CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Golison, the 2024 Region 8 Dragonflite95 Champion! Racing was extremely close with 2 of the top 5 positions being decided via tie-breaks. Thanks to our Race Committee Members who worked so hard to host this regatta and congratulations to our Corinthian Award Winner, Henry Johnson!
Video courtesy of Steve Ross & Kerim Baran:
CARNAGE! Both on the Water and Off! Between damaged/malfunctioning boats and damaged infrastructure, we lost a number of ODOMs as well as a downed skipper (due to the collapsed concrete culvert in the control area: Get healed up, Paul!) Despite this, the conditions were beautiful with sunny skies, mild temperatures and good westerly winds. Chris Staiger RD’d the ODOM Fleet with Results below:
Following the ODOMs, the winds moved a bit southerly and became a little more shifty but didn’t slacken much. Gil Jansky RD’d the Soling 50 Fleet where racing was tight and lead changes were common. Overall, great day for Racing (and Gremlins…)
REMINDER: The Dragonflite95 Region 8 Championships are only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! Get your Entries in! (see below)
Light southerly winds greeted the IOM fleet as Point racing began today. RD Ben Reeve utilized several course options from Medium to Long to mix things up until the winds filled and moved more westerly.
Thanks to Kerim Baran for the Drone Footage!
DF95’s were next. Winds filled to over 7 knots and moved near true West by the time the DF95’s turn came. Again, RD Ben Reeve called Medium, Long and ‘Reverse Short’ (Yes: downwind start to a leeward gate…) courses resulting in tight racing with many lead changes.
Good turnout despite the weather. Thanks to Race Director Steve Delva.
Cool February weather held out for ODOM & Soling 50 skippers today. The wind was a little on the light side. No snow or ice- so we have no complaints from this department! Thank you Chris Staiger for directing a fun day of sailing.
ODOM skippers are thanking Jess Atkinson for his day of pond side tuning assistance. He helped most of our fleet improve their boat settings, with his years of ODOM experience.. You could see the results on the water! Thank you Jess!
You sure couldn’t argue about the beautiful winter day on Mission Bay! IOM and DF95 skippers participated in their first Points Series for 2024 with good numbers in each fleet. The sea breeze was just enough for each class to glide through the afternoon on a nice long course. I bit light and shifty at times.. but that’s our pond!
Chris Staiger set the marks and manned the clock for the IOM fleet. Ben Reeve directed today’s healthy DF95 fleet. These guys are volunteers and they deserve much credit for your fun today!
ODOM and Soling 50 skippers concluded the 2023 Points Season with nice participation from both fleets. Mission Bay delivered a typical fall day with plenty of sunshine and a very light onshore breeze. It was tedious sailing for sure, but rather difficult to complain about the weather.
Ty Beach, RD for the ODOM fleet, manned the skiff and set marks and course for a south west wind direction. Ty modified our normal route to the weather offset mark and choose a starboard rounding, reaching left to right. On the medium course the starting line became a gate.. It’s good to mix it up! Thank you Ty for volunteering!
The light breeze continued with a shift to the right by the time the Soling 50 fleet launched into action. Tom Warren, our RD adjusted the course back to our more normal port rounding and shortened the weather leg to accommodate the even lighter afternoon conditions. It was a drifter but the fleet managed to complete the six heat series. Thank you Tom!
Chris Staiger, our new 2024 Vice Commodore of Sail, arrived at the shores of our pond early to prep the skiff, marks and starting gear. A light onshore breeze filed in early and it appeared to be a promising day of pond sailing. Chris manned the skiff and set the marks for our Soling 50 fleet, of 8 skippers.
We had a modest turnout of Soling 50 and ODOM skippers determined to close out the 2023 seasons on a positive note. The ODOM fleet welcomed two additional yachts to the roster. Good luck Tom Warren and Pat Nevitt. You will discover the ODOM is a fun rig to sail!
Pat Nevitt was our volunteer Race Director for the Soling 50 fleet. Before the start of the series Pat reminded us about sailing in the Corinthian Spirit. This is a proclamation we must all take to heart.. A medium course was the norm and followed though the 6 heat series. Thanks to all that joined the fleet today!
By the time the ODOM fleet had their turn on the water the breeze started to vacillate (I think that’s a word). In turn, Chris shortened the weather leg to accommodate the indecisive wind conditions. I think fluctuation and oscillation are other good words that describe the conditions. Skippers may have had some of their own descriptive word as well! At any rate, Chris Staiger did a good job finishing the 6 heat afternoon before dusk. Thanks again to everyone that helped make this day fun!
