By Emory Heisler
That’s a safe one right? With New Year’s Eve only a week gone by, over 30 sailors stuck to their resolutions and opened the 2023 AYC Spring Racing Series with ten races at Tempe Town Lake (TTL). Fortunately, the wind forecast of 1kt “gusting” to 2kts did NOT hold true, and sailors enjoyed sunny skies, gentle breezes and great afternoon of racing.
The Portsmouth Fleet Race Committee promptly sounded the first horn of 2023 at 2 pm on January 8, and nearly a dozen Lasers kicked off the season three minutes later. Rolling starts sent the remaining three fleets off toward Mill Avenue Bridge in quick succession. The ten Lasers plus a half-dozen Capri 14.2s, ten Sunfish and four Junior sailors filled the race course with sails from end to end.
The light winds made for close-quarters racing and tight racing creates tight scoring. It was no easy feat for RC to accurately record sail numbers and times with mobs of boats crossing the finishing line together. So yes, some scoring “clean-ups” were necessary, and thankfully, “Corinthian” spirits prevailed and the scores have been successfully arbitrated. View the results here
I was joined on RC by Deb Heisler, Joel and Rachael Oglesbee, and new members Mike Olson and Lee Perry. Mike joined in December and Lee was approved just this month. Thanks for jumping in so quickly and lending a hand on RC. Deb managed to get the marks set by herself then requested some help. Lee jumped aboard and was reportedly a natural at all things boating. Plus, Deb had someone to share her snacks with for the afternoon on the water. She said, “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
The New Year brought us great racing and a new location for after-sailing revelry. Over 20 sailors met literally “around the corner” from TTL for beverages and socializing at the Hundred Mile Brewing Company, less than a five-minute walk from the lake. How convenient!
Like what you see? Come and join us at TTL on Sunday, January 22, or this Saturday, January 14, out at Lake Pleasant. Keep those New Year’s resolutions. Let’s go racing!
Check out more photos taken by Deb Heisler on SmugMug!
