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Sailing 2022

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Welcome to a new year of sailing!  Below is the Wednesday night racing series.  First gun is 1830.  Join us on Facebook for the latest info.  We also have a WhatsApp group you can join here.

No-Coast regatta will be at White Rock Lake Oct 1-2 organized by the Dallas Laser Fleet.  NOR to be posted soon.

We have loaner boats for those interested in trying out the ILSA (formerly known as Laser) boat.  Prior sailing experience is necessary.  CSC has adult sailing classes and crew oppertunities.

See you on the water.

Rock the Ice Results and Pictures!!

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Rock the Ice was a fantastic weekend chock full of high winds, tight racing, and lots of smiles!! Congratulations to all competitors who braved the tough conditions, but especially to our champions (Results Below).

We were fortunate to have a photographer on the water, Peter Atherton.. Check out his pictures at the link here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/192012650@N06/sets/72157718140916612/

Thank you again to all of our volunteers, both on and off the water for making this 5th year our best yet! Stay tuned for a full regatta report coming next week.

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(2020 D15 Champs Above)
Virtual Fleet Meeting Next Tuesday at 7:00PM

It’s the time of year once again for our annual fleet meeting!! This year will be a little different as we will meet over Zoom rather than hosting an end of the year party. (We can hold off until Rock the Ice!) We have much to discuss ranging from our upcoming Rock the Ice Regatta to planning out the next amazing year of sailing on White Rock!

Meeting Details:
Topic: DLF Fleet Meeting
Time: Dec 22, 2020 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77551225961?pwd=OW9rMkl2UTZhM09MR1Z6Mk1LOEdoZz09
Meeting ID: 775 5122 5961
Passcode: DLF

Agenda:

  • Introduction and Fleet Update
  • Treasurers Report
  • Loaner Boats
  • Social Update
  • Race Report
  • Rock the Ice Report
  • 2020 Standings
  • Officers Vote (Details to Come)
  • Q&A from fleet

I am still accepting nominations for all positions. Please reply to this e-mail if you are interested in one of the below positions or would like to nominate one of your fellow fleet members!

  • Fleet Captain
  • Treasurer
  • Loaner Boat
  • Social
  • Race
  • Scores
  • Secretary

I will also make a recording and make it available for anyone who cannot make it. Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

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Saturday Sailing Tomorrow and Good Weather Shaping up for District Champs!

Come join us tomorrow morning at 11AM for some fun heavy air sailing with perfect conditions!! Nothing fancy, just reaching and rabbit starts for those who want to get their feet wet again and prep for our district champs next weekend!! The air temperature will be in the 70’s and the water temperature has returned to the 60’s so this will not be one to miss. We will continue to have Saturday sailing when favorable forecasts allow.. Please keep an eye on the Facebook page and your e-mail for updates.

Though COVID cancelled our original location for district champs at Canyon Lake Yacht Club, the Rush Creek Yacht Club in Heath has stepped in and has offered to help us put on an event  on November 21/22nd. 

This will be a two day event with lunches and tech shirts provided (shirts for those who sign up early). Rush Creek is known for their long fetch, big waves, and blue water. We already have 25 boats registered with more on the way as the forecast is shaping up in a very good way!

Registration Here: http://www.rcyc.org/2020/laser-class-district-15-championship-1121-22/

Please do your best to sign up early as it really helps the regatta organizers plan the regatta. We have had a bunch of regattas cancelled this year, so we need to take any opportunity to get on the water and keep the rust off!!!

Long range forecast below:

Great Breeze Today + WOW Singlehand Clinic

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First a friendly note on fleet dues for 2020. As COVID has reduced the length of our season and forced us to cut back on most of our social events, we have decided to reduce the dues payments to $30 for 2020. This money will go towards the fleet loaner boat program, one of our key vehicles to drive growth in the fleet as well as any social events that we will hopefully be able to host later this fall. You can register here. If you have already paid Greg by cash or check, please just let me know and I will mark you as paid. 

Additionally, scores are posted from last week!  We had a total of 9 boats on the starting line, including one radial, three 4.7’s, and FOUR Women Sailors!!! Breeze was out of the south starting at 15 knots, slowly diminishing to 8-10 knots by the end of the night. Summer days are long and we were able to run 4 full races with lots of excitement and competition for everyone.

Tim Ponter, Karly Albert, Andrew Sommer, and Griffin Orr from the laser fleet also took part in helping WOW run their first Singlehand Clinic over the weekend. Conditions were perfect and we were able to get 12 sailors on the water using Butterflys and Lasers. Everyone had a great time and learned a lot! We started with the sailors sailing upwind/downwind between two marks before transitioning into races at the end of the day. Our coaches all had a ton of fun watching and helping everyone to become faster and more comfortable with the boat! Expect a similar clinic for the wider laser fleet group soon!

Last Wednesday of Season

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Last Wednesday Party At Bowman’s

Everybody, due to expected inclement weather and possible flooding this Wednesday we are going to have our Laser Fleet party together with Women on Water on Wednesday in lieu of racing.

PLEASE RSVP (Reply to this e-mail or text Alex G) by Tuesday end of day so we can get a headcount for food. Everybody is invited.

Bowman has kindly offered to host us! So tell Brig North to be on his best behavior.

Time & Location: 7pm @ Bowman’s House (6511 Deloache Ave, Dallas, TX 75225)

Entry ticket: Appetizer, dessert, and/or Scotch/IPA

Dress: Hikers recommended

Exciting Sailing This Fall

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Exciting Sailing Ahead!

Announcements!! Please Read:

  • Club Championship September 21st. We are in need of one additional person on committe. Please reach out to Griffin if you can help!
  • Laser CLINIC!! It has been some time since our last one and with so many new sailors we are excited to announce a FREE clinic this coming Sunday from 10-12am. Lunch will be provided. Please register for a loaner if you would like to use one.

Write-up from last weeks sailing:
Yesterday we had nine boats participate in shifty, up and down conditions. Sailing were Griffin, Mark B., Eric Ro., Mike R., Tim, Forest, Joe, Greg, Adam, Andrew. On the chase boat we had Diana, Porter and Brig, who ran three challenging races, two two-lappers and one one-lapper.

The wind was a challenge as it came out of the southeast with big direction changes, and some decent  gusts. It was quiet when we arrived, but soon built. Several new folks played it safe and stayed on shore or went on the RC boat.  Not everyone from our club did, alas. A V15, apparently hired by Exxon to search for oil under the lake, kept sinking its mast in the sludge that is the lake bottom.  No oil was found, but it was confirmed the bottom of the lake mud is stinky! All worked out okay in the end.  

We had a couple of capsizes in our fleet, but everyone sailed well.  The near miss capsize was executed to perfection by Eric Roman, who AGAIN, won the contest for the best save after hitting a massive log, as shall be explained.
 
The Wiz did very well in the windiest first race, first passing and then stretching on Eric Ro.  In the second race it was again a battle between those two until Eric hit an underwater lurker, came to a complete stop, let go of everything, including the mainsheet which resulted in the boom going to about 110 degrees, had the boat in a deathroll, and somehow, someway, only with what had to be divine intervention, saved it!  Griffin took that race, but Eric got a 10 for style. In the final race Eric held off the Wiz at the line and Forest demonstrated Gray Power for third. Mark Babb was always in the mix, too.

It was a challenging night of sailing, but fun.  The group decided to retire to Shady’s. Always a fun time.

 

Dallas Goes — And WINS in Colorado

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Beers and Brats after Sailing to welcome back Colorado Travelers!!

 

Fleet Provided Dinner Tonight!!!

This past weekend, 7 Dallas Laser Fleet Sailors (Griffin Orr, Alex Goldberg, Tim Ponter, Forest Atkins, Eric Roman, Andrew Sommer, and Brian Hannan) traveled to Grand Lake, Colorado to race in the Colorado Laser Championships. DLF and Texas proved once again that we are a force to be reckoned with, brining home 1st (Griffin Orr), 3rd (Eric Roman), and top Master (Craig Berleme from San Antonio)! This is quite impressive given the strong showing of 35 lasers marking the largest Colorado Laser Championship in history. 

Sailors were greeted with cool temperatures in the 40’s Saturday morning, but the hot coffee and warm hospitality of the Grand Lake Yacht Club quickly got things warmed up. Boats got on the water around 10:30 AM when some light breeze filled in out of the south east. This quickly built to around 5-15 knots, just in time for the first race. 

Though there were some hard right shifts just before the start, Griffin noticed American Flags on the south shore indicating a hard left was about to start. By the start, he was unable to make the pin and ended up port tacking the fleet and was launched into a comfortable lead with Andrew Sommer and Alex Goldberg close by. As the top 5 leaders rounded the weather mark, the wind began to fade and a large gap formed between those sailing downwind in breeze and those attempting to make the top mark in a large hole. Those at the top would continue to hold the breeze through the rest of the race with Griffin taking away the win with Alex finishing 4th. 
 
Following the first race the fleet was gearing up for race number 2 when lightning struck on the nearby ridge, prompting all sailors to head in for lunch. Storms continued to skirt the lake all afternoon, but we eventually got back on the water around 4PM. We got into sequence when the wind flipped a 180, forcing the race committee to abandon to avoid a downwind start. As the new breeze was holding, we sailed to the other side of the lake to give it another go. Though the line was very right favored, we were off! At the top mark Griffin and Eric were rounding out the top 5, but the skies. were getting dark as another storm approached over the mountain. Sure enough,  lightning struck on the second upwind, forcing the day to come to a close. 

Day 2 promised a forecast of clear skies but variable breeze. Sailors left the dock in no breeze in the hopes that it would eventually fill in…. and boy did it!! The breeze first filled out of the south at 10-15 and shifted hard left just before the gun, providing us with a “Nascar” style race… (Turn left around the marks!).  Griffin finished with a 4 and Andrew with a 5.

Next, the race committee shifted the course to square and set us off again. Andrew and Griffin quickly got in a 1, 2 position and extended away from the fleet. This proved to be one of the messier races with winds ranging  from 10-20 and shifts from just about every direction. I even recall getting it by a 15 knot puff that sneaked up from leeward. (Think about that one… it almost flipped me over). Andrew was cursed by a capsize but was soon replaced by Eric who took second behind Griffin. 
If we thought race 3 was crazy, race 4 was there to prove us wrong. A huge right shift came in at the start, enabling every boat on the line to make the committee boat. The breeze continued to build, now around 15-25 knots. Eric began planing about halfway up the first leg and did not stop until the finish. The sleigh ride on the first downwind was truly epic. Our 40 knot days on White Rock clearly had us at an advantage as we were working every knot out of our boats while many competitors were just hanging on for dear life. Eric dominated half a lap ahead with Griffin in 3rd, Alex in 6th,  and Andrew in 7th. 

The race committee once again shifted the course to square and we prepped for the last race of the day. The breeze was now a stead 15-25 with puffs in the 30’s. Don’t get me started on the shifts… it was wild! Alex and Griffin got off to a good start near the boat and found themselves up front with Alex first around the top mark. The first downwind leg was actually very mild and drama free. The second started with a monster puff taking out most of the top boats. No lead was certain! Griffin ended with another first, Alex with a 7th and Tim with a 12th. 

Cool July Weather for a Perfect Wednesday Night

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Cool July Weather for a Perfect Wednesday Night

Excellent turnout this Wednesday was spurred by light to medium winds and cool temperatures in the mid 80’s. Joining us on the water was Owen, Forest, Tim, Porter, Jen, Mark, Jim, Sean, Diana, John, and Griffin. Running races were the dynamic father daughter duo of Jack and Aubin! Out on the loaners were Sean and Diana who had a blast after being kept onshore the last few wednesdays due to high winds. 

We completed 5 very shifty races with wind out of the east with a start line off Jackson point, weather mark by the bath house and leeward mark off the west shore. Puffs going down the course were often a 40+ degree shift from the previous wind. This made it critical to sail the lift that you are on and to connect the dots to the next puff. 
 
Griffin had a strong clean sweep winning every race with Tim, Porter, Mark, and Forest snapping at his heels. The races were drama free except for a pile up at the pin for the last race resulting in both Griffin and Forest being called over early. 

We ended the evening with a fun night at the White Rock Alehouse. It was decided that if their IPA is called the capsized kayak, they need to name their 2X IPA the capsized laser! 

Also HUGE shoutout to our very own Aubin Hattendorf for being the top radial girl at Houston Youth Race Week!! CONGRATS!