June 23, 2025
by Earl Thomas #5121
Commodore & Fleet 62 Captain
Commodore & Fleet 62 Captain
Two Lidos, two El Toros, and one each of the following, Zest, Laser, Fauxfish, Hobie Island and one rowboat were on the water on Sunday. Quite a motley group of dinghies. But more the merrier. And we enjoyed donuts to start the day courtesy of our expert donut selectors, Fiona and Oliver. A good variety of pink, sprinkles and glazed, thank you.
Congrats to our RC on Sunday. They were new to the job and performed well. Yossi and Jamie were in the rowboat but Don came early to help setup the table and boat, and to learn the procedures. Thank you to all three of them. We now have some fine new recruits for future races. But we still need a couple of volunteers for RC coming up for our future races. So contact me if you can step up. As you can see it is very doable and anyone can learn it. The boys in the boat also flew the club's new numbered signal flags/pennants for the course announcement. I think we are all getting used to the flags thanks to John’s course flags.
Ann was in a Zest, Adrian in his Hobie, Richard in his Fauxfish, Scott Mionis (returned this year) in a rented Laser and they made up the Open class. Steve and Tony were in their El Toros and Harold, Maria, Oliver and Fiona were in their Lido and Ralf and I in my Lido.
We started off with clear blue skies and low to no wind as we drifted out to set the marks and get to the starting line. But just moments before the first race's warning signal the switch was thrown on the wind machine and we got hit with nice 3-4 mph wind out of the normal direction and we were off to some exciting racing.
We did four races, courses 1, 2, 4 then 2, they were the consensus choices from the sailors and the RC. Race one and two were fun and everyone competed. But that is when some of the fun ended. Scott found his Laser unable to turn up wind after the leeward mark. Slowly he found himself pushed toward the golf course shore and he and his Laser got wet. He recovered but was cold and confused as to what went wrong with the rigging of the boat. So he headed in.
Adrian didn’t last very long and we found him on the grassy shore by the clubhouse after race one. The wind was picking up. Ann was wresting with her Zest and having trouble controlling it in the higher wind. She made it thru race two. While just minutes before she said to us that "it's so great to be out on the water". Richard was testing some of his latest upgrades to his Fauxfish and headed in soon after. Harold and Maria completed race one but their two special wind indicators on board were unsure as to the building wind speed. So they retired to the docks. Harold was concerned with the 3 capsizes he saw during race one by the public rental boats and he choose wisely. Stay dry my friend. Our only claim to brag about was in the first race when Ralf and I were able squeak out a win over Harold and Maria in a close battle with the lead changing all the time. “Point higher” is always the answer.
That left it down to the battle of the two David’s and Goliath. The El Toros against the Big Wind Shadow Boat (Ralf and I). We battled it out for last two races with mixed results. Those pesky Bullships are quick to turn and point higher than a Lido. But in a drag race we got them. And also we can turn off their wind when they get near us. Ralf helped out a lot in keeping us flat and making some great tacks in demanding conditions. But the El Toro battle between Tony and Steve looked like a good competition all day, good job.
Needless to say the wind picked up in each subsequent race and it whittled down the competitors. It was a little gusty but calmed down to a steady wind as the afternoon continued. I was commenting to Ralf toward the end of the races that the lake was empty except for our three boats.
There were intentional Shoreline capsize drills at the docks around noon so we steered clear of that area. We saw some very cold but successful sailors (after righting their Capris) returning back down the docks to get dry. That didn’t count the numerous self capsizes out on the lake. That was too much wind for some beginners. The ultimate capsize was a rented Capri three quarter turtled with the mast stuck in the muddy bottom. The sailors had to be rescued by the Shoreline staff and later the staff had to pry out the mast (with that big mast top float), drag it back to the dock and wash, wash and wash.
Everyone hung around after the races to discuss the day’s challenges and we enjoyed a splendid spread of fruit and veggies, chips, dips, cookies and more. The catering was all we could hope for. Thank you Harold and Maria for the snacks and drinks today. The culinary bar has been set high.
Thank you to all who helped recovery the RC boat and equipment. Tony, Steve, Don, Yossi, Ralf, Adrian and Scott all helped, I hope I didn’t forget anyone, BUT THANK YOU. It went a lot easier and quicker with many hands.
Upon review of this report it sounds like the day was a disaster but to the contrary we all had a good time by the reactions back at the smorgasbord table. We learned a lot about sailing in higher winds and making good choices. When I got home it was an Ibuprofen and rehydration kind of an afternoon and evening. Too much looking up at the Windex on the top of my mast, hiking hard and pulling in the mainsheet against the wind. But it was a good workout in ‘sporty' winds.
Ann is organizing continuing Zest Fest sailing on some upcoming Saturdays, June 28, July 5 and July 19. So try out those sporty little boats with our club regulars. You can rent a Zest or bring your own boat. They’ll meet-up at 10:00 am to rent and rig.
Our next races will be on July 6th at Shoreline. But a special race (the Mayor’s Cup) will occur on Sunday June 29th at Lake Merritt. And actually it will be the last race at Lake Merritt for the foreseeable future. They are discontinuing sailing there because of costs, lack of sailors showing up and waning enthusiasm. See if you can make that date as well, it will be fun and it's a special venue right in the city center.
Check out some of Don’s photos from Sunday Here is a link. And a link to some video and onboard GoPro. https://jedlovec.wetransfer.com/downloads/df42c424b42c82d4b2daac5de3fcd90520250623140235/180888358c1eb7b065e4315be41531a320250623140236/93099d?t_exp=1782223355&t_lsid=c2f33168-db21-4946-abc3-26fe55f63a33&t_network=email&t_rid=YXV0aDB8VHJhbnNmZXJ8cTkzc2pyMnZlY3BhZ3U%3D&t_s=download_link&t_ts=1750687355&subdomain=jedlovec
And the race results will be coming as soon as Roy returns.
Congrats to our RC on Sunday. They were new to the job and performed well. Yossi and Jamie were in the rowboat but Don came early to help setup the table and boat, and to learn the procedures. Thank you to all three of them. We now have some fine new recruits for future races. But we still need a couple of volunteers for RC coming up for our future races. So contact me if you can step up. As you can see it is very doable and anyone can learn it. The boys in the boat also flew the club's new numbered signal flags/pennants for the course announcement. I think we are all getting used to the flags thanks to John’s course flags.
Ann was in a Zest, Adrian in his Hobie, Richard in his Fauxfish, Scott Mionis (returned this year) in a rented Laser and they made up the Open class. Steve and Tony were in their El Toros and Harold, Maria, Oliver and Fiona were in their Lido and Ralf and I in my Lido.
We started off with clear blue skies and low to no wind as we drifted out to set the marks and get to the starting line. But just moments before the first race's warning signal the switch was thrown on the wind machine and we got hit with nice 3-4 mph wind out of the normal direction and we were off to some exciting racing.
We did four races, courses 1, 2, 4 then 2, they were the consensus choices from the sailors and the RC. Race one and two were fun and everyone competed. But that is when some of the fun ended. Scott found his Laser unable to turn up wind after the leeward mark. Slowly he found himself pushed toward the golf course shore and he and his Laser got wet. He recovered but was cold and confused as to what went wrong with the rigging of the boat. So he headed in.
Adrian didn’t last very long and we found him on the grassy shore by the clubhouse after race one. The wind was picking up. Ann was wresting with her Zest and having trouble controlling it in the higher wind. She made it thru race two. While just minutes before she said to us that "it's so great to be out on the water". Richard was testing some of his latest upgrades to his Fauxfish and headed in soon after. Harold and Maria completed race one but their two special wind indicators on board were unsure as to the building wind speed. So they retired to the docks. Harold was concerned with the 3 capsizes he saw during race one by the public rental boats and he choose wisely. Stay dry my friend. Our only claim to brag about was in the first race when Ralf and I were able squeak out a win over Harold and Maria in a close battle with the lead changing all the time. “Point higher” is always the answer.
That left it down to the battle of the two David’s and Goliath. The El Toros against the Big Wind Shadow Boat (Ralf and I). We battled it out for last two races with mixed results. Those pesky Bullships are quick to turn and point higher than a Lido. But in a drag race we got them. And also we can turn off their wind when they get near us. Ralf helped out a lot in keeping us flat and making some great tacks in demanding conditions. But the El Toro battle between Tony and Steve looked like a good competition all day, good job.
Needless to say the wind picked up in each subsequent race and it whittled down the competitors. It was a little gusty but calmed down to a steady wind as the afternoon continued. I was commenting to Ralf toward the end of the races that the lake was empty except for our three boats.
There were intentional Shoreline capsize drills at the docks around noon so we steered clear of that area. We saw some very cold but successful sailors (after righting their Capris) returning back down the docks to get dry. That didn’t count the numerous self capsizes out on the lake. That was too much wind for some beginners. The ultimate capsize was a rented Capri three quarter turtled with the mast stuck in the muddy bottom. The sailors had to be rescued by the Shoreline staff and later the staff had to pry out the mast (with that big mast top float), drag it back to the dock and wash, wash and wash.
Everyone hung around after the races to discuss the day’s challenges and we enjoyed a splendid spread of fruit and veggies, chips, dips, cookies and more. The catering was all we could hope for. Thank you Harold and Maria for the snacks and drinks today. The culinary bar has been set high.
Thank you to all who helped recovery the RC boat and equipment. Tony, Steve, Don, Yossi, Ralf, Adrian and Scott all helped, I hope I didn’t forget anyone, BUT THANK YOU. It went a lot easier and quicker with many hands.
Upon review of this report it sounds like the day was a disaster but to the contrary we all had a good time by the reactions back at the smorgasbord table. We learned a lot about sailing in higher winds and making good choices. When I got home it was an Ibuprofen and rehydration kind of an afternoon and evening. Too much looking up at the Windex on the top of my mast, hiking hard and pulling in the mainsheet against the wind. But it was a good workout in ‘sporty' winds.
Ann is organizing continuing Zest Fest sailing on some upcoming Saturdays, June 28, July 5 and July 19. So try out those sporty little boats with our club regulars. You can rent a Zest or bring your own boat. They’ll meet-up at 10:00 am to rent and rig.
Our next races will be on July 6th at Shoreline. But a special race (the Mayor’s Cup) will occur on Sunday June 29th at Lake Merritt. And actually it will be the last race at Lake Merritt for the foreseeable future. They are discontinuing sailing there because of costs, lack of sailors showing up and waning enthusiasm. See if you can make that date as well, it will be fun and it's a special venue right in the city center.
Check out some of Don’s photos from Sunday Here is a link. And a link to some video and onboard GoPro. https://jedlovec.wetransfer.com/downloads/df42c424b42c82d4b2daac5de3fcd90520250623140235/180888358c1eb7b065e4315be41531a320250623140236/93099d?t_exp=1782223355&t_lsid=c2f33168-db21-4946-abc3-26fe55f63a33&t_network=email&t_rid=YXV0aDB8VHJhbnNmZXJ8cTkzc2pyMnZlY3BhZ3U%3D&t_s=download_link&t_ts=1750687355&subdomain=jedlovec
And the race results will be coming as soon as Roy returns.