Rob's Boat:

Bob Evans #0 - July 3rd bonus race

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 13:16:30 -0400

We're finally getting started with our Bow Lake sailing season. By popular request, our lake Commodore added a bonus race to kick off the season on Saturday, and what an ideal day to do so: it was sunny but not too hot, with northwesterly winds of 4-5mph with occasional gusts.

My normal extended crew all had Fourth of July plans, but I was psyched when my youngest stepdaughter Allie (pictured with Wayne's "vented hat") wanted to try racing. She'd been sailing once on the Daysailor, so getting into a Lightning was a bit intimidating. Also joining us was Doug White, a Sunfish owner looking to get some more experience on the water.

With two new crew, we took our time. We started with some basic instruction on shore, and got underway about 12:30 for the 1pm races. Doug quickly got used to his role as ballast and took initiative when the gusts rolled up. Allie tacked the jib, and by the end of the first race didn't even need notice of when to uncleat and sheet.

The spinnaker work was a lot of on-the-job training for the new forward crew. We took it slow and easy, and they patiently responded as I gave each step. By the third race, they had the major steps, but we skipped the spinnaker to preserve their remaining energy. Both crew did an amazing job in an intimidating situation-- even 4 spinnaker jibes!

As it was, we did really well. We even snuck by a few boats in the third race. I, for one, had a great time. Many thanks to Doug-- hope to see him out in the Sunfish-- and especially to Allie, who made one of my dreams come true and did a great job on top of it.

Thanks to Wayne for the photos below.

Schedule Posted

Sat, 5 Jun 2010 12:19:12 -0400

Finally we have some dates for sailing on Bow Lake this year:

Race 1 - Sunday July, 11
Race 2 - Sunday July, 18 (Rob unavailable)
Race 3 - Saturday July 24 (Rob unavailable)
Race 4 - Sunday August 1
Race 5 - Sunday August, 8
Race 6 - Sunday August, 15 (Rob unavailable)
Race 7 - Saturday August 21 (Rob unavailable)
Race 8 - Sunday August, 29
Ed Hinds Lightning Flash - September 18th

I'd really also like to make:

Massabesic Regatta (Auburn, NH) - September 11th and 12th

These are posted on the calendar page. If crew books with me, I'll put their names in the title of the event. Otherwise, please send me when you're available and would like to race!

Thanks!

First sail

Sun, 23 May 2010 19:59:30 -0400

Well, I'm ready for a new season on the Sloop. The boat has been prepped and launched, and I even had a nice solo sail last Sunday the 23rd. I've got a couple of minor line upgrades, but that's about it.

I still don't have an official Bow Lake schedule. Sounds like July 4th weekend will actually be the first race of the year, despite my urges to get the racing season going earlier.

I've made some guesses as to what the schedule will be on the new calendar page. It's now a Google Calendar, which means you can easily subscribe to dates if you use Google Calendar yourself. I haven't yet figured out how to have potential crew request a date, so for now, if you're interested in a date, please drop me an email. I'll post crew names in the event title if I have them.

Of course, there's no point in signing up for the dates until I know what they are for sure. As soon as I hear the official word, I'll post them on the calendar and holler at you. Thanks...

Bow Lake Ed Hinds Regatta

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:49:47 -0400

Saturday was a beautiful day, but quite windy. By 11am, Wayne's weather station was recording 20+ mph gusts, and foam from whitecaps was lining his frontage. Due to prior obligations, I was only able to stay out on the racecourse until 1:30, and when the first race didn't roll around until 1, and with the wind threatening, I decided to bail for the day (along with two visiting boats and Three Men in a Tub, who was rumored to have backstay anchoring issues). Fortunately my ambitious crew Nathaniel, who would have been eager to take over the Sloop once I left for the day, got a ride on Ned Hinds' boat. Spinnakers were prohibited in the high winds, but it looks like things went well.

As it was, I was able to catch most of the first race from Dad's powerboat. Here's the end of the first race. The line extends from the committee boat to the right. That's Bob and two Geshunys just missing first place. The video makes it seem less windy than it was-- check out how the lead boat planes while reaching away from the line.

Apologies to Nathaniel and Luke for the last-minute cancellation, and thanks to Wayne for the dutiful support.

Massabesic YC Regatta, Day 2

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:14:29 -0400

I couldn't attend day 1, so obviously we didn't expect to be competitive. I'd managed to snag Captain Rob P from C'est Bon as well as rookie C'est Bon crew Joe Letterman for the day.

They couldn't have picked a better day to go Lightning racing. It was a perfect late-summer day: 75 and sunny, and not humid. After barely getting out to the starting line, breeze generally improved to 5-6, with quick gusts and periods of stillness.

Lightning training from Bob and Ned has now extended to traveling with a Lightning, and they pointed out a few good setup and teardown tips for us. We are now calling the covering technique where you sit on the trailer and lift the bow with your legs the "Shapiro Move".

After avoiding touching the water when launching, we got underway. It was Joe's first time on a Lightning, but he acclimated quickly, and Rob P was already familiar with bow duties.

For race 1, we were pretty conservative at the start, so we started back in the pack and stayed there. All four races today were "olympic" courses: windward, broad reach, broad reach, windward, leeward, windward. It really exercised our crew work, which with our inexperience was our downfall. There were no real mistakes made; it just took more time to execute tricky maneuvers like windward launches and tight jibes around a mark.

Race 2 shook things up more for us by doing a clockwise rotation around the marks, keeping them to starboard. We got more aggressive with starts, deciding to pick a lead boat and "stalk" them until near the gun. For race 2, we picked Bob. Following him worked pretty well and kept us in the mix. We started mid-pack, but the starboard roundings meant our spinnaker was set up on the wrong side. Being a bit uncomfortable with windward sets, we jibed around and set on the wrong side, then jibed back, costing us time. Another last place, but we were learning.

The third race we stalked Ken Deyette, series leader. He tacked over to starboard just ahead of us, but Eagle Eyes Petersen spotted a nice hole at the favored end. We stayed on port and tacked above the whole fleet. We won the start and had a layline right from the line, while the rest of the fleet had to tack up to us. A weak rounding put us in the top 3, but our need to jibe around the mark for a leeward set separated us from the pack. When we rejoined the pack at the jibe mark, Ned became a sandwich between ourselves and a third boat. Being inside and overlapped, we called for room, though Ned himself was also calling for room. Walter in the outside boat eventually bumped Ned and did his circles. Meanwhile, I'd made the wrong call to stick with the spinnaker rather than put up the jib, and we came out fouled and powerless. Despite quick responses from Rob and Joe, we lost significant ground. It only takes one mistake for these guys to pass you by.

The fourth race was lost from the start. Well, our first start was great: we seemed to be the only boat that wasn't over early. Unfortunately, RC called a general recall. We missed a horn, and when RC didn't fly a Lightning flag for the restart, we lost track of the sequence entirely. In fact, we were on course for the actual restart, and had to make a large loop just to start properly. The difference would have been tough for any of the teams to make up. We had a few nibbles at the last boats, but we finished in last.

Despite the losses, it was a good time and certainly a great learning experience, which is all I'd hoped for. Many thanks to Rob and Joe, for performing crew work above their experience level. As always, many thanks to Bob and Ned for their tutelage. And thanks to Randy and crew at MYC.

Link to official MYC results:
http://www.mycsailing.com/racing/sailwave/2009/MYCRegatta2009.html