VISA JV/Team 2 regatta hosted by Peninsula Catholic at NYCC

 We were given one berth with Ben and Sebastian sailing the first two races (finishing 13th and 17th) and with Hunter and Noah sailing the 3rd and 4th races (finishing 10th in the 3rd but capsizing shortly after the start of the 4th race earning a DNF.) During the 4th race the breeze built with gusts around 25 and racing was cancelled. As the front came through the wind gusted to around 35. It was good we cancelled when we did!

Here is the report as written by the host school:Saturday, October 7:

VISA welcomed a combined group of Varsity Team 2 and JV sailors composed of 18 teams from 12 schools to the Lafayette river for single division competition. Seas were a light chop. Drizzle moved in mid morning and persisted for the rest of the event. The morning started with westerly winds of 5-8mph and gusts slightly higher and clocked north building to a short period 17 mph wind with at 11:00 with a gust at 25mph at which point a third of the fleet was upside down, and the racing was called for the day.

Four W-4 races were accomplished. Hampton Roads Academy Team 1 captured first place, followed by Christchurch Team 1 in second and Christchurch Team 2 in third place.

We extend thanks to the race committee and cast of volunteers that made this event possible, with a special thanks to Joe Bousquet for serving as PRO.

Below is the score summary followed by the race by race breakdown.

VISA regatta at YSV hosted by Kecoughtan

 We participated in a varsity regatta on Mill Creek at Fort Monroe. Here is the report by the host school:

Saturday, September 30:

VISA welcomed 18 teams from 13 schools to Mill Creek for today’s races. Temperatures were a bit brisk in the mid sixties with overcast skies dosing a damp mist when it wasn't outright raining. Seas were relatively flat. Winds came from the North with speeds between 8 and 14 mph and gusts between 18 and 20 mph. Mild oscillations occurred during the second part of the day.

First warning was 9:45am. Sailors completed 8 W-4 races in each of two divisions with racing concluded by 2:45pm. Norfolk Academy finished in first place, followed by Hampton Roads Academy in second place, and Norfolk Collegiate taking third place.

Many thanks to the volunteers and race committee for a day of solid racing. Special thanks to PRO Alan Mason.

The score summary:

The race-by-race breakdown. Note the Division and race number is at the top.

Regatta at NYCC

 

Our first regatta of the year ended up being a non-event. We attending the varsity regatta at Norfolk Yacht and Country Club (NYCC) on Saturday the ninth on a hot and humid morning with teams from Christchurch, Norfolk Academy, hampton Roads Academy, Norfolk Collegiate, Maury, The Hauge School, Grafton, Poquoson, Kecoughtan, Heritage, and Peninsula Catholic. The high school sailing rules require at least three races in each division to qualify as a scoring event. With the light breezes before the thunderstorm we only managed 3 A division races and 2 B divisions.   

Since this was the first regatta of the year (and the first regatta for most of the team) the results were disappointing. Ben finished with scores of 18, 16, anf 19 and Hunter finished with scores of 19 and 20.

I was able to record some of the starts. Here is Ben in boat #1 (near the RC boat) with about 20 seconds to go. Not a bad start but was forced over to the other tack and had trouble regaining boat speed.

Here is Hunter in boat #3 well below the line. Note the team in #1 from Poquoson deliberately slowed and managed a slightly late start right at the RC boat but got off the line ahead of many of the others.

Leeward Mark round practice

 We practiced rounding the leeward gate marks. The key is to exit the gate going upwind close to the mark. Swinging wide is to be avoided because trailing boats can sail in the gap between you and the mark and pass you. 

In the first video you see how giving a trailing boat a gap will cause you to be passed.

 1st video of flying scots

In the second video you see a opti dinghy rounding with the basic idea of "enter wide, exit tight." This doesn't give any trailing boat a gap to pass you.

Optimist rounding

The next two videos show Lasers in a leeward mark rounding. Again: approach wide, exit tight.

Laser video 1               Laser video 2                 

Lastly, here are the videos I shot:

         

Fall 2023 regatta scheduled posted

 See the sidebar for the regatta dates and venues. The Classic Moth regatta is for skippers only and is optional.

First practice of the year

 Five team members sailed at the naval station sailing center in moderate breezes. Skippers were Ben and Hunter. Switching off in the crew position were Sebastian, Brandon, and Noah.

https://youtube.com/shorts/TedGUuLUjLY

https://youtube.com/shorts/AZVbLlDcMxg

JV Champs October 29th

 Pretty breezy. The two crews decided to only use one boat, swapping off every other race. Results below.

The bottom six boats in the results are those that did not sail, so we effectively as a school finished 6 out of 10.  Here is the running total calculation:

Awaiting pictures of the team.