Fall Series

This year's Annapolis Yacht Club Fall Series, staged over the past three weekends, drew plenty of local and regional interest.Some 100 IMS, J/35, and PHRF A and B sailors were on the course on Saturdays, with similar numbers of PHRF C, MORC, and cruising one-design sailors competing on Sundays.IMS numbers continue to be light locally, but PHRF A-1 and A- 2 hit 31 and 41 entries, respectively, bringing the PHRF overall fleet numbers for the Saturday racing to 89 entries.AYC traditionally has scored both PHRF and IMS not only in individual class splits, but also as total fleets for Fall Series.

Annapolis Yacht Club's annual Fall Series, three weekends of racing, began last weekend off Annapolis.The series was created more than a generation ago to take advantage of generally brisk fall breezes and big-boat participation from sailors heading south from New England for wintering in Florida or the islands.This year, 93 entrants are in the Saturday fleet, made up of smaller cruising one-design, MORC and PHRF C sailors, while the Sunday fleet boasts 102 entries in three IMS splits, four PHRF divisions and the J/35 class, with 66 of those vying for top PHRF fleet honors.

Annapolis Yacht Club's Fall Series came to a close last weekend after three weeks of racing for two substantial fleets.Competing on Saturdays in a fleet of 99 were the smaller cruising one designs along with the MORC and PHRF C sailors. On Sundays, IMS I reappeared, joining two other racing/cruising IMS splits and the four PHRF A and B divisions that took to the course in a 112-boat group.Courses were windward-leeward in all cases, except the second Sunday when an Olympic course was used for the big boats.

Three Saturdays of round-the-buoy racing was the season-ending offering from the Rhode River Boat Club, with its annual Fall Series during the first three weekends of November.The series, which drew 13 starters in three J/boat meter classes, J/80, J/92, and J/105 using spinnakers, joined a PHRF nonspinnaker fleet of 14 starters and two three-boat one-design classes for Tritons and Alberg 30s.Two races were started each of the first two weeks, while only a single contest was the rule for the last week, bringing the series to five races for the PHRF'ers and the one-designs.

The official sailing season of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association came to a close last weekend with the finale of the Rhode River Boat Club Fall Series.The three-Saturday, five-race affair drew 21 participants in five classes.Although RRBC's Fall Series does not count for the annual High Point standings, it is a traditional way to close the season for those who don't plan on sailing in one of the many frostbite series that continue through until March. It also offers a last chance to celebrate the racing spirit before packing up the boat for a long winter's nap.As usual, the club offered two races each of the first two weeks and a single final race last weekend.

The annual Annapolis Yacht Club Fall series got off to a rip-roaring start last weekend as huge fleets of sailboats faced big waves and heavy air for the first of three meets.Saturday's fleet, including IMS II and III, PHRF A-1, A-2, and B and J/35s, has 101 entries so far, of which 89 boats started the 12.27-mile windward-leeward race.The next day, 85 of the 103-boat fleet made up of PHRF C, MORC and the Alberg 30s, Cal 25s, J/30s, J/24s and Pearson 30s tested a similarly sized course.Extremely close results were found in many classes on Saturday, with a number of in-the-money finishers separated by only a few seconds in a shifting southerly breeze that built through the morning to about 20 knots.

Upsets were the order of the day at the Annapolis Yacht Club's Fall Series last weekend.In one upset, Chuck O'Malley and his team on Rude Awakening took first in the MORC race -- and the series -- with a two-second win over Bob Muller and crew on Stingray.With previous class leader Mirage, sailed by the Lewis/Salvesen Syndicate, falling to ninth in the final race after aces in the first two, if Muller had saved his time and beaten O'Malley, Muller would have won the series with a score of 7.75 to O'Malley's 8. Instead, O'Malley took the race and the series by 2.25 points.

Pleasant fall breezes got the Annapolis Yacht Club's Fall Series off to a good start last weekend, when both Saturday and Sunday fleets were able to complete close, exciting races."

Last weekend's Region II Fall Series, co-sponsored by the Magothy River Sailing Association and Cape St. Claire Yacht Club, may have been light on breeze and participation, but it was heavy on competition.After a long postponement waiting for wind that never materialized, Saturday's race was abandoned, but the seven teams that ventured out on Sunday for the day's two PHRF classes found breeze and challenges aplenty despite a light-air start."It was a fun day and a pretty good race," said PHRF C winner Craig Decker, who sailed his Elite 32 Sure Cure to victory in his five-boat class.

The Annapolis Yacht Club's annual Fall Series came to a close last weekend with alternating feast and famine as far as the wind was concerned.The prestigious two-week series, which is a high point of the sailing season for many racers, began on Oct. 3 with more than 110 boats in each of the separate Saturday and Sunday fleets.Last weekend's weather patterns gave the smaller handicap boats racing in PHRF C and MORC, as well as the cruising one-designs ranging from 24- to 30-footers, a challenging time physically, with breezes in the 20s and choppy three-foot seas.

NFL fines Jets' Ellis for throwing snow at fans nfl New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis was fined $10,000 by the NFL for throwing snow at fans after the team's loss at Seattle on Sunday. Several fans threw snowballs at New York players and staff as they walked off the field after the Seahawks' 13-3 victory. As he approached the walkway leading to the locker room, Ellis reached into a pile of snow, picked up a large chunk and tossed it into the stands at Qwest Field, appearing to hit at least a few fans.

With the television networks' new season announced in New York last week, and the great American ritual of the buying and selling of airtime for next fall beginning, most of the talk at the press conferences and parties involved ratings, audience shares and demographics. But one of the most important assessments of the situation was made here in Baltimore, and it had more to do with the sociology of the schedules than their money-making potential. "I think some progress has been made," John C. White, spokesman for the NAACP, said in an interview after all six schedules had been announced.

This year's Annapolis Yacht Club Fall Series, staged over the past three weekends, drew plenty of local and regional interest.Some 100 IMS, J/35, and PHRF A and B sailors were on the course on Saturdays, with similar numbers of PHRF C, MORC, and cruising one-design sailors competing on Sundays.IMS numbers continue to be light locally, but PHRF A-1 and A- 2 hit 31 and 41 entries, respectively, bringing the PHRF overall fleet numbers for the Saturday racing to 89 entries.AYC traditionally has scored both PHRF and IMS not only in individual class splits, but also as total fleets for Fall Series.

Three Saturdays of round-the-buoy racing was the season-ending offering from the Rhode River Boat Club, with its annual Fall Series during the first three weekends of November.The series, which drew 13 starters in three J/boat meter classes, J/80, J/92, and J/105 using spinnakers, joined a PHRF nonspinnaker fleet of 14 starters and two three-boat one-design classes for Tritons and Alberg 30s.Two races were started each of the first two weeks, while only a single contest was the rule for the last week, bringing the series to five races for the PHRF'ers and the one-designs.

Annapolis Yacht Club's Fall Series came to a close last weekend after three weeks of racing for two substantial fleets.Competing on Saturdays in a fleet of 99 were the smaller cruising one designs along with the MORC and PHRF C sailors. On Sundays, IMS I reappeared, joining two other racing/cruising IMS splits and the four PHRF A and B divisions that took to the course in a 112-boat group.Courses were windward-leeward in all cases, except the second Sunday when an Olympic course was used for the big boats.

Annapolis Yacht Club's annual Fall Series, three weekends of racing, began last weekend off Annapolis.The series was created more than a generation ago to take advantage of generally brisk fall breezes and big-boat participation from sailors heading south from New England for wintering in Florida or the islands.This year, 93 entrants are in the Saturday fleet, made up of smaller cruising one-design, MORC and PHRF C sailors, while the Sunday fleet boasts 102 entries in three IMS splits, four PHRF divisions and the J/35 class, with 66 of those vying for top PHRF fleet honors.

The official sailing season of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association came to a close last weekend with the finale of the Rhode River Boat Club Fall Series.The three-Saturday, five-race affair drew 21 participants in five classes.Although RRBC's Fall Series does not count for the annual High Point standings, it is a traditional way to close the season for those who don't plan on sailing in one of the many frostbite series that continue through until March. It also offers a last chance to celebrate the racing spirit before packing up the boat for a long winter's nap.As usual, the club offered two races each of the first two weeks and a single final race last weekend.

Upsets were the order of the day at the Annapolis Yacht Club's Fall Series last weekend.In one upset, Chuck O'Malley and his team on Rude Awakening took first in the MORC race -- and the series -- with a two-second win over Bob Muller and crew on Stingray.With previous class leader Mirage, sailed by the Lewis/Salvesen Syndicate, falling to ninth in the final race after aces in the first two, if Muller had saved his time and beaten O'Malley, Muller would have won the series with a score of 7.75 to O'Malley's 8. Instead, O'Malley took the race and the series by 2.25 points.

The annual Annapolis Yacht Club Fall series got off to a rip-roaring start last weekend as huge fleets of sailboats faced big waves and heavy air for the first of three meets.Saturday's fleet, including IMS II and III, PHRF A-1, A-2, and B and J/35s, has 101 entries so far, of which 89 boats started the 12.27-mile windward-leeward race.The next day, 85 of the 103-boat fleet made up of PHRF C, MORC and the Alberg 30s, Cal 25s, J/30s, J/24s and Pearson 30s tested a similarly sized course.Extremely close results were found in many classes on Saturday, with a number of in-the-money finishers separated by only a few seconds in a shifting southerly breeze that built through the morning to about 20 knots.

The Annapolis Yacht Club's annual Fall Series came to a close last weekend with alternating feast and famine as far as the wind was concerned.The prestigious two-week series, which is a high point of the sailing season for many racers, began on Oct. 3 with more than 110 boats in each of the separate Saturday and Sunday fleets.Last weekend's weather patterns gave the smaller handicap boats racing in PHRF C and MORC, as well as the cruising one-designs ranging from 24- to 30-footers, a challenging time physically, with breezes in the 20s and choppy three-foot seas.