It is never easy for our RDs to have to deal with weather issues. I have agonized over whether to call a race due to high winds or no wind. The times when I did, I was praised by some and hated by others. We all come to race at our regattas and the RD's job is to give you the best race he can. He tries his best to give you a good course that tests your sailing skills and not your eyesight. He tries to keep the flow of the regatta moving as best he can, giving the most heats without tiring skippers out. And, he has to make sure everything else, like lunch, drinks, chase boat, marks, course board and on and on, all get to the lake. Through it all, he worries if everyone is having a good time and that they will look forward to coming back next year. It is a challenge for us all to run a regatta and when the weather does not cooperate, it can be stressful.

   Without the dedicated people who volunteer to put on our regattas, we would not get to enjoy these boats with our friends. Please keep it in mind at the next regatta. Support and thank the race staff for the hard work they do to try and give you a great regatta. Or, better yet, step up and volunteer to help out at your club's next event. - Joe Walter Race Director and EC12 Class Secretary

by RD Gib Loesel 

Feb 16 and 14, 2014

Class: EC12

There is a sea chantey that starts our "What will we do with a drunken sailor, what will we do with a drunken sailor earli in the morning" ... keep in mind that I have not had a drink in over 40 years so "it must have been th e other guys" that after several "toddies" on Friday night thought it would be a great idea if Jon Luscomb sailed and I would be the R.D., what the heck I came over and said I would help so why not. 

Next came the Silver Fleet (11 boats).  Brenda Pardee crossed line first in the first race closely followed by her father Jim. Throughout the day all of the Skippers mixed it up and when "beer" time came it was Tom Germer, Bud Elder and Brenda Pardee.

During the day the winds came up and changed directions several times. B rigs were the choice of all who had them.   PBG's ground crew was great and the food fantastic as usual. 

Eventually Sunday came and to borrow a line from the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" "The heavens scowled, (in this case) the Skippers howled and THE WIND BEGAN TO BLOW" and blow it did plus it was very cold. 

The top four finishing positions were: Brenda Pardee 1st; Bud Elder 2nd (plus the ancient mariner) Fred Greco 3rd and Jim Pardee 4th.

The Gold guys were up next, two skippers did not survive the warm up.  John B's C rig broke and Al Dion blew a rudd er servo in his warm up.  Fast Freddy Pheil (Mr. Heavy Air Skipper) posted two firsts. 

I deemed it to be unsafe sailing conditions and called a halt to the regatta.

Full regatta report and photo links at:

  http://www.floridaec12.com/regattas.html 

The top  skippers were:  1.Alan Perkins, 2. Fred Pfeil 3. Jon Luscomb, 4. Jake Leo,  5. Doc Greer

ed. T Phillips

Location: Punta Gorda, Florida - Host Club: Sun Coast Model Yacht Club - Class: RC Laser

Nick Mortgu, AMYA RC Laser Secretary, and host, Jack Ward, combined forces to pull this Snowbird Tune Up Regatta together as a prelude to the North American Championships in Marco, FL. This was the inaugural Snowbird event on the RC Laser racing calendar. It was a terrific pond in a spacious town park with close in parking and two perfect launch docks. If there was a theme for the Snowbird Tune Up Regatta it was ROB SEIDELMANN DAY.

So far this year, 26 AMYA sanctioned clubs have purchased 2013 Pond Owner Insurance. Don't wait until the last minute to apply for this reasonably priced insurance.  (the insurance secretary has a full sailing schedule this year!) 

This $1 million policy is available for pond owners through the application of AMYA sanctioned clubs with a minimum of 50% AMYA membership. This insurance covers normal RC sailing activities for the calendar year January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.

Renewal application forms have already been e-mailed to clubs who purchased 2012 insurance and provided accurate addresses. You may also obtain applications from the AMYA web site by clicking on the "Pond Insurance " tab under "Club Resources".