SMSA has moved their Fall Inivitational regatta originally scheduled for last weekend to September 29-30. A powerboat race had been planned for that same weekend and so a new weekend that would be a little less hectic was selected. Notice of Race (pdf)
SMSA Two-Day Regatta
SMSA Annual Invitational Regatta Results
The 12 boat Laser fleet at SMSA’s 15th Annual Invitational Regatta in Solomons, MD was greeted with spectacular sailing conditions on the Patuxent River just off the Chesapeake Bay. Saturday racing saw 10-15kts with gusts to 20 and the easterly breeze offered a long 10 mile fetch for the waves to build in the mouth of the Patuxent. The wave period was quite long for the Chesapeake and created some great wave riding/surfing that everyone agreed was a blast! It also provided many opportunities to stuff the bow into the back of a wave resulting in a near pitch pole and a cockpit completely full of water; both of which I discovered are slow. At the end of 3 long races the tired Laser sailors returned to SMSA for storytelling and to put their boats away for the day.
Dinner at SMSA was prepared and organized by SMSA member Carol Smith. We were treated to a wonderful home cooked Lasagna dinner that was perfect after a windy and unseasonably cool, for September, day on the water. There were many other volunteers that assisted Carol in all the preparations and cleanup. I am not even going to attempt to list everyone for fear of leaving somebody out but a big thank you goes out to all!
Sunday’s race course was moved up the river near the bridge and parallel to Solomons Island’s Boardwalk. We had good conditions with 5-15kts out of the North and much flatter water. The up and down nature of the breeze offered areas of pressure where big gains could be made versus falling into the 5kt holes were several places could be lost. RC did an excellent job once again and we got in 3 more races. When the results were totaled, including a throw out, Steve Barrett (SMSA) narrowly beat out Trevor Richards (SMSA) for 1st by one point. Tom Moulds (SMSA) finished in 3rd and Adam Glass (SSA) rounded out the top 4. Special thanks goes out to our Laser friends from PRSA, FBYC and SSA for making the trip and sailing with us! Please come back next season to sail with us and bring your friends.
See ya on the water!
Jeff Moore
SMSA Laser Fleet Captain
SMSA Two-Day Regatta Invitation
Calling all Laser sailors to rendezvous in Solomons MD on September 17th and 18th for SMSA’s 15th Annual Invitational Regatta. We are expecting 10-15 local SMSA Lasers to race and would like to welcome our out of town friends to join us. If you have raced with SMSA before you know we have an outstanding racing venue at the mouth of the Patuxent River just off Chesapeake Bay. Launching is very easy at our club with your dolly off our floating dock. We have a bunch of SMSA volunteers signed up to help for a great weekend of sailing so please join us!
Jeff Moore
SMSA Vice Commodore/Laser Fleet Captain
Regattas This Weekend
Looks like we have a busy weekend for D11 Laser sailors this weekend. Severn Sailing Association is holding their Crab Claw Regatta. 20-30 sailors are expected with starts for both standard rigs and radials. http://laserdistrict11.org/events/e375
Southern Maryland Sailing Association in Solomon’s Island is having their annual fall two day regatta. A dozen or so Lasers are expected to be at the line http://laserdistrict11.org/events/e414
In Norfolk the Hampton Roads Sunfish Challenge Long Distance race has 13 Lasers registered among the 116 competitors from all classes. Racing will start at the Willoughby Boat Ramp in Norfolk and finish at the ODU Sailing Center. Event website: http://www.hrsunfishrace.com/
Several D11 sailors (including myself) are headed to Cape May New Jersey for the District 10 Championship for 2 days of racing on the Ocean at the Jersey Shore.
Are you headed to a regatta not listed above? Email me jon@laserdistrict11.org
SMSA Two Day Regatta
Southern Maryland Sailing Association will hold their two-day regatta on September 25-26. They’ve got a number of local Laser sailors planning on attending and have invited others to join them. Event information can be found here.
Launching and recovery will be done at SMSA via the ramp and floating dock and there will be plenty of onsite storage. Questions contact Jeff Moore.
SMSA 13th Annual Invitational Regatta
Sorry for the late notice but I would like to invite you all to the SMSA 13th Annual Invitational Regatta this weekend. The regatta has been on the D11 website for sometime so hopefully everyone is aware of it. View the Notice of Race.
Storage and launching is easy and will take place at SMSA in Solomons with just a short sail out to the race course. We launch via dolly down a ramp to a floating dock. If you don’t have room for a dolly on your trailer no worries you can borrow one of ours for launch and retrieval. Solomons is great this time of year, dinner at our club Saturday, the Tiki is still open, the weather looks great and we already have 9 local Lasers registered.
As a 17 year resident of Southern Maryland, wow where does the time go, I should be able to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to email me and I can also give you my number.
Hope to see you on the water this weekend.