GBCA Discussion Forum

Who is the PRO? I want to ask them if it's OK for me to do post-race chair massage.

David and I just want to wish all of our sailing friends a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are thankful for all the support we have received from everyone for our efforts with the Texas Blind Sailing Team! 

We were on Big D and were pulling in to Matagorda right behind them as they were being towed. They had lost their rudder but everyone was OK.

We are not racing in the HOOD this weekend, however I will be at HYC doing "Dollar-a-minute" chair massage to help with the Texas Blind Sailing Team's fundraising. Hope to see all of you there!

Actually, we just traveled on Southwest last week for the Nationals and although 3 of us just took non-inflating PFD's, Jim took his SOSpenders and just took the cylinder out, he didn't have any problem putting it through.

First of all, on behalf of the team, I wanted to thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement this year. We owe you our deepest thanks as we could not be doing this without you!

Newport was amazing! We had a wonderful host family who let us invade their home - the fact that they are partners in the IYAC certainly was a bonus! The weather was a wonderful break from the Houston heat. Having access to the Mojo RIB, our own "Texas Cheerleaders" as well as on-the-water coaching from an Olympic Silver Medalist was wonderful (although I think our competition would tend to disagree). 

Day one of racing gave us wind-o-plenty, starting around 14 and building, with puffs well into the 20's, maybe even a few close to 30. We ran 5 races, took bullets in the first 4 but one of the Boston teams (aka "Beanie Boys") got us in the 5th race. Unfortunately the team that came from Florida had to withdraw when one if their crew fractured her wrist during a gibe, but once they got her off the boat, they asked if they could continue to sail with us if they promised not to get in the way of the boats still racing. We unanimously agreed to let them stay out and play, and afterwards they thanked us all and kept us updated on their injured crew member.

The 2nd and final day of racing was slightly cooler with much lighter winds - a welcome change after the previous wet and wild day, although we had to shift mental gears, tactics and weight placement after all the heavy-weather racing (Thanks again to Charlie for his advice - it definitely made a difference!). We knew that despite taking 4 out of 5 1sts the previous day, there was still a very good chance that the 2nd place team could catch us if we weren't on our game. We took 2 2nds with the first two races, however the 2nd place team took 2 3rds and we were still able to increase our lead. Race 3 gave us another 1st and effectively sealed our 2nd National title, but there was one more race to go. With the final race, we figured we would just take it easy and keep clear of the teams still battling for 2nd. We were a bit late for the start, then tacked off in a different direction from the rest of the fleet... yet somehow ended up back in the lead and finished with one more bullet!

The awards and after party were lots of fun. We still keep wishing we could sneak out the big beautiful perpetual trophy, but I don't think Sail Newport (or TSA, for that matter) would appreciate that.    After the awards it was back to our hosts' home for a cookout with our Texas contingent and much-needed decompressing!

Monday was our play-day up there. We spent the day exploring downtown Newport and helping boost the local economy in the shops before our scheduled charter of the America's Cup 12 meter "Nefertiti". We had a blast sailing on that boat! The captain and crew were extremely nice and accommodating, and were happy to let us have a turn at the wheel - not even worrying about 2 of us being "blind". Of course, they also put us all to work on sail trim - those coffee grinders are a real workout!! One last dinner out, followed by a farewell trip to the IYAC before getting packed up, catching some sleep and heading out to the airport on Tuesday morning, homeward bound.

Now, the REAL work begins as we prepare for the 2013 Blind Worlds next May in Japan! Most of you have been following our adventures via the team's Facebook page, but if you haven't seen it yet, please visit us at https://www.facebook.com/TexasBlindSailingTeam where you can see updates and photos! Thanks again to all of our wonderful GBCA friends!!!

Day 1 was quite the adventure. We had quite a bit of wind and it kept building throughout the day. We managed 4 bullets and a 2nd so a good day, but it's not over yet! Thanks for all the support!!!!!

I just saw a post on Facebook from Pat Gibson saying that POHA has withdrawn the "BU Marsh" option!!!

OK, it is working now so we were able to submit them. Thanks!

Right, Bee. I know we've been able to submit them after the entry deadline for other races.

We've been trying to submit our waivers but every time we try, it keeps saying that "registration is not open at this time". I assume it is a technical glitch and just wanted to let you know.

Be, I remember two years ago I sailed on Revolution and there were a lot less boats than there were this past weekend. HYC seemed to think that this was a good turnout.

Hi gang!  I understand there was a little bit of confusion over Blind Ambition as some racers were confused by our start time, and no one scored us at the finish. To clear things up, although we are a J24, we race non-spin (we do have a black flag clearly displayed off of our transom). Also, we are only sailing with a class jib (what they will be using in the Blind Worlds that we are training for) so our non-spin rating is a little tweaked so even if another J24 is racing non-spin, we are probably still starting a little ahead of them. Hope this clears things up. Thanks!    Karen

Blind Ambition, the J24, needs crew for tomorrow night. We go non-spin and need someone to help with jib trim and foredeck. Thanks!

Get well soon!!!