greater detroit 2013 Sunfish race schedule

the Greater Detroit Sunfish Club (GDSC) has released their 2013 Sunfish race schedule (you can find it with additional information posted at their Yahoo Group).  you can also check them out on their Facebook page.

this year is also the 50th anniversary of the GDSC!

• April 28th – Maceday Lake (only a month away!)
• May 19th – Watkins Lake
• May 26th – Watkins Lake [10:30am start!]
• June 9th – Sailing & Rigging Workshop @ Big Lake
• June 29th & 30th – Lakeport State Park – a camping & sailing weekend with an Open Regatta.  sailing this year will be based at Armstrong’s Resort in Lakeport.
• August 17th – Portage Lake
  • this one is part of the Scowfish Invitational (Sunfish & MC Scows)
• August 31st & September 1st – Tawas Bay – a camping & sailing weekend at Tawas Bay on Lake Huron (launching from Timber Lane Resort‘s beach)
• September 22nd – Watkins Lake
• October 6th – Big Lake

all Sunday races start at 12:30pm [uno]

the Sailing & Rigging Workshop day is planned to be:

a day of teaching-learning for sunfish sailors.  Topics suggested include rigging strategies, maintenance, repair, practice starting.  Bring your boat and whatever lines, parts, and tools you think you might need

I said this last year, and didn’t get a chance, but I’m again going to do my best to meet up with this group for some races this year.  it’s shaping up to be a pretty busy summer already, though!

10 things about a Sunfish

Laser Performance, the current manufacturer of the Sunfish, Laser (& other sailboats) has started to promote a new community for it’s various sailboats – called Laser Performance United (LPU).  I recently joined the LPU International Sunfish Union (ISU), and have begun to receive their new weekly email, the “Rhumbline”.  this week’s email was focused on the Sunfish – celebrating it’s 60th year, and LPU has put together a pretty neat “top 10″ list of facts about the Sunfish sailboat:

Our U.S. (Portsmouth RI) factory runs on a ten hour day – we can pull a boat per day per mold from our Sunfish build team.

Nine sail clips down when attaching the Main Halyard, the rule of thumb is to go between the ninth and tenth sail ring (counting from the tack of the sail upward).

Approximately Eight kilograms of Gel coat go into the Sunfish hull.

ISCA (International Sunfish Class Association) has had seven presidents – Paul-Jon Patin currently holds the office.

The sunfish has had six builders in its lifetime ( Alcort, AMF Alcort, Pearson, SunfishLaser, Vanguard, and LaserPerformance).

Five Cents (a Nickel) was used to draw one of the most iconic logos in Sailing.

The Sunfish is actively sailed on four continents: North America, South America, Europe & Asia.

The construction of the Sunfish Hull comes from three parts (Deck, Hull, and Cockpit Tub).

Two major evolution’s of the Sunfish Hull – wood to fiberglass and a flat deck to a cut out cockpit.

Hailed by Fortune Magazine as one of America’s 25 Best Designed Products.

you can find out more about the LPU and it’s various parts here or on their Facebook page.

sunfish class website is hacked

FYI: the Sunfish Class website has been hacked.  I have a variety of links on this blog that point to the Sunfish Class website and/or some of it’s other pages.  for now, I would avoid clicking on any of those links… I’ll try to find them and deactivate the hyperlinks until they can get things fixed over there.

here is an announcement from the new US Sunfish Class President, Rich Chapman:

On Oct. 16th the Sunfish website was hacked by an unknown source.  Since then, access to the site has been denied or very limited.  This is a consequence of the many blogs that are on the site which are vulnerable to this kind of attack.  Many of these pages have been infected and now each page must be inspected and corrected.  This is a long and tedious process that is currently underway.  Please pass the word and let people in your area know that we are working to get the site back up and running as quickly as possible.  We appreciate your patience and will let you know once this is resolved.

HT: Sunfishracing.org

sunfish worlds 2012

the 2012 Sunfish Youth Worlds & Open Worlds events start in just a few days, this year in St Petersburg, Florida.  the event is being hosted by the St Petersburg Yacht Club.

the Youth Worlds will take place October 11th to 14th (racing will start the 12th). the Open Worlds will take place October 13th to 20th (racing the 15th to the 19th).

for an absolutely phenomenal collection of things related to the Sunfish Worlds (both the upcoming 2012 event as well as past events), you should really check out and bookmark http://www.sunfishworlds.org/

they have done a great job of compiling past records of sailors who will be participating in this year’s event, as well as cataloging pictures from older events.  this year, they’ve also rolled out a mobile version of their website!

letter from the president

the US Sunfish Class (USSCA) has recently elected a new president – Rich Chapman – at the Annual Meeting, and he has put out a general letter to the Sunfish Class. I’ve copied a few choice quotes below:

Our number one goal is communication. This is an area that has been lacking over the last several years with the cessation of the Windward Leg. We feel it’s imperative that we develop a new and dynamic website that will provide class updates, regatta results, tips and tricks, and more.

Other goals include increasing membership and regatta participation… but all of us need to encourage our local sailors to get involved, come to regattas and join the class!

Finally, I’d like to invite all of you to get involved in some way with developing the Sunfish Class. It can be something as simple as attending a local regatta or signing up a new member or something on a grander scale like organizing a junior event or hosting a regional regatta.

if you aren’t a member already, here is how to join the Sunfish class.

october 2012 sunfish midwest schedule

there is just one upcoming (and final) Sunfish race in the Midwest Region during the month of October.

Saturday, October 20th – Great Pumpkin Regatta (Open)

this is the last Midwest event of the year, and from what I’ve heard – it’s a pretty great time.  the event is held at the Johnson Slough Yacht Club, in Hinsdale, Illinois.

This is the one you’ve heard about! Loaner boats available. Sail it shore to shore. It’s just deep enough for Sunfish draft. If you capsize, stand up! Lakeside home serves as “host yacht club.” Six races, one day, coffee/donuts, hot lunch, post race snacks, libations, great fun! No matter the weather …

• 9:00 Registration
• 9:30 Skipper’s Meeting
• 10:00 First Race
• 12:30 Lunch
• 4:00 Awards
• 5 Trophies, 6 Races, 1 Discard
• $25 entry fee