Winter Sailing: Frostbite Schedule 2021 2022 and PSSC

Every year around this time, the days are notably shorter; storm fronts begin rolling in bringing strong southerlies and heavy rains, and people like us start to get a little stoked because that means it’s Seattle Sailing Fleet Frostbite Season.  Below you’ll find a schedule of the season, with our first race coming up on October 17th.  More news will follow, along with requests for volunteers and season race fees, but for tonight, please put these events on your schedule and get ready to enjoy one of the greatest small boat sailing traditions in the country. 

DateEventHost
October 2-3CYC PSSC Regatta SMALL BoatCYC
October 17Frostbite #1Seattle Sailing Fleet
November 7Frostbite #2Seattle Sailing Fleet
November 20-21Turkey BowlCYC Seattle
December 5Frostbite #3Seattle Sailing Fleet
January 9Frostbite #4Seattle Sailing Fleet
January 22-23Frigid DigitCYC and Seattle Sailing Fleet
February 6Frostbite #5Seattle Sailing Fleet
February 27thFrostbite #6Seattle Sailing Fleet

Laser and AERO PSSR race reports

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.

RECAP: SLF Frostbite Series #7

Racing this past Sunday (March 14, 2021) marked the last of the scheduled Frostbite Series for the 2020-2021 season hosted by the SLF Laser & Aero Fleet.THANKS TO EVERYONE for participating in this Frostbite Series, to the parents who faithfully shuttled the youth sailors, and to all the sailors who volunteered to run racing in lieu of sailing on those days.


My appreciation to John Beaver for once again taking it upon himself to document our racing with photographs, and making them accessible here:2021-03-14 Frostbite #7 – John Beaver’s Photos (smugmug.com) I always pick out just a few pictures for this RECAP to whet the appetite, but it is really fun to go through all of the photographs as you’ll likely see yourself and your friends duking it out.


Once again Jared Hickman offered to run the races (solo!) and we always appreciate the excellent courses and square starting lines. Thank you Jared.


In the pictures I’m counting up to 13 Aeros and about a dozen Lasers participating on this day; I neglected to count participants when I was out on the course so I hope I have this about right. The Lasers were a mix of 4.7, Radials and Standards, and most notably all but 2 of the Laser sailors were youth. 


We started the day rigging in the rain and it continued to rain lightly on/off throughout the afternoon. The forecast was for a healthy wind but it in-fact turned out to be fairly light for the first 2 races, mostly ESE-SE. While it looked like the wind might drop completely it suddenly picked-up from the S-SW to make for the best race of the day. SYC Coach Cam Hoard helped make that work by running the rib up to the windward mark and moved it west to be perfectly positioned. Twice around made for a nice long race, finishing downwind, and then all headed to the docks.


On April 24-25, the Corinthian Yacht Club Seattle hosts their annual Puget Sound Spring Regatta (PSSR) – Small Boat which includes starts for Laser and Aeros. Registration is through the CYC website cycseattle.org If you purchase the CYC Seasons Pass, the PSSR, PSSC, Turkey Bowl and Frigid Digit Regattas are all included, along with the week-night series racing from April thru September. 
For those Laser sailors who are participating in the new ILCA Grand Prix Series (District 22), this PSSR regatta is the first regatta from which scores will be used to build points.


Cheers, Mark Ross

Frostbite #6 – Feb 28, 2021

Laser and Aero Sailors,

Thanks to Laser Sailor Erik Skeel for a nice summary of the day.

Sunday started off with a strong 15+ knot Southerly making for competitive races with only a few capsizes. The wind brought regular puffs and shifts providing ample opportunity for gains and losses. Both fleets we’re tight with close finishes showing that everyone who chose to spend the last day of February sailing meant business. Race committee did an excellent job running races on a square course with only the occasional over early. The day was called after five races in each fleet.

Erik found an issue with his Radial bottom section at the end of the day. Here is a link to a couple of pictures when he was de-rigging. These bottom sections have been known to break, but even with failure 75% of the way around, this one still managed to stay up. Kind of amazing!

https://johnbea.smugmug.com/Children/2021/Seattle-Laser-Fleet/2021-02-28-Frostbite-6/i-LDvVGZJ

One of our youth sailors Alex, who is proficient Laser Radial sailor, tried an Aero with a 5 rig for the day. Here are some impressions from his first experience in an Aero.
I found that this was a pretty simple boat to jump in and sail. I enjoyed how maneuverable it was on the starting line and how quickly you can accelerate and decelerate. It did take me a bit of time to get used to the fact that it wasn’t quite as stable as a Laser downwind, but of course, that is what makes it fun!. I think my favorite feature was having the outhaul and cunningham led to each side of the boat- I play them a lot.

I really liked how it had a place to put a masthead wind indicator vs on my laser I have to slide it in between my mast and sail- I really like a top windex. I appreciated how easy the boat was to rig and derig especially with the outhaul and cunningham knots that slid into the boom. I also thought it was helpful that the daggerboard had reference numbers on it- I often found myself putting it around the #4 mark. Two idea’s I’d use from my laser is a pvc tubing handle on the vang to make the loop easier to pull on in heavier breeze, and instead of the vang shackle it would be easier if it was a quickpin- especially for de-rigging.

Thanks for sharing your first impressions Alex.

John Beaver provided a place to upload all of my photos and short videos from last Sunday. Here is that link.

https://johnbea.smugmug.com/Children/2021/Seattle-Laser-Fleet/2021-02-28-Frostbite-6-Mike-Johnsons-Videos

John also took photos from his inflatable boat. As usual, they tend to be heavily weighted towards his kids, but have decent coverage of the Laser fleet and some of the Aero’s as well. About his photos, John says: “They start out kind of bland, but get more interesting as I warmed up. 🙂”

https://johnbea.smugmug.com/Children/2021/Seattle-Laser-Fleet/2021-02-28-Frostbite-6/

The last Frostbite session for this season is on March 14th and Thursday evening racing begins in April. See the CYC website for the schedule and registrations details.

Cheers,

Mike Johnson
Aero 1377

RECAP: SLF Frostbite #4 January 3, 2021

Our appreciation to volunteer race committee Giancarlo Nucci and Andrew Loe for running Frostbite #4 races on Sunday, January 3, 2021. They did a superb job of clicking off the races in difficult mark-setting conditions. Approximately 15 Aeros, 8 Lasers a handful of Optis participated. What a great way to start off the new year.

Fantastic winter sailing conditions with warm temperature (upper 40’s), wind shifty (predominantly from the S and SSE), and wind strength hovering in the mid to upper teens and puffing into the mid 20’s. There were some good waves for planing downwind and also a lot of chop. It looked to me like quite a few boats went upside down at one time or another. When sailing by the lee downwind the waves were rolling into the leeward side. My death roll was a result of getting hit simultaneously by a hard gust and a nice rolling wave. Looking at the pictures provided by Giancarlo Nucci and John Beaver you’ll see some  awesome dark threatening clouds and others with blue sky–I don’t remember seeing any blue sky but the pictures don’t lie! And no rain.

The next SLF Frostbite series race is Sunday afternoon February 7, 2021.

Be sure to register for the annual CYC/SLF FRIGID DIGIT REGATTA on January 23-24, 2021. Sign-up through cycseattle.org

Thanks to John Beaver for the photo of Lasers and Giancarlo Nucci for the Aero photo.

Youth Resurgence at Turkey Bowl

There are few, if any, more Covid-friendly, appropriately socially distant activities than dinghy racing. Especially for kids desperate for some kind of sporting activity. That reality, and the Seattle Laser (and RS Aero!) fleets’ ongoing organizational efforts, helped make CYC-Seattle’s Turkey Bowl a big and successful event the Nov 14-15 weekend. Even with cancellation of Sunday’s racing because of too much wind, the event was a tremendous success. While there are a lot question marks regarding upcoming social events and regattas over the coming months, one thing is certain: The Seattle singlehanded scene has provided great sailing throughout this troubling year and is well set up to do so moving into the future. Seattle’s RS Aero fleet continues to thrive and attract the very best talent, while the Seattle Laser Fleets – 4.7, Radial and Standard rigs – have become the place of choice for youth you develop their skills while having a great time, and a haven for some of us oldsters.

There were other fleets as well. Seven brave Opti sailors were on the course, four 505s and a lone Vanguard 15.

More than 20 RS Aeros turned up, and Dalton Bergan dominated with two firsts, a second and third. In the biggest Laser fleet, Hannah Weaver made a triumphant appearance winning in the Radials. There are excellent pictures from Jan Anderson (above) and John Beaver.

RESULTS

I put out the call for input about the youth fleet, and immediately got this back from Alex Zaputil, skipper of Zap, the winner of the Laser 4.7 class:

Turkey Bowl , as you know, was a one-day event. It was great to have a 10-boat fleet- the largest so far this year. Despite the forecast for Saturday, it turned out to be a generally lighter day. The first two races were a southerly of 12-15 and pretty puffy. On the first race, the fleet bunched up at the committee boat so much that I found it faster to start at the pin with speed, port tack the fleet and tack back to consolidate.  Tacking back to starboard fairly quickly was important, as the chop early in the day on port tack was not very fast! Hiking hard upwind was key. As the wind lightened for the last two races, the fleet became closer and going to the middle/right upwind paid off. — Alex Zaputil

And the following report came from Mark Ross:

Singlehanded fleets competing included RS Aeros (21 competitors), Laser Standard (5), Laser Radial (11), Laser 4.7 (9) and Opti (7).  Double handed fleets included 505’s (4 boats), FJs (4) and Vanguards (2).

One of the Aero sailors described the sailing as follows: On Saturday four races were sailed with a mix of wind conditions. The first two races were medium breeze and the last race was light. The wind and current were going opposite directions throughout the day, so keeping the bow above the chop and the boat dry was important. The pin end of the start line was being pushed up the course with the current resulting in several general recalls in the very aggressive Aero fleet, and the RC worked hard to keep the line square. The pin end of the start line was still generally favored. There were shifts on both sides of the course with longer lasting left shifts. You could go left or right up the windward leg as long as you maximized the time on the lifts and covered the fleet when there was an opportunity to do so. On the downwind legs it was important to have a good visual on the mark and it usually worked to sail close to the rhumb line while taking into account a few degrees of offset for the current.

Unfortunately on Sunday morning racing was postponed and competitors remained on shore as the wind was consistently blowing around 30. Shortly after noon the race committee canceled racing entirely for the day as the wind remained strong and there was no expectation that it would drop.  Thus the finishes on Saturday resulted in the following regatta winners….Dalton Bergan (RS Aero), Owen Timms (Laser Standard), Hanne Weaver (Laser Radial), Alex Zaputil (Laser 4.7), Barrett Milne (Optimist).

Thanks to CYC for putting on a great regatta.

–Mark Ross

The next frostbite is scheduled for December 6. Register here and dress warmly.

Thursday Night Anti-Virus Medicine

Socially Responsible Racing

It doesn’t really stave off the Corona Virus, but singlehanded practice racing on Thursday evenings has sure made the social distancing we must all do a little easier to take. Thursday a couple nights ago we had a count of 21 RS Aeros and 15 Lasers at various times. Reports from Kaitlyn Van Nostrand and Mike Johnson. This photo courtesy of John Beaver – the rest here. Photos below by Doug Frazer. – Kurt Hoehne

Lasers by Kaitlyn van Nostrand

This week we were greeted with a beautiful 10+ knot northerly blowing down the sound. Once again the Aero sailors, out in force, beat most of the Laser out on the water. The Aero’s started right on time for a first race at 6pm. It was beautiful sailing conditions with a warm breeze and nice waves to play in. The Lasers started with only about 6 Lasers on the line, but as the racing continued, more joined in for a total of 13. We older sailors made a joke, as there were only 3 laser sailors older than 23! Well done to the youth and college sailors for coming out. The Aero fleet was 20+ sailors strong, nearly all adults and very close finishes!

After the start, it was a race to get to the wall for current relief for both fleets. Making the boat favored at the start. It was a game of who could get to the right first. The courses were windward leeward twice. Each lasting about 20 minutes. There was a lot of hiking in the first race and those hiking hard showed at the top mark! The first race did get some aero and laser mixing with both fleets sailing upwind together. Making for lots of great action with close ducks. The second race was spaced out a bit more, so the fleets did not overlap as much.

As the races continued, the wind slowly subsided. Making the right even more favored with the current flowing. We still had good waves though! Four races were sailed overall for both fleets. Making it a beautiful evening out on the sound. Looking forward to next week. Thanks to the race committee Jared for keeping us going and Mark Ross for organizing.

(Ed. Note – in at least 3/5 races the winners were overlapped, sometimes 3 boats! And there were always Radials at or near the front of the fleet with the full rig, even as the wind dropped.)

RS Aeros by Mike Johnson

An evening of sailing does not get much better than May 28, 2020 in Puget Sound.  A warm (80F) “Meadow Point Hurricane” with a fleet of 21 competitive boats and 5 races each about 25 minutes duration. The range of conditions (wind and current) beginning with a puffy 12 to 15 knots and dropping to 5-12 knots  at the end varied enough each race to ensure a fresh perspective was required in pre-race strategy. What better way to take ones mind off the current pandemic and gain a sense of perspective after being home bound for 2 months. Kudos to the RC for recognizing the fleet dynamic of wanting to go right and then biasing the pin end of the start line to spread people out down the line.  It worked beautifully.

Over the course of the evening, the front of the fleet was populated almost every race by Jay Renehan, Andrew Loe, Dalton Bergan, and Carl Buchan (last 3 races). These four have a gift of balancing all the variables and priorities to consistently play the odds in their favor.  This high standard certainly keeps the other 17 boats on their toes. Any sailor who desires to improve his or her game would do themselves a favor to come out and join this group.

Laser and RS Aero Sailing Last Thursday

By Mark Ross

Ed. Note: It is absolutely invigorating to be out on the water on Thursday nights off Shilshole, and it’s enough to start a little fire of optimism in even the most Covid-weary among us. With a whaler as a committee boat and whistles as starting signals, it reminds us of our grass roots. There have been several signups on the Seattle Laser Fleet Google Group and the RS Aeros continue to go out for practices. Youngsters, in particular, seem to be energized. KH

By Mark Ross

When I arrived at Shilshole around 4PM I was all excited. The forecast wasn’t particularly good but there was a nice breeze of about 10 mph out of the north accompanied by its engine, a dark cloud and light rain. Who cares if it’s dark and rainy, there is wind!

That bubble burst by the time we got on the water. It reminded me of summer sailing as a kid on the small lakes in the Midwest. It was race day so you raced. Didn’t matter if there was wind. The starting gun went off and the race was on. Back then out came the punk and cigars so you watch the smoke drift and try to figure out where that very little breath of air might be coming from. All the bows were pointed in every direction imaginable but eventually you’d make it around the course.

Photos below by John Beaver. There are lots more here, including some more awesome gull photos.

Minus the punk and cigars, that is what it seemed like on Thursday. Jared and Kathy buckled down and started races. A little wind here and a little wind there, starting the first race with a rightward leaning northerly, which turned northeasterly and eventually in the second race the upwind leg became a downwind leg and downwind became upwind. For the third race Jared had both fleets do a rabbit start while he zoomed up and set the up-wind mark by the break-wall. An easterly. The 4th race was twice around and then we headed home.

It was a lot fun and everyone stayed and sailed. It just didn’t matter how much wind there was. And as usual it was competitive. We’re lucky to have Jared and Kathy scoring; not used to that at Frostbites. Here are the results. Forget the Totals as they are skewed by the DNC. I believe there were 10 Lasers and 14 Aeros on the water so just look at individual races if you’re interested. http://www.celebrationboatworks.com/SLF5-21-20.htm

Once again people did an excellent job of maintaining space while setting up their boats and launching. Good job, keep it up.

Cheers,Mark Ross 425.391.2371

Laser and Aero Racing in ON

In a bit of a throwback to days gone by of racing, the singlehanded dinghy sailors came out in force on Thursday off Shilshole in Seattle. Yes, Virginia, there IS racing while simultaneously social distancing. The Seattle Laser Fleet – which includes the RS Aeros in town, dotted the water on a perfect, sunny May evening. There were very good fleets of both boats with about 30 boats dotting the Sound.

The Aero sailors have been at it for a while this spring, meeting multiple times a week and working on their speed and technique. The World Championship, after all, had been scheduled to run this summer on the Columbia River Gorge. This fleet boasts some of the region’s best sailors and is likely the strongest Aero fleet in the US. So it’s no surprise they’re out there.

The Laser fleet, however, has not been as active. That all changed Thursday night when 14 Lasers, about evenly split between Radial and Standard rigs, were out. About half of the fleet were junior sailors which bodes well, not just for Laser sailing, but sailing in general. Fleet captain Mark Ross had worked with Corinthian Yacht Club to have one person in a Whaler on hand to set the course and run starts.

Five races were run with the boats returning in the fading light and a building northerly. Only smiles were seen on the sailors’ faces.

For more information on RS Aero and Laser sailing, visit seattlelaserfleet.org.

January Frostbite Fun

RS Aeros rounding the weather mark under a watchful eye.

Good Laser and RS Aero fleets turned out for the first frostbite of the new decade, and someone (I’d love to know who!) captured some pretty cool clouds and a sea lion to boot. And I’ll bet they got into the club in time to watch most of the Seahawks game! It’s worth noting fleet member Derek Bottles just took second in the RS Aero 9 class Worlds in Australia. -KH

Lasers working the light winds.

Jay Leon reports: “Thank you to everyone who braved the elements and made today a super Frostbite Sunday.

“Special thanks to our RC team of Dave Watt and Jacques Garrigues for their expertise and awesome craft!  Thanks as always for the untiring leadership of Mark Ross…we are very lucky to be part of this fleet. 
Here are some pictures to remember the day.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fN7CW7vW69XCGvUp7