Beautiful, sunny weather with wonky winds! The Dragonflite95 Fleet began in moderate but shifty Southwest winds. Due to the direction, Starboard rounding courses were selected by RD Tom Warren. Though the winds filled a bit over time and veered slightly more westerly, there were some big holes and massive shifts. There were many lead changes, but lawyers took the top two spots with Scotty Harris carrying the day by winning half the races:
Next it was the IOM’s turn and strengthening westerly winds allowed a return to our traditional Port Roundings. RD Chris Staiger ran a combination of Medium and Long courses. Dennis Rogers dominated the fleet of eleven IOM’s; missing a perfect score of “6”‘ by a single point. Results follow:
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!
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!
San Diego Argonauts welcomed new member, Len Bose, to our group. He will be sailing IOM and DF95. We hope to see him often!
This is starting to sound like a broken record! Our June overhead is still very grey!
Despite that rather chilly detail a good group of skippers turned out for DF95 and IOM Points races. Light winds ruled our pond and in fact became lighter as the afternoon progressed. Chris Staiger set the marks and Kim Robbins managed collections while Gil scrambled back home for his missing transmitter :{ RD Gil got the DF 95 fleet on a short clock a few minutes after noon, with a mixture of 4 medium, 1 long and 1 short courses to complete six heats. Nice sailing!
Sean O’Connor was our volunteer Race Director for the IOM fleet today. Thank you Sean!
Our IOM fleet was about 5 skippers short today, as they are competing in the Region 6 Regatta in Foster City. We missed them on the starting line and wish them good luck!
Volunteers make this all possible! Lend a hand when you can!
Thank You Volunteers!
Sean O’Connor, Patt Nevitt, Steve Ross, Kim Robbins, Chris Staiger and Keith Sternal
A quick review of the fun regatta. Great wind most of the day and it was great to be in cooler weather than we’ve had recently. As you can see 17 skippers showed up for a fun regatta. That was awesome. Our goal was to have fun and to practice our rules. After a bumpy first couple of races and getting everyone on board with hailing protests properly the regatta ran very smoothly and I don’t know about the skippers, but I think everyone had a great time.
Race Director – Ben Reeve
Welcome back Kerim! Thank You Hudson for superb drone footage..
Parts of Race #5 & #7
After the event we had Ken, Robert, Keith, Steve, Tom and others help put the equipment away and help with scoring. Awesome volunteering today. Of course the BBQ hot dog round table hosted by our VC of Sail Bob ended the event on high spirits.
Thanks to all who came out and made today a fun event!
It seems fitting that our June report would appear on the summer solstice with the surprising monsoon clouds pouring in from the east. Did someone just flip the summer switch?
I’ve been absent most the month but it appears lots of good vibes are happening on our pond. The following is an update thanks to the numerous contributions of club members.
Cultivating interest in our hobby is something all of us should be excited about. Sailing is challenging, engaging and fun. It also helps build and sustain our hobby and club. Here is an experience Ben Reeve had to share. It puts a smile on my face!
Hey Skippers,
Just a happy little story from today…
Sharing your controller with a visitor at the pond can be a very rewarding and heartfelt experience. Today, between races, I overheard someone asking some questions of a skipper who had just taken his boat out of the water. I had just finished a practice race and went over to offer my controller to the Mom, and her two kids. They had driven by and stopped on their way to the airport to see what we were doing and were getting ready to leave back to Colorado.
I handed my controller to Delaney who I found out actually had a little sailing knowledge sailing her very own 18’ day sailor on the lake in CO. She took to the IOM very well, and here’s a photograph of how she felt about it.
As you can see, she’s all smiles and was having a fantastic time. After a few moments of getting used to the controls she even started a race, with me coaching and did pretty well. Her brother Evan was on a DF95 shortly after this with another skipper handing over the controller. Both were all smiles in no time. They didn’t have much time, but after about 30mins we shook hands with Mom and Evan, and I got a little hug from Delaney for making her day. It’s safe to say she is hooked on RC sailing!
SO PLEASE – when someone asks questions, take a moment and share our joys and passion of the sport. Pretty soon these two will be back, and you can bet they will be hard to beat!
Wishing you all good winds!
Ben
SAILING POINTS FOR JUNE
A Note From our Vice Commodore of Sail, Bob Williams:
We have 15 more Pts Races this year and we NEED to fill the following schedule. If you volunteer for a particular date & you cannot make that date it is your responsibility to find a substitute & notify VCS Bob! It is obvious that sailors do not want to get the skiff out to set & pick up marks.If you are not comfortable about doing this , ask for assistance as I am sure others will help you!! If not, I will appoint you some help! Please email me your volunteer RD dates
Thank you, Bob!
July 2 -Sol50,ODOM , S/B
July 23 -DF95, IOM
Aug.6 -ODOM,Sol50,S/B
Aug.13 DF95 Fun Regatta
Aug.20- DF95,IOM
Sept.3 Sol50,ODOM, S/B
Sept.10- DF95,IOM
Oct. 1- ODOM,Sol50, S/B
Oct. 8- IOM Fun Regatta
Oct. 15-DF95,IOM
Nov.5- Sol50,ODOM, S/B
Nov.19-IOM,DF95
Dec.3- ODOM,Sol50,S/B
Dec.10-DF95,IOM
Dec.17-Holiday Lights
2022 Midseason Cumulative Points Update
Thanks to our score keeper, Ken Campbell, posted are cumulative points for active fleets in Sail Division. Club Points Regattas are conducted two Saturdays a month. This year we have skippers sailing DF95, IOM, SOLING 50 and ODOM class RC sailboats on Mission Bay Yacht Model Pond. If you are interested in joining the regatta activity, it’s not too late to get in on the fun.
Partly cloudy and cool temperature day at the Pond. Winds mostly W & NW. Shifty and gusty day. With gusts reaching low teens, we had nine DF95s and five IOMs competing this Saturday.
Thank you Tom Warren and Jon Rogers for RD’ing the DF95s and IOMs and setting and clearing the course. And, thank you Bob Williams for running the BBQ and hot dogs post race! Thank you to everyone else who contributed in making this another beautiful day at the pond.
Before the races, we had a brief Racing Rules Clinic with Ken Campbell explaining the “Port vs. Starboard rules at the Windward Mark”.
The results and some select scenes for the DF95 and IOM races can be seen below.
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
In some neighborhoods green leaves are turning to amber and pumpkins baked into pies. With the shorter days ahead we look forward to trick and treaters at our doorstep.
I am certain, most will agree we are “lucky puppies” to live in San Diego where we can play outdoors year round. In October offshore breezes are frequent callers to our pond and teeshirts will soon be replaced with sweatshirts. A little light rain we will weather. But snow and ice are only imagined here.. So we sail on with a smile!
Thank You to Ken Campbell for informative rules clinics, diligent monthly scoring and accumulated 2021 scores. Thank You Ben Reeve for many RD duties that make racing on our pond fun. Helpful hands are always appreciated!
YEARLY STANDINGS FOR ALL FLEETS
OCTOBER POINTS
Drone footage (A series of 15 videos of Races 1, 2, Cancelled 3, 3, 5
EXTRA IOM
Thank You Kerim Baran for excellent drone footage and racing rules clinic video.
The San Diego Argonauts, Sail Division, is proud to host the 2021 National Championship Regatta Series August 4-August 15 and are excited to share the San Diego Model Yacht Pond on Vacation Isle in Mission Bay with some of the best sailors around the world and across the United States. This is truly an international event!
The increasing interest in RC Sailing/Racing is evident by the number of entries in this years Regatta Series. We are excited to announce these entries in the following classes:
The San Diego Argonauts welcome all our friends and visitors to this special event..
