Wednesday Night Sailing July 1. There is very little to report since not one crew came down—Joe kept busy with doing some odd jobs on his boat. There was no rain until about 7:30 when a steady drizzle began.  Winds were about 3-4 mph until about 7:15 when it picked up to about 5-8.  It was a good night for instruction but not sailing.  Frank Gallagher went out with Maryann and Nabeel.  Bob Astrove and Red Fehrle were there putting together a Laser. We'll try again next Wednesday.

Sailing Videos posted!  Ace cinemaphotographer (and Lightning skipper) Jeff Storck has produced two videos of PRSA boats in action!  One is  from the 2009 Capital City Laser Regatta; the other is a combination of views from Sunday Series races from September 21, 2008 and April 5, 2009.  Go here to view.  Jeff recommends full-screen view and cranking the audio up.  These are 50 MB files that will take a while to load.

Hornets invade WSM!  According to Red Fehrle, a bothersome large hornet population has settled in at the marina, especially in the laser racks. To combat them, you can borrow  insecticide from the marina office and use it to try to eradicate the insects around your slip. You can also contact the Park Service (Dottie Marshall --703 289 2500) to discuss further measures you'd like to see taken.  Barney Harris also reports excellent results with moth balls -- scatter them in and around your boat and kill the critters.  Last summer we had fleet members stung by hornets that made their nests in the trailer hitch couplers -- be careful  before lifting your trailer by the tongue.

Wednesday Night Sailing  June 24!  We had temperatures in the low 80s, with northerly winds 12 - 6 MPH.  Low tide was at 4:59 PM.  The river flow was slightly above average for this time of year, at 13,700 CFS (gage height 4.3 ft) and the water had warmed up to 79 degrees.  Frank was there, sailing with Barney Harris; Jeff and Pat sailed Jeff's boat.  Frank said, "It was a very nice sail ... we should have had 15 Lightnings out there .... !!!!"   Next Wednesday, July 1, Joe Warren plans to host a crew training session, weather permitting.

2009 Dixie District Championships at Solomons June 13 - 14.    Congratulations to Allan Terhune -- who, with Katie Terhune and Collin Kirby as crew --   took first place.  Five Fleet 50 boats participated -- Alsalam; Dillard; Gallagher; Roberts; and Thompson; Nabeel placed fifth.  Aaron Boesnecker sailed with Mark Boaz and Katie Zeglis; and Lisbet Kugler sailed with Joe Friebele, increasing the Fleet 50 participation even more.  Note Mark Boaz holds dual fleet 50 and fleet 329 membership, as does Todd Johnson who crewed for Steve Constants.  Results here.  Photos here.

On Saturday we had light northeasterly winds on a warm and humid afternoon, and we struggled to complete two races before the winds died completely -- with three boats on the wrong side of the finish line when the time limit expired.  On Sunday the winds were stronger, still from the northeast, but up and down and shifty, and we got in three races before the last start deadline.  SMSA offered great hospitality -- they completely cleared their boat  storage area to make room for the 22 Lightnings, and they brought in other club members to help us launch and recover using their crane.  The Saturday happy hour and barbeque dinner were outstanding, and the world-famous Tiki Bar provided cover for after-dinner drinks after we closed the clubhouse for the evening.   PRO Keith Jacobs ran an excellent Race Committee and did well despite the difficult wind conditions. Our hats off to Regatta Chair Dave Meiser and organizing committee that included Jackie Meiser and Don Behrens for getting it all together.  The top 18 competitors all qualified for the North American Championships in August.

2009 Special Olympics sailing began Monday, June 8! Lightnings are needed.  Contact Frank Gallagher for more information.  Here is the schedule.

PRSA Spring Series # 8, Sunday June 7.  What a great way to end the  Spring Series!  Rick Welch was PRO.  The AccuWeather forecast (always subject to change) called for partly sunny skies, a high of 83 degrees, and  winds from the south at  6 - 9 MPH. We got better than that  --  a steady southerly averaging around 10 MPH, under sunny skies and with a high temperature of 79 degrees.  The river flow was way up --  four times normal for this time of year, at 40,000 CFS (gage height 6.2 ft) and the water was  cooler than last week, at 72 degrees.  With high tide at 8:27 AM and low tide at 3:49 PM we had an outgoing tide to combine with the high river flow to produce a strong downriver current.  Thirteen Lightnings came out, although several were short crew, and Russ sailed single-handed.  Russ got the "Sailor of the Day" award for being seen single-handing on a downwind run with spinnaker up, a cigarette in one hand and a beverage in the other, dodging the considerable debris in the river, including a large tree trunk, a section of a dock, and a railroad tie, and managing to finish in the middle of the fleet.  How do you do it, Russ?   Patrick McKnight and family did a day sail down past the Wilson Bridge, making 14 Lightnings on the water. PRO Rick Welch got off five races in quick succession on a long windward-leeward course before we were too exhausted to sail more. Here is a report by "The Nudge."  Here are photos, courtesy of Aaron Boesnecker.  Results here.