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!
Video courtesy of Steve Ross & Kerim Baran:
CARNAGE! Both on the Water and Off! Between damaged/malfunctioning boats and damaged infrastructure, we lost a number of ODOMs as well as a downed skipper (due to the collapsed concrete culvert in the control area: Get healed up, Paul!) Despite this, the conditions were beautiful with sunny skies, mild temperatures and good westerly winds. Chris Staiger RD’d the ODOM Fleet with Results below:
Following the ODOMs, the winds moved a bit southerly and became a little more shifty but didn’t slacken much. Gil Jansky RD’d the Soling 50 Fleet where racing was tight and lead changes were common. Overall, great day for Racing (and Gremlins…)
REMINDER: The Dragonflite95 Region 8 Championships are only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! Get your Entries in! (see below)
Light southerly winds greeted the IOM fleet as Point racing began today. RD Ben Reeve utilized several course options from Medium to Long to mix things up until the winds filled and moved more westerly.
Thanks to Kerim Baran for the Drone Footage!
DF95’s were next. Winds filled to over 7 knots and moved near true West by the time the DF95’s turn came. Again, RD Ben Reeve called Medium, Long and ‘Reverse Short’ (Yes: downwind start to a leeward gate…) courses resulting in tight racing with many lead changes.
Good turnout despite the weather. Thanks to Race Director Steve Delva.
Full Regatta Report to follow. Stay Tuned….
Per our Vice Chancellor of sail Fred Rocha..
I think most skippers would agree that this was one of the windiest Saturday points races we have experienced in a long time and a heck of a lot of fun. We were all hopeful Santa Barbara skippers would join in on the excellent winds. Unfortunately, our solo S/B skipper, Dunham Reilly, was unable to race. We need 3 boats San Diego!! Soling 50 and ODOM sailors benefited and got an additional few races under their belts with 6 races per class.
Fred Rocha had the row boat out early and set the marks for the right shifted winds. Ben Reeve was RD for the day with some assistance scoring from Bob Hirsch. Ken Campbell conducted an informative Racing Rules Seminar. Much gratitude to our support team!
Our fleet of six Soling 50’s started their races at noon with consistent building NW winds that increased as the day progressed. Good sailing action with no breakdowns or water below the decks! Yet..
ODOM skippers experienced more pressure on the water from additional wind and equipment challenges. The downwind run & sometimes broad reach became a submarine ride in the right gust. Those little grommet holes for sheets and adjustments all of a sudden welcomed sea water into the hold. Exciting sailing!
After a full day of fun on the pond Ben Reeve was there to man the row boat and extract marks. Gary Martin and Gil washed er all down and locked er away till next time. Scoring cards Ken Campbell.. Thanks all for participating.
The ODOM is our second featured class during San Diego Race Week. This craft has been a highly successful pond sailor due to it agile performance on the water, ease of handling and fleet popularity. This year our event attracted eighteen highly competitive sailors to our National Championship Regatta. All on the starting line at the same time!
On both race days mother nature sent us a wind package from southeast and south. So sailors experienced some of the most challenging and variable winds our pond can offer, testing skill patience and determination.
I scribbled this image in my airplane seat, just a week ago, while traveling back to my home town on Lake Michigan. My father was a passionate sailor and we were active in a very small Lighting fleet of 5 boats. I recalled the names of the skippers and the color of their boats. I remembered how everyone helped each other rig their boats to go fast and prepare for a fun day of sailing on the lake. There was a lot joking and playful poking. But everyone pulled together to make our little club better. Once on the race course it was all business. It was about getting around the course as fast as possible in a seaman like manner. In many ways the sailing was about pushing yourself to be better and having fun as a group. That was over 50 years ago. It is a special honor to be recognized with the Corinthian Award at the 2021 ODOM National Championship Regatta.. Keep Sailing-Gil
And thanks to our top gun pilot Pat Nevitt (and his instructor Ben Reeve for looking over his shoulder as Pat did his first flight) we captured ODOM Race #19 on drone footage, in a series of 4 videos.
We had a nice day of wind and good attendance for the SOLING 50 SUMMER REGATTA. The class had a 9 boat fleet all eager to earn a shot at the elusive annual chevron award. Competitive RC Sailing at its best! Our top 3 sailors at the podium today all earned that award! CONGRATULATIONS, 1st-Ken Campbell, 2nd-Gerry Wold and 3rd-Kerim Baran. Special recognition to Kerim for achieving his first Chevron. FANTASTIC..
Ok guys – If our friend Bob Williams can go twelve races on two bad knees and a pair of roller-skates – we just don’t have any excuses, do we! Thank you Bob for being our inspiration!
As always- a standing ovation to Fred Rocha for his leadership, support and enthusiasm.. Also a big hand for todays volunteers. Kim Robbins, Greg Williams, Ty Beach (Soling 50 Class Secretary) and Ben Reeves (drone pilot).
IT LOOKED LIKE A FUN DAY OF SAILING COMPETITION AT SAN DIEGO MODEL YACHT POND IN MISSION BAY. If you are an RC enthusiast, big boat sailor or just pond side spectator the San Diego Argonauts welcome your interest into our FUN and challenging hobby of RC Sailing!
DF95 & IOM AERIAL DOCUMENTATION. Thank You Kerim Baran.
DF95 Races 4 – 6
IOM RACES 1 & 2
HERE IS THE REMAINDER OF OUR JULY SAIL CALENDAR:
July 3rd
11:00 Racing Rules of Sailing Seminar
11:45 Skippers Meeting
12:00 – 16:00 Sail Points SOLING 50 – ODOM – S/B OD
July 10th
10:00 SDA Race Week Meeting
11:00 Racing Rules of Sailing Seminar
11:45 Skippers Meeting
12:00 – 16:00 Sail Points IOM – DF95
July 17th
SCALE DIVISION FULL DAY – Scale Age of Steam
July 24th
11:30 Skippers Meeting
12:00 SOLING 50 SUMMER REGATTAJuly 31st11:00 Sail Clinic
July 31st
11:00 Sail Clinic
12:00 – 16:00 Open Water
GET READY FOR AUGUST RACE WEEK 2021
