The Butterfly fleet races every Saturday all year round. First warning signal is at 10:30 a.m. (March through November) and at noon (December through February).

We have three fleet boats available for use so that you may join us on Saturdays. Contact the Fleet Captain (blue box at top right) to reserve a fleet boat.

As needed, we provide rigging assistance and friendly communication during racing to help you have fun and keep coming back.

We always have a rescue/committee boat on the water when racing.

We typically race 2 races, take a lunch break and ask and answer questions about the races, then sail one final race. 

Check out this quick primer on rules and strategies: Beginning Sailing (a female perspective)

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Butterfly Fleet 20, White Rock Lake, Dallas, Texas

SATURDAY SERIES SAILING INSTRUCTIONS

(Revised 2/25/2025)

RULES The races will be governed by the rules as defined in The Racing Rules of Sailing. The following Butterfly Class Rules (see www.butterflyer.org) will not apply:

SAILS - 2. Only one sail shall be used in a ... race series.

SAILS - 7. The sail must be fully hoisted to the mast head.

CHANGES NOT ALLOWED - The only allowed control on the location of the boom on the mast is the downhaul.

ELIGIBILITY Skippers of boats regularly competing in this series shall be members in good standing of the Dallas Butterfly Fleet 20 (including current on fleet dues) and either the White Rock Boat Club or Corinthian Sailing Club. Guests may race in a series race on singular occasions but will not be ranked as a competitor for scoring purposes.

ENTRIES An eligible boat that sails in the vicinity of the starting area after the warning signal, or an eligible boat that starts, will be ranked as a competitor for that race. Three or more competing boats are required for a race to be scored.

NOTICES TO COMPETITORS Notices to competitors will be posted on the entrance door to White Rock Boat Club by 9:30 A.M. during the spring, summer and fall series and by 11:00 A.M. during the winter series.

SCHEDULE OF RACES Race days will be those Saturdays listed on the fleet duty schedule. No more than three races will be held on each race day.

For the spring, summer and fall series, the warning signal for the first race will be at 10:30 A.M. and the second race will follow as soon as possible after the finish of the first race. There may be a lunch break after the finish of the second race and prior to the third race.

For the winter series, the warning signal for the first race will be at 12:00 noon, and the second

race will follow as soon as possible after the finish of the first race. There may be a short break

after the finish of the second race and prior to the third race.

The fleet Race Chairman will be the final authority on cancellations due to weather or time limitation. In the absence of the Race Chairman, the authority will rest with the Fleet Captain, Secretary Treasurer, or Race Committee in that order.

COURSES A course designation and any numeric course modifier will be displayed by the Race Committee prior to the warning signal. Course designators are: T - Triangle, O - Olympic, W - Windward/Leeward and G - Gold Cup. Numeric modifiers designate the number of times the course is to be rounded. The attached diagrams show the courses.

MARKS Marks will be movable orange spheres. The movable blue sphere defines the finishing line if a committee is not on station at a finish.

THE START The starting line will be between a nearby mark of the course and a staff displaying an orange flag on the Race Committee boat.

Races will be started using rule 26 with the warning signal made 5 minutes before the starting

signal. If there is more than one start, the Race Committee will designate the starting order for

each class and the starting signal of one class will be coincident with the warning signal of the

next. The Butterfly class flag is the numeral pennant corresponding to her starting order.

A boat shall not start later than five minutes after her starting signal.

INDIVIDUAL RECALLS Individual recalls shall be in accordance with rule 29.1. In addition, the committee will attempt to hail the offending boat(s). Failure to hail, or competitor not hearing hail, shall not be allowed as means for redress.

CHANGE OF COURSE AFTER THE START To change the next leg of the course, the Race Committee will move the original mark or finishing line to a new position. If practical, the Race

Committee will signal boats in accordance with rule 33. This changes rule 33.

THE FINISH If a Race Committee boat is on station, it will display a blue flag and the finishing line will be between a nearby mark of the course and a staff displaying a blue flag on the Race

Committee boat.

If a Race Committee boat is not on station, a boat shall take her own finishing order. If a movable blue sphere is nearby, the finishing line will be between the last mark of the course and the movable blue sphere. If no movable blue sphere is nearby, the finishing line will be a line through the last mark of the course perpendicular to the course from the previous mark of the course and of the shortest possible length. This replaces the US SAILING prescription to rule 34.

TIME LIMIT The time limit for the first boat to finish will be one and one-half hours from the starting signal. Boats failing to finish within 30 minutes after the first boat will be scored DNF. This changes rule 35.

PROTESTS A protesting boat shall notify the Race Committee that a protest will be lodged within 30 minutes after the committee boat docks at the close of races for the day. Rule 61.2 is rescinded so that a written protest is not required. Protests will be held at White Rock Boat Club.

SERIES SCORING There are four quarterly series:

Winter - December, January, and February

Spring - March, April and May

Summer - June, July and August

Fall - September, October, November

The series score shall be based on counting 50% of the total races, sailed by 3 or more Butterflys, rounded down. Each competitor’s best scores shall be counted if they have met the 50% minimum requirement. If a competitor is short of meeting the 50% minimum requirement by only 1 race, the average of his or her scores will be used as the last race.

Each boat starting and finishing a race shall be scored points equal to her finishing place.

Series ties will be broken in accordance with the Racing Rules of Sailing, Appendix A, paragraph A8. “Excluded” will be interpreted as those scores beyond the 50% minimum requirement. If the tie is not broken by the above provision, it shall remain.

If a skipper is participating in a regatta attended by at least three Butterflys from Fleet 20 and misses races in a Saturday series, his or her Saturday series score shall be determined by their regatta score as follows:

a.    Racers will receive a regatta score equal to their regatta finish or their finish relative to other Fleet 20 participants plus 1, whichever is lower. If there is more than one fleet (e.g., Championship and Challenger) in the regatta, each fleet shall be scored independently to determine the regatta score.

b.    If two Saturday races are sailed for Fleet 20, the regatta score will be counted twice. If only one Saturday race is sailed, the regatta score will be counted once. If there are no Saturday races, the regatta score will not be counted.

 PRIZES For each series, trophies will be awarded for the first three places, for top woman, and for top junior (of age seventeen or less at the conclusion of the series). Only one trophy will be awarded to an individual skipper in the order listed above. A junior skipper who has won two top junior trophies or has placed twice in the top five overall will not be eligible for the top junior trophy.

A "Fleet Champion" permanent trophy will be awarded the skipper with the highest total points due to racing during the period of December 1 of the previous year through November 31 of the current year. In addition, the winning skipper will receive the Bob Biegler Perpetual Trophy (presented to the fleet by Ko Uyeda).

COURSE DIAGRAMS

O - Olympic

W 3 - Windward/Leeward

T 4 - Triangle

G - Gold cup

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Spring Series 2025

Summer Series 2025

Fall Series 2025

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From L to R: Doug 2nd place, Laurie 3rd place and top woman, Paul 1st place. 

June 5th update from the National Butterfly Association: After five races in all kinds of conditions, we have Paul leading Doug. I believe the difference is less than a point. Tomorrow's racing should be good.

June 6th: White Rock Lake flooded and there were no further races. Congratulations to everyone who participated!

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 2021 Wrangle Regatta

June 5 - 6   White Rock Lake

https://cscsailing.org/calendar/butterfly-wrangle-regatta-2021

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                                                                                                                                           by Burton

Miss all my sailing friends!

The sun popped out shortly before 10 on this morning, with temperatures rising to 55-60 for the duration of sailing. Wind came out of the Southeast at 10 mph for the first warning signal, declining to 6 at the finish of race 3. Yours truly and Laurie served on race committee with an assist from John on setting up the course.

John led the entire first race, until Nancy saw something on the Western shore which she drove right to the finish line for a narrow victory. Marshall, Miles and Monica finished 3rd through 5th. Nancy parlayed her confidence from race 1 to a narrow  victory in races 2 and 3. In other words, Nancy ruled the day with 3 bullets!

It was a splendid day to be on the lake.

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                                                                                                                                               by Burton

The day started slowly with a 3-5 knot breeze out of the South Southwest at 10:15 A.M. By 10:35 the wind laid down and Nancy, Miles, Jim and yours truly struggled to cross the starting line on time.

The race committee ran a W and two W 1 1/2”s. Nancy led start to finish in each of the first 2 races. Jim made an impressive recovery on the left side of the course in race 1 to finish second.

Larry and Laurie provided excellent committee duty and helped make it a wonderful day to be sailing at White Rock Lake.

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                                                                                                                                                 by Burton

Saturday was a magnificent day for sailing Butterflys. Sandy and John provided excellent committee duty and took the trouble to weigh anchor and cruise the course when the wind picked up to a level conducive to sailors in the water and masts in the mud.

Everyone kept their masts pointed at the sky for the duration. Sailors this day included Gary, Miles, Laurie, Nancy, Jim and yours truly. Nancy won the second race by 3 feet in a very close finish with this reporter. It was a lovely day to be a sailor.

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Saturday, 10 November was a pleasant day to go out on the lake.  The sun shined brightly and the lake was calm. 
We had a race committee , but not enough fleet members showed up make a race.  I ventured out for a recreational sail and  Gary went out for a ride in the rescue boat.  The wind was light and highly variable. 
The Snipe Fleet (including Nancy) raced, subject to light air and radical changes in wind direction.  But, after so much unfavorable weather it was good to sail again.

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more photos         photos by Steve Bell                                                            by Cathy                       

complete results                                                                                       

Nancy takes 1st place in the Butterfly. 

Marshall takes 2nd place in the Butterfly.

Burton takes 3rd place in the Butterfly.

Don and Paul take 3rd place in the Flying Scot.

Doug takes 2nd in the Laser. Photo by Monica.

Look at those beautiful clouds! Photo by Monica.

Participation was good for the CSC State Fair and the weather cooperated, turning into a beautiful day with a nice steady breeze (8-12 mph) from the southeast.  We had seven sailing the Butterfly with Paul sailing with the Flying Scots and Doug sailing the Laser. 

Monica was on race committee and did a great job notifying us of changes on the race course. So glad the PRO changed that W-3 to a W-2 for the rest of the races.  

With 5 Snipes, 7 Butterflys, and 10 Lasers on the course it did seem a bit crowded at times but as racing continued it seemed we got more used to sharing the course. Congratulations to the winners and all those who participated.

Hope this is the start of a lot of great fall sailing! 

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   More photos from the flood                                                                                                  by Cathy

Flooding at White Rock Lake - Part 1 was originally written on 11/29/2015. There are several links there and some historical information about the flooding along the creek. Back then I didn't think it would flood at Northwest Highway, Lawther, and Buckner. That area has been improved with a higher bridge but with this last record breaking flood on 9/22/2018 that area did flood.

Butterfly pads were not prepared for the record breaking flood - on 9/22/2018.

We drill holes through the dock and put in poles or we attach lines to the stern and weight them. All to try to keep boats in place during floods. We may have a couple of floods a year but this time we had a record breaking flood and boats did not stay in place. At least we did not have any Butterflys which came untied and drifted into other part of the lake. That did happen to a few boats and also a toolbox.

The water was much higher than we've ever seen it. 

There is lots of clean-up being done at the boat clubs at the lake. Most boats seem okay and with a little bit of lifting the Butterflys are back in their pads. Thank you to all who helped.

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 Originally posted on 11/29/2015                                                                                             by Cathy

It's been a record year for flooding at the White Rock lake boat clubs (4 times), due to North Texas's wettest year on record.  Surely this will be the last flood of the year until spring rolls around.  Earlier this year we had the wettest May in Dallas-Ft. Worth history.  35 trillion gallons - enough to cover all of Texas in 8 inches of water.  It's nice to see the lake fill up . . . but this is too much of a good thing.

During heavy rains at night, it's become second nature to wake up and check the Corinthian Sailing Club harbor cam to see if the water has come up over the docks.  Usually the water is about 4 feet below the boats and a walk-way can be seen to the right.  If the walk-way is under water then White Rock Boat Club docks will also be under water and we will need to clean-up once the water recedes.   CSC webcam

Another interesting thing to check is the NOAA White Rock Creek Flood gauge.  This is upstream of the lake but if it floods in the creek then flooding at the lake cannot be far behind.  This also forecasts when the water level will drop.  NOAA White Rock Creek at Greenville Ave. flood gauge  

Here is a very detailed report from 1963, discussing some of the major floods to that point with some analysis of the flooding that occurs.  Things haven't changed much except Northwest Highway at Lawther and Buckner is now high enough that it doesn't flood.  Floods on White Rock Creek

Yesterday I walked around the lake and took some photos since there was no sailing.  It was chilly but invigorating and the pictures tell the story as the water was receding.  Unfortunately at the moment, the water is rising again.

White Rock Lake boat club as the water begins to recede but still unsafe to venture out on the docks. 

Lots of water pouring over the spillway.

On the path near the Arboretum, lots of trash left behind as the water recedes.

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                                                                                                                                                    by Cathy

This is racing from last week - a perfect day. This week, not so much. 

We were warned by Jim that it was going to be hot so we needed to be ready to start at 10:30. Dallas is under an excessive heat warning until 7pm Sunday. Five of us rigged and were ready to go while Nancy and John headed out to set the course. Unfortunately after throwing in the first mark, the committee boat died and started drifting to shore. John called Jim who suggested throwing the anchor out. I'm going to have to remember that.

My boat was half off the dock and fully rigged so I figured at least I'd get to sail around a little. Everyone else was in the same situation so we all went out with a few of us taking some paddles to the committee boat. I actually didn't realize how hard it is to sail with a long paddle sticking out of the cockpit. Meantime we all sailed around in circles while Larry jumped on the committee boat to see if he could determine the problem.

Maybe he took some instrument to check the battery but the battery in that died. Or something like that. I'm not sure I got all the story straight but in the final analysis the committee boat was towed back to the boat club by the rower's motor boat. Then there was some problem with the rower's motor boat so we found them a zip tie.

I was one of the first to head in as I realized it was gusty and shifty and having only sailed 2 times this year, I was not really prepared for that amount of wind. Plus it wasn't like the committee boat was going to be able to rescue us if we had a problem. Now from the CSC site I see that there was a 23 mph gust that went through at 10:53 am. That's probably what convinced me.

Larry was next and tied up to the dock but then his painter broke and his boat drifted around in the harbor. I thought it was going to shore but apparently the boom vang and/or main sheet was still cleated a little so fortunately the boat sailed back to Larry, then back out because we didn't bring the hook in time, then back in again where Larry and Miles grabbed it. This whole thing was beginning to be kind of funny and as it got hotter and hotter and it had been so gusty, maybe it all worked out for the best that we didn't sail.

Larry was left trying to figure out the problem with the motor boat and the rest of us probably headed straight to air conditioning! I know I did.

Update from Miles: BTW- Kudo's to Larry for repairing the boat yesterday.  Seemed to by a burnt fuse or something.  I'm glad Larry knows how to fix things because I sure don't.

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more photos                                                                                                                               by Cathy

Sandy and Burton in a close finish in the last race.

We had a nice 5-10 mph breeze with wind mostly from the SE and 6-7 sailors out to enjoy the day. Gary and I had race committee. He is so expert that it was an easy day for me just to enjoy watching the sailors and listen to Gary's play by play.

In the first two races the sailors finished in the exact same order with Paul, Burton, and Sandy taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The shifts settled down a little as the day went by but in the 2nd race with the lightest air a few sailors got stuck at the windward mark for a bit. We broke for lunch and Gary mentioned that around 1:00 the wind tends to pick up. It did so we headed back out.

That last race mixed things up quite a bit with some very close races. Sandy and Burton changed places a few times with Sandy taking 1st place and Burton 2nd. Then Larry and Jim also had a close race with Larry 3rd and Jim 4th.

I had not been out in awhile so it was great to see how well everyone was sailing. Lots of practice goes into this from boat handling to playing the shifts. Racing is fun even if you aren't competitive. And for beginners, racing improves your sailing skills quickly.  Plus it's always cooler on the lake!

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                                                                                                                                                                       by Paul

Photo from 5/26 - Snipes in the distance. Hope the Wrangle is a perfect day with wind but not too much!

Gary, Jim and Miles did get one race in this morning in very light air before there was a little thunder and lightning around and we abandon right after the start of the second race. 

The NOR and registration are open for the wrangle regatta next weekend, please do the registration online as quick as possible to try and get a headcount for lunch and drinks.

ASAP. T-shirts are included and I guess I’ll just duplicate last years order. 

I know the wind and weather gods have not been favorable for racing so far this year, everybody please pray for enough wind but not too much on June 2nd and 3rd. 

Registration is linked through the CSC website.         NOR            Registration

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