Onward to the 2011 Racing Season!!

I sure did learn a lot in my first year as Race Captain!  I had an opportunity to make a number of changes in 2010, in the attempt to "fire up" the racing program.  Some of those changes worked (Destination races to Cedar Mills and the creation of the Leisure Class) and some of them did not work as well (2 day regattas, extending the series race days, shortening the series).

I am a big believer in learning from things that don't work and trying to find the "root cause" (yes, my day job is in engineering).  The changes that were made last year are really good examples of "it looked good on paper, but didn't work in practice."  While the skippers thought this looked good when we reviewed the plans last year, it was another thing when trying to get crews to commit to two day regattas, and later racing on Saturdays.  So, our desire to create a more regatta feel on Saturday nights after racing, actually reduced the participants instead of increasing it!  It is rare in science/engineering to get exactly the opposite results than what you are attempting, but I managed to accomplish this!!  The great thing about this is, to correct it is much like the advice your doctor would give you when you complain about "it hurts when I do this."  The advice, "don't do that."  Hence, a number of changes in 2011 are the result of "don't do that."

So, we are back to the Icebreaker Series having 4 race days and the Sundowner having 5 race days.  No more two day regattas (except for Lakefest and the Texoma Classic).  The Solstice regatta will be one day in length.  Wunderlick will be 25 and 50 miles (instead of 50 and 100 miles).

Another addition for this year is the result of Jack Montani and his quick thinking to recover some racing after the weather cancellation of the Full Moon Regatta.  Jack put on a pursuit start, distance race on Sunday, that started at The Point and rounded two GPS-based marks and finished back at The Point.  It was great fun and did not require a race committee!  So, for 2011, we have scheduled four, "Free, Family Fun Flotillas" using this format.  And, they're FREE!

But wait, there's more!  We are also offering a "Season Ticket" that represents a huge reduction in the price per race/series.  This covers entry fees for: Icebreaker Series, Texoma Classic, Solstice Regatta, Ol' Man o' the Sea, Wunderlick and the Sundowner Series.  That's 6 races/series for the low low price of $225 (with US Sailing Membership).

See you on the water!
Captain Dave Long
TSC Race Captain

Wrapping Up Racing in 2010...

The racing is done, the results are in and the planning is done for next year!

The 2010 TSC Champions for this year are:

• Spinnaker Class: Second Star (J.D. Hill: Skipper)
• Cruising Class: TBD (Mike Meinhardt: Skipper)
• Leisure Class: Wisc Me Away (Pete Nitsche: Skipper)

Congratulations to these boats, skippers and crew!!  I also want to again thank everyone that raced in 2010!

Captain Dave Long
TSC Race Captain

Sundowner III - The last races of 2010

Well, another year of TSC sailboat racing is in the history books!  We had a wonderful day of racing with 10-12 knot winds out of the south, clear skies and a high in the low 70's.  Ya gotta love fall sailing in Texas!

Pete and Judi Nitsche on Wisc Me Away were very gracious in filling in as Race Committee at the last minute.  Along with crew of Bill and Sharron Sorensen, we had a great time on the committee boat.

In the spinnaker fleet, the conditions were right for Godspeed and Irish Rover to split winning and runner up finishes.  In the cruising fleet, Trust and TBD split winning and runner up finishes as well.  In the Leisure fleet, Southern Cross won uncontested.

It's hard to believe we are done for the year.  It's been a year of learning for me as Race Captain and I have a better idea of what will and won't work for our racing program.  Next year, we will focus the program on Saturday racing composed of a couple of races as well as a few days of fun racing to bring out more cruisers.

We'll be sending out next years club schedule in the next month or so.  I'll also send a letter with details of the changes to the schedule and TSC points championship in the next couple of weeks.

Fair winds,
Capt. Dave

The Full Moon Regatta Results - Bad News / Good News

Last weekend, TSC was scheduled to hold it's first Full Moon Regatta.  The plan was to have a pursuit start race to Cedar Mills on Saturday night (under a full moon), stay overnight in slips provided by the Cedar Mills Marina, then race back on Sunday.  But, as always, our plans are subject to the weather and last Saturday was no exception.

Saturday afternoon, we had plenty of lightning and tornado watches/warnings around the area.  As a result, the Race Committee team of Jack Montani/Pete Nitsche/Judi Nitsche made the correct call to scrub the race on Saturday.  That left a little bit of a dilemma; what to do on Sunday?  The RC team came up with a great idea; we'll do a distance race!  But, setting up and taking down marks for a distance race can take hours.  So, the team came up with the idea to make this a GPS based, honors system race to "virtual" marks.  They made the entry fee $20 and away we went.  The course was N (in front of The Point), D (South of Braswell's), H (The Crosses) and back to N.  The marks/course was selected to maximize reaching.  It was 16.5 nm and took about 3 hours to complete.

Trust (Bill/Mary Nichols), TBD (Mike Meinhardt), After Dark (Lee Spruill) and Solstice (Jack Montani) all competed with the finish being Solstice, Trust, TBD and After Dark.  The weather was beautiful and the competition was good.  Trust and Solstice were close most of the way around the course.  We'll award trophies during the chili cook-off on November 6.

There were a number of great things about this type of race:

1. Does not require a committee boat (hence, we save gas/oil, wear and tear on the boats)
2. Does not require a race committee.  Just someone to calculate the starting times.
3. The pursuit start limits the drama and intimidation of the starting sequence.
4. The distance and reaching format means that you can do this with a smaller crew.  In fact, this is a great way to race as a family.
5. Provides great navigation practice with your GPS.

So, while the original Full Moon Regatta was a washout, the resulting Sunday race was a huge success!  So much so that we are incorporating this format into the 2011 racing schedule.  We are planning to have 4 "Free, Family Fun Flotillas" sprinkled through the spring and fall of 2011.  We are also planning a similar flotilla to be an option during 2011 Lakefest (though we will have marks and a fee tied to a donation to Make-A-Wish).

Thanks to those that raced!  Special thanks to Jack, Pete and Judi for serving as Race Committee and for their inventiveness!

Make it a great day,
Capt. Dave

An Introduction...

I have met many of the members of TSC, but not all.  So, allow me to introduce myself.  I'm Dave Long and I've been Race Captain at TSC since 1/1/2010.  My wife Patty and I own Tip & Ring, a Catalina 310 on dock 7.  We have three grown children and live in McKinney.

I've been sailing for more than 30 years, starting on a Sunfish on a lake in Omaha, Nebraska.  In the mid-90's, we bought a Catalina 22 that we sailed as a family.  More recently, I bought a Capri 22, then the Catalina 310 in 2005.

My youngest, Erin, currently races a Laser on the Grapevine Sailing Club youth team.  My son Bob is Race Captain for the Texas A&M Sailing Team at College Station, racing 420's and is Head Instructor and Racing Coach for Grapevine, for the last two summers. Their big sister Katie helps on TSC Race Committee and takes awesome pictures, but fashions herself more as a cruiser.

I received my USCG Captain's License (Master; 50 GT; Tow and Sailing Endorsements) in 2007.  I also earned my ASA Instructor certification (BKB, BCC, BBC, CN) the same year.

As far as sailboat racing... I'm a certified Club Race Officer and a Judge-In-Training for US Sailing.  I started racing in the fall of 2005 with Tip & Ring, but moved to crewing on Godspeed in 2007 (with my son Bob).  With my Race Captain commitments, I'm now somewhat of a journeyman crewman, as well as occasionally racing Tip & Ring.  I also have a Laser (bought it to match race against Erin), but I have yet to get out on it (maybe this weekend).

When I'm not doing something with sailing, I have my day job, which is Executive Vice President of Operations and Product Development for Taqua in Richardson.

I hope to use this blog to talk about upcoming TSC racing events, descriptions of what happened in previous weekends, as well as any tips/hints that may come my way.