More Massabesic 2011

Wayne has posted some more pictures here.

And the MYC has posted results here.  They are working on correcting our crew names and dropping the throwout race.

Massabesic 2011 Annual Regatta, day 2

Rob P and fellow SpeedJunky crew Joe Letterman joined me for day 2 at MYC this year.  Joe had sailed with us at Massabesic before, and had tried to sail at Bow Lake this year but forgot to bring wind with him and it was cancelled.

The forecast was for light and variable winds, and it appeared that was what we had when we got there.

Bathtubby.

Heading out; still very calm, but picked up right away.

Miraculously, the wind increased to 5-7 just as we got to the starting area.  It was much more consistent than Saturday, and there were points that we needed two of us on the rail hiking.

Ned and Bob trolling the start.

Overall, this heavier weather favors us.  It helps hide our mistakes, or at least gives us a chance to make good on them.  We did 2 Olympic courses (a triangle lap followed by a windward leeward lap), a twice-around equilateral triangle race, and then race committee gave us one final windward-leeward to finish out the weekend.

Joe getting comfortable in the tight Lightning cockpit.

Waiting for a fourth and final race.

Our first race was another 7th, but we got our act together in the next one and beat our two main competitors, Walt and Toby.  In the third, we tangled with Toby at the jibe mark; he called that we didn't have overlap and shut us out of the rounding, causing us to hit the mark and do 2 circles.  Though we didn't necessarily agree, we did our turns.  As it was, we nearly caught him and passed him anyway-- he finished only seconds ahead of us.

And then for the final race (of the Infinite Sloop season, it turns out) we exacted our revenge and handily beat Walt and Toby.  Overall, it appears we finished 7th out of 7, but I think it went better than that; we were very much in the mix in most races.  We definitely need to get some more beginners out there so we have more people to pick on.  Next year.

Thanks again to Rob and Joe for coming out and lending a hand packing up.  I'll post a link to final results when they're out.

Massabesic 2011 Annual Regatta, day 1

Crew rockstars Ben Schurman and Captain Rob Petersen joined me for the first half of this year's MYC annual regatta. The forecast called for very little wind, so I was pleasantly surprised to see ripples there while getting rigged.

Ben brims with excitement as we embark.

There were seven Lightings total, including ourselves and Bob and Ned from Bow Lake. We got four races in between 12pm and about 3:30, all twice-around windward-leewards. The wind was light and incredibly fluky, one of those days where the boat two boat lengths in front of you might be pointing twenty degrees differently from you.

Though our crew work was spotless-- and in fact bumped us up at several mark roundings-- my inexperience with the crazy winds held us back Overall, we found ourselves battling Walt and Toby, MYC locals, at the back of the fleet. We managed to beat one boat in the first race, but were last place in the others, even when Rob took the helm in the last race and pretty much won the start.

The winds were frustrating from behind, but it was still a great day of sailing. Many thanks to Bob for helping me rig, toPapa Wayne for coming out to watch, and for Rob and Ben for using a valuable weekend day with me. Rob is back tomorrow along with crewmate Joe; let's hope for more consistent wind despite the same forecast.

Bob Evans #9, Sep 4 2011

Infinite Sloop weathered Irene-- and four weeks of inactivity-- just fine.  Old friend Brad Ritchie called me on Friday and said he could go racing on Sunday.  Brad had been on the boat once before and we'd done some sailing at UNH together, so it was a great surprise to have him on board.

The forecast had called for "light and variable", which is usually a death knell on those hot and humid days.  But instead we had pretty consistent 7-10mph with occasional but controllable gusts.  It was really ideal conditions, especially for two Lightning crew.  Dad volunteered as a third, but given the conditions he was able to take out his Daysailor and get 3 races in singlehanded.

We did a couple of practice maneuvers, including launching the new spinnaker, and Brad picked things up quickly.  Four Lightings showed up: Ned (with Karen and a young man I didn't recognize), Bob (with frequent race committee member Werner), Nathaniel (with a friend-- Adam, I believe), and Brad and I, and we got four races in.

For the first race, my rustiness showed up and we got a lousy start.  Though Brad's crew work was great, we couldn't edge by Nathaniel and stayed in fourth for the whole race.

I got a better start in the second, but duffed some upwind calls and rounded after the three lead boats again.  On the last upwind leg, though, I split from Nathaniel and was able to edge him out at the finish for 3rd place.  It was probably less than 10 seconds difference, but I'll take any credits I can.

The third race got even more interesting as a solid gust hit the entire fleet with less than a minute to go, propelling us all to the line.  Most of us were over early-- I think Nathaniel was the only one with a clean start.  Bob ducked backed down, and Brad and I circled the RC boat.  But Ned either couldn't hear Pam in the committee boat, or didn't want to turn back.  Despite a pretty close (re-)start with Bob, we couldn't keep up with him or Ned.  But we were able to catch and pass Nathaniel upwind, giving us another apparent 3rd place, though that may change if Ned was deemed On Course Start.

But the fourth race-- the last one of the regular-season Bob Evans regattas-- was the most fun.  Ned had headed back to shore, leaving Bob/Werner, myself/Brad, and Nathaniel/Adam lined up on the starting line, all on starboard tack, all less than a boatlength apart, right at the start.  The first upwind leg was a drag race; we stayed on that one starboard tack until hitting what appeared to be the course layline.  There were several moments that I considered tacking out of formation, but neither Bob nor Nathaniel budged.  Then I saw why: the southern shore of the lake was warping the wind significantly.  The closer we got to the windward side of the lake, the more of a lift we were getting.

Our position was perfect to take advantage of the shift, and we tacked over on nearly a perfect port layline, and made it around the windward mark first.  This is where Brad really showed his stuff: getting the new spin up and jibed quickly.  It looked like Bob and Nathaniel tangled a bit after the rounding as they both sailed a bit of extra distance towards the east.  But Brad got us going straight for the mark, and the pressure was consistent enough that we didn't think about sailing any hotter angles.  The new spinnaker worked great.  We rounded the leeward mark with a good lead, and though Bob was clipping at our heels near the finish, we managed to pull out a fleet victory.  

That's right, we won the last race outright.

Brad Ritchie must now crew every race.

I have to admit, it gives me some hope for this upcoming weekend at Massabesic with Rob P, Ben and a TBD for crew.  Many thanks to Brad and the Bow Lake Yacht Club, not to mention the Wayne Donle Marina, for a nearly perfect day of sailing.

Bob Evans #4 2011

After missing week Bob Evans #3 due to a wedding photography gig-- it's tough to work for a living-- it was nice to see that the weather looked perfect for today.  The forecast called for "light and variable" winds, wich usually means "no wind", but there was a steady 6-8mph when I arrived at 10am.

My crew for the day was Dave Darrah and his two girls, Alex and Mathilda, 9 and 7 if my math is right.  Dave is an old hand at the lake, and they own a 18' Precision with a little cuddy cabin.  But it was the first time on a "raceboat" for the girls.  Once we were rigged and on course, the wind increased, and the heeling and occasional spray was making some of our new crew-- who were used to a more stable cruiser and the safety of a covered cabin-- uncomfortable.

We weren't out for high-stakes competition, so when we found the committee boat couldn't accommodate our reluctant crew, we sailed home.

Alex, Mathilda, and Dave enjoying "not tipping".

No race for us, but we took out Dad's powerboat and enjoyed racing from the remaining competitors: Bob and Ned and The Boyntons (#2), plus Peter in the Phantom (Sunfish), and good old Wayne Donle in the Daysailor.  The first race we saw had Bob come from behind on the downwind leg and take the win.  And Peter beat Dad, but mostly because Dad was trying to stay clear of the Lightning class competitors and was dealing with flaky jib cleats.  We need to come up with a better way for him to singlehand the jib.

The girls were relieved to not have to worry about capsizing, and enjoyed fishing and swimming.  Hardly a total loss, especially in a season where any time spent on the boat is a plus.  Thanks to the Darrahs for making the trip.

Race 1 start.  iPhone not known for its telephoto lens.

Ned (white/green) took a bit of a hit and sprang the sheet.

Ned recovering, Bob passing.

Wayne looking good upwind.  Again, not the right camera.

Number 2 looking good downwind.

Anybody up for racing next Sunday, the 7th?

Photos from Bob Evans #2 2011

Bob Shapiro has posed some shots from the committee boat yesterday:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157627095192569/

Bob Evans #2 2011

I almost couldn't put together crew for this race, but Rob P (captain of my other sailing gig, his J/24 in Beverly) and his 8-year-old son Graham nicely rescheduled to fill in.  (Though thanks to Ryan Gershuney I may have a lead on a couple more potential crew...)

Rob and Graham arrived to good breeze at about 11am.  I'm not an expert, but it seemed to be a pretty steady 8-10mph, with occasional blasts to 13-15.  Towards the end of racing, we had steady whitecaps across the lake, and putting my empty Coke can on the picnic table resulted in it immediately blowing across the yard.  So we ran with the older sails despite my strong urge to sail the new spinnaker; the newer sails wouldn't have helped anything but their deterioration.

Graham caught on quickly to forward crew duties, specifically tacking the jib.  We were a bit overpowered, but not so much that it caused much stress.  We played it by ear with the spinnaker, but ended up doing quite well with it double-handed.  We missed some of the go-fast tricks like lifting the centerboard, but we wanted to keep it simple.

With the good wind, we fit three races in less than two hours, despite the long course: nearly in Piper's Cove for the windward end, and beyond Caswell Cove on the other end.

For the first race-- of the year!-- I played it pretty conservative at the start but somehow managed a fairly clear third place position, at least for the 5 Lightnings that were there are the time (including regular champs Bob and Ned, the Boyntons in the illustrious #2, and the Three Men in the Tub).  Nathaniel raced but was a bit late to the line and out of competition.  And we finished in the same order: Bob, Ned, and us.  I felt pretty good that we at least kept up-- we finished soon after the lead pair.

I handed the helm over to Captain Rob P for the second race.  He's much more aggressive at the starts, and we all but won the second start.  But Nathaniel haunted us upwind, and despite some back-and-forth lead changes, edged us by half a boatlength for third (after Bob and Ned).

Sensing victory, we stayed with Rob P driving for the third race.  We had beaten Ned to the pin end, but also had been taken up a bit and we were over early by a couple seconds.  Rob did a nice job threading traffic to get clear, and we stayed competitive but well behind the lead 3 boats.  Downwind, I did only a passable job keeping the chute inflated, and we managed to find a lull on the course big enough to let the #2 catch and just pass us in front of the leeward mark.  After a nice rounding, we got caught in a port/starboard with them, and since they deflected for us (Rule #1 at Bow Lake: don't scratch the #2), we did a nicely executed circle.

That, combined with a mechanical failure-- the jib wire shackle on the deck let go, and I spent 45 seconds prone on the deck to reattach it-- should have cost us 4th place, but somehow we caught up to the #2 on the last windward leg and appeared to beat them by a nose.  Maybe it's because our boat is 55 years newer.

So, 3rd, 4th, 4th, by my calculations.  You might be disappointed to find that we have the second-newest boat on the lake, are well-budgeted, have 4 seasons experience with the boat, and yet are still mainly competitive with the junior skipper with the 12000-series boat, the second-oldest Lightning in the world, and a half-waterlogged barge lovingly called the Tub.  But I'm quite happy with it.  It's a hell of a lot of fun, and we learn something every race.  Plus I may not be a great sailor, but I'm incredibly smart and devastatingly handsome.

Many thanks to the Petersens for rearranging their schedule for me and coming out.