Laser District 8 News

Revised July 07, 2009

Race Report from Mike - The 2009 East End Laser Series blasted off on the 4^th of July with a bang! 18 sailors pushed off the beach in a steady 18 knot westerly. The race committee did a terrific job to get off 6 races while gathering up the pieces of broken gear and broken racers. Congratulations to all the sailors. Ted Cremer was the 1^st over-all and 1^st Master (45+). Doug Mercer was the 1^st Radial and 1^st Great Grand Master (65+). Brett Morgan was the 1^st Apprentice Master (35+) and Lynn Sexton was the 1^st 4.7 and first woman. Bud Rogers and the NBIBCLRA throw a terrific Laser party. Be there!

The EELS is 7 races a day at 7 great venues hosted by 7 friendly clubs on 7 consecutive Saturday afternoons on the East End of Long Island.

The second stop on the 2009 EELS is the very beautiful Old Cove Yacht Club in New Suffolk, NY on Saturday, July 11, 2009. They are nice people, have a big Laser fleet and run a terrific regatta.

            1200 Registration

            1300 Skippers Meeting

            1400 Racing

            1700 Racing Ends

Click here for NOR and SI. Please note that parking will be tight. So, park on the grass lot on the right hand-side of Old Harbor Road when approaching the club and walk your dolly down from there.

See you on the water,

Mike Duran

162043

917 251 8873

The Liberty Laser Regatta scheduled for July 18 (not a District 8 event) has been cancelled. It may be rescheduled at a later date.

Hi all,   To compliment Lynn and Mike's excellent East End laser series, there are other sailing options for folks that can not make the trip out east. I encourage all to make as many of Mike's regattas as possible as it is a great group of folks and the venues are awesome. If you want big fleet practice, this is the series to support.   For Notice of Race, go to http://laserd8.tripod.com/eenor.pdf     Upcoming Great South Bay Yacht Racing Association dates to consider.   -Babylon YC (July 4th and 5th):   http://www.gsbyra.org/archives/2009/2009-Babylon-July4-NOR.pdf -Narrasketuck YC DRI Fundraiser (July 10th):   http://www.gsbyra.org/archives/2009/2009-July%2010-Narrasketuck-Unqua-DRI-NOR.pdf -Wet Pants SA Annual Regatta, Sayville, NY (July 17): http://www.wetpantssailing.org/  -Great South Bay Race Week (July 24-26): http://www.gsbyra.org/archives/2009/entry-forms/2009-race-week-entry-form.pdf  

August 2009 GSBYRA Schedule

• Aug. 1 - Invitational at Bayberry YC - http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Bayberry.Yacht.Club.631-224-4954
• Aug. 8-9 - 10:30 Invitational at Bay Shore YC -  http://www.bayshoreyachtclub.com/
• Aug. 15 - 16 Leukemia Cup at Sayville YC - Details on D-8 website (See Banner Boxes) http://laserd8.tripod.com/schedule.htm
• Aug. 22-23 - US SAILING Junior Olympics at Sayville YC - Details on D-8 website (See Banner Boxes) http://laserd8.tripod.com/schedule.htm

September 2009 GSBYRA Schedule

• Sept. 5-6 - 10:30 Invitational at Bellport YC - http://www.bellportyc.org/

Babylon, Wet Pants, Bayberry, Bay Shore and Bellport are all "multiclass" regattas and are free! Just bring $$$ to buy lunch.   Hope to see you all on the water!   Ted Cremer
US Laser Class
District 8 Secretary
631-868-3726

Race Report - On June 13th during a gray and breezy southeasterly, five LI Sound Optimist Team radial sailors, and four D-8 full rigs turned out for six good races. The courses were windward leewards and the races were around 30 minutes long. Both Colin Leon and Ryan Schmitz dominated their respective fleets. Most improved radial goes to Colin Kennedy who learned later on in the regatta the benefits of a watertight boat , , , don't worry Colin -  happens to the best of us (right Jim!) LOL.    

  Special thanks to PRO Billy Fitch for doing a great job on the water and for Larry Kennedy for the following great photos of the day!   You are invited to view LARRY's photo album: Sayville Regatta 6/13/09

If you are having problems viewing the above link, copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=klarry123&target=ALBUM&id=5347021902852338353&authkey=Gv1sRgCNjKrbvelcWkTA&feat=email To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

Also sailed was the Great South Bay "Westin Trophy" which ended up being a separate three boat regatta. Sayville Yacht Club's Spencer Olsson ended outsailing his Dad Jim and Bellport Bay's Ward Brooks showing very good upwind speed. Congratulations to Spencer for being the Great South Bay's Single Handed Champion for 2009.  
Ted Cremer
US Laser Class
District 8 Secretary
631-868-3726

Race Report - Here are results from last weekend's District 8 Championship and US Sailing Area B Single-handed Semi-finals for the 2009 US Sailing O'Day finals to be held in Detroit in late July. PRO George Becza did a fine job on Saturday managing the 100 degree right shift that persisted throughout the day. ODU graduate Michael Collins (Sayville YC) sailed a brilliant first day with three firsts, a second and a fourth. Sunday showed much more wind with Cedar Point's Mike Matan only getting faster as the breeze built. He won ALL 4 of Sunday's races. When the scores were broken out separately for the Area B regatta and all races were counted (no drops), Mike Matan and Michael Collins tied for points with Matan winning the tiebreak based on his solid sailing on Sunday.   The Radial fleet once again was dominated by Ryan Schmitz who clearly benefited from practicing at Sayville the weekend before. Ryan was the most consistent sailor of the weekend dropping a 3rd. It was good to see Andrew Cremer out once again in a radial and also watching older brother Christian sailing his first full rig regatta getting a first and three seconds and finishing 4th and finishing as the top junior at the regatta.   Congratulations to Sayville Yacht Club for fielding nine sailors and for hosting a great regatta.  

Photos from last weekend: www.sayvillesailing.shutterfly.com  
Ted Cremer
US Laser Class
District 8 Secretary
631-868-3726

Race Report: Southampton Yacht Club, June 6

7 sailors again, and once again, better weather than forecast. The day started with about 6 knots of breeze, increasing to 8-10 knots by the end of racing. It's usally reliable sailing weather at beautiful Shinnecock Bay. The "sea smoke" (classic south shore advection fog) began rolling in just after the last race. 6 races sailed allowed for a throwout (although, as usual, if you count all the races, it doesn't make a difference in finishing order!)

Your's truly found good wind going to the right side of the course on the downwind legs of the early races, but as the wind built, it became a game of finding pressure and a clear lane. Lots of passing and position changes for every race. The final legs of each race were extremely tactical, as the fleet would split and the leaders had to decide who to cover.

Afterwards, we were all treated to Dr. Jim Hull's fabulous gourmet cookout. Steak, salmon, caesar salad, all the fixin's. Thanks Jim!

Thanks also to RC Kent Rydberg for his "one man band" act - solo RC is never easy!

- Bob

(Eric, I'm not sure if I spelled your last name right, the scoresheet was hard to read. If its wrong, please e-mail me. Thanks!)

click on image for video

(P.S. - Next week is racing at Sayville Yacht Club. It's right by the corner of Blue Point, which causes a venturi effect on the wind making this one of the most reliable sites for good breeze on Long Island. So, Be There!)

Race Report: Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club, May 30

7 sailors were greeted by better weather than forecast -sunny skies with 8-10 knots of breeze, some higher planing gusts, and a flood tide current to add to the mix. More or less rythmic shifts kept the strategy interesting. For the most part, it paid to go left upwind, except for the times it paid to go right! 9 races saw positions changing constantly, and allowed for a throwout. All finishes were downwind, so the leaders of each race were under constant attack.

Close scores - 3 points seperated 1st and 2nd, 1 point between 3rd and 4th, and 1 point between 4th and 5th.

Our host Lindsay provided us with "horrible" donuts and "horrible OJ" - his words not mine!

Collin's Dad Dan Leon did a great job as solo race comittee.

click on image for video

~ Bob

Race Report from RC Eric Johnson:

Survivor Seawanhaka

The Seawanhaka Spring Fling Regatta was held on May 23^rd and the weather services got it wrong. It was supposed to be 8-10 from the ESE veering to the south and dying through the day. It was blowing a pretty good clip from the east at the Club and a discussion was held at the Skippers Meeting as to where the fleet would like to sail and they chose to go out to Long Island Sound so they could sail in some waves. Lindsay then talked everyone into sailing with full rigs…and off they went.

When they got off of Rocky Point, north of Centre Island, the waves were running about 1.5 to 2 feet with occasional 3 footers, but the wind was kicking. . Instead of the forecast, it was ENE 16-20, the light spots were 12 and the max was 22 as measured by the Race Committee. Triangles were the order of the day.

Before Race 1 got started we had the first two boats suffering from fits of sanity and heading back in. Race 1 had Collin Leon launch off the start and lead around the course for his first win of the day.

In Race 2, again Collin took off, he did capsize once, but was back up in time to hold his lead to the win. Two other boats decided that living without back pain would be a good idea and headed in.

For Race 3 we were down to the final four. Collin again sailed around unchallenged, but the other competitors were spending a lot of time swimming. Two more boats voted to go back to the Island.

And then there were two left for Race 4. Rob came in on port for the start and got hammered over in a puff. In a show of Sportsmanship, Collin waited until he was up and started before heading out around the course. By our count, Rob got knocked over 3 more times and then graciously spared the Race Committee from waiting for him to sail the course and took the DNF. Collin sailing across the finish line alone, the sole survivor.

Click on image for video

Race Report First Annual Sebago Regatta

Blake Mariner   1   1   1   1   1   2   1   1  -total points-7
Ted Cremer       2   2   2   2   2   1   4   2  -total points-13
Phil Krug          3   4   3   4   4   3   2   3  -total points-22
Bob Blanco       4   3   4   3   3   4   3   4  -total points-24
Holly Sears       6   5   5   5   5   6   5   5  -total points-36
Tracy Kornrich 5   6   6   6   6   5   6   6  -total points-40
Herre's Blake Marriner's report on the Sebago regatta

I had the pleasure to meet "Team Sebago" (Holly, Tracy and Chris) last year at one of the Dinghy Shop regattas and listened to them describe their club and sailing area. I was really intrigued and made a mental note to make sure to attend if they hosted a Laser regatta there, so when I saw it on the D8 calendar this year, I was psyched. For some reason, visions of a childhood long past watching planes take off and land, the chance to race somewhere new and different (Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn no less!) and help them promote Laser sailing at their club was too good to pass up.

 I'm here to tell you, do not miss sailing here if they host an event again! The location of the club and the racing area are very cool and the members of the club went out of their way to make us feel welcome. The fog made watching jet airliners a non-event, but perhaps that helped me concentrate on the racing, and there was plenty of that thanks to Jim Luton and his RC team. (I will admit to watching the people riding horses on the beach though) Folks, we even had spectators out, cheering us on at the leeward mark, which gave the racing a bit of that NY Marathon feel to it.

We got in 8 races in about 3 hours of sailing, a mix of W/L (multiple laps)  and a couple of T/W/L with nice long reaching legs. The conditions were really fun, a mix of everything - flat water, waves, current changes and breeze from about 8-14 kts, and oh yeah, the occasional fog bank. I thought the keys for me were:
Starts
Starts
Starts.

I felt whoever got off the line either in a controlling position or clear ahead, would be able to "ride herd" on the rest of the fleet up to the windward mark. I think the fall and spring frostbiting at Cedar Point in CT may give me a bit of an advantage in the early spring D8 events, as I?m coming off a full season of racing while others are just shaking the winter rust off, so I felt really good coming off the line! I made sure I was accelerating 5 seconds before the gun and at the favorite end of the line.

I also focused on boat handling, making sure turns were smooth which can help avoid losing a boatlength here and there.

Upwind, on the first beats I was most concerned with holding my lane, on the rest of the beats I was focused more on going fast thru the water which meant keeping the bow down. On the runs, when the breeze was up, there were waves that you could surf, so I spent a good bit of time sailing by the lee on stbd or turning up a bit to a reach to catch or stay on each wave. The long reaches also provided some surfing and planes, the key there was once you accelerated to make sure you moved back in the boat to pop the bow out and let the flat surface aft help keep you on plane ? I saw a few bows that never really popped clear, which helped remind me and I?m sure helped me avoid getting passed.

As we de-rigged back on land, the aroma of burgers and dogs cooking on a charcoal grill wafted thru the air ? are you kidding me, we?re getting fed too? A perfect ending to a great day, chowing down on some tasty grub before saying our good byes and hitting the road. I sure hope Sebago does this again next year, I can?t wait to go back, I still have to watch the jets. Seriously, I hope everyone makes the effort to come next time, and spreads the word, this really is a great place to spend time messing about in boats.

Folks! This is a MUST ATTEND next year!!!!

Check out Blake Marriner's race report on the "Winners" page

More news from Ted,  

The NYS Empire games had to be cancelled this due to budget issues. The games are one of the real gems of NY athletics... two of my kids have gone up and swum for years and it was the games in part that kept them in the sport. My daughter Kylie now swims D1 in college and her little brother Christian (laser sailor as well) has the same plans when he graduates.   Barry's group, as well as my fellow Empire sailing coaches, decided that if we can't bring the horse to the water....we'll run our own regatta until the Empire's resurface (rumored for 2010).

It may be game-over for the Empire State Games, but it’s game-on at the Chelsea Yacht Club!

CYC was selected to host the sailing competition for the now officially abandoned 2009 Empire State Summer Games. The Games may be off, but with encouragement and much appreciated assistance from the regional coordinators, the racing is on. CYC will host a substitute regatta as part of the Hudson Valley’s season-long celebration of the 400^th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the Hudson River.

^{The regatta will feature all-day racing on Friday, July 24th, Saturday, July 25th, and morning races on Sunday July 26th. We’ll have breakfast all three days, on-water lunches Friday and Saturday, and dinner Saturday evening. As in 2005, you can tent on our lawn, but I’ve included a list of nearby hotels on the Notice of Race. Some members may be able to host a sailor, too.}

^{There are no qualifiers for this event, so the more, the merrier. With the Quadricentennial in full swing, we may even have spectators, so please come and help us celebrate.}

Please consider this regatta as it is bound to be fun!

Click here for invitation, Click here for NOR, Click here for registration

From Bob - I sailed at Chelsea YC in 2005 for the Empire State Games, along with Brian McGinnis, Ed Berenblum, and Rob Martinez. It's a nice club, and the hospitality of the members is awesome. If you've never raced on the Hudson River, be sure to give it a try! Even though its a river, the part by the club is still affected by the tides, so you have both tides and current, which change at different times in the middle and along the shores, along with back eddies. A smart "plan b" can bring a sailor from the back to the front. All in all, a great challenge, and lots of fun!

• Check out Lindsay's hints on the "instructional video" page, filmed 3/08/09

News from Ted - Good Evening and Happy Mothers day to all!   Today,  four eager souls completed 7 races in shifty and variable winds - very much unlike last years spring series at the Dinghy Shop when it literally nuked!   Young Ryan Schmitz took first for the day, despite being OCS twice and having to restart. As the breeze died, he just kept getting faster! He has promised me a quick write-up to fill us in on all the cool tricks that Ed Adams taught them last week as they practiced in the drifters up on the Sound.   Lindsay Hewitt was getting his final TOT (time on tiller) before heading south to N. Carolina for the US Master NA's at Wrightsville Beach next weekend. AWESOME venue folks , , , you race Lasers in the Atlantic!!! and the hospitality is stellar. We wish Lindsay lots of luck down there! I bet Fred Abels will make the run there as well,,, I remember driving back with him from the NA's there a few years back...            Bob Blanco owned the seconds and thirds for the day taking 3rd place, and John Kratz finished 4th despite getting two bullets!   All in all, the racing was very close and these sailors got 2 1/2 hours of good racing in. Special thanks to Jim Koehler for is gracious hospitality and for having the whaler ready with marks for me today... We'll look to come back again in the fall and do a series where we can leave the boats and get a good month of sailing in.   Be sure to check out Ryan Schmitz's report on the "Notes From the Winners" page.

  Next week we go to BROOKLYN!!! FUGETABOUTIT . . .  NO Excuses... We will support Holly's regatta. Lets make the trip, sail under the belt parkway and tear it up on Jamaica Bay!   Information posted about the Laser Regatta on May 16th at the Sebago Canoe Club on their website
http://sebagocanoeclub.org/sailing.html

You will find the Notice of Race (NOR) and Sailing Instructions (SI) for the race there. Feel free to share them with anyone who would be
interested in coming to the regatta. We look forward to a nice event and hope everyone will come to NYC and the wilds of Brooklyn and
Jamaica Bay.

NOR http://sebagocanoeclub.org/pdfs/NORSebagoMay16_09.pdf
SI http://sebagocanoeclub.org/pdfs/SI_LaserReg.pdf
Directions and more info for those pulling trailers
http://sebagocanoeclub.org/dirB.html

Any questions etc... contact sailing@sebagocanoeclub.org

A note from Bob - Over the years, every now and then, I get a note from someone asking how to join a race. The short answer - just show up! We'll get you signed in at the site. We don't need advance notice, and we don't hold anyone responsible if they can't make it at the last minute (flashback to last years Southampton YC Regatta, when the alternator on my tow vehicle failed halfway there!) There may be an Invitational or some other event that requires qualifying, check the Schedule, but the vaset majority of our events have no pre-registration. Anyhow, just bring your boat to the next regatta that looks good to you and you're in!

Hi all,   Just got back from Annapolis for the NOOD -  Great sailing in the J-22 class in 3-4 knots of current and 5-10 knots of breeze! I realized that taking the winter off from frostbiting really put me out of the game mentally, so kudos to all that kept racing through the winter and spring as you'll all have the edge going into the spring and summer.   Special thanks have to go out to Eric Johnson, Lindsay Hewitt, and Robert Terry for their continued support and assistance in managing the winter sailing scene in our area. Eric did an awesome job running a great program! Please take time out to thank them all for their dedication to managing a fine series!  

Some updates:   This coming weekend is the Laser FULL RIG ACC's at Severn Sailing association in Annapolis. Great venue -  fun town, and not as long of a drive as you may think if you time it right. It is well worth the trip!   http://www.severnsailing.org/results/2009ACCNOR.pdf  

We start our spring series at the Dinghy Shop on May 9th. Thanks to Jim and Susan Koehler for their support of our sport. Please remember to respect the parking situation down at the sailing center - especially in and around the area of the condos.   10 AM skippers meeting, 11 AM start. $15   We will need to provide our own RC, so any sailors or parents interested should contact me.   The following weekend, we'll all meet at Holly's club in Brooklyn. This will be a fun event and I am looking forward to supporting this one. Please make sure we get a good turnout as I know that the Brooklyn Crew is excited about the opportunity.

"Cold Air, Hot Racing" the video of the 2008-09 racing season is now up! Click on image for video.

What not to do! Click on image for video.

Check out Brad Dunn's photos in the album, starting on page 10

• For those of you that couldn't make Eric Johnson's rules seminar at Seawanhaka on February 8, there's a condensed version (in 4 videos) on the instructional videos page.

• Frostbiter Ganson Evans found this one - for you Laser techies, here's a polar diagam for Laser speeds (I think it was used to develop a computer game.) Click on image for the full-size graph.

If you're looking for the older videos, check out our new page at "Videos"

Check out District 8's videos at http://www.youtube.com/laserd8

News, events, interesting happenings?  New boat, career change, new baby?  Let me know and we’ll share it on the site!  This site is more than just race reports – it’s a great way for all of the good folks in District 8 to keep in touch.  Just e-mail me your info for posting.

Check out more pics of District 8 events on Brian McGinnis' website at www.islandwebdesign.biz/photos

For 2008 News and Scores, click here

For 2007 News and Scores, click here

For 2006 News and Scores, click here

For 2005 News and Scores, click here

For 2004 News and Scores, click here.

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