Wednesday Night Series: 2015

Alexanderson Cup

Sep 19, 2015      Wind Conditions: Heavy

None

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Race 17

Sep 02, 2015      Wind Conditions: Light

What a night to finish the season! Thanks to Willie and Christina Lund who had the burden of getting off a race on the last night of the year. With a nice south wind prior to the start a W4 was selected with North Canoe as the windward mark. As it turned out the wind died faster than predicted and left some boats struggling to finish but most made it across the finish line in just over 1 hour. At the start, Jaded and Animal nailed the favored pin-end with Crackerjack and Vaporize next down the line, followed by Spirit. The rest of the fleet started with speed on the boat end. Vaporize tacked away and ducked several boats to find clear air right off the line then came back to the east looking for the “Long Island Port tack Lift”. Jaded and Animal tacked on the east side of the course and pulled out a significant lead with a nice lift as they closed on the windward mark. Crackerjack tacked and ducked Spirit as the lead boats tacked to port on the east side of the course but then with a slight header Crackerjack then opted to put Spirit under a tight cover fairly early in the race. Vaporize was among the mix on the left side of the course, while Uncle Ludwig seemingly came from nowhere sliding down the west side of the course and rounding in great shape for the first downwind leg. Trying to catch the leaders and taking notice of Kyles west side scoot, Crackerjack and Spirit gybed over early and with some clearer air were able to close in with the leaders by the time they reached the 2nd mark. After rounding and in search of more air, Crackerjack went east dropping the cover on Spirit. Uncle Ludwig slid in behind Crackerjack and showed some remarkable speed on the upwind leg. Unfortunately the wind continued to drop. The distances between the leaders and the 2nd pack diminished while the distance back to the next pack increased on the 2nd upwind leg. The Committee boat announced a shortened course and moved the finish line closer to the windward mark. As the leaders neared the finish, Brad Taylor’s J/80 rolled over Uncle Ludwig and then Crackerjack in succession with Vaporize staying outside and protecting what little air was filling out the spinnakers. Almost immediately thereafter the wind dropped to nothing and then filled in from the WNW which favored Crackerjack over the other 3 boats. Jaded captured a late race lead and crossed the line first followed by Animal, Crackerjack, Uncle Ludwig, Vaporize and Brad Taylor’s J/80 in succession. As dark descended on the fleet a couple of boats opted to retire but most fought through the calm to be treated with enough wind to get them across the line. Congratulations to Ben and crew for their 1st place finish. Race 17 results are directly below.

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Race 16

Aug 26, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

A big thank you to John and Kathy Tarrant for providing a very tight, exciting race around a W5 course set between a start/leeward pin in the vicinity of Hogback and another windward mark set to the WNW. Conscious of the earlier sunset, John set a short legged course with a fairly square line. Most of the fleet started midline to pin end, but Spirit and Crackerjack were seen starting at the boat end at the start even though the pin end was slightly favored. The moderate winds oscillated in both direction and pressure first favoring boats on the north and then the south side of the course. Crackerjack was able to drive under Spirit at the start forcing Spirit to tack away into clear air. Rodger and crew took advantage of both a lift and pressure to clear ahead of Crackerjack on the next tack. Animal and Uncle Ludwig went up the south side of the course and caught a huge lift coming into the 1st mark to make a very tight rounding. Brad Taylor and crew went unnoticed by the J/24’s and rounded the 1st mark 2nd right after Rodger. Vaporize was also in the tight mix. With the wind clocking to the north the fleet gybed over to carry down to the leeward mark but the wind shifted and a gybe to starboard was required as they all approached the leeward mark. Lots of “Mark room” calls were made throughout the race. Spirit led the way back upwind with Crackerjack in tow, but, finding themselves on a continuing lift that eroded precious yards to Vaporize, Animal, and Uncle Ludwig. At the 3rd mark Spirit, Animal, and Crackerjack all gybed quickly when Dave sped past on the tighter angle. Uncle Ludwig waited and took a more conservative gybe slightly to the south. Meanwhile Crackerjack dumped some speed and went under Animal who was threatening a luff which would have taken them into Spirit. Crackerjack’s move and subsequent gybe to starboard put them in the lead of the J/24’s and inside of Uncle Ludwig at the last mark thanks mostly to another wind shift. Vaporize speeding in behind Crackerjack called for room but with no overlap established Dave opted for the smarter outside rounding with speed and taking the lead for the final leg upwind. In the ensuing very tight rounding, Animal tried to get inside of Uncle Ludwig and ended up having to do penalty turns after contact was made thus allowing Spirit to re-establish a lead over both. Unfortunately for Spirit, they were caught in a tight cover by Crackerjack on a lifting tack toward the finish line. Spirit tacked away onto the header tack to clear air but held on too long allowing Uncle Ludwig to slip past and into 3rd place overall. This was one of the most exciting races of the season with lots of lead changes both on the legs and at the marks. Next week our Committee boat hosts will be the crew of Fuzzy Logic.

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Race 15

Aug 19, 2015      Wind Conditions: Light

Thanks to Tom and Spencer who gave us a W2 course around the Canoe Islands in a nice South wind. The evening winds were remarkably strong just prior to the race but as the starting sequence got underway the velocity dropped down a couple of notches. Still, the warm wind provided for a comfortable evenings sail. The pin end of the starting line was considerably favored and those boats that nailed the pin end, Spirit and Animal among them, led throughout the race. Vaporize starting closer to mid-line, cleared their air early and then tacked out to the east to find slightly higher velocity. Animal also took a hitch east. At first glance it appeared Animal made a wrong move but as they neared the Islands they maintained their 2nd positon. Spirit and Crackerjack held onto a lift down the middle waitng for the lay line tack towards the windward mark. Meanwhile a another pack tried the west side of the course. Vaporize was able to round the windward mark first followed by Spirit, Animal, and Crackerjack. Opportunities to catch the leaders were few. At the rounding the next six boats were in a very tight pack. The downwind leg again left no tactical opportunities as the boats headed for the finish line. With its inherent speed, Woot! was able to break out to the east side of the course but was unable to reel in the top three boats. However woot! was able to slip in between Animal and Crackerjack at the finish line. Nearing the end Uncle Ludwig was able to just get ahead of Fuzzy Logic with stinger right behind. Fuzzy Logic had a good showing for the evening finishing 4th. The second half series shows very tight points race between the Crackerjack, Spirit, and Animal while Vaporize and Uncle Ludwig are tied for 4/5.John Tarrant of Catchin’ J’s will be our Committee Boat host next week for the second to last race of the season!

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Race 14

Aug 12, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to Ken and the crew of Molasses for setting up a tight W6 course, between Hogback and windward pin set to the NW. Ken headed out early and set the course on expectation of the predicted light WNW winds. Just prior the the star the wind started kicking up and the windward mark was generally in the right direction. However, the wind was predicted from W – WNW kept going right and as the competitors sailed through the first start – YES there was a General recall - the boat end was heavily favored. Ken got the second start off with the I flag (around the ends rule) to help mitigate premature starters. On the first leg, the big shifts were quick and un predictable and allowed those boats that did not tack to jump ahead. Woot! took a clear lead with Stinger right in the mix as well. Woot! maintained the lead throughout the race. After the first leg, the rest of the race saw all the excitement at the marks where the boats converged and funneled into tight packs. At the 2nd leeward mark, Jaded sailed outside 5 other jostling boats and held on to port tack longer out of Hogback and picking up a nice north shift sailed on the final reach to the last mark ahead of the rest of the J24’s. The asymmetrical spinnaker boats had another week of preferred downwind reaching and those boats that either executed a gybe set or a fast gybe shaved off seconds on their overall time. Woot! took line honors but ended up sharing points with Jaded on corrected time - congratulations to both crews for the shared win. Spirit and Stinger took 3rd and 4th for the night!

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Race 13

Aug 05, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to Ron Byrne and the crew of Charjer for the drag race around and I5 course. The winds expected to be from the WNW were oscillating prior to the start and Ron set a windward mark several hundred yards off Yankee. The leeward mark was Hogback. Given the wind direction during the start sequence it was possible to lay the windward mark from the start line from the boat end. Position at the favored boat end and timing the start was the key. Most of the fleet were slightly early for the start and were bearing down the line as Crackerjack nailed the start at the boat end at full speed and trimmed for the windward mark with Jaded slightly to leeward. A few boats on the leeward end of the line quickly tacked in an attempt to clear their air but for the most part the fleet was able to lay the 1st mark. The fast boats charged ahead on a course that was made for pure speed. At the rounding, Vaporize sheeted in their chute hard behind Woot! and Crackerjack to gain the windward advantage and then just rocketed out to the lead on a spinnaker reach made for them. Crackerjack and woot! were within inches as the rounded Hogback with Wild Thing , Animal and Uncle Ludwig, all in bunch just yards behind. On the next upwind leg sheet trimmers were getting a workout easing in the puff’s to increase speed. As the fleet closed to the 2nd windward mark a late leg knock, favored those boats that stayed to the windward side of the course. Dave was around first with a clear lead and woot! 50 yards behind set another fast reach towards Hogback without boat traffic. Those boats that set up for a gybe-set gained a few yards around on their close competitors. In the final leg Vaporize and woot! crossed 1st and 2nd but Crackerjack took the win and Animal wedged into 3rd on corrected time. The series standings are listed below with the 3rd drop counted and 13/17 races completed .

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Race 12

Jul 29, 2015      Wind Conditions: Light

Thanks to Brad Taylor and his crew for giving us an interesting W4 race around the Canoe Islands in the 4 – 7 Knot winds from the south. The line was square but short which made it a very interesting and forced Spirit over early. Spirit quickly restarted and the line was cleared within seconds. The fleet pretty much split with only a few boats working up the center. As Vaporize and woot! led the fleet around the Canoe Islands Animal, Uncle Ludwig, and Crackerjack changed position multiple times with lots of close tacking. Crackerjack took a slightly wider path around the Island and rounded South Canoe Buoy 3rd with Uncle Ludwig in close company. Animal and Spirit stayed to the east longer but the winds had started to diminish across the course. Uncle Ludwig caught a slight puff and nudged ahead of Crackerjack as the fleet closed on the 1st leeward mark. Reading the wind velocity decrease well Brad changed the course with the new windward mark as North Canoe keeping a W4. As the fleet worked back upwind towards North Canoe, both Spirit and Animal banged out the west side and caught a nice lift thereby mixing up the lead J24’s yet again. After rounding Crackerjack and Animal went back to the west with Uncle Ludwig going down the center and Spirit now banging to the east side of the course. Spirit caught better velocity on the east side while Animal almost went too far to the west allowing Judy to close within seconds by working up the center. Congratulations to Vaporize and Woot! leading the boats across the line, but Spirit captured the win, Dave taking 2nd , and Uncle Ludwig 3rd.

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Race 11

Jul 22, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to John Haller and the crew of woot! for a fast, tight fleet race set on an I5 course in the WNW winds. The shifts and puffs created opportunities on both the upwind and downwind legs for the 17 participating boats. The short start line was contested at both the pin and boat ends. Getting on to the north side of the course early was key with Animal, Uncle Ludwig, Crackerjack, and Brad Taylor’s J/80 mixing it up as they approached the first mark. At the mark Crackerjack executed a quick gybe to port getting out into the higher breeze first and gaining the lead. Vaporize was way out on the north side of the course making up time and Spirit slipped past Brad. The racing just a few hundred yards back was also very tight and a look back provided a spectacular view of tightly packed spinnakers. Although, Crackerjack maintained its lead to the 2nd windward mark Animal executed the gybe faster than the other boats and took the lead back down wind. A the boats rounded the final mark and headed towards the finish line Spirit and Vaporize were reeling in some precious yards setting up a very tight finish. Animal kept the lead for the overall win and their second win in a row, while Crackerjack followed across the line and watched a tight race for 3rd. Dave was able to slip ahead of both Spirit and Uncle Ludwig for 3rd across the line. Spirit tacked away as Uncle Ludwig tightly covered but a wind shift favored Spirit on the final tack to the line. In the end Rodger took 3rd overall by 6 seconds. The second grouping of boats was was a mix of J/22’s, J/24’s and J/80’s.Brad Taylor and crew will be our Committee Boat hosts next week.

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Race 10

Jul 16, 2015      Wind Conditions: Heavy

For the second week in a row the participants were treated to awesome wind and waves coming straight down the lake from Dome Island. In fact, the wind was heavier and the waves bigger than last week and afforded a fantastic heavy air sailing adventure! Thanks to Rob Fraser and crew for acting as committee boat last evening and set-up up a long I5 course with the weather mark well to the north of the square line. The North Canoe government mark served as the leeward mark. Thank you Rob and crew for a long course! Ten boats came out to challenge each other and nature with one DNS and another DNF. The 8 finishing boats completed the course within 11 minutes of the first finishing boats in the challenging conditions. At the start, the fleet was generally scattered down the line. Spirit and Crackerjack started at the boat end with Animal, Vaporize and Cut Loose opting for an early tack to the east also starting at the boat end but slightly later. Crackerjack, following a very fast and flatter Spirit up the middle sailed the long leg first. Uncle Ludwig led the west side boats. Eventually, Crackerjack tacked towards the approaching east-side boats where Animal passed in front with Vaporize and Cut Loose close behind. Spirit led the way around the first mark by 5 boat lengths with Animal, Crackerjack and Uncle Ludwig in hot pursuit of each other and separated by only a few boat lengths to each other. However, Animal set their chute perfectly, while Spirit had a disheartening wrap around the fore stay and eventually had to strike it and sail downwind on jib alone. Meanwhile, one Crackerjack’s crew (to remain nameless in this account) decided that the water looked very inviting and decided to take a quick bath! Fortunately the crew did not let go of the boat and was back on board within seconds to finally get their cute up and drawing. Half the fleet opted for spinnakers and had a very fast run with surfing conditions down to North Canoe. Meanwhile ,the Viper 640 was planeing without a chute down the east side of the course. Most of the boats needed only one gybe to the leeward mark but waited for the lower winds and flatter water in which to execute it in. During the run Crackerjack was able to reel in Animal while Uncle Ludwig and Cut Loose also carrying their chutes passed Spirit. At the rounding, the order was tight and Rob signaled for a shortened course by radio and flag. Crackerjack had to tack out from the bad air off Animal’s sails after rounding within inches of the lead boat. Demonstrating some great upwind sailing, Animal pulled out a substantial lead toward the finishing line and the order around the leeward mark was the finishing order as recorded by the committee boat. Congratulations to Animal starting the second half of the season as they did the first half! Rob was very humble after the race acknowledging that Committee Boat Duty requires lots of knowledge and teamwork and a bigger anchor! Next week our committee boat host will be the crew of woot!

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Race 9

Jul 08, 2015      Wind Conditions: Heavy

The last race of the 1st half of the 2015 series treated the competitors to a wind blowing much harder than any weather forecast or web link showed. Blowing straight down the lake from Dome Island (NE), wind speeds were a steady 15 with higher gusts. The waves added to the mix which had been much higher during the day. Welcome Ken and the crew of Molasses and Ben McAndrew and crew in Jaded on their first night out for the year! Thanks to the crew of Animal for acting as Committee boat on a great sailing night and setting an I 5 course. he start line was skewed to favor the pin end yet Crackerjack followed by Stinger and Vaporize opted for the less contested boat end of the line. Most boats could not see the mark in the waves and were expecting a much longer 1st leg which led them to over-stand the 1st mark. Having sighted the mark prior to the start, Crackerjack covered Uncle Ludwig’s port tack on the lay line. Those two boats went around the course in sequence from then on. At the 1st set a rigging issue on Crackerjack allowed Uncle Ludwig to sail a much deeper course gaining back some valuable distance and slightly separating from the next set of boats. In a brave attempt for more power Cut Loose was sporting it’s genoa on the upwind legs. It was great sailing downwind where boats could be induced to plane on the waves. Some boats opted not to fly their spinnakers, Wild Thing among them, while Vaporize was knocking down 13+ knots on the downwind legs. A lot of crews opted for the conservative approach at the leeward marks striking spinnakers early and holding on to port tack after the rounding even if they had bad air from boats ahead. Given the short legs, all but one boat completed the course in less than 1 hour but most crews would have preferred to stay out in the awesome sailing weather. At the finish line, Crackerjack sailing wire to wire took the win with Uncle Ludwig 2nd and Wild Thing crossing 3rd just seconds behind. Due to handicap, Wild Thing’s time margin was not enough to stop the J/24’s from taking 1 – 6 for the night. Spirit took 3rd overall. Stinger also had a great night pulling in a 4th! Congratulations to Crackerjack taking five 1st place finishes during the 1st half , with Spirit taking 2nd , and Witch Way and 3rd. Next week starts our 2nd half series with the crew of Stinger acting as host on Committee Boat.

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Race 8

Jul 02, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

11 boats showed up in the moderate SW winds where the crew of High Jinx set a windward-leeward 5 leg course from the start line to North Canoe to a pin set to the NE of the Committee boat. As it turned out the shifting winds created huge holes forcing the committee boat to shorten course to a 4 leg race. At the start the SW winds suddenly increased and then shifted to the West favoring the boat end of the line where Cut Loose won the start with CrackerJack right behind. Animal followed and quickly tacked which allowed Crackerjack to follow suit and clear their air. Heading into the west wind early may have been the deciding factor as the wind started to oscillate with big puffs. Those boats that held on to the East side of the course soon found themselves battling into the west wind. At the 1st mark CrackerJack led the way with Spirit and Vaporize in close pursuit. The tight spinnaker reach down the next leg saw Dave hitting over 10 knots but was unable to catch Crackerjack. Spirit gybed earlier than Vaporize rounded the 2nd mark inside of Vaporize. Looking back upwind the lead boats saw what a crazy wind pattern had created. A few boats had yet to make it round the 1st mark! The ensuing wind shifts from West to South to East drove crews crazy as they tried to keep momentum towards the next mark. Spirit and Vaporize switched positions and closed in on Crackerjack several times during leg 3. As the lead boats slipped down the last leg tot eh finish the wind steadied. Crackerjack took lines honors with Dave seconds ahead of Spirit across the finish line to take a 3rd for the evening.After the race a raft up of 9 boats around the committee boat shared stories and sandwich wraps courtesy of J/24 - Fleet 24. The moon rise was celebrated with a cheer and the party broke up right as the dark settled over the lake. Thanks to Tony and crew for hosting the party and handing out the food and towing in a few boats at dark!

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Race 7

Jun 25, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thank you CUT LOOSE! John and crew set a very nice 7 leg course from the start line to a pin to the NW and back downwind to Hogback in the 8-10 knot winds. The line was nicely square. The upwind leg saw some competitive tacking with a split fleet on both sides of the course. The fleet was complimented by Catchin J’s and Fuzzy Logic for their first race of the season. Welcome!! At the 1st mark Spirit and Vaporize rounded first with Crackerjack, Witch Way and Animal following closely. Witch Way was first to gybe back out to some nice pressure followed by Crackerjack. Spirit and Animal held their course longer on starboard gybe. Halfway down the 2nd leg Witch way and Crackerjack swapped positions several times both working for the advantage into the 2nd mark. At mark 2, Vaporize led the way with Crackerjack, Witch Way, Spirit and Animal following. The J/80’s were hovering just back of the lead pack. During the upwind leg Crackerjack held the J/24 very tight lead. At the next set the wind started to drop and the committee boat signaled a shorten course half way down the leg. That downwind leg allowed boats to explore looking for higher pressure. Animal sailing to the south side of the course gained big and Witch Way to the north picked up vital boat lengths going into mark 4. Crackerjack rounded 3rd within inches of the two lead J24’s and Spirit rounded just few boat lengths back. On the last upwind leg Animal opted for a tantalizing lift on port tack only to have it dissipate quickly. Somehow Crackerjack sailed under Witch Way on the final tack to the finish with Animal and Spirit suffering a knock on the same tack. At the finish line Vaporize crossed first for line honors and a dramatic finish with Crackerjack, Animal and Witch Way crossing the line within seconds of each other. All in all, the J24’s had a great one design race with lot’s of tacking and gybing. Next week Committee boat honors will fall to the crew of High Jinx.To relax and take in the beauty of the Lake George a social raft-up after next week’s race is planned if the weather permits.

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Race 6

Jun 18, 2015      Wind Conditions: Light

Thank you to the crew of Judy for a W3 with the little wind from the west. 10 boats came out to race. Animal tacked off the line first and led the way around the course followed for most of the race by Crackerjack. Some of the fleet struggled in the downwind leg as the apparent wind dropped. Late in the last leg, a build in wind pressure on the south side of the course allowed Spirit and Vaporize to beat out Crackerjack at the finish line. Next week the Crew of Cut Loose will be our Committee Boat Hosts.

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Race 5

Jun 11, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to Kyle and the crew of Uncle Ludwig for what ended up as a W3 set between North Canoe and a pin ball. With a SE wind shift at the start the line was difficult to cross on starboard. This led Crackerjack to approach the start line on port with good speed but had the opening disappear right as the gun went off. Unfortunately, Crackerjack could not pass in front of Spirit, and forced Spirit into luffing up to avoid collision. Spirit clearly hailed protest and Crackerjack immediately sailed into open water to complete their penalty circles. The SE shift continued on the first leg with Spirit leading the way to first mark followed closely by Vaporize and Wild Thing. Having sailed further to the east to do their 720, Crackerjack was able to make up lost time staying in a slightly higher breeze on a reach to the mark, nipping out Witch Way. Cut Loose went too far east on this first leg out and sailed a much longer first leg. Recognizing the slight advantage, most boats opted to sail to the east side of the course, with Animal and Cut loose opting for the west side. During the downwind leg the wind dropped, negating the sport boat's advantages and prompting the committee boat to signal a shorten course with the finish at North Canoe. Spirit led the way around downwind mark and sailed a long tack to the west. Wild Thing and Witch Way followed but the rest of the fleet looked to the dark water along Long Island as their hope to catch the leaders. However, the east shift promise never materialized and Rodger, Wild Thing and Witch Way finished in order. Congratulations to Spirit for the win in impressive style by leading wire to wire! Race 5 allowed the first drop of 4.

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Race 4

Jun 04, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thank you to the crew of Vaporize for a nice course set perfectly to the NE winds. The start line was square, and although the 1st mark was hard to see from the start area, the course allowed for lots of tacks up the first of the W3 legs and several gybes downwind and the length of the course had the first boats finishing in exactly one hour. The start was not contested and the line cleared quickly. A few boats opted for a quick tack to port heading out to the east side of the course while others went to the west. But neither side of the course was really favored initially. This led to some pretty long tacks in the steady winds with only slight lifts and headers. During the upwind leg Crackerjack, Spirit, and Witch Way seemed to diverge and then converge with only a fraction of a boat length difference as they came together. After a close encounter Sprit and Witch Way lost a few boat lengths by banging out to the deep west side of the course while Wild thing and CrackerJack kept on the port tack heading east. Wild Thing lead the way around the first mark followed very closely by Crackerjack, Spirit, with Witch Way Woot! and Cutloose rounded seconds behind. The downwind leg was a delightfully long run allowing crew to refresh themselves and swap friendly distractions. During the run, a wind shift towards the west set up what would be almost a straight beat on port tack to the finish line. Woot! and Wild Thing were very close and rounded North Canoe Mark just ahead of CrackerJack and Spirit. Witch Way and Cut Loose rounded in the next duo. Line honors were taken by Wild Thing with CrackerJack taking the win on correct time. Welcome to Roy and Ken crewing a C&C 27 in their first race! Next week the crew of Uncle Ludwigl will be Committee Boat.

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Race 3

May 27, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to Rodger and the crew of Spirit for a very nice race despite not having any wind to set a course to!! The course called for a port rounding of the South Canoe mark and by rule the entire group of islands were to be past to port, up to Hogback, then across the lake to a third mark and beat to the windward finish. The wind was barely a couple of knots at the time and it looked unlikely to finish the race. But, as it turned out, the wind filled in from the south east. At the start Vaporize was nudged over the line by Witch Way but never fully dipped the line and received a relayed message that they were over early. As the boats moved off the start line a nice wind line moved in from Long island and many of the boats opted for the visible wind. Cutloose went west and was moving nicely in what appeared to be no wind at all. The wind was very hard to read as the fleet neared the Canoe Islands with Cut Loose and Crackerjack opting for aw wider route around them stay out of any potential wind shadows. After a couple of tacks Woot! and Witch Way rounded the south mark in succession followed closely by Crackerjack. These boats broke away from the pack rounding no more than a minute behind them. The lead boats pulled out on a nice lead with increasing wind on a tight spinnaker reach. The fleet closed in on the leaders as the wind increased with the Viper making up some of the lost time to the restart. woot! well ahead of the fleet went searching for the 3rd mark and sucked the other boats along the same course. With the tight race between the lead j/24’s it was Crackerjack spotting the mark first much higher to windward than woot! had sailed. This was the deciding factor to the match race between the leading J/24’s with Crackerjack in the controlling position. The finish line was skewed so that all boats needed to make at least two tacks to cross the line from the last mark. Crackerjck tightly covered Witch Way to the finish. Woot! won line honors ofr the night and 4th overall, Cracker jack, WitchWay and CutLoose taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd for the night. It was a fun race and all were glad to get off such a nice on given the conditions at the start. Next week the crew of Vaporize will host us as Committee Boat.

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Race 2

May 21, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

Thanks to Alfie and the crew of Witch Way for hosting the race and giving the fleet of 9 boats a W course set in the shifting WNW winds. At the start the Vaporize and Cut Loose cleared the line cleanly at the boat end of the line, while at the pin end, Uncle Ludwig unintentionally tacked into Animal which cascaded into Spirit. Uncle Ludwig was seen doing circles almost immediately. But the shifting winds led to brutal multiple tack leg for those boats trapped on the south side of the course. Cut Loose seemed to take a very long tack tot north to round the first mark on Vaporizes tail. The downwind leg was less eventful with only a couple of gybes by each boat. It appeared to some boats that Vaporize had reached the leeward mark as the last of the fleet rounded the 1st mark. The 2nd upwind leg saw some position switching due to the constant shifts. The original W5 was shortened to W4 and the last boat across the line finished the race within 6 minutes of the first. Even though Vaporize took line honors, Cut Loose sailed a clean race to take the win on corrected time.

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Race 1 (first half)

May 13, 2015      Wind Conditions: Medium

A moderate NNW wind shifted into the North accompanied with white caps prompted the Committee to move the boat and change the course from the intended W5 to a W2 using Cotton Point as the windward mark and Hogback as the start pin and finish. Ten boats dominated by a fleet of eight J24’s came out on the first night and all finished in less than an hour. The upwind leg saw some tight tacking between rival J/24’s with the Viper leading the way into the Cotton Pt government mark followed by woot! Witch Way and Animal opted for a gybe set at the mark. Although execution on the first night was a bit rusty the strategy paid off on the downwind leg. From the committee boats perspective the crew of Cut Loose executed the best spinnaker set of the evening looking as though they had been practicing for some time! The Viper 640 got into some trouble as they gybed for the finish mark on the west side of the course prompting some radio chatter. Thanks to Uncle Ludwig for keeping eyes on situation. Dave and Nelson were able to clear the problem but lost valuable minutes. Those boats that opted for the east side of the course on the initial gybe reaped the benefit of finishing under 50 minutes. John Haller and the crew of WOOT! executed a tight gybe within a 100 yards of the finish line to take line honors. Animal took the win for the evening passing extremely closely to the Committee boat followed by Witch Way and Cut Loose taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. Next week the crew of Witch Way will be our host.

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