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!
There were many glassy holes on our pond for the first races of the 2024 season. That said, each fleet managed 6 races just in time for happy hour! (happy is getting home before dark). VC Sail, Chris Staiger handled the workload, setting marks, RD’ing both fleets and even some entertainment with a broken oar trick. Chris even demonstrated his Venetian gondola poling technique while standing in the skiff. (not coast guard approved). All good fun!
Our ODOM fleet is growing and it’s fun to see skippers from other classes take the helm of that classy little pond yacht. The ODOM fleet welcomed Steve Ross, Pat Nevitt, Tom Warren and Dennis Rogers to the roster. It should be a fun year with these added skippers on the line.
Pat Nevitt is once again our score keeper for 2024.. Thank You Pat for volunteering!
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!
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!
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!
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!
The sea breeze was up early today. Bob Williams opened the shed and wheeled out our trusty skiff. Gil Jansky dropped the marks and set the standard course. Steve Ross collected the $3 toll. Tom Warren officiated the skippers meeting. Prior to sailing, Tom installed a GoPro surveillance camera on the starting mark. Hopefully we will see a number of honest mistakes! Racing commenced at noon with ODOM’s on the pond first, with Bob Williams calling medium courses. Seven ODOM’s and away they go – Check out the scores.
After a short break, Tom Warren managed the six heats in the Soling 50 fleet. Seven skippers and a good day on the water. Pat Nevitt was right at the finish line with his pencil, keeping there score cards legible for his evening scoring calculations. THANK YOU PAT!!!
Mission Bay has come to life with summer activities.. beaches, barbecues and lots of boats and cars! Our pond was equally active with much of the same action, only in miniature scale! We even experienced a water skiing demonstration prior to our day of sailboat racing!
Dave Woodward drove from Yuma to volunteer as Race Director. He set the marks, called the line, and fetched everything at the end of the day! Dennis Rogers assisted with scoring the finishes. Great job guys!
Our pond was overcast most of the day with light and variable onshore breezes. Fleets experienced a mixed bag of long, medium and short courses as the winds fluctuated. A challenging day of sailing!
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.
