Frigid Digit

Annapolis, MD, USA, October 18, 2023. The Frigid Digit lived up to its name this year with cool temperatures, heavy rain on Saturday and strong northwest breeze on Sunday after the passing of a quintessential late season Mid-Atlantic cold front. Nonetheless, we had our typical hi quality sailing despite the conditions.

Doug Hart on his way to the North Americans from California sailing with Taylor Sheuermann from Miami were solidly at the top of the score sheet with no finish worse than second in the 7 race series. The rest of the wide angle podium was comprised of local(ish) sailors. Second was the team of Alex and Lisa Pline with consistent 2s and 3s after the drop race. Third place went to Rob Ramirez and Bryan Stout. Fourth place to regatta chairs Gavin and Holly O’Hare and fifth to Evan Hoffman and Hollis Barth.

Four races were completed on Saturday with on and off heavy rain and a very unsettled southeasterly breeze off Greenbury Point in Annapolis, our typical racing area. The 5-10 knot breeze with 20 degree shifts, bumpy sea state and current put a premium on making sure you kept the boat footing in the right direction. As it often is with this breeze strengths in this range, the difference in the way the boat feels in puffs is dramatic so staying in pressure is also very key. As a result there was no consistently favored side of the course. 

The timing was perfect for the end of the fourth and last anticipated race of the day as everyone was feeling the chill of the rain and the breeze shifted quickly to the south/southwest with the approaching front which would have required a lengthly course reconfiguration. Once the competitors hit the dock, they enjoyed hot Maryland crab and chicken tortilla soups, perfect for the fall wet and cold conditions.

After a lot of rain overnight and the passing of the cold front, Sunday morning brought crisp, sunny and very breezy fall sailing conditions. The fleet decided the best option for racing within class wind limits was to sail double triangles in the Severn River which is a bit more protected from the northerly direction than our typical course off Greenbury Point a mile to the southeast where we get real time wind readings:

Several competitors chose to stay ashore (aka a “Brunch Front”) and unfortunately after a strong day Saturday, the team of Carol Cronin/Kim Couranz had a spreader bracket failure in the first race Sunday resulting in their retiring for the day. While on the short side at about 25 minutes per race, the double triangle races required intense concentration with strong puffs and large shifts typical of big lakes. As is often the case in these conditions with properly set triangles, the choice to launch the pole or not on the reaches was very dependent on the shift/puff pattern at the time of rounding and the choices often resulted in jumbling of positions.

While we did not have the turnout we typically have due to a variety of conflicts, the racing was very tight and the variety of conditions served as good practice for the North American Championships next week in Norfolk VA. A big thanks to Greg Cukor, Bill Lawson and the rest of the Race Committee team for running 7 excellent races in challenging conditions and to Holly and Gavin O’Hare for running the regatta.

	SAILORS	SAIL NUMBER	BOAT NAME	CLUB/ORG	DIVISION	NET	TOTAL	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7
1	Doug Hart Taylor Scheuermann	USA 31297	None	MBYC	Master	7	9	1	1	[2]	2	1	1	1
2	Alex Pline Lisa Pline	USA 31313	Old Folks Boogie	Severn Sailing Association	Master	17	27	2	3	[10]	3	3	3	3
3	Robert Ramirez Bryan Stout	USA 31638	None	New York Yacht Club		25	34	[9]	4	4	1	4	4	8
4	Gavin O’Hare Holly OHare	USA 30629	Severance	Severn Sailing Assn.		32	43	3	5	[11]	9	7	2	6
5	Evan Hoffmann Hollis Barth	USA 31770	Pickle Rick	San Diego Yacht Club		35	47	[12]	6	5	8	9	5	2
6	Brady Stagg Lexi Pline	USA 30195	None	SSA		38	49	[11]	9	6	6	2	8	7
7	Jed Bell Elizabeth Rolfes	USA 3129	None	None	U30	38	47	6	7	[9]	5	8	7	5
8	Carol Cronin Kim Couranz	USA 31295	None	Severn Sailing Association	Master	39	53	4	2	1	4	[DNF – 14]	DNC – 14	DNC – 14
9	Eric Reinke Lorie Stout	USA 31357	None	Severn Sailing Association	Master	45	59	5	10	3	7	6	[DNF – 14]	DNC – 14
10	Preston Senior Thomas Walker	USA 30299	Senior Moment	SSA	U30	45	57	10	[12]	8	12	5	6	4
11	Tarasa Davis	USA 296711	T-Time	Atlanta Yacht Club	Master	61	75	7	8	7	11	[DNC – 14]	DNC – 14	DNC – 14
12	Lee Griffith Nikki Bruno	USA 31304	None	Surf City YC	Master	69	83	8	11	12	10	[DNC – 14]	DNC – 14	DNC – 14
13	Devon Feusahrens	USA 30860	Her Fault	SSA		84	98	[DNC – 14]	DNC – 14	DNC – 14	DNC – 14	DNC – 14	DNC – 14	DNC – 14