Model Yachting

Hot – Hot – Hot!

It was brutally hot as New Hampshire’s heat wave sent “feel like” temperatures over 100 degrees. To be on the safe side, the commodore shifted Soling races to the Wednesday alternate day. At least it was ten degrees cooler and dew points were slightly lower. Al Posnack, our race director, brought a cooler full of water to make sure everyone stayed hydrated.

Wind seemed to build as the day went on. For the first race, its velocity blew from five to six miles per hour, but during the second race, it really tailed off. After that it was reasonably consistent.

Twenty skippers launched for the June 25 nine-race regatta, thirteen from the Master Class and seven from the Sailor Class. This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dave Hogenson back from Colorado.

Doug Griggs, a new Back Bay Skipper, was presented with the first-win certificate that he earned at the June 10 regatta.

We especially want to thank B. B. Wright for jumping right in as a substitute for Karen Enos, who couldn’t keep score on this change of date.

#?!@*#^!**

It’s so much fun scheduling regattas using meteorological forecasts!! Monday, weathermen predicted clouds with a 5-mph wind and no rain. Tuesday morning they called for sprinkles in the morning then clearing with a 5-mph wind. We arrived at Back Bay, our shirts becoming damp with rain, our hair barely tossed by wind ranging from 0 to 1 mph. The rain soon stopped – for two hours — but wind was hard to find. Now and then there were gusts of 5 mph but not often. Did I mention I hate light wind?

Anyway, nineteen skippers showed up for the June 17 Soling regatta, but some had limited participation. Because of so few in the Sailor Class, it was all in, both fleets starting together, resulting in too many boats on the line. With this kind of a crowd, we certainly appreciate the ability of Karen Enos to judge proper starts and order of finishes.

Joining us in the Master fleet after a long absence were Rick Laird and Alain Jousse, and we hope they continue to sail with us.

A Perfect Day for Sailing

The skipper count was a little lighter this week, and for those who couldn’t attend the June 11 Soling regatta, they missed a good one. The fleet of fifteen held six from the Sailor Class and nine from the Master Class. With the smaller fleet we were able to go “all in,” starting both fleets at once. The wind ranged between five and fifteen mph so we managed twelve really fun races. It’s not often we get the Back Bay breezes to hold on for an entire regatta.

Unbelievable – No Rain!

More unbelievable was the wind. When we set up, the wind was an ideal 8 or 9 mph, but as races started, it fluctuated from 0 to 5 or 6 to 8 or 0 to 3, with wind in some places and none in others. Strange, strange, strange!

It was, however a glorious day to be sailing on Back Bay, with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-seventies. Twenty-two skippers launched, fifteen from the Master Class and seven from the Sailor Class.

Awards were given to three who were absent at the Model Yachting Fair. Bruce Wilhelm received a certificate for third place in the Summer Series and a third place for the 2024 season in the Soling Sailor Class. Linwood Davis received his first-place Soling Sailor Class award in both the Summer Series and the season. To Jeff Witzel went a Summer Series certificate and season award for second place in the Soling Master Class.