PRSA Archives from 2008

-- News is listed most recent first --

Jeanne Ackerman.   It is with sorrow and great sadness that we bring you the news of the passing of Jeanne Ackerman.  She died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of June 16th after a brief illness.  Read more.

PRSA Spring  Series # 8,  Sunday, June 8.  Bill Kleysteuber was PRO, with RC provided by the Buccaneers.  The AccuWeather forecast called for a high of 94 degrees, partly sunny skies, hot and  humid, with winds from the WSW at 8 - 12 MPH.  The river flow was up a bit, after recent rains, at 19,400 CFS (gage height 4.8 ft) and the water temperature was a spa-like 80 degrees.  High tide was at 12:27 PM.

This turned out to be a day of contrasts, making it extremely challenging for Race committee, not to mention the racers.  On the way up to the race course we had a nice southerly breeze, at 8 - 10 MPH, allowing a gentle and leisurely downwind run with chute up to get to the course.  Bill set a nice windward-leeward course of appropriate length, windward mark to the south, and launched the starting sequence promptly at 11:30 AM.  Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) there was a General Recall on the Lighting start, and the Lightnings were consigned to the end of the list for the restart.  By that time the wind had started to shift to a westwardly direction, but for almost an hour we had light and variable winds, with the Lightings hanging around the start line waiting for the restart that never happened.

After finishing the Albacores, RC had to reset the course to accommodate the now northwesterly winds, and then got off three more races on a W3 plan in quick succession before it was time to come in.  However, for the entire remainder of the day we had shifty gusts, just like last weekend, sometimes more southerly, sometimes more northerly, keeping all racers on their toes.  The general wind direction itself changed from NNW at 1 PM to SW by 3 PM, generally about 13 MPH.

Once back at the dock we wished we had even more breeze as we sweltered in the 95 degree heat and humidity to pack up and put away our boats.   The good news was we didn't need to go to the club to enjoy a sauna -- we got  it right here at WSM!  Results here.

PRSA Spring  Series # 7,  Sunday, June 1.   Yates Dowell was PRO, with RC provided by the Hobies.  The warmer weather of June was a delightful change from the brisker days of April and May.   We had those wacky westerly winds off the airport, averaging about 10 MPH, but with no-wind lulls and sudden gusts,  coming from unpredictable directions, of up to 20 MPH. The river flow was  normal for this time of year, at 11,100 CFS (gage height 4.1 ft), and the water has warmed up nicely to 74 degrees.  Low tide was at 1:25 PM, and we hit bottom with our board down multiple times on the trip back to the marina, and then had to go ask for a chain extender for the hoist in order to get the boats out at the crane.

Yates set a triangular course with the windward mark and the finish line near the airport's storage shed south of Gravelly Point, and the leeward mark close to the channel off Hains Point.  The start line was a bit north of the leeward mark, all helping to maximize the size of the race course.  Yates got off 4 races in quick succession, using an Olympic course plan, and had time to start a 5th, except that dark clouds to the west suggested that it might be time to head for home.

12 Lightings, 11 Albacores, 2 Buccs, and 2 Hamptons came out and were rewarded with an exciting day of racing on the river.   Results Here.

Were you on the water Saturday afternoon May 31? At around 2 PM?  Probably should not have been....

PRSA Spring Regatta,  Saturday and Sunday, May 24 - 25.   Saturday was a picture-perfect day on the water, with mostly sunny skies, a high temperature of 74 degrees and northerly breezes 9 - 13 MPH, lower that forecast,  with higher gusts -- shifty and puffy, making it interesting, but not overwhelming.  Sunday did not have enough wind for racing.  Results here.

PRSA Spring  Series # 6,  Sunday, May 18.   PRO  Pat McGee and the Lightning Fleet RC took charge of a most interesting race day on Sunday, May 18.  The AccuWeather forecast called for southwesterly winds  at 16 - 19 MPH and the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms.  The river flow was up, due to last weekend's rains, at 39,100 CFS (gage height 6.1 ft).  The potential strong winds and the likelihood of thunderstorms kept some skippers off the water, but for the 5 Lightings, 4 Cats, and one Albacore that came out it was a most interesting day on the water. Winds never got above 16, and sometime after 1 PM they settled down to 8.  Periods of cold rain could have been discouraging, but for skippers and crew dressed for it,  the rain was no distraction. With southwesterly winds RC was able to set up a long windward-leeward course in front of the power plant, with the windward mark near the Robbins-Gioa office in Old Town and the leeward mark well north of the green channel mark north of the Naval Research lab.  True, this put some of the race course into the navigable channel, where we had to dodge the Spirit, the Dandy, a big barge, and other large boats  (David called "Starboard" on the Spirit and was answered by five angry blasts of a horn), but we had great downwind legs with chutes up.  For the final windward leg of the third race RC decided to move the windward mark farther south, placing it in front of the Chart House restaurant -- it seemed like it was almost to the Wilson Bridge.  But,  unfortunately, shortly  after the last Lighting rounded the mark, the wind died, not to pick up again until after the race had been abandoned -- and we had accepted a tow home. Results Here.

PRSA Spring  Series # 5, Sunday, May 11. Robert Bennett was PRO, with Race Committee members provided by the V-15 Fleet.  The AccuWeather forecast called for partly sunny skies, a high of 63 degrees, and southeasterly winds at 11 MPH.  The river flow was about average for this time of year, at 14,200 CFS (gage height 4.4 ft), and the water temperature a seasonal 65 degrees.  Low tide was at 8:10 AM and high tide at 1:46 PM.   There was the threat of an on-coming heavy rain / thunderstorm system that actually arrived after we got off the water, prompting RC to set up and run 3 races in quick succession and to get us back to the dock before 3.  Results here.

 PRSA 2008 Laser and Byte Regatta Saturday May 10. Five Bytes and seven Lasers came out to play on what turned out to be a great day. Jeff Storck was PRO and was ably assisted by Hank Krafft. They got six races for the Lasers and five for the bytes. Results here.

PRSA Spring  Series # 4, Sunday, May 4.   Lightnings were away at Leesylvania, but 5 Albacores and a Bucc had a great day on the water at Hains Point.  PRO Khin Thein and the Albacore fleet RC got off five races in bright sunshine and brisk northerly winds before it was time to come in.  Here are the results.

PRSA Spring  Series # 3, Sunday, April 27   Ben Ackerman was PRO, with Race Committee members provided by the Catamaran Fleet.  It was a gray, chilly Sunday -- overcast and misty, with temperatures in the mid-50s, but we had refreshing northeasterly winds, and got in four races on a Windward-Leeward and then an Olympic course.  Here are the results.

PRSA Spring Series # 2, Sunday, April 20.   The AccuWeather forecast called for cloudy skies, rain, heavy at times, and possible thunderstorms.  AccuWeather got it right!  PRO Daphne Byron evaluated the weather forecast, and with the sparse turnout as of 10 AM, decided to cancel racing for the day.  Good call, Daphne!

PRSA Spring Series # 1, Sunday, April 13.  12 Lightnings, 7 Albacores, 5 Cats, an Interlake, 2 Buccs, and a Laser came out to enjoy the first racing day of the 2008 Spring Season, under cloudy skies with a high temperature of 55 degrees and westerly/northwesterly winds at 10 to 14 MPH.  PRO Jeff Storck set a nice triangular course with the windward and reach marks close to the airport, and got off 4 races in good order.  Here are results. And here are the pictures!

PRSA Spring Icebreaker Saturday, April 5.  The 2008 PRSA Spring Season kicked off this weekend with the traditional Icebreaker on Saturday, sailing in front of the power plant.  Low tide was at 2:01 PM, making for very shallow water for the afternoon.  The AccuWeather forecast called for for mostly cloudy skies, rain off and on all day, with northerly winds at 10 MPH, and a high temperature of 62 degrees.  The AccuWeather forecast was wrong!  While we did have the northerly winds at 12 - 8 MPH (and calm at one point), the day was mostly sunny and pleasant, with not a drop of rain in sight.  3 Lightings came out and were joined by 6 Hobies and 8 Lasers.  Frank Gallagher and crew provided Race Committee.  What a nice start of the season!  Results here.

Thanks much, boat clean-up team!  Sincere thanks to the volunteers -- Jeff Storck, Rick Welch, Chris Bolton, Robert Bennett, Barney Harris and David Thompson -- who accomplished an equipment inventory and a thorough cleaning of the Bayliner on March 15, with much help from Nabeel's power washer.

 2008 Capital City Laser Regatta  March 15 - 16.   Bob Bear was the PRO, with an able race committee that included Barney Harris, Chris Bolton, Steve Parsons, and Kevin Cowley.  Saturday saw beautiful sailing conditions early, with northerly winds at 14 MPH at noon; 8 MPH at 1 PM; 3 MPH at 2 PM; and calm after that, with mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 61 degrees.  Sunday's winds averaging 20 MPH, gusts to 32, made up for the light winds on Saturday, but with much cooler temperatures.  Results here.

Read  2007 reports