F1, 2012

Oh what a day it was indeed!  What started off today as a light Southerly build to a truly adventurous outing for most racers for the first KYC Fringe series.  The course was to be SAPCPAF and offered little in the way of winds.  We had a very shifty 5 knots out of the South that constantly swung from a boat end to a pin end favored start line.  Most boats stacked up towards the pin end on starboard tack during the final 90 seconds of the sequence.  The winds quickly shifted left with most everyone flipping over to port within the first minute of the race.  We were able to hold a port tack all the way to the windward A mark and tack onto starboard for the offset mark.  Now this was something new to our race course for this season and I really liked it today.  We have a proper offset mark, which admittedly was a little too long, however it was much easier to prep for the spinnaker hoist not beating upwind but rather on a reach to the offset.  If there was any part of today's race that left us wanted more it was the hole we managed to get caught in for about 15 minutes on the initial run.  We tried to stick closer to the yacht club but had to endure watching most of the fleet closer to the middle of the lake sail on and leave us in their dust.  The breeze finally filled in with a vengeance just as we sailed by Sutherland Bay.  I estimate we saw a steady 20 knots with gust to 30 for most of the race.  We managed to narrow the gap between us and the race leaders even passing 2 of the 4 lead boats.  J and a freshly minted Ghost Rider held on to their leads but we must have been getting pretty big in their rear view mirrors as the race stretched on.  If I had to pick a favorite moment it was the  run from C back to the pump house which we did under spinnaker and jib at a sustained 10-12 knots of boat speed.  What a rush it is when the nose comes up and Litonya's bow comes out of the water.  Despite the slim number of boats represented on the score card, there was actually a strong turn out today, however many dropped out of the race due to high winds or possibly have not paid their registration dues yet.  A strong showing by J with Danny F at the helm and it was great to see the Ghost back in the water after a 9 month vacation on the hard.  I had the cameras rolling today which should make for some great footage, check it out tomorrow on www.oksailing.com

m

Oh The Pain

It was wonderful to get back out on the water today for our only tune up session of 2012.  Unfortunately today offered little in the wind department with peak recorded wind gust reaching a blistering 3.5 knots.  It was a quick course from SCA and it took everyone well over an hour to complete.  I think the fastest average boat speed worked out to about 1.4 knots.  Not a record setting day however still a great day to be out on the water.

m

Back where she belongs

To say that I am a little excited would surely be the understatement of the year.  This Friday we relaunched Litonya after a long winter of hibernation.  She is once again in fighting form and we look forward to a good tune-up session on the water this Sunday before racing officially kicks off next week.  We hope that Peter's new spring Fringe series proves a big hit and attracts a few new boats to our race course.  Here's to plenty of sunshine and fair winds.

Noth Sails Talk

Yesterday was the official kick off to the 2012 KYC racing season with a very informative talk by Steve Crow of North Sails.  There was an eager crowd of local racers all excited to hear the latest in new sail technology as well as an in depth rules refresher.  By now most of us have had a chance to hear about some of the changes the RC has made to the 2012 racing schedule and I must say they have me quite looking forward to the upcoming season.  I think the idea of getting a larger turn out of boats from other clubs for the spring and fall fringe series is a solid one and look forward to racing against many new competitors starting in a couple more weeks.  If you are a member of another club and wish to compete please read the following memo and contact the KYC office for more information.  See you soon.

Marc

To All Racing Fleet Sailors:
Welcome to another racing season.
It starts this Saturday, March 10. Steve Crow of North Sails from Vancouver will be at KYC at 10:00am to talk to us about sail trim and racing rule issues. We would like to concentrate on examples that you might have been involved in during the last couple of seasons. Bring your examples with you in the form of a concise paragraph.
In the afternoon, 2:00 to 4:00, weather permitting, we will go out on the docks to review rig setup. If your boat is in the water, we could review your setup. Also during this timeframe, Tom Gunther will be on hand to measure any new sails, the information you need to apply for your PHRF registration. Registration packages will also be available from Barbara Coughlin at this time.
The 2012 racing calendar has a new look. There are still the same number of races but they have been grouped in a new way. Historically, Wednesday night races draw considerably more boats than the Sunday races. In recognition of that fact, the overall awards will be based on the Wednesday night races only. There will be 17 races in four series with only one throw-out per series. The main objective is to increase the number of boats challenging for the overall title. Two new fringe series, one in the spring, the other in the fall, will now take place on Sundays. We have invited participation from the other Okanagan yacht clubs for these series, as their racing season traditionally doesn’t start until later. Registration for these fringe series will include moorage for out-of-towners for the duration of the series. The goal is to increase the participation for our own races. As in past years, participation by visitors in the hot rum series as well as the Caesar’s long distance race will require a separate registration and fee because of the incentive – rum!
All of this information is available in your Hornblower but we thought you might need to be shocked into the realization how close we are to the starting horn.
See you on the water.
For more information, contact Peter Wingfield at 250 – 808 – 4341 Or pmw750(at)gmail.com.

A brand new sailing season begins

I trust everyone has been enjoying one of the more mild winters that the Okanagan has experienced in recent years.  Even the skiers should be happy with the ample snow coating our local hills.  It may seem far off at this time but our 2012 sailing season is literally right around the corner.  With the change of leadership within the race committee being handed over to Peter W comes some changes to our tried and true racing schedule.  Notably the spring and fall Sunday series have been renamed the Fringe series and will not be scored towards the overall for 2012.  With that also comes a change in the discards available for each month.  As it now stands we will be scoring the best 14 out of 17 races so your attendance is mandatory if you and your crew hope to secure a spot on the podium for this year.  The first of only 2 tuneups starts March 18th with the first race of Fringe 1 starting April 1st.  All Sunday races will have a 12 noon start time with Wednesday nights sticking to 6:15pm.  The full schedule will be posted on www.oksailing.com.  See you on the water soon.


Marc

HR4, 2011

For the final race of the 2011 hot rum series conditions could not have been better. Under sunny skies and Southerly winds of 10 knot the RC gave us a nice long varied course to race and lots of time to do it. They posted course SAPTXCAF and signaled the start of racing right on time. The start line was pretty square with possibly a slight left hand favoured end. Most people elected to approach on starboard near the pin but that quickly got congested leaving many in the back row eating dirt. We approached on port and tacked into a front row position just before the pin with only Woo Hoo on our left hip to windward of us. It was a much better angle to the windward mark on port tack with everyone flipping over as soon as a lane became available. We managed to keep our nose out in front for most of the beat and only Decision and Pinstripe beat us to the A mark rounding. We pulled off a respectable bear away set and had a great angle on starboard for the long run down to the pump house. It was a neck and neck drag race all the way down with Decision to port and the J29 (here by know as the untouchables) clear ahead. We watched the depth finder very closely on this leg and stayed as close to the shelf as we dared. We must have had less than 2 feet of clearance as Decision quickly found bottom to our port and spun around in a gracefully manner with spinnaker flailing in the wind. Seconds later Woo Hoo just behind us also hit the beach, although it must have been their lucky day as their progress was slowed but not stopped, and they plowed right through the soft bottom. Approaching the pump house the winds got really shifty as we doused the kite and had almost a close reach to the mark. Rounding P we followed the J29's lead and re hoisted the kite for the reaching leg up to TC. For most of the remainder of the race we were able to sail cleanly and almost hang in there with the untouchables but as the miles added up so did our distance astern. Some good gains were made by the likes of Pentameter and Woo Hoo who successfully picked the right shore and took advantage of whatever shifts came their way. We crossed the line a couple minutes behind J and scored a 3rd place on corrected time behind Henry H and his all star crew. With only one more Sunday with which to enjoy our sport it is sad to see the season winding down, however thanks to our Okanagan weather at least tune up 1, 2012 is only 4 months away. See you next week.

KYC awards night

Saturday night was the annual KYC awards night and potluck dinner.  It was a packed house with most of the active racing teams well represented.  The food was fantastic and I am quite sure that nobody left hungry.  Many of the usual awards were presented for the top 4 finishes in each fleet as well as many very creative trophies given out for less than stellar performances.  There will be a shuffle of the executive this year with several members moving into new portfolios as well as some new blood taking over key positions.  We are still looking for someone to head up the organization of next years Canaccord Cup.  If you are interested please contact Henry Harlos for more information.  It was a warm and wonderful event on Saturday night which reaffirms to me that it truly is the people that make this sport so enjoyable.  To see all the pictures from Saturday night follow this link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/kycevents/2011KYCAwards