June is officially greeting Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond enthusiasts and it appears from the score cards there was some competitive sailing today. Thank You to all the skippers that participated and even more thanks to the team of volunteers that made this happen.
Hey all – I little regatta report from todays’ event.
All went very well today and very improved sportsmanship from all competitors. We had 11 IOMs and 16 DF95s on the lines today. The biggest worry was slipping and falling. Three skippers took a fall on the slippery shore. We really need to organize another big RAKE FEST. I promise to bring the donuts (even though I can’t have any) if we want to set a day soon to do it.
We had fair to good wind and a number of different bullet owners today. Pat is working on the scoring and it will be out soon I am sure. We mixed up the courses a little to try and keep the skippers on their toes (and not their butts from slipping). I personally want to thank Steve for getting the shed ready, David helping with the boat setup, Gil for setting the marks, Bob and Steve with help scoring, Pat for scoring totals, and Chris and Steve for boat removal and clean up. With all of this help the day went super smooth and ended quickly.
Below are some photos from the little point and shoot camera I had at the pond last month. Cheers! Ben
Skippers today were enjoying some long awaited spring like weather for our first series in April. Winds turned more prevailing with fairly consistent 7-10mph breezes. That said, the west end of the pond with all its swirls and eddies created the usual challenges. It was a good day for sailing and nice attendance.
Tom Warren our RD for today, did a great job setting the course, along with Jason Brooks assisting in the skiff. During the skippers meeting Tom suggested sailing a modified medium course. The “Z” course, as it was referred to, was sailed in the last ODOM heat and added an extra challenge to our pond sailing. A nice change!
It was a cool but beautiful day for sailing on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond! Winds started out a little on the light side and out of a south westerly direction. Our robust DF95 Fleet started their six race series just after noon, sailing a modified medium course. Fred Rocha, our DF95-RD likes to keep us on our toes, so he changed our normal mid-basin reaching leg into an inside gate. It was a nice change to a course that can some times be a merry-go-round. Nice sailing skippers!
As the afternoon progressed wind pressure increased and shifted a little more to the right. The IOM’s had their turn on the pond and benefitted from the additional wind and a 2 lap course. The long course gives skippers just a little more time to chase down those boats up front! Chris Staiger did a nice job as RD for the IOM fleet, and we all appreciate our volunteers. Thank You!
The San Diego Argonauts are hosting their annual Region 6 Midwinters IOM Regatta this weekend and welcomed a talented group of skippers from across the USA, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Barbados. On Friday we also had the opportunity to host a blossoming Southern California Marblehead fleet with a one day Regatta. Twelve Races were run and it was a delight to witness these sleek fast yachts on our pond.
Despite ominous weather predictions regarding a large cut off low pressure system wandering off our Southern California coast, skies were sunny and we experienced a perfect winter day in San Diego. Winds were a little slow to get going but once the on shore began, light sea breezes lasted through late afternoon. A good day of challenging sailing!
As we waited for a more prevailing breeze to fill in Fred Rocha presented Special Recognition Awards to our international skippers. Dan Mueller- Brazil, Tony Gonsalves- Barbados and Cristian Plaza- Puerto Rico truly raised the bar at this regional event. Special Appreciation awards were also presented to Dan Shier for Outstanding AMYA Promotion, Derek Landeau- Technical Chairman and Doug Hart- Protest Chairman.
Our beautiful sunny morning was quickly replaced by an upper cloud deck that blanketed our bay. South winds that had plagued us earlier finally shifted right. Heat Number Five-A Fleet started mid day in a light SW 4-5 mph breeze. That said, the entire day winds were light and variable with huge holes and all fleets were challenged. Fred Rocha, determined to completes as many heats as possible, shortened, adjusted and shifted the marks as winds clocked back to the left. GREAT JOB FRED!
Last Heats of the day. The temperature drops.. The winds drop.. and light rain drops..
Skippers could not have asked for a nicer day of February sailing! Plenty of sun, a few picturesque high clouds and pleasantly mild temperatures. I had anticipated the winds would have been steadier, with an early clearing and onshore flow. That certainly was not the case. Squirrelly would be the best word I could use to describe our pond today. Light variable pressure with an 8mph puff here and there. Challenging!
ODOM Skippers filled the pond first with a fleet of seven. Unfortunately we had a few technical problems that thinned the fleet a little. Check those lines and wires! We need to keep our fleets healthy. Thanks to our good group of skippers we sailed with few fouls and a fun competitive spirit. Nice Sailing!
The Soling 50 fleet had their shot on the course with a fleet of 10 boats. Wind conditions remained variable and even lighter, so short course rounding became the standard. Great sailing guys!
