Mission Bay has come to life with summer activities.. beaches, barbecues and lots of boats and cars! Our pond was equally active with much of the same action, only in miniature scale! We even experienced a water skiing demonstration prior to our day of sailboat racing!
Dave Woodward drove from Yuma to volunteer as Race Director. He set the marks, called the line, and fetched everything at the end of the day! Dennis Rogers assisted with scoring the finishes. Great job guys!
Our pond was overcast most of the day with light and variable onshore breezes. Fleets experienced a mixed bag of long, medium and short courses as the winds fluctuated. A challenging day of sailing!
Pat Nevitt provided these beautiful score cards! We all appreciate your contribution!
The Argonauts had a healthy turnout of IOM & DF95 skippers despite the prevalent overcast conditions. Winds were about as predicted but came up early with a surprising consistency. Ben Reeve-RD did a fantastic job managing the fleets and kept crews on their toes with a variety of courses. It was a good day on the water if you were lucky enough to avoid our floating green paddies!
Special thanks to everyone that pitched in today! I know Bob Williams was calling sail numbers. Pat Nevitt, that is only a day out of surgery, produced these beautiful score sheets.. We appreciate your dedication and hope too see you back on the water soon! If I missed anyone that helped-I’ll do a circle for you!
We are getting good participation with our club races and volunteers staff. That said we would like to reach out for more helping hands to share the load. Don’t be shy.. It’s actually more fun when you contribute to the activities..
A Special Report from todays Race Director:
Hey all – I little regatta report from todays’ event.
All went very well today and very improved sportsmanship from all competitors. We had 11 IOMs and 16 DF95s on the lines today. The biggest worry was slipping and falling. Three skippers took a fall on the slippery shore. We really need to organize another big RAKE FEST. I promise to bring the donuts (even though I can’t have any) if we want to set a day soon to do it.
We had fair to good wind and a number of different bullet owners today. Pat is working on the scoring and it will be out soon I am sure. We mixed up the courses a little to try and keep the skippers on their toes (and not their butts from slipping). I personally want to thank Steve for getting the shed ready, David helping with the boat setup, Gil for setting the marks, Bob and Steve with help scoring, Pat for scoring totals, and Chris and Steve for boat removal and clean up. With all of this help the day went super smooth and ended quickly.
Below are some photos from the little point and shoot camera I had at the pond last month. Cheers!Ben
We had a successful day of racing thanks to a good crew of volunteers. This would not be possible without these eager hands that contribute to our pond sailing.
Pat Nevitt
Steve Ross
Kim Robins
Bill Bridge
Gil Jansky
Grey weather seems to be intrenched on the beaches, so sunscreen was optional today. Sea breeze was pretty much coming down the center of the pond in the low to mid single digits with a random gust to 8mph.
During our skippers meeting Pat Nevitt stressed the need to follow the rules, call fouls properly and sail in the Corinthian Spirt. So.. when you foul-do your turns!
Highlights from Soling50 Race 1- Finish would be a good topic for a Rules discussion.
Looking back at our beautiful Blue Planet.. It’s a good time to stop and appreciate the fragile space we think we possess.
APR. 29 Points- DF95 & IOM
Grey weather has been dominating the coastal regions while sunny skies slowly tease their way west. Today was no different with DF95 and IOM skippers sampling cool shifty breezes and spirited competition. The DF 95 fleet started shortly after noon in highly unpredictable breeze in the 2-6mph range. Medium and short courses were called by RD Kim Robins. Six heats and lots of fun!
We had a comfortable attendance on our IOM starting line. Dave Woodward traveled from Arizona to jump into the action and it was great sailing with him. The wind increased a notch or two for the six IOM heats, but substantial shifts still snagged most skippers. Scott Harrison managed the honor of RD and ran medium and short courses.. Great Sailing Guys!
Drone footage IOM RACES 1 & 2- Thank You Kerim Baran
Skippers today were enjoying some long awaited spring like weather for our first series in April. Winds turned more prevailing with fairly consistent 7-10mph breezes. That said, the west end of the pond with all its swirls and eddies created the usual challenges. It was a good day for sailing and nice attendance.
Tom Warren our RD for today, did a great job setting the course, along with Jason Brooks assisting in the skiff. During the skippers meeting Tom suggested sailing a modified medium course. The “Z” course, as it was referred to, was sailed in the last ODOM heat and added an extra challenge to our pond sailing. A nice change!
Check out the great drone footage of several Soling 50 heats. Thank You Steve Ross.
Special thanks to Pat Nevitt for these prompt and beautiful score sheets!
It was a cool but beautiful day for sailing on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond! Winds started out a little on the light side and out of a south westerly direction. Our robust DF95 Fleet started their six race series just after noon, sailing a modified medium course. Fred Rocha, our DF95-RD likes to keep us on our toes, so he changed our normal mid-basin reaching leg into an inside gate. It was a nice change to a course that can some times be a merry-go-round. Nice sailing skippers!
As the afternoon progressed wind pressure increased and shifted a little more to the right. The IOM’s had their turn on the pond and benefitted from the additional wind and a 2 lap course. The long course gives skippers just a little more time to chase down those boats up front! Chris Staiger did a nice job as RD for the IOM fleet, and we all appreciate our volunteers. Thank You!
Awesome drone footage of IOM Races 1-3.. Thank You Kerim Baran!
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OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE THE BEST!
Fred Rocha, Chris Staiger, Ken Titilah, Henry Johnson, Pat Nevitt
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IF THE RAIN GIVES US A BREAK WE SHOULD BE BACK ON SCHEDULE
Today skippers were greeted to 5-8 mph breezes and warm sunny skies. A nice respite from the many days of rain and cool weather we have been experiencing.
Sean O’Connor, our IOM RD, has mastered the skiff, oars and and mark setting. We truly appreciate each volunteer and are eager to train others. Bob Williams stepped up and managed the DF95 races. Thank You Bob!
Thank You Kerim Baran for todays drone footage..
Thank You Pat Nevitt for prompt score cards! I hope that rudder servo is ready for action next week!
ATTENTION IOM & DF95 SKIPPERS
Saturday, March 25 is a make up race for our February rain out.
It seems as though a commonly used word at the pond this winter has been the word “COLD”! I believe most of us are pretty much done with it and ready for some warm spring weather. Light southwest winds and thick marine layer is how we started March 4 Points sailing. Luckily some sunshine provided subtle warming as the afternoon progressed.
VC Sail, Steve Ross cracked open the shed, greeted todays skippers and introduced our Race Director, Dennis Rogers. A non eventful skippers meeting was held and a fleet of 10 Soling 50 were on the clock, promptly at noon. Our medium courses was pretty much the norm. Larry Grant, a national Soling 50 champ showed us all how to navigate the race course. Nice sailing to all!
Special thanks to Pat Nevitt for expedited and accurate score cards. We all appreciate our updated scores!
Our ODOM fleet seems to be shrinking! Calling all ODOMS!! It is a long season and a big starting line . There is plenty of time to join in on the fun!
Special thanks to our volunteers Dennis Rogers, RD and Jason Brooks for assisting with marks, scoring and cleanup.. We could not do this without your help and commitment! Thank You!
MARCH EVENTS
March 11 – Soling Fun Day
March 18 – Points for IOM and DF95
March 25 – Make-up for DF95 and IOM (Feb. rain day make up)
The San Diego Argonauts are hosting their annual Region 6 Midwinters IOM Regatta this weekend and welcomed a talented group of skippers from across the USA, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Barbados. On Friday we also had the opportunity to host a blossoming Southern California Marblehead fleet with a one day Regatta. Twelve Races were run and it was a delight to witness these sleek fast yachts on our pond.
MARBLEHEAD ACTIONFriday IOM Practice
IOM MIDWINTERS-DAY 1
Despite ominous weather predictions regarding a large cut off low pressure system wandering off our Southern California coast, skies were sunny and we experienced a perfect winter day in San Diego. Winds were a little slow to get going but once the on shore began, light sea breezes lasted through late afternoon. A good day of challenging sailing!
DAY 1 RACE FOOTAGE-Thank You, Dan Shier
Stay tuned.. More good sailing tomorrow!
IOM MIDWINTERS- DAY 2
As we waited for a more prevailing breeze to fill in Fred Rocha presented Special Recognition Awards to our international skippers. Dan Mueller- Brazil, Tony Gonsalves- Barbados and Cristian Plaza- Puerto Rico truly raised the bar at this regional event. Special Appreciation awards were also presented to Dan Shier for Outstanding AMYA Promotion, Derek Landeau- Technical Chairman and Doug Hart- Protest Chairman.
Daniel MuellerCristian PlazaTony GonsalvesDerek LandeauDoug Hart
Our beautiful sunny morning was quickly replaced by an upper cloud deck that blanketed our bay. South winds that had plagued us earlier finally shifted right. Heat Number Five-A Fleet started mid day in a light SW 4-5 mph breeze. That said, the entire day winds were light and variable with huge holes and all fleets were challenged. Fred Rocha, determined to completes as many heats as possible, shortened, adjusted and shifted the marks as winds clocked back to the left. GREAT JOB FRED!
Last Heats of the day. The temperature drops.. The winds drop.. and light rain drops..
DAY 2 RACE FOOTAGE-Thank You, Dan Shier
TOP SKIPPERS
First Place- Daniel Mueller
Second Place- Tony Gonsalves
Third Place- Gary Boell
Fourth Place- Mark Gollison
Fifth Place- Chris Sullivan
Fair Player- Ian Beswick
Corinthian- Jason Brooks
A special thank you to all the participants and volunteers that made this event successful and fun!
Skippers could not have asked for a nicer day of February sailing! Plenty of sun, a few picturesque high clouds and pleasantly mild temperatures. I had anticipated the winds would have been steadier, with an early clearing and onshore flow. That certainly was not the case. Squirrelly would be the best word I could use to describe our pond today. Light variable pressure with an 8mph puff here and there. Challenging!
Volunteers that made today possible:
Steve Delva – Race Director
Gil Jansky – Mark Setting
Steve Ross- Scoring Assistant
Ken Titilah – Skiff Cleanup
Pat Nevitt – Score Keeper
ODOM Skippers filled the pond first with a fleet of seven. Unfortunately we had a few technical problems that thinned the fleet a little. Check those lines and wires! We need to keep our fleets healthy. Thanks to our good group of skippers we sailed with few fouls and a fun competitive spirit. Nice Sailing!
Ken, Jess and Kim making it go!
The Soling 50 fleet had their shot on the course with a fleet of 10 boats. Wind conditions remained variable and even lighter, so short course rounding became the standard.Great sailing guys!
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SPECIAL POND PIZZA & WORK PARTY
Saturday, February 11 – 10AM
Rake some green slime and have a good time. Our pond shores and shallows are in need of a little grooming. Let’s eliminate the slippery stuff and stay off our duff.. All hands are welcome..
