Jon did a great job of describing the regatta, but I'll add my view, which was much more distant. Laura and I arrived Friday afternoon, rigged the boat, had a drink and then went back to her mother's house for dinner. Batton Kenyon, our third crew, arrived sometime after 1:30 - I was well asleep.
The racing Saturday was exciting with the wind and chop building from race to race. We were hampered by a series of bad starts (except for one that had a general recall). Getting off a line with 60 aggressive boats is something I didn't do well. As a result, after 3-4 minutes, we were at least 100 yards behind the first row of boats, and the distance increased throughout the race. We were clearly too light for the 18+ kts that we were sailing in, and although I remembered Larry MacDonald winning the FD with his two kids 2 years ago, I couldn't simultaneously get enough speed and keep the boat flat.
We got the only reasonable start of the regatta in the 3rd race on Saturday, but we hesitated on a jibe, I fell into the boat, and then the boat fell into the water. Had a dickens of a time righting it; came to find out that the tip of the mast was stuck in the mud. The water must not have been much more than 4'. Lost a lot of stuff, but none expensive. Had a great ride back to the dock and joined all the others who had capsized or broken their mast and retired.
Sunday was a tough day. The NOR said that the tow would begin at 8:30 with races at 10, but the SI's said races at 11. So, we got towed out, had to wait around, got towed out into Barnegat Bay, and finally started racing after being on the water for 4 hours. The wind was already howling and we slogged the 1-1/2 upwind legs and then planed literally the whole way back to the leeward mark. Batton did a great job of keeping us on a plane and the boat on its feet. Then disaster struck on the first upwind leg of the second race. We tacked to port, crossed one boat and tried to duck Nabeel and failed. Big holes in both our boats, but Muller has done a great job repairing them.
Barnegat Bay is a great place to sail, and the NA's should be a lot of fun. The sea breeze is strong, and there's tide to contend with, as well as cigarette boats going up and down the Bay at full throttle. Take a heavy crew!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Duck Challenge Aug 22-23
Five Fleet 329 boats made the trip up I-95 for the annual Duck Challenge this past weekend. Jon, Jason W., Joan & Gary, Mark B. and I with our respective crews made for some serious fleet 329 competition. The Duck is always one of the most enjoyable events on the Dixie District circuit, not necessarily for dependable breeze but for their warm hospitality, easy access to the racecourse, always enjoyable cookout and party, and the barhopping. Everyone up at Harve DeGrace is so nice, we always have a great time and this year was no exception. 17 boats in all attended this years Duck Challenge.
Saturday’s light and variable breeze from the north made for some interesting racing. Shifts would appear and disappear with no discernable reason. You looked good one moment only to sail into the abyss and have the rest of the fleet sail around you the next moment. Fun stuff. Jason was fast from the start and paced everyone with two firsts in the first two races. Jon opened up with a 2nd & 4th while we struggled with a 7th and a 3rd. Races 3 & 4 we found our way to win both races. Jon would sail his drop race in race three with a second in race four. And sailing consistent was Joan & Gary who opened with a third and then had two fourths in race 3 & 4. Throw in Mark B. with a fifth in race two which was awesome in such tough conditions. OK, are you confused by all the numbers, I am. Jason led us by two points, with Jon 7 points back and Joan & Gary a few points behind Jon after Saturdays racing. Factor in a projected drop if we reach seven races and the scores were even tighter.
Saturday’s evening cookout as always was quite enjoyable. Normally you pick either a steak or salmon and you gather around the grill and cook it yourself. This year we had some nice volunteers who braved the wind and rain to cook for the competitors. Then it was off to the favorite local watering hole, McGregor’s, where one becomes part of a whole cast of characters.
Joan had plenty of energy to burn and hit the dance floor with Gary, not hubby Gary, but the ever-effervescent Gary Hofer. A sight to behold indeed, but luckily not on YouTube.
Sunday morning showed promise as the front had gone through and a nice northwesterly was blowing as we reached the club. But the promise would be fleeting, even though the first race of the day was held in a steady 8 knots of breeze. The remaining two races would be more of the patchy light stuff we had on Saturday. Jason struggled some on Sunday while Jon was hot out of the blocks and had two bullets in the first two races. Joan showed no ill effects from her dancing and opened with an 3rd & 2nd and we stayed close with an 2nd & 3rd. With a throw out going into race seven, Jon and I were tied. Race seven was as exciting as racing can be in two-four knots of breeze, we reached the weather mark ahead of Jon, Jon passed us downwind, we passed Jon upwind, and then were able to pass Pat Phelan with a hundred yards to the finish to win race seven and take a two point lead over Jon. With boats struggling to finish, the race committee decided to call it a day and a regatta. Final results were: 1st Steve 11 pts, 2nd Jon 13 pts, 3rd Jason 21 pts, 4th Joan 25 pts. Complete results can be found at:
http://www.lightningclass.org/fleet50/dixiedistrict/2009/DuckChallengeResults.htm
A special thanks to Pat Phelan and Tom Compton and everyone else up at Fleet 192 for putting on a good regatta. See you next year at the Duck.
Five Fleet 329 boats made the trip up I-95 for the annual Duck Challenge this past weekend. Jon, Jason W., Joan & Gary, Mark B. and I with our respective crews made for some serious fleet 329 competition. The Duck is always one of the most enjoyable events on the Dixie District circuit, not necessarily for dependable breeze but for their warm hospitality, easy access to the racecourse, always enjoyable cookout and party, and the barhopping. Everyone up at Harve DeGrace is so nice, we always have a great time and this year was no exception. 17 boats in all attended this years Duck Challenge.
Saturday’s light and variable breeze from the north made for some interesting racing. Shifts would appear and disappear with no discernable reason. You looked good one moment only to sail into the abyss and have the rest of the fleet sail around you the next moment. Fun stuff. Jason was fast from the start and paced everyone with two firsts in the first two races. Jon opened up with a 2nd & 4th while we struggled with a 7th and a 3rd. Races 3 & 4 we found our way to win both races. Jon would sail his drop race in race three with a second in race four. And sailing consistent was Joan & Gary who opened with a third and then had two fourths in race 3 & 4. Throw in Mark B. with a fifth in race two which was awesome in such tough conditions. OK, are you confused by all the numbers, I am. Jason led us by two points, with Jon 7 points back and Joan & Gary a few points behind Jon after Saturdays racing. Factor in a projected drop if we reach seven races and the scores were even tighter.
Saturday’s evening cookout as always was quite enjoyable. Normally you pick either a steak or salmon and you gather around the grill and cook it yourself. This year we had some nice volunteers who braved the wind and rain to cook for the competitors. Then it was off to the favorite local watering hole, McGregor’s, where one becomes part of a whole cast of characters.
Joan had plenty of energy to burn and hit the dance floor with Gary, not hubby Gary, but the ever-effervescent Gary Hofer. A sight to behold indeed, but luckily not on YouTube.
Sunday morning showed promise as the front had gone through and a nice northwesterly was blowing as we reached the club. But the promise would be fleeting, even though the first race of the day was held in a steady 8 knots of breeze. The remaining two races would be more of the patchy light stuff we had on Saturday. Jason struggled some on Sunday while Jon was hot out of the blocks and had two bullets in the first two races. Joan showed no ill effects from her dancing and opened with an 3rd & 2nd and we stayed close with an 2nd & 3rd. With a throw out going into race seven, Jon and I were tied. Race seven was as exciting as racing can be in two-four knots of breeze, we reached the weather mark ahead of Jon, Jon passed us downwind, we passed Jon upwind, and then were able to pass Pat Phelan with a hundred yards to the finish to win race seven and take a two point lead over Jon. With boats struggling to finish, the race committee decided to call it a day and a regatta. Final results were: 1st Steve 11 pts, 2nd Jon 13 pts, 3rd Jason 21 pts, 4th Joan 25 pts. Complete results can be found at:
http://www.lightningclass.org/fleet50/dixiedistrict/2009/DuckChallengeResults.htm
A special thanks to Pat Phelan and Tom Compton and everyone else up at Fleet 192 for putting on a good regatta. See you next year at the Duck.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
ACC's - Tom's River, NJ
This is coming a little late, but thought I'd share of few brief thoughts from the ACCs, held July 25-26 at Tom's River Yacht Club. What a tremendous 2 days of "atlantic coastal" sailing we were treated to. If you like breeze (which our heavy team does), it was absolutely ideal. Arrived fri night around 10:30 pm to drop off the boat and a few stragglers were still imbibing around a fire-ring overlooking the scenic Tom's River. Sat morning came fast and early, and we rigged up, launched and hooked up to the nearest tow for the long trip out to Barnegat bay. By the way, this is where next year's NA's will be, and I hear they plan on towing out to the race course every day, which is pretty cool. About the time we arrived at the sailing area, the sea breeze was starting to fill nicely. We sailed the first race in about 10-12 knots as I recall, but steadily building. The right was paying most of the time it seemed, and when we had a lane to get over to that side, the waves weren't as bad, and we seemed to pick up boats. At this point, I can't recall the details, but we had a mediocre first day and were in about 17th out of 59 boats. TRYC put on a great dinner at the club in some ideal weather for sitting outside and enjoying a few adult beverages. David Starck was leading, having won races 2 and 3, with Allan and Bill Fastiggi each trailing by 2 points. Given the 3 long, breezy races, most of the crowd seemed to retire fairly early.
Sunday started out with a tow out to the mouth of the river to sail on the "inside" course, but after one abandoned start in a dying westerly, the RC smartly rounded everyone up and towed to the Bay. Again the sea breeze delivered it's punch, and we got off another 2 races in 15-20 knots with some higher puffs. De-powering (except in the big waves) was critical, keeping the boat on it's feet, and staying in control downwind while trying to surf on as many waves as possible to keep up with the really fast guys. They seemed to have an extra gear downwind in the waves. We managed to hover around the low teens in both races, (with some not-so-good starts), to finish up 11th overall (losing the 10th place tiebreaker to Bill Bogardus). Dave Starck and Allan battled it out in the last race, Allan having won race 4 and taking the overall lead, but Dave won the last race convincingly to take back the regatta. The ride in the from race course on Sunday was possibly more fun than the actual racing, as we were planing almost the whole time, first under spin, then just tight reaching with jib. For those thinking about NAs next summer, the exhilarating sail in each day may be enough reason to go! Other Fleet 329 boats that attended were Geoff Becker who finished 4th, Steve (who had a jib halyard breakdown in the last race), Jason Werner who had a sweet 4th in the last race, Joe Friebele, and Gary and Joan Hurban. And the District sent a total of 17 boats, probably the best represented District at the regatta! TRYC is a fantastic place to sail and runs a great show, and it's only 3 hours away. Hope to see some of you at the Duck Challenge next.
Here's a Link to Results
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/acc.asp
Sunday started out with a tow out to the mouth of the river to sail on the "inside" course, but after one abandoned start in a dying westerly, the RC smartly rounded everyone up and towed to the Bay. Again the sea breeze delivered it's punch, and we got off another 2 races in 15-20 knots with some higher puffs. De-powering (except in the big waves) was critical, keeping the boat on it's feet, and staying in control downwind while trying to surf on as many waves as possible to keep up with the really fast guys. They seemed to have an extra gear downwind in the waves. We managed to hover around the low teens in both races, (with some not-so-good starts), to finish up 11th overall (losing the 10th place tiebreaker to Bill Bogardus). Dave Starck and Allan battled it out in the last race, Allan having won race 4 and taking the overall lead, but Dave won the last race convincingly to take back the regatta. The ride in the from race course on Sunday was possibly more fun than the actual racing, as we were planing almost the whole time, first under spin, then just tight reaching with jib. For those thinking about NAs next summer, the exhilarating sail in each day may be enough reason to go! Other Fleet 329 boats that attended were Geoff Becker who finished 4th, Steve (who had a jib halyard breakdown in the last race), Jason Werner who had a sweet 4th in the last race, Joe Friebele, and Gary and Joan Hurban. And the District sent a total of 17 boats, probably the best represented District at the regatta! TRYC is a fantastic place to sail and runs a great show, and it's only 3 hours away. Hope to see some of you at the Duck Challenge next.
Here's a Link to Results
http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/results/2009/acc.asp
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