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!
You sure couldn’t argue about the beautiful winter day on Mission Bay! IOM and DF95 skippers participated in their first Points Series for 2024 with good numbers in each fleet. The sea breeze was just enough for each class to glide through the afternoon on a nice long course. I bit light and shifty at times.. but that’s our pond!
Chris Staiger set the marks and manned the clock for the IOM fleet. Ben Reeve directed today’s healthy DF95 fleet. These guys are volunteers and they deserve much credit for your fun today!
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!
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.
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!
