Check out the photos of an exciting finish as the OSP driven by Tim Dickson and his crew Carl Schaefer edge out Will Fenn and crew Kalif for second place.
It was a terrific way to end the season, with three boats competing in the final four races of 2015. Scow veterans Stew Harris and Tripp Hook took two wins apiece in the 1985 Johnson known as “Youbetcha Buddy.” Continue reading Final Race of 2015
Details to come, but we wanted to post these lovely photos from Lyndsay Bach!
There are two places to race your dinghy on Wednesday evenings this summer: Sailing Club of Washington competes their Flying Scots and gamely allowed the scows to mix in for racing in the lagoon. First race is 5:30.
Also possible to join the Albacores and Buccaneers which race around channel markers further down river. This is Potomac River Sailing Association’s contribution to the Wednesday racing scene. Racing starts 6pm. Continue reading Wednesday Night Racing Kickoff
With light winds, four Inland 20s made the decision not to follow the other fleets to the start line. Instead, we practiced light air spinnaker work in the lagoon. There were a bunch of new scow sailors. Team Dickson showed up with son Brody and his friend Jack, who got to move the stick. Avocado was driven by Jack Sheehan and fellow Sailing Club of Washington sailor, Jeremy. These savvy salts got their hull out of the water and saw the resulting speed. Good job!
The Inland 20 class is seeing a number of innovations that have been standard gear on bigger scows for years. The self-dousing spinnaker well appeared on two boats at the spring regatta at Indian Lake, Ohio. Tempting though it may be, the chute eater requires heavy modification. Gone is the splash rail. In goes a long mesh bag alongside the bilge board. A button on the belly of the spinnaker gets a pull cord. And….there is that problem with sturgeon jumping into the hole. Nevertheles, a five second douse is an advantage. Stay tuned.
Then we have the rudders. Willie Crear is pushing his weed shedding design. These are swept back a few degrees to avoid carrying weeds along. Several folks at Indian Lake swear by Crear’s profile. Others are installing e-scow rudders, which are not as deep but still have an elliptical profile.
Either way, the deeper profile greatly improves downwind helm, which can be lost when using the vintage license plates on most Potomac boats. But the deeper draft may be difficult in the sandy shoals of our river.