High Point Results
Congratulations to Kevin and Amanda McNeil on Caroline for winning the season-long high point competition. Caroline had an impeccable record, finishing first in 8 of the 11 races she sailed and second in the other three. Congratulations also to Jack and Marti Detweiler on Skimmer and Jason Goscha on Halcyon for finishing second and third, respectively. For the second straight year, Skimmer and Magic, helmed by Jonah Seiger, won the Ever-ready Battery award for having started every one of the 15 races scored in this year's high-point competition.
Full year scores for all of the seven boats that raced are:
The overall winner for the year was determined by the CBYRA-sanctioned high point scoring system. In each race in a regatta, boats received points equal to the number of boats she beats, plus one point for starting and one point for finishing. The total points earned were converted to a decimal fraction.
AYC Fall Series Distance Race - October 8, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
The last race of the season was the AYC Fall Series Distance Race. Four Alerions started at 1035 just off of the R "2" at the mouth of the Severn River. The race committee sent us on an approximately 12 mile course that went from R "2" to the R "86" on the Eastern Shore to the G "1" south of Thomas Point Shoal Light and then back to the R "2". The NNE wind was a steady 8 to 10 knots for the entire three hour race.
It rained the whole time.The leg to R "86" was a broad reach with a starboard rounding and then a beam reach down to G "1". After another starboard rounding, it was a beat to weather (honoring Thomas Point Shoal Light and the G "1AH") back to R "2". The racing was close with boats trading places several times. The order of finish was Skimmer (Jack & Marti Detweiler), Caroline (Amanda McNeil), Magic (Jonah Seiger) and Halcyon (Jason Goscha).
Despite the wet weather (which helped reduce power boat traffic, which was good) the race was a lot of fun. The race committee deserves a lot of credit for judging that the wind would hold and for selecting a course for our fleet that was long enough to be challenging, but didn't keep us racing in the rain all day long.
SERC Fall Regatta - September 10, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
We had another great weather day for sailing. Again a little hot but the wind was great. It was southerly all day, starting out in the 8 to 10 knot range and building to as high as 17 knots by the last race when the seas began to get a little lumpy. The AYC Race committee ran three windward/leeward races of four legs each with a 1/3 mile weather leg at 180 degrees. Due to the US Woman's Match Racing Championship sailing in the same waters, they moved our fleets a little further south toward Bay Ridge. As a result, we dealt with avoiding crab pots as well as other boats as we sailed the regatta. For the second time this summer, Caroline thrived in those conditions, especially as the wind and waves built. She ended the day with 3 wins. The rest of us duked it out for second and third place. At the end of the day, it was Caroline first overall followed by Skimmer, Halcyon, Magic and Liberty Prevails.
Special recognition goes to Liberty Prevails, Eunice Lin's shoal draft AE-28, hull # 342, that she sailed up from Herrington Harbor South for the Regatta. She and her crew, Maura McCarthy, participated for the first time in an Alerion 28 One Design Regatta. They said that they had a great time and learned a lot.
Awards were passed out at 4:00 pm at the AYC Club House to the AE-28, Harbor 20 and Herreshoff 12.5 fleets that participated in the regatta. Afterwards, our group retired to the EYC Club House for social hour and dinner. As it was an extremely warm day, we opted for plan B instead of the proposed cook-out at Mears Marina. I think that everyone agreed that being waited on in air-conditioned comfort was the better option.
Complete race results are as follows:
BYB&G Regatta for CRAB - August 20, 2016
The pursuit race benefitting CRAB started fitfully. The specially equipped Freedom 20 CRAB boats and the Cal 25's started in very light southerly breezes. At that point, the Race Committee came to the realization that few competitors would finish the race in the time allotted. So the 20's and the Cal's were recalled and the start postponed. Only three Alerion's had showed up in the starting area and one, Caroline, facing a protracted delay in the very light air, decided to call it a day.
Forty minutes later, the pursuit starting sequence was restarted when the wind "freshened" to 5 to 7 knots from the southeast. Juice was the first Alerion to start followed closely by Skimmer. Skimmer passed her on the first leg to Thomas Point Light, jibed wing on wing on the long downwind leg to the G"87" buoy and reached to the finish line with only ten minutes to spare before the time limit expired. Juice did not finish in time.
It was a hot, humid, nearly windless day which made for a very slow and uncomfortable sailing day. Of the 85 boats signed up to race, nearly half (39) did not finish or complete the course in the time allotted. Skimmer finished in 28th place, an excellent showing for a boat sailing in those conditions with a non-overlapping jib.
SpinSheet has photos of the event here, this one showing Juice with her crew at the start.
AYC Summer One-Design Regatta - July 23, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
While this regatta was held on one of the hottest days of the year, AYC's afternoon start paid off in spades. The light northwesterly of the morning gave way to a steady, southerly sea breeze that had filled in solidly by race time at 1400. We got in four races which were all four trips around the windward/leeward circuit. The weather mark was set .6 miles bearing 220 degrees for the first race but a 40 degree shift during that race forced the race committee change the weather mark to 180 degrees for the second and all remaining races. There were 4 classes racing in this order; J/70's, J/80's, Alerion 28's and J/22's. All classes finished 4-4 leg courses except for the Alerions, which were finished at the second weather mark in the last race.The fact that we had a 7-12 knot breeze all afternoon made the heat somewhat bearable.
Congratulations to Magic (Jonah Seiger), Escape, Halcyon and Skimmer for coming out on such a hot day and enduring a fast paced series of starts and non-stop competition. Special credit goes to Halcyon who raced with 3 or 4 kids on board. They were all in the water before the first race to cool off but, after that, there was no time to for swimming.The kids headed for shore after the second race to get out of the sun and heat. A prudent move.
Complete race results are as follows:
EYC One-design Classic Regatta - June 23, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
Five AE 28's raced in the One-design Classic, Skimmer, Halcyon, Caroline, Magic and Escape, under sunny skies and with pleasant temperatures. The wind was 6 to 10 knots out of the northeast, although it was in the 7 to 9 range for most of the races. The course was set up just outside of Whitehall Bay with 3/4 mile weather legs at 040 degrees. The wind direction varied 20 degrees from 040 depending on where you were on the course. The tide had turned at the start of the first race but the ebb didn't really start to have a major effect until the second and third races when it really started to rip. These conditions, coupled with huge power boats throwing wake across our course, made it a very interesting and challenging day. Although it was tough to keep the speed up when the wind and current were so different on every tack or jibe, it didn't phase Kevin McNeil on Caroline who steered his boat to 3 first place finishes and was only behind at two marks in the last race of the day.
EYC did a good job given the conditions. The J/22 fleet and our fleet got in 3 races while the J/70's had 4 races.
Our first two races were windward/leewards of 4 legs and the last race was 3 legs as the race committee shortened the course and finished us at the second windward mark. All in all it was a super fun day. Given Caroline's dominance, the rest of us battled for the four remaining places in each race. After the race, the race committee presented bottles of Mount Gay Rum as trophies. Only one super sized bottle went to our fleet, as you needed six boats to have a second place award (the bottles got smaller) and seven boats to have a second and third place award. The McNeil's bottle is still there waiting for pick-up, otherwise, I guess it will go on the table for the "Leftover Bowl" if it doesn't get consumed in the interim.
Complete race results are as follows:
Leukemia Cup Regatta - June 4, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
The rains held off and the weather was partly sunny, but the wind was light southerly for the Leukemia Cup Regatta. The EYC Race Committee started four government mark classes before the four one design classes sailing a windward/leeward course. The AE28's started third among the one design classes, so it was close to noon before we started. To make matters worse, the race committee issued a general recall on our first start with everyone over early except Magic. There was a strong ebbing current for the start to the south which, in the light airs, pushed most boats over the line early. The second start, with all of us aggressively trying to get a good position, resulted in Magic, Skimmer and Halcyon being over early and having to restart. Only Caroline and Juice got off the line clean.
The windward/leeward course consisted of four legs and a .65 mile weather leg. Caroline was first at the first windward mark, followed by Juice, Skimmer, Halcyon and Magic in that order. With only 5 to 7 knots of shifty wind and the strong, outgoing current, the downwind legs were painfully slow and tended to scatter the positions of everyone on the course. Skimmer ended up first at the first leeward mark and held that lead to the second windward mark. On the final leeward leg, Caroline found some last minute boat speed and slipped by Skimmer to finish first. In the same manner, Magic managed to sneak pass Halcyon to finish third. With the wind dropping to practically nothing, Juice started their engine and took in tow their youngest crew members who had decided to jump overboard to cool off. With no prospect of more wind, the last two races of the regatta were called off.
Thanks to everyone that came out and raced on Saturday. It continues to be a fun, competitive class and the only drawback to these great boats is trying to go downwind in very light air with only a main and little jib.
SpinSheet Magazine featured this picture (above) of the young, female crew of an Alerion
AYC SERC Spring Regatta - May 14, 2016
Jack Detweiler reports:
After weeks of rain, the weather cleared long enough on Saturday to give us sunny skies and southerly breezes of 5 to 10 knots for perfect racing conditions. The AYC Race Committee again did a fantastic job of getting off three windward/leeward races of four legs each with one-half mile weather legs for the Alerion and Harbor 20 fleets and a shorter weather mark this year for the Herrshoff 12.5's. The weather mark for the first race was 160 degrees and then the wind went right and the weather mark for the last two races was at 180 degrees. There were enough oscillations and velocity shifts to keep things interesting and the racing close. The overall order of finish for the day was Skimmer, Caroline, Halcyon and Magic. The rain finally arrived after we had all gathered for the awards party at AYC's temporary Clubhouse on Dock St. in Annapolis.
Complete race results are as follows:
SpinSheet Magazine has a few pictures of the regatta on their website.