Author: fdsailor

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

Jim Rhodes generously donated a 1987 Lindsay to the USA FD fleet. He bought it from the Rosenberg brothers who had sailed it in the 1988 Olympic Trials, where they got 3rd. The USA FD Fleet is very fortunate that Jim donated his FD to the class. It is a rock solid boat that will make the perfect class boat.
 
View Looking Aft
Duane Ehleringer donated centerboard hardware. I donated a Superspar M5 mast and boom, a top cover, new hardware and lines, and cash.
 
I want class boats on the east and west coasts. Jim’s boat will be used on the west coast.   We can loan the Flying Dutchmans to young teams, teams traveling between coasts, and international travelers.
 
The boat is currently stored in my driveway here in San Diego. I want to get the boat ready for the Nationals, which will take place here in San Diego sometime in August or later if all goes to plan. There are number of things that need to be done to get the boat ready.   You can follow the refurbishing of the FD on our Facebook group: FD Facebook Group.  
 
The USA Flying Dutchman is a 401C charitable organization.   If you would like to contribute to our organization, please contact us at Class President.    It is a great boat. I am confident that the boat will come in underweight when everything is finished.
 
View Looking Forward

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.

FD Sailing on Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada

Here is a short note to start off your week.  Henry Weinhardt and family have been sailing USA 838 on Lake Simcoe for 15 years.   The boat and the sailing venue look fantastic!   Henry reports that the boat is in great condition and that he loves the boat.  Henry, thank you for the short note.

National Championships and North American Championships Postponed

Dear FD Sailors,

Gerhard and I have postponed the National and North American Championships until next year due to risks associated with COVID-19. The Nationals were scheduled for August 7-9 at the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) in conjunction with the Olympic Classes Regatta. The North Americans were scheduled for October 9-11 at the American Yacht Club (AYC) in conjunction with the High Performance Regatta. The good news is that both SDYC and AYC have agreed to host our Nationals and North Americans next year in similar time frames.  The National Championships will return to the East Coast in 2022. Our decision follows a similar decision by our International Class to postpone the Flying Dutchman Worlds. The Worlds had originally been scheduled for this September in Altea, Spain, but will now take place in 2021.

The Flying Dutchman is a beautiful boat. Although our championships are postponed until next year, I hope that you are able to get out sailing on your own to enjoy the very best that sailing has to offer. You can enjoy the Flying Dutchman vicariously by reading online old Flying Dutchman Trapezes (Trapeze) and Flying Dutchman Bulletins (Bulletin). You can also check out or contribute to Flying Dutchman news articles (FD News). Now is a great time to work on your boat.  You can buy and sell FD equipment here: FD Classifieds.  Peter Carr’s USA Flying Dutchman Facebook page is also available for your pleasure here: FD Facebook Group. If you would like to join the FD Google Group, please contact me. There is no better boat than the FD. We look forward to seeing you out on the water soon!

Best regards, Doug.

Douglas Dommermuth
US Flying Dutchman Class President
FD President

Gerhard Panuschka
US FD Class Secretary/Treasurer
FD Secretary/Treasurer

Flying Dutchman Bulletin 170

FD_170_2019

Flying Dutchman Bulletin Number 170 is now available on the international website. An archive of Flying Dutchman Bulletins is available here: FD Bulletin.  An archive of Flying Dutchman Trapeze Newsletters is available here: FD Trapeze.  Our archives are slightly incomplete.   If you have old Bulletins or Trapezes that would complete our archives, please contact: Webmaster.

Preliminary Sailing Instructions

Sailing Instructions for the 2012 World Championships have been posted. They can be found under the “Official” tab on the event site, www.fdworlds2012.org.  Please note that these are Preliminary Sailing Instructions.  Official SIs will be distributed at Registration and notice of changes will be posted on the regatta bulletin board.  We will attempt to make the most recent changes available on the event site, but the bulletin board will have the official version. 

WC2012 Regatta Insurance

Flying Dutchman sailors are eligible for the One-Design Insurance Program provided by the Gowrie Group. This program is endorsed by US Sailing and insures more one-design boats than any other insurance program. With the 2012 World Championship just around the corner, those who have not secured required coverage for the event can arrange for a policy by contacting the Gowrie Group

This PDF clearly explains how sailors can get the required insurance in place before the regatta. In addition to the standard 12 month annual policy Gowrie also offer single event insurance policies to accommodate Non-US residents and those chartering boats.

Please do not delay!  If you have issues finding coverage in the Untied States for the event, you still have time to have it in place.