Final Frostbite

[BubbleheadMd]

...was a washout. I have a buddy who says "You can't trim zero". Well, that's exactly what we had- zero knots. Many boats retired, but I tried to stick it out. Eventually, I decided that DNF (last, plus one) wasn't much worse than plain old "last", so I retired.

This was just not how I wanted to end the series.

We went to the bar for beer and a bite to eat, and ended up motoring back on glassy water, at night under a huge, blue moon.

I had much better crew than I deserve as a first-time racer. Lapworth and the rest were reliable, competent, fun shipmates. We never broke anything, no one ever fell overboard.

If anyone on the Chesapeake ever needs help delivering or racing a boat, you won't regret taking Lapworth onboard.

[zz4gta]

First race was a wash, the second they had to shorten but we did finish. We still have a few more left. I'm thinking of going to annapolis to catch the 2nd 1/2 of their season on the 105's.

[BubbleheadMd]

Man, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who struggled. Our race committee committed the cardinal sin: They selected the course based on the forecast, not the actual conditions.

To compound this, they did not shorten the course, did not dispatch a boat, and their VHF radio battery was dead so we couldn't even call in to retire.

There's "laid back" and then there's just "slack".

[imagine2frolic]

We went to the bar for beer and a bite to eat, and ended up motoring back on glassy water, at night under a huge, blue moon.

Sounds like it ended on a good note. A beer, eats, good company, and a huge moon to motor back under . Life is not always the rail down........i2f

[BubbleheadMd]

There's plenty of truth to what you said.

[mpickering]

Those of us in the Lasers had a lot of fun getting out to our course between all the J-boats. "Oh look, what a cute little toy!".

And we did the same thing, found a knot or two in the puffs, shifted the course several times and gave up for beers. Getting home was interesting. Props to the kid who was standing on his Laser pumping his sail like a bellows. He had the fastest speed of anyone out that day. I was pumping my rudder to our ramp.

Even drifting under current and calling it sailing is still a good day on the water. Still trying to figure out how our fleet captain capsized his Laser given most of us were using them as sail equipped lounge chairs.

PS: Whoever in your fleet said I could fend off his boat to get some speed out onto the water cracked me up.

Matt

[BubbleheadMd]

I love watching the dinghies race around us. They're amazing. I'm considering a membership with the West River Sailing Club so that I can access their fleet of Flying Scots.

[zz4gta]

The scots are too big. Look for a laser, sunfish, 420, etc. The scots are great boats, but pretty stable, they don't give you that "tipping over" feeling that the others do.

[CalebD]

You guys down on the Rhode and West Rivers sure have a beautiful spot to sail - even if there is no wind.
I'll probably be back down there in the spring and will try to look you up then.
I had a wonderful sail down there October 22-24th; we cruised to the Choptank and back with the full moon.

[mpickering]

Originally Posted by BubbleheadMd

I love watching the dinghies race around us. They're amazing. I'm considering a membership with the West River Sailing Club so that I can access their fleet of Flying Scots.

I'm a keelboat sailor myself and only got into dinghies this year. I can say they are quite a rush. My club has Snipes, Vanguards and 420s as the dominant 2-person classes with Lasers for the singlehanded and the larger dinghies (Lightning) and small keelboats (J/22, J/24, Soling) for the multi-crew setups.

I've been mainly on Snipes and hiking out under sail is an experience you need to have first-hand to appreciate. A foot off the water, held in by your ankles, soaked and grinning the whole way. You can actually see the effects your weight and position have on the boat as you do it. 5-10 knots or surfing feels a lot faster when you're that close to the water. Leaning over or sitting on the windward rail of a keelboat don't quite match up (with the exception of the Soling and Star where you droop-hike).

I like the experience so much I bought a Laser and will continue to crew on any of the 2-3 person dinghies as needed. I'm popular on windy days since my 6'1" height and 200 lbs make for excellent hiking. I've never had my C-27 out in 15-20 knots of wind but I've been on a 15 foot Snipe in 20 knot gusts and four foot rollers at the mouth of the Severn surfing downwind towards the Naval Academy or beating upwind and throwing myself further overboard as the boat heels hard in a gust.

On a Laser, it's all you. I like that individual aspect of setting up the boat the way I like it. You learn a lot just being on it. I just love that back-on-the-water rush you get. On the small 2 person boats you get the conversation along with the rush.

A Star keelboat is next. I want the same rush as a Snipe or Laser with a keel. Droop hiking looks like a blast. I'd take a Soling but Stars are more familiar as a Snipe sailor and they tend to race them as match racers. Plus, there's something about a 22 foot keelboat that displaces just under 1700 pounds but carries as much sail area as my 27 foot Catalina which displaces almost 5 times as much. Plus, no spinnaker and one fewer crewman. The fact it is beautiful is a bonus. There is no mistaking a Star for a pleasure daysailer.

Seriously BubbleheadMD, if you live in the Edgewater/Annapolis area, wait until the Tuesday night racing starts back up in March at the Severn Sailing Association. I'm a new member there but if you want to get a ride on something, I can contact the appropriate fleet captains. The Snipes are a blast and I think I have loaner privileges for 2011 so I can get you out on one of those or get you a ride on someone elses boat. On the Laser side, you can take my tired old POS for a ride and I'll hitch a ride on a 2-man or go out on the committee boat. If you're looking to crew, you'll almost always be able to get a ride. Wait long enough and I'll be looking for a helmsman or crewman for my future Star.

Matt