Don Barker, fleet captain from the Oxford RC Laser Fleet, successfully defended his Region 2 Championship at the Tilghman On Chesapeake YC in Tilghman Island, MD. The day opened with light westerly winds and an occasional rain shower. PRO, Peter Bruns gave us a good long line and two lap courses so we fleet raced all 17 boats at once. This was the largest fleet we’ve seen in RC Laser events and we made it work with a very minimum of issues at starts and rounding marks. The fleet was absolutely well behaved and if penalty turns were required they were taken without angst (i.e no outbursts). We are becoming much more responsible skippers, avoiding contact and respecting right of way rules. We sailed five races before the break and Oxford’s Jim Karr, AMYA President, Dave Brawner, and Don Barker in the top there with wins in the first 5 races. Brawner, with an unfortunate 17th in one race, had that to eventually throw out, and looked like the one to beat at the break. After lunch on the deck the sun came out and the predicted southerly showed up.
She (the southerly) played with us with occasional holes and a complete shutdown in one race that was abandoned. Don Barker turned it on in the afternoon with clean starts and two more firsts. He was joined by Dave Branning, who recorded a low point afternoon to go from a sixth place in the morning to second overall at the end. Only three points separated 2nd through 5th place. We had one throw out for the 10 races completed. The Oxford guys recorded four of the top five places with Barker, Branning, Roger Vaughan and Jim Karr joined by 4th place winner, Dave Brawner, from West Jersy’s RC Laser Fleet.
A big thanks goes to Peter Bruns, our PRO, who did a great job making the right calls in a smooth and calm manner. Kudos too to the score keepers of Elaine Hepkin and Claire Barker and to the Oxford Team of John Tochko, Harry Henkel, Roger Baldwin, Roger Vaughan and Don Barker who seem to do whatever it takes to make our fleet and regattas successful. A mention of note is we are the team supporting and hosting the National Championship in October at the Tred Avon YC in October.

Thanks too for Rick Ferguson and Tom Rummage who weathered rain and ungodly Bay Bridge traffic to arrive from the Triangle YC in Raleigh, NC for the event. And, as always, the West Jersey guys/gals brought six of their team inlcuding Tammy Brunker sailing her first regatta out of home waters.
The Results:
1. Don Barker 25
2. Dave Branning 38
3. Roger Vaughan 39
4. Dave Brawner 40
5. Jim Karr 40
6. Nick Mortgu 50
7. Tom Rummage 60
8. Harry Henkel 63
9. Roger Baldwin 70
10. Victor Oberg 87
11. Yank Brame 88
12. Terry Rapp 97
13. Dan Walsh 100
14. Rick Ferguson 102
15. John Tochko 133
16. Tammy Brunker 136
17. Claude Maechling 178

Pictured below l to r: Winner Don Barker, Dave Branning, Roger Vaughan, Dave Brawner and Jim Karr

Pictured below is Don Barker accepting the Jim Karr R2 Championship Trophy from….Jim Karr:

The fleet from the Regional Championship:

Skippers and friends: Link below is a collection of some of the pictures from the recently held RC Laser North American Championship. Thanks to Sue Keller and Jim Flach for their contributions. There are more good pictures out there and I hope others will share with me so we can round out the visual library from this great regatta.  Thanks again go to the Marco Island RC Laser Fleet, the City of Marco Island and to all the support team as well as the competitors who came. The regatta was a testament to fair sailing, good sportsmanship and the best sailor winning in 2013. Good going to Jim Kaighin for his 3rd North American Championship and to all the winners.

https://picasaweb.google.com/dbranning11/2013RCLaserNorthAmericans?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKZyJXkvqiYsgE#

Here’s an article from the Marco Island Sun Times this morning (3/7/13). Note: Jim Kaighin is from the Bahamas not a Bahamian.

http://www.marcoislandflorida.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130305/MARCONEWS/303050035/Bahamian-man-wins-4th-radio-controlled-sailboat-regatta

Winners from the North Ameridan Championship: L to R: Bryan Milk, Community Affairs Director, City of Marco Island, Jim Kaighin, Barr Batzer, Rob Seidelmann, Hank Buchanan, Mike Kaighin,  Rocky Cale, Jack Ward, Geo Domenech; in the front, Lindsay Kaighin, first woman. Sue Keller, photo.

The 2013 North American  RC Laser Championship goes to Jim Kaighin from the Bahamas. Jim sailed a 2, 2, 1, 3, 3, 5, 13 (throw out) day to win by seven points over Barr Batzer, from Lighthouse Point, FL. Barr actually had a one point lower gross score in this two throw out regatta. This was Barr’s first regatta in an RC Laser. Third, 8 points back from Barr, was Rob Seidelmann from Collingswood, NJ. All of the top three skippers were neck and neck for the regatta and had a chance to take the top spot on the last day.

Weather was not too inviting early Sunday with 47 degrees and a sprinkling of rain. By 10 am the sun came out and the A sails were deployed, but as the winds swung to the NE and freshened, we had a mixture of C and B sails to finish the day. The sweaters and the jackets stayed on as the temps never quite got above the low 60’s for the balance of the day. PRO, Dave Brawner, and his team of Harvey Spriggs, Dave Dumas, and Mary Lee Cale, kept the pace moving as the Promotion/Relegation format of two fleets completed 34 heats for 17 races for the regatta.  It was another wonderful experience sailing in Mackle Park, a venue perfectly suited for RC racing. Thanks also go to Rocky Cale and George Domenech of the host fleet who worked with the City of Marco Island and the Marco Island Yacht Club to round out a perfectly organized weekend.

The win for Jim Kaighin is his 4^th regatta win at Mackle Park and his third North American Championship. Jim previously won the North Americans at Pocono Pines, PA and Oxford, MD.

1. Jim Kaighin          37
2. Barr Batzer          44
3. Rob Seidelmann 52
4. Hank Buchanan 69
5. Mike Kaighin      71
6. Rocky Cale          92
7. Jack Ward            98
8. Myles Loesel      99
9. Dave Branning117
10. Tom Lucke          124
11. Jim Flach              140
12. Victor Oberg      174
13. Harry Henkel      201
14. Chuck Weaver   202
15. Scott Loesel        214
16. Gary Sharp          235
17. Scott Rice            238
18. Roger Baldwin   239
19. Yancey Brame   242
20. Dan Walsh           246
21. Lindsay Kaighin 251
22. Jim Craft              267
23. Don Harthorn    297
24. Nick Mortgu       310 did not sail Sunday
25. Rick Hellyar         333
26. Geo Domenech    347

Competitors from the RC Laser Class North American Championship. Sue Keller, photo.

Day one from Florida brought 15 RC Laser skippers together at Punta Gorda, home of the Sun Coast Model Yacht Club. This was the inaugural Snowbird event on the RC Laser racing calendar. It was a terrific pond in a spacious town park with close in parking and two perfect launch docks. Nick Mortgu, AMYA RC Laser Secretary, and host, Jack Ward, combined forces to pull this Snowbird Tune Up Regatta together as a prelude to the North American Championships in Marco, which starts today at Mackle Park on Marco Island If there was a theme for the Snowbird Tune Up Regatta it was ROB SEIDELMANN DAY.

Rob reeled off 10 firsts out of 15 races to crush the fleet in shifting A Sail NW breezes in the morning then a robust B sail afternoon. Rob used clean starts and found good lanes to secure a control position right from the start gun. Rob was followed by Alan Perkins, in a borrowed boat. Alan is a renowned EC12 and Micro Magic Champion and is the current Florida State EC12 Champion. Alan was a strong second over Dave Branning, who stayed out of trouble with no race wins but near the top third in most races. Five RC sailors from other classes were able to borrow or cobble together boats to participate in the regatta. It is hoped that the Sun Coast Model Yacht club will pull together more RC Lasers for an active fleet.

The regatta was also supported by four skippers from the West Jersey RC Laser Fleet and three from the Oxford RC Laser Fleet in Maryland…..true Sunbirds enjoying the Florida sun and warm temps. Thanks to Dave Brawner, AMYA President, who kept the show going with good courses and a fast paced day, as PRO. Dave was supported by Paul Newfield and “Jim in the Kayak.” Lisa Brawner and Beth Lippincott hustled together great lunches from Subway. Nick Mortgu provided embroidered duffel bags for the top three skippers and tee shirts for all competitors.

Today is the first day at the North Americans and it’s Seeding Race Day. The fleet will be divided into three balanced fleets based upon past performance and each fleet will sail two back to back heats. The best score in one race will be counted as race one for the championship but the combined score will seed you for Promotion/Relegation (two fleets) for Saturday and Sunday. Stay tuned, more tonight.

pictures from Punta Gorda:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ue6xap2qo1ikxpy/mUUD6fr4m-

The SNOWBIRD RESULTS:

Rob Seidelmann 19

Alan Perkins 42

Dave Branning 82

Gib Loesel 89

Jack Ward 90

Jim Karr 91

Victor Oberg 97

Nick Mortgu 98

Jim Flach 103

Pete Bailey 108

Dan Walsh 135

Frank Vella 150

TG Wald 161

Theresa Ray Gay 171

Al Dion Sailed 1/3 Day