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2021 Valentine’s Day Regatta
The 2021 Palm Beach Model Yacht Squadron Valentine’s Day Regatta was sailed on February 13 and 14, imagine that! It was the first EC-12 of the 2020/2021 regatta series. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, The Sun Coast Holiday Regatta and the Village Gator Regatta were canceled. In fact, most all AMYA regattas were canceled – some still are. The club was able to acquire a permit from the City of Palm Beach Gardens to hold the regatta because the Club pledged to follow CDC guidelines which included facemasks, temperature checks, individually wrapped food and social distancing. The Notice of Race for this regatta went out late, but the regatta was planned to have a low turnout and it did. We had 11 entries. Noteworthy sailors who participated were Peter Feldman, a 2 time and current defending National Champion in EC-12, Soling National Champion and reigning DF95 National Champion. Peter is an amazing Sailor. We also had Reichardt Kahle who also is a Multi EC-12 National Champion and Soling National Champion. The weekend forecast was for sunny skies South Southwest winds ranging from 12-18 knots. Saturday’s forecast was close to what was predicted. An army of PBGMYS volunteers were at the club setting up by 7:30. The courses were set based on the predicted winds. Conditions opened with winds South to Southwest around 10 -12 but with very intense puffs and it was forecasted to increase and trend slightly back to the South Southwest as the day went on – and it did. The tree was in play! The Race committee led by Admiral Dick Reinke set a Windward Leeward Course of 2 ½ laps and later extended the course to 3 laps. The entire pond was in play and the 3 long and shifty beats made for lots of catch up and passing opportunities. With 11 boats, one fleet was run. Sailors sailed 3 races and took a 15 minute break. All started with A- rigs, but as the day progressed B rigs were put on for most of the racers. Because of the intense puffs, there were plenty of wipe outs on the downwind run. 17 great races were sailed on Saturday. Sailors were on their own for dinner Saturday night. The competition was very close between Peter and Reichardt. The top 5 after 17 races were: Kahle 50 Feldman 51 Luscomb 69 Van Cleef 72 Walters 78 Sunday’s forecast was similar to Saturday’s. Sailors stayed with the A rig for the morning. Will Van Cleef did not sail on Sunday. The increase for a short time, but later faded as the morning rolled along. The game was really on now between Reichadt and Peter. Reichardt strung together a string of top two finishes in the final 8 races to edge Peter out and win. After throw outs, the final results were: R. Kahle 52 P. Feldman 54 J. Luscomb 62 J. Walter 96 D. Zahn 107 R. Greer 135 W. VanCleef 138 G. Balaschak 174 C. Obara 186 W. Brewer 191 The regatta was a hit and was run smoothly. Sailors sailed very cleanly and there were a lot of smiles. It was so nice to see some of our EC-12 friends and volunteers after such a long time in lock down. Thanks to all of the PBMYS volunteers who helped, they all know what they are doing and make it look easy! These regattas take a lot to pull off and as usual PBMYS members came through. Hope to see everyone soon! Submitted by: Jon Luscomb
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The first traveling regatta of 2021 was the Florida Traveler’s Trophy Regatta hosted by the Space Coast Model Sailing Club in Melbourne on January 9 and 10. The Traveler’s Trophy is a series of one day regattas for two classes of boat at rotating venues around the state; the Dragon Flite 95 and the Dragon Force 65. On Saturday, the DF 65 Sails and Sunday the DF 95 sails. The models are inexpensive and fun to race. They have very strict one design rules which make good thumbs, sailing strategy, tactics and tuning key to being competing well. Three PBGMYS members drove up masked to the Saturday DF65 in one car. The drive took about 90 minutes, but passed quickly because Jon Luscomb, George Balaschak and David Zahn talked and reminisced about sailing, life and cars. When we arrived the sky was cloudless, the breeze was up and it was very cold; about 47 degrees. Fellow PBGMYS members Chuck Milican and Lynne Holmes were there and invited us to make camp with them behind a large palmetto bush and out of the wind. Lynn was hard to recognize because she had on everything she owned. The forecast was for a North West breeze of 8-10 and fading as the day went on with a high temperature of 65. As we readied our boats, masked volunteers worked through the area making sure everyone was feeling healthy and to sign waivers. At the Skipper’s meeting everyone was masked and COVID protocols were explained and would be enforced as they day went on. The DF 65 is a 65 cm (26”) boat and ready to sail costs about $250 including a decent radio and receiver. The only one of the 3 of us who had any stick time was George. Dave had just bought his boat from Joe Ruschak and Jon bought his in March and had sailed it twice before this regatta. The DF 65 is a challenging boat to sail as one needs to continually tend to it with sheeting and gentle steering; notwithstanding going the right way! Some don’t like the boat because of that, but that is why I think it is great after competing with it. There were a total of eighteen sailors in one fleet and the racing was tight and fun. All marks were hot! Dave Zahn placed 6th, Jon Luscomb Placed 9th and George placed 11th. Not a bad showing for DF 65 green horns! Sunday the three of us raced DF 95’s. It was colder than Saturday and a little less breeze. Again the forecast was for highs in the mid 60’s with a 2 to 5 knot North West breeze. The breeze was forecasted to shift to the right and fade as the day went on. There were 24 DF 95’s in this regatta, so it was sailed under the Promotion Relegation heat system; two fleets A&B. Current National Champion Peter Feldman was sailing along with IOM National Champion Steve Landau. This was David’s first DF95 regatta and my second. I think George has sailed a few more, but not many. The completion was deep, but Jon won the first race….WHAT! He thinks it jinxed him. Again all marks were hot and the racing was tight. In the end, Jon ended up 4th and very surprised to be in the money, David finished 15th and George finished 18th. It was a great time and well managed under the COVID protocols. All of the sailors were very courteous did their best to sail fairly and self-policed on penalty turns. We can all learn from sailors like them. What a difference and what a pleasure to be sailing in a regatta like that.
July 28, 2020 The COVID -19 pandemic has virtually shut down the club's sailing since March. The club had four class series underway with excellent participation until the City of Palm Beach Gardens closed the lake for about 2 months in response to the Governor's emergency declaration. After opening the park, organized competitive series sailing did not resume, but some members have trickled back to the Lake to get some stick time. Some informal sailing has resumed, but is casual fun among friends and is not sanctioned by PBGMYS. Some Solings and EC-12's have been sailing while diligently remaining socially distanced. Most bring a chair and sit 10-12 apart rather than walk with their boats. Hopefully all of this will pass soon and we can get back to our series. On a lighter note, the new marks are finished and the City and neighbors love them. There was a boat that lost control and drifter across the lake to the opposite shoreline. As luck would have it, it landed in front of the person who went to the City Commission complaining about the old buoys. She and her friend were sunbathing and drinking wine by the pool and actually tried to help get the boat out of the weeds and get it sailing again. David Zahn, our new, young and handsome member went over to retrieve the boat and met them . They told him how happy they were with the new marks and how much they enjoy watching us sail! The person told David to come in to her yard anytime and also which of her neighbors who would get upset. So, all of the hard work was worth it. Jon L. February Update 2020 - DF95 One year ago this month, the DF95 class started competition as a PBGMYS class. Since then 15 members have sailed their 95s in competition. Thanks to all the skippers that have supported this new effort. After four months into the Winter Season, the top three in the club DF95 standings are: Luscomb, Wright and McMullen. Thanks, Brent, for doing the scores quickly and accurately. The fourth round of the Florida Travelers Trophy Regattas for DF95s, The Gerd Petersen Memorial, will be held at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines on Sunday March 1. I was told recently that Chuck Le Mahieu from DSNA made a presentation on a webinar about the DF95. They are seeing lots of reports about cracking around the keel area in the hull. The cracking occurs when boats are toss-launched and the keel bulb bottoms out on the lake bed, which creates a shock load into the hull. I suggest you check the water depth first and then launch more horizontally maybe with the boat slightly heeled to avoid the keel bulb contacting the lake bottom. New changes coming to the DF95 include: A revised rudder post assembly with a stainless steel insert to remove excess slop between the assembly and the rudder shaft (It already allows you to re-sleeve the original design to add your own insert). A new sheeting clip design available as a spare part or you can use any clip you want as long as it does not have a swivel. A 1 mm increase in the rudder servo opening in the servo tray to accommodate the upgrade servo. Lessons Learned: I found a crack slowly advancing across the forward end of the hatch opening from port to starboard side. As the boat sails, the keel, rudder and servos load the hull structure and that works the crack. The crack initiated in the port side forward corner hatch opening radius. The corner radius crack was the result of pushing down too hard when installing the spool on the main servo while the servo tray was attached to the hull. The crack was fixed with Super-Glue. If the crack had advanced across to the starboard side corner radius, it would have been time to get a new hull as that flange supports the forward end of the servo tray. Check your boats. See you at the Lake, Terry The Hav-A-Chaw Regatta is this coming Saturday Feb 8 2020 at the PBGMYS pond, Lake Catherine. Our Soling fleet will try to win the Have-A-Chaw trophy back from the St Lucie Model Boat Club. NOA predicts NE winds at 8 mph, perfect. But cool/cold in the upper 50 degree area.
The skippers meeting will be held at 9:15 with racing beginning at 9:30. The format will be odd-even. Sandy Warrick is the Race Director. John Biles is the scorekeeper assisted by Peter Burns, Ken Harman and Al Stall. We need more help as mark judges, so please volunteer. We will have cold drinks available but bring your own lunch. Entry fee is $10 cash paid at the pond. Racing
September 1 At the start of the DF95 sailing time, Hurricane Dorian was a category 5 storm with 180 mph wind speed, heading west at 5 mph and 120 miles east of Palm Beach Gardens. The Hurricane Center promised us it would slow down, turn North and never hit us. The storm did slow down and turn North a few days later and we never got the full impact. The hurricane did however provide wind speeds of 10 - 15 mph from the North. Five boats sailed with four different winners in the first four races. By the start of the last race, I measured wind speed on the lake at 15 mph. The dragons, all on A rigs, were flying downwind in that race. Eight races were run and Jon Luscomb took the day. September 8 We had a new member Charlie Sumner join us for racing with # 790. Welcome Charlie! We had wind from the SW with many different wind speeds depending on the race and position on the lake. Six boats sailed six races with four different winners. Chris Wright took the day with three wins followed closely by George Balaschak. September 15 The wind was up. It was a beautiful sunny day. The wind shifted to the NW during the Soling races and weeds floated out of the canal on to the race course and stopped the Solings in their tracks. We had to suspend racing for the rest of the day. September 22 Strong gusty NE winds were the order of the day. Usually when the autumnal equinox arrives at the end of September, the winds tend to pick up and this year has been no exception. We had five boats sail and ran five races with three different winners. Jon Luscomb took the day with three wins. September 29 NE winds were again the order of the day but not as severe as the previous week. Four boats ran six races with three different winners. Jon Luscomb won the day with four wins. Other items During September, the city mandated that we reduce the number of buoys and make our buoys uniform in type and color. During October, all the buoys will be lobster trap buoys painted yellow and numbered. We will then have twelve buoys down from fifteen. The Region 7 DF95 Championship Regatta (in St. Augustine) had to be cancelled due to the hurricane (Dorian) and was rescheduled for September 28 - 29. Dragon Sailing North America ( DSNA ) is currently producing video tutorials related to the Dragon classes and will list them on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/DragonSailingNorthAmerica Topics to be covered will be boat and rig assembly, radio setup, tuning guides, race tactics and more. None of those videos are on the channel yet. Check this site every so often for new additions. There is, however, an excellent 22 minute video “Intro to Racing Rules of Sailing” hosted by Patrick Rynne of the Miami RC Sailing Squadron which uses race videos, drones eye videos and animation to explain the rules. Quiz time In a two sail system, jib and main, how much lift is provided by each sail? Is it: A) The jib more than the main B) The main more than the jib C) Both sails contribute equally D) I don’t care as long as they keep me ahead of Jon Luscomb While D might be a popular answer, the correct answer is A : the jib ( foresail ) provides more lift than the main. According to the book “ The Physics of Sailing Explained” by Bryon D. Anderson: ….there is a net larger displacement of the air perpendicular to the general direction of flow for the two sail case when compared to a single sail….the two sails create, in effect, a larger wing around which the air must move, The total path around the outside is also longer, and the differential in air speeds on the leeward and windward sides is greater with two sails, which helps to create even more lift. For some time, this effect was believed to be due to something referred to as the “slot effect” with the gap between the two sails supposedly funneling more air at a higher speed along the outer surface of the mainsail, thus causing the mainsail to produce more lift. Since then, however, measurements of the actual lift along both sails have shown that this is not really the case. Rather it is the fact that the combination essentially produces a single larger airfoil that creates a greater total lift. Note that it is normally true that it will be the foresail, not the main, that produces the greater part of total lift. “The Physics of Sailing Explained” is available on Amazon as a new paperback for less than $ 20.  By Bob Greer
Palm Beach Gardens Model Yacht Squadron was honored to host the Region 7 Soling 1 Meter regatta on April 13 & 14 2019. Twenty skippers from all over the state were registered and we started with 20 on the start line. We are lucky to have a large lake and we sailed as 1 fleet. The winds from the southeast allowed us to set a good beat and there was opportunity to find passing lanes if one looked. Racing on Saturday was dominated by Tony Gonsalves, followed by George Balaschak, Chuck Millican and Chris Wright. A collegial dinner at JJ Muggs in Abacoa was enjoyed by many Saturday evening. Sunday offered a bit more wind, 15 knots, more southerly allowing for even LONGER beats! The increased wind increased breakage but resourceful and helpful skippers kept the fleet moving and we completed 24 races. There was some juggling of the top on the final day but Tony Gonsalves dominated the fleet, followed by Jim Child, Chuck Millican, George Balaschak, and Chris Wright. Summary of 2019 Soling 1 Meter Region 7 Regatta. Dates13-14 April Location: Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. Host Club: Palm Beach Gardens MYS #94 Entries:20 Winds:8-15 Knots Races:24 Scoring: Low point with 4 throw-outs The crew: Organizer: George Balaschak, RD: Doc Greer, Scorer: John Biles with Michelle Wright, Gail Ring, Ken Harmon and Rafael Roure, Rescue: Carl Ring,Lunch: Ann Gelina and others and Chet Brewer & our Commodore Ernan Scavella, for the heavy lifting. Results: 1.Gonsalves 78 2.Child 105 3.Millican 116 4.Balaschak 120 5.Wright 135 6.Luscomb 145 7.Newfield 168 8.Bremen 182 9.Scavella 210 10.Kenney 210 11.McMullen 229 12.DeWolf 252 13.Lange 270 14.Schmeising 308 115.Reinke 337 16.Tiano 348 17.Newman 417 Not sailing Sunday: Al Stall, Ed Gelina, Chester Brewer DF95 skippers,
Thank you so much for a great showing of the DF95 fleet this past Sunday March 10. We had 8 boats sail and completed 6 races. The water level at the dock was only down 2 inches but I cleared out some of the water weeds prior to all racing to make it easier to launch and sail the boats back to the dock. On the water, the larger fleet and wind conditions created a lot of close racing and finishes. The wind was from the SE and could be described as “challenging” as the oscillations in wind direction and speed produced major puffs and annoying holes sometimes right next to each other. Brent had the scores up on the website the same day. Thanks Brent! One of the benefits of a one design class is that any lessons learned on one boat can be applied to the fleet. Doug won a race and then the boat started to sheet erratically: turns out the boat batteries were going away. Changing the batteries solved the problem. If you have any lessons learned on these boats, pass it on to the fleet. If you haven’t done so, get your sail number registered at the DragonFlite USA Class Owners Association website https://dragonflite95.us It costs only $7. It could help for future regattas. The list of registered numbers is on the website. If your number has already been claimed, say 94, you could register as 1194, for example. Next Sunday March 17 is St. Patricks Day. There are two green boats in the fleet and Doug has his boat painted in the colors of the flag of Ireland. (Erin go Bragh!) See you at the lake, Terry Saturday February 9th at lake Catherine saw shifty winds out of the North between 7-10 knots on the lake. Wind forecast called for 7-14 but buildings and trees prevent those maximum wind on the water. "A'' sails were the order of the day. Allen Perkins jumped out to an impressive start, winning race after race after races. Lunch was a blast with a variety to choose from: "No Bull" chilli, pizza, hot dogs, coffee, fruits, and all the desserts you can eat. At the end of Saturday racing Allen lead the way followed by Jon Luscomb, Earnan Scavella, Chuck Millican, Joe Walter and George top the 6 competitors on the list. A nice gathering of skippers and wives met at Duffy's for dinner and had a great time. Sunday rolled in stronger winds out from the ENE at about 8-15 knots on the lake. Racing got off to an earlier start. All the skippers were prepared and ready to go. Strong wind gusts presented challenging time for skipper to maintain great control of their boats. Some missing of marks and collisions, rigging down and losing control was seen. After all the challenges and battling for a finishing position the top five finishers were: Allen Perkins 1st, Jon Luscomb 2nd, Earnan Scavella 3rd, Chuck Millican 4th Bill Newman 5th. Thanks so much for a wonderful job by the members and wives year after year supporting our Valentin's Day Regatta. RD: Bob Greer Score keepers: John Biles,Ken, Gail, Line watchers: Chris, Karen and Joe Party host/regatta equipment/coffee man/competitor: Chester Food preparer/organisers: Kelly, Karen, Ann, & Mrs Ruschak Park permit: Ed Organizer/potty: George Trophies: Jon Luscomb & Chester Brewer Rescuer: Carl Ring  Last Sunday we had a baker’s dozen Soling skippers sailing and most of us found some weeds that killed the boats sailing ability. Even with that said the competition was lively dealing with mostly strong shifty southerly winds. The starting line was pretty square to the windward mark and sometimes boats starting at the far end of the line on starboard tack had the advantage. And sometimes they got trapped near shore with their sails flapping. Boats daring a port tack start sometimes leapt out front. Boats clearing the top end of the line on starboard tack as the starting bell rung sometimes were first to the windward mark, sometimes not. Dick Reinke, relatively new to sailing the Soling but an experienced EC-12 skipper, commented that the Soling is a handful in the strong breeze, completely different than in normal winds.
Four EC-12’s sailed. I believe 5 Micro Magic’s sailed and Carl said the weeds were not too much of a problem except for Doc’s weed-magnet boat. The annual meeting will be held on Thursday January 17 2019 at Duffy’s in the upstairs room. Cocktails at 6:00, order Dinner at 7:00. Standard 20% gratuity added to group dinners that are billed individually. Address is: 11588 U.S. Hwy 1 N, North Palm Beach, FL 33408. Last year we voted to move the meeting to after most of the snowbird skippers who sail with us could participate and now it is happening. This is the meeting where the Vice Commodore moves up to Commodore for two Years and I get to be the past Commodore. Earnan will be a great commodore. We need a volunteer to be the next Vice. Or nominations. Let me know if you would like something on the agenda. Also let me know if you are going to attend. George George Balaschak, Commodore PBGMYS Sundays Soling racing was quite interesting with the starting line heavily port tack favored. Often a few boats would run the line on starboard. In the past this would result in a bunch of port tack boats crunching the right-of –way starboard boat. But for the most part there were very few fouls of that type. Positive sign of the attention to the rules we have all tried to master.
This Sunday coming we will get a chance to waddle off some of the good-food-created-pounds from our Thanksgiving dinners while sailing our model yachts. Again we will include the DF-95 at the 1:15 time slot while the Micro’s sail. I’ll get the EC-12 Valentines regatta NOR and entry stuff posted next week. We need a Race Director for that regatta and the all the usual things that go into running our regatta. Feb 9 &10 2019 is really not that far away. Please let me and the club know what you can do. By George Balaschak |