Canandaigua Lake RC Laser Sailing

Week two of RC racing was full of surprises, triumphs, and a bit of good ol’ drama—just the way we like it!

Jonathan was on fire this week, absolutely dominating the fleet with seven victories out of eight races. The rest of us could only watch and wonder what’s in his secret sauce (hint: maybe a lot of practice, a perfectly tuned rig, and that steely competitive glare). Jonathan, hats off to you—impressive sailing!

Conspicuously absent this week was Richard Phelps, the previous leader. Rumor has it he’s plotting his comeback—so stay tuned for next week’s showdown.

Meanwhile, the Nelson and Rich saga continues. Let’s just say they’re still not on speaking terms after last week’s epic foul (or was it a mutual mishap?). Either way, they’re giving the rest of us plenty to talk about at the dock!

Then there was Jay Niggli, who added his own twist to the day’s excitement. His car decided to run out of gas on the way to the race course—talk about bad luck! After missing the first five races, he finally launched his boat, only to lose his keel and need yet another rescue. Jay, you sure know how to keep things interesting!

All in all, it was another memorable Sunday at the lake, proving once again that RC racing is never short on action or laughs. Racing resumes next Sunday—same time, same place. Bring your best moves (and maybe an extra jerry can for your car, just in case).

I’m excited to kick off another season of RC racing at Canandaigua Yacht Club! It’s always a great feeling when the weather turns and we can finally gather lakeside, radios in hand, ready to trim sails and chase clean starts.

It’s especially rewarding to see so many familiar faces returning for another year—those of you who’ve raced in every kind of breeze and helped build such a supportive and competitive group. Your continued enthusiasm and love for the sport are what make this fleet so enjoyable.

And to our new racers—welcome! We’re glad to have you on the starting line with us. Whether you’re brand new to radio-controlled sailing or just new to the club, you’re in for a fun and friendly season. There’s always something to learn, a new tactic to try, and a great crew of people to share it all with.

This year promises more of what we all love: tight races, great company, and plenty of laughs along the docks. Whether you’re tuning a rig or chasing that perfect rounding, there’s no better place to be than right here at Canandaigua Yacht Club.

Racing begins Sunday June 1st at 1pm off the south dock CYC .

Here’s to good racing, fair winds, and another memorable season ahead!

Name tags will be given out to ensure that everyone remembers your name.

See you on the water,

As the weather warms and the winds begin to whisper the promise of summer, I couldn’t be more excited to announce the start of our 2025 season of radio-controlled sailboat racing! Mark your calendars — the first race day is set for June 1st, and I can already feel the anticipation building.

There’s something special about the start of a new season — the thrill of competition, the camaraderie among skippers, and the peaceful yet electrifying buzz that only RC sailing can deliver. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting your keel wet, there’s a place for you in our fleet. This year, I’m especially looking forward to reconnecting with all of our members, seeing some fresh faces on the water, and of course, enjoying those picture-perfect sailing days that keep us coming back for more.

From tight mark roundings to nail-biting finishes, the 2025 season promises action, strategy, and plenty of fun. So dust off those hulls, charge those batteries, and get ready — because this year is going to be one for the books.

Let the countdown to June 1st begin. See you at the starting line!

The Admiral!!!!!

It seems that the weather alerts are keeping most of our racers away. For the last few weeks we have called our races after a few starts to avoid the pop up showers that keep coming.

As it stands now Jay Niggli will walk away with the spring series having just one week left to race. It does not mean that the trend will continue. It is my intent to catch him for the overall during the summer and fall series.

After many delays we were able to get in 2 races for our annual Walkabout Regatta to begin the season. It was chilly and cloudy but the wind was ever present from some direction. The racing theme for the day was bring your sail in -no – let your sail out.

Jack Bennett was nice enough to host the party at the conclusion of racing. Everyone contributed to all the fixing and drinks on display.

After tallying up the scores with modifications it was Mary Schmidt taking first place and taking home this year’s award.

We will once again be using the south dock at CYC for most of our racing on Sunday afternoons. Please check the RC calendar for dates and times.

The 2022 racing season has come to an end with Jay Niggli receiving the majority of the awards. He managed to win the Spring series, the Summer series and the Overall series this year. The Fall series was a very competitive series with just 5 points separating first and fourth place. Winning the series was Rich Furstoss (net 37), Richard Phelps second (net 38) and Tim Follette third (net 40).

Next year’s schedule is on the calendar for your viewing.

May everyone enjoy the Holidays & best wishes all!!!!!

See you in the spring~~~~~~~The Admiral

Due to some technical difficulties you have not been receiving any news for some time. I am happy to say that most of the Gremlins are gone and most everything is now working again.

I was able to catch Bill Blevins while he was in port from sailing the east coast and have him take a look at the web site problems. I don’t know what he did but he turned the right switch and has returned to the Atlantic adding on more miles at sea.

Jay ran away with the Summer series and is on his way to capture the Fall series and quite possibly the Overall series.

Finishing a distant second was Tim Follette and Nelson Habecker third.

The Fall series is starting out slow with a lack of wind and several power boat interruptions. Our favorite place to race is off the boat launch which attracts several power boaters during the summer months. Hopefully, cooler weather will begin to keep them away.

  To see the complete results click on “RESULTS”.

Please be aware that there will be NO RACING Sunday Sept. 3nd so that we may all enjoy the Holiday Weekend.  Racing will resume on Sunday Sept. 10th 4:00 pm off the south Dock.

Until then :SAIL FAST”

RC Laser Fleet 14 began their 2022 racing season with 2 Walkabout races at Holiday Harbor thanks to Jack Bennett. Although Jack could not compete with us he did provide the venue and his home for debriefing following the event.

It was a perfect day for racing. Many of us were recovering from injuries’ obtained over the winter, so the fact that the winds were light allowed us to keep up with our boats. It was darn near 80 degrees with plenty of sunshine. Very few pleasure boats were tied up on the dock which made for very few obstacles to avoid.

Nine of us showed up to race and enjoy the afternoon. The first race could have had a completely different outcome had all the competitors listened to the skippers meeting defining the course, but that didn’t happen. Playing follow the leader, as I am sure we have all done, doesn’t always lead you on the proper course. The leader of the race needs to know the proper course. You must round all of the marks to finish and having the boat racing in third to yell follow me, you know you did something wrong.

As it turns out it was Jonathan Gorbold winning both races even though he was handicapped, having surgery two weeks earlier on his knee.

Check out the complete order of finish on the “RESULTS” page.

Next week we will return to our familiar south dock at CYC to continue our Spring Series Sunday 2-4pm.

The Admiral!!!!!!!

It has been some time since I last informed everyone about our 2021 racing season. Time does fly when you are having fun.

The Summer Series has ended with myself (Nelson Habecker #54) winning by only 4 boats over Gary Schmidt #59). It may not have happened had Gary not taken a couple of weeks off to visit family.

With just a couple of weeks left it appears that Jay Niggli (#81) will stave off Mary Schmidt (652) who will be holding on to second. See the full results by clicking on “RESULTS”

Plans are currently being made to make this year a special Halloween. Our final race day which happens to be October 31st will be at Holiday Harbor where we intend to bring back our walkabout races to conclude the season.

Following racing we are all invited to Jack’s place at 13 Holiday Harbor for a Mary Schmidt Lasagna plate, breads, salads, good wine and plenty of gossip.

As the summer series heats up the competitors find time to relax. After three weeks of racing scores are very close.

Gary, Tim, Richard and myself are all within a few boats of each other. But, with many more races to go it is still anyone who can string together a group of firsts and second that can win the series. Sunday will be another test of our racing skills as the wind will be out of the west coming over the hill at 10 knots which makes for a very unstable breeze.

Check out the scores (RESULTS) and bring your suntan lotion if you are planning to race.