Wednesday Night Series: 2017

Alexanderson Cup 2017

Sep 16, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Cancelled due to Lack of Wind at 1:30pm

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Race 17 Second Half

Aug 31, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

The last race of the season was conducted in very light winds from the west. An I-3 course was set from the start line to a tetrahedron ~1/4 mile to the west, with Hogback Reef as the leeward mark. At one point the RC was contemplating abandoning the race but mother nature interceded and a very slight breeze showed on the water. The start line was crowded and Witch Way got pushed over the line by half a boat width, and took valuable time and speed to return behind the start line. High Jinx had a nice start at the boat end and held on to a starboard tack up the first mark for a very long time. Wild Thing seemed poised to repeat their performance of the previous week by rounding the first mark first with High Jinx in second. Animal, Witch Way and Vaporize came around in a tight group but Vaporize was able to separate and work ahead of the fleet. At times, Vaporize would gain a good lead only to sail out of the wind and watched as the fleet compressed again. The RC moved the boat to Hogback and after much deliberation dropped the anchor to finish the race. A shortened course was signaled as Vaporize, again in the wind, sailed away from the fleet. Vaporize had a commanding lead to gain first place for the evening and bracketed the season with first place finishes. Congratulations Dave and Nelson! Witch Way sailed both legs well and made up the ground lost at the start but the wind favored Animal as they headed into the final 250 yards of the race. Animal crossed the line 40 seconds ahead of Witch Way in the final dual of the season between two great competitors. Wild Thing lost the momentum on the far southern side of the course but still managed to pull in a fourth for the night. The scoring changed a little within the top five boats, notably Vaporize taking 4th for the 2nd half of the season over Spirit. Witch Way’s total point score was not affected by this race and won the series to claim the Jeff Underhill Cup for the second year in a row! Congratulations to Alfie, Amy, Carlton, and Joe on their impressive 9-point second half series and overall series win! The year-end celebrations were boisterous and full of smiling competitors. Recognition was given to many who make the Wednesday night series great, including Eddie O. for hosting the BBQ mid-way through the season, Alfie for finding our new after-race meeting venue (the Olde Log Inn), John Haller and Spencer Raggio for keeping our websites and email lists up-to-date and working, Cathryn for helping out with RC duties all year, and our hosts at the Olde Log Inn who provided a great spread last night.

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Race 16 Second Half

Aug 23, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

Lake George offered up oscillating SW/W winds at varying strengths. Twelve boats came out to compete, including the Y-Knot Sonar which unfortunately did not finish. The W-6 course was set between Hogback and a tetrahedron at 262°. The start line was comparatively long and the start relatively uncontested. Most boats opted for the center of the course, tacking on the shifts. Cut Loose took an early gamble and headed south on starboard tack, then seemed to cross many of the other boats on a long tack towards the windward mark. After boats consolidated with the fleet it was hard to tell who was who with the late-summer low-angled sun bouncing off the ripples. But the race was punctuated with lots of tacks, gybes and crossings! Except for Wild Thing, who was the first to round and never gave up the lead from then on. Witch Way and Animal were again in close company, with Spirit and Vaporize rounding in the same pack. Cut Loose followed in a close sixth. The first downwind run saw the sport boats on the south side of the course moving quickly as the J/24s took the more direct route to Hogback, with Witch Way leading down the center. At Hogback, Witch Way rounded a close second and tacked on to starboard to clear their air, while Wild Thing seemed to motor up the course on port. The oscillating and variable strength wind changed the fleet order many times except for the leader. The tight duel in the J/24 fleet changed again with Animal pulling out a 1one-minute lead. The course was shortened to four legs as the wind appeared to be dropping, the sun dropped below the western mountains, and some boats were still at least a leg behind the leader. At the finish Wild Thing cruised across for both line honors and the win for the evening. Vaporize led Animal across the line. Animal and Witch Way are still locked in a fairly tight points race for the season although Alfie and crew appear to have prevailed for the second half series. Next week is our last race for 2017 and saddens me since it will be my last as WNC. No one has yet stepped up to take over the reins but I hope by next week someone will. I imagine that the series will return to the custom of rotating RC duty based on this year’s season position, but will leave that to next year’s WNC. Our end-of-year celebration and awards ceremony will be held at the Olde Log Inn directly after the last race (~8:00 pm arrival) next week. Please join me in recognizing our top crews and presentation of the Underhill Cup to this year’s Champion (~9pm awards ceremony since I have to enter the last race results and collate the series standings.). There will be appetizers to munch on, and raffle prizes based on boat and crew position as additional incentive to attend — not that it’s needed!

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Race 15 Second Half

Aug 16, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

Fourteen boats competed in Race 15 of the 2017 Series. Among them were three J/22s, two of which were destined to score in the top 5. Although originally set as a I-7 course between a tetrahedron and North Canoe, the wind seemed to swing the instant the start sequence got underway. Boats opting for the pin end start suddenly had no wind whereas those starting at the boat end quickly got to port and took big lifts up to the first tetrahedron. Of course the Lake George Wind changed again and helped those that were stuck on the west side of the course. The first downwind leg was heavily favored for a starboard beam reach, so the Race committee set a new leeward mark between North Canoe and Hogback (180° from the windward mark) and then scooted up to the windward mark in preparation for the change of course. After a long port tack, the fleet fetched the third mark where the RC signaled the change of course. After the last boat rounded the RC moved the tetrahedron to square the course, but the wind continued to go west. Throughout, Wild Thing and Vaporize were leading, followed by Spirit and Witch Way battling downwind to the new leeward mark. Wild Thing rounded the fourth mark first again. As the fleet approached the windward tetrahedron on the fifth leg of the race, the RC again signaled a change of course, with Hogback as the newest leeward mark. This greatly helped in squaring the course to the wind and some tacking was in store for the seventh and final leg. The RC signaled a finish at the windward tetrahedron and in the J/24 fleet the race was on as Witch Way took a few-second lead over Spirit in that last leg. Wild Thing charged up the last leg to cross the line first for line honors, with Vaporize crossing second. Witch Way gained another win on corrected time and took an eight-point series lead (not using the fourth drop in the calculation). Sails Call took third for the evening, Uncle Ludwig was fourth and Fuzzy Logic got the fifth spot.

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Race 14 Second Half

Aug 10, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Another light air night gave the nine boats a long-duration, short-distance race. As some wind filled in from the west the RC set an I course with the windward mark only a few hundred yards away from the short start line. Vaporize was over early, recognized their dilemma, and wiggled back down to restart within a few second after the start signal. Most boats opted to flop on to port tack and use the paltry available wind, but Witch Way hung on to starboard to try and reach some darker water showing to the southwest. At the mark, Wild Thing again got there first with Witch Way next, followed by Vaporize, Animal and High Jinx. Although spinnakers were full the downwind leg was more of a drift. Heading well south of the set tetrahedron the fleet tried to keep their speed up by reaching hard. And then a gentle wind filled and the fleet pretty much gybed at once. High Jinx reached the second mark first and opted to tack to the south. The next four boats, Witch Way, Wild Thing, Vaporize and Animal all sailed the long tack up to the finish line and quickly regained the lead over High Jinx. The RC had positioned the boat with a heavily favored pin finish and Witch Way went for the two-tack option to hopefully pull in another first. Animal seemed to overstand the Committee Boat and then tacked. Vaporize, in the middle of the two J/24s, tacked with Animal to preserve their wind and a very tight finish was in progress. The three boats were inches apart as they crossed the line and with just a little extra wind on the north side of the finish line Animal nipped Witch Way who nipped Vaporize. (The finish was so close that others on the RC boat witnessed a different order of finish due to a slightly different viewing angle.) Congratulations to the crew of Animal for the win. Please note in the results you will notice the exact elapsed time for all three boats but the order of finish for the J/24s is as published, with appropriate points awarded. Animal and Witch Way are locked in a one-point battle for the series and the RC is expecting a very exciting finish to this year’s series. Preparations for the end of year celebration are under way. The celebration and award ceremony for the Jeff Underhill Trophy will be held at the Olde Log Inn on August 30 directly after the last race of the year. I will be working with Gigi to pull that together but as those who have made it to the Olde Log Inn after racing know they offer great food options! Additionally, all boats that have raced and paid dues this year have been entered into a raffle that will be held during the celebration. The raffle will be conducted by random number generator matching boat series finish and crew number (1 -5). To claim a prize the boat must be represented at the awards (and in the case where there’s less than five crew the skipper gets to decide who’s the winner among them). What’s in the prize pool?? Some great stuff including: Dry Bags; Hats; Belt; Rigging Knives; Eyeglass Keepers; Sailing Gloves. All made possible by YANKEE BOATING CENTER who have generously supported our racing program by also providing a Race Committee boat and gas all year! Thank you Andrew and Jon!

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Race 13 Second Half

Aug 02, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Race 13 was conducted between the start line and Hogback government mark. With a hope that the wind would fill in and provide some guidance to possibly resetting the pin, the RC got the race started in less than one knot of wind on a W4 course. It took several boats many minutes to clear the line but the rest of the fleet had moved less than 200 yards. As the fleet drifted into the first mark, mother nature decided a little wind would benefit the racers and it filled in at about 4 from the SSW. Wild Thing, Vaporize, High Jinx and Witch Way rounded in succession. Wild Thing and Vaporize were poised for a fast reach. All boats had their spinnakers flying and had to execute a quick gybe to port to get on the tight reach back to the pin end. Vaporize, after getting their chute flying on the right tack, suddenly lost it to a parted halyard, leaving them with no chute for the rest of the race. Even so the reach was tight enough not to hurt their speed up to the pin. At the pin, experience showed in the perennial favorites as spinnakers were taken in on the starboard side for a gybe set at Hogback. Wild Thing, Vaporize and Witch Way rounded the second mark well ahead of the rest of the fleet and steadily gained ground on the third leg. Spirit left their chute up as they went around the pin, encouraging others to reset their chutes for the reach back to Hogback. The last three legs were completed in about 20 minutes with the three top boats several minutes ahead of the other seven boats on the course. Congratulations to Wild Thing for line honors and Witch Way for first on corrected time. Wild Thing and Vaporize had enough time to hold onto the second and third spots for the evening.

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Race 12 Second Half

Jul 26, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

A nice south wind led the RC to choose an I-5 course with a tetrahedron north of Hogback as the windward mark, and Cotton Point as the leeward mark. Thirteen boats came out in cool and overcast weather. With a slight west shift just prior to the start sequence the boat end was favored, but several top competitors opted for clear air at the pin. The fleet got away cleanly and Brass Ring at the boat end opted for a clearing tack several boat-lengths upwind of the start line. With most of the fleet opting for the east side of the course, Wild Thing, Witch Way, woot! and Vaporize led the way around the first mark followed closely by Animal and Spirit. The J/24s and J/22s headed on a deep course due to the very nice wind. The sport boats favored the east side of the course after the first mark but could not break away from the J/24 fleet. Wild Thing seemed to be moving on rails coming up the third leg and again headed over the east side of the course. Stinger took a lone path up the west side. The wind definitely went west as the leaders closed on the third mark. Wild Thing led around the third mark only to run into spinnaker issues. Vaporize gybed immediately around the mark and headed into the west breeze to eventually take the lead at the fourth and final mark. Wild Thing hung onto a slim lead over the smaller J boats at the mark. After rounding the Cotton Point marks, Vaporize led the way on a close-hauled fetch to the finish line capturing line honors. Congratulations to Alfie and the crew of Witch Way for another win and closing the tight gap in the series with Animal, who finished second this evening. Rik Alexanderson played host and skipper to three sailing coaches gathered for the annual Cheeseburger Regatta and pulled in fourth for the evening. After the race many of us headed over to the Olde Log Inn and were impressed at the hospitality of our new after-race venue. The bar area was buzzing with good-natured sailing banter, and the food was delicious and plentiful!

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Race 11 Second Half

Jul 19, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Mother Nature gave us another flat drifter of a race. With the unpredicted east winds, the RC set a course from mid-lake to Hogback. With dark bands visible to the north those boats starting and staying to north got enough of a lead to bounce around Hogback in ~30 minutes. Witch Way and Vaporize led at the first and only mark, only to stop after rounding. Several boats attempted to fly the spinnakers as air filled and then dissipated near the mark. As the fleet returned to the start/finish line, some breeze filled in from the west and helped bring everyone home. Congratulation to all the crews who suffered through the light air night, and to Witch Way for the win. After all the boats were wrapped up many of the crews headed up to Ed Ostberg’s estate for bonfires, great BBQ chicken, salads and lots of beer. Thanks you Ed and Mel for hosting the group. It was great! At the get-together John Jacobs presented a memento of the sailing group’s appreciation to Joe Desantis for all the years of great service we had at Carl R’s. Thanks John and Joe! Next week we will be heading to the Olde Log Inn after racing.

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Race 10 Second Half

Jul 12, 2017      Wind Conditions: Heavy

Race 10 was conducted under grey skies with high winds and whitecaps. Ten boats braved the elements to sail the W5 course, with a tetrahedron set at 035° from the start line between Beckley’s and the North tip of Long Island. The upwind slog saw Animal and Spirit round first with half of the boats flying their chutes. Their run was fast. On the second upwind leg the fleet split, with Animal leading the majority of the J/24s up the east side of the course and Wild Thing going up the west side. The smaller boats were getting pounded but smiles were seen and greetings given as the boats rounded the second upwind mark. On the second downwind leg a variety of spinnaker problems (broken halyards, twisted chutes, etc.) were in store for the fleet, and a lot fewer were flying. But even with poled-out jibs the run back to the pin was very quick with well-timed gybes. On the last upwind leg, Wild Thing, with a very light crew, gained a 20-second lead to cross the finish line first, ahead of the three top J/24s. Animal won on corrected time, with Spirit and Uncle Ludwig taking second and third respectively.

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Race 9 First Half

Jul 05, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

14 boats made it to the start line last evening with the course starting just off Yankee, the first windward mark around the Diamond Island government mark, then back to the start pin and eventually finishing at North Canoe. Brass Ring and Fuzzy Logic, making it out for their first appearance of the season, got caught on the wrong side of the line at the start. Both boats made a quick loop back to the pin and the line was clear within 10 seconds of start. The fleet split early with half going west of the Canoes and the remainder going east, probably searching for the typical Long Island lift. Witch Way appeared to hang onto a long first tack well past the large Island. The VX1 being sailed single-handed was heeling slightly more than the rest of the boats but still moving well up the first leg. At the first mark, Wild Thing led the fleet, followed by Witch Way and what appeared to be Animal, Vaporize, Uncle Ludwig and the VX1 rounding out the top six positions. The spinnakers popped out and a reasonably tight fleet sailed in the fairly consistent wind back to the leeward mark. As Wild Thing neared the leeward mark at 51 minutes ET the RC moved the boat to North Canoe for the finish only to watch the wind drop on the west side of the course, leaving several boats in an unrecoverable hole. Ten boats were able to round the leeward mark and limp up to the finish following the two lead boats. Witch Way held on to a tack to nip out Wild Thing within inches of the finish. As a gaggle of J/24s neared the finish line in the diminishing winds, T took third for the evening. Congratulations to the crew of Witch Way for the evening’s win. Race 9 ended the First Half series with Animal taking the honors followed by Witch Way and Uncle Ludwig, separated by a couple of points between each position.

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Race 8 First Half

Jun 28, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

None

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Race 7 First Half

Jun 21, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

The seventh race of the season was raced with winds from the west at 6–10 with oscillations and puffs making it an almost ideal race night for the solstice evening. Thirteen boats participated. A W course was set, with a tetrahedron as the windward mark ~700 yards off the LGC, and the start pin/leeward mark a few hundred yards north of the tip of Long Island. Seven legs were raced. At the start, Sails Call was well above the line without room below until the final few seconds, barely making it as the start signal was sounded. Witch Way had a very good start as did Animal. Trying to distinguish the boats while staring into the sun was difficult but it appeared that Animal and Spirit were the first two boats around the first mark, with Vaporize and woot! in close company. By the second mark three distinct groups had formed, with Animal in a commanding lead over the usual suspects in the front pack, and Crackerjack being sailed by family Brodie leading the second group ~40 seconds behind. The roundings were tight, especially at the leeward mark, and positions swapped (with the more experienced boats always winning a boat place within groups). Animal had the privilege of rounding all the marks as lead boat, but lost that lead 100 yards from the finish as Vaporize crossed first on a lifted tack. Congrats to Dave for his line honors finish. Animal was the winner of the evening on corrected time.

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Race 6 First Half

Jun 14, 2017      Wind Conditions: Heavy

BIG WIND! BIG WAVES! A steady heavy blow from 030 with white caps and surfing conditions was a huge change from the previous 5 races of the season. 11 Boats made it out to race, 10 finished and Vaporize provided the excitement for the evening. Thank you Cathryn for helping out with the RC duties last evening. Welcome to Side Effects! An I-7 course was set between a tetrahedron and the North Canoe government mark. The J/24s dominated the lead positions throughout the race. Witch Way, always in contention during the race, opted not to fly their chute and lost ground to Uncle Ludwig on the downwind runs but made it up on the windward legs. With the pitching Committee boat is was hard to tell who was who at the mark roundings as the fleet leaders rounded in tight order. On the second downwind run, Vaporize turtled half way down the leg and a couple of spectator boats were right there to lend assistance. John Tarrant arrived minutes later and assisted until Vaporize was safely back at the dock. Thanks to all (John Tarrant, Bob Ripple, Kyle Lavoy and crew, and an out of town boat) who helped in the rescue effort. Dave, Nelson, and Vaporize are all OK.The final leg provided some excitement at the front of the pack with Witch Way opting for the west side of the course contrary to their previous windward beats. Spirit went east with animal and Uncle Ludwig going up the middle. Uncle Ludwig gained the line first and Spirit captured second over Witch Way. Animal and Witch Way are within a point of each other in the series standings and Uncle Ludwig is only 3 points behind Witch Way. Congratulation to the crew of Uncle Ludwig on their win for the evening. Next week will see another raft up on and we can enjoy the long daylight.

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Race 5 First Half

Jun 08, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Race 5 was again set in light winds generally from the NW, and with a wind shadow from the west shore a tetrahedron was set well out in the lake with the start line slight north of Hogback. Not knowing whether the wind would increase, decrease or stay steady, the short legs would make for an interesting race. At the start, High Jinx got a reasonably good start with the bulk of the fleet opting to clear the start on starboard. Cut Loose tacked early and tried to find wind by heading north. The fickle wind on the first leg brought the faster sport boats to the lead along with Uncle Ludwig and Witch Way. On the downwind run, a nice cooperative puff brought the boats down much faster than the first upwind leg. As Wild Thing and Vaporize swapped gybes, the two lead J24s were neck and neck and with woot! made some distance. Vaporize nipped Wild Thing at the mark. Woot! got blanketed at the mark allowing Witch Way and Uncle Ludwig to round 3rd and 4th. The next windward leg had the sport boats pulling away and staying in slightly higher velocity. As the fleet moved back upwind the wind pattern was changing. The downwind run for Wild Thing and Vaporize was much the same as their first downwind run. Witch Way leading and Uncle Ludwig in close pursuit showed their stuff and increased their lead on the rest of the fleet on the 4 leg but the capricious wind started to drop as they neared the 4th mark. It looked as though the sport boats would stay in the wind, the lead J24s would skirt by a big hole and the followers would sit in a hole when the whole pattern changed. Spinnakers popped out of the trailing boats as they rounded the 4th and final mark. Meanwhile Wild Thing, leading Vaporize, was nearing the finish line. Witch Way and Uncle Ludwig watched their commanding lead dwindle as they floated in a big hole 1/3 mile from the finish line. With Wild Thing and Vaporize already finished (congratulations Spencer), the J boats were in a muddle slowly closing on the line. Sails Call coming from the back of the pack caught a breeze in the chute and was able to squeak across the line a few feet, but 27 seconds, ahead of Uncle Ludwig. Witch Way got slammed from all directions, never able to fully catch the S wind they were overhauled and blanketed in the soft spot at the finish. Animal had the misfortune of drifting into the finish mark and had to retrace the last few boats length and make their 360 penalty turn in drifting conditions. Fortunately for many, Race 5 was the first drop of the series. Results are below with the current Series Standings.After the race, many of the competitors sailed or motored back to Hogback and rafted together under a full moon over Pilot Knob and a reddening sky to the west. And as they did so the wind gently increased.

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Race 4 First half

May 31, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Last evening’s breeze was again very light and with the impending weather only 8 boats came out. Fortunately, the weather held clear and there was enough breeze to conduct the race. An I course was set using a tetrahedron to the NE of Canoe Island and North Canoe was used as the leeward mark. The favored pin end had much less breeze and Animal, Wild Thing and Spirit had good starts at the boat end. Spirit tacked right after clearing the start line but ended up in a soft spot. Animal led the way to the first mark with Wild Thing in company. On the downwind run the leaders tried to exploit a trickle of wind on the west side of the course. All of the other competitors took a bee-line between the two marks. Wild Thing gained the lead in the last third of the second leg as the elapsed time approached 50 minutes. Darker water appeared in the north and was sufficient for the committee boat to set up a finish at the windward mark. Witch Way was leading the second group of boats on a tight reach and closing on the leaders as the wind filled in behind them as they rounded North Canoe. Although Wild Thing led the way to the finish, Animal and Witch Way shared the two top spots for a third week. A throw out will be allowed after next week's race.

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Race 3 First Half

May 24, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Kyle Lavoy, the crew of Uncle Ludwig, and very light winds from the south greeted the 9 boats that participated in Race 3. Thanks to all who helped with Race Committee duties! With optimism and anticipation of a strengthening breeze, a W-6 course was set with the start line in the middle of the lake between the LG Club and the northern tip of Long Island. A tetrahedron was set as the windward mark between Canoe Island and Long Island. Animal, Wild Thing, woot! and the VX1 got off the line well and headed east to set up for a long tack to the first mark. Although the wind was light it was generally steady at the windward mark, but it was not kind to Vaporize. Vaporize was stuck in a huge hole on the start line and barely moving as the leaders approached the first mark. The leading pack set their chutes and worked a trickle of wind up the east side of the course on the downwind run. With patches of air, the lead boats headed back upwind and as they neared the windward mark, the committee boat set a finish line north of the tetrahedron and signaled for a downwind finish. Animal led the way around the course until the third and final mark where Wild Thing held onto a lift that eventually pulled them ahead of the J24. woot! was in close company for the last 200-yard dash to the finish line. Although Wild Thing crossed the finish line first, Animal won the evening with Witch Way pulling in a second on corrected time. Vaporize ghosted up and eventually passed a couple to the J24s but their early predicament could not be overcome. Congratulations to Animal for the win. Let’s hope that next week brings some wind.

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Race 2 - First Half

May 17, 2017      Wind Conditions: Medium

Nine boats came out for Race 2 which was initially conducted in gusty warm winds nominally from 250°. An O-6 course was set with a marker off Yankee and the start and eventual finish line ~ ½ mile north of Long Island. Hogback was used as the reaching mark. Start line tactics varied among the competitors with the shifting winds sometimes making the pin end 15° favored. From the committee boat it appeared that Vaporize and Witch Way, starting on the boat end of the line, had the early advantage. The first leg was dominated by many tacks and lead changes with at least one minor bump along the way. As the fleet worked its way towards the windward mark, Sails Call was seen heading back to the dock. Witch Way, Animal and Vaporize were the first three boats to round the weather mark and hoist their chutes for the tight reach to Hogback. Dave and Nelson were able to pass the J24s on the second leg but were hard pressed on the third leg with only a couple of feet separating Vaporize and Witch Way at the leeward mark. Animal was right there too, which made for an interesting fourth leg with the shifty winds starting to lighten. Uncle Ludwig and Spirit leading the next pack were also close coming into the leeward mark with woot! making up some lost ground after an altercation and subsequent penalty turns during the first leg. The original O-6 course was shortened during the fifth leg as winds were starting to diminish. Vaporize had line honors for a second week, but the time differential definitely favored Witch Way to take the win with Animal and Uncle Ludwig having sufficient handicap to take in second and third respectively. Congratulations to Alfie and crew! I would like to thank Cathryn Olsen for helping with RC duties last evening. And rumor has it we may see another sport boat out in the mix next week.

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Race 1 - First Half

May 10, 2017      Wind Conditions: Light

Mother Nature gave the RC and the 9-boat fleet little wind on the opening race of the season. With oscillations from the west the RC dropped an orange ball off Yankee and another at a third of the distance to Hogback, hoping the wind would at least allow some sort of race. An I-3 course was communicated and the RC got the fleet off pretty quickly after the start line was set. At the pin end of the line Sails Call was called over early, trapping Witch Way. It took some time for Witch Way to get free in what little air that was present. As Sails Call cleared the line, the fleet surprisingly glided up to the weather mark in about five minutes. Witch Way had to put in a couple tacks as the rest of the fleet, that started at the boat end of the line, were able to slide to the weather mark without a hitch. Leading the pack were Vaporize, woot! and Animal. On the next leg, a more established trickle of air led the reach to Hogback but the wind was not showing on the water. Vaporize was able to pull away, foot by foot, opting to use his jib and main. About 50% of the fleet opted for a tight spinnaker reach during the second leg. Witch Way and Sails Call worked back through the fleet with their spinnakers. Vaporize had a comfortable lead at Hogback followed by woot!, Animal and Witch Way. As the fleet neared the finish line, the wind was now showing on the water and definitely established from the NE. Congratulations to Dave and Nelson taking both line honors and the win for the night! Let’s hope we get more wind next week!

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