More Fleet 488 News
As of 01/22/2012
2011 DSA Year End Banquet
Bill Cabrall and Raeyane Farrell; Steve and Jan Davis; The Hostetters; Lucas Armstrong; and David and Barb Thompson, Kai and Kyle were the Lightning Class representatives at the DSA End-of-Year banquet on Saturday, November 12, at the Cherry Creek Yacht Club. Congratulations to Bill Cabrall, who won the USSA Sportsmanship award, and to Team Davis, who won, by one point, the perpetual trophy for their first place finishes in the Spring and summer series. Read more here.
2011 DSA Frostbite Series
Frostbite Series # 6 and Pumpkin Bash Regatta, Saturday, October 29 - It was a cool day with a high overcast and temperatures in the mid-50, and we had to wait until 2:00 PM for enough breeze to fill in to start a race. The winds did strengthen as the day went on, and RC got off 3 races before it was time to come in. Teams Cabrall and Thompson sailed. Read more here. We were in costume for the Pumpkin Bash regatta, and team Thompson came dressed as a bunch of bananas, following the theme that “Bananas are the Official Fruit of Lighting 15228.”
Frostbite Series # 5, Saturday, October 22 - For the first time in recent history, no Lightnings were on the line, even though it turned out to be a great afternoon for Colorado sailboat racing in October. Read more here. Three Lightnings had rigged, but waited in the parking lot for crew to arrive, then waited some more for a front to pass through, and by then decided not to go out. So they instead helped Des Runyan lift his Aeleron 20 keelboat out of the water and onto his trailer, the first time ever that boat has been crane-hoisted, and it turned out to be a more challenging activity than was first imagined. But in the end they were successful.
Mike Taber is back in town!
Fleet 488 skipper and ILCA member Mike Taber has returned from his summer adventure sailing his schooner Dove II on the east coast. Here is his report.
Frostbite Series # 4, Saturday, October 15 - A beautiful sunny October day with temperatures in the mid-80s — and only one Lightning came out — David Thompson, sailing with Kai and Kylie. In the light air, the crew caught up on their sleep while David helmed and attempted to keep the boat pointed, and finally gave up after two races. Read more here. We noted that Fleet 488 member David Spira was out on the race course in a red Flying Scot, crewing for the owner, Hannis Thompson. David is headed out next week for Dallas, where he will be sailing in the Championship of Champions regatta, in a borrowed Flying Scot. More to follow on that! Go David!
Frostbite Series # 3, Saturday, October 8 - Those who were wishing for some frost in the frostbite were not disappointed, and awoke on Saturday morning to see a mixture of snow and rain falling, with temperatures in the mid-30s. But nobody wanted to sail in that, so racing was canceled. Read more here.
Frostbite Series # 2, Saturday, October 1 – We had a high temperature of 84 degrees and sunny skies for this the second race day of the Frostbite season. So where’s the frost? Don’t worry, it’s coming. In the meantime, only two Lightnings were out this day — Team Cabrall, sailing with Jim and Raeyane, and team Thompson, sailing with Curtis Rist and Doug Martin. The first race was a grueling, nearly-two-hour drifter, but we had slightly better winds for the second race. Read more here.
Frostbite Series # 1, Saturday, September 24 – What a fantastic day for the first races of the fall season, with 85 degree temperatures, sunny skies, and northerly winds between 5 and 10 MPH, with occasional gusts to 16. Four Lightnings were out: Team Cabrall, with crew Jim England and Mariel Yarbrough; Team Gawthrop, with his two boys; Team Davis, with regular crew Jan Davis and Francine Hoffman; and Team Thompson, with Kylie and new crew Henry Fish, a rowing sculler. We welcomed back Lightning and Bucc Skipper David Spira, who served on Race Committee, and participated in a protest hearing (not involving Lightnings), with jury members Bill Cabrall, Steve Davis, and David Thompson. Read more here.
2011 Colorado Governor’s Cup Regatta, Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18.
Four Lightnings competed – Teams Cabral; Vargish; Armstrong/Hostetter, and Thompson. Read more here.
DSA Summer Series
On September 15, Summer Series # 10, four Lightnings were out in an evening that turned out to have very light winds. Read more here.
On September 8, Summer Series # 9, we had much cooler temperatures and a steady 5 – 8 MPH breeze. Three Lightnings were out: Teams Cabrall; Davis; and Gawthrop. RC (Jim Ulatowski and Francine Hoffman) got in one race before darkness settled in. Read more here.
On September 1, Summer Series # 8, we had another warm afternoon followed by an evening with very light air. RC set a 2 – 6 course in the hopes that an easterly breeze would fill in, and it turned out to be just a hope — there was just enough wind to move us towards the windward mark and, for two of us, to fill our chutes on the downwind leg. At the start, Teams Cabrall and Davis (with Jim Ulatowski at the helm) hit the line on a port tack with nice momentum, while teams Dandy Lion (sailing with Lucas at helm, Marty Mulhern at middle, and Garrett Shields on forward) and Thompson tried a more traditional starboard tack approach and coasted to a stop on the line in the dead air. Eventually the winds picked up — Team Thompson then tacked over on port and headed right, while Team Dandy Lion stayed left. By the time the Thompson team rounded the weather mark, the two front boats were way down the downwind leg and Dandy Lion was closing in on the mark. Shortly after the easterly wind sputtered and died with Thompson near the center of the lake and Dandy Lion closer to the dam, both experiencing a slow drift towards the # 6 buoy. Finally, with a wind shift to northwesterly, the wind picked up, and Team Thompson dropped their chute and headed, on a starboard tack, towards the mark that had in the meantime become a finish line. About that time a bright, horizontal lightning flash filled the sky above us, followed by a loud thunderclap, at which time the remaining racers put more stock in getting back to the marina than in racing. Team Thompson did however cross the finish line before tacking and heading for the docks, having lost sight of Dandy Lion by then. Then, when entering the channel into the marina, Kylie Thompson brushed up against the boom and got a sharp electric shock — their mast must have gotten energized by the passing cloud. Kai felt one too, and both were subsequently happy to have reached the dock without further incident. Read more here.
On August 25, Summer series # 7, on a day with record 99-degree heat, we splashed on a windless lake at 6 PM, but by 6:30 an approaching storm cell started kicking in a nice breeze that turned gusty as the evening went on. In fact, both NOAA and WindFinder had predicted gusts above 20 (WindFinder had actual stated gusts to 39) in the storms, and we did get one gust to 24, but mostly the winds were in the range of 8 – 12. At any rate, four Lightnings came out (Teams Cabrall; Davis; Armstrong/Hostetter, and Thompson), but Thompsons were very late to the line, having delayed to repair a broken bungee on the jib sliding halyard lock, and getting across the start line with the Santanas. RC (Bill Burson; Rob Merritt, and Mike Roybal) had set a 5 – 1 course , and the other three Lightnings were already around the windward mark when Thompsons decided to retire in the increasingly gusty winds and darkening skies. The other Lightnings finished the first race and headed for the marina even as RC was starting a second race for the Santanas and Lasers. The storm cell actually passed north of the lake, so we were not in danger, but it had looked ominous. Read more here.
On August 18, Summer Series # 6, a windless hot day that morphed into a windless warm evening, 5 Lightnings (Cabrall; Davis; Gawthrop; Armstrong/Hostetter; and Thompson) splashed and drifted towards the Committee boat that had appropriately set the Postponement flag. Crew Kai and Kylie Thompson dove into the water for a swim as Blue Two was drifting east. Finally, at 6:45 PM a light southerly breeze filled in and RC set a 4 – 7 course and started the Lasers — too many to count — then the Lightnings; then the Santanas. Blue Two tried to approach the start line from the right side, on starboard tack, and got squeezed in between Gray Goose and the committee boat and had to tack and gybe around, not a good move in the extremely light air. So they observed the remainder of the race from the rear position, although they nearly caught up with Dandy Lion at the finish line. The second race was just a dash to the 4 buoy and back to the finish line, but at the windward mark the wind had started to die, so it was slow going downwind. Blue Two had rounded ahead of Dandy Lion, but couldn’t keep her chute inflated, and thus drifted again to a last place finish. The wind picked up a bit as we headed for home, and then surprisingly, at around 8:45 PM, as the last boats were being secured in the parking lot, a brief and sudden 25 MPH blast caught us by surprise, blowing around the gear that was sitting on the asphalt. Fortunately, all boats were off the water when that one hit. Read more here.
On August 11, Summer Series # 5, the monsoon had moved east and there was no rain, and we had nice southerly winds at first. RC set a 4 - 7 – 4 – 7 course for the first race, but then the winds petered out and we had to shorten the course at the second windward mark. But then the winds picked up again, so we got a second race. Three Lightnings were out — Steve and Jan Davis; Team Dandy Lion; and David and Barb Thompson, with Brian Schram at middle. Team Davis came in first in the first race and headed for home, thinking there would not be a second race. But there was, and team Dandy Lion had a very impressive start, rocketing away from the line after crossing at full speed, leaving Team Thompson in the distance. Read more here.
On August 4, Summer Series # 4, the evening storm passed well to the south and we had brisk southerly winds at the start of the first race that settled down to about 8 MPH as the evening went on. Only three Lightnings were out — Steve Davis, in his first DSA race after returning from Brazil, with Jim Ulatowski at the helm; David Thompson, with grandchildren Kai and Kylie, on board, and Adam and Lucas in Dandy Lion. RC set a 5 – L course for the first race and a 5 – L – 5 – L course for the second race, but had to shorten the second race with a finish at the second windward mark, due to the dying winds and the approaching sunset. Read more here.
2011 Lightning North American Championships, North Cape Yacht Club, LaSalle Michigan 8/2 – 8/5
Fleet 488 Captain Bill Cabrall, sailing with Jim and Rebecca, qualified for the Championship Series and finished in 38th place after 4 days of racing. Here are the details. Here is Bill’s report.
2011 Lightning North American Masters Championships, North Cape Yacht Club, LaSalle Michigan 8/2 – 8/5
Congratulations to Fleet 488 Captain Bill Cabrall, sailing with Raeyane and Rebecca, who placed 14th out of a field of 21 competitors last week. Here are the final standings. Here is Raeyane’s Report.
2011 World Lightning and International Masters Championships, Buzios Brazil, 7/20 – 7/29
Fleet 488 Skipper Steve Davis, sailing with Tommy Allen Jr. and Laura Jeffers, took 4th place in the recently-completed 2011 International Masters Championships, and Fleet 488 Skipper David Spira, sailing with Randy Shore and Ty Whitman, took fifth place in a field that included 13 boats and the cream of international Lightning Masters talent. Way to go!
The following week Steve crewed for Tommy Allen, Jr., sailing with Karl Allen, and they took 11th place in a field of 30 boats of the world’s best Lightning sailing talent. David Spira, with Randy and Ty, took 19th place.
Well done, skippers!
For more information, visit the ILCA website.
More DSA Summer Series
On July 28, Summer Series # 3, the storm clouds held off and we got in two nice races in light (6 – 7 MPH) winds, on a 7 – 4 course that had virtually no wind at the windward mark because of the proximity of the dam. Four Lightnings (Cabrall; Hostetter & Lucas; Vargish; and Thompson) came out, and in the second race the Thompson boat, with grandchildren Kai and Kylie as crew, came in a close second behind the Vargish boat, leaving Cabral and Hostettter/Lucas in their dust. Read more here.
On July 21, Summer Series # 2, a gathering storm cloud passed over the dam at 5:45 PM and dissipated over the lake, leaving behind sunny skies and gusty southerly winds that smoothed out as the evening went on. Seven Lightnings were out on what turned out to be a really nice sailing evening, including Jim Ulatowski sailing Steve Davis’ boat, and Jim Beckley sailing on the boat he acquired from Jerry Shustrin. In the second race, Norm Jarvis and David Thompson were neck and neck approaching the finish line, but Norm was below David and that gave David enough advantage to finish ahead of Norm by less than one second. Read more here.
On July 14, Summer Series # 1, the thunderstorm came early, and by 6 PM it looked like the skies were clearing, and the assembled skippers and crew agreed to go out at give it a try. RC Jim Ulatowski and Rick Leidal set a W – 7 course for the first race, in very light air. The winds picked up a bit in time for the second race, but it was getting late, so RC updated the course board to a W course, meaning we’d sail up to the windward mark and back down to the start/finish line. Skippers Cabrall, Vargish, and Thompson noted the course change, but Jarvis did not, and was last seen sailing for the #7 buoy in the gathering dusk. We did make it back to the dock without a drop of rain falling on us, and enjoyed burgers and dogs at the DSA clubhouse after racing. Read more here.
DSA Spring Series
Spring Series # 1, Thursday, May 5, found thirteen boats on the water, including 4 Lightnings, in nice weather conditions, and we got in two races before it was time to come in. Spring Series # 2, and 3, on May 12 and 19 were cancelled due to inclement weather — temperatures in the low 40s, light breezes, and continued light rain. On May 26, Spring Series # 4, we finally got our nice spring evening, with temperatures in the mid-60s and gentle 5 – 8 MPH breezes. Six Lightnings were out — Davis; Cabrall; Thompson; Armstrong; Gawthrop; and Vargish. On June 2, Spring Series #5, it was too windy to go out. On June 9, Spring Series # 6, we had gentle winds 5 – 8 MPH on a cool, mid-60s evening, with five Lightnings on the line, along with seven Lasers, two Santanas, and five OOAKs — a total of 19 boats, the most this season. On June 16, Spring Series # 7, we had very gusty winds and sailed only one race. Twenty boats were on the water prior to the start, but only 13 started — the other seven retired before racing. On June 23, Spring Series # 8, we had gusty and shifty winds as PRO Joel McGuire was setting up the course, but they settled down to around 10 MPH for a short first race and down to about 6 for the second, very long race on a 2-6 course, with the last Lightning crossing the finish line at the # 6 buoy at 8:45 PM, in the gathering darkness. On June 30, Spring Series number 9, we again had very gusty winds and sailed only one race — with only Steve Davis, Al Gawthrop, and Norm Jarvis braving the conditions. On July 7, Spring Series number 10, last of the series, we were rained out in one of the heaviest storms in recent memory. Read more here, and see Bill’s July 8 Newsletter for details.
DSA Shootout/Hornblower Regatta, Saturday and Sunday, May 21/22.
Five Lightnings competed in the 2011 Shootout/Hornblower Regatta on May 21/22, in wild, 14 – 25 MPH winds with gusts to 30 on Saturday, and very light winds on Sunday. RC ran four races on Saturday and two more on Sunday. Congratulations to Bill Cabrall, who took first place in the Lightning division. Read more here.
2011 Thaw-out Series
Sunday April 3 was a wash-out (or should we say a “snow out”?). April 10 was better, but with gusty winds, a forecasted high of 51 degrees, and a water temperature of 51 degrees, it’s not surprising that only one skipper showed up with crew. That of course was our inspirational leader, Bill Cabrall. At 1 PM, PRO Curtis Rist declared that “One boat does not constitute a race,” and canceled racing for the day. On April 17 the weather was warmer, but gusty winds and cold water kept us off the lake again. There was no racing on Easter Sunday, April 24, another chilly day. On May 1 there was actually a race, and Bill’s Lightning was one of the two boats out on a cloudy, chilly (46 degree), light-air day. Congratulations to Bill, who took first place, on corrected time, for the race and for the series! See Bill’s recent Newsletters for details. Thus ended the 2011 Thaw-out series.
2011 ILCA Southern Circuit, March 12 – 20, 2011
Two Fleet 488 boats traveled to the 2011 ILCA Southern Circuit this year, racing in Savannah, Miami, and St. Petersburg between March 12 and March 20, inclusively. Bill and Raeyane had a most challenging trip down starting March 11, that included hitting a deer in the middle of Kansas, returning to Denver to pick up an alternate vehicle, and driving in a blinding snowstorm from St. Louis into Marion, IL. Rebecca missed all of that excitement by flying directly to Miami from Denver, and David and Barbara avoided both deer and snow by driving the southern route. Mariel Yarbrough was in Miami as a spectator, and sent these pictures. See Bill Cabrall’s March 28th newsletter for more information. Here is the trip report from the Blue Two crew.
Fleet Banquet and General Meeting Saturday, February 26, 2011
The fleet party was Saturday, February 26, at Jan and Steve Davis’ house, and was a wonderful (as always) event. Everyone reading this needs to stop, stand up, face Parker, and shout out – YAAAA JAN!!
Thank you very much Jan and Steve for a great night.
During the business portion, Bill and Dave were elected Fleet officers, the schedules were discussed, several special events were announced (DSA work Day March 19, and RC training on March 26). Enough $$ ( $42.00) was raised to cover the lion’s share of fleet expenses this year (your officers thank you), and the 2011 ILCA Fleet Dues were paid the next day.
Arizona Yacht Club Birthday Regatta, Lake Pleasant, January 14 – 16, 2011!
David and Barb Thompson drove their Lightning 15228 to Phoenix for the AYC Birthday Regatta on Lake Pleasant, and were the fastest Lightning on the water (that’s because they were the only lightning on the water)! It was an easy and enjoyable 2-day drive in each direction, and the Phoenix area shared its sunny, 75-degree days with all who came. 56 boats competed, in strong winds on Friday, and much lighter winds on Saturday and Sunday. Here are results. Here is their trip report.
Fleet Planning Meeting Saturday, January 8, 2011
We continued the discussions started at the November 20 meeting, regarding 2011 activities and events to be supported by fleet members. Here are the minutes.
Fleet Planning Meeting November 20, 2010
Four Fleet 488 skippers and two associates met on November 20 to begin planning for the 2011 season. Minutes have been emailed to all on the Fleet email mailing list, and are posted here.-
