Hello out there

How are our fellow land locked sailors doing out there? This catagory needs some life pumped into it. Let's get talking. We sail on Lake Pend O'reille (pond der ray) located in North Idaho. Moored at the Bitterend Marina in Bayview on the South end of the lake. This lake would be considered quite remote by most folks. On the North end is the city of Sandpoint Id and there is a bit of boat traffic up there and on the South end there are a few Marina's and such but being a 44 mile lake, and a lot of mountains and cliffs boardering the lake, if you want peace and quite, you can get it.

Looking forward to some serious chat since we all have something in common. Thanks,

dreaming

Kim, it is one of my many dreams to sail on your lake - and on Coeur d'Alene too. When I look at a map of that area, I try to imagine the vistas you must have each time you sail. My lake in central Va is also quite beautiful, with very definite seasonal changes - right now everything is just starting to "green up" and you can still see into and through the woods a ways. In a short while the growth will just be too dense for that. But the Virginia redbud, the forsythia and cherry blossoms, soon the dogwoods, and the hundred different shades of green make for a delicious spring palette, especially from the cockpit of an Ericson. We just put my boat in 4/6 and did a race 4/8, so the fun is just beginning...

Thanks for your response Bob! Don't know if you ever get out to our area but if you do, then please let me know and we can plan a day on the lake.
As a native of this area with all four season's I can mentally picture your lake. Sounds like paradise.

Racing huh, tell me about your club and your racing. I was thinking about seriously racing this year but our yacht club decided to yet again change things. My rating is 144. We have 2 divisions and in the past, div 1 was for spinaker boats and 2 was for non-spinaker racers. Now any boat with a phrf under 180 has to sail in div 1 and everyone else in div 2. Yuk, I don't have the chute nor am I rigged for it. This means that I have to compete with the Hobie sloops and the J boats. With the right wind and beating, I will do fine with my hull speed but, on the down wind, these guys will leave me in the dust!!! So, I have to think about it. Lets keep in touch.

Lake racing

Kim, I'm at the other end of the chart with my E-23 phrf-ing at 234 with the roller up front. I feel your pain, and since you probably aren't the only one fighting the A-Fleet blues, you might propose that your club give a rating break to non-spinnaker boats. Lots of clubs do that, and it makes for fairer and more competitive events. Generally, there seems to be about a 21 second adjustment, so that a boat that rates 150 with spinnaker would rate 171 without, and theoretically both could go against each other on an even basis. Since the spinnaker boat is only flying the chute half the time (approx), it only has that advantage half the time, so it must actually make up 42 seconds every mile going downwind - but I suspect that is about right. I'm lucky that my club has three fleets: Spinnaker, Non-spinnaker A, and Non-spinnaker B. The first is dominated by J-24s, Merit 25s, Olson 30, J-80, and Rocket 22. The second is for prepped out, high tech equipped boats sailed by experienced crews - all phrfs are represented, and consistency counts for a lot. The guy who won the club championship last year in A had no wins but lots of seconds and showed up for every race. The third class, B, is for boats that are sailed recreationally more than they are raced - like mine. They generally have sleeping and/or cooking gear and there is sort of an unspoken agreement not to trick them out too much, though you know how that works. Ratings range from 165 to 252, and the competition is terrific - last year in the fall series 5 boats had wins in 7 races, and one who didn't win any took a 2nd by 11 seconds. So, depending on how many boats you guys have, you might want to create one more class. The bottom line is that if the rules hurt any boat badly enough, it is liable not to come back, and that hurts everyone. I don't believe that a boat should be helped so much by regulations that it is almost guaranteed a win, but I do believe that boats can be hurt so much by the rules that they have little chance of being competitive - and that is where the club starts losing members. One problem I have noticed is that rules committees are usually the old stalwarts who tend to have fast, high tech boats and see cruisers as "floating condos." Their experience and knowledge is a big plus, but their unwillingness to encourage new, green, untested but eager racers or casual cruisers who want to give it a try causes some to quit before finding out how much fun it really can be.

Bob, the club keeps changing the divisions every couple of years. Their efforts are to entice new blood into the racing program. I think that I am the only one grousing about the latest change. And you are correct about the most serious racer's running the show. This is ok with me as it is hard to complain unless you are willing to volunteer a lot of time to be in the groove so to speak. I basically have decided not to race except for the long distance race's and the Summer series (7 short race's on Wednesday eve's.) Nice break in the week-normally very little wind. I somehow in the past have done quite well with our old boat 30' Catalina. I have a "nack" for the lite stuff.
Thanks for your suggestion to have them raise my rating. I am going to see what happens.

Lake Racing?

...glad to see some stuff going on in this forum! We're just south of you on the Utah/Idaho border at Bear Lake. We have had some difficult years with water lately...but things have been improving the last couple of years

I agree with asking for extra points for non-spinnaker, in heavy winds, the difference is minor but in light winds...you need at least 21 seconds to be competative.

Good luck with the committee!

Justin Lee
Gravitystorm
1985 32-III #635

Hi Justin,
I was on line yesterday with our Racing Com and found out some interesting stuff. They decided to split the two fleet via rating instead of spinnaker-non spinnaker as it was in the past. We don't have enough boats to justify 3 fleets, so... With some research they picked a number of 180. Above 180 you are in fleet 2 and below 180 you fly with the big dogs (S2's,J's,Hobie mono's and even a Melges). At 144 I will have to give the S2's 21 seconds. Yes, I will be the only one not flying the spinnaker, so it should be interesting. The race commitee will review at the end of the year and adjust if need be. We'll see what happens. Tell us about Bear Lake Justin.

Establishing a Rating for an older 25

Where do I go to find a rating for my c/b E25, guys? We do have an active sailing association here in Southwester Idaho (SISA) and they encourage all sorts of boats to race. I have been asked if I might be interested in taking Seahorse around the buoys and I am warming to the idea.

Unfortunately for my speed, I have lots of self-imposed penalties such as anit-fouling paint, cruising interior (i.e. tankage, marine head, berth extensions, etc.), single spreader rig, and cruising sails, so I can't really strip out and go light. And, no spinnaker.

I guess I could volunteer to become the Committee Boat and Beer Barge ...

Hello Steve,
The racing guru's in your club should have access to the rating book, or send you in the right direction. I have raced on and off for several years and you should too. I have learned so much about sail trim and "how to get that extra fraction of speed out of the boat. Just getting ready to do the Whiskey Rock race on the 23rd. This is a long distance race for our club and is approx 14 nautical miles as the crow flies. Looking forward to this 1st real race with the new boat.

Don't sell it short, Steve

That c/b E-25 is a real good boat. It will rate somewhere around 230. As Seth Morrell has often said, ratings don't mean much if you miss the shifts and make sloppy tacks; and if you are sharp with your technique and pay attention to the wind, you can make your boat sail well above her rating. If you are just beginning your racing career, your learning curve will be steep and you will quickly become a better cruiser, too. You should try to learn something new each time out and then apply it the next time if possible. One of the best aspects is that skill is real important, but luck comes into play occasionally as well. My boat (E-23) rates about the same as yours and we generally can run up front, winning our share against: S2-30, Beneteau 29, Columbia 29, Hunter 25, Hunter 23, Precision 28 and others. I'm always hanging around the good guys, asking and listening and trying to pick up a few nuggets. I just built a new centerboard for my boat - it is shaped almost the same as yours - and it seems to work very well. Pointy end first!

Did you find it?

Steve,

Did you ever find the rating for your boat? If not, let me know, and I will get it for you-I would do it now, but have to head out for the day. The number can be found on the PHRF sites for Socal, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, or New England (and maybe NORCAL). Any trouble, just let me know!

Good luck!
S

Find your PHRF rating by manufacturer here. Not sure if this helps.


http://www.phrfsocal.org/ratings.htm