Caesars Freezer 2012

Today marked the end of the 2012 sailing season in the Okanagan with the annual running of the Caesers Freezer regatta. We were very fortunate to have the only day without steady rain in the forecast all week. Mostly cloudy skies and 10 to 15 knots out of the South had the fleet off racing with record speed. We were very happy to have another closely matched boat in regards to speed with Peter W's Opposite Lock joining us for the quick sleigh ride down hill. We played the center of the lake heading North downwind with the majority of the fleet staying close to the West shore. We had great pressure and hit planning speeds into the 12 knot range several times on our way to Lake Okanagan Resort. We rounded the leeward mark 4th just behind J and just ahead of GR. We were quickly overpowered with our 150 Genoa up and did a lot of sailing sideways before settling in with a partially furled headsail. The 150 is great for light air but is a major pita in bigger breeze like we had today. We tried to pick the shore with less pressure to allow us to remain in better balance and made way for the Eastern short on our trip back Southbound. Approaching Bear Creek the winds had backed off considerably and we were able to shake out the reef and hang in just behind J and GR. the bottom on our boat must be in need of some attention as we were a constant half knot below our hull speed. We finished 5th just behind GR and ahead of OL. I have decided to keep Litonya for at least another season and make a few more go fast upgrades to see where that takes us. She still has lots to teach me. Thanks everyone for a very enjoyable 2012 sailing season and once again, see you on the start line in March.

M

D5, 2012

Tonights race ended the regular season of Wednesday night racing at the KYC.  It was anything but a typical night's race with chaos all around the race course.  We had between 2 and 15 knots of wind out of the SW to NW.  The course was SADAF but the D mark seemed to be located way down the race course close to Bear Creek.  The first start for A fleet was a general recall but at least half of the boats did not acknowledge it and raced all the way up to A mark and back before realizing.  We started right at the pin with about 10 - 15 knots of breeze and quickly tacked away in search of clear air.  Rounding A mark we went for the gybe set and wrestled with the kite all the way North along the right shore as the wind slowly worked it's way W to NW.  We got into a tricky situation with Shadowfax just North of Sutherland Bay.  We were both flying kites as the wind shifted far right and were quickly running out of water along the shore.  The only way to douse the kite was a risky floater drop.  Our rock star crew managed to get the kite back on board without shrimping and running it over and we sailed on a close reach up to D mark.  We were well out front for the D mark rounding a hung on to that position almost all the way back to A mark until the wind totally died and caused massive fleet compression from behind.  All three fleets were how floating at the A mark waiting for the breeze to fill back in.  We finally rounded and did a bear away set barely managing to fly the chute all the way to finish.  The RC must have been losing their mind trying to score everyone at the finish as about 30 boats all crossed the line within 3 minutes of each other.  It was an awesome summer for racing with much better than average wind conditions and not one single rainy day on the water.  We will switch to Sunday racing as of this weekend with a NEW START TIME of 10am.  Check the OK Sailing forum section for the new sailing instruction posted as of today as well as the year end results the the entire regular season.  Congratulations to the J29 TBD for a first place finish followed by Pentameter, Ghost Rider and just 3 points behind, Litonya.  This will be my last post for a few weeks as we will miss the first couple of Sunday races.

m

D4, 2012

The wind Gods were not quite as generous tonight as they had been for the past several weeks.  We were given about 5 to 7 knots out of the North with very hot conditions and plenty of sunshine.  Nights like this make it obvious for everyone just why we all chose to live in the Okanagan.  The fleet stacked up and we won the pin end, we were right on the line at the gun but unfortunately a huge starting error cost us dearly.  There was a recall signalled on the start and the manner it was signalled indicated a general recall.  What we heard was the start horn followed immediatly by 2 more blasts which indicated a general recall.  We could not see the flag at the RC boat due to all the traffic off of our starboard hip.  We started to spin around and prepare for another start.  As we approached the line we could now see the individual recall flag flying and knew we were in trouble.  Although we were very certain it was not us over early I elected to restart and finally start racing.  The course was SDAF in a drying breeze.  We slowy clawed our way out of the basement and managed to finish 4th about 8 seconds behind the Soveral (sp?) 26.  Only one more race of the regualy season next Wednesday!  One further note, there may be a change to the start time for Sundays.  They were conducting an informal pole to determine if a 10am start would be acceptable to most.  I believe it has to do with availability of a RC for Sundays.

m

Commodores Cup 2012

Results now available on OKSAILING. Congrats to Danny Foster for cleaning up this weekend with only 13 points overall. Nice job.

J80 For Sale

Our J80 Litonya is offered for sale right here in the Okanagan. She is a very well maintained 2002 hull number 481 build right in Newport RI. Sail inventory includes 2011 carbon fiber North main and 101 jib. 2011 AirX 600 North class kite. Older but still serviceable practice kite. Very good condition 150 genoa. Original Dacron class main and laminate jib. Almost never used Mylar drifter. All running rigging is less than 2 years old. Honda 5 hp outboard motor. Velocitek Prostart. Factory Triad trailer in very good shape with excellent tires and brakes. For more info and photos contact Marc at 2502129950. Asking $34000

D3, 2012

Our lucky streak of great sailing conditions continues even through the dog days of summer for 2012. We are down to only 2 more races after tonight for the regular season and will be switching back to Sunday afternoon racing in a couple of more weeks. Tonight had a Westerly breeze of about 8 to 10 knots and offered quite the challenge for the start. Due to several missing marks after last weekends center of gravity wake board fest we were given course SDADAF for tonight. We were right on the line for the start and popped the kite right away but got pinned under the M244 who were having some trouble setting their kite. We had to take their stern and sail above them before getting clean air and really starting to move. Looks like Danny F had the best start quickly making gains as the windward boat. Russel Bertram made a guest appearance at the helm of GR tonight and did not disappoint the crew with a solid performance. Things stacked up pretty much as would be expected for this late in the season with J and GR out front followed by the O30 and us crossing fourth. What a beautiful night with temperatures well above 30 and water temps above 20 there was not a chill in sight. I have come to the conclusion that a new boat will be in order for next season so our beloved J80 Litonya will be for sale at the end of this season and replaced with a Melges 24 for next spring. If you or anyone you know might be interested in the 80 please contact me as I would really like to see her stay in the area. More details to come.

M

D2, 2012

It was a picture perfect summer's night in the Okanagan for a sailboat race complete with an awesome airshow provided by the Canadian Snow Birds.  We had lot's of sun, hot tempretures and a SW wind gusting up to 15 knots.  Our main course for the evening was SADXCAF.  We had a crap back row start and had to fight our way out of the cellar on the first beat to A mark.  Most of the boats headed back to shore but we saw better pressure out in the middle and regained a little dignity climbing several spots for the windard mark rounding at A.  We were rigged for a gybe set however I did not like the angle and pressure near the South end of the course so I elected to hold off on the hoist to see what would happen with the wind direction.  GR got themselves into a bad position with the kite up just to leward of us and to windward of the M242.  Every time they would try to roll out from under us the would hit our dirty and get reeled back in.  They also had to remain clear of the M242 who were the right away boat.  We could see the look of frustration in their eyes.  In hind site I should have flown the kite on this leg but being left with only 1 light air kite for the rest of the season I have grown a little conservative.  We did pop the chute on the leg from X to C as the winds were a little more out of the South on the North end of the course.  We were hoping to make up a few points on Pentameter and GR but considering they actually beat us across the line there is not much chance of that.  Only 3 more races of the regular season so every point counts.

m

D1, 2012

It was good to get the old team and boat back together last night and go tear up the race course. We had great conditions for a fully powered up sail last night with 8 to 12 knots out of the North and despite the ominous forecast no thunderstorms in sight. The course was set as SDXDXAF and we were off. It was a square line for a change so we set up closest to the pin just under the Martin 242 who was just to leeward of the big J. The Martin quickly got squirted out the back getting a mouthful of dirt from us and the J29. We had to maneuver around Animal Manor as we tacked our way to the lay line and rounded a fair distance behind behind J. We sat in this position for the remainder of the race slowly losing ground to them on the upwind and quickly closing the distance on the downhill. That J29 is an amazing all around boat. It is like a locomotive that will run anything down in its path. Unless we get conditions with winds above 15 knots that allow us to plane we usual get waterlined with little chance to recover. It is such an unusual race course that we sail on here in Kelowna with unpredictable winds and anything but windward leeward marks. The lack of any passing lanes and such a diverse fleet make for a very interesting dynamic. The latest race results to date are now posted on the website but keep in mind that they do not yet show the 3 throw outs that will be applied for the entire summer season at the end of August. Happy sailing.

M

WIRW 2012 Day 5 Wrap Up

The fleet did end up heading out into Penn Cove on Friday with light rain but steady 5 knot winds out of The West. We managed to get off one final race for PHRF 8 and it was a good one. The boat I had been helming all week had to return to Seattle early so I was invited on another J80, Crazy Ivan. The boat was owned until recently by the infamous Chris White and is immaculate in every way. I got to call tactics and do some coaching and judging by the smiles on the crews faces they must have been quite happy with their 3rd place finish just 10 seconds out of second place. 2012 was a light air event with half of Monday and Tuesday spent under the AP flag but still a blast in every way. I can't wait for next year. See you back on the KYC Wednesday night start line.

M

WIRW 2012 Day 5

Not looking good for day 5 of race week this year. We have 4 1/2 hours to go before the first gun and have had steady heavy rain and thunder showers for a while now. I hope things start to clear off quickly.

WIRW 2012 Day 5

Not looking good for day 5 of race week this year. We have 4 1/2 hours to go before the first gun and have had steady heavy rain and thunder showers for a while now. I hope things start to clear off quickly.

WIRW 2012 Day 4

Today was an exceptional day of racing in Penn Cove. We had steady West wind at about 8 knots for most of the day. The RC got off two races for most fleets. We raced that J80 as hard as it could race under these conditions and turned in two solid performances. We managed to beat the shiny new J70 across the line the first race and on corrected time for race two. So much for it being a light air rocket. It was another great day for Okanagan sailors with Alan Barnes on board Octopussy taking home double bullets in the PHRF sport boat fleet with Aaron L in second place. Just one more full day of sailing before heading back to our local race course. I sure miss the heat.
M

WIRW Day 4

Looks like a sunny start and a little more breeze up here in Oak Harbor. Let's hope it holds.

Big Winners Today

First place phrf sport boat fleet for today. Aaron Jim Steve and Jeff. Congratulations.

WIRW 2012 Day 2

We finally had a full day of racing out here in Penn Cove with steady winds out of the West at about 5 knots all day. We had a crap first race and a stelar second race. Aaron L on SLUT finally got his dream of winning a race besting the sister ship Octopussy by a considerable margin. The startline is giving me the most headache of the race course. It is an entirely different strategy when the current
is pulling you accross the line even when you are sailing away from it. Tomorrow will be the day we finally nail the start. Good luck to everyone at home on race night tonight.

M

WIRW 2012 Day 2

Another light air day on the race course out here in Penn Cove today with winds constantly doing 360 degree turns and about 5 knots of breeze. They only seem to be able to run races with a Westerly wind and constant pressure. They tried to start a fleet of T Birds with a Easterly breeze but that resulted in 3 general recalls. The current flows about 2 knots out of the East and with this light wind they were not even able to fetch the startline. We did have a good race once things got rolling. There was a heavy pin end favoured line with many boats trying a pin end port tack approach. I took the mind set of clear air is king and started mid line starboard. We sailed above the whole fleet and flipped over to port taking advantage of the huge current generated lift up to the windward mark layline. We rounded 4th just behind SLUT skippered by Aaron L and quickly managed to roll on top of them. We had an excellent downwind managing to out sail most of the fleet. We were hot on the heels of Octopussy helmed by Alan Barnes as the number 2 boat heading for the leeward mark but got screwed over by a j105 which set us back several boats. We finished strong but surely played the what if game afterwards. Octopussy took the race with a well deserved bullet.

M

WIRW day 1 recap

It was light air for much of the day today with breeze in Pen Cove out of the North. Racing was postponed until about 2 pm waiting for the wind to fill in. It sure feels strange to be postponed in breeze that we would normally race all day in at home. The Rockets did well today in the light air and managed to stay out in front of us most of the way around the race course. In our J80 OD grouping we got a first in race one and even after sailing through a large weed field got a second place finish after a great gybing dual with Crazy Ivan in race two. Now about that rum.

M

WIRW 2012 Day 1

Here we are at the start of another race week down in Whidbey Island. A pretty thin representation of Okanagan sailors this year with only the two rocket 22's and our J80 Skye Rocket hosting our local sailors. It's my privilege to be able to helm the J80 as well as call tactics and trim main so I think I will stay quite busy for the week. We have a good crew but only three of us so the light air that is forecast for today is not all bad news. The owner of our boat is from Oak Harbor so a little insider knowledge of the race course also should not hurt. Looking out the window right now I see low cloud, no wind, and about 10 degrees. Several cool new boats down here this year including the 1 week old J70. I must admit that I look at the ease of with which she is trailered with great envy. Well off to breakfast and I will give a brief recap of the days events before I get lost in the fog that is the end of day rum tent.

M

C3, 2012

We were graced with another almost picture perfect evening for a sailboat race tonight.  Although the very hot temperature we had of about 35 degrees usually gives us dead calm conditions, tonight it came with a steady 5-8 knot breeze out of the North.  The course was SCABAF and with better pressure on the shore the comittee boat was another popular spot on the line.  We had a good start closer to the right side just under J and the C+C 30 and flipped over to port as soon as we could to head for the beach near the Grand.  Flipping back over to starboard we got tacked on by J and sailed neck and neck for a long way up the first beat.  We hit the C mark 3rd just behind GR and J.  We threw in a quick gybe set and back to the better pressure on the Eastern shore.  Most of the fleet elected to sail a more DDW course and we manage to squeeze in front of everyone else until our paths crossed about 4 minutes from the leward A mark rounding.  We got killed with all the dirt coming of the fleet and once again dropped to 3rd for the rounding.  Things improved for us on the beat to B mark when GR was forced into a very expensive 3 boat duck with us leading the charge.  We did another solid gybe set at B mark and pulled into the 2 position behind J.  We were making good gains on J but just couldn't cross them and rounded A mark right on their transom.  Although we were only feet away from them on the rounding we knew this would be a huge problem for us.  There were no passing lanes on the last beat to the finish so we tried the only thing we could and footed off to get a lane and hope for a left shift on the beat.  Unfortunatly it never came and we crossed less than a minute after J.  We were quite happy with a second tonight and continue to make gains in our crew work and tactics.  I will be heading down to Whidbey Island Race Week sailing on another J80 Skye Rocket and will miss next Wednesday's reagatta as well as the Giants Head Regatta in Summerland so if anyone was pictures or a recap they would like posted email them to me so we can all stay informed.

m

C2, 2012

Tonight was definitely an exercise in frustration for our boat from start to finish.  Weather wise we could not have asked for better conditions with a beautiful 8 knots of breeze out of the North.  There must have been a problem with the usual RC boat as they were no where to be seen at the normal start time.  Just as we were  getting ready to find a way to start ourselves the RC came rolling in on the backup sailboat version on the committee boat.  They anchored up to something on the line and we took our sites and marked the start line.  What the fleet didn't know was that the RC boat must have let out about 100 feet of rode and would drift considerably South prior to the gun.  Everyone lined up fighting aggressively for the boat end of the line and a general recall was sounded putting us in the back of the start sequence.  It was painful to see all that beautiful breeze going to waste as we sail back and forth waiting for another start.  Start number two was almost a carbon copy of the first and was the only time I have ever seen a second general recall at the KYC.  The third start was played a little more conservatively with fewer boats crowding the committee boat end and most opting for a midline start.  We were right on the line but in a bad spot being squeezed between two boat on either side of us.  Fortunately we had room to tack over to the shore and did so, finding much better pressure in the process.  At on time we were sailing a much further route towards the upwind D mark but because of the pressure we managed to sail around most of the fleet.  There were quite a few big shifts tonight and the advantage was obvious to always try to be on the lifted tack heading for the shoreline pressure whenever possible.  The rest of the course took us back to ACAF.  We manage to settle into third place slowly reeling in GR and J on the downwinds but due to some let's say, unremarkable corners, we could not continue building on those gains on the uphill.  We crossed the line 3rd with a considerable lead over the next boat and will just have to hope that the corrected time does not push us further back in the rankings.

C1, 2012

Another beautiful wind filled night for a yacht race.  We had a full crew of 5 on board tonight with Aaron (the beard) helming, Tracy on trim, Belazs in the pit and David on bow.  By the time the starting gun sounded the breeze had filled in to a steady 15 knots right out of the South.  We fought hard for the pin but manage to let Pentameter and J29 wedge in just to windward of us.  Fortunately Pentameter was taking quite a bit of dirt from J and got spit out the back.  We held our own only having to throw in one tack on the first beat to "A" mark and rounded just behind J.  We have done quite a bit of work trying to master the gybe set on the sprit boat and it is finally starting to pay off.  We gybed and did a quick hoist and managed to stay right of the transom of J all the way down to "D" mark.  Not much changed on our beat back to "A" mark but things did get somewhat interesting on the final run back to "C".  We were overtaking J on port tack to windward and they gave us some hard luffs which caused us to broach.  Once we got back on our feet we had to fight for our rights to room to pass starboard tack boats to windward of J but to leward of the upwind starboard tackers.  We had a solid douse at "C" mark and rounded about 1 boat length ahead of J.  We manage to hold them off all the way to the finish line but they did manage to finish inside of 1 boat length behind us, very close indeed.  It was a great night for a sailboat race and I think the fleet is sailing very well indeed.

m

B4, 2012

Tonight was the final race for B series already, and marked the first day of summer, as well as the first night warm enough for sailing in shorts and a T shirt.  We had probably the best conditions for sailing so far this year with a steady 5-8 knots out the North and very little variation in wind speed or direction.  The course was originally posted as SDAXAF but was changed in less than a minute to SDABAF.  Unfortunately quite a few boats did not see this change and found themselves sailing the wrong direction after the first A mark rounding.  We arrived at the A mark third behind the usual two boats and sure thought it was a strange tactic for both GR and J to continue up the Eastern shore when the next mark was B just below the Bluff.  We were not quite sure what they were up to as we have seen before many crazy local knowledge tactics pay off.  We had a good short handed race managing to cross the finish line first followed by a three pack of boats including Smart Move, Pentameter, and Animal Manor.  A warm welcome to a new boat "Morning Glory" in fleet 3.  They had a solid race turning in a fast second place just behind Chaos.

B3, 2012

It looks like our lucky streak of big Wednesday night winds is finally broken.  Instead of the 15 to 20 knot winds that we had all grown accustomed to, we were given a SW to NW 2-5 knots.  The course for tonight was SCXCA.  Due to the wind angle everyone set up for a port tack approach to the start line.  We had clear air for the most part and a mid line position.  Ghost Rider and TBD quickly broke out ahead and rounded the C mark first.  Almost everyone threw in a quick jibe set and went for the kite hoist.  We did the same but found there to be not quite enough pressure to fill our 700 square feet of kite therefore could not sail the angle we would have liked.  We did try to stay close to the Eastern shore as much as possible because we have learned from experience that the middle is usually certain death in these conditions.  The Martin 242 had a great race crossing the line 4th just behind us.  Ghost Rider followed by J lead the fleet across for line honors.  Welcome back to the Martin 244 crew, glad to see you back on the water.

m

More Fleet Building

Anyone looking for a new sport boat for the Okanagan might want to consider this very rare opportunity.  The sister ship to Ghost Rider just came up for sale on Sailing Anarchy.  She is hull number 6 and they are asking $19,500 usd.  It sure would be cool to see another of these on the lake.

m