Sonar Class Association Newsletter

FLEET RACING:

***IMPORTANT NOTICE***

The date of the 2013 Sonar World Championships has changed. The Worlds will now be held on September 18-22. 

Rochester Yacht Club, Rochester, New York, remains the host.

Mark your calendars!

Long Island Sound Championships:

Noroton Yacht Club hosted the 2012 Long Island Sound Championships on September 29-30.

The weekend brought some extremely challenging racing conditions. Very light air on Saturday only allowed PRO Briggs Tobin to complete two races. It wasn't for lack of trying to get more in though. Sunday started the same but, thankfully a southerly came in around 1:00pm with a very nice breeze. With that Briggs was able to run two races in 8-12 kts. Combined with another light air affair earlier on Sunday and we ended the regatta with five races.

A total of 34 boats competed.

Our winner was Team 506: Colin Grodon, Bill Lynn, Peter Lynn and TK (Tom Kinney).













Second place went to Team Fast Forward: Peter Galloway, Ched proctor Jim Linville and Paul Steinborn.













Third was Team 690: Larry Ehrhardt, Sandy Weil and Andy Giglia.





Click HERE for a great debrief by Colin.

Full results can be found by clicking HERE















PhotoBoat was hired to take shots of the racing. The following are a few of our favorites:

TEAM RACING:

The Kirby Cup team race is the Sonar Class Association's Team Race Championships. Hosted by Noroton Yacht Club on September 15-16, six clubs participated this year: Boston, Vineyard Haven, New York, Eastern, Seawanhaka and Noroton.

First place with 16 wins in 20 races was Boston YC:




The following is a write-up by Scott Harrison, team captain for Noroton:

Wow, the Wind God’s were nice. 

Northwest winds averaging 8-12 knots held for two days, enabling Noroton YC to complete 4 round robins with 6 teams sailing 20 individual races each. This 12th running of the Kirby Cup, named after the Hall of Fame designer Bruce Kirby, was as competitive as ever. The competing clubs brought their varsity teams and the starts, mark roundings, and finishes where very close. 

On shore, Jim Linville's team, had all the boats equalized, launched, and ready. In addition, the numerous regatta chores needed to coordinate the 100+ people were executed very well.

Peter Wilson and his umpire team once again did a top job too.  Most of the competitors jumped at the chance to pair up with an umpire and learn. Sailing was clean and fair knowing the umpires were there. Thank you Peter.

Boston YC finished on top with 16 wins out of 20 races. Congratulations to Boston YC and their skippers Ted Moore, Tyler Doyle, and Will Whitman.

Second and third with 12 wins each were Vineyard Haven YC and New York YC. Vineyard Haven won the tie breaker.  Rounding out the fleet were Eastern YC with 10 wins (9 1/2 points), Seawanhaka Corinthian YC with 6 wins and Noroton with 4 wins.

Scott

Here's a follow-up by Lee Morrison in the Bosun's boat:

My perspective watching all the races from the bosun boat: most races were close enough that there was team racing going on into the finish.  The fleets were tightly packed, starts were close and there were position changes going on all the time. The weather was beautiful.  Boston was on their game.  They won most of their starts and when they didn't, they were able to convert into a winning position usually by mark 2. With a couple of notable exceptions (generally against VHYC) once they got ahead, they stayed there.  This was a weekend to remember regardless of finishing position.

Lee

DID YOU KNOW?

The Calendar tab on the SCA website is a great planning tool. Here you can find dates and contact information for all regattas including fleet racing, team racing and disabled racing.


IMPORTANT LINKS:

SCA Newsletter: http://sonarclass.blogspot.com/

SCA Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sonarclass

SCA Twitter page: http://twitter.com/#!/sonarclass

Sonar Class Association Newsletter

FLEET RACING:

2012 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The North American Championships took place on August 24-26 in Rochester, New York, hosted by Rochester Yacht Club.

Successfully defending his title, from Noroton Yacht Club, was Peter Galloway. Second was Colin Gordon, just one point back. Third was local sailor Jeff Sullivan.

Peter with Team Fast Forward, Paul Steinborn and Ched Proctor

Full results can be found HERE

Some great photos are posted on the SCA website in the Photo Gallery: http://www.sonar.org/

The following is a write-up of the regatta by Peter:

"Short on numbers but long in talent and great racing"

By Peter Galloway

It wasn't what we expected. Maybe it was the dates or maybe it was the distance. But then maybe it was something else. In any case the attendance at this year's North Americans was one of the lowest in memory. But 12 yachts showed up to contest the title.

And that was a pity because Skip Shumway and the Rochester YC put together a superb event and even the weather…CLICK HERE for the full report.

***Rochester Yacht Club will also be the host of the 2013 World Championships***

2012 NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The New England Championships took place on August 4-5. This year's regatta was hosted by the Falmouth Yacht Club in Falmouth, MA. A total of nine races were completed over the two days with 18 boats participating.

Karl Ziegler and Team 360 came out on top finishing with 18 point (after the throw-out). Second place was Rocky Geyer & Jim Tietje. Third went to Alex Meleney. 

Team 360

From Right (standing): Karl, Paul Barringer, Kristen Altreuter and TK (white shirt).

For full results, CLICK HERE.

TEAM RACING:

COMMODORE GEORGE R. HINMAN MASTERS INVITATIONAL TROPHY:
August 17-19, 2012

New York Yacht Club
Harbour Court, Newport, RI
3-on-3 Masters in Sonars with spinnakers

Event Chair: Peter Benedetto

August 19, 2012, Newport, R.I. - After 105 races sailed, St. Francis Yacht Club emerged the repeat winner of the 2012 Commodore George R. Hinman Masters (Hinman Masters) Invitational Trophy. The thirteenth yearly edition of New York Yacht Club Masters Team Race for The Hinman Masters Invitational Trophy was held at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court Club house on August 17, 18 and 19 with teams representing ten clubs. Competitors in this year's event include five-time champion New York Yacht Club; Eastern Yacht Club of Marblehead, MA; Larchmont Yacht Club of Larchmont, NY; Newport Harbor Yacht Club of Balboa,CA.; NorotonYacht Club of Noroton CT; Riverside Yacht Club of Riverside, CT.; St. Francis Yacht Club of San Francisco, CA; Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club of Oyster Bay, N Y; Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans, LA and Texas Corinthian Yacht Club of Kemah, TX. Unique to the format of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) Masters Team Race for the Hinman Masters Invitational Trophy is that each boat must include a skipper at least 45 years of age and crew members must beat least 40 years of age. The regatta is sailed in NYYC’s fleet of Sonars, complimented this year by the addition of Seawanhaka Corinthian’s Sonars, with each team comprised of three boats…

For full report and results, CLICK HERE

NYYC GRANDMASTERS TEAM RACE INVITATIONAL:
August 25-26, 2012

New York Yacht Club
Harbour Court, Newport, RI
3-on-3 Grandmasters in Sonars no spinnakers

Event Chairs: David Bush-Brown & Stu Saffer

FINAL REPORT
Noroton Yacht Club, which won the event in 2010, was victorious again in the second sailing of the Grandmasters Invitational Team Race at Harbour Court last weekend. In addition to NYYC, the participants were American YC, Eastern YC, Noroton YC, Southern YC, St. Francis YC, St. Petersburg YC, and Texas Corinthian YC. Last year’s event was cancelled due to the pending arrival of hurricane Irene. The Commodore Stewart Cup was awarded to Peter Wilson, Noroton Captain, on Sunday afternoon after his team defeated NYYC in the final race of the medal round. The Commodore Stewart Cup was originally awarded by NYYC Commodore W.A.W. Stewart to the yacht Seven Seas in 1938 and was recently dedicated for the Grandmasters Invitational...

For a full report and complete results, CLICK HERE

UPCOMING SEPTEMBER EVENTS:

LONG ISLAND SOUND CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Noroton Yacht Club will be hosting this year's LIS Championships. Racing will take place on September 29-30. The class Annual General Meeting will also take place here on Friday evening.

This will be the last opportunity in 2012 for some great fleet racing in what is expected to be a fairly large group of entries.

The NOR and online registration is now available at http://www.sonar.org/

THE KIRBY CUP TEAM RACE:

The Kirby Cup, hosted by Noroton YC will take place on September 15-16. Teams for the Kirby Cup, the SCA's team race championships, are set:

Boston Yacht Club
Eastern Yacht Club
New York Yacht Club
Noroton Yacht Club
Seawanhaka Corinthian  Yacht Club
Vineyard Haven Yacht Club

New York Yacht Club is the defending champion but with six fairly even, competitive teams, holding on to that title will be difficult!

DID YOU KNOW?

The Photo Gallery on the class website (http://www.sonar.org/) has over 230 images in 10 different albums including shots from this year's North American's - like this:

Check them out!

IMPORTANT LINKS:

SCA Newsletter: http://sonarclass.blogspot.com/

SCA Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sonarclass

SCA Twitter page: http://twitter.com/#!/sonarclass

Sonar Class Association Newsletter

UPCOMING REGATTAS:

2012 SONAR NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The North Americans are only six weeks away. Time to make your plans, reserve your lodging and, most importantly - register! You can register online at: http://www.sonar.org/

Click on the letter to enlarge

MARBLEHEAD RACE WEEK:

The sonar class will, once again, participate in the Marblehead NOOD regatta hosted by Eastern YC, taking place on July 28-29. This year, there are crews coming from as far as San Francisco to get time on the Sonar in preparation for the NYYC Invitational. Expect a strong fleet, great racing and a terrific after-race party!

Register here: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood-regattas/marblehead

NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS:

The 2012 New England Championships are being hosted by the Falmouth Yacht Club, Falmouth MA. on August 4-5. Racing will take place on the waters of Vineyard Sound between Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. This regatta is only three weeks away! Register today on http://www.sonar.org/

RESULTS:

C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta

NEWPORT, R.I. (July 9, 2012) – Against the backdrop of over a dozen vessels assembling for the Ocean State Tall Ships Parade of Sail, competitors got down to business on the final day of racing at the 10th annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta. 

A hard-fought battle took place on the Sonar course where Paralympians and reigning world champions Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Per Eugen Kristianson and Marie Solberg (all Oslo, Norway) had started the day with the lead of the standings – while tied on points – with 2008 Paralympian Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.) and crew Gerry Tiernan (Falmouth, Maine) and Hugh Freund (S Freeport, Maine). With the Norwegian team posting finishes of 2-1, and Doerr’s team finishing 3-2, the Norwegians prevailed to take their first class win at The Clagett with 13 points, just one point ahead of Doerr, Tiernan and Freund. The USA’s representatives to the Paralympic Games remained third overall, 12 points out of first place, despite finishing 1-3 in today’s racing. Paul Callahan (Newport, R.I. /Cape Coral, Fla.), Tom Brown (Castine, Maine) and Brad Johnson (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), will compete for the first time as a team at the Paralympic Games, although all three have competed in a previous Paralympics. Richard Ramos (Medford, Mass.), Cindy Walker (Abington, Mass.), Duncan Gillespie (Charlestown, Mass.) and Steve Jewett (Winthrop, Mass.) were fourth overall with 37 points.

For complete scores, photos and additional information, visit www.clagettregatta.org

2012 Atlantic Coast Championships:

Dave Curtis wins Sonar Atlantic Coast Championship

RESULTS:

http://bit.ly/KEOeW8 @sonarclass #sailing #marblehead PHOTO: Courtesy Leighton O'Connor

DID YOU KNOW?

The measurement status for (nearly) all Sonars can be found on http://www.sonar.org/. From the home page, select Measurement Status, then find your boat number - it's that easy! Click on your boat number to download a PDF version of your personal measurement certificate.

COMMUNICATIONS:

We now have lots of ways to stay in touch with the class and our members.

We have a website which includes a forums area in the Member's Only section:

http://www.sonar.org/

We have a Facebook page we encourage you to "Like.":

http://www.facebook.com/sonarclass

A Twitter page for you to "follow.":

https://twitter.com/SonarClass

Plus this newsletter is posted, allowing you to comment or see past issues, here:

http://sonarclass.blogspot.com/

Sonar Class Association Newsletter, April 2012

For those who have not renewed their class membership, access to the Members Only area of the class site is no longer available. To renew online, go to www.sonar.org and click on the "Membership" tab in the left column.

MARBLEHEAD SONAR FLEET WINS THE TEXAS "SHOOTOUT" TEAM RACING TITLE:

Eleven Marblehead sailors travelled to the Texas Corinthian Yacht Club near Houston to defend its title in this year’s version of Texas Corinthian Yacht Club’s “Texas Shoot Out” Sonar team racing regatta.

Marblehead secured the win by going 10-0 over the course of the weekend in two races each against Texas Corinthian YC, Wayzata YC, Rochester YC, New York YC, and Noroton YC. 

Ted Moore, Pete DeWolfe, Patrick Andreasen, Tim Guy, Tyler Doyle, Chris Boulter, Nyla Dubois, Larry Ehrhardt, Daan Goedkoop, Jeff Shoreman, and Charlie Pendleton sailed for Marblehead.

Saturday’s racing started late due to light winds giving the Marblehead Team a chance to enjoy the Veranda at the club and recover from Friday nights ride on the “Bullet” roller coaster after a large steak dinner.  Once the wind came up the race committee was able to complete an entire round robin with the last race finishing just 15 minutes before dusk at 7:30 PM.  The Marblehead team used a combination of good starts, boatspeed and little bit of team racing to go 5 – 0 on day 1.

Sunday’s conditions were slightly better with a moderate breeze allowing for another full round robin.  The TCYC team was just behind the Marblehead team with a score of 4-1 after day one so the second match between these two teams would determine the outcome of the regatta.  At the top mark, the Marblehead team had a tenuous lead with a 1,3,5 combination; however, after a good wing mark trap, some downwind pair balancing, and leeward mark trap, Marblehead had converted to a 1,2,3 and basically sealed the regatta win. 

The regatta hosts (Chairman Tony Smythe), race committee (PRO Joel Scott), judges (chief judge Steve Shepstone), and the rest of the TCYC team did a fantastic job of running the regatta and is one of the highlights of the Sonar regatta calendar for the attendees.

ROCHESTER YC SET TO HOST TWO MAJOR REGATTAS:

(Click to enlarge.)

USMMA Sailing Foundation is accepting Sonar sail and equipment donations!

During your spring cleaning, free up space in the garage, shed, basement or wherever else you are storing those old Sonar sails and equipment you don’t use.  The USMMA Sailing Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) entity which will accept your donations to support the six Sonars raced by the USMMA midshipmen locally and in Sonar Class sanctioned events.  All donations are tax-deductible and you will receive documentation supporting your deduction.  Contact Rick Dominique USA 652 - FINE LINE for more information and to arrange pickup.  Dominiquer@usmma.edu 516-726-6036.

Rick Dominique
Director of Varsity Programs
USMMA Waterfront
516-726-6036
http://usmmawaterfront.blogspot.com/

2012 TAPPAN ZEE CHALLENGE:

Calling all Sonar Sailors,

Sonar Fleet #23 at the Nyack Boat Club would like to invite you all to this year’s annual Tappan Zee Challenge. The event will take place May 19/20 2012 and we are looking forward to a great weekend of racing. Last year was another great year for Sonar sailing on the East Coast with many regattas and more team racing then I have done in a long time - and we would like to keep that momentum going!

Please "Save the Date." The NOR and registration information is posted on the Sonar Class website (The NOR is also available by clicking on the link below). Online registration is also open and can be found at http://www.sonar.org/

If you could please send me a quick reply to this email letting me know if you think you can make it (so we can get a rough initial count) it would be much appreciated!

** We have some very nice shirts this year (mesh wick-away) and as a bonus, if you register on time, we will be able to have your Hull Numbers stitched onto the shirt under the logos. 

We will have teams ready to assist you when you get there, we will have moorings allocated to visitors, the R/C is preparing interesting courses, and we expect to have a great party -- now all we need is you.



Sonar Fleet #23 looks forward to seeing you there.

Regards,

MRL

P.S. If you have any question, would like to crew, need crew, etc.. please email me or call me anytime.

Michael Leinweber
email: mrleinweber@hotmail.com

phone: 347 - 834 - 3415

NORs:

The NORs for the 2012 season are starting to come in. If you are interested in sailing in a particular regatta, check in with the SCA website (http://www.sonar.org/) to see if the NOR has been posted.

Here are five:

2012 Tappan Zee Challenge:


The NOR for the 2012 Tappan Zee Challenge, hosted by the Nyack Boat Club, is now available. You can access the document by clicking here: TAPPAN ZEE CHALLENGE NOR

2012 North American Championships:

The NOR for the 2012 NAs, hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club, is now available. You can access the document by clicking here: NORTH AMERICAN"S NOR

2012 Atlantic Coast Championships:

The NOR for the 2012 ACC's, hosted by Eastern YC in Marblehead, MA on June 23-24, is now available. Click here: "ACC NOR" to download a copy.

Delta Lloyd Regatta:

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE DELTA LLOYD REGATTA 2012!

This year the Delta Lloyd Regatta will take place from Tuesday 22th until Saturday the 26th of May in Medemblik, the Netherlands. During this week participants from all kinds of different Olympic sailing classes will compete against each other including the Sonar class. This year the event will celebrate its 28th anniversary.

From now on it is not only possible to register for the Delta Lloyd Regatta 2012 itself, competitors can also book their accommodations online.
To register for this year’s Delta Lloyd Regatta click HERE

Click HERE to book an accommodation.

For more information, go to http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/. This site will be updated regularly so check back often.

We hope to see you soon.

The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta:

The Notice of Race for the tenth annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta, scheduled for July 6-9, 2012, is now available online at www.clagettregatta.org.

As North America’s premier event for sailors with disabilities, “The Clagett” is open to both U.S. and foreign competitors and will, this year especially, be an integral part of preparing athletes for the 2012 Paralympic Games when the event takes place at Sail Newport, Rhode Island’s community sailing center.  Traditionally held in late-August, the move to July will facilitate additional athlete training prior to the Paralympic Regatta which takes place the first week of September in Weymouth, England.

For the last two years, the singlehanded 2.4 Metre has been open to able-bodied sailors which doubled the number of competitors on the starting line.  Starting with the 2012 event, able-bodied sailors may also compete in the three-person Sonar which will be raced with mainsail, jib and whisker poles.  The inclusion of able-bodied competitors translates into stiffer competition which makes for the best possible training opportunity for the Paralympic competitors and also reinforces The Clagett’s mission of providing sailors with disabilities the opportunity to improve their skills and reach personal goals through coaching and competition.

DID YOU KNOW?

The class website has some great articles to help you with boat prep and speed. Two articles, written by Peter Galloway can be found here:

Fast Numbers

In Search of Speed

Other go fast articles can be found by clicking on the Library tab on the home page then selecting Articles.


COMMUNICATIONS:

We now have lots of ways to stay in touch with the class and our members.

We have a website which includes a forums area in the Member's Only section:

http://www.sonar.org/

We have a Facebook page we encourage you to "Like.":

http://www.facebook.com/sonarclass

A Twitter page for you to "follow.":

https://twitter.com/SonarClass

Plus this newsletter is posted, allowing you to comment or see past issues, here:

http://sonarclass.blogspot.com/

Sonar Class Association Newsletter, March 5, 2012

LET'S GET CAUGHT UP...

The Rolex Miami OCR:

The OCR was held January 22-28. 10 Sonars, representing eight countries, competed in a preview to the paralympics later this year in London.

Udo Hessels/ Marcel van de Veen/ Mischa Rossen (NED) secured a gold medal with a 1-2 on the final day, for a five-point margin over silver medalists John Robertson/ Hannah Stodel/ Steve Thomas (GBR).  Taking the bronze was Aleksander Wang-Hansen/ Marie Solberg/Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR).

For the US, Rick Doerr finished with 41 points, two ahead of Paul Callahan. Unfortunately for Rick, this wasn't enough. When factoring in the IFDS World Championships, Callahan earned the right to represent the US in London by virtue of his 6, 6 finishes to Doerr's 9, 5. Congratulation's Paul!

For complete results: http://rmocr.ussailing.org/results/sonar/

The ST. Petersburg NOOD:

The first NOOD regatta of 2012 was held on Feb 18-19. With 10 boats competing, the Sonar class had the third highest turn-out of the one design classes. The regatta was a tale of to very different days. Saturday being light air and a stronger breeze on Sunday.

Rick Doerr began the regatta with two guns on Saturday. Unfortunately, he finished with a bang, literally, on Sunday.

From Rick: "Dismasted in 20-25 knts at the St. Pete NOOD. Were looking good with 3-4 swells, great start, tacked on to port when we got a 35+ puff. First bang was the port upper failing and within seconds the mast failing at the spreader. Ouch indeed!

Click to enlarge

In the end, Rachael Silverstein from St. Petersburg won the regatta with nine points, two points ahead of Bruce Millar of Canada and eight points ahead of third place finisher Noel Clinard from Richmond, VA.

For full results: http://tinyurl.com/78qw478

2012 CALENDAR:

Mark your calendars, make your plans. The following are the fleet and team racing calendars for 2012 (SCA sanctioned regattas are in red):

Fleet Racing:

	May 19 - 20	2012 Tappan Zee Challenge  Nyack Boat Club	Michael Leinweber
	June 23 - 24	2012 Atlantic Coast Championships  Eastern YC	Larry Ehrhardt
	July 27 - 29	Marblehead NOOD  Marblehead, MA	Larry Ehrhardt
	August 4 - 5	2012 New England Champs  Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA	Joe Voci
	August 24-26	2012 North American Championships  Rochester YC	Eric Voss
	Sep 29-30	2012 LIS Championships  Noroton YC	Bruce McArthur

Team Racing:

	March 24-25	2012 Texas Team Race Challenge  TCYC, Kemah, TX.	Tony Smythe
	April 14 - 15	2012 Jackson Cup Invitational  Boston YC
	May 5-6	2012 Oyster Bay Challenge (Masters)  Seawanhaka YC	Mark Swanson
	August 11 - 12	2012 Morgan Cup  New York YC, Newport, RI
	August 18 - 19	2012 Hinman Masters  New York YC, Newport RI
	August 25 - 26	2012 Grand Masters Invitational  New York YC, Newport, RI
	Sept. 15 - 16	2012 Kirby Cup Team Race  Noroton YC	Lee Morrison
	October 6 - 7	2012 Lee Trophy  Seawanhaka YC	Al Constants
	October 27-28	2012 Halloween Regatta  Eastern YC	Larry Ehrhardt

MEMBERSHIP:

As most of you know, we have changed our membership policy. We now offer one level for a reduced price of only $50.

We operate on a calendar year so all 2011 memberships expired at 12 midnight on December 31. To renew, simply go to the class website (http://www.sonar.org/) and in the Membership tab, select Renew.

We offer a generous grace period of three months after which access to the Member's Only area of the website will be turned off. That grace period ends at the end of this month so renew today!

COMMUNICATIONS:

We now have lots of ways to stay in touch with the class and our members.

We have a website which includes a forums area in the Member's Only section:

http://www.sonar.org/

We have a Facebook page we encourage you to "Like.":

http://www.facebook.com/sonarclass

A Twitter page for you to "follow.":

https://twitter.com/SonarClass

Plus this newsletter is posted, allowing you to comment or see past issues, here:

http://sonarclass.blogspot.com/


Speaking of communicating, this might be a good time to begin introducing you to all the great information available to Sonar sailors on the SCA website. Going forward, we will highlight one item/section/document you might find helpful. We'll call it...

DID YOU KNOW?

The polars for the Sonar can be found on the SCA website. To access them, from the homepage, select Library -> Literature. It's easy. Check it out, there is a ton of great information included with this document.