A pesky low pressure system fouled our wind and weather for our Oct 15 pond sailing fleets! Despite threatening sky’s and extremely variable conditions, determined skippers tested their skills and luck.
Our robust DF95 fleet sailed their series of 6 races first. Medium course was generally the rule until late in the series when things were shortened up due to a waning breeze.
The IOM fleet had their turn in the pool just in time for the gentle breeze to turn into barely a breath. Race one, the short course, was just about an all day sucker! IOM race two, a medium course, began in true ghosting conditions. With the lifeless fleet spread out and drifting the rain and thunder eventually finalized this race day. Most made it through the finish line and the IOM’s retired after two drifters.
This is Ghosting.. Appropriate for Halloween?
A Special recognition to our RD’s: Craig Mackey and John Roger’s. Also thank you Jason Brooks and Kim Robinson for mark setting and retrieval. Your help is appreciated by all!
Bob Williams fired up the grill and served up yummy hot dogs for deserving participants. Several skippers commented the BBQ was the highlight of the day.
We had a nice turnout of sailors even though the weather service was threatening us with wind and rain, remnants of Hurricane Kay. Needless to say Kay was mostly a bust when it came to the velocities of wind that was predicted. I think we were all agreeable with the cooler temperatures and light rains the tropical system delivered to the pond.
Kay-Renant Low
Ben Reeve and Scott Harris did an outstanding job managing one of the more challenging days on the pond to be the Race Directors! The light early onshore flow clocked to south east and south with very low flow. DF95 skippers went first and drifted through the difficult conditions. The course became rather interesting when starting was reversed (west to east) with starboard gate rounding and long reaching legs. A wind delay held the series to 5 races.
Our IOM fleet seems to be growing slowly and it is was great to see John Castilli back on our local waters. Dennis Rogers tried out his new BritPop and he seems to be very happy! It’s a beautiful rig! When it was time for the IOM fleet to begin their series the wind spiked out of the south and south east. Reverse starting on a beam reach was the name of the game and it was fast action to the first starboard rounding gate. This was pretty much the theme for the six race series. Nice Sailing!
The drone did not launch last weekend due to missing software updates. So recordings were brief and from the sidelines. Thank you Kerim & Sean for the 3rd video.
September 3, 2022. The morning started out very warm and very calm for our Labor Day Weekend Soling and ODOM Points Racing. RD Keith Stemal and Kim Robins set a nice course and the gentle sea breeze kicked in right on time for a hot day of sailing. Ken Campbell’s Racing Rules Clinic covered the topic of proper course.
We had a nice turnout for both fleets. Eddy winds, everyones favorite (just kidding), was the theme for this Saturday’s DF95 & IOM points racing. Wind pulses, lulls and holes presented a veritable obstacle course that enabled all skippers opportunities and disappointments during their 6 race series. Thanks to all that participated!
DF95 Race Director- Greg Williams
IOM Race Director- Scott Harris
Prior to our racing schedule Ken Campbell offered up some useful tips on Windward Leeward Rights at the starting line and Proper Course at the weather mark, during his Racing Rules Seminar. Several followup questions on finish line right of way issues were also discussed. Thank you Ken.
Footage from this past weekend’s IOM Point Races captured in a series of 5 videos. Races 1,2, 4, 5, 6 were recorded. Race 4 was recorded partially (second upwind leg and beyond). Race 5 had some technical difficulties at the end. Thank You Karim for the extraordinary drone perspective!
The day ended with a fine Hot Dog BBQ prepared by, VC of Sail / Chef, Bob Williams. We all thank Bob for his ongoing support and enthusiasm for our passion of RC Sailing!
Eddy wind conditions seemed to tease an apparent disagreement with our weak onshore flow. So-back and forth the argument went, most of the day!
Conditions were described as some of the most challenging winds we have experienced on our pond for quite some time. Ken Campbell described it like this – “There were a lot of opportunities out there today”.
No matter what your position on the water happened to be, there was no denying the variable wind angles and velocities we all experienced! Nice sailing to all skippers that participated!
Todays Race Directors:
IOM-RD Scott Harris
DF95 RD- Kim Robbins
A special thanks to any extra hands that helped make our racing day possible.
Thank You Ken Campbell for July scores and cumulative points for the 2022 Sailing Season. There are five more months of challenging racing for skippers waiting to jump into the pond!! Please join the fun.
VC Bob Williams. You can’t keep this man down!! Bob deserves a standing ovation and full round of applause for his efforts in keeping our club moving forward and in fresh cooked hot dogs after each Saturday of points racing.
THANK YOU BOB!
If you have not experienced the post racing BBQ. Well why??
It seems fitting that our June report would appear on the summer solstice with the surprising monsoon clouds pouring in from the east. Did someone just flip the summer switch?
I’ve been absent most the month but it appears lots of good vibes are happening on our pond. The following is an update thanks to the numerous contributions of club members.
Cultivating interest in our hobby is something all of us should be excited about. Sailing is challenging, engaging and fun. It also helps build and sustain our hobby and club. Here is an experience Ben Reeve had to share. It puts a smile on my face!
Hey Skippers,
Just a happy little story from today…
Sharing your controller with a visitor at the pond can be a very rewarding and heartfelt experience. Today, between races, I overheard someone asking some questions of a skipper who had just taken his boat out of the water. I had just finished a practice race and went over to offer my controller to the Mom, and her two kids. They had driven by and stopped on their way to the airport to see what we were doing and were getting ready to leave back to Colorado.
I handed my controller to Delaney who I found out actually had a little sailing knowledge sailing her very own 18’ day sailor on the lake in CO. She took to the IOM very well, and here’s a photograph of how she felt about it.
As you can see, she’s all smiles and was having a fantastic time. After a few moments of getting used to the controls she even started a race, with me coaching and did pretty well. Her brother Evan was on a DF95 shortly after this with another skipper handing over the controller. Both were all smiles in no time. They didn’t have much time, but after about 30mins we shook hands with Mom and Evan, and I got a little hug from Delaney for making her day. It’s safe to say she is hooked on RC sailing!
SO PLEASE – when someone asks questions, take a moment and share our joys and passion of the sport. Pretty soon these two will be back, and you can bet they will be hard to beat!
Wishing you all good winds!
Ben
SAILING POINTS FOR JUNE
A Note From our Vice Commodore of Sail, Bob Williams:
We have 15 more Pts Races this year and we NEED to fill the following schedule. If you volunteer for a particular date & you cannot make that date it is your responsibility to find a substitute & notify VCS Bob! It is obvious that sailors do not want to get the skiff out to set & pick up marks.If you are not comfortable about doing this , ask for assistance as I am sure others will help you!! If not, I will appoint you some help! Please email me your volunteer RD dates
Thank you, Bob!
July 2 -Sol50,ODOM , S/B
July 23 -DF95, IOM
Aug.6 -ODOM,Sol50,S/B
Aug.13 DF95 Fun Regatta
Aug.20- DF95,IOM
Sept.3 Sol50,ODOM, S/B
Sept.10- DF95,IOM
Oct. 1- ODOM,Sol50, S/B
Oct. 8- IOM Fun Regatta
Oct. 15-DF95,IOM
Nov.5- Sol50,ODOM, S/B
Nov.19-IOM,DF95
Dec.3- ODOM,Sol50,S/B
Dec.10-DF95,IOM
Dec.17-Holiday Lights
2022 Midseason Cumulative Points Update
Thanks to our score keeper, Ken Campbell, posted are cumulative points for active fleets in Sail Division. Club Points Regattas are conducted two Saturdays a month. This year we have skippers sailing DF95, IOM, SOLING 50 and ODOM class RC sailboats on Mission Bay Yacht Model Pond. If you are interested in joining the regatta activity, it’s not too late to get in on the fun.
Cool weather, thick stratus and spring time eddy breezes were the dominant forces at our sailing pond today with IOM and DF 95 skippers navigating the highly variable aquatic landscape!
VC Bob Williams motivated todays enthusiastic team of RD’s and support team. Our group expresses genuine appreciation to Kerim Baran, Ken Wild and Steve Delva for RD duties and course setting. Ken Campbell’s Racing Rules Clinic/Score keeper and Bill Bridge and numerous other hands assisted with clean up!
We had a respectable showing of eight IOM skippers. Plus a generous showing in the DF 95 fleet, with twenty boats challenging the starting line. Thank you to all that participated!
Sailing Rules Clinic – Starboard vs. Port & Tacking
IOM Races 1 to 6 (#1,2,3,6 from the start/finish line, #3,4,5,6 from drone)
DF 95 Starting Action
After a strenuous day of sailing skippers were treated to another great hotdog bbq at the boat shed. Thank you Bob Williams for another fun day at the pond!
May is here! Gray is here! But spring breezes are beginning to frequent our Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond with skippers continually challenged to our tricky sailing conditions. Five Soling and Six ODOM racers greeted the opportunity to test their patience and skills.
Ken- Pre Race TuningMicro knots and magnifying glasses for this task!
Ken Campbell- Rules ClinicRACE DIRECTOR- Tom Warren
A Special Thank You to our volunteers! Without you our day on the pond would not be the same!
Tom Warren-Race Director
Steve Ross- Assistant Scoring
Ben Reeve- Purser
Ken Campbell- Racing Rules Clinic & Scoring
Kerim Baran- Drone and Clean Up
Bob Williams- VC Sail and Hot Dog Man
SPECIAL NOTE:
NEXT SATURDAY, MAY 14th IS THE SOLING 50 FUN DAY REGATTA.
Grey overcast. Temperature hovering around 60 degrees. Light 3-7 SW winds early. Shifting right slightly as the day progressed. These are the conditions our pond sailors experienced this Saturday. Not exactly ice fishing weather, but a warming hut may have been welcomed by a few crew members.
Ben Reeve, our volunteer RD for the ODOM Class, set a standard mark/course arrangement. Bens row boat etiquette is definitely improving! Steve Ross was scoring the slow motion action while Pat Nevitt monitored mark rounding’s. Ben passed the RD baton to Karim Baran, who managed the Soling 50 races. Thank You to all helpers.
Before the skippers meeting Ken Campbell reviewed barging at the starting line and ways to avoid getting trapped between the pin and other boats. Kerim Baran documented the seminar for the benefit of all.
BARGING and Thinking Ahead
We had six ODOMs and four Soling 50’s each making 6 appearances at the starting gate. Here are the results:
Videos from today’s Soling 50 races:
(All 6 races are captured in one video. The first 3 were shot from the sidelines, the last 3 from the drone.)
The peanut gallery is alive and well!
Don’t forget to order your hats and t-shirts! Bob Williams is eager to take your order.
“In 2022 we’re all quite aware of basically everyone having a camera in there phone and I see many people taking pictures and would really love to see some of those photos shared with the membership. Here I am providing some of the vintage photos I have taken recently. Vintage in that I have used several cameras that are 40 to 100 years old recently at the pond. These are unedited negatives scans straight from the camera. Enjoy and don’t forget to share your photos.” All contributions are welcome and appreciated!
March was an active month on our pond with three consecutive weekends of sailing events! Thank You, to all that participated!
The month wraps up with IOM and DF95 fleets, with a competitive day of sailing. Winds were favorable all day and each fleet easy completed a series of six races.
Prior to racing and our skippers meeting Ken Campbell conducted a 10 minute discussion with the topics When do the Rules Apply and Proper Hailing. Hailing is a subject all skippers are aware of, but challenged to initiate, while engaged on the water. There were numerous questions and clarifications during this seminar. The challenge to all is taking the knowledge to the race course. Kerim documented the class:
When do the Rules Apply
Proper Hailing
Before the races, Commodore Mark Hallberg recognized volunteers by handing out cash awards to those who routinely contribute to club activities. This was a huge incentive to get involved with our club. Don’t spend your dividends all in one place!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
IOM’s were on the course at noon, greeted by southwest winds in the 6-8mph range. Medium courses were the norm. As the day progressed and the IOM’s had a few races under their belt, winds shifted right for a little variation. Nice conditions!
The fleet of twelve DF95 started their series of six races with slightly freshening wind conditions and competitive racing. Chris Stager is back on the Argonauts sailing circuit with years of RC racing experience. It’s great to see the level of competition continue to grow!
At the end of the day Bob Williams, on his 80th Birthday, fired up the grill and served delicious hot dogs. Happy Birthday Bob.. Thank you for all you do!
IOM’s Video 1 of 16: (Automatically continues to the next video, or click next arrow)
VOLUNTEERS MAKE THESE EVENTS POSSIBLE-SMOOTH-AND FUN!
THANK YOU TO ALL THAT CONTRIBUTED TODAY:
Bill Bridge – Skiff and Mark Prep
Ken Campbell – Rules Seminars & Points Scoring
Ben Reeve – Registration & Collections
Kerim Baran – IOM RD and Drone Video Documentarian
Gil Jansky – Course Marks / RD DF95 series
Commodore, Mark Hallberg – Assistant RD and Scoring
