THE SAN DIEGO ARGONAUTS OFFICIAL 2024 RACE WEEK INFORMATION CENTER
RACE WEEK XV
DEC.2-ODOM & Soling 50 Points
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!
Cumulative Scores for the the 2023 Points Season are being tallied.. Stay tuned!
CHECK OUT THE 2024 CALENDAR! THIS THING WE DO TOGETHER IS A LOT OF FUN!
NOV.25-Soling 50 & ODOM Points
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!
Remember to volunteer when you can.. it takes a village!
BRING ON DECEMBER
NOV. 18 Points- IOM & DF95
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!
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!
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!
Smooth Sailing, Gil
DF95 FUN & FOWL REGATTA
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!
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS
Don’t Forget
SOLING 50 & ODOM-NOVEMBER 25
OCT.21-DF95 & IOM Points
A fantastic day greeted a nice group of skippers, on our last points event for October. DF95 and IOM fleets experienced consistent 6-10mph north west breezes that held trough out the day.
Craig Mackey was our volunteer Race Director for the DF95 fleet and managed 6 races on our standard medium course. There was some tight racing in the in the top ranks but Dennis Rogers came out on top with some beautiful sailing.
Chris Staiger stepped up as Race Director for the IOM fleet. The wind was favorable for long courses, so five longs and one modified (“Freddy”) medium course filled up the day. Mike Fruciano made the road trip from Arizona.. Thank you Mike for your participation! Congratulations Dennis Rogers for some very consistent sailing!
Bob Williams, once again, pushed that semi-portable grill half way around the world to serve up his specialty.. HOT DOGS!! Thank you Bob!!
Thank You Pat Nevitt for the beautiful score sheets.. YOU ROCK!! After all, scores are the meat of this post!
DF95’s DON’T FORGET NOVEMBER 11
SEE YOU AT THE POND.. Gil
OCT.14-IOM Fun Regatta
Seven IOM skippers participated today in our October IOM Fun Regatta. Ken Wild was our volunteer Race Director for a full day on the water. Thank you Ken for hanging in there for a total of 14 races.. I know that wasn’t in the contract!
IOM skippers sailed a course suggested by Steve Ross, inspired by the recent European IOM Championships. The weather mark was an outside -to inside gate. We did two upwind and two downwind legs and omitted our traditional offset reach in the middle. I think it worked fairly good.. A little more separation between the marks would make it even better.
Steve Ross recorded some drone footage of the first few races but they still live on a tiny little SD card.. once I track down my reader we will be in business!
It was a good day of sailing!
Don’t Forget… November 11
DF95 FUN & FOWL REGATTA
OCT.7-ODOM & Soling 50 Points
Argonauts skippers experienced a beautiful summer like day on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. A perfect time of the year in San Diego to enjoy a day of sailing! The sea breeze held through out the day with the typical and unpredictable shifts, making for a challenging day on the water.
Special thanks to our volunteer Race Directors that stepped in at the last minute to fill the void. Chris Staiger set the marks and called the action for our ODOM fleet. Pat Nevitt was the Race Director for the Soling 50 fleet and tallied the scores. We truly appreciate what you do!
SPECIAL NOTE:
Saturday October 14 is an IOM Fun Day
November 11- DF 95 FUN & FOWL REGATTA
SMOOTH SAILING, Gil
SEPT. 9 Points- IOM & DF95
IOM and DF 95 skippers experienced perfect end of summer conditions for our second points event of September. The wind was onshore early with a WNW flow on our pond. Chris Staiger was our Race Director for the IOM Fleet and Gerry Wold ran the DF 95 series. Each class completed six medium course races. It was a good day of challenging and competitive sailing!
Steve Delva filled in for Pat Nevitt, while he is on vacation, providing the scores cards above. We will get caught up on cumulative scoring in October. Thank You Steve!
_________________________________________
FUN & FOWL REGATTA
SIGN UP EARLY & SAVE THE DATE!
Jess Atkinson announced that The San Diego Argonauts will be running a special sailing event for DF 95 skippers and their friends on Saturday, November 11!
_________________________________________
Special note: This event was organized to promote R/C sailing and enhance skippers skill level, cooperation and camaraderie. Trophies will be awarded to the top three finishers. There will be a short tuning seminar and Q&A session lead by Jess Atkinson
VC Sail Announcement:
Hello Sailors,
Originally the Bayfair thunder boat regatta was scheduled for this coming Saturday. However, Bayfair has been cancelled. Let’s make this Saturday a fun practice day. Who knows, Hot Dog Bob could show up with his legal hot dog cart.
See you at the pond for a fun day.
Steve Ross
SEPT. 2 Points- Soling 50 & ODOM
Welcome to September on Mission Bay! We were greeted this morning with light drizzle and flukey onshore breezes. The Soling 50 fleet continues a strong showing of yachts. Considering the holiday weekend we did great with 10 skippers! The ODOM class seems to be holding steady at around a half dozen boats.. It was especially challenging for the Soling 50 fleet, as wind was lighter in the first three heats and there were obvious moments of ghosting with tell-tales sticking to the wet mylar. The ODOM fleet was second on the pond and managed a little more pressure as the air warmed up and blue sky pushed the clouds inland. Nice sailing by all skippers today!
Special thanks to volunteer Keith Sternal for a full day of race direction. He was out on the water early setting the marks and managing a full day of medium courses! Six races for each fleet, then back in the skiff at days end retrieving all our pins! I think we owe Kieth a cold beer or two! Steve Ross was backing up the score cards with his pen. I bet he earned a beer as well!
Everyone got these scores really fast considering Pat Nevitt had a tough time with water on his wind screen. GO Pat!
We have a expert drone pilot in our group that spends many hours (battery packs) capturing Wing Foiling action on East Mission Bay. I am sure following our pond sailing action was a piece of cake for him. We are very lucky to have Steve Ross documenting some of our racing activities.. THANK YOU Steve! (Check out his YouTube channel at Steve Ross 1965)
Summer might be coming to an end but there is plenty of great wind in San Diego year round. Get your rigs down to the pond!