Entries Tagged 'Ohio' ↓

The second annual July 16, 17 Reservoir Rendezvous Regatta at the New London Ohio Campground was once again a smashing success.   Lots of spouses, kids and non-racers joined the windsurfing water fun along the big non-swimming beach area.    Lunch captain Carl Rappaport served up lunch wraps and a Saturday evening barbecue along with Sunday morning breakfast treats.     

Windsurfers enjoy lunch.

A $10 entry fee and $15 food ticket along with a camping discount that weekend for windsurfers put smiles on faces.  Thanks much to the City of New London for sponsoring some very nice award trophies.  Also thanks to campground manager Nellie and crew for setting the area up nicely and putting up with us.    About a dozen people arrived late Friday afternoon and got camp tents set up.    Some even got a few practice runs in.   More arrived early evening and all enjoyed a Friday night campfire party.  

 Saturday evening the group set around a big  campfire under a full moon reflecting off the lake.   The gentle breezes blowing got a couple windsurfers on the water for moonlight sailing.    Sean B. wowed the crowd with his log rolling skills.   The kids played with bug zapper rackets and burned up plenty of marshmellows.

Compound Windsurf

Saturday six races  were ran on a course that  we call the New London  Twisted Eights.      With the start line, final jibe mark and finish gate located right infront of the beach area spectators, spouses and kids had a great view of the action.

New London Twisted Eights Course

 

Great shifty breezes and puffs that got you up on a plane for twenty seconds made it exciting.    The event saw it’s first Original Windsurfer One Design start with four Original Windsurfers on the course.  There were lots of takers demo riding the Original Windsurfers Ted Schweitzer brought with him.    Claudia from the Netherlands blazed around the course one race on an Original  and had a great time meeting new American windsurfer pals.   

Sunday we awoke to a thick fog that lifted around 10.   The first race got under way around 10:30 in light air that went to near calm conditions shortly into the race.   Several managed to finish a 40 minute pumpathon.   The wind came back a little but everyone was wore out and extremely hot after that first race.   The weather changed from nice to heat dome mode around noonish so it was time for the awards.

Results by Division       Results Overall

A link to more pictures should be coming. 🙂

more 2011 Phot0s

Hope to see more of our GPWC and TABA friends next year.  The BONCs and COWS are ruling that twisted eight course.

The ferry ride over to Middle Bass Island for the Bay Week Regatta  started with a good omen as a Miller Beer delivery truck was parked in the ferry line also.

Good Omen in the Ferry Line

The 2010 new Bay Week (Fri - Sat – Sun weekend ) regatta had great winds each day,  unfortunately the wind came late afternoon on Friday and Saturday after racing had been postponed for the day.    However being full of energy us windsurfers got in several hours of  great fun sailing until dark both those days.   Just in case you are wondering … let me say the wind wasn’t little puffs either …   it was great powered up full on shore 7.5 conditions that blew hard even after sunset.        There were 150 entries total in the regatta  eight of them being windsurfers.   That’s a heck of a big fleet and the Put-In-Bay harbor was jammed with sailboats boats stacked five deep at the docks.  In the centerboard fleet that us windsurfers were part of, the big class was a group of 25 Hobie 13’s.    Those Hobies 13 really know how to flip!    

On day one and two USA-136  Eric Rahnenfueher  set up  practice marks so we could perfect our mark roundings during our fun sessions.  Novice lady windsurfer Denise Roznovsky got in some good wave sailing practice on an RS:X.    Early Saturday afternoon a gang of five of us SUP paddled our windsurfers over to the west point of Middle Bass where JJ graciously gave us some refreshments for our efforts.   However while drinking those refreshments a breeze started kicking up so we had to get back and as it did late afternoon the day before the wind magically returned.          When we woke up on Sunday morning  the wind was still blowing strong and it seemed to be building a bit.    

On day three we established what I believe is likely a new MOWIND record for windsurfers.   Because the centerboard fleet had not raced on day one or two the RC wanted an extra earlier start time to make sure we got at least three races in on Sunday morning.      The windsurfer class was start three in a fleet that had four starts and the course that day was a  triangle with an extra sausage leg around the windward and leeward marks.      The RC the evening before moved the first warning gun up to 7:55 am  meaning we might need to leave shore at 7:30 am if winds were light.       Fortunately for  us windsurfers that were staying at Middle Bass Island state campground it was an quick easy ten minute reach to the start line.    The reason it was so easy was the winds were building quickly and three guys even returned to shore to get their 7.5’s on.       As far as the MOWIND record …   I believe an 8:10 am start with three races completed by 10:15 am  for windsurfers has to be some kind of record.      

Below USA 064 Rod Clevenger accepts his 1st place flag and cup from the I-LYA Commodore.    Rod also won the daily award (first finisher in the first race) a nice I-LYA logo fleece vest and hat.  In the background in the straw hat,  JDX  Jim Donahue pours a beer at the beer wagon.

Rod Clevenger - 1st in Windsurfer Class

Fleets results for windsurfer class.
1.  USA 64  – Hybrid -  Rod Clevenger
2.  USA 136  – Unlimited – Eric Rahnenfueher
3.  H – Hybrid – Scott Haas
4.   JDX – Hybrid – Jim Donahue
5.   W -  Hybrid – Gary Smith
6.  12 – Hybrid – Philip Dufresne
7.   D  -   Women Sport – Denise Roznovsky
8.   S1 – Hybrid – Scott Foley

Hopefully more windsurfers will come out to Middle Bass Island in August 2011 for the next I-LYA Bay Week event and enjoy a few days windsurfing.    Yes there is a race but you can also elect to just race a couple races if that’s all you want.    2010 was an epic year  as we had several  days in a row of beautiful 85 degree temperatures, wind and no rain!     The islands offer something for everyone and for photographers there are lots of beautiful views of boats sailing by .. click image for larger view!   

Two sail boats pass by windsurfer launch beach at Middle Bass State Park Campground.

The first of what is planned to be an annual windsurf event at the New London Ohio reservoir and campground was a big hit.      On Saturday afternoon we counted some 40 windsurfers and that didn’t include spouses, friends and kids in attendance.    It was a beautiful hot July weekend and we had awesome wind allowing  the RC to get in 8 races on Saturday and another 4 on Sunday.   The campground had special camping rates for windsurfers that weekend and it was great to see a welcome sign for us at the park entrance.

Welcome Windsurfers

Windsurf Point at New London Reservoir

The long part of the reservoir runs east west and the traditional west winds that showed  made it possible to set up a large  square course with an M mark in the middle.    The start line was positioned right in front of the beach area at Windsurfer Point where over a dozen windsurfers camped out by the water for the weekend.   Several others camped out in the adjacent campground area while some just did a daily commute from home.   Click small photo for larger view of Windsurf Point.

Results :  Overall_Fleet        By  Division

Windsurf Point

A big thanks must go out to the New London Village and campground  workers and volunteers who worked hard to get the park looking great.    They also stepped up big time  by contributing great T-shirts and large engraved trophies for racing awards. 

New London T-Shirts

The camping atmosphere made for a fun weekend with the group setting around a campfire late into the evening sharing windsurf stories.

Sunset over the west side of Windsurf Point

Saturday from 2 to 8 the Rez Jam was going on with Bluegrass bands playing on a flatbed stage.   So we had music while we raced plus some added spectators.

Rez Jam Bluegrass Bands

Thanks to MOWIND president Phil Sage for organizing the event.  His son Matt was working hard as well as course setter Eric Rahnenfueher.      Plan to make it out next year to race or just day sail and help grow the Reservoir Rendezvous Regatta (RRR).  

Phil gives outs award trophies.

 Scott – #H

The streak of  a yearly  windsurf race in Toledo was kept alive by some twelve windsurfers participating in the Jolly Roger Sailing Club’s Cattail Regatta.   This is a one day event with three races scheduled for Saturday afternoon.   Thanks to the RC and JRSC membership for hosting such a nice event.    Also thanks much to the Lost Peninsular Marina that offered up a good spot for windsurfers to launch from.     The TABA group here in Toledo will dicuss later this season as to if we want to continue on with this event and perhaps even add it to the MOWIND schedule (assuming the JSRC will have us back again).  This event has always taken place on the same  weekend the TABA race had (the first weekend after Memorial Day). 

The windsurfers that came from out of town remarked that they had no idea Toledo had an Ottawa river where several  sailing clubs were located.   The mouth of the Ottawa river with it’s scattered islands is a picturesque spot to sail.  Below the launch cove next to the marina gas docks worked good for launching windsurfers.   It’s not a sandy beach  but cove gave us direct access to the lake and plenty of grass area to rig in. The RC set the course up about a mile offshore where winds in Maumee Bay are steady.

The view from Lost Peninsular Marina

Windsurfers were start five in a mixed fleet of Hobie, Interlake, Catalina and Thistles.   It was a simple windward leeward course, the RC set an extra mark up making the windward leg about a half mile shorter for us windsurfers.  Below some Interlakes head out the Ottawa River for the course.

InterLakes head out the Ottawa River in Toledo

Results were:
Prodigy Class  –  1. Chris Barry 2. Rod Clevenger 3. Glenn Gardner
Unlimited Class -  1. Paul Sandstrom 2. Eric Rahnenfuehrer  3. Joe Bealhobek

The above received in lieu of a trophy or flag some very nice gear bags  colored red, blue or yellow.   Before the awards there were refreshments that came from a keg at the air conditioned JSRC club house.     There also was  barbecue it yourself  chick or steak dinner that most everyone took them up on, with baked potato, corn, salad, cake and more beverages.

Alum Creek skippers meeting

Early Saturday evening some of the skippers met at a near by restaurant for drinks and food.    Sunday the wind didn’t show up.   I hope to post results here soon, I’m still waiting for Paul to send them.

Below Ted Schweitzer prepares his  thirty year old equipment for racing.  Ted is a formidable competitor and was finishing in the top three near every race.     So I’d like to say to all of you windsurfers out there with older equipment (like 1980’s Superlights) that you think  can’t compete with newer gear ..  believe me it’s not the board ..  dust that old gear off and come on out to the next Mowind event in your area!    In lighter winds (like under 12) which we often have at events that old gear still rules.  I used a 1985 Mistral Superlight at Alum,  it really cooks going upwind and downwind the speed ain’t bad either.    I purchased my Superlight with a rig on EBAY for $110.    So if you windsurf but don’t have a longboard to race with please note that you don’t need to spend much to be able to get out there and join in on some MOFUN.

Ted Schweitzer rigs up his original Windsurfer sail

Scott   #H