Check back here during the racing season to see fleet results.

Cannon Race 1 – May 31, 2025
Good morning everyone,
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We finally had a weekend of warmer weather, albeit windy. The race on Saturday went well, with Skyfall, The Orange Boat, and Caliber competing. There was a short delay to the start while we waited for Skyfall to make it out of the harbor at Jerry’s Marina due to draft vs depth discrepancies. They made it out and we started the race with 14 knot winds gusting to around 20, but the wind was out of the north, so the bay was still relatively flat. It turned out to be a great day. We sailed a total of 8.5 miles, with Calber, The Orange Boat, and Skyfall finishing in that order with the final corrected result in that same order. Good job everyone. We have ordered flags for awards this season, with 1st through 5th place finishers being awarded. We will distribute the flags from the last race and upcoming races once we have them. We will continue to have gatherings after the race at the clubhouse to go over the results and handout flags, so please, bring a few drinks, your crew, and your stories so we can continue to build the camaraderie and interest.
Cannon Race #1 results . . . (for the actual times/ratings see the racing binder in the yacht club)
1. Caliber
2. The Orange Boat
3. Skyfall

Our next race is this Saturday, June 7th, with the skipper’s meeting starting at 10:30am at the clubhouse entrance, aiming for a noon start. I look forward to seeing everyone at the next race.

Cannon Race 2 – June 7, 2025<
Wow, what a great day of racing! There were a total of eight boats competing today. The wind was mostly steady 10 to 15 knots out of the NE and the bay was flat. I have a few kinks to iron out on my end but it wasn’t anything that affected the racing and I will continue to oil this machine and make it better. I will post the results at the below for everyone to see, but, if you ask me, those are just a byproduct of something that we’re building upon. Thank you to Mark Olgaard for continuing to guide me through this.
Brian
Cannon Race #2 results
1. Caliber
2. Kalfou
3. Looney Bin
4. The Orange Boat
5. Skyfall
6. Altair
7. Windswept
8. Northern Passage
As for Cannon Race #3, that will take place on Sunday, June 15th. Skipper’s meeting at the clubhouse at 10:30am, with a 12:00pm start. If you know of anyone that would be interested in racing, feel free to pass this email along or have them reach out to me for more information. See everyone next Sunday!

Cannon Race 3 – June 15, 2025
We had a nice day of racing on Sunday after a short delay due to mother nature shutting the wind off for a bit. The wind gradually came back enough to start after a brief 20 minute delay. We opted for a simple windward/leeward that proved to be challenging in both directions. We had a total of seven boats competing and it was truly a pleasure to see. I’d like to welcome FLOW, and owners Josh and Cassie to the club and racing. It’s nice to see new and energetic faces. The club is lucky to have you as new members.

The racing was good, albeit surprising for my crew since there was a point early in the race where we thought we were completely out of contention and preparing our “we screwed up” speech at the awards party. Somehow, in this strange bay, things changed and our chosen course turned out in our favor and we looked like geniuses. I’d caution against following us in future races, that doesn’t usually work out that way! So grateful for the friendship and camaraderie during and after the race. Looking forward to more of that.

Cannon 3 Results (there was some very close racing/corrected times between boats in 4th, 5th, and 6th!)
1. Caliber
2. Skyfall
3. Bombshell
4. Looney Bin
5. Windflower
6. Stressless
7. Flow

Cannon Race #4 is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st. Skippers meeting @ 1030hrs. Start @ 1200.

***Member and fellow racer, Mark Tomes, The Orange Boat, is racing in the 2025 singlehanded Mac Solo Challenge on Saturday, June 21st. You can track Mark’s progress on the Yellowbrick app. Good luck Mark! We’ll be rooting for you!
Cannon Race 4 – June 21, 2025
Good evening, Thank you to those that showed up on Saturday to give racing a go. I understand that ultimately the decision was made to postpone the race due to the questionable conditions. I can’t say that I’m disappointed though, since I wasn’t able to make it, I’m happy that it means we’ll try it at a later date.
Our next scheduled race is Sunday, June 29th. Skippers meeting at 1030, start at 1200.

DISTANCE RACE ON SATURDAY, JULY 26TH
There has been some interest in a distance race, something that takes us out of the bay, and allows those that want to run spinnakers, the opportunity to do so (a JAM fleet is still a possibility too). We could go north to Oscoda, out to G1 near the Charities, out to Gravelly Shoals light, etc…. We could conclude the day with a cookout at the yacht club. Start talking about it with our fellow racers and your crews and see what you can come up with. I’m open for suggestions.

Lastly, congratulations to Mark Tomes on competing in and completing the SOLO Port Huron to Mackinac race. I spoke with Mark briefly today (he was eating dinner with his wife on the Island) and he tells me that the race conditions were challenging for a singlehanded racer and he is relieved to have crossed the finish line. Well done Mark!
See everyone Sunday!

Cannon Race 5 – June 29, 2025
Summer is finally here. The sailing on the Bay yesterday was outstanding. Thank you to everyone that made it out there. The breeze filled in just before the start and made for some perfect conditions and the triangle course was fun. I will list the six boats and their corrected times (I don’t normally list the times) so everyone can see how close the racing was. Also, a pursuit style race has been kicked around, and I am planning to make this happen during the second half of the season. For those that haven’t heard of this, this is a type of race where you start according to your rating. Slower boats first and the first across the finish line is the winner. Judging by the results from yesterday’s race, the finish of a pursuit race could be interesting and fun.

Boat Corrected Time
1. Caliber 1hr 0min 51sec
2. Kalfou 1hr 2min 43sec
3. Looney Bin 1hr 2min 51sec
4. Skyfall 1hr 2min 54sec
5. The Orange Boat 1hr 9min 46sec
6. Northern Passage 1hr 30min 12sec
JULY 4TH FAMILY RACE
The July 4th Family Race is this Friday. Skipper’s meeting @ 1030. Start @ Noon. Everyone is welcome, the more boats and people, the merrier.
JULY 26TH DISTANCE RACE
We are still in the planning stage of this race. I’m leaning toward a race to the north to G1, the AuSable Point buoy and back to the Bay or a race toward to the south toward Point Aux Barques and back to the Bay. In this race, you’ll have the option of using your spinnaker if you choose. I’m open for suggestions.
I hope to see you out there on the 4th, otherwise have a great weekend.

JULY 4TH FAMILY RACE

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it was truly another fun day of racing. We had NINE boats come out for the 4th of July race. The triangle course was manageable, and the starting line was an interesting place. The winds were steady too. Congratulations to Kalfou for the win, and Bombshell just 34 seconds behind for 2nd place, and Caliber rounding out the top three in 3rd place (beating The Orange Boat by only 36 seconds).

Here is the final order of finish after corrected times…

1. Kalfou
2. Bombshell
3. Caliber
4. The Orange Boat
5. Pigpen
6. Windswept
7. Skyfall
8. Stressless
9. Flow

JULY 26TH DISTANCE RACE

Our next race on the schedule was either a makeup date or a distance race. We have opted to run a distance race that will include the use of spinnakers if you choose. More to come on this in a few weeks.

Have a great July! Thanks to everyone for the support.

July 21 email

The distance race is upon us. Next Saturday we make the trek from Tawas Bay out to the green buoy off of Whitefish Point, or the green buoy off of AuSable Point. If we choose the Whitefish Point buoy we’re looking at approximately 20 nautical miles total and if we head north to AuSable Point, we’re looking at about 22.5 nautical miles. To put this in perspective, we usually do about seven nautical miles on a race in the bay. We will make a gametime decision regarding direction on the day of the race.

PLEASE NOTE….Our start time for the race is an hour earlier, 1100 hours. That means our skippers meeting is at 0930 hours at the yacht club. My plan is to put the start line near the state dock again.

Spinnakers and jib and main are allowed in this race. We will use the appropriate rating based on whether you use a spinnaker or stay jib and main. The idea is to get as many out there racing as possible so don’t let the idea that some are using spinnakers deter you. If you’ve ever seen Caliber use a spinnaker, you know that anything can happen. There will be awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

The ultimate goal of this race is to gather afterwards for food, drinks, and camaraderie on the lawn at the yacht club. The plan is to grill/serve some hot dogs along with some potato salad and chips. I’ll try to grab a dessert too.

Lastly, if anyone reading this is interested in getting on a boat for the race, please let me know! I’m sure there are captains that have room for another crew member or two. Our goal is to get more people interested in this sport!
Email – July 25, 2025
Just a few quick notes…
The weather forecast for tomorrow seems to be improving. Currently only an 18% chance of rain and winds ESE at 5 to 10.

I’m leaning towards heading to Whitestone Point (sorry, I put Whitefish Point in the first email, yikes, that would be a long trip). That would allow those of us using spinnakers a run back toward the state dock with those sails up. The buoy MMSI is 993672219.
I have a new social member, Glen Fayolle, that would like to get on a boat for tomorrows race. I’m currently full with eight people tomorrow. If you have room can you let me know so I can respond to him? He’s coming from down state so I’d like to let him know that there’s a spot for him before he makes the trip.
The after race party is set. Please BYOB. We’ll have hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and a dessert. I’ll put a donation jar out to help cover the costs of the food and awards. See you on the lawn after the race!
Skippers meeting at 0930. Start @ 1100.

Long Distance Race – July 26, 2025
Thanks to all that came out for yesterday’s distance race. The decision was made (thanks to the advice of some seasoned, experienced sailors) to keep the distance race in the Bay due to the potential for light air. That turned out to be a wise choice as the wind got lighter as the day went on. The rain wasn’t terrible, but man did it soak everything, including the spinnakers, turning them into wet rags. The racing between Bombshell and Caliber was exciting and tight for the entire race, which consisted of two laps around a triangle course. Bombshell ultimately beat out Caliber by a mere 17 seconds to take first place. The remaining three jib and main boats finished in light air and wet conditions with Kalfou, The Orange Boat, and Looney Bin finishing and correcting out in that order. Thanks also goes to Gussy K and Flow for starting the race and enduring as long as they could before pulling the plug. Josh (from Flow) tells me some lessons were learned on the race that they’ll use to continue to improve. That’s what it’s all about. I’m grateful for the everyone that’s making the effort to get out there.
Back at the dock, the gathering for food and laughs was great. A big thank you to Chris Princing for donating the awards. They were beautiful and appreciated.
Lastly, next week’s Cannon Race #6 is scheduled for Sunday, August 3rd. Skippers meeting at 1030hrs, start @ noon.
See you out there!

Cannon Race 6 – August 3, 2025

Well, well, well, look what we have here…. a new first place finisher in the Cannon series. A big congratulations goes to The Orange Boat, crewed by owner/captain Mark Tomes, and his crew member, Josh LaMay, for taking top honors. Well done guys! The race started out on the lighter side and stayed that way for most of the race, only starting to build as you got closer to the finish line. It was truly a nice day to race and a total of six boats competed.

After corrected times (and some were as close as three seconds) here are the results…

1. The Orange Boat
2. Caliber
3. Looney Bin
4. Kalfou
5. StressLess
6. Skyfall

Next week I’m looking at giving the pursuit style race a shot. It sounds interesting and gives everyone a different look. For those that haven’t heard of this style, I will determine the course distance ahead of time and then tell each individual boat what their start time is. It will be on your honor to hit the starting line at/after your slated time. The first boat to cross the finish line wins. I know, conditions change and that could affect boats that are out on the course differently than those that haven’t started yet. That works both ways though, so lets have some fun! I will likely go for a triangle course that looks similar to our last race, even setting the start marks in the same spot, so I can figure the start times based on that seven mile course.

CANNON RACE #7, SATURDAY, AUGUST 9TH, skippers meeting at 1030, first boat will start at noon.

Cannon Race 7 – August 9, 2025 RECAP and Cannon Race 8 – August 23, 2025

I think it’s safe to say that we had a fun race on Saturday. Many of us got to try the pursuit style of racing for the first time and it seemed to go over pretty well. It made for a fun finish. It was neat to see all of the boats on the last leg at the same time. The waves were decent, and the wind was hovering around 14 for most of the race.
Now to the big news…. StressLess WON! A job well done! They started very well, sailed an excellent course, and couldn’t be caught. It was truly fun to see. Admittedly, it was also fun trying to catch up (but ultimately fail). I know we enjoyed it on Caliber. We were able to just pass Skyfall near the finish to take second place, followed by Skyfall in third, Looney Bin in fourth and Speedy Gonzalez in fifth.
We watched as the remaining three boats on the course battled it out to the finish, with Windswept taking sixth, The Orange Boat in seventh, and Avalon in eighth. They were all within a second or two of each other at the finish.
Thank you to everyone for making the effort and starting at your given start time. I also need to thank my wife, Karen, for staying on top of the start times and sounding the start horn for every boat. That’s not easy when you’re bouncing around on a boat that’s about to race too. I’d be interested in setting this up for Cannon Race #8 if there’s enough interest. I believe I can choose a course on the morning of the race, calculate the distance and start times in a short amount of time, conduct the meeting and still get us out of the dock around 11am.

Our next (and last) Cannon race is scheduled for Saturday, August 23rd. Skippers meeting at 1030. Start at noon. Let me know in an email or text message if you’re interested in the pursuit style for our last race. If there’s enough interest, we’ll do it again.

Email – August 21, 2025
I just wanted to remind everyone that we have a Cannon Race this Saturday, August 23rd. Skippers meeting at 1030. The only votes I received were for another Pursuit Style start so that’s what we’ll do. Should be fun! There is a possibility for rain on Saturday so bring your rain coat.

Cannon Race 8 – August 9, 2025

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It wasn’t perfect weather out there, but not all bad either. We were notified prior to the race on Saturday morning that we may see some Cigarette boats enter the bay, and we did! There were somewhere in the neighborhood of eight boats that roared into the bay, headed to the State Dock (likely to fuel up!!), and then headed back out of the bay. Thanks to Kyle from Tawas Bay Marina for the heads up.
Ok, onto the race. We setup a bowtie style course that was 8.75nm long. This course included two decent weather legs, a reaching leg, and a downwind leg. Once again, we setup for a pursuit style race where the boats with the higher ratings start first and down the line until the lowest rated boat starts last. There were five boats that participated, and I think it’s safe to say that we had fun. The starts were all pretty good and the finishes were closer. The last leg was mostly downwind and on Caliber we saw a top speed of 11.5knots (for a brief millisecond). The wind definitely kept building on that last leg. The order of finish was also the final result (of course).
1. Caliber
2. Looney Bin
3. The Orange Boat
4. StressLess
5. Skyfall
The Tawas Bay Challenge, Labor Day Weekend race, is this Sunday, August 31st. We’ll aim for a 10:30am skippers meeting, and a 12:00pm start. Don’t forget to bring your $25 entry fee and complete an entry form. The entry forms are located on the table inside the yacht club door. Please pass the entry form/money off to Mark Olgaard or me on the day of the race. Also, just a reminder, the starting line will be further to the west (closer to the State Dock area) so I suggest you’re ready to leave after the skippers meeting to allow yourself enough time to get over there and settled.
After the race, the Tawas Bay Marina is hosting a lunch and awards party, so make your way back to the yacht club and into your car for the trip over. I’d love to see a great showing from our club. You guys have been killing it this year in participation, and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you.
Also, at least one of our racers this weekend could use some crew. If you are interested in crewing on a boat, let Bryan know – brian5626@yahoo.com
See you Sunday!
Email – September 2, 2025 Results from Tawas Bay Challenge Race
Thanks to everyone that participated in the Tawas Bay Challenge on Sunday. It was certainly a beautiful day for racing. A big thank you to Seamist for volunteering to conduct the race committee duties. It sure made it easy to see the finish line after rounding Gyp 2. You just needed to look for the house that was parked on the water in front of the state dock. The pictures you and your crew took were great. I’m going to do my best to share a useable link here in this email.
We were able to split the fleet into two classes of five and award the top three finishers with flags. The last to finish didn’t go home empty handed as Kyle (from Tawas Bay Marina) had pickle jars etched with a Tawas Bay Challenge insignia that turned out to be a nice keepsake. For future Tawas Bay Challenges we agree that the race committee should be recognized with a keepsake (we’ll try that starting next year!). Another big thank you goes to the Tawas Bay Marina, for hosting the after-race awards and lunch party. The food and hospitality were outstanding!
Here are the results for the fleet…
Class 1
1st Skyfall
2nd Insatiable
3rd Windflower
4th Flow
5th Northern Passage
Class 2
1st Caliber
2nd The Orange Boat
3rd Kalfou
4th Looney Bin
5th Whirlwind
Link to folder containing photos…. colesmachine.sharefile.com (copy this and put it into your address bar)
Username is brian5626@yahoo.com
Password is Return2TBYC!

Let me know if you have trouble accessing the photos, I’ll try to help.
September 9th email
I calculated the year end results for the 2025 Cannon Series over this past weekend. Thank you to everyone who competed in this year’s Cannon Series. We had a total of 14 different boats that raced in at least one Cannon race! In order to be considered in the year end results, you needed to compete in at least four races. Those that competed in five or more races had the benefit of having one of their races tossed from the scoring. A total of five boats competed in at least four Cannon races. The scoring was based on the High Point Percentage Scoring system as outlined in US Sailing Appendix A.
Here are the results….
1st Caliber 97.14%
2nd Looney Bin 68.75%
3rd The Orange Boat 64.28%
4th Skyfall 56.75%
5th StressLess 53.84%
There will be awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The awards will be handed out at the fall membership meeting.
Here is a list of the boats that made it out for at least one Cannon race this season. Kalfou, Bombshell, Windflower, Northern Passage, Flow, Speedy Gonzalez, Windswept, Avalon, and Altair. Well done! I’d also like to recognize This Little Piggy and Gussy K, I know they made it out for a race as well, but that was the distance race that wasn’t included in the Cannon Series.
Thanks again to everyone that made it out this past season, whether it was on your boat or someone else’s, you all made the season truly enjoyable. I’m already looking forward to next season.
Brian