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Author: fdsailor
Canandaigua Dinghy Regatta
The Canandaigua Yacht Club (http://www.sailcyc.com) is hosting the Canandaigua Dinghy Regatta on July 28, 29, and 30. Nearly all FD sailors who have sailed on the east coast are likely familiar with CYC as the hosts of the over 50 consecutive Cannonball Regattas, as well as many NA and Nationals over the history of the class. For much of that time, the Gorbolds were active (and fierce) competitors on that lake, and this year’s NA will feature Jonathon Gorbold as PRO with Anna assisting (contact). Jonathan, Anna, and Sue Raymond did a stupendous job hosting the Flying Dutchman North Americans last year. We hope to see you at this year’s event.
2024 Flying Dutchman Worlds
The International Flying Dutchman Class Association of the United States (IFDCAUS) is very pleased to announce that the 2024 Flying Dutchman Worlds are being hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in March 2024. For additional details, please contact Lin Robson Contact.

2022 Cuspidor
The 2022 Cuspidor will be held July 23 and 24, 2022 at Willow Bank Yacht Club Cazenovia, NY. Registration is Friday night 1600 -1800 and Saturday morning 0800-0900. Willow Bank Yacht Club has a fish fry Friday night all FD sailors are invited. Light Breakfast and lunch are provided both days of the regatta.
The club has a launch ramp and hoist. Camping on the club grounds as well as B&Bs small inns and hotels in the village. We are planning to sail 4-5 races Saturday and 2-3 races Sunday. July wind usually 5 to 12.
See you there,
Tom
Pig Regatta
In addition to FD North Americans at Canandaigua July 29-31 we are
planning to continue with our low key Brookville Lake regatta as part
of Brookville Lake Sailing Association’s Pig Regatta September 24-25.
The Pig Regatta is named for the pulled pork dinner that has been a
highlight social event for BLSA.
The lake is south of Liberty IN and the racing will be as low key as
you would like or as serious as you would like. Details to follow but
plan on sailing Saturday afternoon and Sunday till about 2 pm.
2022 North Americans on Canandaigua Lake
The 2022 FD North Americans will be held at Canandaigua Yacht Club in Canandaigua NY onJuly 29th – 31st. Located in the Finger lakes of Upstate New York, nearly all FD sailors who have sailed on the east coast or at a national level in the history of the FD class are likely familiar with CYC as the hosts of the over 50 consecutive Cannonball Regattas, as well as many NA and Nationals over the history of the class. For much of that time, the Gorbolds were active (and fierce) competitors on that lake, and this years NA will feature Jonathon Gorbold as PRO with Anna assisting.





Canandaigua Lake is a wonderful sailing location with plenty of room at nearly 16 miles long and 1.5 miles wide with no hazards in our sailing area. We often have a medium wind that is steadier than you might expect but still features some of the shifts that keep lake sailing exciting. And there is something great about finishing a day of sailing and not having to rinse salt off of everything.
In addition to the lake, CYC is a beautiful club, with great water access (you can hoist or ramp launch), easy and secure boat storage, and a long history of running quality sailing events. The club itself is the perfect combination of low key yet well equipped, having a full bar and dining room while also allowing camping on the grounds and plenty of space to bbq and sit around the fire at night.
In addition to Cannindagua hosting the NA’s, Cazenovia Yacht Club which is located about an hour and half east, will be hosting their long running Cuspidor regatta the prior weekend (July 23rd and 24th). For anyone with the vacation time to spare, a week or so exploring this region of New York while being able to sail two regattas in two nearby locations sounds like a dream come true.
In Both Canandaigua and Cazenovia, the sailors, members and staff are warm and welcoming and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at these events.
USA Class Lindsay Flying Dutchman


FD Minor Hull Repair
Sailing at Baseline Lake in Michigan
Ovidiu Adam reports that he is happy to be able to sail the Flying Dutchman on Baseline Lake with my colleagues and friends from the Michigan Sailing Club. The venue offers wonderful conditions for both casual sailing and racing, allowing a couple of FDs to sail, race, and shine in the middle of a mixed fleet. We are now expecting a 3rd boat to join the party.
FD Sailing in the Pacific Northwest
Ken Frankel has been sailing on Lake Washington with crews Kim McDonald and Ondrej Lehecka. Ken has also been doing some very trick work on his mast. Check out the block that Ken made to repair his carbon mast.
The backing plate was CNC’d machined. It properly reacts to the forces from the genoa halyard that are trying to pull the sheave forward out of the mast, as well as downward along the mast. Rivets seem to be the standard approach, and this results in very concentrated loads that a carbon mast doesn’t deal with very well. In the pictured setup, the machine screws serve only to keep the sheave from falling into the mast; the screws themselves have no significant load. The metal plate distributes the forces over comparatively large areas, reducing the pressures dramatically. This is much friendlier to a carbon structure.
Ken has a whole CNC machine shop equipped to make aerospace parts. Ken would welcome other FD sailors who have projects for their boat to come to his shop to use the facility to fabricate their own specialty items.