6/25/08

Sometimes I just get lucky. The committee boat was short-handed tonight so the racers from the boat I usually sail with offered to run the race instead of participating. The breeze was up so we decided to set a nice 5 mile course. Twelve boats came out to race on a beautiful night in the middle of the week. I couldn't have picked a better night to watch the skippers and crews battle to the finish line. MOBY and Screaming Eagle approached the finish line neck and neck (or should I say bow and bow). Within the last 50 yards, MOBY caught a lift and pushed ahead of Eagle to win the dual. What a great seat for the audience (me)! Sometimes I just get lucky. C-ya out there next week.
 

6/18/08

What a great night for a race. Flat lake at 5 pm, building breeze at 6, and a steady 10 mph wind at race time. Although the winds were light, even the big boat that favor a bigger wind seemed to have a good time. And besides, it was Frank's birthday and Marilyn was giving every racer HS to celebrate.
Awesome night everyone. C-ya next week!!!
 

6/4/2008 and 6/11/2008

I'm combining two editorials into one. I know the wind can blow in Kansas, but this is getting pathetic. Please, give us some decent wind to race.
With all the cancellations, we are down to the best of 4. Good luck racers. C-ya on the lake.
 

5/28/08

Finally, a nice race evening.  The weather looked bleak when we arrived, but as the race began the light drizzle stopped, and we had a nice 3 mile race in about 10 miles per hour wind. After the short race, we had the first KBRS cookout, and everyone had a good time talking about the race as well as what's been happening since last year.  Hopefully the bad weather on Wednesday nights is behind us and we can look forward to a great spring series.

5/21/08

One week, too little wind. The next week, too much wind. Welcome to Spring in Kansas! A valiant effort was made to hold the race, but when it came time to make the decision, the choice was made to cancel due to high wind gusts. Oh well, at least we can look forward to a 3-day weekend. Pray for good weather.
 

5/14/08

What started out as a light-wind evening quickly deteriorated into a no-wind race. Although some boats were able to finish, others simply decided to drop their sails and enjoy the evening on the lake.
Oh-well, maybe it will be better next week. See ya on the lake.
 

5/7/08

It seems we can't get a break with the weather. At 4:30, the winds were light but it was raining... no reason to cancel the Wednesday night race. By 5:30, the rain had stopped, the wind had suddenly picked up to about 15 kts and showed no signs of easing, and the temperature had cooled considerably. After a consultation with the skippers, it was decided that the best for all was to cancel the race. Little did we know that the wind wouldn't continue to increase, and by 7:00 the sun came out (kinda). It was still chilly so I don't think the racers minded the cancellation too much. Oh well, there's always next week. See ya on the lake.

4/30/08

Wind at 31 mph gusting to 43. It sucks when you can't sail on Wednesday night. See ya at the lake...
sometime soon.
 

4/23/08

Three skippers decided to ignore the overcast skies and participate in the first KBRS race of 2008. They were rewarded with a nice evening of steady wind, but only after shifting to the right side of the course immediately after the race start sequence began. With hourglassed spinnakers and late starts, it was obvious that the crews were a little rusty. Oh well, there is now one race under their belt, and the other racers will have to go through the same as well when they finally get on the water. Let's hope it happens soon. Skippers... get those bottoms wet and get out there on Wednesday nights! See ya on the lake.
 

4/20/2008

Today we held the kickoff meeting for the KBRS 2008 season. After the awards were handed out (see the final commentary from last year to see the winners)we moved on to the decision-making part of the meeting.
Some decisions that were made included keeping the first two races of the season on Wednesday at 6:30 instead of moving them to Sunday, not having a Memorial Day race, and keeping the late-season races on Sunday at 3:00 pm. In addition, weekly race committees are requested to be in place 1-1/2 hours before the race start, make sure they get to know the other boats, and reiterating that they are responsible for stopping a race if poor weather (winds or lightning) ensues. The KBRS board will schedule an on-water "how to run a KBRS race" class soon to help new members come up to speed on the process. And lastly, the decision was made to continue to review boat handicaps at the series breaks and the handicaps will be determined based on actual boat performance.

It was great seeing all the racers again and I look forward to another fantastic year of KBRS racing.
RACERS... RAISE YOUR SAILS!!!