Recap of Sailing on Sept. 17, 2023
by Earl Thomas #5121
Commodore & Fleet 62 Captain
Commodore & Fleet 62 Captain
It was a great day of sailing. SOOOOO many Lidos. Thanks to all for showing up. Now we have the good problem of tight parking for so many trailers and vehicles. And we had a special surprise appearance from the past.
Sunday’s attendance was 5 Lidos, 2 El Toros, 1 Windsurfer, 1 rental Laser. And Vern showed up to get us going in the morning. The cast of Pollywogs was Jim with Harold Ho and Oliver Ho (son), Dick and Ann, Stephen and Logan, Earl and Ralf, Sidney solo, Art and Steve in El Toros, Steve Mionis in a Laser, Jeff Ruggles? on the Windsurfer. I am assuming none of you have sailed across the equator and are not Shellbacks yet.
We were happy to see the return of Harold Ho who hasn’t been sailing with us in 7 plus years. He brought his son Oliver for a sailing test ride. Harold passed the 'rent a sailboat written test' this morning, intending to rent a Capri. But saved some money and crewed instead of renting. "It’s better in a Lido 14”, I should trademark that. I hope Oliver had a good time and we will hear from Harold on an after sailing report. Harold has been a long time sailor with the club, a former Lido fleet captain and excellent skipper. We are thrilled to see his return with maybe a next generation sailor.
We had great weather on Sunday, mixed clouds and 73 degrees. Light /medium winds, perfect conditions. The wind was pretty consistent from the east, northeast.
We got in 5 races with courses 1, 2, 3. Race lengths were running 11 to 22 minutes. So a quick pace all day.
Roy was in the Rowboat as Race committee, lots of r’s or is it ‘arraghs'. He did a great job with course selection and gave clear announcements on his trusty bullhorn. Thank you Roy!
We almost lost our beloved and classic starting pin, before the start, as it was tangled in the rode and sank below the surface. Steve Maulick luckily found the underwater flag and pulled it up, while I raced back to the dock for a replacement buoy. Thanks to the other Lidos for setting and retrieving the marks today. We had a slightly delayed start but we finally straightened things out.
The first race was a close one with all the Lidos closely grouped. The subsequent races were a choice of which side of the lake to go up wind. The right side to the layline (less turns) or the left side with more tacks and coming in on port at the mark. Both strageties seemed similar in results. Stephen and Logan even tried a port tack start and weaved their way through the fleet. Was it by choice or were they late and their other options were limited? We will have to see if they will confess. There were several close encounters of the Rule 18 type at the leeward mark. But we managed to survive unscathed. We seemed to all arrive at the marks at the same time on multiple occasions. Stephen with Logan and Dick with Ann dominated the day and traded the lead in each race. But surprise, Jim and his lucky crew, Harold and Oliver, found the right combination and got one first place finish. It looks like Harold still has it and we better watch out when he and Maria return.
I put a longer extension handle on the trailer dolly. And it seemed to work but still the ramp was slippery and 2 people went sliding and got a little wet. I wish my boat hull was that slippery. Other than slipping at the ramp we all survived without breaking anything on board.
Rental kayaks were the challenge of the day. As they again think the yellow balls are 'park here signs'. I am thinking of adding NO LOITERING to the marks or stay away or keep clear underwater hazard.
We were missing Luka and Simon as crew. But hope to see them next time. We de-rigged and enjoyed watermelon and some of Ann’s cookies. More cookies please next time.
Our next races at Shoreline are on October 15, the last races of the year. Except for the end of the year cruise, TBA. Sacramento has races this next Saturday Sept. 23. So one more chance to sail this year. Ralf and I are going and we hope to have some company from the club.
Just for future thought, we will need a Lido volunteer for race committee on October 15.
See you on Thursday night’s Zoom meeting where we can rehash Sunday's sailing, victories, frustrations and rules/rules/rules.
Earl
___
Earl Thomas #5121
Fleet 62 Captain
Sunday’s attendance was 5 Lidos, 2 El Toros, 1 Windsurfer, 1 rental Laser. And Vern showed up to get us going in the morning. The cast of Pollywogs was Jim with Harold Ho and Oliver Ho (son), Dick and Ann, Stephen and Logan, Earl and Ralf, Sidney solo, Art and Steve in El Toros, Steve Mionis in a Laser, Jeff Ruggles? on the Windsurfer. I am assuming none of you have sailed across the equator and are not Shellbacks yet.
We were happy to see the return of Harold Ho who hasn’t been sailing with us in 7 plus years. He brought his son Oliver for a sailing test ride. Harold passed the 'rent a sailboat written test' this morning, intending to rent a Capri. But saved some money and crewed instead of renting. "It’s better in a Lido 14”, I should trademark that. I hope Oliver had a good time and we will hear from Harold on an after sailing report. Harold has been a long time sailor with the club, a former Lido fleet captain and excellent skipper. We are thrilled to see his return with maybe a next generation sailor.
We had great weather on Sunday, mixed clouds and 73 degrees. Light /medium winds, perfect conditions. The wind was pretty consistent from the east, northeast.
We got in 5 races with courses 1, 2, 3. Race lengths were running 11 to 22 minutes. So a quick pace all day.
Roy was in the Rowboat as Race committee, lots of r’s or is it ‘arraghs'. He did a great job with course selection and gave clear announcements on his trusty bullhorn. Thank you Roy!
We almost lost our beloved and classic starting pin, before the start, as it was tangled in the rode and sank below the surface. Steve Maulick luckily found the underwater flag and pulled it up, while I raced back to the dock for a replacement buoy. Thanks to the other Lidos for setting and retrieving the marks today. We had a slightly delayed start but we finally straightened things out.
The first race was a close one with all the Lidos closely grouped. The subsequent races were a choice of which side of the lake to go up wind. The right side to the layline (less turns) or the left side with more tacks and coming in on port at the mark. Both strageties seemed similar in results. Stephen and Logan even tried a port tack start and weaved their way through the fleet. Was it by choice or were they late and their other options were limited? We will have to see if they will confess. There were several close encounters of the Rule 18 type at the leeward mark. But we managed to survive unscathed. We seemed to all arrive at the marks at the same time on multiple occasions. Stephen with Logan and Dick with Ann dominated the day and traded the lead in each race. But surprise, Jim and his lucky crew, Harold and Oliver, found the right combination and got one first place finish. It looks like Harold still has it and we better watch out when he and Maria return.
I put a longer extension handle on the trailer dolly. And it seemed to work but still the ramp was slippery and 2 people went sliding and got a little wet. I wish my boat hull was that slippery. Other than slipping at the ramp we all survived without breaking anything on board.
Rental kayaks were the challenge of the day. As they again think the yellow balls are 'park here signs'. I am thinking of adding NO LOITERING to the marks or stay away or keep clear underwater hazard.
We were missing Luka and Simon as crew. But hope to see them next time. We de-rigged and enjoyed watermelon and some of Ann’s cookies. More cookies please next time.
Our next races at Shoreline are on October 15, the last races of the year. Except for the end of the year cruise, TBA. Sacramento has races this next Saturday Sept. 23. So one more chance to sail this year. Ralf and I are going and we hope to have some company from the club.
Just for future thought, we will need a Lido volunteer for race committee on October 15.
See you on Thursday night’s Zoom meeting where we can rehash Sunday's sailing, victories, frustrations and rules/rules/rules.
Earl
___
Earl Thomas #5121
Fleet 62 Captain
