If you missed it in your email, I have attached the Notice of Race sent from Lake Osoyoos Sailing Club. Be sure to note the starting date for the Sea Spray NA is FRIDAY and runs through SUNDAY.
This year’s Seaspray North Americans at Big Lagoon, California was a success with 11 races sailed over three days. The weather co-operated and provided a decent wind on Friday and lighter winds on Saturday and Sunday.
L-R: Jay Gardner, Don Snell, Mike Butler
Congratulations to winner Mike Butler from Fort Bragg, California. Corrected race results had Don Snell in second place and Jay Gardner in third. There were four competitors from United States and three competitors from Canada. Thanks to Mike Butler for providing the Seaspray fleet prizes. Thanks also to all the competitors who made the effort to attend this event. CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS
Many thanks to the Humboldt Yacht Club for hosting the regatta and giving the Seaspray fleet an extra day of racing over the regular Redwood Regatta. The overall attendance was in the mid 30’s for competitors with Hobie 16’s, Hobie 20, Snipe, Pelican, Laser and other fleets competing as well. Competitors were allowed to camp for four nights maximum at this state owned property and it helped to be close to the venue. A wonderful Saturday supper and hearty Sunday morning breakfast was provided as part of the event.
One of the side benefits of traveling a long distance to an event is the opportunity to enjoy a few side excursions. The Red Wood forest is extensive in this area and a drive through the “Avenue of the Giants” afforded an additional opportunity to do some hiking in the Redwoods.
While driving through Eureka, California we passed by the Carson Mansion pictured below. William Carson came from New Brunswick to the California gold rush and ended up making a fortune in the lumber business, shipping redwood to San Francisco and other parts of the globe.
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.
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
Attached is the Notice of Race for the SeaSpray Canadian Nationals July 7, 8 and 9th. Nationals will be part of a bigger regatta – the annual Prairie Wind Regatta. Nationals will start on Friday and continue until Sunday.
CLICK HERE for Seaspray 2017 NOR & PWR
Sometimes the hardest part of racing a SeaSpray is being able to see where the other boats are because the sail window isn’t big enough or your eyes aren’t as good as they used to be. Your eyes are hard to improve but sail windows can be made larger — how about this for a sail window?
Another season is in the books and Don Snell has successfully defended his championship at Lake Osoyoos Sailing Club. This marks 5 straight National Championships for Don, but still a bit short of Dave West’s record of 9 straight — only 4 more to go Don!
For those who attend a lot of regattas, you know that the wind usually blows best the day before and the day after a regatta. This year started with great wind on Thursday and Friday’s racing started in light wind, but it didn’t stay that way! Wind speeds increased as each day passed as a weather system passed through the area ultimately blowing so hard on Sunday that racing was eventually abandoned.
Mike Butler from northern California won his first Sea Spray North American Championship at Huntington Lake, California. Seven boats sailed in 9 races with Butler (USA) recording bullets in all 9 races to finish ahead of second place finisher Jay Gardner (USA)(’96,’00,’01’04,’05,& 2013 Champ), and third place finisher Hamish Ferguson (CAN) (2009 Champ).
Photos sent by Mike Butler. Click on first photo..
The 2016 Prairie Wind Regatta has wrapped up and the members of the Newell Sailing Club can now kick back and enjoy the rest of the sailing season. For those who have never sailed at the PWR, it has become one of the premier events on the Alberta Sailing Assn. calendar.
From the NSC website:
“Our 29th annual regatta is over. Our winds were co-operative and blew for two days although starting later on Sunday morning. The San Juan 21 North Americans were held jointly with the Glenmore Sailing Club hosting this event at our sailing facility from Thursday to Sunday. There were 31 San Juan 21’s registered and 39 registered for the Prairie Wind for a total of 70 sailboats. Some of the San Juan competitors travelled a long ways to our lake coming from Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, California, Montana, British Columbia, Alberta etc. The Prairie Wind Regatta had fleets of Fireballs, Lasers, Optimist Dinghies, Seaspray Catamarans and a number of other sailboat types. A lot of our club members competed as well as volunteered their time to help host the event. We owe a lot to the volunteers and value their contributions.”
