It has been a busy spring for the Potomac River Sailing Association! Our spring racing series wrapped up on June 1 and then we hosted the first ever PRSA "Rookie Regatta" on June 8. Over the regular spring series we ran over 30 races on the river, with over 30 boats in the Albacore, Buccaneer, Catamaran, I-Scow, and Lightning classes participating throughout the season. As much fun as the regular racing series was, our sailors all agree that the highlight of the season was our "Rookie Regatta" on June 8. We invited new and interested sailors to crew on boats and encouraged boats with experienced crews to turn the helm over to a crew member. All told we had about a dozen new people show up for the racing -- some of whom had never raced before! -- and even boats with experienced sailors had new crews at the helm and experienced skippers crewing in different spots instead of driving. The wind cooperated, and we had 4 fantastic races in a 10-15 kt southerly breeze. We rotated new people on/off the RC boats, so everybody got the chance to sail and to experience the close action of racing. All the experienced hands kept a close watch for safety's sake, and everybody had a blast. You could hear laughter and shouts of joy all over the race course, and the racing was still quite competitive! After the racing we all enjoyed a BBQ at Washington Sailing Marina where new sailors and old hands all had the chance to meet each other. Trophies were awarded to the rookie crew and skippers on the top boat in each class. How cool is that? You show up as a new crew, have fun, and take home a trophy! The photos here and in the links below are all from our "Rookie Regatta" -- you should consider joining PRSA for our "Rookie Regatta" next season!
