SEPT. 2 Points- Soling 50 & ODOM

Welcome to September on Mission Bay! We were greeted this morning with light drizzle and flukey onshore breezes. The Soling 50 fleet continues a strong showing of yachts. Considering the holiday weekend we did great with 10 skippers! The ODOM class seems to be holding steady at around a half dozen boats.. It was especially challenging for the Soling 50 fleet, as wind was lighter in the first three heats and there were obvious moments of ghosting with tell-tales sticking to the wet mylar. The ODOM fleet was second on the pond and managed a little more pressure as the air warmed up and blue sky pushed the clouds inland. Nice sailing by all skippers today!

Special thanks to volunteer Keith Sternal for a full day of race direction. He was out on the water early setting the marks and managing a full day of medium courses! Six races for each fleet, then back in the skiff at days end retrieving all our pins! I think we owe Kieth a cold beer or two! Steve Ross was backing up the score cards with his pen. I bet he earned a beer as well!

Everyone got these scores really fast considering Pat Nevitt had a tough time with water on his wind screen. GO Pat!

We have a expert drone pilot in our group that spends many hours (battery packs) capturing Wing Foiling action on East Mission Bay. I am sure following our pond sailing action was a piece of cake for him. We are very lucky to have Steve Ross documenting some of our racing activities.. THANK YOU Steve! (Check out his YouTube channel at Steve Ross 1965)

Summer might be coming to an end but there is plenty of great wind in San Diego year round. Get your rigs down to the pond!

Smooth Sailing, Gil

AUG.12 Points-DF95 & IOM

Blockbuster Turnout for the DF95 Fleet!

A HUGE starting line for twenty seven DF95’s was the image today. Likely a record number of yachts participating in a club points race! We welcome new member Jim Sears and returning local sailor Jack Kingston. Also, visiting skipper from Australia, Barry Donaher showed us some excellent pond work. We wish Kerim Baran Smooth Sailing on his new home in the Bay Area!

Greg Williams, our Race Director managed the work load with ease and deserves special recognition for an excellent day of race management. Jason Brooks assisted with score keeping on an action packed finish line.. A Standing Ovation for our volunteers!

A fairly consistent onshore breeze held through most out the day with each class completing 6 medium courses. I’d call it an excellent day on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond!

Pat Nevitt delivered the scores! THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO!

Smooth Sailing, Gil

AUG.5 Points-ODOM & Soling 50

The sea breeze was up early today. Bob Williams opened the shed and wheeled out our trusty skiff. Gil Jansky dropped the marks and set the standard course. Steve Ross collected the $3 toll. Tom Warren officiated the skippers meeting. Prior to sailing, Tom installed a GoPro surveillance camera on the starting mark. Hopefully we will see a number of honest mistakes! Racing commenced at noon with ODOM’s on the pond first, with Bob Williams calling medium courses. Seven ODOM’s and away they go – Check out the scores.

After a short break, Tom Warren managed the six heats in the Soling 50 fleet. Seven skippers and a good day on the water. Pat Nevitt was right at the finish line with his pencil, keeping there score cards legible for his evening scoring calculations. THANK YOU PAT!!!

Thank the volunteers that make this possible!

Smooth Sailing, Gil

Everyone is a Winner Today!

Yes!

We had at least 6 adults attempting to mount our industrial strength BB Grill on a mobile unit (dolly). One person was being instructed by 5 professional observers! Truly great entertainment and worth the price of admission! 

We actually had a fun day of sailing with a nice mix of fleets on the water. DF95 were well represented. IOM’s, ODOM’s and Soling 50’s all made for some good tune up racing. The day culminated with Bob Williams cooking up some of those fantastic HOT DOGS! One heck a good day!

Our traveling grill adventurers are rumored to be more frequent so don’t miss your next opportunity to score a fun day of sailing and one of Bob’s famous hot dogs!

SEE YOU AT THE POND!

July 15 Points-IOM & DF95

July 15 Club Points attracted a nice group of skippers eager to sample some beautiful Mission Bay summer weather. The sea breeze cooperated most of the day with fairly consistent wind in the 3-8mph range.

Chris Staiger manned our skiff and set marks to accommodate a light onshore breeze. He also served as our volunteer Race Director for our IOM fleet. During the skippers meeting crews agreed to sailing a gate, as apposed to our reaching leg, opening up more opportunities for our medium course. Good work Chris!

Mike Fruciano was our volunteer Race Director for the DF95 fleet, along with scoring assistant Ken Titilah. Thank you for your help.

Kerim Baran has been active with the San Diego Argonauts for many years as a spirited competitor In Soling 50, ODOM and DF95 fleets and has provided spectacular drone footage of many of our racing events. Kerim will be leaving the San Diego area for other adventures and will be missed on or pond. Smooth Sailing, Kerim!

July 15 IOM Points Races – Playlist

Thank you to all skippers and volunteers that participated today. Club members appreciate your support!

Without Bob Williams we wouldn’t have the shirts on our back!! Thank you Bob for for ordering a fresh batch of T’s..

Smooth Sailing, Gil