Shields Fleet 9 gets underway on Wednesday night in a light, shifty, south-southwesterly breeze. Albert Nichols photo By Mike Toppa/Bomba Charger 156 The forecast for race time delivered as predicted. The light air from the south and incoming current going north meant for relatively long upwinds and shorter downwinds. It was 156's 2nd [...]
A new sail number rose to the top of the podium for the Weds. Night Spring Series ahead of 33 and 156—181! We asked Dirk Johnson Jr., skipper of Helen, to provide a view into how it all came together over the six-week series. Our biggest take away from races early in the season was to [...]
Happy to get the win this week, but in Shields racing in the Bay it’s never over till it’s over and we never felt comfortable until the S flag went up at Y. Conditions during the day had a moderate NW gradient dominating until the SW sea breeze took over in the harbor. On the [...]
We don't normally feature a blog from second place, but since it was from a very unexpected source (US!), I thought I would fill you in on what goes on in the head's of those typically in the back of the pack. "Well, nothing bad has happened yet...!" That became our quote of the night. We [...]
"It is great when the plan comes together. It's even better when it works to perfection" Our plan for this week started with getting to the boat on time. Although our "Reverse Vanderbilt Start" last week was exciting, we didn't think it warranted becoming part of our normal protocol. Change is not always for the better [...]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (content deleted, copyright infringement claim)... Another gift of an evening on Narragansett Bay as the forecast very weak southerly surprised most everyone by strengthening enough to get a race in. The RC set up by special mark C, along the Jamestown shore almost in [...]
Wow! We don’t usually take flyers on 107 because in Newport it’s almost impossible to outsmart the Fleet 9's collective tactical brain, and more often than not a flyer is sheer folly. Today, however, I use that “f” word very deliberately to express our thanks to our friends on 143 for reaching down the starting line, [...]
Thanks to the Ida Lewis Race Committee for pulling off a race in yet another challenging evening. So, after an AP, two generals, a major wind shift, a line and course re-set, and the dreaded I Flag, we got in a good race. Congratulations to Peter Denton and the Ultimate Pressure team on 226 for the [...]
That was one strange weather map yesterday, with plenty of weather trying to spin counterclockwise onto the Bay and ruin our race day. Fortunately, the black clouds kept to the West Bay, and then it cleared up and we were able to do some sailing in a modest southerly. PRO Bill O’Hanley of the Ida Lewis [...]
The conditions 12 to 14 knots from Southwest. There was a 15° Windshift right before the start, with any boats towards the pin end having the best starts of all. We took advantage of this and quickly tacked crossing the fleet of boats that started near the RC Boat. We raced for the pin at about [...]
