Bill and Nelson briefly presented an overview of the special event application that we filed for permissions necessary to hold the event in Kershaw Park on June 8-10. There were several good questions from the members and overall, the atmosphere was positive. The committee members seemed very interested in the event and a couple of them have seen us racing on the lake and at Holiday Harbor.

Bill will complete the one followup item where we were asked to communicate our plans with another group that will be holding a 5K race on June 9 and where the runners will pass by the park Saturday morning.

The environmental committee voted to approve our request to hold the event at the new docks in front of Steamboat Landing and this allows the permit to move forward for a full council vote at their March 1 meeting. Nelson and Bill will be at that meeting.

In other news, Maggie and Neil Atkins and Len Redon are gearing up for the 9th Annual  RC Laser Mid-Winter Championship Regatta in Marco Island, FL on March 2-4.

Coming out of our first meeting with the City of Canandaigua where we introduced our first big regatta, it is interesting to note that the City of Marco Island has been a longstanding co-sponsor of the Marco Island race. We hope to build that same relationship here for future regattas on Canandaigua Lake.

Best of luck to Maggie, Neil and Len!

Bill will be posting results on the RC Laser North American Class website during the regatta so go log on and check for Canandaigua sailors at the top of the results!

The meeting will take about an hour of your time and we’ll run through the various committee reports so that Nelson Habecker and Bill Blevins can be up to speed before they go answer questions from the Canandaigua City Council’s Environmental Committee the following Tuesday night.

The meeting will be at Neil and Maggie Atkins’ home in Canandaigua.

RSVP to RCSailors@gmail.com so we have a head count as Maggie has graciously offered to put a pot of chili on the stove and some cornbread in the oven for the group to eat after the meeting.

If you have never been to their house and need directions, just let us know in your RSVP and we’ll send you the address and a link to their house in Google Maps.

On the off chance that February’s weather in western NY is bad on Sunday, we won’t try to plan any sailing at 2 pm. However, if we are having normal weather, as we’ve had so far this Winter, let’s plan on dropping marks and sailing RC Lasers from the pump-out dock at the north end of the lake. We will have plenty of time to sail and then drive down the east shore for the meeting.

If sailing conditions are looking poor on Sunday morning for a 2 pm start (basically, if there is no ice on the lake or lightning from the skies), we’ll post a note here about canceling the racing. The meeting will still start at 4 pm.

By now you are hopefully aware that our fleet will be hosting the 2012 RC Laser North American Championship in Canandaigua on June 8-10.

Our next meeting is tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of February 12. We don’t yet have a location or specific time but go ahead and pencil in the date on your calendar.

With this post, we just wanted to update everyone on the first planning meeting held on January 8 and to explain who has already volunteered to work in the various groups. If you didn’t attend, you can begin to think about where you’d like to help and let the others in the group know your preference.

About 15 members from the fleet met at for brunch at Bill & Tracy Blevins house. The food and the company was great. After everyone seemed to be perfectly stuffed, we gathered in the den and discussed our planning progress, an overview of the events during the race weekend and then got down into details that will need to be handled over the next couple of months.

The work to be done was divided into six sections and fleet members volunteered to help in each of the groups. The sections and volunteers are as follows in this list with the committee chairs underlined:

• Venue - Nelson Habecker, Anne Lambert
• Marketing & Registration - Mary Schmidt
• Racing - Jonathan Gorbold, Bill Schmidt, Sue Bennett, Anna Gorbold
• Food - Terry Schmidt, Neil Atkins, Gary Schmidt
• Sponsorship & Awards - Anne Lambert
• Treasury - Maggie Atkins, Terry Schmidt, Nelson Habecker

A Google Document was shared with each committee and we are trying to use that to aggregate everyone’s notes for tracking purposes this year but also for future regattas. If you would like that URL, email us at rcsailors@gmail.com and we’ll reply back with that link. If you’d like to associate your name with one of the working groups, just let us know that too and I’ll add your name to the group or you could just go into the Google Doc if you have the URL and add your own name.

The latest update of that document is pasted below:

After a long search and much debate, we’ve decided to apply with the City of Canandaigua to use the end of the T-dock at Kershaw Park. We believe this will be a perfect venue for the sailors and also for spectators in the park to view the races.

We are sharing the letters of support and the formal application paperwork that we’ve submitted to the City so that you will also have the details. Then, when you run into one of the city’s decision makers at a holiday party, the grocery store, through your social activities or in your line of work you will be able to reinforce the request in a personal way.

• City of Canandaigua Special Events Application
• Letter to The Honorable Ellen Polimeni, Mayor, Canandaigua, NY
• Letter to the Canandaigua City Council from Stephen Heinzelman, Commodore, Canandaigua Yacht Club
• Letter to the Canandaigua City Council from Anna Gorbold, Chairman, Canandaigua Yacht Club
• Letter to the Canandaigua City Council from Dave Branning, Secretary, North American RC Laser Class Association
• Letter to Katie Outhouse, Canandaigua Recreation Programs Coordinator
• Letter to Kay W. James, City Manager of Canandaigua

As we understand it, there is at least one committee meeting where this application will be discussed in January and then it will come before the City Council for a vote in February.

Visit http://www.rclaser.us for more information and to download the form.

Bill Blevins is planning on driving to the event and he can take your boat down and bring it back for you so all you need to do is get a room and a flight.

There are many flights from ROC to RSW for around $425 round trip.

Make your plans now. This is a popular event. This trip will give you a great break from the snow here in early March! No excuses!

Christmas Gift Ideas:

• “C” Sail for winds 18 – 28 mph
• “D” Sail for winds 28+ mph
• Hard shell, foam-padded case to store your transmitter
• Bag to holds all 4 rigged sails or call Skip Lippincott at (856) 764-8282.
• Transmitter glove for sailing in the snow or rain or Google “Transmitter Glove“
• Light air “A” sail & mast for winds 0-9 mph
• Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet Shirts

STEP 2
Buy a transmitter and a receiver online or locally:

• Spektrum DX 6i MD2 Transmitter $159.99
• Spektrum MR200 Marine Receiver $49.99

Radios and receivers are in stock locally at:
Dan’s Crafts and Things, 352 Empire Blvd., Rochester, NY 14609

Prices were current when this page was last updated.

11 RC Lasers sailed on the Erie Canal at Perinton Park in Fairport on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Walt Bankes)

On Sunday afternoon while the women of the RC Laser fleet were out on the town in Canandaigua touring houses decorated for Christmas, eating fancy crepes, tasting olive oils imported from around the world and of course, shopping, eleven other RC Laser sailors were racing their boats up and down the Erie Canal in Fairport.

The weather cooperated for both groups. There were many people out walking and biking the canal path and most stopped for a while to watch or ask questions as the fleet completed more than a half-dozen races. The sailors all started out with their standard sail but by the end of the day most had switched over to their A rigs as the wind started to drop.

It is about the time of year when things usually start to freeze up in western New York, however, if the forecast is for nice weather (ie: no lightning in the sky or ice on the water) on Sunday we’ll post another location here, so check back on Friday afternoon!

Even though it was just snowing a few minutes ago, the current forecast for Sunday afternoon is for sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 50′s with winds predicted at 13 knots from the south.

Let’s plan on sailing on the Erie Canal at Perinton Park in Fairport at 2 p.m. That area of the canal lies north to south. Perfect!

I drove by the park during my lunch break today and the canal has plenty of water even though it has been drained down about 10 feet. There is enough water in it still to set out marks and play around for a couple of hours. You can hand-launch easily after you navigate the rocks on the bank. If someone can’t launch their RC Laser themself, there will be plenty of help around.

We’ll have the canoe in the water to set out marks and to retrieve any wayward boats if necessary. We’ll sail downstream from the park (where this photo was shot) and not up by the building. The rocks close to shore upstream extend out fairly far. Park in the spaces just after you enter the gate. We’ll sail from that area to the left (towards Fairport).

It should be a nice afternoon. See you there!

The 559 starts in this seven week series kicked off the 2012 racing season and the scores in this series contribute to the overall High Point trophy given out at Sailor’s Night in October.

Jonathan Gorbold (#62) earned second place for the series with 71 points, Jay Niggli (#81) finished in third with 91 points, Jack Bennett (#005) finished in fourth place and Nelson Habecker (#54) ended up in fifth. Tracy Blevins (#75) finished highest among the women and was also ninth overall. The results for the 20 sailors who participated in the series can be found on our results section of the site.

The Canandaigua group welcomed its 22nd RC Laser sailor as Leonard Redon of Rochester paid his $20 dues and joined Fleet 14 this week. (Hint, hint… some of you still need to pay your dues for 2012. See Nelson when you get a chance).

There is no official racing until next spring but if the weather is nice (and since all of the women are planning a shopping trip) some of the guys discussed getting a pick-up race going on the Erie Canal at Perinton Park in Fairport next Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Watch this site for details about this on Friday if you are interested.

Despite the equipment failures (which seems to be quite a regular thing with the lastest batch of new boats), everyone agreed that the venue on the pump out dock at the north end of Canandaigua Lake was awesome!

A huge “thank you” goes out to Nelson Habecker (#54) for volunteering (and enduring) chase boat duty from his kayak for two hours!

Gary Schmidt (#59) had his RC Laser out for the first time on Sunday and quickly got back in the groove, scoring two bullets and a second in six races. The results through week #5 have been posted. Jay Niggli (#81), Jonathan Gorbold (#62) and Bill Blevins (#254) remain in the top three positions for the series despite several challenging races for each of them tonight in the chop and high “B” sail winds.

The after race party at Jack Bennett’s house along with great food and the”Tale of Several Cities” slideshow presentation from Blaise’s trip to Europe this summer was a great way to end a really good day of racing.

Next week racing will be at Nelson and Anne’s place in Holiday Harbor. To get to the race area, turn into Holiday Harbor off of West Lake Road and then make the first right hand turn and drive in to the end. Park on the right side of the lot.

The brand new “pump-out” dock is directly behind the Steamboat Landing restaurant and there is plenty of parking on each side of the property.

Racing should be great because the weather forecast is again calling for moderate temperatures with breezy conditions and sunny skies. This venue is great because long race courses can be set for any wind direction and the sailors can see everything from a spacious T at the end of the pier. We should get in quite a few races on Sunday!

If you are spectating, bring a chair as there are only a couple of fixed benches on shore.

Due to all of the equipment failures last week (ie: multiple rudders inexplicably falling off of boats last week and the fact that the RC Laser distributor site still shows that rudders are out of stock) Nelson Habecker (#54) has agreed to be the race PRO for the afternoon.

A quick friendly reminder to skippers…

If you finish a race first, clear your RC Laser from the finish line area and immediately start looking for the results clipboard. Don’t try to remember numbers in your head. As the second boat crosses the line, that skipper should begin calling out the remaining finish numbers. It is the responsibility of the first place finisher, along with the second place finisher to accurately record all of the places unless you are relieved of the duty by someone else who is not sailing.

We’ll be out setting the course early so come on down and enjoy the afternoon with us!

At the end of the afternoon Jack Bennett (#005) lost the ability to control his RC Laser, sending Nelson Habecker (#54) over for the rescue while he was out gathering marks in his kayak. Earlier, Neil Atkins’ (#72) RC Laser had a rudder servo failure. Late in the day and on opposite sides of the course both Anne Lambert (#272) and Dick Hallagen’s (#74) new boats lost their rudders for no apparent reason. Much discussion ensued on these malfunctions during the after race gathering at Holiday Harbor.

When yesterday’s results were calculated, they show that Jonathan Gorbold (#62) has moved into first place for the series.

On Sunday, November 6, RC Laser racing will begin at 2 p.m. at Kershaw Park on Canandaigua Lake. If the gazebo is available, we’ll race from the deck, otherwise, look for us just to the east of that location at the new city pump out dock next to the Canandaigua Lady.

Nelson Habecker and Bill Blevins will be out early getting marks set. The weather forecast at this point is for the temperatures to be in the upper 50′s with nice steady winds from the south all day. It should be a fun afternoon. See you then!

For high point scoring this season we are using the Chipstead High Point Scoring (Chips3) formula.

This scoring formula (in the most simple terms) accounts for the number of boats in a race in all of the scores. The underlying premise behind the scoring formula is that it assumes that it is easier to beat other boats when there are fewer of them racing and it is more difficult to beat more boats when there are many of them in a race. Chips3 is one of the scoring methods in our scoring program SailWave.

To qualify for the 2012 Overall High Point award, a boat must start in at least 60% of our races. We will be throwing out the worst 40% of a boat’s scores across the whole season.

Dick Hallagan (#74), freshly back from the J/22 World Championship in New Orleans the previous week, was out with his new RC Laser for the first time last weekend. Dick is our nineteenth fleet member! After Nelson Habecker (#54) helped get him set up and on the water, he sailed his RC Laser to a 5th place in just his third race! We expect that after a few tune-up tweaks he’ll be a regular at the top of the score sheet.

After racing, the RC sailors filled two long tables inside the Carey Lake Bar & Grill and enjoyed good food, drinks and company. Carey Lake will again be our venue for Oct. 30th, with starts at 2pm.

The 2012 race calendar has been updated. Please take a look and send any comments to Nelson Habecker or Bill Blevins as soon as possible if you notice any problems.

Aerial photograph of Carey Lake

The 2012 RC Laser racing season is underway and our first week of frostbiting saw boats sailing in a mixture of rain, sun, wind, no wind, 180 degree shifts, holes, lifts, headers and gusts as winds were generally out of the southwest making for difficult sailing from the docks at CYC. We managed to get 6 races on the result sheets.

As planned, for the next two weeks we’ll be sailing at Carey Lake in Macedon, NY. Arrive any time after 1 p.m. and we’ll start the first race promptly at 2 p.m.

Carey Lake is located at 959 Walworth Penfield Road, Macedon, NY 14502. To get there from Canandaigua:

1. Turn from Main St. onto Gibson St. (NY-21) and head 13.4 miles north to Palmyra.
2. Turn left on NY-31 (Main St. in Palmyra) and drive for 3.5 miles.
3. Turn right onto New York 31F W/NY-350 N/Ontario Center Rd for 1.7 miles
4. Turn right onto NY-350 N/Ontario Center Rd and drive 3.4 miles
5. Turn left onto NY-441 W/Walworth Penfield Rd.
6. Carey Lake will be on the right in 2 miles

There is parking close to the sailing area. There are bathroom facilities as well. There is shelter under a pavilion by the water if needed and a well maintained sailing area on the shore overlooking the lake.

The new Carey Lake Bar and Grill is open with Sunday football games on all of the TV’s, so after sailing it would be nice for as many of us as possible to go in and have a drink or eat dinner and support the business that is letting us use the property.

Our Frostbite Series runs through November 27 and our races are scored using the Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix A Low Point Scoring method. We also throw out the worst 40% of each boat’s scores. If we have more than 12 boats in a start, we’ll split the group into two fleets and sail an Odd/Even format for the day. These races in the Frostbite series contribute to the 2012 Overall High Point Award that will be given out at Sailor’s night in Oct. 2012.

So, let’s take advantage of our invitation to sail at Carey Lake and try to get as many of our boats on the water as we can and we’ll see if we can get 8 races in the books!

The year-old Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet now has 19 boats!

We also have fleet t-shirts, business cards and a great web site. During the past twelve months we ate plenty of great food between races on Sunday afternoons and we had a lot of great parties.

We also had great sailboat racing!

We had 1,240 starters in 166 races across five different series throughout the year.

Those stats don’t include the Women’s Series, nor do they account for special events like the Eight-Legged Race where each boat required four skippers to help navigate the course.

The stats don’t include countless “Hey, I bet I can beat you out to that mooring field buoy and back” challenges either!

The stats above don’t account for now infamous two-mile “offshore” Squaw Island Race, our only event where we had a “Race Director,” and where a dozen boats were thrown in the water during a shotgun start and were then sailed up Canandaigua Lake to Squaw Island and back! (Reports are that there are quite a few people from around the country making plans participate in the 2012 Squaw Island Race on May 26, so volunteers, mark your calendars because we’ll need a lot of chase boats and drivers!)

Enough promotion and marketing for now…

“Congratulations!” are in order!

Jonathan Gorbold (#62) finished the sailing season by winning the Fall Low Point Series and capping off his personal “batting average” of .820  which earns him the overall high point position in the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet for 2011!

Jonathan started in 142 of the 166 races that were held since October 2010. Jonathan had 55 first place finishes and in 120 of the races he finished in third place or better!

Bill Blevins (#254) finished second overall with a personal batting average of .788 and for much of the later part of the season he was essentially in a dead heat with Jonathan, battling for first place with only a few ten-thousandths of a point between them! Bill also finished in second place for the Fall Low Point Series.

Third in the Fall Low Point Series and third overall was Gary Schmidt (#59) who ended the season with his batting average of .661. Gary finished in the top five in 110 of the 132 races he sailed.

Click the chart below to enlarge it. The bars show the finishing places for Jonathan, Bill and Gary for the 166 races that made up their batting average scores.

Our custom built formula for batting averages calculated the percentage of boats each skipper beat in the races that they started. Our model didn’t penalize anyone for being absent as each boat was only scored in races where they sailed and the only against the sailors they raced against.

Looking through some of the other stats, they show that Nelson Habecker (#54) was on the course for every single day of racing, starting in 96% of the races held. David Turnbull (#17), George Walter (#47), Jack Bennett (#005) and Neil Atkins(#72) all competed in more than 60% of the races.

2011 Women’s Series Results

Tracy Blevins, Maggie Atkins, Anne Lambert, Anna Gorbold, Christine Stebbins, Terry Schmidt and Leslie Bennett (left to right) competed fora Spa gift certificate in the 2011 RC Laser Women's Series.

In the Women’s Series, Terry Schmidt (#71) took home top honors as well as a gift certificate for the Spa at the Del Monte after finishing with the lowest total score after 22 races against a total of 11 competitors. Tracy Blevins (#75) finished in second place in the series, followed by Leslie Bennett, Christine Stebbins, Anne Lambert (#272), Anna Gorbold and Maggie Atkins (#94).

And a special round of applause goes to…

From RC Sailing Photos

Many, many thanks go to Nelson Habecker who on most race days headed out in his kayak to set our marks and on at least one occasion, broke up ice on the course so we could sail. Nelson also found sponsors for races, served as the fleet treasurer, hosted a couple of our parties and also occasionally supplied a fire pit and the refreshments required so skippers did not think they were freezing their toes and fingers off during the frostbite and warm-up series.

Finally, much appreciation and thanks are due Pauline and also to the CYC staff for keeping the lights on in the club so that our fleet could enjoy dinner and drinks every Sunday night after racing for the past year!

Are you ready for the 2012 season? It starts this Sunday!

From RC Sailing Photos

2012 racing begins with the Frostbite Series on Sunday, October 16 at 4 p.m. at the Canandaigua Yacht Club.

For the second and third week of the series, Oct. 23 and Oct. 30th, we’ll be racing on Sunday afternoons at Carey Lake in Macedon, and we’ll begin promptly at 2 p.m. RC Laser sailors from the Rochester Area Model Yachting Association may also join us on those dates.

Racing will then return to Canandaigua Lake in November and we’ll continue afternoon starts beginning at 2 p.m. at Nelson and Anne’s place in Holiday Harbor.

Let’s all go to Mid-Winters in Marco Island, FL!

Since the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet will be hosting the RC Laser North American Championship next summer, we would like to see a large contingent from our fleet planning to participate March 2-4 in the Mid-Winters Championship in Marco Island, FL, watching and learning how a large RC event is run and managed at the highest level.

One more for the road…

Finally, mark your calendars for the 2^nd Annual Burning of the Socks Happy Hour (or two) on the docks of Canandaigua Lake at 6:30 p.m. on March 20, 2012. This annual party is held the Vernal Equinox marking the beginning of sailing season and the last day that sailors wear socks again until Sailor’s Night 2012!

But first, let’s put our socks on and head to Sailor’s Night for the awards ceremony! It is Saturday, Oct. 15 at CYC at 6:30 pm!

See you there!

On Sunday afternoon the Canandaigua fleet had 10 boats on the line for 7 regular starts and then one additional race was held for the Women’s Series. It was great to have nice wind and to be able to hold that many races again after what has seemed like a long summer with very light winds.

Next Sunday, October 9 will be the seventh and final week of racing in the Fall Low Point Series and it will also mark the 2011 season ending races that will be used to calculate the Batting Averages for each sailor for the year. The results for all series and for the current “Batting Averages” have been updated.

Please make plans to attend the Sailors Night banquet at the club on Saturday, October 15. The RC Laser fleet is reserving tables today. Call soon and let the club know your choice of food and also that you’d like to sit in the area with the RC Laser fleet. During the awards portion of the evening our fleet will have a few minutes to present awards for the Women’s series as well as awards for first place in each of our sailing series throughout the year and finally present the overall “Batting Average” high point award for 2011. This should be a fun night so call the club soon and make your reservation! The number is 585-396-9200.

The 2012 season begins the day after Sailor’s Night on Sunday afternoon, October 16 at 4 p.m. at our normal location at the Canandaigua Yacht Club with Week 1 of 7 in our Frostbite Low Point Series. Starting on October 23 the races will begin at 2 p.m. and we’ll update the calendar with the specific sailing location for each week and make sure that is communicated to everyone but you can probably count on at least one “Walkabout” race to keep the blood flowing once it gets cold!

And so with the beginning of the 2012 season upon us, it is time to renew dues for each boat. This year the fee is $20 per boat or $35 for multiple boats in a family. You can bring a check or cash with you on Sunday or use PayItSquare.com and submit online using a credit card or PayPal.

There are two groups getting ready to order sails and sail bags.

If you want to place an order with the distributor for sails or any parts, etc. from their site let Bill Blevins know right away. The order will be placed on Thursday, Oct. 6. There is no discount but we will save on shipping costs by lumping everything together in one purchase. We are ordering at least 4 “A” sail rigs and booms for people to cut down for their “C” and “D” sails.

The second group is ordering the large white sail bags that will hold all four rigged sails. We have 4 in the order at the moment. The normal cost for each bag is $175 + shipping fees. If we get a fifth order the price drops a little bit to $165 but we will get free shipping. If you missed out on the sail bag order last year and want one, this would be a good time. I think everyone who purchased last year thinks these bags are just great and they greatly reduce the hassle of changing sails. This order will also be placed on Thursday.

Finally, just for the record, several of us ordered sail numbers from Mobile Graphics in Victor and were very happy with the quality, price and how easy they apply to the sails – No more stencils, individual numbers, incorrect fonts, bleeding ink or crooked lettering! They said to just call 585-742-3370 and ask them to look up the order for the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet and they can use that information to make your numbers to the correct specifications. They are located at 276 Main St. in Victor, two doors up from Tim Hortons in the white house that has been converted to a business.

Bill and Tracy Blevins headed to Rock Hall Yacht Club in Maryland this past weekend where Bill participated in the 2011 North American RC Laser Championship along with 29 other RC Laser sailors.

After six races on the first day, Blevins was seeded in the Gold fleet to race for the overall championship the next day. After six additional races he ended 12th overall and with a 3rd place as his best score from the weekend of racing.

Complete race coverage, including scores and photos are being posted on the class web site at http://rclaserna.com.

Bottom line setup is about $694.

Buy the Plug-N-Play (PNP) version of the RC Laser and then pick up a Spektrum DX6i radio (MD2 version, no servos or receiver included) and the marine receiver locally or online. Click the links to view:

1. RC Laser PNP $484.00 *
2. Spektrum DX 6i MD2 Transmitter $159.99 *
3. Spektrum MR200 Marine Receiver $49.99 *

If you are going to race at Canandaigua, you should also order the “A” sail rig that includes the tall mast and boom when you order your boat because most of the time we are racing in winds less than 9 mph. 

• “A” Sail & Rig $89.00 *

Shopping locally for your radio and receiver?

Dan’s Crafts and Things
http://danscraftsandthings.com
352 Empire Boulevard
Rochester, NY 14609-4454
(585) 482-7850

EXTRAS

Here is a list of additional things you might consider.

• “C” Rig for winds 18 – 28 mph
• “D” Rig for winds 28+ mph
• Hard shell, foam-padded box to store your transmitter
• Bag to holds all 4 rigged sails $175.00 * or call Skip Lippincott at (856) 764-8282.

*All prices were current when this page was last updated.

Canandaigua Lake Women's Series RC Laser racers competing on Sunday, 9/11/11 (those with transmitters in their hands) from L to R: Maggie Atkins, Leslie Bennett, Anna Gorbold, Terry Schmidt, Christine Stebbins, Anne Lambert and Tracy Blevins.

The race results for all series through 9/12/11 have been updated and posted.

Make plans now to attend the Sailors Night Awards Banquet at Canandaigua Yacht Club on October 15 to support the largest fleet at the club and to cheer on the first place award winners from each series from this past year. The results for each series have been updated through September 4 on this site, but it is still anyone’s guess as to the final standings because each series is so close!

If you would like to order a boat as part of this group purchase, we need to know RIGHT AWAY!

We will be placing the order on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011.

You will get the basic Plug-n-Play “Boat in a Bag” which includes all five major components – the standard “B” sail, mast and boom, hull, keel and rudder – each in its own pocket in a custom zippered nylon carry/storage bag. In the hull is mounted all the operating electronics (sail and steering servos, wiring harness and switch, battery holder).

Since we are buying more than 8 boats at one time, the discounted price is $378 per boat, which is $106 less than the full retail rate. Shipping costs are included in the price.

You will still four AA batteries for the boat and you’ll need a radio and receiver in order to sail. You can order those online or purchase locally at hobby stores in either Webster or Irondequoit. Click on our “Boats” link at the top of the page for more detail on getting “race-ready” where we walk through all of the necessities and luxury items related to RC Laser sailing.

(At least four of the eight boats being ordered will be coming to the Canandaigua fleet bringing the total number of RC Lasers on the Lake to 16 boats!)

Call Bill Blevins or Nelson Habecker or send an email using the contact form on this site if you want in on this group purchase.

Nelson Habecker calls the starting line, “All Clear” as the first race in the Women’s Series on August 28 gets underway.

As Hurricane Irene’s rain bands skirted just east of Canandaigua Lake on Sunday, 14 skippers from the RC Laser fleet glanced briefly at the hurricane flags flying off of the crane on the tall hoist at the Canandaigua Yacht Club and then threw their boats in the water for a great time and some great racing!

The fleet gathered at CYC on Sunday afternoon for a scheduled race across the lake for a cookout at Neil and Maggie Atkins house on the east side, but after deciding it wasn’t feasible without powered boats to keep up with RC Lasers running in 20+ knot winds for a few miles down the lake, the group chose to pack up and drive to the other shore.

The long fetch coming directly in to Deep Run Cove under a stiff north wind created challenging choppy conditions. Surfing on 2+ foot swells with “C” sails was a great time!

The Women’s Series held three “exhausting” races. The regular Fall Low Point Series also added three races to the score sheet.

Terry Schmidt and Tracy Blevins continue to battle it out for the top Women’s spot with three points separating them and only five weeks of racing left. Tracy finished with two bullets and Terry added one more to her score Sunday. Leslie Bennett will be in the mix if there are enough races remaining for her to throw out two DNC scores from previous weeks.

After racing, everyone packed away their boats, picked up the marks and headed inside to warm up while Neil and Maggie totally outdid themselves by treating the group to a wonderful steak dinner, drinks and desserts.

It was a great time!

There are five weeks left in the Fall Low Point Series which will conclude the 2011 RC Laser racing season. Awards will be handed out at the Canandaigua Yacht Club Sailors Night banquet on October 15. The 2012 season begins the following day, October 16 with the start of the seven-week Frostbite series and racing in Holiday Harbor.

The fleet continues to grow as Anne Lambert, Tracy Blevins and Tom Joynt are expecting their new RC Lasers to arrive in the next few weeks. If you would like to join us on the water and buy yourself (or a friend) an RC Laser then check out this web page or contact Bill Blevins or Nelson Habecker.

Weather forecasters at the moment are saying that we have a 61% chance of not seeing any rain but they are calling for steady winds of 18+ knots from the North with gusts much higher! Bring your “C” sails! (“D” sails if you’ve got ‘em!) Thanks to Hurricane Irene, it’s shaping up to be perfect weather to run under sail SSE across the lake!

Nelson Habecker and Bill Blevins are going out early to check the sea state and set a finish line. Then we’ll all gathered at the concrete dock at the Canandaigua Yacht Club at 1 p.m. and figure out the chase boat situation and who is going in which boat and who is driving around. After that we’ll get on the water and prepare for an on the water start at about 1:30 p.m.

If the weather is just too rough, we’ll drive around the lake and park in the lot for Deep Run Cove park since most likely no one will be there swimming.

We’ll attempt running multiple races for the Women’s Series from the docks across the lake.

Don’t miss it! This is going to be a fun one!

The results have been updated and posted.

This new seven week series will take the fleet up through the Sunday before Sailor’s Night where we’ll hand out awards for our racing year which began back in 2010 with the Frostbite series!

On Friday August 26, the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet will be helping host a happy hour at CYC from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. The fleet will have boats set up for display with ‘B’ sails (since the big “A” sails are too tall for the indoor bar area) and be talking to people about our fleet activities and answering questions about RC Lasers. There will be plenty of fleet business cards to pass around. Bring a potential member to have a chance to win a gift basket. There will be live music, food and discounts on drinks at the bar.

On Sunday, August 28 the RC Laser fleet will be racing a few miles down and across Canandaigua Lake to a finish line set in front of Neil and Maggie Atkins house. We’ll set a starting line off the concrete dock at CYC and get going at 1:30 p.m.. We estimate that we’ll be finishing by 3 p.m. if the wind and waves cooperate. If you are racing, you will need to figure out your mode of transportation to chase your RC Laser across the lake – just don’t skip the event because you can’t find a ride – as we’ll figure out something before the start! The Women’s Series sailors are planning on holding as many races as they can across the lake from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. which will then be followed by a cookout. There will be a couple of powerboats that will be available to make sure everyone gets transported back across the lake to the CYC.

Finally, the RC Laser National Sailing Championships are going to be held at the Rock Hall Yacht Club in Rock Hall, Maryland on September 17 – 18. Bill Blevins (#254) and Tracy will be attending. To register and for more information visit http://www.rclaser.org/.

To keep up with all of these events, keep an eye on the calendar section of this site and watch for emails this week for details about the happy hour and the race across the lake!

Get ready for a busy and fun weekend!

After 31 races that included 207 total starts in the Summer Low Point Series, Bill Blevins (#254, above in photo) took home top honors, ending with 21 points. Gary Schmidt (#59) followed in second place with 49 points and David Turnbull’s (#17) series-long scores broke a tie with Nelson Habecker (#54) to take the third spot. They both had 57 net points.

There is no scheduled RC Laser fleet racing next weekend due to the 50th Ensign National Championship Regatta being held at the Canandaigua Yacht Club. The RC Lasers will resume racing with the start of the Fall Low Point Series as well as continuation of the Women’s Series on August 21 at 4 p.m.

Mark your calendars for Happy Hour at the Canandaigua Yacht Club on August 26, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Canandaigua RC Laser fleet is one of the sponsors of the event and we have the opportunity to set up our boats in the bar so people will be able to get up close and check them out and ask questions. “Out of the Blue” will be performing from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. Bring a potential new member with you for a chance to win a gift basket.

Sunday, August 28 is going to be a BIG day! Fall Low Point Series Race Week #2 will start at CYC at 1:30 p.m. with the finish line set 2.4 nautical miles down Canandaigua Lake on the East shore at Neil and Maggie’s house! Neil and Maggie have offered to host a cookout for the fleet! We are also going to carry over marks so the ladies can see how many races they can get in that afternoon for the Women’s Series! It should be a fun day. We’ll need a few “real” boats to ferry the racers across the lake. More detailed plans will be communicated shortly.

If you haven’t signed up for the RC Laser North American Championship to be held at the Rock Hall Yacht Club in Maryland on Sept. 17 & 18 but you still want to participate, you should register immediately as they will be closing the process when they reach 40 boats. Visit http://www.rclaser.org for all of the information and to register online. Bill and Tracy Blevins (#254) will be attending.

Finally, the current American Model Yacht Association’s (AMYA) quarterly magazine has a nice write-up on the activities of RC Laser fleets from around the country. This issue mentions our season long Women’s Series and includes results and a race summary of our Squaw Island Race. Since several of our fleet members have joined, we are now officially AMYA fleet #315. If you’d like to support the AMYA, visit http://theamya.org to sign up. The magazine they put out is first-rate and is packed with information on all types of model sailboats as well as information on upcoming regattas and previous results.

One year has passed and the RC Laser fleet has now grown to 12 boats!

Current RC Laser sailors are Neil Atkins, Maggie Atkins, Jack Bennett, Bill Blevins, Kieran Draper, Jonathan Gorbold, Nelson Habecker, Dave Kelsey, Bill Schmidt, Gary Schmidt, David Turnbull and George Walter.

The Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet would like to invite CYC members to show up at the clubhouse on Friday, August 26th and join them as they sponsor a happy hour (which in the true spirit of RC Laser sailing will actually be 3 hours long) that will start at 6:30 p.m. where you can meet the fleet, check out the boats and ask questions about RC Laser sailing.

Bring a perspective member with you and become eligible then to win a nice wine basket.

Bookmark http://RCSailors.com for links to the latest photos, current race results and all of the information about the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet.

The race results and a photo gallery have been posted.

Four beautiful hand painted Perrier Jouet champagne flutes and an exquisite bottle of bubbly will go to the winning team in the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet’s first annual Eight-Legged Race!

The current plan is to set a short windward-leeward course and to race twice around the marks. We plan on holding a minimum of 6 races with the goal of finishing 8.

Each team member will sail one leg of the race. Each team member will be numbered 1, 2, 3 or 4, and in the first race, #1 will start the race and to around the first mark, then hand the transmitter to #2 who will handle the second leg and mark and then pass on to #3 and so on where #4 will handle the finish leg and cross the line.

In the next race, we’ll repeat the process, but sailor #2 will start and the process will repeat with the race ending when #1 crosses the finish line. #3 will begin the third race with #2 finishing, etc.

Remember, we aren’t doing the full-blown cookout this week so make your dinner plans accordingly. We are asking that people bring an appetizer to share. As per usual, we’ll have a few boxes of vino on hand.

One of our fleet members who can’t sail tomorrow has provided his boat for use if there are additional sailors who want to put together a team at the last minute. Thanks Dave Kelsey! So, get your team together and come on out and join the fun on the water or on the docks!

The race will start on the waterfront at CYC promptly at 4 p.m. Feel free to come out a little early and practice. We’ll have marks on the water by 3:15.

Give your entry fee of at least $15 per boat to the person holding the scorers clipboard with the collections envelope and make sure they write down your sail number. Since we are not getting any financial help from the yacht club for our starts this season, this money is being saved and targeted towards paying for our year-end awards.

See you on the water tomorrow where we’ll find out who wins the vin exquisite and who gets the plonk.

This will be a RC Laser relay race where we’ll set out marks off of the south end of the docks at CYC and then announce courses that each have 4 legs.

Each RC Laser with a skipper and 3 crew members (eight legs, get it?) will take turns navigating the race course, passing the transmitter to the next person as the boat rounds a mark. Each person will drive one leg of the race.

Racing starts at 4 p.m. and we’ll try to get in at least 6 or 8 races, depending on the wind and then go calculate the scores to determine the winning team.

Bring $15 per boat as an entry fee that will be used for awards.

We won’t be having a cookout but we are encouraging everyone to BYOB and then also bring appetizers and munchies that could be shared.

We know of at least two people who have said they would show up and be “crew” if someone needs people. If you have an RC Laser and don’t plan on racing, but you plan on being down at the party, please bring it along as we’d like to encourage as many bystanders as possible to try sailing.

In other news, the racing results have been updated.

Both the seven-week Summer Low Point Series and the Women’s Low Point Series are being scored in SailWave and 40% of the races being thrown out. Just because you’ve missed a week, don’t give up! There are plenty of races yet to get your missed out of the scoring calculation!

Nelson Habecker came on strong at the end of the series and won half of the races on the final Sunday!

Light winds combined with sloppy boat chop made for difficult tacking, especially out in the open water by the windward mark. Those who pushed their rudders over hard and tacked quickly while feathering out the main faired the best on the last day of racing in the spring series.

The spring series included 352 starters over 44 races.

Next Sunday, the seven-week summer series will begin. It will be scored using the traditional low-point system and all of the sailors will be back on the starting line together again.

In the womens series, Terry Schmidt topped the field yesterday and moved herself into first place overall, followed closely by Missy Porter, Tracy Blevins and Leslie Bennett.

The updated overall 2011 “Batting Average” high point calculation has been posted and it shows Jonathan Gorbold moving to the top of the leader board again over Bill Blevins by a margin of just 9/10,000 of a point!!

You can check out all of the scores on our results page which has been updated to reflect all races to date.

Jack Bennett (#005) sails his RC Laser in the 2011 Squaw Island Race on Canandaigua Lake.

The next special race for the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet will be the “Eight-Legged Race” which will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 2 at the Canandaigua Yacht Club. Each boat will need a skipper and 3 additional people to help sail as “crew.”

What is the Eight-Legged Race?
1 Skipper + 3 Crew = 8 Legs

This will be a series of races using multiple marks where each crew member, as well as the skipper, will sail one leg of the race and then pass the transmitter to the next crew members as each rounds a mark of the course. Full details will be posted shortly but go ahead and mark your calendars and then locate and start training your crew!

In other news, several of the women who come out to watch the Sunday afternoon sailing asked if they could have their own race so we’ve started a weekly Women’s Series. Tracy Blevins and Missy Porter are tied for first place after two weeks of racing, followed closely by Terry Schmidt.

The women will race at least once each Sunday during a break in the regular series which will usually happen around 5 p.m. The series will continue weekly throughout the year until Sailor’s Night where we’ll calculate overall low point scores for awards.

We usually have an extra boat or two available if there are any other women who would like to stop by and try their hands on the controls of an RC Laser.

In regular Sunday RC Laser sailing, Bill Blevins has taken the lead in both the overall season high point “Batting Average” scoring as well as in the Spring “First Place” Series.

As many of you know, we’ve implemented a staggered start sequence to spread out the fleet at the starting line where new sailors who have not won more than 3 races get to start 1 minute before the fleet. After winning 3 races, those skippers start 30 seconds ahead of the pack and after winning 3 more races, skippers start at the gun.

Bill Blevins and Gary Schmidt have worked their way to the scratch fleet and very clean air for their starts while David Turnbull, Bill Schmidt and Jonathan Gorbold will now be starting 30 seconds early after winning 3 races. Jack Bennett is only a win away from joining them in the middle start. Everyone else is getting better starts with less stress, bumping and banging into each other on the once-crowded start line.

And finally… stay tuned for more details about our fleet going up to race with the Rochester Area Model Yachting Association in a very unique day of sailing that they are proposing where our RC Lasers will be responsible for completing one leg of a relay race where we’ll be placed on teams with other types of model sailboats!

Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet Captain Bill Blevins greets the sailors at the skippers meeting before the start of the Squaw Island Race on Canandaigua Lake on Saturday.

Squaw Island Race photos taken by Roger Bardwell, Keith Calkins and Tracy Blevins have been posted and we have links to them on our photo page.

Click here to visit our photo page to check them out.

If you have additional photos you’d like to share, send them to us and we’ll include them in our gallery or link to your page. Thanks!

Jonathan Gorbold congratulated by race director Keith Calkins at the finish. Joan Calkins was recording the finish order of the boats as they arrived back at CYC after the race.

Jonathan Gorbold finished in front of a field of 12 RC Laser skippers who sailed in a two-mile “offshore” race from the docks at the Canandaigua Yacht Club to Squaw Island and back.

Second place went to Gary Schmidt. He was first to round the Squaw Island mark after sailing a course close to shore on the first leg but he got in lighter air and shifty wind a little too far out in the lake near the finish to fend off Jonathan from passing on the inside.

Sharing a chase boat with Gary didn’t seem to hurt Bill Schmidt as he arrived back at the docks in close contest for third place.

After a shotgun start from the docks, this first annual event for the fleet required each skipper to jump in a chase boat and follow their RC Laser in some type of powered watercraft. Kayaks, canoes, pontoon boats and ski boats carried the racers, race committee and spectators.

Sailors agreed after the race that the appropriate strategy would have been to use the big “A” sail. Hugging the shore also seemed to pay off for everyone who took that route rather than heading out to the middle of the lake although the wind appeared to be a little stronger further from shore. The wakes and chop caused by powerboats out on the lake seemed to stall the air in the smaller “B” sails for the RC Lasers that went out as compared to the boats that stayed in close to the shore.

The wind direction was steady and blew from the south. The wind speed at the start was at the low end of the “B” rig and only Jack Bennett chose to sail with his “A” sail. Sail changes weren’t allowed during the race so Jack benefitted from the light air sail almost winning the race before he got lost somewhere in the mooring field as he approached the finish line.

Roger Baldwin (#99) and George Walter in the background navigate their RC Lasers towards Squaw Island on Canandaigua Lake.

Roger Baldwin and Harry Henkel drove up from the Oxford RC Laser Fleet in Maryland to participate. Harry picked up a copy of Stuart H. Walker’s book The Tactics of Small Boat Racing for persevering in the light winds and being the final finishing boat that didn’t drop out. Roger picked up a copy of Chapman’s Boating Etiquette as a prize for being the mid-fleet finisher.

Awards were handed after a cookout for everyone at the waterfront pavilion where everyone walked away with something, including Keith Calkins, our Race Director –in his first duty overseeing a Radio Controlled race in which he did an exceptionally good job– all of the race participants and all of the chase boat drivers!

Plans are already in the works to hold the Second Annual RC Laser Squaw Island Race next year, at 2 p.m. on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend holiday!

Canandaigua, New York RC Laser Fleet 14

SQUAW ISLAND RACE

May 28, 2011

Rules: The regatta shall be governed by the rules as defined in the current Racing Rules of Sailing, as amended by Appendix E for RC sailing, prescriptions of US Sailing, class rules of the RC Laser Class of North America and further Sailing Instructions as mandated by the Race Director (RD) who also has the authority during the course of the event to make changes which will be announced to the competitors.

Eligibility: The regatta is open to all RC Lasers conforming to RC Laser Class Rules.

Entry: Eligible boats may be entered by submitting the attached Entry Form prior to the Skippers Meeting on May 28, 2011, with an entry fee of $10.00 per boat.

Location: Canandaigua Yacht Club (CYC), 3524 West Lake Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424

Race Course: The RD will announce the course at the skippers meeting. The Turn Mark shall be a large yellow inflatable buoy located about 1 nautical mile north of the start and finish dock, near Squaw Island. The race will be from CYC to Squaw Island, around the turn mark, leaving it to port, and then back to CYC.

Start: The south concrete dock will be designated as the starting and finishing dock. This changes Rule E3.7. A two-minute audible countdown sequence will be used and the goal is to begin the race promptly at 2 PM. Boats must be out of the water at the beginning of the two-minute countdown sequence. Boats shall be launched from the starting dock after the start signal sounds.

Finish: A boat is considered to have finished when the skipper retrieves it from the water from the finishing dock after successfully navigating the entire course.

Time Limit: The time limit will be 4 hours.  If the first boat has not finished within 4 hours of the start, the race will be abandoned and the party will begin. If a boat does finish within the time limit, all others will be allowed to finish but the party will still begin at 6 PM.

Shortened Course: After the starting signal the course may be shortened with 2 sounds or abandoned with 3 sounds without displaying flags. This changes Rule 32.

Sail Changes: Sails may not be changed during the race.

Outside Help: Rule E5.6 will not apply.

Launching and Re-launching: “Rule 45 is changed to (a) Boats scheduled to race in a heat may be launched, taken ashore or re-launched at any time during the race except between the preparatory and starting signals. (b) While ashore or at the water’s edge or on a chase boat, boats may be adjusted, drained of water or repaired; have entangled objects removed; or have batteries changed.” This changes E4.4. Also see “Chase Boat Rules” below.

Radio Communications: VHF radios are not required and will not be used to communicate changes to the sailing instructions. The RD will monitor VHF channel 9 as well as mobile phone number #585-729-6779.

Protests: It is the responsibility of a right-of-way (ROW) skipper to call a protest against a fouling boat. Please solve your disputes on the water. If there is a remaining protest after the race, see the RD immediately upon finishing.

Marks: You may touch the yellow Turn Mark by Squaw Island. This changes Rule 31. The Squaw Island Turn Mark must be rounded to port. There will be a large orange inflatable buoy placed at approximately half the distance between CYC and Squaw Island. It is not a mark of the course and is only to be used for reference purposes and can be passed on either side. You can even run into the orange mark if you wish. You may also hit the start / finish dock, but do so at your own risk. It is made out of concrete.

Retiring Boats: Boats retiring from the race shall notify the RD as soon as possible.

Scoring: The race will be scored under the Low Point System described in the Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix A and the event will consist of only one race.

Personal Flotation Devices: Rule E1.4 is changed to “When on board a rescue boat or chase boat, each competitor is responsible for wearing a personal flotation device adequate for the conditions.”

Chase Boat Rules:

1. All racing sailboats have the right of way over chase boats.
2. Chase boats shall not cause a wake that impedes or helps a racing boat.
3. Chase boats shall not cause a wind shadow which affects any racing boat.
4. Chase boats shall be completely stopped with the motor in neutral before hauling a race boat for any purpose and remain in that state until the sailboat is launched again.
5. When chase boats stop to haul, they must do so in a position that does not interfere with other racing boats.

Prizes: A Crystal Head will be awarded to the skipper who completes the course in the fastest time. Other positions awarded as we find things to give away.

Party: A cookout on the waterfront will follow racing for all skippers and crew.

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2011 Squaw Island Sailing Instructions (.pdf / .doc file download)
2011 Squaw Island Entry Form (.pdf / .doc file download)
2011 Squaw Island Notice of Race (.pdf / .doc file download)

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Our Race Director and PRO for the 2011 Squaw Island Race will be Keith Calkins.

See you on Saturday!

After 3 of 7 weeks, here’s how the skippers are stacking up:

With 7 wins, Gary Schmidt is in the lead. Bill Blevins has 5 first place finishes. Bill Schmidt, one of our newest members, has 3 firsts. Coming in with two each are Jack Bennett, David Turnbull and Jonathan Gorbold. George Walter is on the board with one bullet.

Now, to shake things up even more, we’re going to move to staggered starts for weeks 4 through 7 of the series. Here’s how it will work.

Any RC Laser skipper with fewer than 3 wins will get to start at the one minute mark during our two-minute countdown sequence. Skippers with 3 wins but fewer than 6 wins can start at the 30 second mark. Skippers with more than 6 wins have to start at the normal start time at 00 seconds.

A skipper can opt out of this starting advantage and start with the scratch boats at the 00 mark.

The goal is to help spread out the pack of boats on the starting line as well as to get the field finishing closer together with the fastest boats catching the slower or new boats on the final leg of the race.

The overall 2011 batting averages will still be calculated for every skipper. The latest batting averages file has been updated on the results tab of this site.

The RC Laser “Offshore” Squaw Island Race is this weekend. We are still hoping for additional powerboats to be available at 2 p.m. to carry skippers from CYC to Squaw Island and back. The Sailing Instructions should be finished and posted on this site by Thursday.

Canandaigua, New York RC Laser Fleet 14

SQUAW ISLAND RACE

May 28, 2011

Rules: The regatta shall be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing as amended by Appendix E for RC sailing, prescriptions of US Sailing, class rules of the RC Laser Class of North America and further Sailing Instructions as mandated by the Race Director (RD) who also has the authority during the course of the event to make changes which will be announced to the competitors.

Eligibility: The regatta is open to all RC Lasers conforming to RC Laser Class Rules.

Race Summary:

• Boats will remain out of the water between the Skippers Meeting and the Start
• The south concrete dock is designated as the start and finish dock.
• At the start, skippers on the starting dock will place their boats in the water and sail north on Canandaigua Lake towards Squaw Island, about 1 mile away.
• Skippers will need to get in a chase boat, follow their RC Laser and sail it around Squaw Island (or based on the decision of the RD, a mark just south of the island at approximately Lat/Long N42.869918, W077.275702) and then back to the yacht club.
• Boats will finish when the skipper is on the finish dock and then retrieves their RC Laser from the water after successfully completing the course.

Schedule:

• 1:00 – 1:45 PM  Registration, boat set-up and practice sailing
• 1:45                      Skippers Meeting (All boats must be out of the water.)
• 1:58 PM               Two-minute countdown begins
• 2:00 PM              Start
• ~ 5:00 PM          Dock party begins with first finishing boat
• ~ 6:00 PM          Awards presented after all boats return

Location: Canandaigua Yacht Club (CYC), 3524 West Lake Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424

Entry: Eligible boats may be entered by submitting the attached Entry Form prior to the Skippers Meeting on May 28, 2011, with an entry fee of $10.00 per boat.

Scoring: The race will be scored under the Low Point System described in The Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix A and the event will consist of only one race.

Prizes: A Crystal Head will be awarded to the skipper who completes the course in the fastest time. A dock party will follow racing for all skippers and crew.

Contact: Bill Blevins at rcsailors@gmail.com or 585-662-7638 if you need us to find a chase boat and driver or for any other information.

PDF File Download: NOR and Entry Form

With that being said, we’re placing a pretty good bet that you’ll find several boats on the water on Sunday afternoon if the weather permits!

Regular weekly racing for the RC Lasers begins this weekend and will be held at the south end of the CYC docks with starts at 4 p.m. after “big boat” racing is finished each Sunday.

Coming up Memorial Day weekend, on Saturday, May 28, the fleet will hold the Squaw Island Race with awards provided by Crystal Head Vodka. This unique and grueling 2.25 mile long distance offshore race promises to be entertaining for sailors and spectators alike with a dock party to follow so plan on coming out and enjoying the fun!

Here are a few details about the race:

• Race is open to all boats as long as they are Radio Controlled Lasers and they have paid the $10 registration fee.
• Skippers meeting & entry fee collection will begin at 1:45 p.m. on May 28 at the south end of the docks at CYC.
• Boats will be rigged, out of the water and ready to start the race by 2 p.m.
• After the start gun fires, skippers will launch their RC Lasers and begin racing North towards Squaw Island.
• Each skipper will then board a waiting chase boat of some sort and follow their RC Laser while navigating it around Squaw Island and then back to the yacht club.
• The first skipper to successfully complete the course and be back at CYC on the dock with boat in hand will be the winner.
• Dock party and awards presentations begin around 5 p.m.

Skippers, start lining up your chase boat now and email us as soon as possible if you don’t have a ride for the race. If someone reading this has a powerboat and would be willing to chauffeur a RC Laser skipper on race day, send an email to rcsailors@gmail.com and let us know. We will connect skippers without boats to powerboats who can give rides.

Check out our “Calendar” of racing and special events, or click on “Buy Your RC Laser” to find out to purchase a boat or just visit our “Ship’s Store” to pick up one of our fancy new t-shirts!

Come join the fun!

Well… not each person individually, but if you added up the paces from each sailor, plus all of our fans and then those from the spectators, in total, the group probably walked at least 5 miles!

The first race started to windward (sort-of) in front of Anne and Nelson’s house and the fleet then rounded two marks located up the channel to the West and then took a long downwind run (sort-of) to the end of the channel past Jack’s place and then a long windward beat (sort-of) back up to the main channel where we headed South to a leeward mark, and after rounding ending up with a final starboard beat (sort-of) to the finish – right back where we started. Bill Blevins (#254) took the gun in the first race.

Whew!

Winds were heavy at times (top of the B sail) and then light (really needed the A sail) and  steady and shifty – What else would you expect from Canandaigua Lake?

The second race repeated the course from the first race, but the sailors headed back in the opposite direction with port roundings, ending up finishing by crossing the starting line which was the finish line from the first race. The second race ended with a photo finish after 30 minutes of sailing. Jonathan Gorbold (# 62) crossed the line first, just after he misjudged the pin at the end of the line and then quickly circled around to squeeze in ahead of Bill.

Since we are still in the “warm-up” series, we didn’t calculate tie-breakers for the finishes, but it was interesting to see that out of the 11 RC Lasers that participated (with one new sailor – welcome Dave), that after the two races were completed, 8 sailors out of that group were tied for a position.

There are two more weeks of warm-ups and then the serious racing begins!

Admiral Nelson Habecker (# 54) has schemed up a race where we’ll start from our regular sailing location and then proceed to sail around marks (starboard roundings) set in each of the canals in Holiday Harbor, such that we’ll walk the boardwalk, following our boats all the way around the complex, and end by crossing the finish line where we started – we’ll just be on the other side of the canal!

After regrouping from the first race, we’ll start another race going in the opposite direction (port roundings) and will finish back where we started the day. It should be fun as it is a beautiful day with wind! Now the decision is which sail to use! See you for the start at 2 p.m.

IMPORTANT NEWS!!

Today, we are adding a link to the site that will take you to our new store!

After several trials and tests where we experimented with various designs, our first officially sanctioned T-shirt is available for purchase for $18.99.Throughout the year, we’ll add more designs and more products.

The back of the shirt has a QR Code that has a link to our website embedded in it. When someone who has a smartphone photographs the QR Code, they will be taken to our site in their web browser. Pretty high tech, huh?

Support the club and order a few shirts. They are marked up $1 and the profit from each shirt will go into the club account and be used for parties (or awards if there is any money left over after the parties.

SPEED CLIPS

Finally, I found 5- packs of speed clips online for sale for $3.15. One pack of 10 clips will probably last you a lifetime so maybe splitting the order with a fellow sailor would help cut the shipping down which I imagine is more than the item itself.

Speed clips make it convenient to quickly connect and disconnect your mainsheet to the boom clip or your outhaul.

As spectators and other sailors look on, George Walter (#47) throws his socks into the fire as part of the traditional Burning of the Socks ceremony which signals the beginning of the 2011 sailing season on Canandaigua Lake.

The Burning of the Socks is a tradition where Spring-fevered sailors throw their smelly old winter socks into a fire to signal the first day of sailing season. The festivities usually coincide with the Vernal Equinox. The event is the symbolic kick-off for sailboat racing on Canandaigua Lake and is hosted annually by sailors from Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet #14.

The sun came out and the weather warmed up quickly into the mid-40′s on Sunday,  just enough to melt the ice skim on the water in Holiday Harbor, getting the five-week warm-up series underway for the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet.

Nine boats participated in 6 races which were held in very light winds. Most sailors used their tall “A” rigs all day.

Over the Winter the Canandaigua fleet grew by 3 boats bringing the total number of RC Laser sailors here to 11. Bill Schmidt (#88), Dave Kelsey (#652) and David Turnbull (#17) are now fleet members and will be racing with the fleet.

These early season races are meant to help the new skippers get familiar with their boats and for the more experienced skippers to tune their rigs and get their fingers moving in the right direction on their transmitters again. As such, this series of races is not scored for the series low-point awards however the races do contribute towards the 60% participation requirement for the overall 2011 “Batting Average” awards.

Hank Buchanan (#732), a long-time RC Laser sailor and recent Marco Island Midwinter Championship participant who finished in 7th place in that regatta, drove over from New York City on Sunday morning to participate in the Burning of the Socks event and the first week of races in Canandaigua.

Hank’s boat set the pace for most of the races on Sunday but he was closely followed by Jonathan Gorbold (#62) and Bill Blevins (#254). Nelson Habecker (#54) sailed to his first “gun” in RC racing during the fourth race.

WEEK 1 of 5 Results for the Warm-up Series

In other news, the fleet has purchased a professional starting countdown timer. We are collecting $20 in the form of dues from each fleet member to help pay for the device. The timer has a large speaker and it counts the starting sequence out loud for 1 or 2 minute starting sequences.

Next week’s races on March 27th – Warm-up series Week 2 – will begin with the first start sequence going off at 2 p.m. in Holiday Harbor. Weather permitting, we’ll race until about 4 p.m..

On Sunday, March 20th at 1 p.m. we’ll begin our five-week warm-up series. These races won’t be scored for low point awards but they will contribute to the overall “batting average” score for the year and the 60% participation requirement for that calculation.

As you can see from the picture taken last night and posted above, there is still an inch or so of ice on the water in Holiday Harbor but we think with the warm weather in the forecast for the next few days that it will be gone by Sunday.

The water in front of the yacht club is free of ice so we have a back-up location if necessary.

Remember to wear your smelly old winter socks on Sunday so that you can throw them in the fire for the traditional “Burning of the Socks” ceremony! We’ll aim to have the fire going by 12:30 so we can get the racing started promptly at 1 p.m.

The following week, March 27th, we’ll resume our normal 2 p.m. start time until “big boat” racing begins and we move to the docks at CYC.

Photo by sarowen (CC By-NC-ND 2.0)

Around the world, people celebrate the beginning of Spring in a wide variety of ways. Here at the Canandaigua RC Laser Fleet we couldn’t think of a better way than to uphold the old tradition of the burning of the socks that we’ve worn inside of our boat shoes over the Winter months.

vernal equinox

–noun

1. the time at which racing sailors gather together to burn the socks they have worn on their feet since Winter began, signaling the beginning of Spring.

2. the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere making day and night of equal length.

Join us prior to the start of the RC Sailing season (by the way, we are starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 20) at Holiday Harbor to tilt a glass and throw your old smelly socks in the fire.

Come on! Keep up!

When you submit, you should then get a confirmation link sent to your email and after you click that, you are all set. If you ever wanted to unsubscribe, each message will have a link for you at the bottom or you can come back to this page and click the link on the right to unsubscribe.

Using this new tool will be a better way than manually emailing the whole group letting each of you know that there is a new blog post on the site.

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I see lots of various sizes of sails being ordered now that everything is back in stock at the distributor. If you want the correct font and sized sail numbers, give Scott Rowland a call at (937) 862-7781 and ask for the RC Laser numbers and country letters, or more the more preferred method would be to place your order directly online at his site, Windjammin Sails. Scott carries Spektrum radios and the radio case as well if you are interested.

The North American RC Laser Class Association site has posted the instructions for putting numbers and country designation on your sails. Visit their site and click the link that says “Sail Number Specifications and Sources.” You do not have to buy stickers. Many of us used the proper size and font on a stencil and colored in the numbers with a black Sharpie marker.

We are flying out of Buffalo on Thursday and returning Monday. We have rooms booked at the Olde Marco Island Inn.

If you are thinking of joining us, let us know soon. We are planning on packing up our boats early and shipping them down ahead of time.

Here are links to the official race notification and registration:

• Notice of Race (NOR)
• Registration form

I also noticed today that there is a mention of our fleet and a picture of us out in the snow racing on the homepage of the RC Laser North American Class Association site this month.

Nelson emailed a photo of ice on the water in Holiday Harbor today. Our season ended last Sunday - just in time I'd say!

Jonathan Gorbold (right) and Gary Schmidt (center) pack up after racing seven races on Sunday afternoon that wrapped up the seven-week 2010 RC Laser Frostbite Series for Canandaigua Fleet 14. Jonathan won the low point competition, Bill Blevins (not pictured) placed second and Gary ended up in in third place. The "Results" tab has been updated on this site. All of the photos will be posted this week.

The results after six weeks are tight.

Jonathan Gorbold is firmly holding on to first place with Gary Schmidt and Bill Blevins currently vying for who will end up in second place for the series.

If we can get a half-dozen races in the books this weekend, almost anything could happen!

Racing begins this week promptly at 2 p.m. at Holiday Harbor on Canandaigua Lake. We’ll wrap up at 4 p.m..

After racing we’ll go inside for dinner and will calculate the scores for the series and announce the Low Points series winners and places for each sailor. The awards will be held until Sailor’s Night in Oct. 2011 at the Canandaigua Yacht Club.

About the dinner… Please contact Anne if you haven’t done so on details about the food and to see if you need to bring anything – and if so, what is needed. I wasn’t paying as much attention to that detail as I probably should have been in the past couple of weeks when it was discussed.

The calendar on this site has been updated to remove the tentative dates for an “Indoor” Series of sailing during January and February. The Winter Low Points Series of 7 weeks of racing picks up again in March.

See you on the water on Sunday!!

Discussions among the skippers after the races revolved around the need for fresher batteries (or at least, stronger than the batteries the sailors had in their boats) as the winds were relatively steady above 12 miles per hour – with a few gusts to 17 mph – necessitating that boats sheet the main sail more quickly.

Kirk, our RC Soling sailor friend from Rochester, placed close to the top of the RC Laser fleet this week but his jib helped less than it did last week when we had lighter winds.

The sailors in our fleet are quickly becoming very competitive with close starts, mark roundings and finishes. We are seeing that some skippers are reading the racing rules very carefully, trying to figure out what edge they can get on the competition.

The results don’t actually reflect how close the races have become!

Two weeks of racing remain in the 2010 Frostbite Series and both weeks will be at the Holiday Harbor location. Stay tunes for results from the next two Sunday afternoons. The final week in the series is on December 5.

Week 4 results are in the books (and posted on this site) and so now there are only three more weeks to go in the series and before we break for the Holidays.

Yesterday, six RC Laser sailors got off five two-lap windward leeward races in what turned out to be very light winds in Holiday Harbor although out on the lake we could see a stiff breeze blowing.

As it turns out, south-southwest winds are fairly well shielded by townhouses and trees and winds from the Southerly direction seem to create a fairly strong fluctuating current in the channels at Holiday Harbor. This current carried in a lot of floating weeds that tangled everyone’s keel or rudder at one point during the day.

Nelson Habecker sailed to three guns yesterday for the RC Lasers with Gary Schmidt taking the remaining two first places.

A seventh model remote control boat was on the starting line with the RC Lasers yesterday. Kirk, a fellow RC sailor from the Rochester Area Model Yachting Association saw the mention of our fleet frostbiting in Don Finkel’s RCR Yachts Racer’s News on November 3, 2010 and he came and participated in our races with his Soling One Meter remote control model boat. The jib sail on his Soiling proved to be a benefit over the uni rigged RC Lasers using only their “B” rigs in the light, shifty winds and fairly noticeable current in the channel. The Soling One Meter was right up at the front of the pack in four out of five of the races yesterday.

The RC season has ended in Rochester so there are several other Soling sailors who may visit next week. If so, we’ll give them their own start.

In other news, there is no word yet on the status of the “A” rigs and sails that are on backorder. The RC Laser National Class Mid-Atlantic fleet captain says that the sails were ordered and shipment was expected back in March of 2010. There are many fleet members across the country waiting on the sails, not just the new members in our fleet. We’ll post an update here as soon as there is any word or a more recent status report.

RC Laser racing on Sunday, Nov. 21 and on Dec. 5 will be held at Holiday Harbor. We’ll discuss the venue for November 28th next week and post on the site.

To find the group, enter Holiday Harbor off of West Lake Road, turn right at the first road and follow that to the end where you will see the vehicles, sailboats and sailors. Park on the right.

Holiday Harbor has multiple benefits that include good options for setting courses in all wind conditions, docks along the waterfront and possibly best of all when it gets really cold… inside shelter with heat at Nelson’s house!

Gary Schmidt and Jonathan Gorbold traded firsts and seconds. Gary has pulled ahead to lead the Frostbite Low Point Series after the Week 2 results were calculated. George Walter has moved up and into third place behind Jonathan.

Frank Sacco and Larry Keefe helmed boats 54 and 254, respectively, for Nelson Habecker and Bill Blevins who could not attend on Sunday.

Emailed reports that came in from the skippers who were there said was that it “was cold today – no spectators watched,” so, in an effort to drive not only racing participation, but also to keep the crew members’ participation levels up, racing will move up Canandaigua Lake to Holiday Harbor for FBLP3 on November 7 where there will be the opportunity to step inside and warm up if the conditions are bad.

A trial run of the Holiday Harbor venue is going to be held at 4:30 on Thursday, Nov. 4th for racers (and their spectators) who can make it. Burgers and sausages will be on the grill at Anne and Nelson’s townhouse on the canal. Email Nelson or Anne for directions and further details if necessary.

2010 Frostbite Series sailors from Canandaigua RC Fleet 14, from left to right, Jonathan Gorbold, Bill Blevins, Gary Schmidt, Nelson Habecker, George Walter, Neil Atkins and Jack Bennett.

The seven-week Frostbite Series got underway in very light air on Sunday with all seven sailors from Fleet 14 at the helm of RC Lasers out on the starting line. Two races were completed and in each, there was wind at the start and almost no wind at the finish. A three-way tie for first place can be seen in the series low point scoring results (FBLP1) that have been posted.

Since the radio controlled fleet extends the sailing season, the 2010 Frostbite Series races are the first races to count for the 2011 overall high point “batting average” awards that will be handed out a Sailor’s Night at the Canandaigua Yacht Club next October.

Jonathan Gorbold crossed the line in first place four times out of the five races and Gary Schmidt picked up the remaining first in the other race.

Overall, for the Fall Series, based on Low Points scoring, Bill Blevins finished in first place with 15 points after 25 races over the seven week series.

Jonathan Gorbold finished in second place with 23 points and Gary Schmidt finished third with 37 points for the full series.

Jack Bennett and Nelson Habecker both tied in Nett points after all of the throw-outs were accounted for but the tiebreaker went to Jack who finished in 4th place because he had fewer total points before throw-outs.

George Walter finished in 6th place and the newest member of the fleet, Neil Atkins finished in 7th, but he just joined the fleet during the last week of the series and only race in 5 of the 25 races.

The 2010 series was also scored using a modification of high point scoring where competitors were measured only against boats they raced against. There was a participation requirement that mandated participating in 60% of the races in order for a boat to be qualified to be placed.

Bill Blevins finished in first using the high point scoring by obtaining 105 out of 130 possible points. Jonathan Gorbold finished in second place and Gary Schmidt finished in third. The full results are listed below:

81% Bill Blevins
77% Jonathan Gorbold
66% Gary Schmidt
49% George Walter
43% Nelson Habecker
40% Jack Bennett

The calculation and full details of the results that we are calling the “batting average” scoring can be found in the results section of this site.

For 2011, the same high points “batting average” method will be used to score the whole year of sailing for each competitor. The only requirement to qualify is that one sails in 60% of the starts.

Awards for each series will be handed out throughout the year but the overall high point awards will roll up all year long and be awarded at Sailor’s Night in October of 2011.

Neil had a good showing in his first outing with the new boat but shortly after launching, he realized his rudder “stick” on the transmitter was responding opposite of how his brain thought that it “should” work and based on his experience at the helm of other tiller boats. Not wanting to risk losing control by flipping toggle switches mid-race to fix with his boat out on the water he decided to stick it out, racing 5 races with a backwards acting tiller.

The word on the street is that he has plans to adjust and do some testing and that he will have the bugs worked out prior to the start of the Frostbite Series at 2 p.m. on October 24.

Welcome to Fleet #14 Neil! With your addition we now have seven competitors!

Remember, if you’d like an RC Laser sailboat for yourself or would like to give one as a gift to a significant other, we can help you with your order or you can visit the RC Laser website and place your order online or just call Steve Lang directly and tell him what you are interested in doing and he’ll point you in the right direction!

Thank you Sagatiba!

We are looking for a major sponsor for the overall 2011 high point awards as well as smaller, individual sponsorships for each of the seven-week low point series held throughout the year. If you know of anyone who would like to donate awards in either of these cases, just have them contact us using the form on the bottom of our “About Us” page and we’ll get in touch with them.

So, for instance, if you hull number is 3068 then your sail number would be 68.

You can use a stencil and black markers to color in the numbers on your sails with the correct font for the class or you can order stickers to place on the sails.

If you would like to order stickers, Windjammin Sails can cut out the country designation letters and the sail numbers and ship them to you quickly.

Winds were strong and steady and blowing out of the North at 10-12 mph with some gusts above 15 mph and of course there were the normal 20 degree shifts to each side during the races. Everyone agreed to use the standard “B” sail since the other sails are still on backorder from the builder. There were a couple of moments when the “C” would have been nice, but almost everyone kept the bow on top of the water on all legs.

Steady winds allowed for five races to be run in a little over an hour.

The courses were a mix of two-lap windward – leewards with a reach leg thrown in every so often. The final race was a windy-lew with huge triangle out to the special mooring field warning buoy tacked on to the end. Even then, with great winds, it was still a quick race.

Everyone had at least one race where they did not finish (DNF). A couple of sailors were stopped dead in their tracks after finding a floating patch of really long strands of grass wrapped around their keels and rudders causing them to have to go rescue their boats with the dinghy. At collision at a mark rounding took out at least one competitor.

The “big boat” RC Volunteer party was being held at the club so we ended after 5 races and headed up to the clubhouse.

The race results have been posted showing Low Point standings for the Fall Series. The file showing the CHIPS3 High Point scoring has also been updated.

For the running 2010 Best RC Laser Sailor competition, the “Batting Averages” have been computed and there are no changes in ranking since last week.

0.867 Bill Blevins
0.662 Jonathan Gorbold
0.607 Gary Schmidt
0.465 Jack Bennett
0.456 Nelson Habecker
0.424 George Walter

Racing continues on next Sunday on the waterfront at CYC at 4 p.m. for week 6 of 7 in the Fall Series and then we will be moving to a 2 p.m. start time for the first race.

Remember, if you would like to come out and race with us for the FrostBite series starting on October 24 you need to get your boat ordered now! Just give the distributor Steve Lang a call at 615-773-2920 or visit his site to place your order for an RC Laser. Everything you need comes right in the bag, ready to sail with the addition of a few AA batteries and 5 minutes to put your sails on the boat.

See you on the water!

All competitors are currently qualified, needing for their RC Laser to start in at least 60% of the races.

Using a “batting average” model to calculate how many boats that have been defeated, based on how many each boat raced against and beat, here are the standings through 9/27/2010:

.886 Bill Blevins 62/70 boats
.706 Jonathan Gorbold 36/51 boats
.607 Gary Schmidt 37/61 boats
.485 Jack Bennett 32/66 boats
.443 Nelson Habecker 31/70 boats
.424 George Walter 28/66 boats

We are scoring the seven-week Fall Series (and also the seven-week Frostbite Series) by itself using the Appendix A low points method and also scoring the whole year using the CHIPS3 High Point model. In the traditional scoring models, we are throwing out 40% of the races but requiring 60% participation to be qualified for each series. Full details of the race results can be found on our results page.

Nineteen skippers participated in 25 races which were divided into 50 heats and sailed in light to medium air.

Jim Kaighan of Marsh Harbor won his second RC Laser North Americans in a row to go along with his recent win at the Marco Island RC Laser Midwinter Championship.

Here’s a link to the full story and the final results.

Here is a link to a video from the 2010 North American RC Laser Championships at Lake Naomi

Here is a link to photos from the RC Laser North Americans.

Jonathan Gorbold, the 2010 Commodore of the Canandaigua Yacht Club, showed up on the waterfront with a brand new RC Laser! He managed a 4th in his first official one-design RC Laser race and then took a bullet next race and a second in the final race of the evening!

The RC races were started rather late Sunday night because the CMOR regatta held on Canandaigua Lake over the weekend had pushed the normal Sunday “big boat” starts until later in the day so at the normal race time, most of the RC sailors were out sailing J/22s, Vanguard 15s, Catalinas and Ensigns.

The fleet agreed that everyone would sail with the standard B sail and rig because the last four boats that were ordered were sent with the A sail and rig on back-order. Until the light air sails are back in stock at the distributor and everyone in the fleet has the ability to use multiple sails, we’ll just continue to race, even in light air, with the B sail to keep things level.

Winds were light all day but by 5:30 p.m. the RC sailors were all in the water with a course set and they did manage to get in three two-lap windward leeward races. The fourth race was canceled because of both darkness and lack of wind.

Races from this weekend have been scored and posted in the Race Results section of this site.

We will be scoring each individual “Series” – ie: Fall, Frostbite, Winter, Spring, Summer, etc. – using the SailWave regatta & sailing scoring software and standard US Sailing low point Appendix A scoring but also we’ll score the whole year using the Chipstead or CHIPS3 High Point scoring method and post both sets of results online.

Remember, if you are interested in coming out to sail with us or just to watch and socialize on the dock, we generally meet every Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. during the Summer and 2 p.m. the rest of the year on the waterfront at the Canandaigua Yacht Club.

You can read about our model radio controlled sailboats or place an order for one from the builder’s site at http://sailrclaser.com.

If you don’t yet have a boat, are thinking about buying one or you just want to try your hands on the controller of an RC Laser, there is plenty of time between our races and before or after racing to let you play.

Come on out as there is plenty of good weather left this year before it gets too cold!

Bill Blevins came out on top for the evening with two bullets. Nelson Habecker and George Walter each took a second and a third with Jack Bennett rounding out the scoring and taking home two fourth place finishes.

Blevins was seen with a screwdriver and a small tube of lip balm, fine tuning the rudder on his RC Laser prior to the start. There was also discussion amongst the other sailors after racing that his AA batteries must have been charged more than those on the other boats, making his mark-rounding maneuvers faster than everyone else.

Even though the winds were 0-3 knots, Walter was forced to compete with his standard “B” rig and sail due to the fact that a larger, light-wind “A” sail he ordered a couple of weeks ago remains on backorder at the manufacturer.

Bennett’s rudder is still wobbling around under the boat since the accident that caused his gudgeon to fall out and that part is also on backorder.

Habecker was seen diving off the South dock to retrieve boats and marks after the second race when it was determined that there just wasn’t enough collective patience in the group to wait for more wind to hold an additional race.

The two-week series was used as practice for the upcoming Fall Series and it consisted of ten races with two throw-outs. The additional two weeks used for this series also allowed additional time for new RC Laser sailors to get their boats shipped and for everyone else to take delivery on new sails or parts before the “serious” racing begins.

Blevins was the overall winner of the 2010 Warm-up Series with 11 low points. Walter, Habecker and Bennett finished in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places with 16, 20 and 23 low respectively.

The Fall Series begins with racing at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 5 and the series will run for the next seven weeks.

We know of at least five RC Lasers who are planning on being at the starting line and understand that there may be a new sixth boat that was recently ordered and will compete if it is shipped in time.

The results for the Fall Warm-up Series have been posted.

If you are interested in buying an RC Laser and joining us on Sunday evenings, visit http://sailrclaser.com to pick up your boat. Make sure you also join the North American Class Association!

Great news Gary and a belated, “Happy Birthday!”

Our little fleet is growing fast with five boats who can now show up on the starting line.

We all concur with George Walter’s email to Gary that simply read… “Bring it!”

We’ve posted the latest overall race results. Here’s the link to get them: Race results.

Below is an article that is being sent to the Canandaigua Yacht Club’s newsletter for consideration for use in the Aug. 1 edition.

A group of members have now purchased three RC (remote control) One Design Laser sailboats and there are two more to be ordered (this week, hopefully) and a couple of other people considering the purchase. Shortly, we’ll be joining the North American RC Laser Class Association and forming an official fleet on Canandaigua Lake and racing at CYC. The current leading name is the Canandaigua Yacht Club Remote Control Sailing Fleet (if the club will have us).

–

Skippers Jack Bennett (#05), Bill Blevins (#254) and Nelson Habecker (#54) competed using remote control one design Laser sailboats in a series of round-the-buoy races.

On Sunday, July 18, three sailors from Canandaigua Yacht Club competed in a “first of its kind” (for CYC) Remote Control Regatta.