Author: Mark Ross

The turnout was a great for the CYC Turkey Bowl Regatta on November 18-19. The regatta drew 103 competitors across 10 classes. CYC set two separate race areas to spread out boats and expedite starts. The ILCA 4.7s and 6s were on the South Course along woth Opti’s, FJs and 420s. The ILCA 7s and RS AEROs were on the North Course along with the Star and J70 classes. We were pleased to have participants from Vancouver BC to Portland/Vancouver and “all ports” in between.

Included among the participants were 11 RS Aeros, 10 ILCA 7s, 18 ILCA 6s and 6 4.7s.
Light and spotty wind on Saturday morning prompted a few postponements but a steady southerly breeze did come in time to get two races completed before calling it a day. Sunday started with a few races in a southerly, which died then came back in from the north and continued to swing to the east, at 5-10 mph on both courses. At the completion of the regatta the 4.7s finished 4 races and the 6s finished 5. The ILCA 7s and RS Aeros finished 7 races in total.

To everyone’s delight CYC resurrected a long past tradition of providing a Turkey Thanksgiving feast on Saturday night. A great idea which was prompted by CYC Youth Program Director and Regatta Chair Jack Killalea, and was made possible by Alison Pease who prepared turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, corn, apple sauce and Rice Krispy Treats. Thank you Alison!!

The Jay Winberg Perpetual Trophy, awarded to the winner of the ILCA 7 class, was presented to Alex Zaputil. The top 3 finishers in the ILCA and RS AERO classes are listed here. Complete results can be found on the CYCSeattle.org website.

Congratulations and thank you to ALL competitors, parents, race committee and CYC staff and volunteers for participating in the regatta.

ILCA 4.7 1st  Noelani Li (Seattle YC), 2nd Ethan Lee, 3rd Noah (Willamette SC)

ILCA 6 1st  Kaitlyn Beaver (Seattle YC), 2nd Adam Turloff (SYC), 3rd Alex Shemwell (SYC)

ILCA 7 1st  Alex Zaputil (Royal Vancouver YC) and recipient of the Jay Winberg Perpetual Trophy, 2nd Mattias Parker (West Vancouver YC), 3rd John Hodges (CYC)

RS AERO 1st Keith Hammer (CYC Seattle), 2nd Dan Falk (CYC Seattle), 3rd David Brink (Seattle Laser Fleet)

ILCA 4.7 Noelani Li (1st) and Ethan Lee (2nd) with Wanda Creitz presenting trophies.

ILCA 6 Top three finishers (L-R) Adam Turloff (2nd), Kailyn Beaver (1st), Alex Shemwell (3rd)

ILCA 7awards presented by Commodore Wanda Creitz to Alex Zaputil (1st), Mattias Parker (2nd) and John Hodges (3rd)

Miserable weather from start to finish…but I’d do it again in an instant! We rigged in pouring rain and it continued all day right through racing and de-rigging. Apparently it was sleeting at some point but I never noticed. I was soaked-through after the first two races and was surprisingly chilly given the mild (mid-40 degree) winter temperature. 

On the other hand the wind made it well worthwhile. RS Aeros, ILCA 6 & 7s and Optis shared the course in a gusty 15-20 mph southerly, veering slightly southeast through the first two races. Both races favored FAST. Those who jumped out ahead at the start on a short starboard beat, tacked onto port and dialed in the speed on a direct fetch to the windward mark were surely to lead the rest of the way. It was a breezy broad reach downwind to the turn at the pin of the start/finish line, twice around, concluding with downwind finishes. (course AFAF)

Continue reading “FRIGID DIGIT REGATTA January 21-22, 2023”

CYC Seattle’s annual Turkey Bowl Regatta kicked off with 34 ILCAs (four 4.7s, twenty-two 6s, eight 7s) sharing the course with RS Aeros, FJ, 420, 505 and Star classes. A total of 76 boats competed. This regatta also served as the finale of the ILCA DISTRICT 22 Grand Prix Series 2022 sponsored by West Coast Sailing.

CYC Seattle’s RC skillfully managed to get 5 races completed on Saturday for each fleet as they simultaneously and continuously started and finished fleets. The light wind on Sunday allowed for only 3 races before retiring for the day. After Saturday racing CYC welcomed us with hot chili and refreshments. 

Continue reading “CYC TURKEY BOWL REGATTA & DISTRICT 22 GRAND PRIX SERIES FINALE November 19-20, 2022”

Frostbite #3 December 4, 2022

It was a light breeze sailing out to the course which RC Joe Burcar had ready on our arrival. A couple short races and what little wind there was got even lighter and dissipated to nothing. Rarely do we embrace a tow into the dock but on this day there was no hesitation. Looking forward to the next Frostbite in January 2023!

Frostbite #4 January 9, 2023

Seven Aeros and 1 Laser made it out to the course. Air temperature was in the mid 40’s and some rain. While rigging it didn’t appear to be much wind and then suddenly a sporty breeze came in from the south delivering a lively 13-18 knots for the afternoon. The wind was gusty and shifty and the water started flat and built to small waves. There were about 12 races in all, traditional frostbite short, windward-leeward course of one or two laps, which made for lots of starting practice and boat handling skills. All in all a great practice session leading up to the Frigid Digit Regatta just a few weeks away. 

SLF LASER & AERO FLEET

The following recap from Alex Zaputil—great write up Alex! And thanks to Coach Kaitlyn Van Nostrand of Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club for bringing sailors over and running starts. The next Frostbite (#3) is December 4.

Today was a great day to be out on the water even though it was a little bit chilly. It started as a nice 12-14kt Southerly. We started with rabbit starts to keep everyone close. There were some interesting  and variable shifts heading up to the green “upwind” mark. Staying more towards the shore seemed to be the most successful option for the upwind leg with more easterly influence. The shifts were greater the closer you got to the mark. Downwind was a by the lee day to stay on that side too.

Continue reading “RECAP SLF Frostbite #2, November 6, 2022”

88 degrees Fahrenheit. Imagine that! A record high temperature to start off The Seattle Laser & Aero Fleet Frostbite Series for 2022-2023. A somewhat hazy sky from forest fire smoke infiltrating Shilshole Bay and the Sound, although a little less than on land and not nearly as dense as could be seen in Mukilteo and north.

The wind was light at about 5 mph NNW, but plenty enough for the 8 Aeros and 5 full rig Lasers to have a very competitive afternoon of racing. We started off with a few short warm-up races to the windward mark and directly back to the start-finish line (downwind finish). Then the Race Committee dropped a leeward mark making for a relatively long course by Frostbite standards. Wasting no time, the next starts came immediately after each finish making for about 7 races each fleet. It appeared to me that the boats heading out from the start toward deeper water and then a long port tack to the windward mark tended to make out better. The tide was short and outgoing which may be what made the difference presuming the current to be faster toward the middle of the Sound. Regardless, the windward mark roundings were tight, and with the long downwind leg there was a surprising amount of position changes getting to the leeward mark.

Continue reading “RECAP SLF Frostbite #1, October 16, 2022”

For some fleets the Puget Sound Sailing Championship Regatta, or PSSC, is the annual year-end wrap-up of the Corinthian Yacht Club Seattle buoy racing season. For the Lasers and RS Aero fleets it is the start of the Frostbite season. In recent years participation in PSSC has not been large in numbers but it is surprisingly rewarding in that it remains competitive yet carefree and a very fun way to spend the weekend.

Continue reading “PSSC Small Boat Regatta, October 1-2, 2022”