PRAIRIE WIND REGATTA

The Prairie Wind Regatta at Newell Sailing Club had seven SeaSprays competing with Richard Braul coming out on top, congratulations Richard.  A windy Saturday had the fleet on shore for the first race but out for the afternoon racing where two races were completed in fairly high gusting winds.  Sunday races were sailed in a more sedate wind and five races were completed.  The race results are part of the attachment (CLICK HERE TO VIEW) and the SeaSpray fleet was part of the bigger overall event with 63 competitors in total.

It is always a bit intimidating launching a Seaspray into a direct on-shore wind of sometimes 20 knot plus gusts.  Once on the water however the boat is more controllable.   Newell can throw up some pretty big waves at times and it is always a lot of fun either steering the best way through the waves when beating or riding them when broad reaching on the down wind runs.  There were a few dramatic pitch poles and sometimes an occasional capsize but everyone who went out had a great sail.

NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Travelling to a regatta can be part of a bigger holiday.  For some of us this is an opportunity to travel to an area you may not normally visit.  Check for some attractions along the way and have a great time

The North American Seaspray Championships are coming up next.  Aug 31, Sept 1,2 Big Lagoon, California. The following is some more info and a couple of pictures.  Please check the link below for more information and pre-registration for the event.  You can buy meals on line beforehand as well as register:

From Michael Butler

It is unimproved land that is open for only that week. No showers. They bring in porta-potties and water and kitchen and dining stuff. The nearest lodging that I know of is at Trinidad 9.5 miles south. Also Arcata and Eureka have more options for that.

The attached image shows the layout. There is camping in that open area that gets filled up. We usually end up along the beach somewhere. Things get tight, so a large motorhome would be a problem; but there are lots of options for smaller camper vehicles – they may not be very level. No charge.

Finding the entrance road may take a bit doubling back. From the south, it is about 0.9 miles from a bridge over the estuary.

The entrance location as I see it: Lat 41.1743  Long -124.1025

It is my favorite camping of any sailing venue, but it can be chilly in the evening or if it is foggy a very heavy dew in the morning. Bring hull protection as the beach has rocks and it is usually a lee shore.

You are welcome to call anytime – thanks,

Michael

707 961-1891

From Larry Fox – host club

Hi Michael, timing is great on your reply because registration for our Redwood Regatta is now up on Regatta Network. Your members can register at:

 http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/16993

 Definitely don’t think about on- shore tasks; you are our guests. If the right race committee person is available great no worries if not.  Also, a registration form is attached here for those who would rather register by snail mail.

 We’re super excited about hosting the North Americans!

 All the best, Larry Fox

 Hi Michael,

We are so glad to host your North Americans at our Redwood Regatta! As we were discussing plans for the event last night at our board meeting, we thought it would be great if your association could contribute one person to join our race committee. That way your group would have direct input to race course decisions and represent your group with our committee. This is not a huge deal if all of your members are planning to sail in the races, no worries. We just thought it might be nice if it worked for your group.

 We are planning to have official races for your group on Friday. We will invite our members to join if they want for practice races with a separate start, of course. Then on Saturday and Sunday, your group will have their official races as a separate class with their own start and since your group is registering in our regatta, you will have a separate class in our regatta as well. That way, we can present trophys for the Redwood Regatta to your winners and you can present awards to your group for the North Americans.

 We plan to have our registration forms live on the web very soon and we will send paper to you as well.

 All the best, -Larry Fox, Vice Commodore HYC