Annapolis to West River Race:  Last Friday, August 29^th, we held the annual Annapolis to West River Race with morning tows to the Severn Sailing Association and a start at 2PM.  There were five Chesapeake 20s on the line: Picardy, Spirit, Contrary, Gracie and America.  It was overcast with some light rain off and on, but actually a pretty nice day.   We had all kinds of weather.  At the start, it was very light from the Northeast; strengthened off Tolley Point and then the sea breeze kicked in and we sailed full blast as we broad reached into West River.  As usual with an adverse current, going right at the start turned out to be the best course as wind filled in along the lee shore.  Picardy took a pretty good lead until reaching Thomas Point were the wind died as the sea breeze began to fill in.  America overtook Picardy with Spirit and Contrary in close pursuit.  There appeared to be a wind line that really helped the fleet catch up with Picardy (it could have been a fishing line I snagged as well).  Gracie lagged behind since they had to gone back and retrieved Bob Blomquist’s hat.  When going around Thomas Pt. Lighthouse, the wind against the tide kicked up steep seas and we were all taking buckets of water over the bow.  With America and Picardy neck and neck, Carol was pumping water out of America and the super bailer on Picardy got the water out that was nearly to the floor boards.  Just as we were neck and neck, America’s rudder broke at the pintel, and Picardy with my nephew, Alex deTessieres, had the clear shot to finish, coming in first.  Robin Hartge with Ron Tate in Spirit was second; and Andrew Resnick in Contrary, third.  Bob Blomquist with hat and racing with Larry Carroll finished fourth, and Carole McCullough, Maury Niebur and Michele McHugh were DNF and towed in by Elsie Whitman with her outboard.

Results in order of finish:  Picardy, Spirit, Contrary, Gracie and America

WRSC Billy Heintz Annual Regatta:  Again, we had five Chesapeake 20s for the annual regatta but with some shifts in boats.  Maury Neibur with David Andrill borrowed Endeavor, Ted Weihe with Clay Taylor on Saturday and Doug Logan on Sunday sailed Picardy, Bob Blomquist with Larry Carroll were in Gracie, and Lorenzo Dialti, Carne Livingston and Max Di Capua raced Stormy.  For the first race, we mostly drifted on the inside course at the mouth of Rhode River.  It was a contest of endurance with wind from every direction and huge powerboat wakes.  Maury Neibur in Endeavor led the entire way but there were notable changes in the rest of the fleet as puffs favored one and then another.  For the next two races, given the conditions, the race committee handed us off to the cove course where there was about a 5 to 8 knot breeze.  This race committee had set up a very short course.  Maury got two more firsts.  Going left seemed to be the best course, but wind shifts made keeping near the center important.  Robin Hartge had excellent boat speed throughout the weekend with a new centerboard (using construction advice from Bob Blomquist) and new boom ( from a Lighting mast, fabricated by Rob Neilson). 

On Sunday, back out on the Rhode River course, there was excellent, steady wind, though light; under 10 knots.  The trick was staying either left or right where there were fewer waves and some lifts, but at some point, it was necessary to cross West River on starboard through lumpy seas and less wind.  Picardy had excellent speed and pointing ability to give Endeavor a challenge with two firsts and a third.  Spirit was close in two races with two seconds and a fourth.  Stormy won the fourth race, but with a heavy two person crew, Lorenzo would have preferred more wind. 

Upcoming Races:  Sadly, there are only two race days left.  We hold a Fall Series race on Sunday, September 14^th with our usual 1PM start; and the final one day regatta of the season in honor of Captain Dick Hartge on Sunday, September 28 with an 11 AM start.   Robin Hartge is organizing the Hartge clan for the Captain Dick Hartge Regatta.  At both events, we would like to weigh our boats and encourage you to come a little early to do so.  We are looking for some skippers and crews for several of our boats, so please let me know if you are available.

Race Committee:   On September 20-21, we are responsible for race committee volunteers for the 505 East Coast Championships.  We could still use some more race committee volunteers for this important event.  WRSC is putting on the 420 Mid Atlantic Championships on Saturday and Sunday, October 11-12, 2008 in which we are responsible for race committee volunteers.  We expect from 40 to 60 boats, and need 4 or 5 volunteers each day.  Please let me know if you are available.  It is an opportunity to support up and coming junior racers and should be fun to watch.