The first EC-12 regatta of the season presented the four skippers with mostly light, patchy breezes with a lot of holes and windshifts, which made for an interesting afternoon. Actually there were only two races that had nice breeze from start to finish! Herb and Dave vied for first and Rick and Jerry vied for last. As the scoresheet shows, Herb edged out Dave and Jerry trailed Rick in the end.

We are pleased to have hosted a US1M regatta at our pond. Conditions were the best yet this year with wind generally 7-8 MPH with occasional drops to nothing- generally just when the start clock was started ( I sometimes wonder if Mother Nature can hear the countdown start and adjust accordingly). On the water, competition was interesting. You’ll note that the first’s were well spread out as wind shifts were prevalent through the afternoon. John Whalen outpaced the group for the win.

Again we were greeted with 10 to 15 knot winds but this time from the North. Adding to that, gusty and swirly conditions were evident causing some rather creative sailing. Position swaps were plentiful and final placement wasn’t assured until after crossing the finish line as there quite a few passes on the final upwind leg. Race 5 saw our first casualty. Alain’s boat was demasted (again). Turns out his mast crane broke (aluminum). Rick G had to retrieve it by kayak as it was drifting away from us. Thing were going good until the ninth race when, after a rather severe collision, Herb’s rudder became locked. Luckily the wind pushed it to the south end of the pond quickly where it was retrieved by Chris with his gaffe. Herb was able to un-stick his rudder allowing the rest of the races to be completed in a timely fashion.

Not a very auspicious start to the season but we tried. Winds, as opposed to most of last year, were in the 10 to 15 knot range- which were a challenge all afternoon. Trouble started even before the first countdown as Rick G had to go home to get a different boat, delaying the start by several minutes. First race Chris got to the first mark and wasn’t able to tack to the second mark. While making adjustments on the shore, his rudder took a hit and cracked and one of his chainplates pulled out. One down. Second race Rick G’s boat just kept falling behind and his boat’s freeboard was slowly decreasing ( it doesn’t have much to begin with actually). Boat taking on water… retired for the day. Two down. Races three and four were fine. Herb dominating throughout. Race five. Alain demasted just after rounding the first mark. Three down. Not wanting to launch the kayak, Cliff and Herb worked at shepherding it toward shore, during which Cliff’s boat’s jib sheet parted somewhere deep in the hull. Four down. That left Herb with the only boat left AND with five bullets to his credit. Racing was suspended at that point.

2026 Schedule Posted

March 13th, 1 pm

Pine Street Eatery 136 Pine St, Nashua, NH 03060

Last scheduled race of the season! Blue skies, temps in the low 60’s and foliage at near peak! The only thing missing was a steady, strong wind. Admittedly there were a few “drift-fests” but generally there was enough breeze to keep the boats moving, just no gunnels being awash. Joining the fleet, but generally keeping out of the way, were Alain’s 10-Rater and Rick G’s US1M. Although the end results were not close, there were several close finishes! Thanks for a great season! Lastly, a shout out to Rick Gates for retrieving the buoys after racing finished.

With some of the worst winds of the season, 5 V36s took to the pond for a shocking 12 races. Wind varied from nothing to light gusts (maybe 5 mph), sending the wins all over. Rick G, Rick L., Herb, and Chris and Alian all had at least one win! After 11 races, Alain had to retire with a loose rudder that he deemed unfixable at the pond. 

Another one in the books! We were expecting two knot breezes but, even though the water was often like glass (see pictures below), there was enough to keep the boats moving a majority of the time. Wind shifts were everywhere but very small volume causing quite a few place swaps including a VERY last place start / first place, by an inch, finish (hello Chris). Results follow.

Forecast is mid 70’s temperatures with light breezes from the North under mostly sunny skies.