Flying Scot Midwinters Final

Friday 27 March

Allan and Katie Terhune are the Champions! One race was sailed in a building breeze as a front approaches Tampa Bay.

Wind 4-32 mph from the South East, temperature 80.

Day four of the 2009 Flying Scot Mid Winters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

When we came to the Yacht Club, the wind was around 15-18mph. The race was scheduled to be on time. We had a bumpy ride to the start and were ready in full foul weather gear for a windy race. But, the wind was slacking off and by the time we arrived at the committee boat we had stripped off all our waterproofs to stay cool.

We had a terrible start. With the pin heavily favored we were outmaneuvered on the line by fellow competitors and the current. In an attempt to make the pin, we fouled someone and had to do our 720. Nothing is more frustrating than to do a 720 at the start line. We had been geared up to defend our 5th overall position and a 720 on the start line doesn’t really help a crew and helm to maintain a positive outlook in such a highly competitive fleet. We struggled to get over the line and were a good two minutes and a half behind the fleet. Sticking to our original race plan we made our way to the right hand side of the course for the first beat.

By the first rounding of the windward mark we had caught the majority of the fleet who had favored the left. The wind was picking up for the downward leg which meant we could take advantage of our speed on the run to the first rounding of the leeward mark. By the time we reached the second downwind run the wind had increased considerably. We were not planing anymore and were in real danger of either taking off (we decided against this as we had not filed our flight plan with Tampa International Airport!) or sinking our bow into the oncoming waves. All I can say is; thank god for the invention of the auto ratchet and an experienced crew.

Anticipating a bumpy ride to the finish line we had no time to readjust our clothing from shorts and t-shirts to foul weather gear so we just painted huge grins on our faces. My crew quite enjoyed the bumpy windy beat to the line as one sails in the Puget Sound and the other in the Solent (UK) and were screaming that it was just like sailing in the height of summer in their respective waters (unfortunately it wasn’t raining so they were a little disappointed!) Again we favored the right and were able to pinch in front of two boats on the line. Due to the windy conditions racing was abandoned for the day and we had a beautiful plane back to the harbor hooting and hauling all the way.

It had been a long hard few days of sailing and now we could have some fun and just sail Njord with a relaxed hand on the helm. By our mental calculations, we thought we were about 11th in the last race; we had lost our 5th position. Did we mind? Well, yes we did because we are competitive. But then again, no we didn’t mind as we had experienced a great few days of close competitive sailing with a great bunch of fellow sailors in a great location.

It was a little sad knowing that when we lifted Njord out of the water she would be placed on her trailer and covered up for the ride back to Selby Bay, MD. However that thought was quickly replaced when we found out that we had finished 8th which meant we had maintained our overall 5th position. Heineken flowed and we packed up tired but very happy. Thank you to the St Petersburg Yacht Club and the Race Committee for a wonderful regatta. See you all in August for the Nationals in Ephraim.

Team Njord.







Final results are posted on the FSSA homepage.

Flying Scot Midwinters Day 3

Thursday 26 March

Wind 16-12 mph from the East, temperature 80.

Two races were completed in nice sunny weather with a solid breeze early that tapered off in the afternoon.

We arrived to a postponement which was taken down at 10:15. Again today we had a great Top Gun session covering the tactics of finishing.

Our first course today (W5 1.1) saw the right hand side favored during the first beat. This didn’t hold true for the second beat. Again we saw the breeze dropping during the race. The downwind runs were just as painful with pressure hard to find.
It started with 12 mph wind, but at every leg the wind became less and less. Coupled with sufficient chop it was difficult the keep the boat moving. The last beat it was important to play the shifts and not to bang it in a corner. It is probably fair to say that we were happy to cross the finishing line.

The second race started off in light winds. By the middle of the first beat it had virtually disappeared on the course and the safety boats raced around the fleet telling all that the race had been abandoned. We limped our way to the Committee Boat and waited for a promised sea breeze. A leisurely lunch was eaten and thoughts of taking a dip in the bay crossed the mind of my crew. But the promised breeze arrived and a short course was posted (W3 0.8) which made for an exciting last race of the day.




Results are up on the FSSA homepage.

Flying Scot Midwinters Day 2

Wednesday 25 March

Wind 18-2 mph from the East, temperature 80.

Day two of the 2009 Flying Scot Mid Winters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Wednesday saw our first postponement. This was due to an easterly wind gusting between 18-22mph making the waves near the breakwater too treacherous for the fleet to leave the harbor. The hour and a half postponement meant that we could spend some extra time in the excellent Top Gun program organized by Greg Fisher. We all left the classroom ready to attempt the perfect start and a little more confident about dealing with the waves on the beat and the downwind portions of the course.

When the postponement flag was taken down we left the breakwater in a pleasant 15mph wind and significantly fewer large waves than earlier. The first race was a windward/leeward five times around with the right hand side of the course favored on the first beat. The wind was decreasing throughout the race and by the second downwind leg, it had virtually stopped. This made the rounding of the leeward mark the second time a challenge as we struggled to round the mark and begin the final beat to the finish. The fleet split significantly to the left and right sides of the course desperately searching for pressure and the better tide. The top five boats decided to favor the right side of the course, where a potential sea breeze could arrive. We decided to follow the left as it gave us a more direct transit to the finish line. Making my crew hike out on the leeward side to keep the boat heeled at the optimum angle we made good progress on the fleet to the right hand side and maintained our position, to finish 6th.

The second race started in an unexpected sea breeze that kicked in a few hours early, much to the amazement of the locals in the fleet and the race committee. The race was a short course windward/leeward three times with a 0.8m beat to the first mark. The current played a large factor and made the right side of the course favored on the beat and the left favoured on the downwind. It was a very tight race with the fleet not having the chance to spread out and we all went home tired and happy looking forward to the buffet dinner at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club that evening.

The reception was well attended and the great food (and drinks!) well appreciated. We all had fun in the raffle and enjoyed the presentation by the Mount Ephraim Yacht Club, where the 2009 National Championships will be held in the first week of August.

The wind graph for Wednesday

Complete results are posted on the FSSA home page.

Hans

Flying Scot Midwinters 2009

Tuesday 24 March

Wind 15-8 mph from the East, temperature 80.

Day One of the 2009 Flying Scot Midwinters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

A strong high front over the Carolinas gave us an unexpected Easterly breeze for our 11:00 starting signal and a well set line allowed the fleet to get off the start cleanly. A first beat of 1.9miles saw us battling to get through the waves on starboard tack, this was especially true for the lighter crews. This beat saw the usual suspects rounding ahead of the main body of the fleet. Almost all jibed immediately at the offset mark to take advantage of the port tack which offered exciting surfing conditions. There was an obvious advantage in jibing as soon as possible on this downwind run. Conditions remained pretty stable throughout this first race. The top 10 in the Champions Fleet were as follows:
1. GYA 318 Cordero
2. 5761 Terhune
3. 5871 Carpenter
4. 5509 Warner
5. 5341 Weisleder
6. 5671 Goldman
7. 5744 Noordanus
8. 2333 Tyrrell
9. 5055 Guenther
10. 5535 Cooke

The second race began with similar conditions to the first, but these soon gave way to lighter winds and a slack current. The infamous “St Pete Swiss” soon kicked in as holes developed in a seemingly random pattern on the race course.

1. 5761 Terhune
2. 4925 Linton
3. 5622 Malmgren
4. 5341 Weisleder
5. GYA318 Cordero
6. 680 Miller
7. 5671 Goldman
8. 5055 Guenther
9. 5744 Noordanus
10. 3683 Williams

Both courses were W5 (3 upwind, 2 downwind legs)



Here is a graph of the days wind but the readings here are on the low side compared to actual conditions.

Hans