TWAS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Twas the day after Christmas and all through the bay

5 Day Sailers raced on a warm summers day

There was War Horse and Swamp Thing and Stooze Bote and This Side Up

And a Christmas Miracle because What showed up

Rigging at the boat ramps

It's Bob

Angie is back.

Lil and Angie ready to sail

Dave and Mark thinking

What is Dave holding?  It is some piece from the boat that Bob built this summer.  Not good.

Bob having lunch probably during the skippers meeting since he skipped the reaching mark on the first race.

Stu and Andy.  Nice wind maybe 6-12 from the East, Southeast

Andy on the helm

Bob and Angie heading right for us. 

Stu and Mark reset the starting line for the third race to accommodate the wind shift.  We eliminated the reaching mark  and just did windward/leeward.  Bob must have been having a snack again because he went to the reach mark anyway but still won the race.

Stu and Mark crossing

Mark and Lil making sure the Kelly's don't tack

Stu in the lead

Mark and Lil sailing off somewhere

Beau and Dedee Plessner in What made it out for Races 2-5.  They got two firsts.

Photo finish.  Bob and Angie squeaked in ahead of the Kelly's.  That is Dave's big head in the picture.

Everyone got a first today except for our Champions Mark & Lil.  They had their issues.

The competition continued the next evening at Stu and Shirley's home. 

 Pool Party!

Mark was the winner for the night!

 

Or Bob was?

Lil and Angie didn't care.

Thanks Stu and Shirley for hosting the pool party.  We will let you know when you can do it again.

Next race is changed from January 9 to January 16th because of the Good Old Boat Race.  We will still race on January 23.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

More Amazing Summer in December Sailing

Fleet Racing Sunday, December 13, 2015

     Fleet Racing was changed to Sunday because of big boat Gulf Racing Saturday.  The Kreutzers raced their boat 'Pilgrim II'.  Mark was part of their crew and Dave crewed on some cushy boat and had cocktails and lunch while racing.  They had light winds on Saturday.
     Sunday was cranking from the good old east.  The wind was 12 to 20 with crazy gusts from all over the place - typical easterly.
     Stu finished the repairs on Mark's boat so he was ready to go.

 
     The first race started with the Kelly's at the boat end and Mark and Lil right under them.  The Kelly's tacked away before they fell into 'This Side Up' and went right.  It seemed like a good choice until a gust hit and Dave's 2015 Day Sailer Nationals hat went overboard.   We chose to save the hat allowing Mark and easy win.

Race number 2 was off.  It did not go well for the Kreutzers.

Oops!

They were able to get the sail on the boat but now they had to get the mast out of the water.

That was the hard part but the Kreutzers are always prepared.  They had their anchor, radio to call Sea Tow and their tool kit.

With the mast finally on the deck, Mark and Lil prepared to tow.

Things come in 3's.  What will happen next?

No worse for wear - I take that back - Where did they get those outfits?

Everyone be ready to race Saturday December 26.  Maybe we will all get new boats for Christmas.  We need to give Stu a break.  He is getting tired of fixing our boats.

The Classic Boat Race (formally Good Old Boat Race) is Sat. January 9.  Mark is racing in that.  We are cancelling Fleet Racing that day and making it the following Saturday, January 16.  We will still race January 23rd.  

We need a pool party soon! 

Summer in November Sailing

November 28th, 2016

Blue skies, 80 degrees, northwesterly sea breeze 6-10.  Can't get too much better than that.

We got in 5 races, windward-leeward twice around.  The Kelly's ruled the day.  Mark & Greg took them out of the start on one race but that did not stop them.  Bob and Bob got a bunch of seconds and they didn't even capsize.  We missed Janet and Bruce but their kids brought home some bug from college so they were home in bed. 

Stu and Andy in the lead-- wait Kelly's took that picture.  Kelly's in the lead, Stu second.

Bob & Bob in the lead-- better get that spinnaker drawing if you want to stay there.  Wait-- Kelly's took that picture.

Getting ready to douse the spinnaker after the finish

 

Mark Rother and Greg Graham in light blue. The "Squid" is a substitute boat while "This Side Up" is being repaired. Greg is a substitute crew for Lil, his hotshot crew. (visiting family).  This is Greg's first time in a centerboard boat.  Mark's boat still under reconstruction.

Stu's handi-work under way.  Stu removed the top of the seat to get to the job.

Finished product coming soon.  We won't tell Mark but Stu added 20 pounds in the seat before closing it up.

Not real sure what this is?  I think it is inside the seat.

 

Next fleet race:  Sunday December 13

 

One-Design Championships at Boca Ciega Yacht Club

November 14th and 15th, 2015

The first day of the One-Design Championship brought strong challenging winds about 15 to 20 with some higher gusts.  Mark and Lil broke a spreader at the dock and almost did not make it out.  Good thing he fixed it because he proved he was fast on Day 1.  With three bullets, a 2nd and a DNF (oops), he was pretty unbeatable.  The race committee kept us out for 5 races on Saturday, hoping to get three in on Sunday which would then allow a throw-out.

Bob & Bob hiking in perfect unison

 

The Kelly's in the foreground and the Kreutzers in the background.

There's the Kreutzers

Stu and JJ

Stu and JJ just ahead of the Bobs

     A collision took Team Mark/Lil and Team Kreutzers out of the 5th race.  A capsize on the starting line took the Bob's out of the third race.  Day 1 finished with a tie for first place.  Team Mark and Lil had 11 points as did Team Stu and JJ. Three races was the goal for Sunday.  

     Sunday brought more wind and the Windmills and Sunfish made the wise decision not to go out.  Team Mark/Lil borrowed the Kelly's loaner boat Squid so were able to sail.  On the way out the Kelly's foolishly decided to dry out their spinnaker.  It was quite a ride on the edge and no one moved on the boat for fear of upsetting the balance.  They finally had to douse and  broached when the spinnaker was mostly in the bag.  They took on some water but managed to stay on their feet.  Team Stu/JJ decided on the way out that it was not a good choice to race.  The Bob's turned back, then the Kelly's reported to the committee boat that they were also going in.  Mark and Lil stayed for the one race held and took a 1st.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

Team Mark and Lil in "Squid"

Report and pictures of boat repair coming.

Next fleet race Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015

 

Fleet Races Oct. 24th and October 31

October 24th

The loaner boat debuts and gets a first in the first race but went downhill from there.  Stu did a good job teaching Chris to fiberglass because the boat did not leak but it had other issues.

 Here is its good side.  It is never good when the skipper is holding the blade for the rudder in her hands. 

Some of the gang.  Where is Mark, Dave and Chris?

The winners for the Day.  

We had those crazy easterlies at 10-18 with 30 degree shifts.

For some reason all those great shots taken on the water were not in the camera.  Got to do better.

October 31 Halloween

 Bob and Angie are back in town so Bob was sailing with Bob today.  It was a great surprise when they were at the docks readying their boat.  That dumb photographer forgot her camera so no sailing pictures.  We had four boats and those crazy easterlies again.  The Kelly's sailed the loaner boat again after ironing out the problems from last week.  It is ready to sail now except it needs a longer topping lift (easy fix) and we are going to change out the cleat on the tiller that holds the rudder down.  It is a fast boat and the Kelly's took 3 firsts and one second.  

Florida One Design Championship and Day Sailer Florida State Championship

November 14-15th, 2015 

Boca Ciega Yacht Club in Gulf Port

The Competition Continued into the night---

Ping Pong tournament at Bruce & Janets

Lil has on her game face

 

  

Fiberglass Lessons from Stu

Broken Leaky Bailer

No More Broken Leaky Bailer  (hopefully not leaky boat)  

Work in progress

 

View from the bottom.  Hopefully better pictures coming.

First Fleet Races at Belleair Causeway in Intercoastal Waterway

October 10, 2015

Saturday morning started out with overcast skies and plenty of rain.  The weather forecast was for clearing skies for a few hours and storms again by afternoon.  When are they ever right?  We all agreed we should give it a try.  The day turned out beautiful with wind 6-10.  Heading in, it picked up of course but was accompanied by some threatening clouds.

Mark and Lil headed out to the race course.

Stu and Andy set the windward mark on the west side of the Intercoastal.  To line up the course the Kelly's had to drop the leeward mark which put the shoal right in the middle of the course with an outgoing tide.  When Stu ran aground none of us felt that badly.  You had to choose which side to take on the upwind legs.

Keep that spinnaker full.  Stu and Andy headed to leeward mark.

The Kelly's won the first race.

Finally Dede and Beau made it to the race course.  We have not seen them much.  The next three races they were in control and got 3 bullets.

They had to displace the raccoon who was living in their boat.

Dede and Beau in "What" (We expect you out there every time)

There they are with their white spinnaker

Stu  and Andy ahead heading to the leeward mark.  Mark and Lil in tow and the Kelly's getting a rare shot from the rear.  HAHA

Get those chutes down

There's Mark and Lil sometime before a start.

We moved the course to accommodate for the wind shift and had a 4th race.  Here is how I think the scores went.

1st  "What"  Dede and Beau DNS(4)  1-1-1- Total 7

2nd "Swamp Thing"  Chris and Dave 1-2-3-3 Total 9

3rd "Stooze Boat"  Stu and Andy 2-3-2-2 Total 9 (Kelly's won the tie breaker)

4th "This Side Up"  Mark and Lil 3-4-4-4 Total 15  (Mark was wearing his ancient sails.  He is saving his fast sails for the One-Design Championship and he is fast with them.

We have an extra Day Sailer if a crew of two wants to try racing with us.  You need a car with a hitch.  Everything else is there.  Contact:  chris.kelly1004@yahoo.com.  2015-16 Schedule is a few blogs back.

Kelly's boat at home with new spinnaker bag and old buoys and old boat.

Party at Naughty Nancy's

     The band was way too loud for us old farts but we made the most of it and went inside.

Mark and Lil at Naughty Nancy's

 

 Stu and Andy

 Mark and Lil

 

Next Race Saturday, Oct. 24th at Belleair Causeway

Race Start 1 PM