September 11, 2018

Solings 09-11

It wasn’t too surprising that only nine boats showed up, given the threat of showers and promise of light winds. Unfortunately, ten boats are required to have the results included in the season totals. So, today’s sailing was scored, but just for fun. Bruce Brown’s boat developed electrical problems in the first race, keeping it out for the duration of the regatta. That left eight boats to compete in the days eight races.

Winds gradually increased, so by the end of the day conditions were perfect. Tim Wright had another good day of successful sailing, coming in first place for the regatta. Bob Brennan, whose boat seemed to “steam” to the finish leaving a noticeable wake while others were dead in the water, came in second, and Tim Brand, with his easily recognizable brightly colored sails, came in third. Except for the occasional weed caught on the keel or rudder, everyone had a good time sailing.

Weeds were once again a problem, but the help is on the way. On the 12th the water is being treated. After treatment, the water is off limits for sailing for 24 hours, so US12 sailing on Thursday was relocated to Ossipee Lake for the day.

US12s 09-06

Once again the US12s did not have favorable conditions for a regatta. Four boats were there for the start, but most soon left. John Simms arrived later, so Tim Wright and John raced each other for a while. At one point John lost control of his boat. Tim’s boat swooped in and rescued it before it hit the shore. He then escorted John’s boat gracefully to the dock. Later John returned the favor by shepherding Tim’s boat to the dock when it had drained its batteries. Even though we have a rescue dinghy, boat to boat rescues often are preferred, because of the time it takes to unwrap the dinghy and then re-wrap it when sailing is finished for the day.

Join the Fun

Weather permitting, the Soling fleet sails on Tuesdays starting at 1PM, and the US12’s compete on Thursdays, also at 1PM. Just head for the municipal parking lot at the end of Glendon Street and you’ll find us along the Bridge-Falls Path. In addition, the Laconia club sails at Lily Pond near the airport in Gilford on Sundays starting at 9AM.

Join us for a great show with many photo ops. And don’t forget to bring the youngsters – we have free-sailing Footies for them to use on Tuesdays. (For those wanting to purchase a Footy, a few are available in the boat museum’s gift shop.) If you want to try your hand at the helm of a radio-control boat, please let us know — we love to share.

09-11 Soling Regatta (for fun)

There were not enough boats sailing to have the results contribute to the season scores.

Below are photos of the day by Ed Johnson.