West River Sailing Club hosted the 92 nd Billy Heinz Regatta September 4th and 5th 2021. The Albacore Mid Atlantics was held in conjunction with the Billy Heinz Regatta. Eight albacores registered for the event and raced.

As competitors rigged boats Saturday morning light winds slowly diminished to lighter winds. The AP flag was hoisted. After postponing for three hours racing was canceled for the day. During AP some competitors did boat work, chatted with other competitors, and relaxed on the lawn overlooking West River. The low-pressure system that was supposed to bring better wind Sunday never materialized. The first race had a wind range of 4 to 7 knots. The first race had the beautiful wooden boat 7984 first to the windward mark after getting to the right side of the course. Shifts ranged from 5 to 10 degrees which saw the top boats tacking often while looking for better pressure. Downwind 8258 was able to pass 7984 to leeward finding better wind pressure on the left side of the race course. 8258 was able to hold on to the lead winning the only race of the regatta. A second race was attempted. Due to lack of wind competitors were unable to finish the race in time and it did not count. Congrats to the winners, Barney Harris and Ernest Ayukawa.

Top 3
1st Place – 8258 –  Barney Harris & Ernest Ayukawa
2nd Place – 8123 – Bob Bear & Michael Tellep
3rd – 7984 – Khin Thein & Thant Thein

2021 Billy Heinz Results

Ware River was another fun regatta this year.  We had a nice weekend with low temps and decent breeze.  Sadly due to rain and thunderstorms Sunday morning we were only able to race one day.  The breeze was shifty with a lot of velocity changes.  What seemed to pay off was to go left on the course whenever you could during the shifts.  Often the boats that went left would look poorly positioned and then would beat you to the mark out of no where.  Sadly the Albacore Fleet was not able to take home the Governor’s Cup this year.  With only 8 boats, the cup went to the Hampton Fleet who had 15 boats participate.  Hopefully we can get it next year!  All in all it was a great event!

2021 Governor’s Cup Final

This year’s Corsica River Yacht Club Regatta was a bit different from normal.  Despite being an event on the Chesapeake Bay in late July, we actually had some breeze.  Saturday was light when we arrived and began with a postponement, but by 12:30 the breeze had filled in coming up the Corsica river and we were able to get in 3 races with wind mostly in the 10-15 range.  The wind persisted through the evening and night which made for a nice evening with no bugs and kept things feeling cool.  The dinner was a very tasty chicken dinner and the camping was actually pretty comfortable with the breeze (although those who camped by the river said it was a little noisy there with the wind and waves).  There were even free horse carriage rides on Saturday evening!  On Sunday the breeze persisted and we sailed an additional 4 races in winds that occasionally pushed into the upper teens.  Six Albacores raced overall with 5 out each day.  Congrats to the winners Marty and Jordan Minot!

Ware River Yacht Club did a wonderful job hosting the US Albacore Nationals! They showed true southern hospitality which included meals and a surprise tote bag made from sail material and filled with local goodies. The venue was beautiful and the race committee successfully ran 7 races and the wind was good, especially on Sunday. Although it felt a little odd heading down to Ware River Yacht Club this year in July for US Albacore Nationals this year since it was a month before the normal Gov Cup trip.  WYRC was a new venue for our Nationals.  Ware River is one of my favorite venues with the camping and breakfasting right along the river.  It was really great to get down there Friday and have a nice dinner with everyone else that showed up a day early.  The team did a great job with sponsorship and we were surprised with a tote bag made from sails material and filled with goodies.

It was great to have the event at WRYC and it helped to include the new WRYC Albacore fleet.  We had a strong turnout with 20 boats sailing even without our Candian counterparts.  There were 4 boats competing for the Bob Harwood Challenger Trophy which was great to see. It was also fun to see the variety of sailing teams, including several family teams, old friends, and new friends.

Saturday started off light and the wind died after the first race.  We proceeded to drift around with zephyrs coming from all directions.  After about 3 hours of drifting and swimming, the wind finally filled in and the Race Committee got 3 more races in.  On shore, there was the delicious Gumbeaus Gloucester local food truck for dinner that was really good!  Sunday also started light but the wind filled in during the second race and ended up being pretty breezy for the last couple races.

Thank you to WRYC and the volunteers who did an amazing job hosting the event and we are excited to go back in a couple weeks for Gov Cup. Special thanks to Barney for hosting a couple clinics at WRYC before the event.

2021 Albacore Nationals WRYC

We had a very nice weekend racing at Miles River Yacht Club.  We had 8 boats and got in 10 races.

More to follow!

2021 Albacore and Friends Results

Greetings West River/Dave Irey participants,

2021_WRSC_Dave_Irey_Results

The 2021 PRSA Spring Regatta was held May 29 and 30 from the Washington Sailing Marina.  Eleven Albacores registered for the event.  With Covid 19 restrictions easing competitors were eager to race the first Albacore regatta of the year.  The weather unfortunately deterred some teams from racing Saturday.

Day 1
Day one sailing conditions were chilly for the time of year and rainy. Teams were in full foul weather gear.  Wind ranged from 12 -20 mph NE with gusts in the upper 20s.   Two Albacores raced.  Race Committee (RC) decided to combine all fleets racing on day one.  At the start line was two Albacores, two Buccaneers, two Lasers, and a Lightning.  RC held three races.  In all three races the RC boat was the favored end of the start line.   Having multiple classes on the start line that rate differently made finding a lane off the start important to maintain clear air.  The shifts on the racecourse ranged from 10 – 15 degrees throughout the day.  Playing the shifts was more important than getting current relief out of the channel.   The Olympic course with the wind speed helped the Albacores stretch out leads on other boats on the reach legs.  The two Albacores had a dominating performance against the other classes of sailboats. 

In the last race, 8122 and 8258 switched the lead several times.  On the last downwind leg, 8122 had a two-boat length lead on 8258.  At the mark, 8122 went wide. 8258 capitalized on this, and went inside.   Both boats raced on port tack to the pin end of the finish line.  8258 tacked four boat lengths early of the lay line and 8122 by going further was able to close to gap and almost overtake 8258 for the win.  

Day 2
Day two sailing conditions were chilly without rain.  Wind ranged from 8 – 16 mph from the NW.  Five races were sailed with nine Albacores.  The left side of the racecourse seemed to be the favored side of the course most of the day with 10-degree shifts.  The pin end of the start line was favored most of the day.  Boats tacking on to port immediately after the start due to the racecourse bias were able to make early gains on boats that stayed on starboard tack.  

Top Three Boats
8258 -7 pts
8122 -14 pts
8259- 41 pts

2021_PRSA_Spring_Regatta