Walnut Valley Sailing Club

09/14/2026

Saturday Race Report —

Racers,

We experienced a blustery, shifty day -- not quite the SE at 6 forecasted.

Conditions: Temps rose to mid 90s, winds were SE 13 G 17 as we headed out, by the start it shifted E at 15 G 22.
Winds continued to bounce back and forth all afternoon, with strong puffs at the shifts.

Fleet -- Six boats headed out for the start, a SJ 21, O'Day 19 Mariner, and Hunter 23, with 3 C22s in the mix. Chris Duncan covered RC duty, setting up a 2 lap Harry Anderson course.

Race 1 -- we hit one of those shifts as a stiff header as the fleet neared the start line, all on starboard, with less than 15 sec until the gun. Immediately the entire fleet ended up tacking over to port just to clear the start line. Strong shifts and puffs continued throughout the first race. Rodney and Brad ended up clearing the windward mark first on the SJ, with Bill Allman and Bear in close trail on their 22. Preston and Tedd rounded third, with Kevin and I just astern in 22s. Alan and Billy sailed a good race in the O'Day, with Dana and guest crew Bill Grabendike following next.

Bill and Bear continued to press the SJ on the first leg. We moved into third on the first reaching leg, and that order held throughout the race. The fleet somewhat stretched out on the 2nd lap. Preston and Tedd encountered a tech issue, and DNF. Corrected order -- Rodney held on to a first place finish -- a solid race on a challenging day. Bill and Bear were 2nd, Kevin and I third, Alan and Billy fourth, with Dana and Bill Grabendike 5th.

Race 2. Fleet narrowed down to 4 boats, thanks to Chris for the coverage. Race shortened to 1 lap. At the start, the boats were all on starboard, with Rodney's SJ starting near the RC boat, in the lead. Bill's 22 crossed the start line in 2nd. with Dana third. Preston tacked over to port near the pin in 4th. The SJ rounded first, with Bill's 22 again close behind about 20 sec back. Preston and Tedd moved up to third by the windward mark, with Dana 4th. The SJ held onto the lead by the reaching mark, extending their lead out to about 30-40 sec over Bill and Bear.

The winds then shifted more to the SE, and the gusts somewhat subsided. Final order of finish did not change. With the handicap, Rodney and Brad narrowly finished in first, by only 7 sec over Bill and Bear. Nice race guys. Preston and Tedd were third, Dana and Bill G fourth.

Thanks to Chris for setting up the course and running the race single handed--that's tough on a windy day. Well done. We sailed in challenging wind shifts all day, with a good turnout of six boats on a Sat afternoon. Congrats to Rodney and Brad on winning both races.

Only four Saturdays remain on the schedule -- we'll see you next week.

Cheers,

Blaine

09/04/2026

Race report 09/02/2026

Hello Racers,

Conditions - hot and windy. As we left the docks, it was 100 deg with winds S 13 G 18 under clear sunny skies. Chris Duncan covered RC duty, setting up a G2 course (1 triangle, 2 W/Ls, with both the start and finish lines at the leeward end). We saw another solid turnout last evening, with 7 boats, including an Etchells, a SJ21, a Hunter 23, and 4 C22s. Chris herded us out there quickly and started us promptly at 6:50 pm.

At the start, the winds favored a starboard tack, and all the boats were closing to the line fast on starboard. We were a few seconds early, and ended up a little above the mid line, with Chris Proudfoot (C22) just above us, and Ernie below us near the pin on the Etchells. The rest of the fleet was closer to the RC boat and out of our view.

Ernie's boat smoked up the LH side of the course. We slowly pulled ahead of Chris' 22, and tacked back over to port once clear. Bill Allman (C22) and Rodney (SJ21) crossed just ahead of us, still on starboard. At the windward mark, Bill Allman rounded in the lead, with Ernie close behind. Rodney followed next, with us and Chris Proudfoof in trail. Dana (H23) and Bill Grabendike rounded out the fleet.

On the first deep reach, Ernie passed Bill Allman for the lead, and the rest of fleet remained in order, The winds slowly subsided during the race, with the winds S 8 as we headed down the last downwind leg. The order of finish remained steady. With the HCs, Bill Allman and Bear took first - congrats guys. Rodney and Brad secured second, with Kevin and I third. Ernie, Jim and Alan moved down to 4th, and Chris Proudfoot, Michael Sheppard and crew finished 5th. Dana and guest crew Alan were 6th, with Bill Grabendike and his son 7th. Thanks to Chris for setting up a solid course and getting us underway with our limited daylight in Sep.

With a downwind finish near the north end of lake, we all sailed quickly back into the cove with the boats put away, still in daylight. The winds lightened up a little more, and we were treated to great evening out on the docks. Our very own Ladies' Choice crew hosted a tasty end of season meal with brisket, beans, and sides. From our entire racing fleet, thanks to Deann, Ardie, and Janine for pulling this together. Thanks also to Chris Proudfoot for the superb brisket and Bill Grabendike for bringing the beans. Our end of season party is now into our 4th season, and it's evolved into one our racing fleet's best traditions. Thank you Ladies!

With that, we're down to one Wed night race remaining before we shift into the Saturday schedule for the fall.

Appreciate everyone's help in making this all work throughout the season. and we'll see you Wed.

Cheers,

Blaine

09/03/2026

Racers enjoyed the annual dinner hosted by Ladies Choice. Cheers to a great racing season🥂

09/02/2026

Save the Date….

08/29/2026

Racers—rsvp to Blaine or Deann. Going to be yummy 😋⛵️

08/23/2026

Wednesday night racing recap for August 19th

Weather last evening - temp 93, clear skies, winds varied from 7 dropping to 3 mph out of the NE.

Chris Proudfoot and crew covered RC duty, setting up a modified F course (2 triangles, followed by 2 W/L, mid course start).

Five crews and boats took the line, with Ernie's Etchells and 4 C22s: Bill Allman, Bill Grabendike, Chris Duncan and Kevin and I. The start line favored starboard, and that's how it unfolded. Ernie and our boat approached the RC boat a little early, with Ernie to windward. Chris sailed below us on starboard, however, we all drifted down the line a bit to avoid an early start.

Once we got underway, the Etchells held a close windward track, Chris and us fanned out to the left, and Bill Allman had tacked to port up near the RC boat. Ernie and crew passed the windward mark first. Chris and Jared rounded next, followed by Bill and Bear and then our boat.

The wind still blew around 7 or so, maybe higher, and Ernie stretched out the lead on the reaches. Chris and Bill were battling closely for second, with a number of apparent lead changes. We gained a little, but they eventually pulled away. As the evening went along, the wind really died down on our first downwind leg, and the RC shortened the course. Ernie and crew crossed the line first, followed by Chris and Jared, the Bill and Bear, and Kevin and I in trail. Bill Grabendike held on to FIP.

Corrected order of finish--the Etchells slid down to 4th, and the 3 22s moved up a spot. Congrats to Chris and Jared on your win -- you earned it. Chris, Michael and crew handled RC smoothly, and we were all able to see a cool sunset with clouds out west. It was still warm out as the sun set, but we enjoyed our post-race evening out on the docks under a a bright quarter moon. All in all, good race, decent weather, and a beautiful evening. Not many Wed nights remaining this season -- enjoy 'em while we can.

Note: our Wed night end of season party moved up a week to Sep 2nd. No change to the race schedule.

Cheers,

Blaine

08/12/2026

08/09/2026