Canandaigua Lake RC Laser Sailing

It’s amazing how many boats show up to race every week.  What was once a small group has turned into a dock full of boats.  When everyone shows up we have over 20 boats in a race.

I have measured the distance between the south dock and the Ensign on the mooring east of us and determined that no more than 14 boats could fit on the starting line if we were all to start together.  So, I have decided that beginning with the Fall Series there will be new guide lines for racing. The fleet will be divided into three fleets (A,B,and C).  If 14 or less boats are racing all the boats will start together.  If more than 14 are racing the A fleet will delay their start by 30 seconds letting the B & C fleets have a head start.

What fleet are you in ???????????????

Well—- here is the criteria—-

A Fleet  —   Any boat that has won 2 or more series in the past

B Fleet —-  Any boat that has won 1 series in the past

C Fleet   —-  You guessed it — Not won a series —

At the end of each Series the winner of the B & C series will move up to the next higher fleet.   Anyone may race in a fleet higher than their assigned fleet and will be scored in accordance with that fleet.  (IE: you are in the C Fleet but wish to be scored in the A fleet “BOOM” your wish comes true, you start and are scored with the A fleet).

What happens when there are over 14 boats in the A fleet ?  I’m not sure but we may have to ask the rear commodore to move the Ensign so we can use that space.

Below is a sample of where you would be in the summer series by fleet and also where we actually stand in the Summer Series with 3 more weeks to go..

Rank Fleet       HelmName               Nett      Total
1st A Fleet     Jonathan Gorbold     20         201
2nd C Fleet     Richard Phelps           22         194
3rd C Fleet      Tim Follette                33         187
4th A Fleet      Gary Schmidt             35         230
5th A Fleet      Nelson Habecker       35         191
6th C Fleet      Rich Furstoss             37          250
7th A Fleet      Jay Niggli                    40         223
8th B Fleet      Anne Lambert            44         254
9th B Fleet      Terry Schmidt            49         241
10th B Fleet    Mary Schmidt            51          269
11th C Fleet     Richard Mikulec       54          256
12th C Fleet     Anna Gorbold           60          274
13th C Fleet     Dave Mohring           68         287

Currently Jonathan Gorbold would be winning the A fleet, Anne Lambert would be winning the B fleet, and Richard Phelps would be winning the C fleet.

Awards will be given to all first place finishers in their fleet for each series.

WHEW!!!!!

The Admiral

The Spring Series ended with Nate Heinzelman holding on for first place but there will be many new challengers in the Summer Series. Richard Phelps (#95) has joined our fleet and is off to a great start by winning 3 races this past Sunday to put him in first place in the Summer Series.  Tim Follette (#85) is tied with Mary Schmidt for second and another new name Rich Furstoss (#82) is currently in fifth.  

The good news is that we now have over 20 boats that are eligible to show up and race on any given Sunday afternoon and as of yet no one has been pushed off the dock.

Next week will be week #3 for the Summer Series and the more the merrier.

Reporting from the south dock.

The Admiral!!!

With many of our members involved with other things and vacationing out of town we continue to draw 8 – 10 boats out every Sunday to partake in the Spring Series and yesterday was no exception.  We had 10 boats on the water when the wind came in from out of nowhere and racing began.  The wind came from the north at 5 knots and remained for an hour and a half before dropping back to zero.  That was enough time for us to complete 6 heats.  The surprise of the day was that the newest members took 5 of the 6 races. Rich Furstoss (#82) managed to put up 3 bullets for the day  in an attempt to close the gap on Nate (#73) who currently is holding a commanding lead with only two race dates remaining in the series.  “RESULTS”

Richard Mikulec brought a camera viewing radio tugboat for us to test on the water so we would have video of protest issues.  I tried to wrap my eyes around the idea but I not sure I could make it work.

Anyway, next Sunday we will all try again to catch Nate.

See you on the water!!!

The Admiral

The first boats to hit the water this spring were once again the RC Fleet #14 Lasers.

It was cold (maybe 34%) and yes it did snow briefly, but that did not discourage us.
Photo by Jay Niggli from his car (forgot his hat and part of his boat)

While the wind was mostly out of the west, when you saw a strong puff coming you occasionally changed tacks without moving your rudder. The course for the day was a short windward then leeward then to a jibe mark back to windward then leeward and up to the finish. With the wind circulating the way it did you were either propelled to the lead or shuffled back which is what accounted for the five different winners out of six heats.  The only repeat was Nate Heinzelman which was enough to place him in the lead for the Spring Series.   “RESULTS”

Next week will be racing at either CYC or Holiday Harbor 2-4pm for week 2 of the series.  Bring your mittens and enjoy the snow.  You can’t get this everywhere.

Tha Admiral!!!

Just in time for Christmas…..There is a used RC Laser for sale.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining our fleet to race next year just direct them to our Pre-Owned Laser for sale page for all the detailed information.

Happy Holidays!!!!

The Admiral

Before the first race even started Sean had a failing rudder servo and was not able to compete very well using our spare boat.  After a few races we did take a break to wait for wind which have him time to change the servo in his boat which made enough of a difference for him to race well enough to hold off Jay. “RESULTS”
There wasn’t much wind and it was very spotty at best.  If you weren’t in that finger of air you just didn’t move.  Despite the absence of wind we were able to complete six races for the day before retiring inside for Anne’s chili, Richards homemade soup, Anna’s garlic bread , and then topped off with Danny’s apple and pecan pie.

It is the end of the racing season for us but there is always racing taking place somewhere this winter for anyone who finds the time and has the desire to keep competing. Just go to: www.RCLaser.org to find an event.

We will begin our Spring Series on April 8, 2018 at Holiday Harbor. Check the calendar for times.

Thank you everyone for making this another wonderful racing year.

Until next year

Happy Holidays to All  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Admiral

Although the day was full of rain in most parts of the county it showed up only briefly at Holiday Harbor.  With only a 10 minute delay we raced rain free for the better part of two hours.  The wind came mostly from the south east which made it difficult to get a steady wind from any one direction, but that did not interfere with Sean Quigley who won 6 of 8 races and the other 2 wins going to Nate Heinzelman.  After all the scores were tallied it will come down to the last day of the Frostbite series to determine a winner.  Currently Sean and Nate are tied so it should be a very close finish.  “RESULTS”

It took team work to get Bill Schmidt and Jay Niggli back to the docks.  They lock booms together and no one offered to get in a kayak to help.  It was easier to push them in the desired direction until captured.

The real winners of the day were all of us who feasted on Mary’s Lasagna which she so perfectly prepared.  May the tradition continue (Mary’s Lasagna once a year).

Sunday Nov. 12th will be the final day of racing for the series and the year.  We will be at Holiday Harbor once more from 2-4 pm to determine the winner and then put our boats to rest until Spring.

It was an interesting day with temps that of Summer not Fall.

We completed six races on the first day of our Frostbite Series with winds that started at the top of the “A” sail and then declined to a crawl for our boats.  The “results” were very mixed with five different winners out of the six races.  The only racer to win two was Mike Wash (#173) who won the two final races of the day.

Next Sunday we are moving our racing to 423 Holiday Harbor where we can quickly get into the cottage for shelter if needed.  The forecast is for things to change by next Sunday.

We were supposed to take a road trip to the Erie Canal but have been forced to cancel it. For some reason the area where we were to race has been chained off with do not trespass signs to keep us out.   I think it may be that we violated their dress code last year.

Following racing we are all invited back into the cottage to enjoy some of Mary’s home made lasagna and stories of the day.

Also:

Just as a reminder:

Annual dues for Fleet #14 RC Lasers expires at the end of October 2017. Your payment of $20 makes you an active member from 11/01/17 thru 10/31/18.

You can pay your dues online if you wish! Click here. Or in person to Maggie Atkins or Nelson Habecker

Thank you for your membership.

See you on the water!!!!!

Junior sailor Nate Heinzelman manages to out score all takers and  easily win the six week Fall Series.  On the last day he managed a win and a second out of five heats to ensure that he would be triumphant. “RESULTS”

Nate Heinzelman

There was a brief delay in starting while we tried to clear the area of those pesky yacht club boats, but after that we had the docks to ourselves.  The wind was of the “A” sail type and steadily faded as the clock continued to tick.  By six o’clock it became quite evident that there would be no more races. Everyone did hang around in hopes that there would be another chance to catch the leader but it was not to be.  Nate will receive the highly regarded first place medallion on sailors night at the yacht club.

The day after sailors night we will begin our mini Frostbite Series which will include one more day at the yacht club (Oct. 22nd), a day at the Erie Canal ( Oct. 29th), and finishing up with two Sundays at Holiday Harbor (Nov. 5th & 12th).  Race time for each date will be 2-4 pm so that we can avoid trying to race in the dark.

See you on the water!!!

The Admiral

It may be Fall by the calendar but it was a summer like day for RC racing.  The temperature was close to 90 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and to top it off there was no wind.

I had borrowed Jack’s boat to cruise up and down the lake in search of wind and was able to locate some at the far south end.  By race time I had returned to the CYC dock where all the die hard racers where waiting for me to give them the news that the wind was coming.  As long as I had Jack’s powerboat I thought it would be a good idea to check it out as a mark set boat.  The boat worked fine but the positioning of the marks without wind was a bit of a challenge.

There was a brief moment when I heard others whispering that there would be no wind today but I had been to the south end and knew it would be coming our way.  Yep, soon after that we had just enough wind to get in 3 races before it was gone for good.

A warm welcome to our newest member to join our fleet and race with us  – Mike Wash  – who brings RC #173 to us from Oxford Maryland.  Look for him to be a strong contender having had a little practice with a Laser before racing with us.

As it stands right now it is still Nate Heinzelman in front with 2 more weeks of racing to go in the Fall Series.  “RESULTS”

Next week we have moved our schedule up (2-3:45 PM off the south dock) in order to allow those that so graciously volunteered there time during the year for race committee to be recognized.

Week 5  Oct. 1st 2PM

See you on the water.

The Admiral