Severn Sailing Association will be the host of the 2012 District 11 Championship on September 22-23. SSA is undergoing a major renovation to their clubhouse and this will be an excellent opportunity for Laser sailors to check out the new digs!
The 11th District of the International Laser Class Association North American Region covers Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. With 12 fleets around the Chesapeake Bay and Deep Creek Lake, hundreds of sailors race Lasers each year. 40+ laser regattas are held annually in the district in addition to dozens of other race days including weeknight racing and winter frostbite sailing. Each year District 11 sponsors a championship regatta for both Standard and Radial rig fleets to crown their champion and award 20 points in the ILCA-NA Grand Prix Series. http://laserdistrict11.org
District 11 has a new perpetual trophy to honor the Laser Radial District 11 Champions. It was built around the original Standard Laser District 11 Championship trophy and features the names of the 7 champions we’ve had so far.
The original Standard Laser District 11 Championship trophy was built in 1979 by Mike Waters using a relief of a Laser created by his wife, Jane Waters. Over the years this trophy was lost to time and in the mid-1990’s a new Standard Laser District 11 Championship trophy was created. The original trophy was found about 5 years ago and the champions listed on it were used to populate the new trophy going back to 1972.
The original trophy was given to me when I became District Secretary and I thought it was a shame not to put such a nice piece of art to use and to loose a valuable contribution to our District. We’ve started to have a consistent showing of Radials at our District Championship. I thought – why not recognize Laser Radial champions and give Radials a trophy to sail for.
The new Laser Radial District 11 trophy was designed to use the relief in the original trophy. Since Mike was a boat builder and used the best boat-building adhesives to affix the relief to the original board, it would have been too difficult to separate the relief from the board without breaking it. So the new trophy had to be built around it.
The new trophy would feature the relief in the center, a plaque with the name of the trophy at the top, room for the 7 known Laser Radial District 11 Champions and room for the next 36.
Read more about the construction of the photo and check out more pictures of it here.
Tim Zimmerman is a writer for Sailing World and was a competitor at the 2011 Laser District 11 Championship hosted a few weeks ago at Fishing Bay Yacht Club and he’s written a blog article about his experience at the regatta:
Don’t get me wrong. The regatta itself, the District 11 Laser Championships, was not terrible. In fact, it was fantastic. Hosted by the smoothly-run, beautifully-situated, Fishing Bay Yacht Club down in Deltaville, Va., on the southern Chesapeake Bay, the regatta was blessed with excellent winds, a great crowd of sailors, and a Laser-loving chef, Alain Vincey, who cooked up a spectacular Saturday-evening dinner. Even the camping was nice.
Read the rest of the article on Sailing World’s blog.
Photographer Stephen Boling was at the District 11 Championship Regatta at FBYC a couple weeks ago and has posted his photos from Sunday. Check them out and if you see any you like, please make a purchase.
Here’s Jon Deutsch’s highlight film from this weekend’s Laser District 11 Championship Regatta at FBYC.
Nice wind and plenty of racing were just two of the themes from the 36-boat District 11 Championship and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination at Fishing Bay Yacht Club May 14-15. John MacCausland, from Cooper River Yacht Club, posted 4 bullets and 3 seconds to win the standard rig District 11 Championship and the berth at the US Sailing Singlehanded National Championship in July. Eric Reitinger from Brant Beach Yacht Club finished second while Luke Shingledecker from Severn Sailing Association finished 3rd.
Radial Start by Stephen Boling Photography
In the Radial fleet Mathew Schofield’s (AYC/SSA) consistency with all top 3 finishes pushed him to the podium as the top Radial and top junior. Austin Powers was the top Fishing Bay Yacht Club sailor finishing second while Ben Buhl, also from Fishing Bay Yacht Club round out the top 3. Dorian Haldeman from Severn Sailing Association was the top woman and won the Women’s berth in the US Sailing Singlehanded National Championship.
The racing on Saturday saw overcast skies and winds hovering in the 12-14 range most of the day from the south east. All of the starts were clean on the generous line. The first 3 races were 5-leg windward lewards. The wind increased briefly for the 4th race of the day and a triangle was run with some pretty screaming reaches. The final race of the day was another Windward-Leward.
The sailors and race committee were treated to great food and camaraderie Saturday night. We were lucky to have all of the rain come through in the evening hours rather than while racing.
Standard rig mark rounding by Stephen Boling Photography
Sunday was another beautiful day with mostly sunny conditions and a little less wind this time from the south. While the shifty winds might have given the RC a few fits trying to set a square starting line, they were no match for locals Dan Herlihy and Jon Deutsch winning 2 and 1 of the 3 races on Sunday respectively.
The front of the Radial fleet was hotly contested between Matthew Schofield, Ben Buhl and Austin Powers all racing in a tight pack up top. Dorian Haldeman put 9 points between her and runner-up Karen Long (SSA) to secure her title. Cheryl Ryan finished 3rd in the Women’s division.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend of racing. The weather cooperated, the racing competitive, the food fantastic and the sailors had a lot of fun. David Lee and his crew on Race Committee did an excellent job running races. We’d like to thank Fishing Bay Yacht Club for hosting our District Championship and we’re looking forward to having the Laser sailors back October 14-15 for the Chesapeake Bay Laser Masters Regatta.
Complete Results can be found here.
Some off the water photos are posted here and on-the-water photos by Steven Boling Photography have been posted here.
Jon Deutsch’s onboard highlight video is here.
1st Radial & 1st Junior Matthew Schofield; 1st Woman Dorian Haldeman; Event Chair Jon Deutsch; 1st Standard John MacCausland
For everyone who will be joining us for the Laser District 11 Championship and US Sailing Singlehanded Championship Area C Elimination this weekend I would like to welcome you to Fishing Bay Yacht Club. We have a great regatta planned and a great group of competitors coming so it should be a lot of fun.
The great news about the weather for this weekend is that we should have good wind. Not the epic wind of the Masters regatta we’ve had the past couple years, but a nice ~10-15 out of the South East. The not-so-great news is that the current weather forecast has a chance of rain and storms for both days. We’ll keep our eyes sky and do our best to sail around whatever is thrown at us.
A few notes for those who are new to FBYC or reminders for those who have been here before.
DOCUMENTS
Here is the Notice of Race
And the Sailing Instructions have now been posted to the club website
ENTRY LIST
http://www.fbyc.net/Registration/Reports/RPTPublic?event_id=1074
We are expecting about 35-40 boats.
DIRECTIONS
Directions to FBYC can be found at: http://www.fbyc.net/Club/Directions
PARKING AND LAUNCHING
Anyone arriving on Friday is more than welcome to go for a sail. Please park boats either in the ‘Laser Coral’ directly in front of the main club-house, or in the field directly adjacent to the pool. Please park cars around the outside of the Laser Coral or along the fence on the west side of the club property.
There are two launching ramps. The first is the concrete ramp between the club and the pool. The other is the grass ramp on the east side of the property. At the bottom of both is a beach for leaving dollies, etc while we are sailing. Hoses for wash down are located near the junior shed at the top of the grass ramp, and between the isles of Flying Scots and Mobjacks.
REGISTRATION & CHECK IN
Registration and check in will be open from 8am to 9:45am Saturday morning. If you have pre-registered you still will need to check in. Please help us keep things running smoothly by checking in as soon as you are parked an settled, but before rigging your boat. Dinner tickets and pinnies will be distributed at check-in. (here’s what the pinnies look like)
BREAKFAST
We will have breakfast available both Saturday and Sunday morning at the club starting around 8am. It will consist of muffins, bagels, coffee and juice.
DINNER
Dinner will be served at approximately 6:30pm Saturday evening. The exact time, not sooner than 6, will be determined once everyone is off the water and we can be sure everyone has had adequate time to de-rig and clean up. We’ll try to get Alain a fast tow in so dinner doesn’t get pushed back too much. Water, soft drinks, beer and wine will be available and are included in the dinner.
LUNCHES AND SNACKS
We will have water and Gatorade available on the water on Saturday and as supplies allow on Sunday. The boat with these supplies will be announced at the skippers’ meeting.
WEATHER Saturday the temperature should be in the 60-70’s mid-day with wind 10-15 out of the SE. Sunday is lighter winds and similar temperatures. Slight chance of thunderstorms both days.
Weather: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=23043 Wind: http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/ofs/cbofs/wind_forecast.shtml Tide: http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/2861.html Weather Buoy (located 2 miles NW of the sailing area in the Chesapeake Bay: http://www.buoybay.org/m/sting.php Nautical Chart of Fishing Bay
CAMPING
Camping at FBYC is welcomed and encouraged. For those who are camping, please camp only the designated area. The designated area for camping is on the North side of the property near the east bathhouse. There will be a sign.
There are 3 buildings on the club property and each has restroom/shower facilities. Feel free to use whatever is most convenient.
OTHER
Please note that pets are not allowed on FBYC property. Please leave your pets at home.
That’s about it. I should be around the club around 3pm on Friday. If you have any questions I prefer email jon@laserdistrict11.org and will have access to it throughout the weekend. I can also be reached by phone or text message at 804-305-1244
Please drive safely and see you this weekend.
Jon Deutsch
Event Chairman
Sailors are coming from all over to sail in the District 11 Championship May 14-15 at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. Not only is this event the Grand Prix Championship worth 20 Grand Prix points, but the top man and women win the right to represent Area C (VA, MD, NJ, DE, west PA) in the US Sailing Singlehanded Championship.
The District 11 Championship Pinnie was unveiled at SSA’s Sunshine Open on Saturday. Each competitor at the District 11 Championship May 14-15 at Fishing Bay Yacht Club will be given one with their registration (while supplies last so register early!). The pinnie features an image of Lasers on Fishing Bay on the front and a list of the areas D11 covers on the back.
The pinnie is a stretchy lycra garment worn over a life jacket and it helps keep lines and other gear from snagging on a life jacket. It also reduces windage. And you can show your District 11 pride when sailing away regattas and help our sailors look like a group.
ILCA-NA District 11 