Lasers Start at 6:20 Next Wednesday - Sunfish Start at 6:30

Tough to Beat the Racing Conditions Wednesday

Sunfish at Sunset Picture by Susanna Tellschow

We have been fortunate to have beautiful wind and weather conditions the last several Wednesdays. The wind was solid for all four races Wednesday and fifteen sailors participated.

John Fishbeck laid claim to all the Sunfish honors by scoring four bullets. Gil Chesbro had two seconds and a third. Neil Harrison's two third place finishes combined with Jim Fletcher's third and two seconds rounded out the top three finishers for that fleet.

Mike Moody, Doug Calrson, George Siegle and Olav Messerschmidt claimed all the top three Laser spots. Doug had three firsts and a second. Mike had a first, two seconds and a third. George was 3-3-2-4 on the evening while Olav scored 4-4-4-3.

Bob Miller putting his boat away after racing. Picture by Susanna Tellschow

In all ten Lasers and five Sunfish were on the water. For the six Laser sailors that didn't share top a four billing, there was some very good sailing nevertheless. Fifth place finishes were registered by Bob Miller, Ann Siegle and Pat Dolan. Susanna Tellschow got three of the sixth place finishes with Blaine Severin getting the other sixth. Scott Watkins was with this group all evening - and ended up with two sevens.

A little but of fun was enjoyed at the expense of John Fishbeck who had minor contact with Doug Carlson. After racing, Doug patched his Laser with duct tape where his boat was hit. When John came in to ask what the damage was, Doug fed him the line that it was so bad the boat couldn't be sailed without repair. John fell - hook, line and sinker. When Doug pulled off the tape to show a perfectly clean surface everyone enjoyed a good laugh.

There are four more Wednesday evenings of racing. Don't pass them up.

Complete results and current standings can be found by clicking on the Laser or Sunfish emblem on the racing page of the LSC web site at www.lansingsailing.org.

Junior Sailors Share Glory

Three sailors in a close final leg. Coach Messerschmidt monitors in his Laser.

Junior Sailors completed the second race day of the August series with some very close contests. Doug Crawford won the first and third race. Cara Scovill won race two and Grant Messerschmidt won race four.

Check out the picture story at www.lansingsailing.org which shows an exciting final upwind leg that could have been won by any of the three sailors involved if they could have kept their boat going fast throughout the entire leg.

Also check out the current handicap ratings, and race result details through a link on the racing page of the LSC web site at www.lansingsailing.org.

The Junior sailors have three more Tuesday evenings of racing this summer.

Race Rules Quiz: Turn, Turn, Turn

Doug Carlson's race rules quiz at Spags Wednesday evening emphasized one of the rule changes for 2005-2008.

The Situation: Boat A is following Boat B (on starboard tack) around the windward mark and notices that Boat B touches the mark while rounding. Boat B immediately falls off to a beam reach to sail clear of the others boats and then promptly begins her penalty for making contact with the mark. All looks good and Boat A thinks that it’s nice to see fellow racers being honest and playing fair. However, Boat A notices that while Boat B looks like she is doing a 360 degree turn, after she completes the gybe portion of her circle she heads directly for the next mark versus back up to a beam reach. Boat A politely mentions this omission to B. Boat B, who just a short while ago was held in high regard tells A to “go soak your head, I did enough…” Boat A protests Boat B for not completely sailing a 360 degree penalty turn. You are on the protest committee, how do you decide?

Answer: While the old rule book mentions 720° and 360° turns, the new rule book speaks of "one turn" and "two turns" with no reference to degrees. Rule 31.2 states that a boat hitting a mark "may, after getting well clear of other boats as soon as possible, take a penalty by promptly making one turn including one tack and one gybe..." Boat B is guilty of a lack of graciousness, but not of breaking the rule for completing penalty circles.

Thanks to "Speed & Smarts" for inspiring this quiz. Subscribe to this excellent periodic publication by going to www.SpeedandSmarts.com.

• Aug 14 (Sun): Gil Chesbro, Walt DeGruyter and Leslie Hagen
• Aug 21 (Sun): Dave MacKenzie and Matt Allswede

• The complete Calendar of Events is on the LSC Web Site. Click on "Calendar"
• Tuesdays: Junior Racing/Sailing and Lightning Practice Day.
• Wednesdays: Lasers and Sunfish Race
• Sundays: Lightnings Race

• Swedish Match Tour. Professional Match Racing at venues throughout the world.
• America's Cup Racing. Acts 6 and 7 will be held in Sweden beginning in late August.