The San Diego Argonauts launched their three day IOM Midwinters Regatta with twenty six eager skippers and perfect perfect summer-like weather on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. Water level was a bit skinny due to recent maintenance and shoreline work, so our fleet was divided into 3 heats in order to avoid traffic issues. Sea breezes freshened by mid day with increasingly challenging shifts as the day progressed. Fred Rocha, master organizer and RD extraordinaire directed a full day of sailing for all!
3-2-1 LAUNCHOFF ON THE FIRST WEATHER LEGFRED!DOWN WIND LEGJESS ATKINSON-NICE FIRST DAY.. GOOD LUCK TOMORROW!FEBRUARY 18, 19 and 20
Conditions are looking favorable for another great day of sailing tomorrow! Smooth Sailing..
A two foot pipe on the south east side of our pond supplies the daily tidal flow to our cool little estuary. The currents created, through the pipe, by the flood and ebb of sea water shift the sand and create a shoal or island. Numerous skippers have run aground. Not good! You guessed it..start digging!
Who pulled the plug?Kim-One “Man Skip Loader”
Drone Footage-Kerim Baran
San Diego Argonaut volunteers have been working diligently to prepare for the 2022 sailing season and the IOM Midwinters 3 Day Regatta, Feb. 18,19 & 20. The skiff and launching dolly refinishing project was completed this weekend. Nice job guys.. our little mark setting skiff should service us for years to come!
A special note from VC Sail Bob Williams:
I want to thank Kim, Tom, Gil, Kerim, Keith, & Freddie for lowering the sandbar on Sat. The skiff & trailer repairs are finished & please take care when using them! Bob VCS
City workers are scheduled to rake/scrape the pond shore line while the water level is down. The valve will be re-opened and we should be up to full level in a few days!
FEBRUARY 18, 19 &20
This will be a fun spectator event with continuous sailing action throughout the day! Bring your camera and chair.. Volunteer if you can, extra hands are always welcome..
In anticipation for an exciting 2022 sailing season our Argonaut maintenance team got the jump on some much needed skiff repairs and refinishing projects. Bob Williams and Steve Ross spearheaded the operation. Bob arranged the welding repairs of our launching dolly. It needed major chassis and axle work to keep it in service. Steve was are go-to materials and supply man. Gil provided additional elbow grease and light humor during the daily routine of sanding and painting. Ben Reeve wrote some pretty nice checks! The end result will add years more service to our launching equipment.. I hope everyone likes black!
Lets get back to the important stuff.. SAILING!
Saturday, February 5, was another San Diego “chamber of commerce” day! Full sunshine with light sea breezes greeted our Mission Bay pond. Prior to our start, Barbie paraded the shoreline on a scale air boat.. I guess she has moved on from pontoon boats and Corona’s!
Shortly after noon, under the race direction of Ben Reeve, ODOM skippers launched into a 6 race series. Winds were in the 6 to 8 mile per hour range with the usual holes and shifts. The following are the results:
Soling 50 skippers were up next with a similar wind range but seemingly more extreme shifts as the later afternoon winds favored a more northerly direction. I would describe it as a mixing bowl of swirling breeze.
We appreciate every participant and volunteer. You make this club possible!
Register for the event! Or stop by to watch the action!
IOM MIDFWINTERS, Feb. 18, 19 & 20
If you are an RC enthusiast, big boat sailor or just pond side spectator the San Diego Argonauts welcome your interest into our FUN and challenging hobby of RC Sailing Boats, Scale Boats or Power Boats!
After being spoiled with zero wind and points races being cancelled last week, IOM and DF95 sailors experienced offshore and onshore winds competing for dominance today. Looking at the wind graph for Mission Bay I’d say our pond handled the conditions fairly well as sailors had nice breezes to work with.
Special Thanks to our support crews today! Ben Reeve and Bill Bridge served as RD. VC Bob Williams and Dave Strong. Ken Campbell for score sheets. NICE WORK!!
SPECIAL THANKS TO KERIM BARAN FOR EXCELLENT DRONE VIEW OF IOM COMPETITION
Commodore, Mark Hallberg was on hand to kick off the 2022 Sailing Season with an introduction to, Steve Delva, our newly elected and much needed Argonaut Secretary. Thank you Steve!
Mark also expressed an optimistic outlook to this years club social activities as we look forward to award banquets and more pond side barbecues. The fun light is on!
VC Bob Williams.. If you want to get scored in 2022 Points Races.. JOIN the ARGONAUTS! We welcome all sailors!
Ben Reeve was our trusted RD for the day and assembled an eager staff of volunteers that helped run a smooth day of racing. Tom Warren jumped in with mark setting and mark moving. Ben, Kim, Greg and Gil with boat clean up and storage. Ken Campbell for confirming and posting results. It takes a village. Thank You!
SOLING 50″s all clear!
Weather conditions for the first races of the season were cool and calm with just enough sea breeze to keep our hulls moving and complete 6 races for each class. Seven Soling 50’s started the series at noon in a medium overcast sky with south west winds in the 6 mph range. As the day progressed and the ODOM fleet had their turn on the pond, wind shifted to the right and became progressively lighter and variable. Short courses up and down were called in order to salvage 6 races. A day of challenging conditions and great competition!
SOLING 50’s on the weather off-set mark..Run to find the windBeat to the finish lineMad flyer to make something happen!
ODOM FLEET NEXT…
Special thanks to our photographer Sandra, warm hands, Jansky for snapping some action shots in between warming sessions next to the heater. We all appreciate your sailing images!
Ken and two Barbies sipping Corona tall ones.. Typical Navy guys getting an eye full!
If you are an RC enthusiast, big boat sailor or just pond side spectator the San Diego Argonauts welcome your interest into our FUN and challenging hobby of RC Sailing!
I trust all skippers are having a wonderful Holiday! This is a perfect time to reflect on last seasons highlights and plan for a fresh 2022 sailing season. Get those boat repairs and rig tuning issues knocked out early and don’t forget to update your Argonauts membership and AMYA enrollments.
Lets get started on our pond with a fun 3 day IOM MIDWINTERS REGATTA, Feb 18, 19 & 20! The days are starting to get longer and winds typically reliable. Registration is now open.
IOM and DF95 skippers finished the 2021 sailing season with a perfect fall day on our Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. It looked like a good group of sailors considering the many commitments we navigate this close to the holidays. Thank You to all participants and volunteers that made this event possible.
Congratulations to First Place IOM Skipper Ken Campbell and First Place DF95 Skipper Dennis Rogers. FANTASTIC SAILING!
Saturday seven Soling 50 and seven ODOM skippers wrapped up the 2021 sailing season with an afternoon of challenging pond conditions. The initial wind forecast was hopeful, with upper single to low double digit winds predicted . We actually experienced much less with just the first few Soling races getting an 11mph push here and there. The thick cloud layer and weak variable flow became the force of the day as fleets painfully accomplished six races each.
Dennis Rogers, our RD, managed to keep our sailing efforts relegated to daylight hours by running short course early on. Thank You! Bob Williams was on hand with coordination and registration. Mark Hallberg with the finishing count and emotional support. Ken Campbell is as fast providing results as he is on the water – Thank You Ken!
Bob Williams, Vice Commodore of Sail, continues to reach out to Santa Barbara skippers for renewed participation in the 2022 sailing season and event calendar.. San Diego Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond is the perfect setting for launching and sailing these elegant craft.
CONGRATULATIONS to Ken Campbell and Gerry Wold for an excellent season of RC Sailboat racing.
I trust all Argonauts had a wonderful Thanksgiving.. We certainly have been experiencing exceptional fall weather!
This report comes as a lump sum-up of all activities for November, so lets dive right in. WE have elected new club officers, initiated annual registration with updated forms, called out to ALL Santa Barbara skippers for participation in 2022 sailing schedule and lots of sailing scores.
CONGRATULATIONS to our 2022 Officers:
Mark Hallberg – Commodore
Ben Reeve – Purser
Bob Hirsh – Secretary
VC of Power – Bill Bridge
VC of Sail – Bob Williams
VC of Scale – Rob Wood
This looks like a great team for the Argonauts, for 2022, as we anticipate another fun year of pond activities. Our officers are important for our clubs direction and intentions but also need constructive support and input from all club members. Don’t be shy if you have a good idea that builds a stronger organization.
This is also the time of year for recruiting and sustaining membership. If you have friends interested in RC hobbies, related to our unique pond, please reach out to them. If you are already a member now is the time to refresh your dues. Ben Reeve, our new Purser, will be happy to take care of this matter. The updated membership and dues must be mailed or directly provided to Ben pond-side. If you would like to pay via PayPal please send Ben an email purser@sandiegoargonauts.com
This past year we experienced a dramatic reduction in the Santa Barbara fleet. As the the 2022 calendar and sailing schedule needs to be finalized. We greatly need input from Santa Barbara skippers with a genuine commitment from at least 3 skippers or we risk the loss of this elegant sailor on our racing schedule. Please contact Bob Williams, VC Sail with your input.
DF95 Thanksgiving Regatta
Thanks to Bob Williams and Ben Reeve this was a fun event. Ben Reeve was the RD and documented the event with this brief:
Today was exceptionally fun day. Fifteen skippers showed up to race in unforgiving light winds from 3-6mph. Consistency was the name of game as it is most days. We attempted to get 12 races in, but after the 7th race we took a break to hope the wind would come back up. We were able to get another race in and then the skippers voted to call it a day. Which was a good idea as within minutes of that decision the pond went to a glassy smooth finish. Before I get to the finish order a big shout out to Bob Williams for doing a lot of work today to assist me, and another shout out to Kerim Baran for assisting us with the boat clean up and put away.
Master RD – Ben ReeveCongratulations Jon Rogers – 1st PlaceCongratulations Ken Campbell – 2nd PlaceCongratulations Scott Harris- 3rd Place
As premonitions of ghosting conditions for the Argonauts ODOM Halloween Regatta haunted anxious pond skippers, the sorcerers of wind cast a gloomy spell and weird circumstances of breathless conditions.. None the less, seven courageous skippers challenged the odds with radio, craft and wireless determination in an effort to outwit the demons of the pond!
WOW.. where did that come from?
Indeed, we were all challenged with extraordinary sailing conditions.
Thanks to Ken Campbell, who shared critical ODOM measurements and tuning advice, our skippers gathered greater insight to our boat rigging and tuning. Our support team: Ben Reeve, Pat Nevitt and Steve Ross. These guys made it happen! Open the shed, launch our trusty committee boat, set the marks, RC the racing, score the races, present trophies, pull the marks, clean the boat and hardware, lock her up! A huge round of appreciation for their efforts and service!
Our optimistic team had hoped for a twelve race regatta. Wind started out in the hopeful category and we actually managed to complete two long races in 6-8mph. Wind deteriorated as the day progressed and the medium course became the norm. By early afternoon we were sailing short and modified short (shorter weather leg) courses in wind speeds of 0-5mph. A drifter!
Despite the difficult sailing our top notch skippers managed to thrive and drive in the light winds. Congratulations to First Place winner Gerry Wold. Second Place Kerim Baran and Third Place Kim Robbins.
Congratulations! Kerim, Gerry and Kim
Ben Reeve has a clean green ODOM ready for racing action. He made the first start, but unfortunately due to electronic failure had to drop out. Our fleet looks forward to his future participation. Thank Ben for contributing the photos on the post.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Fellow Argonauts, THIS COMING SATURDAY, We have a conflict with our Nov. 6 Sail Points and the Kaiser Permanente Marathon… Stay tuned for possible rescheduling.
