Rick Welch wins Presidents' Cup!  With continued light-to-nonexistent winds on Sunday the 2005 President's cup became a two-race regatta, with one race on Saturday (see below) and a single two-an-a-half-hour race on Sunday.  Rick Welch took first place, combining his first place from Saturday with a third on Sunday.  Bob Astrove took second; Jeff Storck third; and Ben Forman fourth.  Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s made for thirsty conditions, so we enjoyed the tow back to the marina while contemplating thoughts of cold beer.  Here are the results.

Rick Welch wins Leukemia Cup!   Rick Welch and crew took first place in the Lightning division on the upper course Saturday in an event that was reduced to a single race, due to light-to-nonexistent winds.  Ben Forman took second; Jeff Storck took third; and Pat McGee fourth.  A surprising lack of powerboats and a reduced Saturday flight schedule at National Airport made for a calm and relaxing day for the field of 13 Lightnings, 8 Albacores, 6 Cats, 6 Hamptons, 5 Bucs, 5 Flying Scotts,  2 Interlakes and a Capri.  Here are the results.

2005 ILCA Yearbooks are in the Mail!  A posting on the ILCA website says they were put in the mail on Thursday, September 1.  Look for them soon!

ILCA Class Office Outsourcing RFI posted!   The ILCA Executive Board is considering outsourcing the work of the ILCA Class Office, and has issued an RFI.  If you know of any qualified Association Management firms that might be interested in bidding, please send them this URL: http://www.lightningclass.org/membersonly/RFiforClassOfficev5.doc .

Bob Astrove is high bidder on Lightning 12416!   Thanks to the generosity of Sam Zadeh and the auction bidders, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser gained $1,800 from the auction of Lightning 12416.  Bob Astrove was the high bidder and he now has a second Lightning in his stable.  Thanks, everybody, for responding!

Team Shadowfax wins the Duck Challenge August 20 - 21!  Nabeel, Russ, and Lisbet dominated the field on a beautiful weekend for racing at Havre de Grace, taking 4 bullets and 3 second place finishes in 9 races (six on Saturday, three on Sunday).  With breezes 5 to 10 MPH, the field of 17 boats had two great days of sailing at the northern tip of Chesapeake Bay.  Steve Constants, sailing with brother Mike and daughter Chloe took second; Jason Werner, Heather Dodd, and Jose Montiero took third.   Here are the results.

NA Final Results are posted!  The Blue Fleet (Championship Series) winner is Mat Burridge from Fleet 266 (Lake Carlyle, IL); Bill Fastiggi took second ; Jody Swanson third.  Fleet 329's Neal Fowler placed 7th; Greg Fisher 11th; Steve Constants 20th; and Jamie Brickell 34th.

Jason Werner, sailing with Heather Dodd and our own Jose Monteiro won the President's Cup (Green Fleet) class; Pierce Barden placed second; Josh Goldman third.  Team Shadowfax placed 14th; and Team Grey Ghost placed 27th.  Here are the details. Congratulations to all our Dixie District sailors!

Special Olympics 2005.  Frank Gallagher and Joe Warren served as coaches for Special Olympics teams this summer, and traveled to St. Marys on the weekend of July 30/31 for the finals. Here is a report.  Thanks, Joe and Frank for all your good work on Special Olympics!

New Skaneateles Wooden Lightnings from $475!  The only catch is you have to be able to time travel back to 1940.  Thanks to Doug Dixon, you can now make that imaginary time travel trip by downloading this 3 MB  PDF of a 1940 sales brochure.  If you have the disk space and the time and patience, just right-click here (and select "save target as")

Wednesday Night Sailing August 3.  Four boats splashed on Wednesday, August 3, in great sailing conditions.  Winds were better than forecast: 7-10 kts at 6:30 PM.  And, they stayed up in the 5-8 range until nearly 8 pm.   Jeff, Pat McGee, Rick Welch and Keith Hankins went out. Two small marks were used for a start line, and unfortunately they were later taken out by one of the boats. They did at least two windward leeward races--one with spinnakers, one without. 

An interesting connection: Ron Mollicone, Keith's coach at Brown University, is sailing in the N.A's with Dan Rabin, a student at Brown.  Mollicone is an Olympic class sailor; according to Keith he won the Lightning New England District's the FIRST TIME he was in a Lightning.  Watch for him!

Two Fleet 50 Boats go to ACCs, July 30 - 31.  Team Shadowfax and Team Windchaser made the six hour drive to Wrightsville Beach last weekend, and came back with 15th and 24th place finishes in a competitive field of 35.  Here is a story.

Bobby Takes First at Woody Regatta!  Bob Astrove, with his dependable crew of Billy Astrove and Matt Klise, traveled to Syracuse the weekend of July 23 - 24 and smoked the competition with three bullets to take first place in the regatta.  Other competitors included Craig Thayer, who finished second; Byrne O'Brien, third; Martin Osterode fourth; Carl Simmons fifth; Mark Popiel sixth; and John Pattison, seventh.  Carl came all the way from Indianapolis, but John Pattison won recognition for coming the farthest -- all the way from Tucson, Arizona!  Here are the details.

Wednesday Night Sailing July 20.  Four boats splashed on Wednesday, July 20, in great sailing conditions.  Russ Roberts and  Nabeel were out on 14222; Keith Hankins and his father on 12743; Marian Bruno and Gary Roberts on 15117; and Joe Warren and Kristen Lopez on 14037.  Sailing with the Albacores, and with northwesterly winds at about 10 MPH and a windward-leeward course defined by the docks and a mark to the north in the cove, the sailors were able to get in 3 races before dark.  With a scheduled start time of 6:30 PM more sailors were able to come out after work.  What a great evening!  Special thanks are due to Joe Warren who called or emailed all the fleet skippers to encourage their participation.

Wednesday, July 27 was an off day, so the next racing will be on Wednesday, August 3.  Be there!

Hornets Nesting at WSM!  If it's not the rodents it's the insects!  Dave Dalbec reports that he was stung Sunday when lifting his trailer onto his car's hitch.  Be cautious! Here are the details.

Return of the sail-eating rodents!  At least we think they are rodents -- there is always the possibility that they may be crazed alien beings from another planet, but that seems unlikely.  David Thompson reported in April that some creature had entered his boat and chewed a 4" by 2" rectangular hole in his main, when it was left on the boom overnight.  Then Saturday, July 2, Frank noted that two mysterious holes had been chewed in the luff of his older main, sometime during the preceding week.  In his case, the sail was in it's blue bag, stowed in the cockpit.   To protect your sails you may want to bring them home after sailing -- or set some mousetraps in the floor of your boats.

Ariel's Maiden Voyage June 23 --  Jeff Storck drove to Ohio on June 18 to pick up the Fleet's newest Lightning, 15256, and splashed her for the first time on June 23rd.  Here is the story.

Wednesday Night Informal Racing June 22.  Russ was the first to splash, followed by David Thompson, with crew Barb Thompson, Kai Thompson, and Kylie Thompson.  Bobby was there, as were Nabeel,  Rick Welch, and Pat McGee.  Bill Buck had set a triangular course in the cove and was warning us to avoid the shallow water caused by the extremely low tide.  Northwesterly winds at 10 MPH and 80 degree temperatures gave anticipation for a nice evening, when suddenly out of the west came a thunderstorm that crossed the river at Memorial Bridge.  We only got a few sprinkles at the marina, but gusty winds were enough to keep us at the dock (except for one Albacore, which had already departed, and had flipped in the mud flats when hit by a gust).  With that we all decided to abandon racing, and to go check out Jeff's new boat instead.  She is a beauty, that we will see on the water soon.

Dixie District Championships   Saturday and Sunday, June 11 - 12.  
Here are the results. This was the first time ever that Fleet 50 has hosted the Dixie District Championships, and it was a roaring success.  31 boats competed, including 13 from Fleet 50  The weather was outstanding -- highs both day around 85 degrees under sunny skies with southerly winds 12 - 13 on Saturday, and 13 to 16 on Sunday.  Allan Terhune from Pine Beach NJ, sailing with his spouse Katie and  sister Kristen, took first place with 4 bullets and a second.  Neal Fowler, sailing with Todd Johnson and Katie Offerman finished in second place.  Nabeel, sailing with Lisbet and Scott finished fifth.  Two Fleet 50 skippers qualified for the North American championships in August.  Here is more information.

Fleet 50's Kristen Lopez took 300 snapshots on Saturday and Sunday.  You can go to Snapfish to view Kristen's Photo Album (note it may take a few minutes for the album to load after you request to see it)

Pat McGee wins the PRSA Lightning Spring Series and leads the Fleet 50 2005 Championship Series!  Way to go Pat!  Nabeel and Rick Welch are second and third respectively in the Championship series, and third and second respectively in the Spring series.  Here are the Championship Series details.  Here are the day-by-day accounts.

PRSA Spring Series # 9, Sunday, June 5.  This was the last one for the Spring series.  The Accuweather forecast called for southerly winds at 3 - 5 mph, and a high temperature of 86 degrees, and it was - gasp - accurate! Actually, the 4 PM reading was 7 MPH, so we had a nice breeze for the trip home.  The river flow had dropped below average, at 5,500 CFS (gage height 3.4 ft), and had warmed up to 73 degrees. 

RC towed us up to the race area, set up the marks on a relatively short windward-leeward course, and got off 3 races in good order.  Five Iightnings came out, including Rick;  Pat; and Laurie with their usual crews, plus Joe Warren sailing with John Hart and Kristen Lopez; and David Thompson, sailing with new crew candidate Nicole Popovich.  Rick took the day, but Pat was close on his heels.  Here are the preliminary results.

PRSA Spring Regatta  Saturday and Sunday, May 28 - 29.  Saturday's forecast was for southwesterly winds at  5 - 10 kts., which was accurate until about 11:30 AM.  But, by the time the first race started there were higher gusts, and by 12:30 the winds were blowing a steady 22 with gusts to 30.  There were so many boats capsizing after the end of the first race that RC was not able to start a second race, and soon after the skies darkened with threats of thunderstorms, and we all came in.  The weather turned nice again for the cookout however, and the cold beverages sure tasted good.

As of Sunday morning then we had one race under our belt, and a desire to get in up to 5 more.  Winds were forecasted  to be westerly at 10 to 15 kts,, and that turned out to be accurate, although they were up and down, gusty and shifty.  We were able to do four races before it was time to come in, to everybody's enjoyment.  Nabeel, sailing with Scott and Lisbet, took first, and Frank, sailing with Russ Roberts and Bobby Fulton took second.  Here are the results.

PRSA Spring Series # 8,  Sunday, May 22.  The Accuweather forecast  called for  sunny skies, a high of 74 degrees, and north-northwesterly winds 9 - 12 MPH.  On the way up to the race course the actual winds were ESE at 3, and RC delayed the start until most boats got there, either by paddling or via a tow.  Fortunately the winds began to pick up at about the time the first race started, first from the northeast and then from the north northwest, eventually kicking up to 16, with gusts to 20.  RC set a long windward-leeward course to take advantage of the alignment of the wind direction with the river direction, and we raced!  Ten Lightnings came out, including old friends Nelson Pemberton, sailing with son John and neighbor Matt Kopecki, and Red Fehrle, sailing with Jack Macklin and friend Mary Lou.  Today also marked the first PRSA race for Lightning 15117, Shamrock, with skipper Marian Bruno and crew of Gary and Ethan Roberts and Rob Tompkins. Way to go Marian!

Rick, sailing with Kristen Lopez and Jose Montiero, was hard to beat, and sailed away with first place.  Pat McGee, sailing with Craig Huzway and Brendan Walsh, sailed a close second.   John Butler took 3rd.  Here are the  results.

PRSA Spring Series # 7,  Sunday, May 15. The AccuWeather forecast  called for westerly winds 8 - 11 MPH and a high temperature of 77 degrees, with  afternoon thunderstorms likely.  The river flow was below average, at 7,100CFS (gage height 3.6 ft), and the water had warmed up, to 68 degrees F.  Low tide was at 8:05 AM and high tide at 1:49 PM, so the tide was with us both on the way up to the race course and back home again.

The thunderstorms never materialized, and the wind swung around, from northwesterly for the first race to westerly for the second race and southwesterly for the third race.  Just before the first race started the wind picked up to about 15, but for the rest of the day it was lighter than that, and for a period of time in the second race it was close to 0 for about 15 minutes.  PRO John Butler and his Lightning-populated Race Committee did an excellent job of keeping up with the wind changes, and in keeping the thunderstorms away.  Bobby, Billy, and Matt took a first, a second, and a third to tie for first place for the day.  Here are the results.

PRSA Spring Series # 6,  Sunday, May 8.  Now that was a windy day! All week the weather forecast was for sunny skies and northwesterly 10 - 15 MPH winds,  giving hope that we would all have an opportunity for some great spinnaker runs and exciting competition.  As it turned out the forecast changed on Saturday, and on Sunday it came true -- 20 MPH winds with higher gusts (over 30 in some instances).  Eleven Lightnings rigged; seven made it to the race course, and only six actually raced.  Those that did had a most exciting day -- and nobody set spinnakers.  With winds these strong it didn't take long to get in 3 races, and boats were back at the dock by 2 PM.  Here are the results.

Dick Hallagan wins 2005 Doc Gilbert Memorial Potomac Cup Regatta!  Pierce Barden takes second place; Steve Constants third; Jamie Brickell fourth.  Pat McGee took fifth, and is the top Fleet 50 finisher. Mark Grinder from Buffalo won the trophy that recognizes the skipper who came the farthest; Phil Lange and Dan Pope from Rochester won the "middle of the Fleet" trophy.  Here are the Lightning results.  Charles McCoy from Norfolk was the Hampton winner, with Tom Ballantine second and Bill Carnell third.  Here are the Hampton Results.   

Although potentially severe thunderstorms were predicted for Saturday, they never materialized, and we had great sailing in 8 - 12 MPH southeasterly breezes under overcast skies.  On Sunday it was even better, sunny with good, if gusty 15 - 20 MPH winds from the northwest.  Jeff Storck headed a race committee of highly skilled PRSA skippers, including Frank Gallagher, Bobby Astrove, Red Fehrle,  Rob Tompkins, Cathy Bleakly,  Latane Montague and Bill Kleysteuber,  who showed us how a regatta should be run.  30 Lightnings and 6 Hamptons were registered for the event.

Tuesday Night Sailing April 26.  Nabeel, Pat and Lisbet took on the big boats last Tuesday night -- and won!  Here is their story.

PRSA Spring Series # 4,  Sunday, April 24.  Well today we finally got some wind.  Not at first, mind you, but eventually it came, a chill westerly wind dampened with light rain, but wind nevertheless.  The AccuWeather forecast  called for westerly to southwesterly winds at 17 - 22 MPH, mostly cloudy skies, the possibility of showers, and a high of 54 degrees.  On the way up to the race course the winds were good, but not anywhere close to 17MPH, and as we got to the 11:30 warning gun they promptly died, making us think of last Sunday -- deja vu all over again.  RC posted a delay flag, but around noon lifted it and started the series, with only 8 Lightnings and a handful of Albacores competing.  The course was set up for westerly winds, but for the first start the winds were from the northeast, so we used the leeward mark as our weather mark and the weather mark for our leeward mark, on a 3-times-around windward-leeward course.  It seemed like it took forever to round the first weather mark, but after that the westerly winds kicked in, averaging around 15 MPH but with higher gusts, and we were racing!  The gusty winds continued for the remainder of the afternoon, and by the end of the day we were exhausted!  Here are the results.

PRSA Spring Series # 3,  Sunday, April 17.  A mostly sunny and pleasant day, with a high of 72 degrees, but with strange light winds that came from multiple directions all afternoon.  The river flow had returned to normal levels, at 12,400 CFS (gage height 4.2 feet).  The tides were in our favor, incoming  during the races, and outgoing on the trip home.  RC set up the course for the first race as two windward-leeward loops on an east-west line, but had to shorten it in order to  finish the race in time.  The weather mark and leeward mark exchanged roles multiple times during the race, causing frustration for all would-be spinnaker flyers.  RC set a short windward-leeward course on a north-south axis for the second race, and, after three attempts, finally got us through a start sequence.  That race ended just before 3 PM, and that was it for the day.  Here are the results.  

PRSA Spring Series # 2,  Sunday, April 10.  We sailed the lower course because the winds were light, and it was all we could do to get in two races before towing in the competitors at the end of an otherwise beautiful day.  Ten Lightnings completed the two races, set up on a windward-leeward course with the leeward mark placed near the channel marker in front of the Alexandria Power Plant, and the windward mark farther out in the river, to the southeast for the first race and to the east for the second.  A strong current made it a challenge to round the marks and clear the finish line.  Here are the results.  Here is the winner's perspective.

PRSA Spring Series # 1, Sunday, April 3.   Sunday morning's Accuweather forecast  called for windy conditions with clouds breaking, and a high of 51 degrees.  Westerly winds at 22 - 28  MPH, with higher gusts, were forecasted. The forecast was accurate, except for the part about the clouds breaking up. The US National Weather Service had issued a high wind warning, predicting gusts up to 50 MPH.  The river flow was 83,000 CFS (gage height 8.2 feet), due to heavy rains earlier in the week, but was not as high as Thursday's 116,000 CFS.  Did anyone brave the elements to go out?  No way!

PRSA Spring Frostbite Regatta Saturday, March 26.  Temperatures in the high 40s did not deter a whole fleet of Laser sailors from hitting the water; nor did it stop Rick Welch, Pat McGee, and Bobby Astrove and their crews from splashing their Lightnings.  In the meantime, David Thompson and Joe Kimak removed the winter covers from 15228 and raised the mast, and new skipper Marian Bruno with crew Gary Roberts set up their new boat, 15117, Shamrock, and John Butler removed his Laser from his slip to make room for his Lightning.  And, Russ Roberts came by for a visit, while Craig Huzway  worked on the engine of the Bayliner.  Also, in the meantime the WSM's traditional sock burning was in progress, with many skippers and crew, following an old mariner's tradition, burning their socks (and possibly their hot dogs).   Can warmer weather be close at hand?  Stay tuned!

All-Fleet meeting,  March 22, to plan the Potomac Cup and District Championships Regattas.  15 Fleet 50 Skippers and crew came to Nabeel's house at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, March 22, to help plan the upcoming regattas.  Here are the minutes.

PRSA Now Has On-the-water Scoring Capability!  Drew Hudson donated a laptop computer to PRSA which now gives us on-the-water scoring capability.  Last weekend, PRSA and the Interlake Fleet hosted the Interlake Midwinter Championships, and we were able to score the races while we were still out on the water.  The results were ready when the RC boat docked -- a far cry from the delays of the past.  Thanks, Drew!

PRSA Plans to Acquire New Race Committee Powerboats! Thankfully the PRSA Board has addressed the need to replace the RC Powerboats, and we have an opportunity to help.  Here are the details.

PRSA Elects New Officers, as reported by the Commodore.  Here are the details.

Annual Awards Banquet, Saturday, Feb 5 at the Sangam Restaurant, 1211 N. Glebe Rd, just of I-66, near Ballston, in Arlington, next to the Comfort Inn.  Here are the winners of the 2004 season awards.

Skippers Meeting, Wednesday, Feb 2  for the Fleet 50 Planning Meeting for the 2005 season.  It was held at the Afterdeck Cafe at the Potowmack Landing Restaurant,  where we planned how to handle 2005 PRSA Race Committee duties; running the Potomac Cup (April 30/May 1);  and the District Championships that we will be hosting June 11 -12.  Here is the report.

PRSA Hangover Regatta Saturday, Jan 1, 11:30 AM - 3:30 PM!    Hangovers were optional.  16 Lasers, 4 Interlakes, and a Sunfish came out on a record-setting warm (69 degrees) New Years Day, in brisk, 10 - 15 MPH northwesterly breezes, to enjoy the annual PRSA Hangover Regatta.  The river flow was up, at 9,500 CFS (gage height 3.9 ft), and the water temperature was a seasonable 38 degrees, making for some exciting races.  PRO Ben Forman (see next story) and assistant David Thompson got off six races between 12:30 and 3:00 on an Olympic course in front of the Alexandria Power Plant.  Maryann Gallagher and Janice Rathjen were on the mark boat. Two Lightnings went cruising while all this was going on.  Results and photos to be posted soon. 

Ben Forman Returns!   Ben Forman, of Swill Dog fame, has completed his graduate studies at MIT and has returned to Washington DC. Welcome back, Ben!  Ben has earned a Masters degree in Urban Planning and hopes to find work in his field soon.  Can another Swill Dog be coming back to the fleet?  Stay tuned!

Final Draft of 2005 Yearbook Report is Available for Your Review!    The final draft of the 2005 ILCA Yearbook report  is available for your review.  If no other editing takes place, this is about how it will look when it is laid out in the 2005 ILCA Yearbook. 

If you liked the first draft better, here it is.