Gunpowder

by BABA News - July 6, 2014

Spring Regattas

Lining up for a start from the beach — Lining up for the Le Mans start.

We had a great start to the spring racing season with our annual Gerry Brown Memorial Regatta for Cancer Research at Baltimore County Sailing Center. It was a light-wind day for an enthusiastic bunch of long boarders. BCSC Director Eileen Fahrmeier set some marks for and upwind downwind course and we had a Le Mans style start from the beach. The wind was flukey and dying so the crew completed one race and spent the rest of the day free sailing in Hawk Cove. BABA members contributed about $500 to the Sidney Kimmel Center for Cancer Research at Johns Hopkins. Thank you to everyone who contributed and who came out for the event. It was great to see Jack Ames back out on the race course after a long hiatus. Big thanks to our host, Eileen and BCSC. Check out their website and programs for youth and adult sailing. There’s also a week-long windsurfing camp for kids every summer.

by BABA News - July 7, 2013

Gunpowder Regatta and Learn to Windsurf

Your BABA peeps had a big weekend at the Gunpowder in June. Where were you? The threatening storms never materialized even though it was raining cats and dogs inland, and we had nice thermals both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday the wind came early enough for 5 competitive longboard races. The Formula kiddos decided to play rather than race and they were blasting downwind of the race course.

Big thanks to Jeff Forte for ably running the races from a kayak on Saturday. BABA racing is going green – no carbon except for our masts and booms. For the final race of the day we had a self timed beach start in rapidly increasing winds. Stuart Annapolis Wind and Sam Berry returned to the race course after a long hiatus. Welcome home guys!

On Sunday BABA’s Learn to Windsurf took center stage with an enthusiastic group of newbies ready to get on the water. Storms were raging inland again but the bad weather was magically diverted around Gunpowder by BABA juju. Hal Ashman of Ultimate Watersports was the lead on-land instructor. I don’t think the students realized that they were being instructed by one of the East coast’s best. Thanks for being there for BABA, Hal! Winds were increasing through the afternoon so the LTW students had light wind to get started and a bit more of a push once they got their basic uphauling and sailing skills under wraps. I heard one exuberant student cry out “I CAN DO IT!” Congratulations to Janice E for continuing a tradition of well attended LTW clinics. Thanks to all the folks providing on the water coaching – Mark Windz41, Helen VG, Bill A, Coby and Dennis.