Sunday, November 1, 2009
International Canadian Friendship Regatta
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
2009 Race to Queenstown and Back
What we lacked in speed we made up for in tactics and boat handling. TC, who later explained to me that he had a GPS fail, went really high on the first leg, overstanding the mark by a significant margin. Fortunately for me, I was not using GPS, but only a chart book and a magnetic compass and whether by dumb luck or skill, I determined that we should be pointing about 20 degrees lower than the rest of the fleet. Fortunately for us, the rest of them did not realize that they were overstood until they had sailed a good deal of extra distance. We were not quite fast enough to catch Tim, Lanny, or TC, but we passed everybody else and rounded the mark in 4th, a couple of lengths behind TC.
Since we were racing in the 'white sail' division, we got to watch TC charge ahead after the mark rounding, which was unfortunate and we gave up trying to catch him. However, we did get a great view of some highly interesting spinnaker handling on board 'Laughing Gull':
After re-setting their spinnaker they did just manage to eek by us but it was not matter as after the 2nd mark, they promptly sailed into a hole and we passed them again on leg 3 of the race.
Here is the view from the front of the Morris family trying to catch us with their beautiful baby blue and white kite...
Finish order for race to Queenstown:
- Lingin #244 Williams (Tim)
- Argo #247 Williams (TC)
- Windswept #562 (Helms)
- Calliope #287 (Bergquist) * White Sail
- Laughing Gull #197 (Adams)
- Rinn Duin #272 (Meinhold) * White Sail
- Solstice #501 (Morris)
- Tatus II #262 (Maliszewski) * White Sail
http://www.cbyra.org/RaceResults/2009/211/211.htm
As you can see from the boat numbers, we were by far the strongest fleet present at this event.
After arriving in the harbor, you knew somebody had to run aground and I guess it was just not the Adams family's day as they were the ones who showed us where NOT to go:
After a long and beautiful day of racing it was time for some cocktails:
On Sunday, everybody realized what a light air day it was going to be and so we had no 'white sail' participants. This was probably the right call for all involved as in the end only 3 boats managed to hang on and finish the race. My crew who had just learned how to trim the jib on Saturday was somewhat apprehensive about learning a whole new sail on Sunday, but in the end it worked out well and she turned out to be an excellent spinnaker trimmer. It was not without incident though as we mis-timed the start, barely laid the boat end of the line and looked down the barrel of the rest of the fleet having about a 5 minute head start on us on a very light air day.Fortunately, due to my bottom cleaning skills, we managed to make up ground quickly on the rest of the fleet. Also, the kite was the right starting sail choice and helped us to pass 272 and 197 on the first leg.
Fortunately, they managed to keep their captain aboard during this sail change although I am told that was not the case for all of their sail changes.After rounding the first mark, we went high while Helms, Adams, Meinhold, and Morris went low. High was the right call as breeze filled in from the south and we caught it first and held on to pass them all as well as gaining significant distance on the leaders. Solstice eventually decided that they wanted to get some of what we were in and headed up to join us which helped him to stay connected to us and the leaders. However, he eventually decided to continue sailing high all the way to Kent Island which wound up not being in the direction of the mark and eventually they got so far away that we could barely see them take their sail down when they decided to hang it up.
http://www.cbyra.org/RaceResults/2009/212/212.htm
All in all, it was a wonderful event with excellent weather, competitive racing, great social, and a good time had by all!
The Bruce Rankin memorial regatta is coming up on 10/17-18 at PSA and I hope to see everybody there!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Queenstown races
This is what happens when everyone goes to the raft up party, and leaves these three back onthe boat! Out comes the wine, the martini shaker is loaded, and .... for the record, I was offered a martini on our return.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Oxford Race - September 12, 13
Well fall sailing has arrived with cooler weather and for at least one day some good wind. On the race down to Oxford it was good wind either directly astern or slightly off the starboard quarter. Once we turned into the Choptank, it was conveniently on the port quarter all the way to the rockpile marker at the mouth of the Tred Avon River. We were able to make it to the finish line on one tack. All the way from Annapolis to Oxford with one jibe in less than 6 hours – good fun.
The start was fairly non controversial other than a Catalina motoring through the box as we were making our final approach – about 15 seconds to go. Both Lanny and I had some choice words for him. LinGin, Windswept and Laughing Gull all went to the upwind side of the course. Argo, contrarian as always, took off for the lee side of the course. About a mile down the course, we all raised our chutes with a beam to a broad reach all the way down to Black Walnut point and the Choptank River. By the time we reached the north end of the Poplar islands. LinGin had the lead, followed by Argo, Laughing Gull and Windswept. This established the order for the rest of the race.
We all got moored at Cutts and Case, and went into town for the party at the Tred Avon Yacht Club, followed by dinner at the Masthead. By the time folks got back to the boats, the rain was really coming down. I fell asleep to the sound of a card game on LinGin, and the patter of rain on my fore hatch.
The following morning, TC and Lanny managed to convince me to register for the race. I had not planned it as I only had one crew, and I wanted to explore Knapps Narrows. This was not to be – TC reminded me that he and his pregnant wife had doublehanded back some years ago after a hurricane, and so surely I could do it that. In addition, and perhaps more importantl, it would be good to have another boat to keep our participation numbers up. Anyway we all left the dock rather late. Argo’s engine was not starting so he got the tow, and we arrived just in time to hear a gun (or a horn I cannot remember). This happened concurrently with the check in boat telling me that this was our start. I looked over to see LinGin heading across the line and down course. This created a panic – up goes the spinnaker , down goes the genoa, the boat is sailing wonderfully towards the fist mark. I look over and LinGin is headed back over the line. What devious cunning - he had feinted the start!! I thought about keeping on. In one sense I had not planned on racing, and was there to keep our numbers up, but that just is not me. Down comes the chute, up goes the genoa, and we hot foot it back to the start; flip around; up goes the chute; down comes the Genoa. There were only two of us aboard, and by the time this was done, we needed a beer!
The wind was 10 – 15 knots until we got out of the Choptank, and then the wind started to die. By the time we reached the bottom of the Poplar Islands, it was looking pretty grim. At one stage, we were thinking that we might be able to catch Windswept, but the wind kept falling. When it became clear that the six hour time limit was going to expire we called it quits. LinGin had anchored close to the island to make sure the current did not carry her away from the mark, and Argo had found herself anchored in the middle of the Bay in about 55 feet of water also becalmed. At that time, TC was still racing, and declined our offer of a tow. He later got the engine started. LinGin crossed the line at 6:05 – close but no cigar. The picture of Argo below shows how calm it was.
This is one of my favorite races. It is a long one especially if the wind is down, but the Choptank is a beautiful river and there are invariable less motorboats than other parts of the Bay. The Tred Avon Yacht Club is great fun. They run a good race, and invariably puts on a good party with a band and an excellent location. To top it all off Oxford as a town is pretty and unique. My preference would have been to take another day, exchange the racing crew for family and do the exploring I was thinking of; logistics being what they are this was not to be - perhaps next year.
All of the pictures are on the web at http://picasaweb.google.com/sven.finnis/20090913Oxford?authkey=Gv1sRgCKqf-O-_obzhDg&feat=email#Monday, August 24, 2009
WNR 8/24/09 - The Last Four Races

Wednesday night series have been a true variety of experiences. Four races ago,we had an incredible storm. If you have not seen the picture check it out here - http://picasaweb.google.com/jreadams6.yahoo.com/WNRStorm#5372590092911119762. Lin Gin was the only one that got around the windward mark in time to be going downwind when the storm hit. I believe Harry Gamber stayed in the race, but Laughing Gull went directly to Pussers, and had a few of their rum drinks. The wind may have reached 50 knots. I know that there was a period of time when the boom was sitting in the water. It hit right as Argo, Second 2 Nun and ourselves were at the windward mark. There was a 30 second window when we could have tacked and got pointing the right way, but Second 2 Nun was sitting right there, so until the initial blow was over, we all just headed further out to the Bay.
This was followed by a race where the committee set the course slightly long, and only one boat finished - all the others time limit expired. We were sitting staring at the judges when they called TLE - bummer. The committee at least logged me as TLE rather than DNC – not that this buys you anything. Laughing Gull was having a good race too. Not that we caught up to Lin Gin, but someone has to be giving that guy a run for his money.
The following week, the race committee over compensated and set the course incredibly short. On top of that, the Committee decided that the Alberg fleet's windward mark was going to be just above the turning point for the faster boats. We were rounding the windward mark and cutting through the Eschels, and the larger boats that all had their spinnakers up - chaos. We all got back into the harbor, and it was anyone's race. On the way into the harbor, we had our chutes up. As we got in - drastic wind shift - our genoas went up and we were close hauled. Some boats went left and Lin Gin and Laughing Gull went right (towards Pussers - for those that need a reference point involving a drinking hole). All was going reasonably well until the wind shifted drastically once again and Lin Gin and Laughing Gull went from somewhere in the front of the pack, to fighting it out for last place. Laughing Gull won that fight for last place.
The last race was just right - we could have used more wind, but ... at least it did not rain. Laughing Gull went wide on way to the windward mark, and kept to the Hackett point side of the course. This put us first at the windward mark. On the way back into the harbor, we got tangled up in some Catalinas and Cals, and had to jibe twice to get clear. Towards the mark, we were in the middle of some J105s that were duelling it out. This was interesting, but not good for speed. We rounded the mark in a pack, and right behind us, Lin Gin caught up in clean slice of air unconfused by a herd of 105s with their asyms up. Going into the harbor, the wind dropped, and it was agonizing. At one point Lin Gin was way ahead, and Calliope was catching up nicely. .After a few more tacks I looked up, and Lin Gin was closer, but Calliope was lost in a crowd somewhere off the Chart House. There was not a chance of catching Lin Gin especially after I did not listen to the crew. I even ignored my 10 second rule (when you feel like tacking count to 10). That put us in a position where we had to pinch to finish. We were given a break by one of the fast boats. Laughing Gull was on port. I had the tiller over hard, and was not doing anything there was so little wind - he ducked me on Starboard - which is a good thing as I was a) in the way, and b) completely the burdened boat!
There are three more Wednesday nights left. For those that might want to consider a night on the water in the middle of the week, contact J Berquist at jbergqui@gmail.com, he has a good handle on who is doing what. We often have a spot on Laughing Gull, so feel free to ping me as well.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
WNR 6/16/09
After the mark rounding, we all turned downwind for the run back to the haaaba. Brian and I elected to forego using the kite by choice. TC elected to forego it because he had a little shrimping expedition during the beat and I'm not sure whether his kite or his crew was more damaged. Anyway, he also decided to forego using his kite, so the 3 of us were in a white sail race for the can, and we rounded in the same order: me, Brian, and TC. Brian was hot on our tail at the mark and went higher, but we were able to scrape him off by the time we got to the harbor can. However, he went high on us again and somehow (we could not figure out how for the life of us!) he kept being just a little faster than we were. He managed to get an overlap on us and was entitled to room at the bulkhead (a subject about which I had some discussion with one of his crew who I later realized was Geoff Becker the sailing coach at Washington College who knows a lot more about rules than I do...) but somehow he slowed down immediately after establishing the overlap and decided to change tactics and go low. In the end, we had a close photo finish with Me narrowly nipping Brian for 2nd and Brian narrowly getting TC for 3rd. I think we all finished within about 15 seconds of each other. But you can see for yourselves as complete results are available at:
http://www.race.annapolisyc.org/uploads/results/2009_Wednesday_Night_Races-2009/2009_Wednesday_Night_Races_Series_2.html
Congratulations to Tim Williams on his win!
Division: Alberg 30 (8 boats) (top)
| Pos | Sail | Boat | Skipper | 1 | Total Points | Pos |
| 1 | 244 | LinGin | Nurco, Virginia | 1 | 1.00 | 1 |
| 2 | 287 | Calliope | Bergquist, John | 2 | 2.00 | 2 |
| 3 | 288 | L'Espirit | Palmer, Brian | 3 | 3.00 | 3 |
| 4 | 247 | Argo | Williams, T.C. | 4 | 4.00 | 4 |
| 5T | 152 | Andante | pipkin, mark | 5/DNC | 5.00T | 5T |
| 5T | 197 | Laughing Gull | Adams, Jonathan | 5/DNC | 5.00T | 5T |
| 5T | 308 | Asylum | Adelman, Allan | 5/DNC | 5.00T | 5T |
| 5T | 484 | Second-2-Nun | Bluntschli, Ralph | 5/DNC | 5.00T | 5T |
Here are some pix:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Syronelle 2009
The Great Lakes Alberg Association ( www.alberg.ca ) hosted a wonderful weekend in Toronto full of racing, touring and Canadian hospitality. The weather was good, the winds were fair and the competition friendly.
Although we were team racing, and our American team came in third of three, Harry Gamber had the best overall single boat record in the three races. Sailing The Answer with owner Rick Kent aboard and his crew of Hans Jorgensen and Jim Davis, Harry had two seconds and a first in the five-boat, three-race regatta. Mike Meinhold, Sandy and Ray Meyer and Rachel Meinhold were aboard Viva II with owner Janski's (Jan Grodinski) boat, and at least were consistent with fifth place throughout. This was Janski's first racing experience, and he is already planning on loaning his boat next year and has ideas for improving performance! Janski does a lot of single-handing and his boat is very well set up for that. I saw a lot of improvements that I would like to apply to Rinn Duin. It's great to spend time sailing other Alberg 30s -- it seems there is always something to learn about the boat.Also there for the weekend from the Chesapeake were Sandy Davis, Jacqueline Burke, Pat Meinhold and Max Meinhold. Phoebe Campell gave the Meinholds a fantastic tour of the town, and all these visitors took in the "Sound of Music" production at the Prince of Wales theater. We were treated to an excellent pot-luck dinner at Rick and Selena Kent's home on Friday night, and to dinner at the Mimico Cruising Club with grand views of the lake on Saturday Night. Mimico was a lovely venue for the regatta, and our thanks go the members for allowing us to use it, and the race committee for a well-run regatta.
Thanks go to Rick and Selena Kent for hosting the Friday night get-together, to Phil Birkenheier for hosting Ray and Sandy Meyer at his home, and to Phoebe Campbell for guiding Pat and the kids through Toronto. Special thanks to Don Campbell for all of his coordination and efforts in making a wonderful weekend all around. We look forward to seeing our Great Lakes friends here on the Chesapeake in October.
Here are the results of the 2009 Syronelle races sailed 13 and 14 June 2009 at the Mimico Cruising Club in Toronto, Ontario, as compiled and tabulated by the MCC Race Committee . Team standings were done by Don Campbell.
The teams were Gemini (Birkenheier) and White Opal (Campbell) as GLAA 1 LindisFarne (Watters) as a wildcard GLAA 2. Viva II (Meinhold) and The Answer V (Gamber) as the Chesapeake 1
Course indicates the numbers of the octagonal buoy system outside of Humber Bay. Buoy 9 is in the center, with the 8 others evenly spaced on a 0.75 NM radius circle
Saturday June 13thSaturday June 13th:
10:30 Marine forecast: Winds light, Chance of showers, Waves <1m.
Conditions: Wind 350° -010° 4 - 7 knots seas flat
Course 9-6-5-9-5
Start time: 11:30
Gemini 12:39:00 1 1:09:00 00:00:00
The Answer V 12:39:50 2 1:09:50 00:00:50
White Opal 12:41:30 3 1:11:30 00 02:30
LindisFarne 12:50:52 4 1:20:52 00:11:52
Viva II 12:53:56 5 1:23:56 00:14:56
Sunday June 14
Wind 170°-192° 4-7 knots seas flat
Course 9-6-5-9-5
start time 13:30:00
White Opal 14:34:43 1 1:04:43 00:00:00
The Answer V 14:37:24 2 1:07:24 00:02:41
LindisFarne 14:47:54 3 1:17:54 00:13:11
Gemini 14:53:59 4 1:23:59 00:19:16
Viva II 14:54:53 5 1:24:53 00:20:10
Team results
LindisFarne drew 1 card from a group of 8 (4- 10s and 4 - 2s) three times. White Opal was 2 and Gemini was 10. Each draw was a 10 so the second GLAA team was LindisFarne and Gemini
| Team | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Total |
| White Opal /Gemini | 3+1 | 1+4 | 2+4 | 15 |
| LindisFarne / Gemini | 4+1 | 3+4 | 3+4 | 19 |
| The Answer V / Viva II | 2+5 | 2+5 | 1+5 | 20 |

