THE SAILING BEAT

This Monday, May 7 marked the fourth race of the Dahlgren Yacht Club (DYC) racing season. Monday's race was the PHRF Spring Low Point Series race #4. Conditions were beautiful, sunny, and windy with at the start with a strong SE breeze at 12-14 knots, which stirred up the chop considerably. The 10 boats at the start were Ol'Blue, Melee, Night Moose, Blue Heaven, All-Ridy-Then, Dionysus, Honey-Do, Destiny, GWTW, and Lively Lady.

Prior to the start there was a collision between GWTW and Destiny. GWTW attempted to cross on port tack and, as usual, failed to yield to the right of way boat (Destiny), which was on starboard tack along with the entire rest of the fleet. Destiny sustained minor damage with a dented toe rail and a sheared off vent. GWTW on the other hand sustained substantial damage with crushed and crumpled fiberglass on the sides and deck. Parts of GWTW including nuts and bolts, and pieces of her smashed running lights ended up on Destiny's deck. Safety is the number one priority and all skippers and crew need to be aware of the rules but more important know where other vessels are at all times and should at all costs avoid collisions. Skippers and crew should read, comprehend, obey, and adhere to the racing rules of sailing. Those who don't have no business being on the racecourse.

Other than the collision, the 1700 start went off without a hitch with Radio-Flyer performing Race Committee duty flawlessly. Monday's racecourse was WF, a 7.07 nautical mile windward-leeward course. A windward-leeward course differs from a triangular course in that it requires boats to tack directly upwind towards the mark and then round coming back downwind to the finish on a spinnaker run. The race started with all boats close-hauled beating out towards the first mark, "D" located off Colonial Beach. Several boats went farther out into the river and others stayed closer in towards shore hoping to gain on the others. The beat to windward was long and strenuous but that's what its all about. First to round the mark was Ol'Blue followed by Blue Heaven, Melee, All-Ridy-Then, Dionysus, and Night Moose. Ol'Blue launched her spinnaker first followed by Melee, and All-Ridy-Then. Night Moose's spinnaker went up with a "Dolly Parton"( a big twist in the sail) but it got straightened out eventually. The spinnaker run back to the finish was a good haul with some boats going inshore, some going farther out into the river for a hotter angle, and others taking the middle. In the end, first over the line was Ol'Blue followed by Melee, All-Ridy-Then, Night Moose, and Blue Heaven. Once handicap corrections were applied, the top finishing places were 1st Ol'Blue, 2nd Melee and 3rd Night Moose. After securing the boats and gear, and cleaning up the mayhem, and believe me, windy days like that provide for some interesting experiences and lessons, skippers and crew hung around to reminisce and celebrate their victories and losses!

This Monday, May 14 will be race #5 of the PHRF Spring Low Point Series. Skippers or crew wishing to participate in the PHRF Monday Night series, or the daysail / centerboard series should contact the DYC for details. In addition to the PHRF and Centerboard series, DYC will be running an Regatta during the Colonial Beach Festival on June 9 and is hosting other invitational events including a Daysail regatta on June 23, the St. Clements Island Pursuit race on September 15-16, and the "Under the Guns Regatta" on October 7. DYC is planning to run a novice sailing / racing series for those wanting to learn but not quite ready for prime time. Again, DYC is always looking for people willing to crew on several local and newly arrived boats so anyone interested in participating in any of these events should contact the race committee.

This coming year will continue to be exciting so bring your boat out to race or just show up and crew. See you out on the water! Jibe Ho.

Josh Colwell, DYC Race Governor, skippers Night Moose berthed at Dahlgren Marine Works and is an Image Scientist with Boeing-Autometric. He can be reached at jcolwell@autometric.com

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