Our pond was greeted by a beautiful sunny morning, relaxing offshore flow and early prevailing NW breeze. Not to be argued with in the middle of February! Good sailing was abundant throughout the day with C fleet hitting the water at 11AM and A fleet ending the day while the sky was turning sunset orange. Thank you Fred Rocha for the tight rounds!
The San Diego Argonauts launched their three day IOM Midwinters Regatta with twenty six eager skippers and perfect perfect summer-like weather on Mission Bay Model Yacht Pond. Water level was a bit skinny due to recent maintenance and shoreline work, so our fleet was divided into 3 heats in order to avoid traffic issues. Sea breezes freshened by mid day with increasingly challenging shifts as the day progressed. Fred Rocha, master organizer and RD extraordinaire directed a full day of sailing for all!
In anticipation for an exciting 2022 sailing season our Argonaut maintenance team got the jump on some much needed skiff repairs and refinishing projects. Bob Williams and Steve Ross spearheaded the operation. Bob arranged the welding repairs of our launching dolly. It needed major chassis and axle work to keep it in service. Steve was are go-to materials and supply man. Gil provided additional elbow grease and light humor during the daily routine of sanding and painting. Ben Reeve wrote some pretty nice checks! The end result will add years more service to our launching equipment.. I hope everyone likes black!
Saturday, February 5, was another San Diego “chamber of commerce” day! Full sunshine with light sea breezes greeted our Mission Bay pond. Prior to our start, Barbie paraded the shoreline on a scale air boat.. I guess she has moved on from pontoon boats and Corona’s!
Shortly after noon, under the race direction of Ben Reeve, ODOM skippers launched into a 6 race series. Winds were in the 6 to 8 mile per hour range with the usual holes and shifts. The following are the results:
Soling 50 skippers were up next with a similar wind range but seemingly more extreme shifts as the later afternoon winds favored a more northerly direction. I would describe it as a mixing bowl of swirling breeze.
Commodore, Mark Hallberg was on hand to kick off the 2022 Sailing Season with an introduction to, Steve Delva, our newly elected and much needed Argonaut Secretary. Thank you Steve!
Mark also expressed an optimistic outlook to this years club social activities as we look forward to award banquets and more pond side barbecues. The fun light is on!
Ben Reeve was our trusted RD for the day and assembled an eager staff of volunteers that helped run a smooth day of racing. Tom Warren jumped in with mark setting and mark moving. Ben, Kim, Greg and Gil with boat clean up and storage. Ken Campbell for confirming and posting results. It takes a village. Thank You!
Weather conditions for the first races of the season were cool and calm with just enough sea breeze to keep our hulls moving and complete 6 races for each class. Seven Soling 50’s started the series at noon in a medium overcast sky with south west winds in the 6 mph range. As the day progressed and the ODOM fleet had their turn on the pond, wind shifted to the right and became progressively lighter and variable. Short courses up and down were called in order to salvage 6 races. A day of challenging conditions and great competition!
Special thanks to our photographer Sandra, warm hands, Jansky for snapping some action shots in between warming sessions next to the heater. We all appreciate your sailing images!
I trust all skippers are having a wonderful Holiday! This is a perfect time to reflect on last seasons highlights and plan for a fresh 2022 sailing season. Get those boat repairs and rig tuning issues knocked out early and don’t forget to update your Argonauts membership and AMYA enrollments.
