2006 Laser Crab Claw Regatta!

ooking for something to do this weekend- look no further...
Come to the 2006 Laser Crab Claw Regatta!
Saturday Sept. 30 and Sunday Oct. 1 at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis.
Two days of Laser sailing. Dinner and refreshments on Saturday after racing included in entry fee (Carribean theme). Regatta hat for the first 36 registrants. Registration begins 8:30 on Saturday- skippers meeting at 9:30. So far the forcast is for 10 kts on Saturday..... Looks like it is going to be a great weekend!
Email me if you have any quesitons- NOR is below
Dorian
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NOTICE OF RACE
2006 Crab Claw Regatta at Severn Sailing Association, September 30th-October 1st
1 RULES:
1.1 The regatta will be governed by the rules as defined in the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) and the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) rules, except as any of these rules are changed by the Sailing Instructions or any appendices to the Sailing Instructions.
1.2 The regatta is designated Category C in accordance with RRS Appendix 1, ISAF Regulation 20.
2 RISK
All competitors are ultimately responsible for the inherent risks associated with sailboat racing. It is the competitor's decision to enter the regatta and to start or continue any race. Each competitor will accept full responsibility for all his/her actions during any activity related to the event. This includes on-shore activities before, during, and after the regatta.
3 FLEET ELIGIBILITY
The regatta is open to all Lasers and Laser Radials.
4 FEES
4.1 Required Fees
Checks should be made payable to “LASER FLEET 10”. The entry fee is $40 USD. FOR ENTRIES RECEIVED BY MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th, THE ENTRY FEE IS REDUCED TO $30 USD.
4.2 Credit cards will not be accepted for registration.
4.3 All payments must be in US dollars.
4.4 All early registrations must be received by Monday, September 25th. Competitors may register early by completing the standard registration form and sending it with the appropriate fees to:
Laser Fleet 10, C/O Tip Clifton, 46 River Drive, Annapolis, MD 21403
You can follow this link to an entry form: http://www.severnsailing.org/racemanagement/entryform.pdf
4.5 Registration includes a commemorative prize while supplies last. These prizes will be awarded first to those who pre-register. Registration includes refreshments and dinner after racing on Saturday.
5 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
5.1
Saturday, September 30th
0830-0930 Registration
0930 Skippers Meeting
1100 First warning signal, races to follow
Refreshments after racing are included in registration fee
Sunday, October 1st
1100 First warning signal, races to follow
Awards to follow ASAP after last race.
5.2 No race to shall start after 1500 on Sunday.
The sailing instructions will be available during on-site registration.
6 SCORING
6.1 The Low Point Scoring System, Appendix A2, will be used except as modified below.
6.2 A minimum of one race must be completed to constitute a regatta.
6.3 There will be one throw-out when five or more races are completed.
7 AWARDS
At a minimum, prizes will be awarded to first through third place, first Master, and first woman.
8 FURTHER INFORMATION
For Regatta Information please contact:
Dorian Haldeman (Fleet Captain) phone (410) 703-3401 or email spidervmd@hotmail.com
Tip Clifton (Regatta Chair) phone 443.527.0007 or email tip_clifton@mac.com

Rock Hall Yahct Club – Hard Rock Masters Regatta

Rock Hall Yahct Club – Hard Rock Masters Regatta
September 23rd, 2006
15 boats participated in the RHYC Hard Rock Masters Regatta this past Saturday and once again Rock Hall put together a great event. The forecast had been calling for a solid 20 knots of breeze with gusts to 30 knots, which no-doubt put a hamper on attendance. At the crack of dawn Saturday morning I shamelessly pulled out my radial rig (heavy air insurance policy) and headed for Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When I arrived I wasn’t surprised to hear the big topic of discussion being which rig folks were going to use – full, radial, or 4.7. You see, in Laser masters sailing you can pick any one you want without penalty.
I was kindly reminded by a number of more senior folks that at 38 years old and 170 pounds, I might as well head home with my tail between my legs if I was going to even consider using a radial rig; being the youngest in the group I better suck it up and deal with it. That being established I got ready to go racing.
I’m never a good judge of what the breeze is actually blowing, but I would guess that at the start of the first race we were up against a good 18 knots of breeze. A few boats flipped during pre-start maneuvering, but for the most part everyone was under control. The race committee had set up a fairly long windward-leeward-windward course that kept up busy for about 45 minutes. Mike Schmidt (Magothy River SA) showed exceptional speed and agility and ran away with the first race. Race two was again a breezy one and a few new faces started to show up at the front of the fleet. Chris Fisher (West River SC) had the wheels rolling really well upwind, as did Nicholas Place (Rock Hall YC) with both finishing 3rd or 4th , and Schmidt again taking 1st place.
About halfway up the first beat in race 3 the wind started to drop off – though the results were still the same with Schmidt taking 1st place, followed by Ted Morgan (Severn Sailing) in 2nd. At the start of race 4 the breeze had dropped to below 10 knots. Shifting gears was critical at this point. Morgan was able to pull into the lead downwind to take the gun. After 4 hours of sailing the race committee decided to call it a day. They had done a fantastic job! Mike Schmidt won the regatta for what I believe was the 3rd time. Congratulations Mike for sailing flawlessly. Nice job!
Others notables in attendance included Roger Link (West River SC), Rich Parolski (Rock Hall YC via Ocean City, MD), Robert Danforth (Potomac River SA), Jane Schmidt (Magoth River SA), Jim Knab (Cooper River), Richard Plunkett (Marsh Creek SC), and Bob Tan (Severn Sailing). My apologies for not listing everyone – I’m getting old and don’t have the results sheet memorized.
Several folks used radial rigs and for the most part I would agree that it was clearly the right choice, especially given the forecast. Upwind in breeze over 15 knots these folks had very good speed regardless of whether they weighed 150 pounds or 180 pounds. Downwind they suffered a little bit from a lack of horsepower – especially the bigger folks.
On a side note, the other neat trick about masters sailing is the scoring system. Essentially it handicaps racing based on your age. The younger you are, the more points you get added to your score. If you are an apprentice (35-44) add 3 points to your finish in each race. If you are a master (45-54) add 2 point to your finish in each race. Grand masters (55-64) get 1 point added and great grand masters (65+) are fortunate enough not to have any points added to their scores.
It’s a great system for leveling the playing field. If you haven’t participated in a masters event, consider adding one to your regatta schedule in 2007.
Overall results:
1. Mike Schmidt (M) 16 points
2. Ted Morgan (A) 19 points
3. Nicholas Place (M)
1st Female – Jane Schmidt
1st Grand Master (55-64) – Terry Clarence 31 points
1st Master (45-54) – Mike Schmidt 16 points
1st Apprentice (35-44) – Ted Morgan 19 points
Complete results should be posted shortly at http://www.rockhallyc.org/Results.htm
Past Winners:
2006 – Mike Schmidt
2005 – Mike Schmidt
2004 – John MacCausland
2003 – Terry Clarence
2002 -
2001 -
2000 – Mike Waters
1999 – Mike Schmidt
1998 – John Wright

Olympic campaign

Come out and support our Laser Fleet 10 members Margaret Podlich and Kim Couranz in their Olympic campaign! They are sailing in the Yngling class with fellow SSA member Carol Cronin and their goal is the 2008 Olympics. They will be holding a fundraiser at Severn Sailing Association on Friday September 29 at 6:30 pm. There will be a slide show of their summer adventures at the Yngling Women's Worlds (in France) and the Olympic Test Event (China). The evening will also include yummy food from Feed Your Crew and a silent auction. Tickets are $50. For more information you can contact Kim at kimcouranz@comcast.net. Their team website is www.teamcronin.org.

SSA Laser Fall Series

Thanks to all of you that came out and participated in the SSA Laser Fall Series on Sunday. It was a bit of a frustrating day due to the light & variable conditions and powerboat chop. (A sure sign that the gas prices have dropped!) Hopefully the conditions will be better this Sunday.
Sunday September 24th - the exciting conclusion of the SSA Fall Series. Registration at 8:30 (only for those who did not already register last week) and skippers meeting at 9:30.
Come out and play!
This Sunday will also be a great opportunity to sign up for the Crab Claw Regatta! Sat. September 30 and Sun. October 1 at Severn Sailing Association. Just find me or Tip Clifton and we will be happy to get you signed up. The cut off date for discounted pre-registration is Monday Sept. 25. NOR is available on the Fleet 10 website.
http://www.severnsailing.org/fleets/laser/index.shtml

Hard Rock Hall Laser Masters

To all you Laser masters out there....
On Saturday September 23rd Rock Hall Yacht Club will host our annual one day Hard Rock Hall Laser Masters. This is a great time of year to sail on the Chester River as we will have a good chance of great wind and will almost have the bay to ourselves. We have easy beach launching and open water courses that are just a short sail out from the club. The club also has plenty of grass on which to park, rig and camp.

Please see the NOR on our Web site at http://www.rockhallyc.org/2006LaserMastersNOR.htm for additional details.

Like Fishing Bay, if you have groupies, camp followers, devotees, supporters, significant others or hangers-on this is a very spouse-friendly regatta with a full service club house and an exquisite view. The town of Rock Hall is hosting their Fall Fest on the same day so bring guests, get their early, pitch a tent at the club, stay late and make a weekend out of a trip to the Eastern Shore. You can get more information on Fall Fest at http://www.rockhallmd.com/.

Rock Hall YC is easily reached from Hampton, Annapolis/Baltimore/Washington as well as New York/New Jersey. Directions are available on the Rock Hall Web site:

http://www.RockHallYC.org

In all likelihood there will be several large white RHYC signs pointing you in the right direction as you get close to the club.

Please let me know if you need anything, I hope you will join us.

Sincerely,
Nicholas Place
racing@RockHallYC.org