2007 Fleet 86 Racing Blog
[Contributions welcome by e-mail]

Jim Higgins wins Fall Series

Jim Higgins didn't even need to sail on December 1.  He built an insurmountable lead in the fall series with consistent racing all fall.  In 33 races he finished first or second 25 times.  Included were nine aces.  By December 1, it was over.  He stilled sailed a very consistent 2-3-2 on December 1 to finish the series with a net of 72 points - over 14 points ahead of the nearest competitor.  Jim also showed that participation counts.  His 5 DNC's were lowest for the series.  Second place went to Tom Martin.  John Holmes sailed an outstanding series finishing in third place over Ron and Bill.

Midlands Regatta
Nov 2-3
Columbia Sailing Club

Ron competed in the Midlands Regatta and filed this report.

Huge club.  New clubhouse under construction.  A huge marina that is actually a protected manmade cove.  6 ramps.  Two problems:  the ramps are not dinghy friendly.  Endless bolts and other protrusions all up and down the sides.  Also, they were not prepared for the huge fleet of boats that entered - especially the large number of cruisers that trailered in. 

The scow sailors helped each other keep our boats off the docks.  I got lucky and was able to launch on the leeward side and BooBoo floated away from the killer docks while I parked the car and RAN back to the dock to get away without dings.

Once on the water, things got a lot better.  It was 65 degrees and the wind was a solid hiking breeze  of 8-9 knots with occasional gusts.  We depowered with cunningham and outhaul.  A couple times we went to the vang, but not often. 

George Scarborough took over right where he left off in Augusta.  George is as hot as any sailor I have seen right now.  He won the last two regattas I attended.  We just followed him.  Justin Annis had Dad's boat 2400 and had a great regatta.  Cliff Palmer in 1465 was also very fast.  I put up a 5 in race one behind these four.  I was disappointed because I had yielded fourth to Cliff on the downwind leg.  In race two I got a great start and actually led for a few hundred yards.  George and Lenny made pretty quick work of me though and I rounded the top mark in third.  Justin caught me going downwind, but as we approached the leeward mark, Lenny got inside of him and Justin sailed right by the mark to avoid fouling Lenny.  I ducked inside back to third place.   Staring down Lenny's exhaust, I tacked away for clear air.  Big mistake.  Twenty minutes later when the fleet consolidated, I fell to sixth.  Just a classic mistake.  Better to follow a leader in bad air then take a big risk on the wrong side of the course.  At the end of the day I was tied for fifth with Mack Cook. 

On Sunday we were confronted with light air.  George did not sail Sunday.  We waited what seemed like forever for the wind to fill in.  I think somewhere around 10:45, it did, enough to race.  I got a poor start in the second row, but I was on the favored committee boat side.  It was only a few seconds and I was able to tack to port and go right - where I wanted to be.  I looked up and found myself right behind Lenny and in front of everyone else.  Better to follow the leader than tack away.  And follow Lenny I did.  It didn't take rocket science to see that the best route was to stay right as long as possible.  The M-17s were showing us the way to go.  Only Lenny and I had the patience to stay the course.  One by one the others tacked away.  Mack came the closest, but I crossed him on the starboard layline and Lenny and I rounded 1-2.  Mack faded fast. I just followed Lenny who sailed for every patch of wind on the water.  We  worked our way up the left side of the course.  The breeze picked up a little and I made one attempt to pass.  Lenny headed up and covered me.  When he gybed for the right side of the course to round the mark, I held on for a few extra feet.  It paid off and I had him at the leeward mark - until the stinking slow phrf cruiser [SSPC] got involved.  The SSPC had inside rights on me.  Lenny crossed his bow and rounded because the SSPC took forever to gybe around the mark.  The SSPC was so slow that I ducked inside and rounded in front of it before it turned upwind.  Now all I could do was engage Lenny in a tacking duel.  I got close, but his experience was too much for me.  I had to "settle" for second place.

We all sailed in. Of course, the afternoon breeze arrived on cue and  we had to fight breezes at the dock.  Lenny and I spent a very frustrating 20 minutes waiting on a J24 to come out.  Boy I wish John had been there.  Lenny took some bad dings.  I was trying to paddle around and wait, but the wind wore me out.  I allowed BooBoo to drift to waist deep water and then stepped in and held 2398 by the shoreline until the SSJ24 got his boat out. 

Everrett Rice helped me pack up - thanks Everett. 

I did the math.  No reason to go to the awards ceremony.  Lenny won with a 2-2-1 [5] performance.  George should be second with a 1-1-10d [12] .  Justin had third sailing 3-3-6 [12].  Cliff was fourth with a 4-4-4- [12].  I had fifth with a 5-6-2 [13].   Only wildcard will be if George gets a dns 12.  There were 11 boats registered, but only 9 sailed.  Five out of nine - dead in the middle.

The Sunday race made it all worthwhile for me.  It was a tactical duel in light air - my biggest weakness - and I had performed okay.

JIM TAKES OVER
Fall Series, 10/20/07

Jim Higgins sailed a masterful five race day to take a commanding lead in the 2007 Fall Series. 

The fleet captain put up 3 bullets in five races on Oct 20 to win the day with 10 points.  He won the three light air races going away and posted a deuce in race three. 

The wind filled in for races 3-4 and we finally had hiking breezes.  Ron but his weight on the rail to win the two heavy air races. 

While Jim has moved out front, the race for 2-3-4 is very competitive.  John Holmes was the hottest sailor in races 11-18 putting up four bullets and four deuces to take a six point lead over Tom for third.  Speaking of third, Bill and Tom are separated by  a mere 1.2 point. 

With three races to go, anything can happen.  What a competitive fleet.  Great job everyone. 

NIGHTMARE ON LAKE STROM THURMOND
Augusta Halloween Regatta, Oct 13-14, 2007
Ron Wright, reporting
Bill Schiffli, reporting

Ron, Bill, and Tom traveled to Augusta, Georgia this weekend to race in the 2007 Halloween Regatta.  According to the event shirt, it was the 53rd edition of this popular event.  As a testament to how popular it is, over 100 boats showed up to participate - 36 in the scow fleet alone.  It was easy to see why.  A huge volunteer effort turns this club into one heck of a weekend affair.  Consider the following:

Decor:  No stone unturned.  The entire club was decked out for Halloween.  From haunts on the rooftops and ghosts in every other tree to miles and miles of Halloween pumpkin lights the decor was exceptional.

Food:  A monstrous BBQ dinner was served up on Saturday night.  One couldn't begin to eat everything offered.  You just had to pick your favorites.   A full course breakfast with eggs, sausage, bacon, grits, fruit, bagels, cereal..... 

Drink:  What can we say?  A $12 bracelet and the beer wagon was yours for the weekend.

The Party:  Where to begin?  From our chairs on the lawn we watched slides and VIDEO of the days racing all the while listening to a live STEEL DRUM BAND.   There was a costume parade.  The Wiggins family were the perfect rendition of Hogwarts Academy and Jordan was the perfect Harry Potter.  No contest there!  Some partook of the tractor pulled hayride through the winding clubhouse grounds.  If you could make it 'til midnight [we did not], the BONFIRE on the beach was a real treat.

The Logistics.   From our personal, numbered, parking spaces, volunteers shuttled our boats to the water with golf carts and and were there to pull us out at the end of racing.

In fact, this may have been the greatest regatta ever, except for one nightmare:  the wind.  As if to say "trick or treat', the wind teased us all weekend.  It never blew to windward hiking velocity.  We spent the entire weekend under the boom.  By the same token, it blew just enough to keep us on the water for two races Saturday and one race Sunday.  And while we never windward hiked, we didn't bob and bake either - at least not during a race.  The going was tactical and intense.  One false wiggle in the boat and you might lose a place. 

We were near, if not right in the middle on Saturday, Ron with a 36, Bill and Tom tied with 37.  On Sunday, Ron stayed out front of the CYC fleet, but Bill took sole control of second.  We all had our moments.   When the final tallies were in, Ron finished 16, Bill 18, and Tom 21.

So, the sailing can't be described as great, but it was there, and we worked hard to make it happen.

So much for the scows.  Bill and Angie dominated the M17 fleet.  Jordan was very respectable in the Opti fleet.

Suffice to say, a massively good time was had by all.

RKW

Stuff I learned from the Halloween Regatta 2007
Bill Schiffli,  reporting

My background:

Three years competitive sailing
Two years in the MC Scow fleet
Open regatta experience

Labor Day  Regatta-LYNC-Sept. 2006
CYC open regatta- Oct. 2006
Nationals- LYNC- Oct 2006
Augusta SC Halloween Regatta 2007

Comments:

1.  It is definitely more fun and easier to manage when traveling with a group from CYC, than going solo. Thanks Ron and Tom.
2.  The MC skippers are mostly very experienced and very competitive.
3.  The top third of the MC fleet is occupied by elite sailors, the middle third by the experienced sailors, and everyone else is in the bottom third.
4.  There is very little satisfaction in finishing in the bottom third. But in how many other competitions does a minute or two difference in the finish of an almost two hour race account for so many places in the finish order? Everything matters in MC racing.
5.  In the MC Scow, you have to constantly work to perfect your sailing technique. You can’t take it easy in club races or else bad habits will form.
6.  Big water like Norman and Thurmond is a treat.
7.  My goal over the next year or so is to encroach on the middle of the MC fleet.
8.  My best shot at moving up in the fleet is in light winds.
9.  I still react to a puff with my tiller rather than the sheet.
10. The older sailors put in less physical effort and sometimes do well. I can “out physical” some of the Masters (MM) sailors which compensates a little for every other shortcoming.
11. George [Scarborough - Chasn] can point higher than anyone I observed, while going as fast if not faster than anyone.
12. I can match boat speed with Jeff [Annis] , but that’s about all I can match with him.
13. I saw boats bumping prior to the gun Sunday, but I didn’t see anyone doing penalty turns. Kinda like NASCAR I guess…
14.  I need to know the right-of way rules when going through the leeward gate.
15. A poor start means you finish in the bottom half of the fleet.
16. For whatever reason I seemed to lose a lot of speed on tacks this weekend.
17. According to video evidence, I sail flat around marks!
18. Whenever possible use a dolly for ingress and egress to avoid the ramp wait times.
19. If a club has organized the weekend as well as Augusta, it’s worth the fees paid for what’s received.
20. Some sailors seem to pack up and go more quickly than others at the end of the weekend. I want to emulate their technique.

DEAD HEAT
Day 4, Fall Series, 9/22/07

With four races in the books, John Holmes, Jim Higgins, and Tom Martin are all tied in the total points category [37].  With throw-outs, Jim has a 2 point lead, while Tom and John are tied at 22.  It all happened on 9/22 when John Holmes dominated the day with a 1-2-1 score to gain 4 points on Jim and 7 on Tom.   Bill Shiffli also inched closer to the leaders finishing second on the day with a 3-1-3 finish.  Great racing, John.   

A NEW LEADER
Day 3, Fall Series, 9/15/7

Tom Martin demonstrating that "it's not over 'til it's over" posted a 5 point day [2-1-2] to take over the lead in the 2007 Fall Series.  Ron Wright led at every mark of every race but couldn't see that the fastest sail between the leeward mark and the finish line was to go one long tack right and one long tack left.  Tom Martin saw the obvious and used it to heavy advantage.  In race one, Tom closed from a 3 boat deficit to lose at the finish line by less than a boat length, but still win second.  In race 2, Tom again passed Ron on the final leg in equally dramatic fashion.  This time Tom used a tacking duel to close the gap on Ron.  But as Ron tacked to duck Tom with a few boat lengths to go, Tom seemingly sailed too far before tacking, but the skipper knew his stuff and while Ron tried to pinch his way over the finish line, Tom put the bow down for speed and then shot the finish line for the ace.  In race three, Ron again self-destructed coming around the leeward mark with the biggest lead of the day.  This time Ron pinched and tacked his way to fourth place while John Holmes passed him for the ace.  Meanwhile, Tom was sailing the correct tack [wide right - then left] and he and Bill both passed Ron at the finish line.  Great job Tom Martin.

JIM HIGGINS TAKES OVER
Day 2, Fall Series, 9/8/7

With four races all sailed on short courses, in light air, with no tacking required, the lightest skipper in the fleet has surged out to a three point lead over Tom Martin, seven points over John Holmes, ten points over Ron Wright, and thirteen over Bill Schiffli.  Jim was so fast on Saturday, he came back from 2 OCS calls to finish with four deuces on the day, a full four points ahead of a very impressive Bill Schiffli, who sailed 3-5-3-1 for a second place finish on the day.   Four different skippers won four different races this day.  It didn't matter.   Jim was simply the fastest boat on the water.   

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Lake Norman Labor Day Regatta
Sept 1-2, 2007

Ron, Jim, Tom, and John headed up to Lake Norman for the 2007 Labor Day Regatta.  We were greeted with great wind and competitive sailing.  Our challengers were local racers Richard Grayson and Bob Bouknight.  Bob and Richard won all three races on the first day.  Ron, Jim, and John challenged, but just couldn't close the deal.  Jim led much of race 2 only to lose near the finish line.  Ron was second at one time or another in all three races.  The best score he could manage was a 3.   John also held a number 2 spot but ended making a 3 his best finish.  Frustrating.

To be sure, Bob Bouknight [1-2-1] had the hot hand.  Grayson had the other bullet.  But we finished the day thinking of what might have been, not what was.

Jim and John could not return Sunday.  That left Ron and Tom to exact some revenge.  Ron hit paydirt in the first race on Sunday.

"I got a competitive start and stayed close to Bob and Richard.  We rounded the windward mark 1-2-3 with me in third.  I made sure to cover every tack they made instead of going my own way.  I wanted to stay close and hope an opportunity arrived downwind.  On the first leeward leg, I pulled closer but could not get enough speed to pass anyone.  Again we rounded 1-2-3.   Then I saw an opportunity.  Bob tacked shortly after the rounding.  Richard covered.  I sailed past their lines and tacked into the inside lane.  Then I hiked and pointed for all I was worth.  I didn't have to pass anyone.  I just had to close enough so if THEY tacked, they would have to duck.  Halfway up the lake, I felt I was there.  I was pointing closer to the mark and going faster.  Finally they had no choice but to tack.  When they did, it was obvious I had a four boat lead.  We rounded the windward mark 1-2-3 but this time I led.  Now I had to defend downwind.  Ugh!  I determined to cover only the nearest boat.  So every move Bob made, I covered.  Somehow I held a two boat lead at the mark.  I rounded and trimmed in.  It was cover time.  I would only tack when they did.  Grayson bailed first and Bouknight had to cover or risk losing second.   I did the exact same thing in race 1.  Only I chose to not to cover and it cost me second place.  Bob tacked to port.  So did I.  I had been here before.  Inside lane.   Only this time I was in the lead.  Again, I hiked and went as fast as I could.  Eventually they had to give in and tack on me.  When they did, it was obviously over.  I covered.  They tried it again.  I covered.  When I had nailed the finish line, I sailed for home.  Race four to me."

Race 5 was Tom and Amanda's time to shine.  The wind died off the line.  Grayson went right.  I stayed left with Bob.  When the wind filled in, Grayson had a huge lead. No race here.  Until the last windward leg.  I noticed we were all closing on the leader who appeared to be sitting in a wind hole.  We had found wind on the right side of the course.  Tom was in fourth place and gambled.  He went way right.  Bob and I sailed into the same hole Richard was in.  Tom put the hammer down in good breeze and passed us all.  He rounded the windward mark in first place!  Then lightning struck - figuratively.  Bob and Richard were obviously heading for the nearby finish line.   Tom looked around.  I was between Bob and Tom.  I waited until Richard crossed.  When the horn sounded I tacked for the finish line.  A frustrated Tom and Amanda sailed in with us behind them.  On land, I shared that I thought it was a 2 lapper.  Richard clearly saw the RC switch to 1 lap just before the gun.  Lesson learned:  In a multi-fleet race, check the course often right up to the gun.

JIM HIGGINS GRABS DAY ONE LEAD IN FALL SERIES

Jim Higgins had the hot hand on Saturday, August 25 and posted three bullets in very light air to take the early in the 2007 Fall Series.  Tom Martin edged Ron Wright at the finish line in race 1 to post the only other ace. 

It was a day of leeward rail sailing as the breeze was enough to race, but never enough for windward hiking.  With Jim dominating and Ron owning 4th place, Tom and John had the most competitive day for second and third place in races 2-4. 

Fleet 86 will travel to Lake Norman on Saturday for the Labor Day regatta.

TOM MARTIN AND JIM HIGGINS ARE 1-2 IN SUMMER SERIES

Tom Martin sailed an amazing 24 out of 28 summer races to dominate the 2007 summer series and win with a low score of 26 points.  Jim Higgins was second, only 6.2 points away with a score of 32.2. 

Tom racked up 13 bullets in the series, almost double the nearest competitor. 

Congratulations Tom.

STRANGE DAYS

Ron Wright traveled to Charleston July 27-29 to sail in the Carolina Yacht Club regatta.  He filed this blog.

As much as I love Charleston, the city, I have had awful luck here racing.   Years ago, my lightning took a nasty gash from a powerboat at the dock.  Last year, the winds were so strong, I was blown from the hoist area onto nearby rocks sustaining several nasty gashes in Woodstock [1370].  Boo Boo [2398] would not make this trip.  But I ventured south with Woodstock, willing to give it another try.  To be honest, I had no allusions.  Whatever I know about lake sailing, I know nothing about harbor sailing.  There would be currents and tides to contend with in addition to the sea breeze.

I arrived Friday night and delivered Woodstock to the club.  I visited with old Lightning friends.  I stepped the mast and got the boat ready, paid my registration, and drove over to Mount Pleasant to register at my hotel.  The new Cooper River Bridge is awesome.

I returned Saturday morning.  The wind and water were perfect.  Small ripples with 7-10 knot breezes.  Finally, I would get a chance to sail and survive Carolina Yacht Club.  It didn't happen.  Radar showed a serious thunderstorm underway.  At 12:30, the RC postponed.  At 1:15, they cancelled the day.  At 1:30 all hell broke loose in the form a ferocious coastal thunderstorm. 

The RC backed Sunday start time to 11:00 AM.  The skies were cloudy and more storms were predicted, but in the absence of anything on radar, the RC sent us out.  Great move.  We enjoyed a great day consisting of three hotly contested races under cloudy skies. 

For me, I just wanted to sail without mistakes.  And I did.  I understood every flag and every course adjustment.  I also read the race instructions and it helped. 

In race 1, I set up on the line with a little over a minute to go.  That was the closest I came to a mistake.  The current pushed me over despite the wind in my face.  But having seen the I-flag, I reached fast for the port starting ball, whipped around it to exonerate myself, and got a decent start.  In races 2-3, I was competitive off the line both times.  But there were too many coastal sailors here and names like Annis, Krawcheck, Harken, Mossman, and Scarborough would dominate.  Still, I sailed hard and always avoided the cellar.  There were 15-17 of us and I figured I was bottom three at the end of the day.

We sailed in, waited our turn at the hoist, and then I packed Woodstock for the road.  I checked the scoreboard before leaving and the results were up.  I started at 17 and went up.  To my surprise, I finished ninth.  I studied the scores.  Lots of OCS that went un-exonerated.   I had done my best in race 2, scoring a ninth place.  But an OCS was worth a whopping 19 points and it was the kiss of death to four boats.   I could only guess they did not have radios because the RC called them all out.

Strange days, but fun ones.

Oh yea, George Scarborough, from Charleston, kicked butt.  He went 2-1-1 to win going away

RON WRIGHT AND TOM MARTIN ARE 1-2 IN SPRING SERIES

Three scow racers: Ron, Tom, and John Holmes braved the heavy winds of tropical storm Barry to compete in the final day of the 2007 CYC Spring Series.  In race one, Tom and John opted for a port start and went left.  Ron headed to the middle of the lake.  By the windward mark, Ron had a slim lead which he held for 3 more legs to take race 1.  In race 2, Tom got frozen by a finishing cruiser on the starting line.  He still took a slight lead at the gun and again went right.  Ron again opted left and again it paid off.  He led at the windward mark and held on for the remaining 2 legs.  In race 3, Tom took a commanding lead off the line and rode it all the way around.

With Jim Higgins absent, the series went to Ron before the first gun sounded.  But Tom Martin showed that those who show up win series as he edged out Jim Higgins by one point for second place.

The series was hotly contested throughout the spring.   Jim, Tom, and Ron all led at one time or another.  In the final analysis, Ron simply won more races [9] and had the fewest finishes over second place [9].

GUEST IMPACT

Two guest sailors joined the CYC MC Fleet for club racing on May 20.  Jim Cook and John Bernard made an immediate impact.  First, the two guests put six boats on the line - the largest one design fleet in recent memory at CYC. 

Laser man, Jim Cook, sailing an MC for the first time ever, dominated the day going 1-2-2-1-1 in five races.  John Bernard would have nailed a second in race one had he not missed the finishing pin.  He was competitive throughout the day in MC 307. 

For the regulars, Ron and Jim battled it out all day and ended up tied with 10 points each.  John nailed a nice ace in race 4 and Bill came on strong to finish the day with two deuces. 

The winds were fluky, shifty and made it impossible for a square course.  In fact, the wind was so shifty, we actually started races in two different directions without changing the course!  Add a wicked powerboat chop and the sailing conditions were challenging to say the least.  But in the end, the wind was on enough to make for exciting racing.

The days results were as follows:

CYC series extract may be found on the results page.

PLEASANT SURPRISES
2007 Keowee Cup
Lake Keowee, SC
May 5-6. 2007

Ron Wright and John Holmes represented CYC at the 2007 Keowee Cup on Lake Keowee.  Ron posts the following blog:

"We packed up the boats on our new double stack trailer the Sunday before the regatta.  It was a good thing we opted to pack up early as it took an easy 2 hours to get the job done.  Moving various boats around the CYC grounds to use the gantry was the time culprit.  It was much easier at Keowee where we just called on a few sailors to help lift the top boat off."

"We left Friday night.  The trip down went very fast.  It was great to travel in one car and yak all the way down the highway.  What a surprise Keowee Yacht Club was.  An incredibly beautiful club.  We parked our boats and decided to sleep on the club deck.  We figured the rain would wake us up.  It did and we moved under the spacious picnic cover.  From there we enjoyed all of natures fury throughout the night as ferocious thunderstorms moved through."

"Saturday morning we set up our boats.  A couple 2X4s and some visiting sailors had John's boat on the dolly in no time.  The forecast for the day was pretty bleak:  rain all day with winds at 2-3 knots.  At the skippers' meeting we learned the standard course would include leeward finishes.  We also learned the PRO had every intention of racing today.  By 11:15 AM we were all heading out to the starting area in full weather gear.  It turned out to be a great call.  The wind was light and the rain did fall all day.  But, there were no thunderstorms, the wind was just enough to keep us moving, and there was not a powerboat to be seen."

Race 1

"We had no idea what to expect.  There were seven boats.  I figured the rock stars would stay away after sailing the prior weekend at Lake Lanier.  We would learn real fast if we could compete.  Keowee's Mike Heidig broke out on the first start followed by Peter Hens.  Midway up the beat, Ron was in third and John was in fourth.  That's how we stayed through the first run.  On the second beat, Ron went right hoping to catch someone.  Wrong move.  John went left with the Keowee boats.  At the windward mark we could see they had shortened to a windward finish line.  Peter had passed Mike for the lead.  John held third.  Ron almost self-destructed, but managed to finish fourth.  Not bad I thought.  We have a chance to finish top half of the fleet.  I made a mental note - stay left."

Race 2

"Go left, young man was the cry.   When the gun sounded, the four contenders all started together going left.  200 yards out, John and Ron had worked the hardest.  Mike and Peter got flushed out and tacked away.  With John in the lead, we were outa here.  We led to the first mark and then to the leeward mark.  We opted to go right after the gate.  Peter and Mike went left and made up some ground.  We corrected quickly and off we went to the windward mark - still anyone's race.   Ron cut the shifts a little tighter and managed a two boat lead over John at the windward mark.  Mike and Peter were perhaps 5-6 boat lengths back.  We trimmed, gybed, trimmed some more, and gybed some more.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we crossed the finish line - Ron, John,  Mike, and Peter. "

"If all this sounds like edge of your seat racing, it was.  Unfortunately it was almost exclusively on the leeward edge of our seats.  We had raced 4 hours, our muscles ached, and we felt like bobby pins.  But there we all were: Mike, Peter, John, and Ron ALL TIED WITH FIVE POINTS EACH."

"Dinner was a fantastic plate of BBQ ribs with trimmings.  All the scow sailors found the same table and we shared sailing stories for a couple hours.  John and I had long decided only a motel bed would sooth our aching bods.  After dinner we retired to a local Hampton Inn and slept an easy nine hours."

Race 3

"Refreshed from a good nights sleep, we sailed out for the Sunday morning races.  Big breeze was forecast.  It showed up right on cue.  After running a few tacks, John commented the wind direction was identical to Saturday.  The marks were in the same place.  I made a mental note - go left.  I had a weak start, but I did get to the high side of the course.  When I tacked to port, Mike Neidig had a lead of 4-5 boat lengths.  John and Peter had tracked away sooner.  I followed Mike up the course.  It soon became evident that we had a sizeable lead.  I just stayed close on Mike's heals hoping for a chance to attack.  On the leeward leg, it seemed I would close in and then Mike would ease away.  Mike still had a good lead around the lee mark.  The wind was really blowing by the second windward leg.  Eventually, I split short tacks with Mike.   It worked.  First I crossed his stern.  On the following cross, I had the lead.  We traded tacks again.  I went right.  I could see a huge velocity shift ahead and decided to go for the line.  I tacked into the shift and felt pretty good when, bam, I was hit hard by a gust and knocked over.  Goodbye Keowee Cup.  I swam behind the boat and stood on the lee board.  No way Boo was coming up.  I was hoping to at least salvage second and hope for another race.  Mike sailed by.  John was coming on.  I was going to have to swim back around and get the righting line.  As I started to back off the board, I felt Boo Boo come up.  I leaned and pulled and up he came.  I jumped in, gathered my lines and turned toward the mark.   Mike was only 2-3 boat lengths ahead.  Around the windward mark and offset we went.  I went a little high for speed and it worked.  I pulled up right beside Mike.  We drag raced to the finish line.  Once, I almost lost it to a death roll.  Another time I had to correct a submarine.  I crossed first with a 1 boat lead.  John had made up terrific distance and crossed a close third behind us.  Peter did not finish."

"The wind was pretty stout.  Mike took a poll to stay out or go in.  I abstained, having the regatta lead.  The "go-ins" won.  Regatta over!  Ron first, John third!"

SPRING SERIES DAY 5

Where the 2007 Club Championships were hotly contested from race to race with lead changes happening throughout racing, light shifty winds and a short course made it difficult for many lead changes on this day.  Typically, the lead boat at the windward mark won the race.

John Holmes took off for a great start in race one and led to the windward mark followed by Ron, Tom, John, and newcomer Ratco Vujicic.  That's exactly how the race ended too.  In race 2, Ron jumped hard on the start and led at the windward mark followed by Tom and Jim.  That rounding held to the end of the race.  Ron managed a little catch-up in race 3.  After an OCS call to start the race, Ron had to return to the line and restart in last place.  He followed Jim to the left and by races end had climbed from last to second.  Jim was outstanding in the fading breezes and led start to finish in race three and four.  In race four, John and Jim put a horizon job on Ron and Ratco. 

Ratco Vujicic showed he is a competent sailor.  We hope he will join us for more scow racing.

When the calculations were updated, Ron had moved back into first place in the Spring Series.  Next up is Keowee.

2007 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2007 Club Championships turned into arguably the most hotly contested day of racing in the young history of Fleet 86.  In the end, the best description may be to say that Tom Martin persevered to win the the 2007 Club Championship for the MC Fleet and take the lead in the 2007 Spring series.  Here is a race by race synopsis.

Race 1:  Ron and John fought it out for the first race.  As they headed to the finish line, Ron took a lead and looked to have the win.  John tacked and Ron tacked to cover.  For reasons he is still trying to decipher, Ron simple froze in the water after his tack.   John sailed in for the ace followed by Bill and Tom.  By the time he got restarted, it was over and Ron was fourth.

Race 2:  This time Ron and Tom duked it out at the front.  As they converged on the second rounding of the windward mark, a cruiser came into play.  By the time the carnage was over, Tom was off with a commanding lead and Bill passed Ron for second.  That's how it ended.

Race 3:  Tom decided to gamble and started at the committee boat.  The other three went off at the pin.  Bill tacked first, Ron second, and John third.  They converged at the windward mark in reverse order of their tacks.  John was first, Ron second, and Bill third.  Tom's gamble did not work as he was a distant 4th.  Ron chased John to the leeward mark and the two rounded bow to stern.  John went right.  Ron went left.  A little more breeze, some sticky boards on 2021, and a plea to the heavens gave Ron a narrow victory with John second and Bill third.

We sailed in for lunch.  John and Bill were leading with 7 points each.  Ron and Tom were tied with 8 each.

Race 4.  The winds dropped to nil - call it 0 - 4.  Tom made a great starting move as he came from the committee boat end at full speed and hit the line moving the fastest.  John and Bill followed while Ron was quickly developing his usual bad attitude about light air that would leave him in last place for good.  Tom rounded first and tacked left.  John and Bill went right.  By the time Tom tacked back, John was gone with a fair lead.  Tom closed at the leeward mark and chased John to the finish.  About halfway home, he grabbed the lead and crossed in first.  It was an incredible piece of light air sailing.

Race 5:  John and Tom would race for the championship as they were now tied.  The accuweather prediction of ESE wind at 8-12 knots finally showed up.  The RC moved the windward mark and called for a triangle!  The upwind duel was intense, but Tom got the best of it and rounded first with Ron second, John third, and Bill fourth.   Regatta over.  No one was passing anyone on a reach!  We all took off for a great ride and finished the course in the same order.  Congratulations Tom Martin.  2007 Club Champion.

SPRING SERIES DAYS 2-3
PHOTOS FROM MARCH 25

The CYC Spring Series moved into April with days 2-3 in the books.  March 25 offered up a taste of summer.   With temperatures in the mid eighties, the powerboat folks were out in force.   The winds were fluky and shifty and just couldn't compete with the washing machine effect the powerboats generated.  Jim Higgins showed why he was so strong last summer as he dominated the day with a 1-1-2 effort.  Tom Martin was a distant 4 points behind with a 2-4-1.  Tom did a nice job in race 3 as he bailed for the shoreline and put a horizon job on everyone.   It's worth noting we had all five boats out today.

April 1 saw spring conditions return.  The breeze was up and it would be a hiking-depower day.  Race 1 was as close as it gets.  John played the shifts better than anyone and won the first beat with everyone else in close pursuit.  Ron ran straight at the reach mark with Tom following.  Jim went high with John.  About half way up the reach, Jim went inside and passed John.  As the four closed on the reach mark, Jim took honors.  Ron was second but only because he was inside.  John and Tom continued to pursue.  At the leeward mark, Jim and Ron rounded inches apart and went right.  John and Tom tacked away and went left.  Jim went low for speed.  Ron held in pointing mode.   When they tacked for the line, Ron was ahead and held on to the finish.  Tom and John sailed right in behind the first two boats.  It was as close a race as it gets.

In race 2, Ron went outside of Tom as the start gun wound down and headed for a pin start.  When the gun went off, Ron clearly was headed left as he held his lane for a long time while the other three tacked some.  Tom was pushing hard and slipped over, ouch!  As Ron tacked on to port it was clear he had a solid lead and had nailed a shift perfectly that took him straight to the starboard layline where he tacked on a second shift and was off to the races with a commanding lead.

Tom got back in the pack and moved ahead of Jim.  By the finish, John had a nice second followed by Tom and Jim.  Threatening storm clouds chased us in after two races.

We would be amiss not to mention a visiting laser racer who led us around the course both races.  We're already talking scow to him.

MC SCOW MID-WINTERS - EUSTIS, FLORIDA
March 14-17, 2007

PHOTO GALLERY

Jim, John, Ron, and Tom all made plans to travel to the MC Scow Mid-winters at Lake Eustis, Florida.  Tom left mid-afternoon on Tuesday followed quickly by Ron and John.  Jim planned to leave Wednesday evening.  The trip down was uneventful.  We arrived late and basically set up camp and went to bed.  Wednesday morning we awoke to the beautiful scene that is Lake Eustis.  It's a beautiful round lake and the grounds of Lake Eustis Sailing Club add to the beauty with oak trees and hanging Spanish moss abundant. 

Our first sailing was the practice rounds on Wednesday afternoon.  We headed out for five races and held our own.  These were short down and backs with about 20 boats max.  It was great sailing in moderately light breezes.  That evening Melges sponsored a free party catered by Hooters.  We also learned that evening that problems at work would keep Jim home.

Thursday morning we awoke to a great day of sailing.  The wind was blowing in the 7-10 range - perfect.  Racing is something in a 65 boat fleet.  Just getting to the starting line was tough enough.  We held our in the bottom half of the fleet.  Ron had the high scores in race 1-2.  Tom got the tough luck award as he dumped in the first race and was called over in the second.  Still, he fought back and avoided the cellar both times.  John held his own all day.  Tom turned things around in race three and hit the best finish of the day with a 41.  It was enough to put him tied with Ron at days' end.

On Friday morning we headed out for day 2.  It was blowing hard and predicted to blow harder.  Ron chickened out before the gun and after mooring his boat, joined the photographer to help out on the course.  At least 20 boats capsized.  John blew a shroud and was de-masted as were two other boats.  Tom had a great race and stayed afloat.  He felt he had beaten a couple other boats and at days end, after all the DNS and DNFs were filed, earned a regatta high score of 39 among the CYC scowmen.  Racing was cancelled for the day and the CYC team went into to town and watched Winthrop beat Notre Dame.

On Saturday morning, Ron declared enough was enough with winds predicted to blow 16-19.  John followed suit as did Tom.  While we packed our boats, what looked like the first race start was really the fleet sailing back in - racing cancelled.

By 11 AM, we were packed and heading home.  The fleet was called back out at 11:30.  We haven't heard how that went yet.

Our memories....

Ron backs his van nightly into a prime spot with a great view of the lake and sleeps with the tailgate open.
John rescues his sail and mast in race 4.
John shreds a tire on the way home.
Tom is the hard luck kid.  1 capsize, 1 OCS, 1 mistaken boat [Ron's], 4 blue lights, and a left behind boat cover.
Ron tries to capsize Mary Ann on the Jet ski.
The Oyster Troff.
Casino Royale.
Follow the tracks....
 

EVEN STEVEN
Club Racing - March 11, 2007

The 2007 racing season began at CYC with the first day of the Spring Series.  Jim Higgins, Tom Martin, and Ron Wright opened for the MC class.  Bill Schiffli served as OD.

It was perfect racing conditions.  Breezes hung between 5 and 8K all day with very few exceptions.  The wind also blew from the north which gave us the entire lake to work with.  To add to the day, Bill set a perfect course.  The starting line was square and the perfect length.  The course was a good mile long and required constant tacking and attention to tactics. 

Race 1:  With the line long enough for a large cruiser fleet, getting on the line was not an issue.  The committee boat was favored all day.  Tom elected to go left and headed for the corner.  Jim went right and headed deep for that corner.  Ron short tacked up the middle.  As we reached the windward mark, it was evident Tom made the right call followed closely by Jim.  Ron was 4 boat lengths behind.  We all gybed around the mark and went left.  Tom and Jim sailed neck and neck with Jim protecting the left side.  Ron tried to no avail to make up time in the middle.  Jim led at the mark, but Tom got his bow inside and took room at the mark and the lead.  He held it to the finish.  Jim second.  Ron third.

Race 2:  It was Ron and Tom's turn to etch out a small lead at the windward mark followed by Jim. This time Jim went right on the leeward leg to make up some time.  Tom and Ron went left sailing neck and neck to the leeward mark.  Again, Tom got inside rights.  Jim made up good ground but Tom and Ron still had a small lead.  Ron immediately engaged Tom in a tacking duel.  Back and forth the two boats went until Ron felt he had a small lead and could fetch the mark.  The drag race was on.  Enter a header, large enough to force Ron away from the mark and give Tom the win.  Meanwhile Jim had gone right after the leeward mark and finished third.

Race 3.  Again, we were all competitive at the start - Ron too much so and he took the dreaded OCS.  As he rounded the committee boat to restart, Jim and Tom headed up the race course.  Jim again sailed low and fast.  Ron followed Tom up the course.  Tom won the race to the mark, followed by Jim with Ron in a distant third.  Again, Jim and Tom duked it out on the left side.  Ron gambled going way right - outside the starting ball.  At the leeward mark, everyone converged.  It was evident Ron was back in the game as the three boats rounded with Jim, Tom and Ron just inches off each others sterns.   For a moment it looked like Jim and Tom might try the right side but Ron immediately tacked left and Tom and Jim also went left.  The three boats drag raced up the course with Ron etching out a big enough lead to tack and cross.  Tom stayed left.  Jim tacked under Ron and the two went right.  Thinking he had everyone, Ron tacked back.  Jim held course.  Ron died in light air.  By the time he recovered, Jim was gone.  Jim led to the finish followed by Ron and Tom.

Race 4.  Bill called a shortened course to the windward mark and back.  Ron rounded first with Jim close on his heels.  Tom felt he had fouled Jim and fell back to take a 720.  Ron and Jim dueled to the finish line.  Twice the wind ran out on Ron and each time, Jim closed in.  By the finish line Ron crossed in first by no more than a boat length.  Jim second.  Tom third.

We sailed in satisfied with an exhilarating day of racing.  A perfect day.  90% windward hiking, 10% leeward sitting.  Very often the breezes had us hiking hard.  Rarely did anyone have to de-power.   Each skipper had won a race and as we floated up to the dock, it occurred to us that all three had finished with 8 points on the day.  Even Steven.

We dropped our masts and packed up our boats.  Next up would be the MC Scow mid-winters on Lake Eustis, Florida.  Stay tuned.