Rich Alt, Darrell Harris, and Bill Hallam represented PSC in Daingerfield Island Sailing Club's New Year's Day "Freeze Your MaSt Off Regatta." The event was a fund-raiser for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Dressed for survival in some highly colorful costumes, we rigged out Kestrel, that venerable old - and not very fast - cruiser. She being the only PSC boat still in the water. We negotiated the Marina anti-flotsam fence and motored over to the pre-race skippers meeting on the back porch at Indigo Landing. The first race started opposite the blue-roofed Rowing Center in Alexandria with the first leg going upriver to Green Can #7 near Bolling. We started brilliantly and led the fleet across the start line. Then unfortunately reverting to form, we gave back our lead by choosing a bad line upriver that failed to take account of the strong current running.
The second race went about like the first. No trophies this year for PSC. Nevertheless, we all had a great time. Temperature warmed to about 40 degrees and the winds were interesting all day - generally NW and in the mid teens.
After motoring home and putting up Kestrel, we drove to the post-race party at a racer's apartment in Alexandria where we, of course, told tales of the glories of PSC and, perhaps recruited a prospective member or two.
Below we are beating upwind past the Navy Pier. Has anyone else noticed that Kestrel has considerably more boom than mainsail?
In the picture below three heeled-over boats sail at the leeward mark down by the Woodrow Wilson bridge.