may 2012 sunfish midwest schedule

there are (2) upcoming Sunfish races in the Midwest Region during the month of May.  the full Midwest region schedule can be found as part of the entire Sunfish 2012 regatta schedule here (.pdf file).

Saturday, May 19th, Northern Warmups (Open)

the 1st Sunfish race of the year for the Midwest region will be held at Wolf Lake Yacht Club (map to lake here). I don’t see a NOR posted on their website yet, you can also follow the yacht club on Facebook for more updates.

Photo by Jeff Fenton

Sunday, May 20th, Just for Fun #1 (Open)

this is the 1st in the series of “Just for Fun” races held at Hueston Sailing Association (map to lake here).

(picture from Hueston Sailing Association)

greater detroit 2012 Sunfish race schedule

the Greater Detroit Sunfish Club (GDSC) has released their 2012 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.

• April 29th – Watkins Lake
• May 6th – Maceday Lake
• May 20th – Watkins Lake
• June 3rd – Stoney Creek Metropark
• June 17th – Stoney Creek
• June 30th & July 1st – Lakeport State Park – a camping & sailing weekend with an Open Regatta
• July 15th – Stoney Creek
• July 29th – Stoney Creek
• August 18th – Portage Lake
  • this one is part of the Scowfish Invitational (Sunfish & MC Scows)
• September 1st & 2nd – Tawas Bay – a camping & sailing weekend at Tawas Bay on Lake Huron
• September 23rd – Watkins Lake
• October 7th – Big Lake

all Sunday races start at 12:30pm.

I’m going to do my best to meet up with this group for some races this year.

october 2011 sunfish midwest schedule

there are (2) upcoming Sunfish races in the Midwest Region during the month of October.  the full Midwest region schedule can be found as part of the entire Sunfish 2011 regatta schedule here (.pdf file).

Sunday, October 2rd – OktoberFast Regatta

the Hueston Sailing Association (map to lake here) was the site for the (4) “Just for Fun” regattas this summer, and they will hold their final Sunfish race – OktoberFast Regatta, on Acton Lake in Hueston Woods State Park, Ohio.

Racing 1:30pm to 4:00pm – no fees, no trophies, just fun!

Saturday, October 15th – 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 am registration, 10:00 am start, 5:00 pm packed up/on the road!

september 2011 sunfish midwest schedule

there are (5) upcoming Sunfish races in the Midwest Region during the month of September.  the full Midwest region schedule can be found as part of the entire Sunfish 2011 regatta schedule here (.pdf file).

Saturday, Sept 3rd – Summer’s End Regatta (formerly Mayor’s Cup Regatta)

this one-day event will be held by the North Shore Yacht Club in Highland Park, Illinois.  it is a multi-class regatta, with Sunfish, Buccaneer 18′s, Lasers, and more. the notice of race can be found on the club’s website (here), and a map to the site (here).

Saturday, Sept 3rd and Sunday, Sept 4th – GDSC Open Regatta – Labor Day

the Greater Detroit Sunfish Club (GDSC) (also check out their Yahoo Group, it’s sometimes a bit more up-to-date) hosts an annual camping trip with Sunfish racing to be held over Labor Day weekend.  they have mixed things up a bit this year, as it has been moved to Tawas Bay, Michigan, with racing to be held on the Tawas Bay which is part of  Lake Huron.  many from the group will be camping at the Tawas Point State Park, but the group will be launching their sailboats from the public ramp next to Timberlane Resorts, where some of the group is also staying.

my family camped at that state park last summer – it is a pretty nice park, and a absolutely beautiful area, but sailing is not really feasible from the state park and campground area, as the water is very shallow for several hundred and up to a few thousand feet off the shoreline.  I also sailed on Tawas Bay that weekend, launching from the same ramp the GDSC will be using.  it seemed like a great place to sail, so hopefully they can get in some great racing.

Saturday, Sept 10th and Sunday, Sept 11th – US Sunfish Masters Championship Regatta

the 2011 US Sunfish Masters Championship will be hosted this year by the Lake Bluff Yacht Club, who also had the same event back in 2006.  the racing will be held on the waters of Lake Michigan.  the official notice of race (NOR) can be found here.

(photo from Lake Bluff Yacht Club)

Saturday, Sept 17th and Sunday, Sept 18th – Midwest Sunfish Regional Championship #2

this event will be held at Devils Lake Yacht Club in Manitou Beach, Michigan.  it is the “Bruce Goldsmith Memorial Regatta”, and typically includes 2 fleets – Sunfish and Lightnings.  this is the event I was able to attend as a spectator (and photographer) in 2009.

Saturday, Sept 24th and Sunday, Sept 25th – Clark Lake Fall Regatta

this 2-day event will be held by Clark Lake Yacht Club in Clark Lake, Michigan.  a couple things from the notice of race:

Note:  5 boats minimum required for individual start –3 boats minimum for a fleet! Rebels, Interlakes, Sunfish, Wayfarers, Buccaneers, and Snipes!

sounds like a great time!  the official notice of race can be found here (.pdf file).

july 2011 sunfish midwest schedule

there are (4) upcoming Sunfish races in the Midwest Region during the month of July.  the full Midwest region schedule can be found as part of the entire Sunfish 2011 regatta schedule here (.pdf file).

Saturday, July 2nd and Sunday, July 3rd – GDSC Open Regatta (Open)

this is the annual regatta held by the Greater Detroit Sunfish Club (GDSC) (also check out their Yahoo Group, it’s a bit more up-to-date) over July 4th, and for at least the last few years, it has been held at Lakeport State Park, located right on the shore of Lake Huron, only a few miles north of Port Huron.

this is usually one of the GDSC’s most heavily attended events, with most families camping at the state park for the weekend.  due to the late notice, if you would like to attend – your best bet is to probably join the GDSC Yahoo Group, and let them know, so they can get you visitor pass information for the state park.  last minute update: it looks like the lake level or all the spring rain has made several campsites un-usable… several of the GDSC members are still planning to camp, and most likely sail, though – so don’t let a little rained out campsites hold you back!

Saturday, July 9th and Sunday, July 10th – Sam Meyers Memorial Regatta (Open)

this is another 2-day regatta, hosted by the Pymatuning Sailing Club at the Pymatuning State Park in Linesville, Pennsylvania, to honor the late Sam Meyers.  this is technically a race in the Mid-Atlantic Region event, but is close enough to the Midwest if you’re willing to travel that far.  it is a multi-class event, with Sunfish, Laser, Force 5, Hobie 16 and Hobie 18 sailboats racing (if enough pre-register).

Sam Meyers Regatta

Sunday, July 10th – Just for Fun #3 (Open)

this is the same day as the Sam Meyers Regatta above — the Hueston Sailing Association (map to lake here) already hosted Just for Fun #1 back in May and the Just for Fun #2 back in June.  this is their 3rd race in the Just for Fun series (one more in August).  once again:

Racing 1:30pm to 4:00pm – no fees, no trophies, just fun!

Sunday, July 17th – Fun Sunfish Regatta #2 (Open)

similar to the Fun Sunfish Regatta #1 held in June, this race will be held at Kiser Lake State Park in Ohio (map of state park here, .pdf file) and is hosted by the Kiser Lake Sailing Club.  the lake is popular for sailing as motorboats are not allowed on the lake.  per the Midwest schedule notes:

2:00pm Start. Open to all, no fees.  There are trophies, relaxed atmosphere, short courses, numerous starts, FUN!

sunfish worlds 2011: racing video collection

here is a great collection of video taken during the 2011 Sunfish Worlds down in Curacao.  the whole video is about 22 minutes long, with a ton of video coverage out on the water during the Sunfish racing, as well as some video shots from the beach during the setup, and a few short interviews with sailors (not always in English, though).

the video gets really exciting at about 9 minutes in – the video below should start right there – and continues for about 5 or 6 minutes.  the wind must have been really strong, and the waves were really big, and you can see the Sunfish sailboats cresting up and over the wave peak, and riding the wave down into the trough, at times seeming to swallow up almost the whole Sunfish and sailor.

there is also an short 30-second interview (direct link) with the 2011 Sunfish Worlds champion, Matheus Dellagnelo. and a slideshow of photos at the end of the video, but for photos… you’re better off just browsing the hundreds of photos at the Sunfish Worlds 2011 Flickr stream.

sunfish worlds 2011: final minute – final race [video]

this video was posted up at SunfishWorlds2011.com – it is the view from the signal boat during last minute leading up to the start of the final race at this year’s Sunfish Worlds Championship in Curacao.

you can hear the strong winds blowing past the video camera, and see how the signal boat is rolling up and down with the waves out on the water.  certainly some challenging conditions for the sailors to battle through.

[edit: just realized my post title is misleading... it's the final minute BEFORE the final race STARTS.  oops.]

sunfish worlds 2011: Matheus is the champion!

ahead by 6 points going into the final day of racing at the 2011 Sunfish Worlds, Matheus Dellagnelo of Brazil held nothing back, as he went to sail for 1st place finishes in the first 2 races of the day, which mathematically gave him the crown without even having to sail in the 11th and final race.

matheus dellagnelo (photo by Marianne Lenos)

Matheus sailed with amazing consistency and finished with (3) 1st places, (3) 2nd places, (2) 3rd places, (1) 6th place, and (2) discards, including the DNC in the final race to finish with 21 points total, just enough to stay 1 point ahead of 2nd place Alexander Zimmerman of Peru, who won the final race.  behind him in 3rd place was Francisco Renna of Argentina, and Ard van Aanholt of the host country Curacao finished in 4th place.  David Loring of the USA, a 3-time Sunfish World Champion (recently in 2009), finished in 5th place.  the full results can be found here.

also, the top racers per category are as follows, per Sunfishworlds2011.c0m.  [Category: Sailor (Home country, overall place)]

• Junior: Ard van Aanholt (Curacao, 4th)
• Apprentice: Matheus Dellagnelo (Brazil, 1st)
• Apprentice Master: David Mendelblatt (USA, 9th)
• Master: Malcolm Smith (Bermuda, 14th)
• Grand Master:Richard van der Wal (Aruba, 46)
• Great Grand Master: Dolf van der Giessen (Curacao, 59)

I’m sure this evening is busy with the festivities and the awards ceremony will be tomorrow night, so I’m sure that SunfishWorlds2011.com will have more updates in the next day or two.  as usual, stop by and check out the hundreds of incredible photographs taken in Curacao, during the racing and on the beach areas.

matheus (photo by bea moedt)

 

sunfish worlds 2011: day 3

some of the day 3 racing was delayed due to rain, but they were able to get in 2 races.  Matheus Dellagnelo of Brazil maintains his hold of first place overall, finishing day 3 with a 3rd place and 2nd place finish.  Alexander Zimmerman of Peru with a 1st place and 4th place today moves up a spot to 2nd place overall.  Ard van Aanholt of the host country Curacao dropped one spot to 4th place overall, as he finished with a 9th and 10th today, allowing Francisco Renna of Argentina to move up 1 spot to 3rd place overall.

some of the photos from day 3 racing and the Annabaai parade have been uploaded (I would imagine more are in process).  the buildings are so colorful along the waterline!

day 3 - Annabaai parade (photo by Bea Moedt)

here is a video of a parade on the water in Annabaai today, with 70 Sunfish sailboats participating!

tomorrow is a day of rest, with racing to be concluded with up to 3 races on Friday, and the Awards Ceremony on Saturday.

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a day 3 recap from Luis Horacio Canuto of Argentina can be found at the Dingo Sailing Blog (here is an English translation).

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and there are now pictures of racing from day 2 that have been uploaded to the Flickr photostream.  the pictures aren’t all tagged, but photo credits should go to Bea Moedt, Marianne Lenos, Ltz Duin and Kurt Peterson.

day 2 racing

sunfish worlds 2011: day 2

after day 2 of the Sunfish Worlds 2011, there is a shuffling at the leaderboard, with Matheus Dellagnelo of Brazil taking hold of first place overall with (2) 2nd place races on day 2. Ard van Aanholt of the host country Curacao is currently holding onto 2nd place overall, only 3 points behind the leader.  the 1st race of day 2 was won by Alexander Zimmerman of Peru, who currently sits in 3rd place. the final 2 races of day 2 were both won by Francisco Renna of Argentina, moving him up into 4th place.

there aren’t as many photos posted today (yet?) of the racing, but still several shots from the beach of the Sunfish racing or coming back into shore, and there are some close-up shots of some of the sailors.  see the full set at Flickr here.

day 2 (photo by Bea Moedt)

a day 1 recap from Luis Horacio Canuto of Argentina can be found at the Dingo Sailing Blog (here is an English translation).

also, stop on over at Regatta-Fanatic, to get a recap of the Sunfish Youth Worlds from Rhône Findlay of St Maarten, who finished the Sunfish Youth Worlds in 16th place,  sailing in a boat that was mostly unfamiliar to him!