right to the finish area and a tack to starboard to make the line. But we tacked too early; we forgot about the current; we didn’t pay attention to the wind; and we got pushed down and headed. Jeff tacked to starboard; we tacked back to port ; and he punched the line. We lost right at the finish pin – we allowed Jeff to come in on starboard and beat us -- RC told us our punch was only one foot short! We should have driven one more boat length to force him out. Way to go Jeff, way to sail it all the way through the finish line! 2nd again.
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