PTSA Sunshine Series Wed. W/L Racing – May 26, 2021 Series Final Results
The final evening of the Sunshine series was something of a frustration for all involved. Even though there was good stable wind when setting up the course, the forecast was for lighter winds so the course was set shorter than it has been recently. Just before the start, the wind direction and the bearing to the barely visible I mark were both ~310 deg M. the start line was ~5 deg boat favored. Wind speed hovered at 9 kts. At the start the wind had eased enough to throw off timing and all boats were well behind the line [...]
Too Much Wind For The First Race of the Nightcap Series
Five boats left Boat Haven for the race course on Saturday in a stiff breeze. By the time they got out to the committee boat the wind had picked up. By the time the race was about to start the wind picked up some more. Five boats decided not to race after all. Thanks to Dave, the race committee, and Piper for braving the elements to get the committee boat out and anchored, and the course set, only to have to reverse the process and head back into the marina. It was windy
2019 T-bird West Coast Championship Results
On August 31-September 1, 2019 the Port Townsend Sailing Association hosted the 2019 Thunderbird West Coast Championships. It was a well-run affair with a variety of windward-leeward courses set over seven races. At the skippers’ meeting Saturday morning there was grumbling of “can we postpone sailing until this afternoon, when some wind is expected?” The race committee knew better. Sixteen boats made their way out to the anticipated starting area at the center of Port Townsend Bay by 10:30 a.m., drifting about as the race committee searched the horizon for wind. Some promising ripples soon appeared near Rat [...]
Summer Cat’s Paw Series – Race 7
Race 7 was scheduled as a "make-up" should we not be able to run six successful races in the regular series to permit a throw-out of each boat's worst performance. This year we had six completed races but had not celebrated the series with a BBQ as tradition dictates. As the RC tends to loiter around the Boat Haven Friday evenings (needs to get a life) we went out for a race. The only ingredient missing was the wind. Occasionally a 2.5 kt breeze would spring up (with gusts to 3) but never from the same direction. So the RC [...]
Race to Alaska June 10th Update
RACE TO ALASKA JUNE 10 UPDATE from Ann Husaini on Vimeo.
Second Dog Days Race.
The crew on KOLUS having summer fun in great breeze. Things got a little more tippy when the wind moved onto the beam around the Pt. Hudson buoy. Photo by Wendy Feltham Wind conditions before the race were 3 – 5 kts varying between W and NE. The participants chose to go to the Marine Science Center Buoy and back. After the start the wind settled to a Westerly and increased to 8 – 10 kts at the dock with gusts to 13, it was reportedly much stronger in the inlet. The fleet was finishing before the RC [...]
Report on PT Sailors at the the 505 North Americans in Santa Cruz
Dan and Piper keeping it flat upwind in Santa Cruz breeze. Photo by John Navas Piper Dunlap reports in on the 5o5 North Americans in Santa Cruz Port Townsend sailors, Sugar Flanagan, Sean Rankins, Spencer Snapp, Dan Ginther, and Piper Dunlap all made the pilgrimage to Santa Cruz, CA last weekend to compete in the 2014 505 Dinghy North American Championship Regatta. This was the first time that each of these sailors has competed at this level in the class, and they all came home tired, sore, a little humbled, but satisfied having raced against the best in [...]
Riding The Storm Out In The Southern Ocean
From pressure-drop.us, the Clipper Round the World race meets a powerfull storm in the Southern Ocean. Dear Readers, I feel I owe you a full explanation of the previous day’s storm activities, so here goes, let’s go back to 16 November. All signs (fleet reports, Clipper Race weatherman Simon Rowell’s weather predictions and my pigtails) were that the front would hit us sometime mid to late afternoon, local time. Mid-morning we had dropped our other headsail which meant a loss in speed as it was great surfing but prudent given the incoming weather forecast. We were now running with just [...]
Round The County Race, 2013
Dan Newland Reports on PEGASUS’s Race in the 2013 Round The County. Photo’s by Sean Trew. PEGASUS at Round The County, 2013. Photo by Sean Trew This years’ RTC was an interesting contrast between what should have been and what was. It should have had decent wind Saturday with light winds Sunday but reality has its own agenda. The County Race (RTC), it is an annual race that races around San Juan County which comprises all the major San Juan Islands like Orcas, San Juan and Lopez Islands plus the nearly countless smaller islands, rocks and reefs of [...]
Dog Days, August 30th.
VIVACE rounds the Tower. Photo by Wendy Feltham The August 30th PTSA Dog Days series race lived up to its billing. A number of boats came out, Joe shouted out the course, the wind almost died by the Tower but picked up as we sailed back to other side of the Bay, all boats finished with smiles on. A lovely night on the water. The results were that it is almost always better to go sailing than almost anything else. Thanks as always to Wendy for more great pictures, a full set follows the break. […]
Midsummer Regatta Offers Up Hot Competition In Spite of June-uary Weather
Saturday’s event saw thirteen boats from PT, Port Ludlow and Sequim duking it out in four short round-the-buoys races and then celebrating the solstice Swedish-style with the traditional pickled herring, new potatoes, and aquavit. It was all smiles, especially when the fleet heard that Stig Osterberg, the regatta’s progenitor and resident viking, was going to be okay. Big thanks to Stig Osterberg and Steve Scharf for sponsoring the event; to Dave Burruoghs, Anthony and Co. for their fine work as the race committee; to Jerry and Doug for opening up Goldstar Marine when the rain threatened the after-party; and to [...]
PTHS Sailing Team Shines in the Season’s First Regatta
On March 3rd, the Port Townsend High School Sailing team competed in a season “kick off” regatta hosted by the Seattle Yacht Club. Sixteen races were sailed in shifty and gusty winds ranging from 5-18 knots. Port Townsend finished towards the back of the fleet in the first few races. Rather than allowing this to foretell their position in the regatta, team members chose to learn quickly and apply the lessons to the next race. Maintaining this philosophy of foreword thinking and constant learning, the team quickly positioned themselves towards the front of the fleet where consistency and calm nerves [...]
2012 Shipwrights’ Race Results and Photos
The race was held on Sunday, after gale warnings and lumpy seas prevented the usual Saturday start. Sunday was a glorious day to be racing on Port Townsend Bay, and the fleet of almost 20 boats looked fabulous! Thanks to our sponsors: The Northwest Maritime Center and Cafe whose support for sailing on the Bay is always appreciated, Sunrise Coffee, PT Brewing Company, SEA Marine and The Port of Port Townsend. Thanks as always to Myron and Dave of the Port Townsend Sailing Association Race Committee for running the race. More photos after the jump by Ace Spragg [...]
Evelyn 26 NIMBUS Takes Duamish Head Overall
From Ballard Sailor's report on the 2012 Duamish Head Race on Pressure Drop. By 2pm the mid raters were crossing the finish line en masse, but amongst them was a little 26 foot boat sailed by one of those old Des Moines Sea Scouts - Mark Harang on his new Evelyn 26 NIMBUS (formerly IMPULSE). Now Harang is no stranger to this race, having won the South Sound Series overall in the Thunderbird 26 Rev back in 2000. But in his first race on his new boat Mark, with Kathryn Burnette and Brad Baker as crew, pushed this [...]
MARTHA, Making Wood Look Good…Again!
[slideshow id=38] MARTHA cleaned up in her division in the 'Round the County Race this weekend, and possibly overall as well. MARTHA was the only boat from Port Townsend that attended (that we know of). The weather forecast kept many boats at the dock and slammed a number of the ones that went out. Check out roundthecounty.com for race results and stay tuned for the race stories! Until Kathy and the crew update their story, you can read a fun story from Ben Braden whose Moore 24 finished second in class behind MARTHA and 6th overall here. Photos lifted from [...]
Night Cap Series 2011 / Race 3 / First race completed
The Night Cap Series has gotten off to a rough start. In Race 1 the winds diminished enough that no boats finished. Race 2 was abandoned due to a Gale Warning and winds gusting to near 40. 10 boats came out for Race 3 and all “finished” though Kolus’s finish could not be counted as they finished in the wrong direction and did not re-cross the line in the right direction. No Name and Second Wind did the same, but then crossed in the right direction. The RC made a mistake in signing the tower for a port rounding which [...]
Night Cap Series, Race 2 Blown Away
Sunday afternoon's race was blown off the Bay with the first serious wind storm of the fall. At 11:15 Myron put out the racing canceled flag on the picnic table by the yard office in Boat Haven after first checking the ferry wind which was showing 28 to 30. Not everyone one was discouraged by the breeze as Satch and crew put in a heavy reef, changed down to a #3 or #4 and made it out on the Bay. Piper and Dan were also seen enjoying the white caps and rollers. Our hats off to them out of respect. [...]
Night Cap Series, Race 1
The first race of the Night Cap Series attracted 7 boats, but alas, no finishers The calm day seemed to be freshening from the NNE at starting time, esp. in Admiralty Inlet, so the (landlocked) RC set a hopeful course--Start--#2 buoy--tower--#2 buoy--finish. Good start and hopeful progress. Some good wind lines for those who could find them, but winds diminished as faster boats went back toward the Buoy before finishing.
Dan and Mike at The Northern Century
[slideshow id=34] From Dan Newland ... Here are some pictures I took of the "Northern Century Race" Mike and I just did. It's a 100 mile race from Anacortes to Pt Roberts, then Hein Bank and back to Anacortes. We tanked it and finally withdrew Saturday night after 23 hours, 18 miles to go and facing a building ebb against us with no wind. We had already sat 4 hours slating in no wind and 3 knots of current going backwards and sideways between the southern part of San Juan Island and Victoria where the current sounded like a running [...]
Surviving to tell the story of Rambler 100
From Scuttlebutt It was Monday (Aug. 15), and the Juan K designed Rambler 100 had but 265 miles remaining in the 608 mile Fastnet Race. They had just rounded the infamous Fastnet Rock, and needed to complete a short 7 mile beat before they could turn left and enjoy the hayride home. But then, at 5:45pm UK time, the unthinkable happened: the keel bulb broke off. Here Rambler 100 navigator Peter Isler shares his story from onboard: In 23 knots of wind, we were headed upwind after rounding Fastnet, and heard the big bang. The boat immediately flipped [...]
CMR 2011 – Thank You Mr. Weatherman
MORNING FLIGHT at the 2011 Classic Mariners’ Regatta We waited a long time for a weekend like this last one. Sunny, clear, warm, and absolutely perfect wind. Like they say, it doesn’t get any better than that. There were 38 registrants for the Classic Mariners’ Regatta, as well as 7 for the rowing race on Sunday. Two were from Canada and a number from out of town. The race results are as follow Committee’s Choice Award: Lady Van (R-Boat from Canada)for sailing the perfect race, for coming down from Canada to do it, and for practicing all last [...]
Spring Whitecap Series, Race #1
Race Night – Whitecap Number 1 Scoring submitted by Dave Burrows of the PTSA Race Committee. A day that saw steady rain and a cold wind had the inclement weather back off enough for some hardy souls to head out of their slips for race #1 of the PTSA Spring 2011 Whitecap Series. Watching them from the drier and warmer balcony of Sirens was a good representation of the less hardy crew who raised more than one glass in admiration. Wind that was forecast at 6 came in with greater pressure, taking the fleet from a NW Maritime Center shore [...]
20th Annual Shipwrights Regatta
See the complete gallery after the break. The 20th Annual Shipwrights Regatta finally sailed on March 5th, after a postponement the week before due to snow, sleet, and high winds. The weather was considerably nicer for the second try, with 5-12 knots of wind, 40-50 degrees, and even a brief period of sunshine. 27 boats registered for the event, and 20 actually made it to the water. The course was a little confusing since the wind would not cooperate with the predetermined North or South choices on the Race Instructions. When you read the race results, please keep [...]
Round the County – A PNW Favorite
Orcas Island Yacht Club’s 2010 Round the County race was run in near perfect conditions for July - but this is November! Saturday’s 8:40 am start off of Lydia Shoals was in light air causing many of the racers to hoist up their drifters, poetically renamed “accelerator’s,” (who wants to drift) and the fleet headed off south down Rosario Straits with the building ebb current. Click here for the entire write up and some great photography at pressure-drop.us
Stig Places 3rd in PSSC Melges 24 Class
Stig Osterberg's Melges 24 No. 401 heads upwind during CYC's Puget Sound Sailing Championship Big Boat Weekend held on Puget Sound Oct. 9 and 10. Ten one-design and PHRF fleets participated in the regatta, run on two race courses by Principal Race Officers Charley Rathkopf and Kevin Cunningham. The Melges group, with 16 boats, was the largest fleet in the regatta. In the photo of third-place finisher No. 401 are, from left, Brian Huse, Osterberg, Renee Erickson, and Ren Chandler.
Nightcap 3: a thriller
One hopes that the ten boats that came out for Nightcap 3, at 1300 hrs during the Kinetic Sculpture race, were well provisioned! The start was a good indicator of the “action.” All boats were within three boat lengths of the starting line when the gun (if only we had one) was fired at 1330. The first boat across, Pegasus, managed it in under two minutes while the last boat to start, Swift, started 15 minutes after the gun (we really could have used one). Pegasus “dashed” toward Indian Island in search of wind and found some breeze. It would be [...]
Sugar and Spencer Win Bellingham Bay One Design Regatta with Three Bullets!
Team Port Townsend 505 represented well September 18th and 19th at the Dale Jepsen Bellingham Bay One Design Regatta hosted by the Bellingham Yacht Club. Port Townsend 505 sailors Sugar Flanagan, Spencer Snap, Sean Rankins, Charlie Dore and Erik Coburn (who drove for Whidbey Island’s Paul Von Grey) made up the team. It was a fine event which was comprised of many Lasers (sailing their District Champs), Flying Scots, A-Cats, Tasars and 505s sailing on two courses. Though the forecast called for rain both days, Saturday was warm and sunny with a light-but-steady four to six knot breeze. [...]
First West Coast R-Class Race in 70 Years
The first West Coast fleet race for R-Class yachts in 70 years took place on Port Townsend Bay on Friday, September 11th. In light air and a building flood they struggled out to the Pt Hudson buoy, spinnaker reached back along town to the "Y" buoy on the west end of Boat Haven, found a small wind line to the Tower, and beat back to the line. Lady Van took the horn followed by Aloha and Pirate. From the deck of the committee boat, Ev & Susan Diehl's Azure, the order of finish seemed less important than the [...]
6 Meter North American Championship
[slideshow id=25] Thanks to Elizabeth Becker for some great shots from the PTSA sponsored 6 Meter (or is it Metre?) NA’s. Great shots, great boats. More photos coming soon. 2010 North American Six Meter Championships August 13 – 15, 2010 Port Townsend, WA. Conditions: Sunny and Hot, 7 races, no throw outs, 8 – 10 knots both days. The 2010 North Americans took place over the weekend of August 14 -15 in Port Townsend, WA. To say the conditions were excellent would be an understatement, with consistent 8 – 10 knots for the 7 races under clear blue [...]
Port to Port 2010
[slideshow id=26] Thanks Sym for these pictures of Saturday’s party and Sunday’s light wind start. We could not have planned a better weather weekend, hot and sunny both days. On Saturday we got our downwind spinnaker run shortly after the start, and were able to keep them up almost the entire day. There were some holes to be found but Thatuna did a remarkable job of staying in the breeze and drove around the entire fleet. Saturday finished with Sea Puppy, an F 24 tri from Sequim being single handed all weekend by Bruce von Borstel crossing first, followed by [...]
Erik Tries a Swift Solo at the Gorge
I recently was given the opportunity to attempt to race a Swift Solo skiff in the Columbia River Gorge. When my 505 crew and good Colorado buddy Philip Ryan told me of the possibility of getting a loaned boat I thought, “Go down to the Gorge to sail an overpowered singlehander with a main, jib and a HUGE kite all while hanging on a trapeze? Sounds like what I call fun!” In the back of my mind I knew there was a distinct possibility I would be blown off the river. I’ve sailed there three times previously and [...]
Light Air Wednesday
Rob sent us out to the Mobilisa buoy on a evening that started with light air and got lighter. Fun to watch how well Scott and his crew kept Tzieu moving in just a wisp of a breeze.
Start Photos from the Official PTSA Photo Plane
Well, not really. We don't have a photo plane but we do have some pictures from the air of a start at the 2010 PT Invitational. [slideshow id=22] All the photos from the plane can be found on the Pictures tab.
Swift? Surely not!
[slideshow id=20] Pegasus fighting for a spot on the line Pegasus XIV does the 2010 Swiftsure race The 2010 Swiftsure was many things this year but fast wasn’t one of them. It had a few moments of excitement but the word was “Well, it’s never like this…” Swiftsure normally starts with an upwind leg, the price you pay to have a good, solid downwind finish. Oh that it were so this year. On the other hand, we can’t say we weren’t warned. Our weather briefing Friday started with “It looks like great wind at the start with this high offshore [...]
67th Swiftsure Predictably Unpredictable
As we wait to hear about the race from Dan and the crew on Pegasus, a photo of Pegasus by Jan Anderson at her Flicker site. a photo by Sean Trew at www.pacificfog.net, and a race report from the Swiftsure site. Victoria, BC – Gear buster to drifter, the 67th Swiftsure proved challenging for its competitors. In 15 knots of wind the first two starts went off without a hitch, but Class 3 was recalled. Principal Race Officer Jennifer Guest postponed the start sequence to allow enough time to get all the Class 3 boats back for their [...]
505 Pacific Coast Championship Report & Results
By Piper Dunlap The eleventh and final race of the International 505 Dinghy Pacific Coast Championship was over by 2:30 on Monday afternoon. The remaining sixteen crews of the 21 entered in the event each gave a wave of appreciation to the committee boat, “Petrel,” as they crossed the finish line and headed back to the launch site at Fort Worden Beach. After three days of varied conditions and good tight racing, everyone seemed satisfied and ready to call it a day. There have been bigger 505 regattas before in Port Townsend. Ron Farrell recalls having over 50 boats on [...]
Dorado wins 2010 White Cap Series
With consistently high finishes and always making it to the start, Dorado and the Daubenbergers are the winners of the 2010 PTSA White Cap Series. The final race of the spring 2010 White Cap Series looked like it was going to live up to its name with white caps starting to appear, fairly strong gusts blowing through, and head sail choices being reconsidered. But by the time the fleet rounded the tower on the final beat up to the line, the wind had settled and a steady breeze brought the boats home in the final race of the [...]
White Cap Series Race #7
A note needs to go with results: There were apparently 5 boats over early, all at the pin end of the line. We couldn’t ID the more distant boats because they were blocked by the nearer boats. It has been so long since the RC had to do a general recall that we blew it. Only Sirocco heeded the Individual Recall horn, flag and radio announcement. That puts us in a pickle because we can’t disqualify the boats that we know were OCS because since there were other OCS boats that we couldn’t ID. By the rules we [...]
A Good Night for Sirocco …
[singlepic id=84 w=320 h=240 float=right] ... and a good night for everyone who got out for the May 12th edition of the Barcott Beercan Series. In the milling about before the start it was announced that the pin had moved from the red float to the crane at Indian Island. This produced one of the longest lines in recorded history. Not surprisingly, there was no crowding at the pin as the course Ed selected was #10 - the trestle buoy, the Tower and finish. Sirocco with Lisa at the tiller got a good start, found a bit of a hole [...]
White Cap Series Race 6
What a lovely evening. A hint of summer in the air, a little less breeze than some of the early races, and some great racing all over the Bay. A big thanks to the Race Committee and Myron who sent in the results from Asheville, NC. White Cap Series – Race White Cap 6 Fleet: Overall (20 boats) […]
White Cap Series Race 5
White Cap Series Race 5 Information is provisional and subject to modification Regatta results saved: Monday, May 3, 2010 2:26:14 PM PDT Full results and standings follow the jump. […]
White Cap Race 4 Results
White Cap 2010 Race 4 13 boats came out in still air with hints of either a southerly or northerly. After about 20 minutes the wind filled from the east so the committee boat was anchored to use a windward/leeward course using the tower and the mark near the former trestle. Full results and times after the break […]
In Praise of Martha and Her Crew
[singlepic id=45 w=465 h=365 float=center] The following article ran last November in the new Northwest boating site, Three Sheets Northwest, to celebrate Port Townsend’s own schooner Martha’s victory in the recent Round the County race. In case you missed it, here’s the article and some pictures by Sean Trew of Pacific Fog. […]
Pegasus Goes Round the County
A Beginner’s guide to the Round the County race, by Dan Newland Close to Thanksgiving, many boaters love to sail “South of the Border”, however that generally assumes the US border, not the Canadian. But for 21 years, sailboats in the Puget Sound area have participated in a two day event that is more akin to an ocean race than an inland sail at a time of year that often brings storms, snow and freezing rain. Being new to the area, we had not sailed on any of the larger, well attended and competitive races in the area. [...]