Junior's Tuesday Evening Sail Attracts a Crowd

With Camps over for the summer, Juninor Sailors are taking advantage of LSC's Tuesday Junior Sailing evening. Instructors are on hand Tuesday evenings to make sure everyone gets a boat, organize some on-water fun, help sailors add to their skills and approve Sailing Certifications. The Sailing 1 Certification permits Junior Sailors to come and sail a Club Sunfish in light and moderate winds any time an adult is available to watch out for them. Here are some pictures from last Tuesday.

Moody leads downwind in Race 4

Lots Of Lasers Enjoy Fabulous Sailing Evening

After weeks of sacrifices to the weather gods, efforts to assure wind have finally paid off - and how. Wednesday evening was one of the finest sailing evenings of all time. Perfect weather, just the right amount of wind - and lots of sailors.

In all, fourteen Laser sailors were on the water. Most of the group watched the transoms of George Siegle (1-2-3-4), Doug Carlson (3-1-1-2) and Mike Moody (2-4-2-1). George won race 1, Doug races 2 and 3, and Mike the final race of the evening.

Others were not to be denied however. Fifth place finishes were tallied by Bob Miller and Brad Kleihege while Susan Peters went home with a fourth. Susanna Wagner collected a fifth and a third. Pat Dolan had a third, fourth and fifth.That's a total of eight sailors, more than half the group, finishing in the top five at least once.

Startsand catching the first shift count a lot in short course racing. Most top racers consistently get this right - and for the most part, this helps explains the success of Wednesday's high finishers. In the first race, Siegle went right immediately after the start, caught a right shift that put him in his own wind and led the rest of the way. A terrific start launched Peters into a trip to her fourth place finish. Carlson and Moody are known for aggressive starts and their ability to read the wind shifts.

Of course, solid boat handling technique is also critical - and there were lots of examples Wednesday. Susanna Wagner's perfect timing in sailing across the stern of a boat slightly ahead of her to gain an inside advantage at the mark was one example. Mike Moody's quick tack and shoot at the first race finish to nip Carlson was another. The ability to bear away at the windward mark in a gust enabled a number of sailors to gain on competitors that couldn't get their bow down. There was lots of good sailing and a great evening on the water.

Later, at Spagnoula's, Quizmaster Doug Carlson got the best of the group for the second week in a row with his race rules quiz. Doug is now ahead in this close season long battle - with less than half the participants getting the quiz answer correct (usually a 50-50 proposition for guessers). Last night, ten had the incorrect answer and only four were right. There is still plenty of time in the season for the sailors to end up on top, but at this point the Quizmaster leads.

Click here for pictures taken by Stephen Wagner.

Results will be posted soon. From the home page at www.lansingsailing.org, click on "Racing" - then click on the fleet Icon.

Wind Dancer Downwind

Bananas Heats Up

Wind Dancer Likes Windy Sunday

In solid wind conditions, the "Wind Dancer" team of Pat Dolan, Bob Miller and Gil Chesbro showed the way last Sunday - claiming first place finishes in all three races. In the first race, they had to come from behind to win. Blaine Severin's "Flying Pigasus" had caught "Wind Dancer" on the final downwind leg and held the inside position at the mark. However, In an exciting mark rounding while dousing spinakers," Wind Dancer" was able to limit Severin to "Mark Room" and then performed a "tactical" rounding that found her on the windward quarter of "Pigasus" - and advantage they cashed in on to win.

Julie Pierce and Tom Deits sailed with Severin and helped themselves to second place finishes in the first and third race while finishing fourth in the middle contest. "Bananas", sailed by Jonathan Ahlbrand, Tom Hutton and John Kolstoe, scored two thirds and a second on the day.

Sue McIntosh, scheduled to race with Larry Koster, brought friend Pat Demars along - planning to go for a sail together after racing. However, a last minute transportation issue by Larry's third crew found Pat being pressed into service. With spinnaker flying in high winds by inexperienced crew, the "Shibumi" bunch decided to leave the chute in its bag. Still, they sailed well and posted a third place finish in one of the races.

On "Splash", Jim Fletcher experienced first hand the front end of the Lightning - not a very friendly spot for someone as tall as Jim. Ron Marshall drove the first race while newcomer Damion Sheppard got his first taste of heavy air driving in the other two.

Standings and race results are posted on the website by our infamous "Scoring Guy". From the home page at www.lansingsailing.org, click on "Racing" - then click on the fleet Icon.

Flying Pigasus on the Prowl

Ron bears away as spin gets ready

Shibumi Crew rounds Leeward Mark

Damion Tacks Splash

LSC Sailors at Leeland Laser Clinic

Lansing Sailors Attend Leeland Clinic

Seven Lansing sailors spent last weekend at a Laser Clinic in Leeland, Michigan: Scott Watkins, Mike Moody, Susan Peters, Wayne Loescher, Susanna Wagner, Doug Carlson and Olav Messerschmidt (left to right in the picture). They got their fill of heavy air and came home with the bruises and bandages to prove it. In all, 25 Laser sailors participated.

The clinic was led by Rick White, who runs one of the top sailing schools in the world. Click here for pictures on LSC's Flickr Page.

Pick a Job to Do

As all Lansing Sailing Club members know, the Club thrives because of the willingness of our members to take on jobs that need to be done. Here is a list of some tasks that need attention right now. To volunteer contact Rear Commodore Jim Fletcher (email: janef@tir.com, phone: 517-655-2174) or Commodore Pat Dolan (email: commodore@lansingsailing.org, phone: 517-214-6568). They will arrange for you to get complete details on what needs to be done.

Life Preserver Storage - an improved storage system for Lansing Sailing Club pfds needs to be prepared.

Repair Lift - the cable on our lift for "Oh m" needs to be replaced with a longer cable and restrung on the drum.

Install Lift - once the cable on our lift for "Oh m" is replaced, the lift needs to be put in place in the well of the North Dock.

Club Boat Organization - With the new racks in place, Club Boats need to be reorganized, including putting clear markings on the boats and rack location.

Jobs Underway

Cement Work Estimate - estimates are needed for launch ramp repair, seawall reconstruction and construction of a pad for the Racing Equipment Shed. - Bob Miller

Jobs Done Recently - Thank You

Oversee Electical Box Overhaul - breakers were tripping and we needed to determine what needs to be done to resolve this, obtain cost estimates and oversee getting the work done once Board of Directors approval is obtained for expenditures. - Thanks Chuck Amboy

Sunfish Racks Built - Storage for twelve Sunfish has been created in new racks. In the lower portion, dollys can easily be used to get the boats to and from the launch area. Boats stored on the upper part of the rack must be lifted, and requires two people to get the boat on and off the rack. - Thanks Jim Fletcher and Pat Dolan

Club Boat Sail/Blade Storage - LSC has several new (to us) Club Boats. Additional storage for blades and sails has been created in the Laser/Sunfish Sail Shed. - Thanks Jim Fletcher and Pat Dolan

Fix Water Leak -Thanks Chuck Amboy.