e-Sheet — September 24, 2007
eNewsletter of the Lansing Sailing Club
LSC Home
Coming Events
Calendar
Pictures
Race Results

Battle for Second in Lightning Fleet Heats Up - "Wind Dancer" Takes Three

Work Party to Do Various Repairs
Saturday, Sept 29
9:00 am
Volunteers Needed

September 30:
   Neil Harrison
   Joanne Princinsky

October 7:
   Merrick Hurlbutt
   Scott Watkins



"Wind Dancer" Crew Turns Leeward Mark


Susanna Tellschow


Merrick Hurlbutt

Going into Sunday's Lightning fleet racing, only five points separated Susanna Tellschow and Merrick Hurlbutt in a battle for second place in the season standings - and Susnna leading. With six boats racing, there would be opportunities for both to get separation.

Merrick posted three third place finishes while Susanna finished second in one race and fourth in the other two. We'll need to wait for the standings to be posted to see, but an informal calculation by your reporter seems to show Merrick sliding into a thin five point lead. There are two more Sunday's of racing, but Merrick only has one of these to build on his lead because he is on Race Committee for the last race day of the year.

While the Hurlbutt-Tellschow contest provoked interest, "Wind Dancer" continued to find ways to win. In race one, two boats found some additional wind pressure and caught up to "Wind Dancer" at the final windward mark. However, "Wind Dancer" did a slick gybe set and pulled away to win. Blaine Severin was second and Hurlbutt posted one of his third place finishes.

Races two and three saw Severin get off to a quick lead with "Wind Dancer" playing catchup after having to gybe away at the start and take everyone's transom to avoid a pileup. However, by the end of the second windward leg, "Wind Dancer" had put themselves in position to tack under "Unidentified Flying Pigasus" and be inside at the mark. The Dolan-Miller-Chesbro team stayed on starboard to defend and worked to the left side of the course. Meanwhile, Tellschow and Wagner gybe set "Oh m", found a gust and worked to the right side. Suddenly they were challenging for first place. "Wind Dancer" gybed to port and attacked "Oh m" by going across her transom and taking her wind. From there it was nose to nose to the finish with "Wind Dancer" prevailing by a whisker. Severin meanwhile stayed left to split but sailed into a lull and lost another spot to Hurlbutt.

Severin was at it again in the final race, pressing left in light air - looking at more wind coming in from that side. When it came in, he tacked and crossed the fleet. This lead was secure until the final leg. Going around the final windward mark, "UFP" chose to do a bear-away set while "Wind Dancer" came in five boatlengths behind and gybe set. Severin and crew Julie Pierce and John Kolstoe gybed and tried to attack, but the boat handling of Dolan, Miller and Chesbro in the spinnaker set put "UFP" in a hole they couldn't escape from and settled for another second..

Jim Fletcher, Maribeth Fletcher and Tom Rasmussen got two races in before having to get "Splash" back to the dock and leave for a meeting. However, according to Jim, they managed to find all the shallow areas and weeds that were on the course. Their two fifth place finishes gave support to his story. Larry Koster and Michael-Salomon Jost worked with a new crew member, Chris Simonds. They did a lot of education and experienced crews were able to show their dominance. Larry has been here before however and knows the investment necessary to get a crew into shape to compete at the top of the fleet. That's why Larry's name is on so many LSC trophies.

Detailed results and standings are available on the Lansing Sailing Club website at www.lansingsailing.org. Click on "Racing" in the left hand navagation column, then on the icon for the fleet desired.

Work Party Next Saturday, Sep 29
Annual Awards Banquet Friday, Nov 9

Rear Commodore Jim Fletcher is asking for volunteers to help out with various LSC projects next Saturday, September 29th at 9 am. If you are available, your assistance will be appreciated.

Be sure to put Friday evening, November 9th on your calendar for the Annual Lansing Sailing Club Awards Banquet. Olav Messerschmidt has agreed to head up this years planning committee - so you know we are going to have a good time. Arrangements have been made to have this year's event at the MSU Kellogg Center with free parking, a great menu and a very good price. Details coming soon.

Strong LSC Contingent at No Sweat Regatta



Olav Shows the Fleet his Tramsom

Editor's Note: Olav Messerschmidt provides this report of LSC Sailors at last Saturday"s "No Sweat" Regatta at Portage Lake south of Pinckney.

With winds oscillating 45 degrees and pockets of light air next to 15 mph gusts, sailing at last Saturday’s Portage Lake "No Sweat" Regatta made for an interesting but fun day of racing. EJ O'Mara of Lake Fenton won, but Susanna Telchow finished 7th, Doug Carlson 3rd and Olav Messerschmidt 2nd.

Susanna had strong starts and got to the first mark as one of the top three boats a few times but had trouble maintaining that pace. She had a few weed problems and once found Olav’s lost cap stuck on her rudder after a leeward mark rounding; Susanna claims that caps are even slower than weeds!

Doug started with a frustrating morning. In spite of excellent starts he raced up the middle only to be passed by boats that gambled on the corners. But Doug hit his full stride in the afternoon and finished with two bullets.

Despite loaning his lucky cap to Susanna and sailing the wrong course during one race, Olav still managed to sail consistently and win 2 races. At the end with only 4 points separating the top three sailors, there was considerable tactical maneuvering before the start of the last race. Per this unbiased reporter, for the full story, please contact Olav (and absolutely not Doug) for all details!

Sorry - No New Dock Yet - But It is Still Possible To Launch

The Dock Company experienced a problem receiving float drums and installation of the new LSC dock has been delayed a week. We were advised of this problem early last Wednesday, but decided to take the old dock out Wednesday anyway because all our volunteers had arranged their schedules and re-scheduling might be difficult.

For those of you that want to go sailing, the North Dock is still operational. A line has been rigged between the launch area to the North Dock so crews can easily pull their boat back and forth. Six Lightning crews had no difficulty launching in this manner Sunday. A little wading is necessary to launch, but the water is still warm so the inconvenience is minimal.

Anyone needing help with launching should call the Commodore. "I'll be around most of the week and will be glad to help anyone launch," said Commodore Pat Dolan.

Tasks That Need Attention at LSC

Fulfill a Duty Obligation

Here are some tasks that need attention at the Lansing Sailing Club.

Completing a task fulfills a Deck Duty obligation. In addition to Docks In, Docks Out and serving on a Race Committee, each member has one Deck Duty obligation every year (such as helping organize a Holiday Picnic). Members who have not met their Deck Duty obligation can do so by selecting something from this list.

After completing a task, leave a note for Rear Commodore Jim Fletcher or Commodore Pat Dolan to receive credit. If funds are expended to complete the task, leave a receipt with your name on it in the Treasurer's box for reimbursement.

Questions? Contact Jim Fletcher or Pat Dolan.

Replace Light Switch in Women's Changing Room. The timer light switch in the Women's Changing Room is no longer working. It turns on, but doesn't automatically turn off. It needs to be replaced with a new timer switch.

Plant Spring Bulbs . (Sandy Bryson has volunteered for this) Plant spring bulbs next to the clubhouse on the north side where the Day Lillies are so that there will be early spring color here. Also, plant spring bulbs on the road side of the fence near the entry so that this area will be attractive in the spring. Contact Pat Dolan for bulbs and further instructions.

Add Shelves on Kitchen Door for Computer Equipment. Add a shelf arrangement on the west side Kitchen door that will support the use of a laptop computer. Also add a shelf for a printer. The shelves need to be designed and constructed so that the door will close smoothly with the computer and printer in place. They also need to be designed and constructed so that the printer and computer will not fall off when the door is opened or closed.

Install Additional Side Controls on "Oh_m" . Install a fourth cam cleat and fairlead in the side control area of "Oh m" so that the traveler up-down control lines can be led to these points. See "Wind Dancer" s for an example of how this control works. Contact Pat Dolan for the cam cleats and fairleads.

Cut off Bolt Ends on "Oh m" Side Controls . The ends of bolts that hold the side control panel in place on "Oh m" need to be sawed off, then filed so the ends are smooth. There are four of these bolts on each side.

Add Electrical Outlet In Kitchen. Add another electrical outlet in the Kitchen area of the Clubhouse near the one used by the refrigerator. When installed, add a six outlet plug-in like the one in the existing outlet, then plug the refrigerator, water cooler, coffee maker and microwave into the new outlets - removing the extension cord currently in use.

Reinforce Spar/Sail Supports in Small Sail Shed. Reinforce where possible, otherwise replace the spar/sail supports in the Small Sailshed that are loose so that sails and spars have solid resting places.

Recent Tasks Completed - Thanks
Install Harken 092 Blocks for Side Controls on "Oh m"

Thanks Pat Dolan
Complete removal of weeds from South Berm

Thanks Dave and Sandy Vietti
Remove weeds from '20 feet of South Berm

Thanks Matt Allswede
Repair Siding on Sail Shed

Thanks Dennis Dudley

Coming Events Detail
  • September 29 (Sat) Pine Lake TCSA Rendezvous Paddle at LSC
  • September 29-30 (Sat-Sun) Hoosier Lightning Regatta at Lake Wawasee
  • September 30 (Sun) Lightning Fleet Racing - 12:30 Skipper's Meeting, 1:00 First of Three Races
  • October 6-7 (Sat-Sun) MSU Cedarfest Regatta - LSC supporting by providing Race Management
  • October 7 (Sun) Lightning Fleet Racing - 1:30 Skipper's Meeting, 2:00 First of Three Races
  • October 13 (Sat) Docks Out. 9 am to noon.
  • October 20 (Sat) Pumpkinhead Laser Regatta - Reeds Lake, Grand Rapids Yacht Club
  • November 2-3-4 (Fri-Sat-Sun) Bluenose Lightning Regatta, Harbor Island Yacht Club, Nashville, TN
  • November 7 (Wed) LSC Second Wednesday Informal Sailor Gathering - Spagnoulas 7:00 pm
  • November 9 (Fri) Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet
  • December 12 (Wed) LSC Second Wednesday Informal Sailor Gathering - Spagnoulas 7:00 pm

    • e-Sheet is a periodic newsletter of the Lansing Sailing Club. Copies of previous e-Sheets are in the archives section of our web site at www.lansingsailing.org.
    Request a subscription, un-subscribe or send info for publication by emailing the Publisher at publisher@lansingsailing.org.
    Copyright © 2007 by the Lansing Sailing Club, 6039 East Lake Drive, PO Box 51, Haslett, Michigan 48840.