It looks like we are getting into a fall/winter wind pattern here in San Diego. Storms followed by high pressure and off shore flow seem to dominate at this time of the year. Fortunately our pond still provides light onshore wind that keep our yachts moving. (mostly!)
We had a good day of sailing with both classes completing 6 races each. Special thanks to our two ad hoc RD’s, Tom Warren and Kerim Baran. We could not play this game without you! Also thanks to Jess Atkinson, Chris Davidson and Bill Bridge for setting courses and clean-up.
Chris Davidson has returned from Oz.. Check the score card! Welcome back Chris!!
Len Bose and Doc Elliott were trapped in Orange County due to the closure of I-5, so there were 8 competitors for the 2025 Fun & Fowl Regatta. Saturday began drizzly, cold and windless, but a sizeable Peanut Gallery gathered to witness the spectacle.
After a ‘waiting for the wind’ delay, PRO Ben Reeve called the first race; a short course drifter that seemed much longer than it took. After a race or two, a light breeze from the northwest began to fill in a bit and Ben tried some medium courses.
Eventually, the fingery breeze freshened and became almost due west, so Ben ran a Looong course. The temperatures rose and a bit of sunshine peeked through the clouds as the breeze slackened a bit but remained pretty smooth with only minor to moderate shifts.
Tom Warren acted as ‘Head Peanut,’ as well as co-RD and acquired the ‘Fowl’ prizes. Thanks also to Bill Bridge who (as usual) made himself indispensable with the rescue boat and setting marks.
Thank you, Tom Warren, for the photos & Ben Reeve for the amazing black and whites.
The inaugural Filippo Busalacchi Soling 50 Masters Regatta took place on a beautiful fall day, October 18, 2025, at the San Diego Model Boat Pond. The event brought together some of our club’s most experienced and passionate sailors for a day of exciting, highly competitive racing in honor of long-time Argonaut and legend, Filippo Busalacchi.
After a full day of tight competition and shifting pond conditions, Ty Beach delivered a brilliant performance, securing first place with an impressive seven bullets. He was followed by Chris Davidson in second, Gerry Wold in third, David Woodward in fourth, and Filippo Busalacchi himself, rounding out the top five.
A special thanks goes out to Ben Reeves and Tom Warren for capturing beautiful photos of the day and to Steve Ross for recording and sharing videos of the action — both of which you can enjoy below.
Also, a big shout-out to Ben and Jack for their help with scoring and running the event, and to Bob for grilling up what are, without a doubt, the best hot dogs in radio sailing! Thanks as well to Ty Beach and Jack for their assistance with the boat, and to Chris “the man from Oz” Davidson for getting the pond race-ready, setting the gate, and making sure the Bob Dog Grill was fired up and ready to go. And to Jess Atkinson for organizing and running the event.
This event marked the fourth and final Masters Regatta of the year — the closing chapter of our inaugural Masters Series, which celebrates the Legends of the San Diego Argonauts. This time, it was an especially meaningful occasion as we paid tribute to our dear friend and sailor, Filippo.
We look forward to continuing this wonderful tradition in the years to come, honoring the great sailors who have shaped our club and community.
The Second DF95 Team Challenge of 2025 was held at Mason Park in Irvine on Sunday, August 17th, 2025. Seven 2-Boat Teams competed in the Team Management System (TMS) run event. Just as in Round 1, Teams were organized via seeding in an attempt to even the competition. A shortened ‘reverse-hourglass’ course was sailed in shifty, light to moderate winds (with more than a few holes) under sunny skies. The 7-Team Matrix begins with a Round-Robin Stage where the top 3 teams advance directly to the Finals. The remaining 4 teams race a single-elimination ‘Wild Card’ bracket with the winning team joining the top 3 in the Finals which consists of a 4-Team Round-Robin. This racing format keeps every team ‘in-the-hunt’ for the championship until at least the 22nd Race (out of 30 total Races) and guarantees every Team gets to race at least 7 times.
There were a couple minor changes to the rules in the running of Round 2: Proper course between boats on different legs was emphasized and enforced, and ‘Instant Umpiring’ was adopted. Under RRS Appendix D Team Racing, an Umpire’s involvement after waiting for a voluntary single penalty turn requires a 2-Turn penalty. In Round 2, the Umpire called single-turn penalties immediately but reserved the ability to specify more turns if appropriate. This helped competitors know exactly where they stood following an incident and took the guess work out of protests and fouls. Results follow:
Congratulations to Team Red (Jim Sears & Angelo Greco) who sailed a near perfect regatta; losing only a single Race to 2nd Place Team Green (Larry Grant & Richard Diamond)
Thanks to the Orange County Model Sailing Club and Amya President, DF95 National Class Secretary, and all-around ‘good guy’ Len Bose for setting up the event and making it all possible.
Special thanks also to Jim Sears who rigged a YUUUGE ‘boom camera’ to take live aerial video of the event (drones are not allowed at Mason Park). We’re looking forward to more of his color commentary when he (hopefully) posts his videos on Youtube.
San Diego Argonauts will be hosting the 2025 AMYA ODOM Class Regional Championship at the San Diego Model Yacht Pond on August 2nd, 2025.
To register, send an email or call Jess Atkinson (details in the NOR document below). An entry fee of $15 will be collected at the Pond on the day of the event. Notice of Race & Sailing Instructions are below.
