2004 Borderline
Kerr Lake, NC
Oct 23-24.

PETE MARRIOTT’S TEAM WINS BORDERLINE 2004
submitted by John Pelosi

             Pete Marriott, with Lauren and Randy Beauchamp, won Fleet 481’s 24^th Annual Borderline Regatta held at Kerr Lake near Henderson, NC.  Twenty-six boats traveled to Kerr Lake from New York, Connecticut, Annapolis, DC and all over the Southeastern Lightning District (SELD) to compete in the regatta, which has been sponsored by LAYLINE for over a decade.

            Brian Hayes, sailing with ILCA President Carter Utzig and his daughter Megan, finished second with Bob Harkrider taking third from Tom Allen Jr. on the tiebreaker.  Dick Hallagan took silver to round out the top five.

            The Borderline also features an alternate scoring procedure that advantages older boats.  The Hull Number Handicap results showed Bob Astrove from DC’s Fleet 50 in first place sailing his classic woodie #7903.  Tom Allen Sr., sailing with Alan Terhune and his wife, took second, while two Fleet 481 sailors, Worth Lutz and Alan Krauss came in third and fourth.  Lutz had two ringers aboard, Neal Hayes and Jason Timmonds.  Worth said, “All I did was to stare at the tell tales and they did everything else.  It was great!”

            Saturday began with winds blowing strongly out of the northeast, but by the time all boats got out to the sailing area the wind began to diminish.  The first race used up all existing wind and Carolina Sailing Club Commodore and PRO John Norton wisely abandoned for the day.

            By Sunday the wind had clocked around to the southeast and stayed relatively steady in velocity for three more races.  It did not stay steady in direction, however, and the front runners were those who figured out the wind shifts and happened to be in the right place at the right time.  It seemed like the right side was favored in the early parts of the weather legs, but then you had to get over to the left side for the second half of the leg.  The tricky part was taking the hitch at the right time.  Alan Krauss figured it out in the last race and almost did a horizon job on all competitors.

            Brian Hayes and Tom Allen Jr. added a very special treat for all sailors on Saturday night.  They held an impromptu clinic both before and after dinner, answering an incredible array of questions.  Pat Terry and I had to cook the Chicken Cilantro so we missed it, but we heard the discussion included everything from the vagaries of lake sailing to the physics of mast bend and sail trim.  Fleet 481 is grateful for their excellent contribution to the regatta.  Brian suggested we do it again next year.

            Sailors who have ventured to Kerr Lake over the years have experienced the joys and problems of sailing on an inland lake at a venue without many amenities.  The bad news this year is that we had to dodge huge pilings to get our boats from the ramps to the sailing water.  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL HAVE FLOATING DOCKS THAT WILL EXTEND 100 FEET OUT INTO THE WATER.  We invite all who have attended the Borderline to come again next year to try out the new docks!  Remember:  It’s always the fourth full weekend in October.

            One of the great things about this year’s Borderline is that we almost doubled the number of CSC Lightnings that sailed in the regatta. Last year only four boats raced, but this year we had seven.  If Alan Hawkes, from Greensboro, joins the club we could count him as number eight.  We also had John Chaplinsky and Chuck Moore crewing on out-of-town boats, and John McLaughlin crewed with Tom Allen Jr, one of the top sailors in the class.  The Borderline turns out to be the best attended regatta in the SELD, with 18 boats registered.

Additional Notes: 

• Jim and Connie Harris borrowed Ned Nutt’s boat after breaking their own mast before they even got into the water.  Naturally they still did well even with an unfamiliar boat.
• Avis Bridgers, with teammates Henry B. and Pat Terry finished the season with a great finish in the last race.
• It has been discovered that Harry Cline is a master at producing unique and clever boat graffiti, one of which is: “If you can read this you’re DFL”

The grapevine has it the Bill Sloger’s arm is healing and he can now lift a wine glass without pain.