Start of the Season

  The first regatta of the year is this weekend, May 4-5.  The MC Cowtown on Hoover Reservoir in Ohio. The lake is located in Westerville, one of the suburbs northwest of the city of Columbus.  This lake run north-south and is long and skinny.  It is just over a half kilometer in width straight west out from the club. This make great racing if the wind is a north or south direction, but when it is from the east or west it can get really tricky, plus there would be many laps around the course instead of the typical twice around.
  Many people ask me why I drive out to Columbus for a sailboat regatta. The number one reason is I like the people I race against. The second reason is that it is the first regatta of the year that is within 500 miles. Which makes it driveable in less than 8 hours.  So far there are 37 pre-registered with a few of the class hot shots.  I will have to sail real well in order to get a top 10 finish, something I have only achieved twice in the five times I have travelled there.
  The MC was taken out of storage last weekend.  Right now I have no maintenance plans on the MC this year.  I did buy a new mainsheet for the boat. After much deliberation I bought the Dinghy Sheet from FSE Robline in red and 5/16" width. I hope it is the right width as it is not as wide as the original main sheet which I beleive is 3/8" Sta-Set from New England Ropes, but it is of the same width as the Lightning mainsheet and was designed specifically as a Laser mainsheet.  We will see. I also have new type of gloves, so hopefully between the two I will have a good grip.  I had been buying the Championship Gloves by Gill and this year upgraded to the slightly heavier Pro Gloves. I chew through the championship gloves in a year, so I am hoping the Pro Gloves will last longer. Unfortunately, finances dictate no new sails for either boat this year.

  Right now I have a plan for 4 definite regattas, with the possibility of a few more.
They are:

MC Regattas
May 4-5       Cowtown Classic; Westerville, OH (definite)
June 1-2      Cage Match; Fenton, MI (still tbd)
June 15-16   Quebec Open; Montreal, Canada (conflict with a Lightning Regatta)
June 22-23   Horse Race; Saratoga, NY (definite)
Aug 24-25    Nor'Easterns; Keuka, NY (definite)
Sep  21-22   Blue Chip; Spring Lake, MI (need to qualify)
Sep  28-29   Cowan Scowin; Wilmington, OH (not likely)

Lightning
June 15-16   Caz Flash; Cazanovia, NY (likely if crew willing)
June 29-30   Champagne; Keuka, NY (definite)
July 20-21    Districts; Chaumont, NY (not likely, but could if crew willing)

  As you can see, the schedule is June heavy.  I have lots of other things going on this summer, including a Maine vacation in early August, a friends wedding in July, my own wedding Labor Day weekend, and working on the house getting ready for my fiance to move in. Finances may also play a part in what I can attend.
  The Lightning is also in the driveway now.  There are three things I need to work on before I drop her in the water.  I have two new halyards to run in the mast; fix a leak in the centerboard pin plate on the centerboard trunk; and replace the black side rails. None of these are super hard, but they take time away from working on the house, which is a high priority this year.

Wish me luck.