An enthusiastic group of 21 RS Aero sailors showed up for the annual Puget Sound Sailing Championships hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club in Seattle. This wasn’t the largest event this year for the Seattle RS Aero fleet who have seen mid-twenties for a number of Thursday night races, but it was certainly the biggest multi-class event for dinghies and keelboats in the Seattle area during this strange year. There were no social events, not only due to the pandemic, but also the unique floating CYC clubhouse is temporarily re-located for a building refresh supported by the Heart of CYC campaign (please donate if you haven’t already!).

 

After a failed attempt by this scribe to predict the wind and communicate “rig of the day” selection by email on Saturday morning, nearly everyone opted for the 7 rig which was the right choice for the conditions for most of the fleet who were looking for good fair racing, and that’s what we got! With the largest fleet, the CYC race committee on the dinghy course prioritized the RS Aeros, who had 3 good races in a moderate southerly with a bit of dampness until the sun arrived. However, during the fourth race, we observed the rainbow to the north was actually an ominous wall of darkness, bringing winter to the RS Aero racecourse. Most of the keelboat fleets headed to the harbor, but the RS Aero fleet basically continued on racing in the brisk northerly, hey fun racing is fun racing! Alas, the RC had abandoned the race. Saturday’s results show fleet newcomer Brian Ledbetter with top two finishes in all 3 races, giving eventual winner Dalton Bergan a challenge to that point, and Carl Buchan close behind.

 

Sunday weather was excellent for racing with enough wind to be hiking all day… if you had to be outside and prepared to get wet sailing your RS Aero, the rain and chill is no issue, right? We had 6 surprisingly fair races in mostly southeasterly breeze (not a great wind direction), with the racecourse tucked up near Magnolia and the entrance to Ballard Locks. Shifting wind velocities and angles, variable current, and generally flat water challenged those of us deciding to keep going through the rainy, chilly, fall-like conditions. The racing was a bit more tactical and the depth of the fleet showed with top 5 finishes from a number of good sailors including Andy Mack, Matt Pistay, John Renehan, Dan Falk, Paul Lisagor, and Dave Watt, but no one seriously challenged Dalton’s mastery of the boat and especially downwind magic as he ran away with the event leaving the rest of us left to battle for 2nd.

 

It was good to see a number of new faces in the fleet, and I continue to be impressed by the ongoing improvement of the fleet from top to bottom – everyone is getting good and fast!

 

Next up for the RS Aeros of the Pacific Northwest is the CYC's Turkey Bowl at Shilshole on November 14/15th.