Susquehanna

July 7-8, 2004

Photo Legend

Left: - Lake Clarke on the Susquehanna River
Right - Sunrise at Susquehanna Yacht Club
Bottom - SYC Lightning Fleet

We left Silver Springs on Wednesday morning at 11:00 AM.  To be honest, we needed to get in some good sailing.  Pymatuning was a neat place and a great regatta setting, but the wind conditions didn’t serve up the kind of sailing our annual safari was famous for. 

It only took us two hours to get there.  That put us there at 1:00 PM.  The view from Knight’s View Road was breathtaking.  Lake Clarke on the Susquehanna River was incredibly beautiful.  From a distance, it looked pristine and undeveloped.  It was a lake with tree-lined mountains around it.  It looked very similar to Lake James, NC .  Having arrived early, we drove around to kill some time and see the area.  We drove across the lake into Columbia, PA.  Both Wrightsville and Columbia are small Pennslyvania towns.  There downtown businesses seem to stay in business.   Red brick was/is the style of the day.  Residential duplexes still line the roads and people still “live’ right in the middle of town. 

The Susquehanna Yacht Club was not a typical yacht club setting.  There was no gated entry and not a lot of real estate.  The club consists of a strip of land on one side of a public road where the club house and trailer parking exists.  A second strip of land on the water side holds their dry sail area and launch hoists.  The club has around 20 Lightnings in their fleet and they typically get 10+ boats for club racing.  I couldn’t help but think that this was an honest community because the drysail area was not fenced in or otherwise secured.

After our exploring brought us back to the clubhouse, it was still only 3:00 PM.  The new covered picnic table area looked prefect for an afternoon snooze so we broke out pillows and stretched out for a snooze.

As sailors began arriving about an hour later, so did some serious weather.  John and I were getting a little low.  These were serious thunderstorms and sailing looked very doubtful.   We monitored the weather channel and at 5:15, we were pleased to see the skies were clearing.  The Weather Channel showed most of the bad stuff was gone, so we saddled up.  By 5:45 we were ready to launch when more rain came.  We waited it out and finally, at 6:30 the RC headed out and six Lightnings prepared to race.  We picked up Joel McGuire as third crew and put him on the front.

I checked in with the RC to cover the local rules.  Five minute starts and I-flags would go with windward leeward twice arounds.  We were right at home.  We ran our trademark port approach, tacked over to starboard with a few seconds to go and were off.  By the first mark we were in third.  Joel learned quickly and we flew the chute well.  By the last leeward mark, we ducked inside 14074 and took second place.  Then we pulled the classic mistake and chose not cover 074 when he tacked away.  We paid for it when he grabbed a lift and beat us to the finish line.  Still, a third was not bad.

In race two, we nailed the start right at the pin.  We raced out to a two boat length lead, tacked across the fleet, and took off.  We led from start to finish and put up the ace.  It felt great, just what the doctor ordered.

We sailed in, put up 14620, and spent the next hour meeting the other racers and sharing analysis of the racing.  We moved the party to Prudhommes Cajun Restaurant in Columbia where we had great Cajun food and more sailing stories.  But, before we left YSC for dinner, a considerate member gave me his clubhouse key.  It was a nice gesture as it meant no tents and no camping in the rain.  When we arrived back at SYC after dinner, we unrolled our sleeping bags on the front porch and turned in.  It was a great day and gave the safari a much need shot of adrenalin.

Thursday morning we ventured over to Gettysburg National Park.  We enjoyed the battlefield history and museum.  We took in the cyclorama.  We walked out to the high water mark of Pickett’s Charge.  We drove to Little Round Top and stood right where Joshua Chamberlain won his Medal of Honor.  Knowing my history made it all the more fun.

We arrived back at SYC around 3 and John napped while I checked weather on the computer and made some phone calls.  Sailors started arriving and by 6:00 PM we were back on the water – this time for the fun and games of team sailing.  Our mission was to help the SYC boats prepare for a Saturday match with Havre de Grace Yacht Club.  In team racing, the sum score of the three boat team are what matters.  The operative number is ten.  [Do the math.  If your team finishes with 10 points or less, the other team can’t win.]  The catch is, when one team realizes they are going to lose, they break ranks and do everything possible to disrupt the winning team.  It’s sort of demolition derby on the water only each boat must follow all racing rules except two – you do not have to sail a proper course and hunting is allowed.   Contact is NOT allowed.            

Race one was easy.  We blew off the starting line and led through the last leg.  John Bates, a team member, grabbed a great lift and took first place at the last mark.  We rounded second and headed home also.  With a one and a two, the worst we could do was a 9 [last boat gets 6].  Race one to us.

In race two, things got real interesting.  Our team was behind and so we just abandoned any sense of rationale racing and went hunting!  It made for great fun, but it didn’t do much for us!  We were able to shoot one of our boats up to the top three, but John and I couldn’t avoid the cellar.  Race two to team yellow.

Race three would decide the night.  We got a great start and took off.  We were way out in front.  Problem was, our team mates were in 5^th and 6^th.  [Get the picture?  5+6+1= 12]  So, believe it or not, 100 feet from the finish line, you guessed it, we turned around to go block the second place boat so our guys could move up.  It was a valiant effort which almost worked – but didn’t. 

It was crazy fun and we all had a lot of laughs back on shore.  The SYC teams debriefed while John and I packed 14620.  By 9:00 PM we were ready to go.  We joined our new friends on deck and John took a group picture.

The SYC fleet are great folks who enjoy racing.  How we miss this kind of club activity at our home club.  We said our thank-yous and headed home.  This had been two days of why we go out each summer.   Great friends, great sailing, and great fun.  Thanks, SYC.