July 6 Racing

Good Morning Soling Sailors
Given Thursday’s forecast, which does not sound promising, I have reconsidered the discussion regarding racing this Tuesday (tomorrow).  For those interested in racing, I will be at the beach at our usual time.
Sorry for the late notice due to the fact that I have had a houseful the last few days
Bill Raposa
Fleet Captain

DF Series #8

Mid tide and very light air prevailed for today as the rainy forecast threatened but did not materialize until late in the afternoon.
Seven boats appeared despite the questionable forecast. Paul set an abbreviated course originally intended to go WNW from the beach, and it worked well for the first race.  By the second race, some modest air began to fill in from our usual SW, and we switched the windward mark to our permanent Red/Green pair near the wall. Twice around, downwind finish. In total, 7 races were completed before the breeze disappeared around 1:30.
First place finishes we’re shared by Rob, Paul and Rich. Kim spent most of the day in the middle of the fleet. Dick and Jim sailed a few races. Our new member, Al Meyer, continued to work of tuning and showed consistent improvement.
Final order of finish had Rob in first place by two points over Paul. Rich finished the day in third with Kim in 4th place.
We discussed setting a date for Match Racing in late July/early August. 
Next Thursday DF Racing continues at the beach when we expect to see some of our late arrivals returning.

Rob

Rob

Soling Series #8

A scheduled day for Solings; but, a low turnout meant no scored racing. Only 4 skippers arrived at the cove, so they practiced with chasing the rabbit type racing.
Is the Soling class withering away? Open ended question, but needs to be dealt with.

DF95 Series #7

A small fleet of DF95’s came to the cove to race today. Gorgeous sunny day with winds that switched back and forth from SE to SW. Tricky sailing, but our Fleet Captain Jim Pascalides set some unique courses in an attempt to find honest upwind racing somewhere. Nine races with 6 boats had 4 different winners. Paul Mercer had 4 wins, Rich Fields and Bill David had 2 wins each, and Henry DiPietro had one win. Final score showed Paul as the overall winner. Thanks to Jim P for a well run race day, and thanks to Manny for scoring.
Paul’s wife was there to take photos……so thanks Laura. All of those photos will eventually be placed in the Photos Section of this website.

Soling Series #7

Soling 1 Meters at the cove today. Six skippers arrived to sail in gorgeous conditions in an ebbing tide with winds SW at about 5-7 kts. Bill Raposa, as fleet captain, set the usual course of upwind to the red buoy taken by port rounding, past the green offset mark, downwind to the leeward red mark, taken to port and then back to the start/finish line. First 5 races were once around, and the final two were twice around.
Bill David was “dialed in” with his boat and his sailing skills. He won all races except one. His throw out race was a second place. The other 5 skippers were clearly outmatched today; but, the skippers trailed Bill in this order………Paul, Kim, Dan, Bill R, and Pat. See the race scoring below.

DF95 Clinic Notes

Notes based on Thursday’s mini clinic session has prompted me to share some tips based on observations.

  1. Rob would rather not be training for a collegiate rowing regatta so please program your radio and activate the FAILSAFE feature. When the RECEIVER loses transmitter signal the sails will go out and rudder will go hard to starboard or port and your boat will circle as opposed to sailing away. This will not work if you forget to put the boat switch ON! The FlySky links for this are below.
  2. Write your cell phone number on your cockpit cover in the hope that it may be returned in case of an irretrievable runaway.
  3. Always use a freshly charged battery in the boat and never let you radio batteries go below 4.9.
  4. If your jib luff is wobbly tension your backstay.
  5. Your rudder is ineffective without water flow so get forward motion first and don’t trim sails completely to “close hauled” until then to prevent another stall.
  6. Use CorrosionX on all metal contact surfaces every month.
  7. Rinse your boat with fresh water shortly after use and leave your cockpit hatch off when boat is stored.
  8. Always use a neck lanyard for your Radio as they are not waterproof.
  9. In big breeze, better to over stand the lay slightly line then be short.
  10. Useful FlySky links: 

FlySky SetupFail safe and more 

Trim and subtrim
https://youtu.be/qGUXybRHcDw

5 functions
https://youtu.be/lxE4K7ghST0

Failsafe
https://youtu.be/4DGZOaQOzJU

Binding to multiple receivers
https://youtu.be/WXJjeN_WgLs

Flysky FS-i6 best Beginners radio
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKgV3LhAwVo

Cheers 
Jim P

DF95 Series #5

Pleasant weather with a stiff NE wind and the prospect of Rob’s and Jim’s training session brought 14 members to the cove this morning.  12 members were racing including new member Henry DiPietro who has raced with us before as a guest.  Al Meyer was there also for practice and Manny kept score. Many thanks, Manny. We were delighted to welcome a special guest, Don Ouimette, AMYA Region 1 Director to our group. Pat Donovan and Bill Raposa also visited for a while.The morning started with Jim Pascalides showing us how to get out of irons. This was very useful with weather conditions like we had today with the wind varying in strength and direction and the choppy waves. Jim then had us circling the marks of the starting line and stopping our boats on his whistle. Rob then showed us how to select the best direction from the start and then we just practiced half a dozen starts.  Then on to the racing. We had eight races today and our guest, Don, won the first race….and the second and went on to win two more and that was enough to make him the overall winner today. Paul with two second places and two thirds put him second and Rob with two wins and two seconds was third this morning. The other race winners were Jim P and Rich who were fifth and sixth respectively. Ahead of them in fourth place was Wilkie…..a triumphant return!  Well done to all.  As always a lot of fun with a good bunch of competitors.
The full results are on our website mhbmyc.org

The next DF95 race day is on Thursday, June 17th at 11.00 when the tide will be coming in with a high at 2.10 pm.
But before that, on next Tuesday, June 15th it will be the Soling fleet starting at 11.00 when the tide will be coming in with a high at 12.30.I’m leaving for London this weekend and I’ll be back for racing on July 20th.Have lots of fun,Derek

Distinguished Visitor

Today, we will have a visitor at the cove. Don Ouimette is our Region 1 Director of AMYA. Don is also the current Commodore of Housatonic MYC in Middlebury, CT. Come and meet Don at our DF95 racing today! 🤗

Soling Series #5

It was hotter today than it has been, but with a cooling breeze, just right for racing. However, only 6 racers were tempted to go down to the cove as well as Manny who kept score. Thanks, Manny. We had six races around our “normal” course with a southerly wind. Paul won the first race but that was it, as Bill David won the other five guaranteeing first place overall.  Paul with two seconds and one third was second.  Kim and Bill Raposa had identical points, but Kim’s two second places versus Bill’s one second place meant that the third spot went to Kim. Dick Mahoney had some rudder problems and was fifth.  I was last. Paul has posted the results on our website mhbmyc.orgOnly three boats finished the final race as Bill R lost control of his jib, Paul lost battery power and so did I (water taken on again). Jim Kelly paid us a call at the end of proceedings. Hi Jim.There was some close racing today and, as always, an enjoyable time.
I’m off to London for 5 weeks leaving this weekend. Manny has kindly volunteered to keep score and bring the starter to the beach. He will also make sure that Paul Mercer is given the weekly scores so that the results can be posted on our website mhbmyc.org
Many thanks to Manny and Paul.
The next racing for Solings is Tuesday, June 15th at 11.00 when the tide will be coming in with a high at 12.30But next Thursday is the turn of DF95s at 11.00 on Thursday, June 10th. Low tide at 1.46 pmWe will start with Jim P and Rob and starting line rules. Not to be missed!
Stay well, safe, and have fun,Derek