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.
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!
The San Diego Argonauts are excited to host the 2024 IOM AMYA Region 8 Championship Regatta. February is a perfect time to escape the cold weather and enjoy San Diego and Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. The IOM sailing community is cordially invited to join the fun!
The San Diego Argonauts completed their final Saturday of the 2023 Points Racing Season. It looks like the winds did not cooperate sufficiently to allow IOM skippers their December points opportunity. Despite that disappointment, we must focus on all the fun we have had throughout the entire season and thank everyone that has participated in activities this year.
A special thank you to all the volunteers that make our passion of R/C sailing possible. 2024 is going to be an even more exciting year on our pond!
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!
Thank You Ken Wild for the First ODOM start.
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!
Cumulative Scores for the the 2023 Points Season are being tallied.. Stay tuned!
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!
A cutoff low pressure system tried to spoil our pond sailing this weekend but sunny skies prevailed as IOM and DF 95 skippers were treated to a summer like day.. Unfortunately the wind pressure did not follow the blue sky. A very light breeze from the southwest in the 3-6 mph range prevailed most oft the day and oil slick water on the west end presented a real problem to most skippers. That being said both classes completed their 6 race series. Mostly in slow motion!
Chris Staiger set the marks and lined up a course that was suitable for the conditions and also handled the duties of Race Director for the 8 boat IOM Fleet. We appreciate your direction Chris!
SCORES BY PAT NEVITTSCORES BY PAT NEVITT
By the time the DF 95 fleet had their turn on the pond the wind conditions deteriorated another notch or two. Craig Mackey stepped in as Race Director for the DF fleet and worked with the light breeze and shortened course configuration. Thank you Craig for volunteering today!
SCORES BY PAT NEVITTSCORES BY PAT NEVITT
Despite frustrating wind conditions we got all our races off and had a good day on our pond.. Special thanks to those who participated and pitched in a hand to make this day possible.
SPECIAL REMINDER: November 25 is a ODOM & Soling 50 Points Make Up Day!
A healthy group of DF 95 skippers faired well today with no fowl weather and no fowl language.. Jess Atkinson was the master of ceremony and directed a full day of sailing on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. At stake today was winners rights to a booty of fresh fowl for the Thanksgiving table!
Prior to racing skippers gathered around Dennis Rogers for an informative tuning seminar. Dennis shared valuable setup and tuning tricks for the DF95. I think everyone learned something from the class..Dennis is FAST!
Jess got us all thinking about the four boat circle with four DF95 yachts parked bow too stern on the grass . The visualization gave us a good refresher on how to avoid problems when rounding the leeward mark.The stage was set and skippers were eager to bring home the bacon! Tom Warren backed up the class with expert assist at the start and finish.GREAT JOB!
