TEAM CATAWBA SAILS “BOTTOMS UP” REGATTA
Ten Lightnings rolled into Lake Murray for the "Bottoms Up" Regatta hosted by the Lake Murray Sailing Club. Included in the fleet were Ron Wright, Tom Martin, and John Holmes sailing as Team Catawba out of Catawba Yacht Club. Also included in the fleet were 2004 Southeastern District Traveling Series Champion, Pete Marriott and ILCA President, Carter Utzig from Lake Norman, along with 2005 Cottonwood Champion, Terry Tyner from Lake Murray. Mother nature served up near ideal conditions for the two-day regatta. It was cloudy, the thunderstorms stayed away from the racecourse, and the breezes stayed in the ten knot range the entire weekend.
Saturday, the race committee set up windward leeward courses. Team Catawba did their homework before race one and correctly identified that the right side was going to be heavily favored. After a lousy start, Ron tacked away. Ten minutes later the shift came in and TC took off. They led at every mark to win race one with Marriott and Tyner coming in second and third. In race two, it looked like Ron was going to run away with things as Team Catawba led at marks one and two. But alas, reality settled in on the second windward leg with Marriott, John Pelosi, and Tyner taking the lead and finishing 1-2-3. Marriott duplicated the ace in race three while Pelosi nailed another deuce and Ron edged out Tyner for third. At the end of the day, Marriott was high team with 4 points. Ron and Pelosi were tied with nine and Tyner was one point away in fourth.
It was not the first time Team Catawba has won races on the tough Southeastern District Circuit. Ron, Tom, and John have steadily been climbing the ladder in district racing and won races at the 2004 Cottonwood and the 2004 Low-country Regatta in Beaufort.
Saturday night Lake Murray Sailing Club put on great party that featured not one, but two buffet dinners. Upstairs it was fish, shrimp and chicken. Downstairs it was bar-b-que and chicken. A great time was had eating, drinking, and yakking into the night. The LMSC "peninsula" was dotted with tents, as many sailors, including Tom Martin, took advantage of the great camping conditions.
Sunday, Avis Bridgers of Raleigh demonstrated her improving skills. They were nipping at everyone's heels Saturday, but Sunday they made their move. On the second downwind leg of race four, they ran low and deep, grabbed a great shift and knocked off the whole fleet to become the third team to win a race over the weekend. John Pelosi nailed a great start and put it all together to become the fourth team to win in race five. Team Catawba put up two very respectable fives on Sunday for an overall fourth place finish. Pete Marriott won the regatta going away with nine points.
It was a weekend of great racing and great fellowship. Thanks to Terry Tyner and LMSC. If you haven’t tried Lightning sailing yet, you are missing out on a great venue. There are over a dozen regattas from spring to fall, all within a few hours of Lake Wylie. The weekend trips make for a great getaway of fun and fellowship. Any CYC members interested in Lightning sailing should contact Ron Wright at rwright1@carolina.rr.com.