Today was the Soling 50 Fun Day Regatta. The event was held under partly cloudy skies and a wonderful 75 degree weather. Blowing pretty much down the pond, the wind was between 5-7 with at times up to 10mph. We had six skippers attending todays battle for bragging rights. Before we get to the scores, shout out to Kim, Ty, and Bob for helping me retrieve the buoys, clean up and put it all away.
A total of 12 races were made with two throw outs given at the end of racing. There were 10 medium courses, 1 short, and 1 long course. Several breakdowns hindered a couple of skippers but most finished the racing by days end. Without further ado, the final scores:
Ken Campbell 15 Chris Staiger 17 Ty Beach 22 Gerry Wold 42 Kim Robbins 45 Ken Wild 59
Thank you
Ben
Ben Reeve gets the Gold Medal of Appreciation for RD and scoring a fun day of sailing!
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!
May is here! Gray is here! But spring breezes are beginning to frequent our Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond with skippers continually challenged to our tricky sailing conditions. Five Soling and Six ODOM racers greeted the opportunity to test their patience and skills.
Ken- Pre Race TuningMicro knots and magnifying glasses for this task!
Ken Campbell- Rules ClinicRACE DIRECTOR- Tom Warren
A Special Thank You to our volunteers! Without you our day on the pond would not be the same!
Tom Warren-Race Director
Steve Ross- Assistant Scoring
Ben Reeve- Purser
Ken Campbell- Racing Rules Clinic & Scoring
Kerim Baran- Drone and Clean Up
Bob Williams- VC Sail and Hot Dog Man
SPECIAL NOTE:
NEXT SATURDAY, MAY 14th IS THE SOLING 50 FUN DAY REGATTA.
Grey overcast. Temperature hovering around 60 degrees. Light 3-7 SW winds early. Shifting right slightly as the day progressed. These are the conditions our pond sailors experienced this Saturday. Not exactly ice fishing weather, but a warming hut may have been welcomed by a few crew members.
Ben Reeve, our volunteer RD for the ODOM Class, set a standard mark/course arrangement. Bens row boat etiquette is definitely improving! Steve Ross was scoring the slow motion action while Pat Nevitt monitored mark rounding’s. Ben passed the RD baton to Karim Baran, who managed the Soling 50 races. Thank You to all helpers.
Before the skippers meeting Ken Campbell reviewed barging at the starting line and ways to avoid getting trapped between the pin and other boats. Kerim Baran documented the seminar for the benefit of all.
BARGING and Thinking Ahead
We had six ODOMs and four Soling 50’s each making 6 appearances at the starting gate. Here are the results:
Videos from today’s Soling 50 races:
(All 6 races are captured in one video. The first 3 were shot from the sidelines, the last 3 from the drone.)
The peanut gallery is alive and well!
Don’t forget to order your hats and t-shirts! Bob Williams is eager to take your order.
“In 2022 we’re all quite aware of basically everyone having a camera in there phone and I see many people taking pictures and would really love to see some of those photos shared with the membership. Here I am providing some of the vintage photos I have taken recently. Vintage in that I have used several cameras that are 40 to 100 years old recently at the pond. These are unedited negatives scans straight from the camera. Enjoy and don’t forget to share your photos.” All contributions are welcome and appreciated!
Saturday brought out a handful of heavy weather sailors to our pond, as winds teased to small craft advisory levels! Ken Campbells statement, that was included with his sailing scores, pretty much says it all – “In my 20-plus years of racing at the pond, I don’t believe I’ve ever sailed here in winds as heavy as today. I’d estimate it was blowing at least 18 knots, with gusts well above that.”
Just before skippers headed to the water for sailing action Ken Campbell held a Sailing Rules Clinic covering a number of issues that are common on the race course. Kerim Baran documented the seminar. Thank you Ken & Kerim!
Leeward boat rights at the Start Line
Room to Tack at an Obstruction –
Port-starboard with multiple boats on Port
Inside the Zone at the FInish Line
Inside overlap when rounding a Mark
Soling Race #6. Captured in a series of 3 videos. Winds gusting over 20 knots. Check out Ty’s boat speed in Video #2 from 3:55 to 4:30.
Special thanks to Kerim Baran for navigating the drone in WIND!
NO B RIGS
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO RACE DIRECTOR TOM WARREN AND OTHERS THAT HELPED MAKE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE!
SATURDAY SEPT. 11- DF95 and IOM POINTS Racing Rules Clinic will begin at 11 am Skippers’ Meeting at 11:45am Sailing to begin at 12 noon.
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!
Soling 50’s Off to a clean start
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.
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!
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..
There was a slight calendar discrepancy between the combined Argonauts Pond Events and Sail Division calendar for July. Here are the remaining events, for July, as they appear on the Sail Division calendar:
July 24th 11:30 Skippers Meeting 12:00 SOLING 50 SUMMER REGATTA
July 31st 11:00 Sail Clinic 12:00-16:00 OPEN WATER —————————————————————————————-
Soling 50 skippers.. The Soling 50 Summer Regatta is a great opportunity to tune up for Race-Week. Bring a lunch. Freddie is presenting trophies to the top three sailors.
SPECIAL NOTE:
REGISTRATION FOR RACE WEEK HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTL SUNDAY, JULY 25th.
There is still time to get signed up for a fun week of sailing competition. Registration is easy and fast on the AMYA website:
On this holiday I feel it is an ideal time to express my appreciation to ALL members that make our hobby and recreation possible at “Our Pond”. This includes every member.. You all count. A huge THANK YOU for you participation!
For those who are still in dry dock, now is the time to dust off the rigs and start becoming active again. Our Santa Barbara fleet is looking for more boats and invite all inactive sailors back. ODOM’s and Soling 50’s are also always looking for more competitive fleets. It’s time to join in on the fun!
It is said that “It Takes a Village”. Now is a good time to get involved. Just for the love of our hobby and camaraderie. It’s not just about winning a race. It’s about success as a group. It’s time to pull together and make Race-Week a huge success! For those whose have not registered for their perspective fleet, time is running short.
Thank You Ken Campbell for another informative Racing Rules Clinic. These seminars can provide useful information and help us all become better sailors. One of the topics of discussions was calling for room with port/starboard boat situations and obstructions. I think he has a crystal ball..
Fred Rocha once again set a fun course with predominant southwest to west winds averaging 8-9mph. Fred also served as RD extraordinaire!! Our hats are off for VC of Sail!
Soling 50’s sailed a 6 race series with just a small handful of on the water fouls. Two discrepancies were heard by protest committee Rogers 3 & Rogers 2+1. I think it is always easier and kinder to the scoresheet to clear infractions on the water.
SOLING 50
2 S/B’s and ODOM’s with a delayed start, shared the course for a six race series. Nice Sailing.
ODOM RESULTS
Thank You Kim Robbins and Jeff Fletcher for assisting Fred Rocha with equipment cleanup and storage.. The lock was checked twice!
JULY SCHEDULE (cont)
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 REGATTA
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!
Saturday was a beautiful bright grey day at the pond. Before the boats hit the water we warmed up with another great Racing Rules Clinic presented by Ken Campbell. Clinics are held at 11 AM on each Sail Points race day and are always informative. Ken refreshed our memories on starting and finish line situations and common weather mark problems. Thank you Ken!
Prior to the skippers meeting Bob Williams presented Fred Rocha with an honorary Commodores hat. The cover (Navy lingo) was white and fully dressed with yellow oak leaves on the shiny black brim. The scrambled eggs signify a really important person! Did the hat look a bit small-or was the head a bit big?? Fred set a delightful course and smoothly Race Directed our Saturday sailing experience.. Must have been the hat:) Thank You Fred for all do.
Shortly after noon the ODOM and Santa Barbara fleet were on the water. Due to only two S/B entries and four ODOM’s, we had a delayed start and shared the course for a good six race series. The pond had a nice texture of 9-10 mph predominantly west winds, with the predictably unpredictable right and left shifts. ODOM skipper Kerim Baran set the pace with consistent scores. S/B skippers Bill Bridge and Dunham Reilly got some good time on the helm. Nice racing guys!
ODOM SCORES
Soling 50’s sailed next with a nice turnout of eight skippers. It was good to see our Soling Class Secretary, Ty Beach, back in action. This is a pretty competitive fleet with consistent winners in the top ranks. The starting line all of a sudden seemed to get much smaller with this group! Skippers had to work for clean air and a clear start. OH MY 1627! The wind held pretty consistent throughout the series but maybe tended more to the right in the last two races. It was a good day in the spirit of our club and sailing. Thank YOU ALL.
