Monday, November 23, 2009

The Lasers had a great weekend with nine boats on Saturday and eight on Sunday. Before I try to get all the scores down let me remind you to check the Laser Bulletin board because I spent a lot of time getting the map of the world up. There are push pin for many of the Laser racing fleets around the world.. I didn’t get all the ones in Europe, because there is not enough room on the map for them. Note all the fleets in Africa. The little countries just south of Irak. Pakistan has a fleet as well as India. Do they have a regatta with Pakistan and India sailing against each other? Guam and Tahiti. The 2004 list is posted in the corners so you can look up your favorite country. Probably always a Laser sailing 24/7 around the world. Winter in Canada, where it all started, and it is Summer in Australia and New Zealand.
Our races on Saturday were postponed till 10:30 so Don Browning and June Howells could present awards to Senator Carey Baker and Alan Hayes for their help in saving us money on the water run off problem.
Week end scores:
Alejandro Illera 4-1- 2-1 + 1-2-2-1-1-1 16
Rob Krentel 2-2-1-2 + 2-1-1-2-2-2 17
Sam Chapin 1-3-3-4+ 3-sn-etc 59
Patrick Daniel 3-6-4-3+ 7-3-sn -etc 62
Seth Behr 6-5-6-6+ 4-6-3-ns-etc 63
Dean Grimes Ns-etc +ns-5-4-3-3-3 67
Jerry Beck 7-4-5-5+ 5-7-ns-etc 69
Marc Solal 8-7-8-7+6-4-ns-etc 74
Leah Ladley 5-8-7-ns+ns-etc 84
Chris DePriest 9-9-9-8+ ns-etc 89
Let me start with Chris DePriest the model boat sailor that has moved into Lasers with the help of Kim Kelley, one of our favorite helpers. Chris will be moving up closer to the starting line and if we can get the starting line a little closer to square to the wind, he will be starting with us. Good work Chris and we saw Max and Robin at the club on Saturday, but didn’t have a chance to visit.
Another Chris, Chris Laffin from Canada, is spending the Winter in Mt. Dora. He will be sailing Lasers with us. He has a Contender up in the frozen country. The Contender as I remember, came out about the same time the Laser did and was faster in the Tea Cup races, but it has a big rig and a trapeze for a singlehander. That makes it a pretty hard boat to sail–sooo look out for Chris 2.
Leah is down at the bottom of the list, but that is just because she didn’t sail with us Sunday. She knocked off two places on corrected time on Saturday. Keep the radials coming.
Marc Solal was just getting to those guys on Sunday when his hiking strap stitching came out. He had fourth and it was his weather. Too bad Marc, but with the winter we have a little more wind. Your day will come again.
Jerry Beck did well and he has been training with Alejandro so he will be climbing the ladder. I think he was having trouble with the big header gusts that tend to drop you in the water from the full hiked out position. Keep looking for those gusts. They tend to be the gusts that are moving in from windward and ahead, so be ready to bear off a little as they come in.
Dean Grimes was back with us. Missed the first race Sunday, but hung in for all the others and then went out to check on his Flying Scot friends after the Laser races. Good job getting around Dean. He has been crewing on Scots plus. He plans to continue the Scots and work us in also.
Seth Behr had the full rig up and really doing a great job with it. He knocking at the door of higher spots in the fleet and handled the wind with full rig on Sunday. I spoke with Mama Behr on Sunday and Seth has an older brother that we might be adding to the group.
Patrick Daniel had a bunch of third places on Saturday and Sunday. The death roll on Sunday with mast in the mud did him in. We are reminded that it is not a bad idea to knot the sheet on a windy day so that the boom can’t go out more than 80 degrees to the boat. Put on a little vang so boom is maybe perpendicular to the mast. Then if the boat start to roll to windward turn toward the sail with the rudder. The rudder is in the water and will try to turn the boat upright and give you half a chance to move across the boat and save a swim. Watch Alejandro going downwind, but it takes a lot of swimming to know just where the edge is.
Sam is sorry he is too damn old to enjoy all the wind– and besides Alejandro and Rob both got by me in that first race. I lead all the way except at the finish. How about a trophy for that guy that gets to the leeward mark first.
Rob won the series on Saturday and when he should have beat up on the little guy with the wind up, Alejandro outfoxed him. Notice that after 10 races of the week end they were one point apart. The next people were 40 points behind.
Sailing Tuesday and Wednesday 3 to 5 PM...