Wednesday Night Series: 2020

Race 14

Sep 02, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: III. With a steady south wind and steady drizzle, a W-2 course was set with the line just off the Lake George Club, and North Canoe as the windward mark. Wild Thing started at the favored pin end of the line, and led around the course to finish first, followed closely by Knot on Call, Uncle Ludwig and Sprit, taking the first three places on corrected time. A short race for our final race of the season, followed by awards at the Adirondack Brew Pub.

See photos and videos from our 2020 Wednesday Night season on Flickr

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Race 13

Aug 26, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Night Spirit. With a north breeze of 5-7, and bigger puffs coming in from the west, the RC set a W-6 course with the start line near Hogback and Cotton Point as the windward mark. Stinger and Wild Thing opted for a port tack start at the boat end, and the rest of the fleet jockeyed for position on starboard heading west. Stinger tacked over to starboard about three-quarters of the way up the beat, well ahead of the fleet, and Wild Thing extended further on port, tacking just below layline, and rounding the Cotton Point marks first. Stinger followed, and then a large group rounding together. Virtually everyone jibed immediately to head east out to the center of the lake. T was one of the few to work the west side of the course downwind. Wild Thing extended its lead on the downwind run, and with the sun setting, RC shortened course to finish at the leeward mark. Congratulations to Wild Thing for line honors and the one-second(!) win on corrected time over Stinger, in second. woot! crossed shortly behind Stinger, and Fuzzy Logic took third on corrected time. After race on the southwest patio at Adirondack Brew Pub.

See photos and videos from our 2020 Wednesday Night season on Flickr

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Race 12

Aug 19, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: High Jinx. Congratulations to Rik Alexanderson and the crew on Brass Ring for the win. Stinger crossed first for line honors and a third on corrected time. Wild Thing followed eight seconds later. It was a good night for the J/22s: Brass Ring, Fuzzy Logic and Knot on Call all finished within a minute of the two lead boats, to take first, second and fourth on corrected time.

See photos and videos from our 2020 Wednesday Night season on Flickr

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Race 11

Aug 12, 2020      Wind Conditions: Light

RC: T. Eleven boats came out to the general area of the race, some boats in irons pointing north, some others pointing south. Nevertheless, the Race Committee well-staffed by T laid out a short W-6 course at 220°, and at 6:30 pm sharp on the starting gun, a breeze filled in from around 240°. Three boats were over early and recalled. Starboard tack was favored and the wind clocked further west around the windward mark. Stinger was first to round that mark at 6:40 pm, followed closely by Cut Loose. Stinger set its kite directly back to the pin end as the leeward mark while Cut Loose somehow found a shortcut closer to shore and rounded the leeward mark first at 6:58 pm, closely followed by Stinger. Judy arrived there third at 7:01 pm. Jaded surprised everyone as fourth, and III arrived there as fifth. Spirit did well despite a late start and the crew redeemed their standings. No sight of the asymmetric as of yet, the short course seemed not in their favor. Similar sequence at the second windward rounding: Cut Loose rounds at 7:10 pm with Stinger closely behind. Second leeward mark same sequence: Cut Loose rounded at first at 7:20:40 pm, followed by Stinger at 7:21. Immediately after their rounding an interesting maneuver of four boats on starboard, Cut Loose and Stinger upwind and Judy and Jaded downwind. It was amazing to watch how they all escaped unscratched! The late summer sun set behind the mountain range but the wind kept going steady. On the final downwind leg to finish Stinger took the lead over Cut Loose. The race was appropriately celebrated at the Adirondack Brewery.

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Race 10

Aug 05, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Vaporize. With a breeze at around 10-12 out of the west, RC set a W-7 course with a windward mark dropped just east of Yankee, and a start line near Hogback. The wind moved left before the start, and several boats started on port, including Stinger mid-line and Wild Thing at the boat end. Within a minute all flipped over to the favored port tack. Halfway up the first leg boats started to tack back to starboard to take advantage of a wind shift back to the right. Wild Thing worked the northern side of the course to round first at 8:53, followed closely by Uncle Ludwig, who was the first to jibe to port after rounding. Cut Loose was third around the windward mark. The breeze was dropping at this point, with large holes developing around the course. Uncle Ludwig went furthest to the northeast, and reached the second mark first, at 17:50, followed by Wild Thing, Cut Loose, Stinger, Knot on Call and T. On the third leg the breeze shifted back to the right, and most boats took the long port tack first before tacking on to starboard. Wild Thing regained the lead at the third mark, at 28:58, followed by Uncle Ludwig, Stinger and Knot on Call. All jibed on to port after rounding, and worked the dying breeze down to the leeward mark, where Uncle Ludwig pulled ahead to round first, at 42:11, followed by Wild Thing. RC shortened the course to a W5. Knot on Call went left early on the final upwind leg, and found new breeze filling in from the southwest, crossing the line at the pin end in a photo finish with Wild Thing, taking line honors by one second and the win on corrected time. Stinger crossed next, followed by Uncle Ludwig, taking second and third respectively on corrected time. After-race at the Adirondack Brew Pub.

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Race 9

Jul 29, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: woot! An I-5 course was set up with a wind from the SW, that faded as the start approached. At almost exactly at 6:30, a breeze filled in and the race was off. An over early and 3 boats late for the start caused a little early spread out. After the first mark rounding, the wind shifted briefly from the east; spinnakers came down one at a time. Spirit looking good farthest away from Long Island made up some distance on Stinger, but Stinger still kept the lead around the leeward mark. The wind shifted back and intensified, and it turned into a beautiful night. Stinger increased their lead, and took first solidly. Spirit crossed second, and Knot On Call next, who ended up taking second place on corrected time.The committee boat had a drone pilot, John, who took some spectacular footage / pictures. They will get posted.

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Race 8

Jul 22, 2020      Wind Conditions: Light

RC: Cut Loose. The crew of Cut Loose set a W-6 course with light winds out of the NNE and a forecast of light and variable with possible showers through the evening, expecting to shorten course. The winds held steady but unfortunately as the fleet returned on the last leg, showers moving in from the south reversed wind direction 180 degrees. Uncle Ludwig nailed the start on a port tack almost a full boat length ahead of the next boat. At the first leeward mark rounding Wild Thing established a close lead with Spirit and Uncle Ludwig battling at the mark. With each leg Wild Thing gained distance and on the final leg as the wind changed direction was still able to reach across the finish at the pin end with the spinnaker for line honors. The rest of the fleet finished upwind, Knot on Call crossing second with Spirit on his tail to finish ahead of Wild Thing on corrected time. A wet ending to a nice evening of racing.

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Race 7

Jul 15, 2020      Wind Conditions: Light

RC: Wild Thing. A beautiful evening for what may turn out to be the longest race of our season. At 6pm, the breeze was coming from the NNE; at 6:15, it had moved 30° to the right; and then another 30° to the right. So on the third attempt to drop a windward mark, RC set a W-4 course with the mark at 90°, just north of the tip of Long Island. Not your typical Wed night course. Thirteen boats, and they all wanted to start at the pin. A breeze line reached the starting area in the last 30 seconds or so, messing with everyone’s carefully timed run down the line, and causing a massive pile-up at the pin. With the sun glaring directly behind, and the pin itself hidden behind the mass of boats, it was clear that many were over early. Several boats returned and re-started; several did not. On the first upwind leg, most went north on starboard, looking for better pressure and perhaps an oscillation back to the north. Uncle Ludwig was first to round, followed by Stinger, Joia, and then another large group rounding several boatlengths back, including T, Brass Ring, Spirit, Knot on Call and Judy. On the downwind leg, with the breeze shifted a bit to the north, everyone except Brass Ring held starboard and worked their way west. Uncle Ludwig found a private wind line that brought him to the leeward mark well ahead of the next boat, and with a conservative early takedown still rounded at least ten lengths ahead of the next boat, Stinger. A tight group of five followed — Brass Ring, Spirit, Knot on Call, T and woot! Family Feud jibed their spinnaker around the mark and headed upwind on a tight reach, a move that paid off as they advanced on the right side of the course. Judy and Stinger were next to hoist spinnakers as the breeze rotated and eased, and Uncle Ludwig saw their lead evaporate. And then the race reset, with all 13 boats reaching the windward mark together, lined up like a well-spaced start line. Spirit took the outside route around the group and rounded first, followed by Stinger, and that enabled them both to reach the breeze filling in from the northwest. Then it was one long starboard tack to the finish. With the new breeze moving west, Spirit elected to carry their spinnaker, Stinger did not. And the genoa proved to be the right call as Stinger crossed first. Congratulations to all boats for toughing it out on a long, challenging race! After race gathering was at John Carr’s always excellent Adirondack Brew Pub.

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Race 6

Jul 08, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Joia. A very short race, when the wind came up after what looked like a drifter at the start. Wild Thing took line honors, and Knot on Call got the win on corrected time, with Uncle Ludwig second and Judy third.

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Race 5

Jul 01, 2020      Wind Conditions: Light

RC: Judy. The crew of Judy persevered, challenged by the persistant shift of 180 degrees from west to east, as the passing line of storm cells made it difficult to set a starting line let alone a course. They were patient and set a short I-3 course based on the light-air forecast with a windward mark set 100 yards north of the starting area and the North Canoe buoy as the leeward mark. The fleet of 13 boats started in another shift to the west with Spirit tacking on the shift and going right while most of the fleet took the knock to the west. When the wind clocked back Spirit tacked on the layline and rounded first with Stinger close behind. Downwind saw a couple of shifts to no wind at all but Spirit held on to the lead contested by Stinger in the zone of the leeward mark. Stinger banged the east corner as only he does and is famous for. I thought he was going to drop an anchor at Hogback Reef to fish he went so far, but finally tacked for the long knock back to the finish riding a new breeze from the north, and crossed the line for the win. Uncle Ludwig hugged the west shore and leap-frogged the entire fleet and came in second, leaving Spirit to fight off the challenge from T and Jaded. It was great to see a few more boats out on our fun Wednesday nights. After a beautiful sail back to shore in failing winds many of us went to the Diamond Point Grill to enjoy each others' company.

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Race 4

Jun 24, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Spirit. The RC set a W-5 course with a windward mark off the west shore at 250 degrees and a starting area north of Hogback Reef. Each of the five legs took about 10 minites. John Jacobs and Sandy Powell set a perfect course and square line, Susan Jacobs had a quick trigger-finger on the horn, and Rodger called out the time and Diana Voss was "on It" to record all boats that checked in and finished the race. A gusty west wind of 8 to 12 knots blessed the fleet of 11 boats: What a terrific night on Lake George for the mixed group of J boats of all sizes from all around the lake. It was a full line at the start, with Uncle Ludwig just dipping her nose below the line at one second to avoid the Individual Recall. The “All Clear” was hailed and the race was off. A couple of close calls after the start but those involved exonerated themselves in the true Corinthian Spirit of WNR. As the favored starboard tack progressed the west wind headed a bit from the shore and got the fleet moving around the windward mark and for the downwind legs. Stinger led the way four of the five legs. Most improved tonight, with full crew and girlfriend by his side, Russell Merchant finished in fourth on corrected time. We all met at the Adirondack Brewery for food and drinks. Owners John and Cindy Carr were the perfect hosts. We talked about his nail-biting finish inching out the last place boat. He is having a blast with his new boat. They had the outside terrace set for our social gathering. Thanks for your hospitality.

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Race 3

Jun 17, 2020      Wind Conditions: Light

RC: Knot on Call. RC set a W-2 course with North Canoe as the windward mark. A beautiful summer evening with no wind initially. Many of the competitors had to get towed out to the starting line with some last-minute participants. The start was uneventful with two boats (Spirit and Wild Thing) over early. It took a while to get everyone across the starting line with little or no wind, but eventually the “All Clear” was hailed. As the upwind leg progressed, a west wind from the shore filled in and got the fleet moving around the windward mark and for the downwind leg. woot! took line honors followed shortly by Wild Thing and Stinger. We all met at the Diamond Point Grill for food and drinks.

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Race 2

Jun 10, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Uncle Ludwig. RC set a W-4 course with North Canoe as the windward mark. Afternoon showers gave way to a beautifully overcast evening and a light but shifty SW breeze for the 11 boats that showed up to the second of this year's Wednesday night series. Stinger had a great boat-end start a few seconds late but at speed and led the pack up the center of the course. Meanwhile Wild Thing went far left after a pin-end start and banged the left corner (like he always seems to) and led the fleet into the North Canoe mark (like he always seems to). The wind fluctuated up and down, left and right for the rest of the race. Spirit fought its way out of the pack to join the lead group of Wild Thing, Stinger and woot!, with Stinger taking the win on corrected time. With outdoor dining allowed, we met up at Sushi Yoshi after the race and took over their outdoor deck.

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Race 1

Jun 03, 2020      Wind Conditions: Medium

RC: Stinger. We had 10 boats for our first race. It was blowing out of Boon Bay NW. RC set a great course of I-5. We started at 6;29pm in a 5- to 8-knot breeze. No one was even close to the starting line at the horn. After that, some went west and some went east. Spencer in the J/80 Wild Thing was first around. But he battled all race with John Haller on the J/70 woot!. After those two it was a tight pack of J/24s and J/22s. The wind held for the whole race and then died after the finish….perfect.

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