PSSR Laser Fleet Report by Andrew John Holdsworth
It was great to finally open up the racing this season at the PSSR hosted by the CYC just outside the Marina at Shilshole. The conditions provided excellent racing in a range of Southerly wind strengths in a building flood tide. Being fairly new to this venue I can see why the locals are so good and the venue can be so tough and breeds incredibly talented sailors. Just when the left of the course paid the right came back, just when you felt the wind was dropping it came back in again, just when you think you understand the current you find yourself fighting it and this mixed with a chop from all directions just keeping the boat boat moving fast and powered up and moving is a challenge in itself. In the laser standard rigs Owen Timms and I renewed our rivalry from last fall with 10 close races that were a lot closer than either of us could believe. In summary one puff, shift or wave could decide the race it was that close. As for the sailing upwind, I am finding myself pulling more and more sail controls on and focussing on sailing flat and keeping the tell tails streaming and doing everything to avoid pinching. Downwind seemed to reward hard work with upturns to catch waves early in the downwind leg and then as we got into better breeze further down the course chasing waves sailing deep by the lee to get back to the mark. I think we all tried gybing onto Port Gybe once but it never seemed work. I kept tactics simple over the weekend, Be super careful not to be over the line in the flood tide then line up next to Owen and sail as fast possible! A big thanks to all the volunteers who ran the races, all the visitors who travelled for the event and friendly atmosphere both ashore and on the water.
PSSR Aero Fleet Report by Dan Falk
With a weekend of varying moderate southerlies, the Aero fleet reached an informal consensus that the 9 rigs were in order. The race course was fairly flat all weekend and the entire regatta was raced in strong flood tides, so there was a premium on downwind boat speed. I can speak from experience that reaching the weather mark in a good position did not guarantee a top result at the finish. This fleet is getting fast downwind. CYC ran a good event! Southerlies come with strong shifts in Shilshole Bay, and the committee wisely set the starting line for the average wind angle so both ends of the starting line came into play at different starts. The weather legs were sometimes port biased and, on Saturday, “A” mark was close enough to the Magnolia bluff to make the final third of the weather legs below par sailing conditions. However, these are minor complaints after a regatta that was a refreshing return to form for the CYC race committee. As this fleet ramps up to the World Championship being hosted in Cascade Locks in ‘21, the sailing level seems to be getting better and better. While Dalton Bergen had another standout performance, many sailors had strong finishes. Andy Mack continues on form and took second with this author rounding out the top three. Thursday night racing is on and there are large Aero fleets showing up weekly. Looking ahead to the Columbia Gorge One Design regatta at the end of July, there’s talk of some guys heading down to the gorge for some training.