GBCA Discussion Forum

Dobbs Davis, the chief measurer for ORC in the United States is coming down later this month to measure boats. Exact day(s) to be determined.

Tom Sutton (J-35 Leading Edge)and I (J-109 Airborne) are signed up and we hope to get more boats to split Dobbs travel costs among all who sign up.

The purpose of measurement is to get an international ORC certificate instead of a club certificate.  An international ORC certificate is only needed for international events or if you want your ORC certificate to reflect the exact weight of your boat. The club certificate is fine for Galveston Bay racing.

The measurement cost is $20 per ft.

Contact me at dc1sail@comcast.net if you want your boat measured.

Time to sign up for the Sail Trim seminar on Saturday March 11th from 9am-2pm.  Lunch will be served.   This is your opportunity to learn how to go fast by properly trimming your sails.  The seminar is a comprehensive look at how to use the various controls on your boat to trim the Main, Jib, Genoa and Symmetrical and Asymmetrical spinnakers.  You will receive access to "Dave's Sail Trim Guide", an Excel matrix with the control settings for each sail in various wind and wave conditions.  You can laminate this guide and keep it on board for quick access.

Start time is 9am for all three seminars

The cost to get an ORC club certificate from US Sailing varies by boat length. A 22 ft. boat would cost $66.  It is approximately $120 for a 30ft boat and $160 for a 40ft boat. 

To apply for a club certificate go to https://www.ussailing.org/competition/offshore/request-a-rating/

GBCA offers an ORC class in many events, as do the other local clubs.  Larger events such as Charleston Race Week moved to ORC back in 2017 and no longer offer PHRF.  We can expect this trend to continue

Please join us for 2023 GBCA seminar series !

The first seminar, Introduction to Racing, will be held Saturday February 11th .  This seminar is aimed at skippers and crew new to racing.  It will cover the preparation of the boat, skipper and crew for racing in Galveston Bay and offshore. The seminar will also cover the rules of racing with emphasis on the mark rounding situations typical of the summer rum races. 

The second seminar, Sail Trim, will be held Saturday March 11th.  This seminar is a  comprehensive look at making your boat go fast with proper sail trim.  The seminar covers how to trim the main, genoa/jib and both symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers.  It also covers the type of control hardware needed to trim each sail.

The final seminar, Strategy & Tactics, will be held Saturday April 8th.  This course is an entry level look at the key elements of strategy / boat to boat tactics required for success on the race course

All seminars will start at 9am at the GBCA club house and will include lunch, we expect to finish by 2pm.  The cost for each seminar is TBD

Please join us for the 2022 GBCA Seminar Series:

Seminar #1, Saturday, February 26th: Please join Dave Christensen, GBCA BOG member, for "Introduction to Racing for Skippers / Crew & the Rules of Racing".   This seminar focuses on how to get involved in racing sail boats from the perspective of both new skippers / crew as well as how to prepare the boat, skipper and crew for racing.  The course also runs around the race course focusing on the key rules at the start, weather mark, leeward mark and finish line.

Seminar #2, Saturday, March 12th: Please join Chris May, GBCA Fleet Captain, for "Introduction to Race Committee".  The seminar will cover serving on the race committee, covering the functions of the signal and mark set boats to set up the course, managing the starting sequence and recording the finishes.  Serving on race committee is fun and provides a different racing experience.  GBCA needs to increase the pool of members who can serve on a race committee !!

Seminar #3, Saturday, March 26th: Please join Dave Christensen, GBCA BOG member, for "A Comprehensive Look at Sail Trim", covering the Genoa/ Jib, Mainsail and both Symmetrical & A-symmetrical spinnakers.  Course participants will be provided with a detailed sail trim matrix for each sail showing control settings in various wind and wave conditions.

Seminar #4, Saturday, April 30th: Please join Dave Christensen, GBCA BOG member, for "An Introduction to Racing Strategy & Boat to Boat Tactics".  Strategy stands at the apex of sailboat racing skills.  No amount of boat speed can compensate for being on the wrong side of a wind shift. Should you lee bow or duck that starboard tack boat ?.... the answer is driven by your understanding of strategy.  If you are new to racing this seminar will help you move up the skills ladder.

The seminars will be held at the GBCA club house, lunch is included.  Seminars will start at 9am and will generally end between 2-3pm.  Cost for seminars 1,3 & 4 is $15.  Seminar #2, Intro to Race Committee, is free and will end before noon.   The club is looking at a remote option, details to be determined. 

There will be a Celebration of Life Gathering of AJ's friends at the GBCA club house Sunday afternoon 3 March from 2-4pm.   AJ's daughters will be there; this is a good time for stories and memories of our friend.  Sponge Bob will be there.  Refreshments of some type will be available (Heineken?  ), along with photos on the big screen TV. We will send him off with the traditional 8 bells ceremony.

PLEASE RSVP to Jordan so we know how many are coming !  Jordan.taylor1@yahoo.com  or text her at: 832-729-2673

A special thanks to the GBCA BOD for allowing AJ's family, friends and crew mates to gather at the clubhouse.

Dave Christensen
Skipper
S/V Airborne

Our friend and longtime crew member AJ Taylor passed away last night at his home in the Woodlands.  AJ is survived by his daughters Jordan, Morgan and Corbin and two grandchildren Joshua and Oliver (with another about to arrive).

AJ was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the late spring of 2017. 

AJ was a great sailor and loved both sailing and racing.  He practically grew up sailing in Detroit, his family of five would anchor out on a Ranger 22 !!   He was adept at every job on the boat – fore deck (he was a certified member of the Fore deck Union - "just shut up and drive"), trimming, driving, strategy and tactics.

I have many great memories of AJ, his love of Sponge Bob Square Pants (resulting in making Sponge Bob our boat's mascot), his fear of bananas on the boat, his love of the Sydney Hobart race (he watched the start each year), sitting on Airborne's transom after a day's racing dragging his feet in the water, drinking a Heineken, seeming lost in thought.

My favorite memory is watching him trying to keep his then 2 year old grandson Joshua from jumping off Airborne's bow on a family cruise and the obvious pleasure he experienced sailing with the toddler.

We will miss him. 

Funeral arrangements TBD

Dave Christensen
Skipper
S/V Airborne

J Boat Owners !  Your last chance to sign up for J/Fest 2016 is TODAY; entries close at 1700 hrs !   At present there are 58 boats coming out to play, the weather looks fantastic with temps in the low 80's, moderate wind, Frogmore Stew and the LC Roots Band on Saturday night ......so come join the fun !   

Sign up at https://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/applet_registration_form.php?regatta_id=12777

Dave Christensen
J/Fest 2016 Chair

dc1sail@comcast.net
832-439-5113

Galveston Bay Racing Community

Cam from Sea Bags Maine (www.seabags.com) will be at Lakewood Yacht Club prior to the J/ Fest 2016 skippers meeting (Friday 10/28 at 7:30).  He will be on site at the club from 5-7:15 pm collecting your worn out sails and discussing trade options for Sea Bags items.  Since 1999 Sea Bags has been recycling worn out sails in Portland, ME.  Typically, they will trade a Sea Bags item per sail, based on the size and condition of the sail.  Any questions please reach out cam@seabags.com.  You do not have to be racing in J/ Fest to stop by LYC and drop off your old sails.

Check out the sample sea bag on the attachment.  Great opportunity to clear out your old sails and recycle them into something useful.

The J/ Fest 2016 regular registration deadline is rapidly approaching, if you intend to race in J/ Fest please help the race organizers by signing up - it is hard to plan an event if the race committee does not know how many boats are coming!  We have 38 boats signed up so far, the weather is finally cooling off and we expect a fun time both on and off the water.

Checkout the new J/ Fest Southwest Web site at:  http://www.jfestsouthwest.com/, you can sign up through that web site

If you have any questions please email me at dc1sail@comcast.net

Thanks
Dave Christensen
J/ Fest 2016 Committee Chair

J/ Boat owners:  You are about out of time ... free regatta T-shirts for you and your entire crew if you sign up by Sunday!  Please go to http://www.jfestsouthwest.com/ and register !

Airborne now has her ORC Club certificate.  Easy and fast.   NOTE:  If you intend to use a Code Zero you need to include the measurement information in the notes section of the application. Unfortunately there is no other place to enter the C0 measurement data.  I put the information in the notes and the ORC folks added that sail.  It does make a difference in the boat's predicted speeds (in the TWA / TWS where you would use a C0).   Therefore - using a Code Zero changes your rating. 

The J/ Fest Early Entry Deadline of August 28th is rapidly approaching - all early entries get free regatta T-Shirts for their crews !   Please get signed up at http://www.jfestsouthwest.com/