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Our friends to the west over at Indianapolis Sailing Club are hosting a US Sailing, One-Day Race Management Seminar on Saturday, February 8th. Registration is open, but it is filling up fast! The Foundry Sailing Center in Cleveland will also be hosting a 2-day Advanced Race Management Seminar the weekend of January 18-19. CLICK HERE to learn more about the US Sailing certification program and the benefits of becoming certified. CLICK HERE to register for the February 8 Seminar in Indianapolis CLICK HERE to register for the January 18-19 Seminar in Cleveland by David Paligo A few weeks ago, Bill Collinson and I were invited to sail with Jeffery Robb Sr. and Jeff Robb Jr, to Put-In-Bay (PIB) on their Hunter 456 named Ariel. This was going to be an exciting weekend to return to PIB, this time on a 45-foot sailboat. Friday October 25, 2019: Bill & I drove up to Sandusky Ohio to meet up with Robb Sr. (J1) and Robb Jr. (J2) at Sandusky Harbor Marina (SHM). We loaded the boat with our gear and went out for dinner at Margaritaville, great food. We called it an early evening as we planned to head out early in the morning to beat the weather that was supposed to hit us mid-day. Saturday October 26, 2019: We woke up to cloudy skies and cool temperatures. We left SHM around 0830 and motored out of the channel before unfurling sails right in front of Cedar Point amusement park. As we got out into open water, the winds were 11-15 knots with gusts of 22+ so we reefed the main and jib. The seas were 4-5 foot rollers with occasional 6-7 footers and we were still getting 6 knots SOG. We made it to PIB, pulled into A Dock around 1230 just as the heavy rain and SW wind hit us. We headed out for a late lunch but because it was Halloween Boo Bash at PIB, it was standing room only in every bar on the strip and had to locate a place several blocks from the sailboat. The rain was heavy and the 30 knot gusts of wind almost blew you off the streets and the docks. When we returned to the boat in the evening, we noticed that the water level was lower so we attempted to push the boat away from the dock to adjust the fenders. With 4 guys pushing, we were able to adjust the fenders and dock lines. The boat’s deck was now even with the dock and we did not need the 3 foot step ladder to get on or off the boat. Forecast for Sunday departure did not look good so we decided to wait out the weather another day. Sunday October 27, 2019: Smart decision for not attempting to return to SHM, woke up to 28-32 knot winds with gust of 37-43 knots out of the SW and the boat wedged tight against the dock. As we headed out for breakfast at Frosty’s, we also noticed the boat was another 16-18 inches lower than when we went to bed, nothing alarming, but glad we moored out on the last walk instead of closer to shore. The weather was easing, winds were dying down so we decided to have a laid-back dinner at Mossbacks Grill as many of the restaurants and bars were shutting down for the season. Later on that evening, we went up on deck and noticed the water level was almost overflowing the dock. As none of us had experienced this before, we googled it and discovered the high-water level further intensifies a natural effect called a seiche, a change in water level across the lake because of wind or atmospheric pressure. SW winds across Lake Erie around PIB can mean a 6-7-foot difference between Sandusky (PIB) and Canada similar to water sloshing back and forth in a bowl. Monday October 28, 2019: Beautiful morning and perfect conditions for our return trip. As soon as we cleared PIB harbor we hoisted sails and set course for SHM. Light air conditions, so we decided to start the ‘iron wind’ and continued to motor sail. As I was driving, I noticed debris in the water, to our surprise it was a branched buck (deer) swimming right in the middle of Marblehead & Kelley’s Island channel. We arrived in SHM and put Ariel back in her slip to get her ready to be put on-the-hard for the winter. Great adventure with a great crew. – Steve Harris High School Sailing? Yes, believe it or not, sailing is a competitive sport at the high school level here in Ohio. Of course, it’s probably just up at Lake Erie, right? Not at all! In fact, there 8 registered schools here in central Ohio, and 18 total schools that participate in the Central Ohio High School Sailing program at Hoover Sailing Club. Two of those schools – Westerville South and Olentangy Orange – competed this past weekend at the Put-in-Bay High School fall regatta at which I was fortunate to be the Principal Race Officer. It was an exciting day. Had you asked me on Thursday if I thought we’d be able to sail on Sunday, I would’ve likely said “no” (actually, I would probably have included a choice expletive). The forecast was for winds in the high-teens, gusting in to the mid-20s. Even sailing in the protected waters on the north side of the island, it didn’t look promising at all. Full of optimism, I made the trek up to PIB on Saturday morning, got the committee boat rigged and hoped for the best. In between beers and brats at the annual Put-in-Bay Oktoberfest on Saturday afternoon, I probably went down to the monument and checked the wind half a dozen times or more – generally low-teens, but gusting into the twenties, and the air temperature was low-50s at best. We made the decision not to cancel and hope for the best. NOAA issued a small craft advisory for Sunday, but we would be in the lee of the island… optimism at its best! Our original plan was to sail by the monument. Protected, but no good place to get the sailors in out of the cold between rotations. As luck would have it, the cool, windy weather kept the transient boaters mostly away for the weekend as well. As a result, the mooring filed by PIBYC was empty! Have you ever raced sailboats through a mooring field before? Neither had the sailors from the 7 teams who caught an early ferry over to race! It was interesting to say the least. With winds out of the southwest, we were in the lee of the island so waves were not a factor. (I can only imagine the thoughts going through the sailors’ minds when they made the south passage to the island that morning on the ferry though!) We got on the water early and were able to get four races off in each division – enough to make it an official regatta! The winds were 10-15 all day with gusts as high as 22. Being in the harbor, it was very shifty and very challenging. But, even with a number of capsizes, the sailors demonstrated that they could handle it and they all sailed well. When all was said and done, the team from Put-in-Bay High School – in only its second season of existence – took top honors, followed by Olentangy Orange, and Beaumont (Cleveland Heights). It was a good day and a wonderful way to finish out the 2019 season. CLICK HERE CLICK HERE CLICK HERE – by Jerry Besanceney John Vangilder, Don Harris, Tom Shain, Ross Long (Hoover SC) and yours truly, Jerry Besanceney, “titular skipper”- hereinafter referred to as the “Ancient Mariners” – five septuagenarians to be more specific, completed a Lake Erie Bareboat charter last week. We sailed from Harbor North at Huron, Ohio aboard the beautiful White Pine, a 41′ Hunter sloop, last Monday the 23rd and encountered strong direct opposing seas, sailing seas part of theway then making the Kelley’s Island Harbor . We tied up at the Casino bar restaurant docks and were treated so well by friendly locals. The next day brought beautiful, mild sunny weather all the way to Leamington, Ontario. Day three, the tempest hit big time – we stayed in harbor. The people were terrific, dollar strong, food great… life is good. Day Four, heading home, we misread the waves – 3 feet… they were really 3 meters or 9 feet – as rough as I have ever experienced, violent! Use your imagination. We finally made it back to Huron being at it all day long. Takeaways… – Jerry Besanceney – by Steve Harris From time to time, as we rebuild our sailing programs at BLYC, it seems easy to feel discouraged. While we had a great season, the numbers were still relatively small. I know that Governor Paligo was discouraged several times throughout the season as well. This past weekend, I gained a new perspective on how we define success for club racing. It’s easy in our area to compare ourselves to the stronger participation over at Hoover, or some of the larger Lake Erie clubs. I know that most of the events I’ve worked as a race officer lately have been large, “stereotypical” regattas with beer tents, parties, bands, and plenty of onshore activities. Usually, these have included a number of top-level teams and often sailors who are more than a bit serious about the rules, course configurations, and more. But this weekend, I had the opportunity to be the PRO at Cave Run Sailing Association for their Grand Annual Regatta. It reminded me that we do this (or should do this) for fun first, and everything else second. Cave Run Lake is a man-made Army Corps lake near Morehead, Kentucky completely surrounded by Daniel Boone National Forest. There are no structures on the water – even the Club doesn’t have a physical “home base” from which to operate. However, even without the clubhouse amenities that most of us are used to having, CRSA is a vibrant, fun group of sailors who just love to sail and race. Being that the lake is nestled in the mountains, light and shifty air is usually the norm – it certainly was this weekend. I know a lot of sailors who would never even attempt to race in such a venue, but to the members of CRSA, it is home and a place of which they’re justly proud and happy to be able to enjoy their sport. The “base” for the weekend was a shelter house in the woods in one of the National Forest’s camping areas near the marina where most of the members dock their boats. Most people either stay on their boats for the weekend or camp. The Club provided breakfast and lunch both days and a phenomenal Cajun dinner on Saturday evening with… you guessed it… BLUEGRASS music. (Yes, everything was cooked in camp) It reminded me more of a weekend camping with friends (even though they put me up in a nearby hotel) than it did a “typical” regatta. It was relaxing and fun. Winds on Saturday were very much light and shifty (180° shifts within one 5-minute starting sequence at one point) but we were finally able to get off four races – good, not great races – but four nonetheless. Everybody seemed happy with the day – After all, they’re used to these conditions. The wind gods were far less kind on Sunday. With no wind visible on the water and forecasts of 0-3 kts all day, we stayed ashore, talked sailing, traded war stories, and then gave out the awards about 11:00 am and everyone packed up and headed home. There are a lot of things about the weekend that some may view as not being a “success.” Like our sailors here at BLYC, Cave Run is also struggling with participation, building a strong junior program, trying to get new people into the sport, and an aging group of current participants. But, I think it just may be the most enjoyable event I’ve worked this year. No, it wasn’t some high-level championship – we didn’t have the big parties sponsored by Mount Gay Rum – the winds were, well… barely wind – but, it was a great time sharing the camaraderie of fellow sailors and a day on the water. What could be better? I think we can all learn a bit from the folks at Cave Run.Interested in Becoming a Certified Race Officer?
Weekend Adventure of a Hunter 456 Named Ariel
High School Sailing…
for full results
to learn more about High School Sailing
for Put-in-Bay Daily’s write-up on the eventAncient Mariners Cruise…
“The white foam flew, the wild wind blew…”
– S. T. Coleridge
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The BLYC Ancient Mariners weathered the storm!
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Here’s our story!…
Skipper (Titular)
Reflections from the Grand Annual Regatta
