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Latest News
Farley Fontenot entertained and educated us all about starts and finishes at the Villa Capri last Wednesday night in the seccond of our Seminar series. He reminded us of the need to Prepare, Plan and Execute our starting strategy. Everything from getting out early to know the wind, current and visual status of each part of the course, to observing and planning our actions and contingency plans so that we arrive at the line on time and at speed.
These seminars will be conducted each Wednesday until the new season starts. Next week is Jay Lutz on trim and other tidbits about how to best enjoy your racing.
Reminder to all, Get signed up as soon as possible, through the Web site if possible, or by sending money and your information to the address shown in the Contact or Event registration menus across the top of this window.
For those who wish to sail in the new novice class, qualification is required. You must not only sign up for the class, but you must also submit your qualifications such as level of experience. Please do this as soon as possible.
See you Wednesday Night. And remember that the Villa Capri serves great food, so come a little early and eat with us too.
Mark Mathews gave the first of the Welcome to Sailing seminars this year to an audience of about 50 sailors, new and old at the Villa Capri. His discussion of the basics of sailing and some of the right of way rules was appreciated and enjoyed by all. Scott has bought a new projector for our use, so the seminars will include better graphics than we have had in the past. Villa Capri offered us food service (always excellent) and bar services during the show. The seminars continue next week with Farley Fontenot discussing starts an
d finishes and some of the key rules to remember. Registration is available on-line now, so please sign up and send in your fees. The schedule is posted, and the nor and Sailing Instructions will be available soon. Scott also announced that the courses will be different this year (simpler!) and there will be a new class strictly for beginners to come out and learn about sailboat racing. So give it a whirl!!
The new schedule is up. Still a hitch or two. But the info is best available per Scott Tuma.
The 2012 season for Wednesday Night Races is already ramping up. We will publish the schedule soon. There will be a new class this year:
. We are working on the class rules and the exact course (very simple). I will publish those once they are finalized. If anyone knows of someone that is half interested in getting their own boat out for some fun races, we have the class and course for them.
The party was Wonderful, Outstanding food at the Villa Capri and last shot at revisiting beautiful friendships of yet another excellent season of racing on Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. Now comes the best opportunity of the year to influence how next year and the future will go on Clear Lake. PLEASE take a few minutes to jot down a few thoughts about anything that you were thinking about this season, whether a magical idea to "make it better" or just noting what you like about what we have done. Send the ideas to Scott Tuma and we will review all and post some of the better ones. We will be moving a lot of the 2011 material to a new Archive section as soon as we can figure out how to do that.
Meanwhile, we probably need to start thinking about our over-the-winter program. In the past we have invited experts and knowledgeable speakers to come in and conduct Seminars about things that might prove useful about racing on our lake. Are people interested? What topics other than weather and the rules and how Stewart wins so many races would you like to hear about? We are thinking that the seminars should start early next year, but we need your ideas. We should note that regulars at he seminars generally did well this year, About half the class champions were there for sure and many others who did well.
Please communicate!!!
End of the year Yea, Whoopee PARTY!!
With the end of the year on the water we have two new responsibilities. We have to have a Party and we want to nominate sailors for our annual awards. Under the General info menu on the left are entries for nominating your fellow sailors for the Sportsmanship, Best Crew and Most Improved awards. There is also an entry for End of the year party RSVP!!! Please do your very best to give us your reservation in advance so we can give the restaurant an accurate count, and save yourself five bucks a head in the process.
Its a party. RSVP it!!!!!
Very close match racing in J24's during the Championship Races.
Championship Time The season is over and the championship is upon us. See the race results section for updates and handy matrix forms for following and scoring the races. There will be four races each championship night, starting approximately 4 PM and going round robin till each team has raced in each boat. Two teams go forward to the finals from each of the first two nights. The finals will be held October 5 using the same format. The use of number pennants to identify the boats has been a big help for observers.
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A New PA System: The first attempt at a PA system for commentary and music used Brookstone's wireless outdoor speakers...They are great for the house and backyard, but not so good for talking over a bunch of excited sailors... CLRA now owns a more 'industrial strength', Yamaha PA, complete with two wireless mics for race commentary and background 'sailor' music.
Race Results: From now on, race results will be posted on this website quickly after the races. We've been trying to log onto the wireless network at Villa Capri, and get it done before we leave every Wednesday, but have had trouble with that effort. In any case, chief scorer John Butler has taken on results-posting duties, and they should be posted no later than next day. Results are now posted in PDF format.
Long Race Threes for Newbies: Race Three of each series is designated for bringing new people into the event and sport. This is accomplished by sailing longer, less intense courses for Race Three of every series. There is a PVC mark near Clear Lake Park that we intend to use as a mark of the course for PHRF Spinnaker, J22, and J24 Classes when we sail courses 8 and 9 for Race Three. You might want to familiarize yourself with its appearance and location. Don't forget to bring new people into the sport! Use Race Three of every series to accomplish that...
Additional Parking: Next door to Villa Capri is the SA Sleep Lab. The driveway can hold up to thirty additional cars, and we have been given permission to park there on Wednesday Nights. Just pull into the driveway, and angle park to the left or right at the first available location. Please do not block the central driveway.
What an absolutely fabulous Opening Night!
The wind was up (perhaps a little too much for some), but we still had 49 boats show up to race... and I haven't seen a spectator crowd that big in a couple of years! What a memorable night! Many thanks to all of you for making it such a great evening. Rick Hasler, Scott Brown, John Butler, Christina (soon to be Tuma) Johnson, Cherie LeCompte, Amy Neely at Villa Capri, and all of the spectators and competitors... to all of you... thanks for making all the effort worth it!
The Go-Pro camera worked flawlessly the first time out (even though I looked more like a geek than I normally do), and I am pleased with its capabilities. The commentary system needs some tweaking, but we'll work that out. The wait staff was totally impressed by the CLRA sailors, and they consider themselves much better calibrated, so I think whatever flaws existed will be considered and resolved. Thanks to all those who shared their input.
The goal is to make Villa Capri the official home of the Wednesday Night Sailboat Races on Clear Lake, complete with race commentary and post race video of the racing action. Why would you spend your time anywhere else? Great food, great drinks, great service, great atmosphere, and the best view of the event... The best experience is going to be at Villa Capri.
(Hint to spectators:) Participants in the Spectators' Random Prize can improve their chances of doubling their coupon by viewing the results of the races to help choose the winners!
The new 2011 Schedule is posted, as well as the Entry Form, and a new 'Want to Crew' feature that automatically posts submissions, both publicly and privately, making it much easier for someone to find a crew, or sign up to crew in the races. If you don't have a log in, you might consider registering on the web site. There are features that only 'Members' can access...
There is much to relate concerning the evolution leading up to this year... For now, the short story is that Villa Capri Italian Restaurant is going to be our host club this year, and the Skipper's Meeting is planned for 6:30 at Villa Capri on Wednesday, March 30, 2011... Find the full story here.
Stay tuned...the 2011 season has begun!
About These Races...
Every Wednesday evening from April until October, professional and amateur sailors get together for a friendly sailboat race on the waters of Clear Lake, twenty minutes south of Houston and home of NASA's Johnson Space Center.
These races were created with the public in mind, and the courses are set so that the action around the Start and Finish Lines are best seen from Villa Capri Restaurant. Also, Lance's Turtle Club has an exciting turning mark where racing action can be enjoyed by spectators. Everyone is invited to come and watch.
The races are rarely cancelled due to bad weather. In the previous twelve years, the races have been cancelled only about five times due to bad weather. The atmosphere just seems to get its act together as the sun goes down! Come on out and join us!
The races start promptly at 6:15 PM and finish before sunset. Come and join us, and our sponsors, for an evening of fun and relaxation. There's always some commentary on the action, and if you wish to participate, you're welcome to sign up on our crew list. We always have boats looking for crew! If you own a boat and would like to participate in these races, learn the Racing Rules, read the race instructions, then come out and join the fun. You can sign up the day of the races by filling out an entry form.
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