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SPINSHEET WANTS YOU ON OUR CREW ##SpinSheet Century Club member Marlene Plumley doing the GFS Challenge.
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Racing Anytime, With Whomever You Want
he word “virtual” is thrown around a lot lately, so it’s important to distinguish in the context of sailing between a “virtual regatta,” one run online in which you compete from your couch, and a “racing challenge with virtual scoring,” in which you sail a course and record your timing. In the latter category, two notable challenges have cropped up on the Chesapeake, and because it’s a safe way to get on your boat with a purpose, more are certain to come. The GFS Challenge in Annapolis: Shortly after Kristen Berry of Gale Force
##Marlene’s GPS track for the GFS Challenge.
Sailing launched the GFS Challenge mid-May, racing sailors eager to get out sailing on a wide variety of boats tried it right away. The idea stemmed from his time at J/World Annapolis. “Sometimes they’d cancel racing, yet it ended up being a perfect night for it,” he says. “I’d get these nasty grams from racers who were upset by it. I thought it would be great to have a course people could sail if there was no organized racing. Some sailors need a purpose to get out and sail, so this is a great way to get people sailing safely.” The course, which he based upon prevailing breeze and having a reach, run, and upwind leg, runs around government marks from the harbor to the
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S p I N S h E E t. C o M / E M a I L - S I g N u p 66 June 2020 SpinSheet.com