Beautiful, sunny weather with wonky winds! The Dragonflite95 Fleet began in moderate but shifty Southwest winds. Due to the direction, Starboard rounding courses were selected by RD Tom Warren. Though the winds filled a bit over time and veered slightly more westerly, there were some big holes and massive shifts. There were many lead changes, but lawyers took the top two spots with Scotty Harris carrying the day by winning half the races:
Next it was the IOM’s turn and strengthening westerly winds allowed a return to our traditional Port Roundings. RD Chris Staiger ran a combination of Medium and Long courses. Dennis Rogers dominated the fleet of eleven IOM’s; missing a perfect score of “6”‘ by a single point. Results follow:
CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Golison, the 2024 Region 8 Dragonflite95 Champion! Racing was extremely close with 2 of the top 5 positions being decided via tie-breaks. Thanks to our Race Committee Members who worked so hard to host this regatta and congratulations to our Corinthian Award Winner, Henry Johnson!
CARNAGE! Both on the Water and Off! Between damaged/malfunctioning boats and damaged infrastructure, we lost a number of ODOMs as well as a downed skipper (due to the collapsed concrete culvert in the control area: Get healed up, Paul!) Despite this, the conditions were beautiful with sunny skies, mild temperatures and good westerly winds. Chris Staiger RD’d the ODOM Fleet with Results below:
Following the ODOMs, the winds moved a bit southerly and became a little more shifty but didn’t slacken much. Gil Jansky RD’d the Soling 50 Fleet where racing was tight and lead changes were common. Overall, great day for Racing (and Gremlins…)
REMINDER: The Dragonflite95 Region 8 Championships are only TWO WEEKS AWAY!!! Get your Entries in! (see below)
Light southerly winds greeted the IOM fleet as Point racing began today. RD Ben Reeve utilized several course options from Medium to Long to mix things up until the winds filled and moved more westerly.
Thanks to Kerim Baran for the Drone Footage!
DF95’s were next. Winds filled to over 7 knots and moved near true West by the time the DF95’s turn came. Again, RD Ben Reeve called Medium, Long and ‘Reverse Short’ (Yes: downwind start to a leeward gate…) courses resulting in tight racing with many lead changes.
SATURDAY SEPT. 11- DF95 and IOM POINTS Racing Rules Clinic will begin at 11 am Skippers’ Meeting at 11:45am Sailing to begin at 12 noon.
I think most skippers would agree that this was one of the windiest Saturday points races we have experienced in a long time and a heck of a lot of fun. We were all hopeful Santa Barbara skippers would join in on the excellent winds. Unfortunately, our solo S/B skipper, Dunham Reilly, was unable to race. We need 3 boats San Diego!! Soling 50 and ODOM sailors benefited and got an additional few races under their belts with 6 races per class.
Fred Rocha had the row boat out early and set the marks for the right shifted winds. Ben Reeve was RD for the day with some assistance scoring from Bob Hirsch. Ken Campbell conducted an informative Racing Rules Seminar. Much gratitude to our support team!
Soling 50’s Off to a clean start
Our fleet of six Soling 50’s started their races at noon with consistent building NW winds that increased as the day progressed. Good sailing action with no breakdowns or water below the decks! Yet..
ODOM skippers experienced more pressure on the water from additional wind and equipment challenges. The downwind run & sometimes broad reach became a submarine ride in the right gust. Those little grommet holes for sheets and adjustments all of a sudden welcomed sea water into the hold. Exciting sailing!
After a full day of fun on the pond Ben Reeve was there to man the row boat and extract marks. Gary Martin and Gil washed er all down and locked er away till next time. Scoring cards Ken Campbell.. Thanks all for participating.
If you are an RC enthusiast, big boat sailor or just pond side spectator the San Diego Argonauts welcome your interest into our FUN and challenging hobby of RC Sailing!
