JULY 13th TROPHY RACE REPORT

(Photos courtesy of Wayne Truex and grandaughter Mayra)

We set a record for number of sailboats in “recent times” with 14 boats participating. “Recent times” are defined by Wayne Truex as going back to the sailboarding days.  I think that would be the 1980s.

All 14 boats & Committee boat on right. Lance in powerboat in foreground. Yeah, get out your magnifying glass, this column is narrow.

Katie Townsend, and Jeff and Susan Rucker, guests of the Aulds, helped Beth Auld and Mimi Riffle on the committee boat.    The thunder in the distance made sailors a wee bit nervous, but Jeff was watching the storm closely on radar (on his smartphone) and the storm stayed well south of the lake. They also  watched diligently for any lightning.   The committee boat volunteers love the new anchor donated by Jim and Peggy Voelz!  Thanks everyone!

Meanwhile, Tug Townsend, Katie’s husband, crewed for John Auld, and was teasingly identified by the other sailors as a “ringer”, and indeed, he is a very experienced sailboat racer and came in 1^st in the International Class in the second race.   And speaking of ringers, we welcomed back Catey Hale for her first race day of the year, as she captained Schroeder’s JY-15 to that boat’s best finishes since… well, since the last time she sailed it!  Ross Kunkler added to his sailboat repertoire when Jon Gall turned over the helm of Truex’s Y-Flyer to Ross in the second race.  At this rate, Ross will be an experienced skipper by the time his AMF Puffer is refurbished. And Bianca Snider welcomed guest crew Stacy Able.  She and husband Walter are developing an interest in sailing, and we hope to see them again.

Thanks to Lance and Bianca Snider for setting up the course.  They jostled us out of our marks-to-port habit with a rare marks-to-starboard course.  Even though Grandview sailors have to very nimble and adaptable given our ever-shifting winds, more than one captain just about blew it in the first race at the first mark, ready to round it on their port side as usual.

Tom Jennings won 1^st in the Laser Class in both races.  Peggy Voelz won 1^st in the International Class in the 1^st race and, as mentioned, Tug Townsend/John Auld finished first in that class in the second race. Both races had exciting starts with all fourteen boats crossing the starting line fairly close together.  But the field spread out after the second mark as a “dead spot” just prior to the second mark wreaked havoc, particularly in the second race followed by variable winds between the second and third mark.  In the second race, Tom Jennings was the only sailor to reach the second mark prior to a very extended period of no wind in the dead spot, and as a result, he finished the race well ahead of all other boats. Based on their relative positions, about half of the boats in the second race experienced pretty much no wind in the second half of the second race, leading to excruciatingly long elapsed finishing times.

The "dead spot": On far left, Tom J.  is first to mark with a wind no one else benefits from.  He goes on to win race by a wide margin

Rain sent the protest meeting indoors at the Truex’s where we also had the pleasure of being greeted by visiting Truex grandchildren Myra and Tanner.   Kevin Preuss had a chance to discreetly clean up after sailing most of the second race with blood all over his face from hitting his head on the centerboard.  He arrived at the Truex dock looking like he had suffered a far worse accident.  After getting started, we waited till enough bottle caps and corks were available for use in diagraming some situations that could have been viable protests.

Corks represent sailboats and the bottlecap represents the 3rd mark

We again had to consult the rule book which can be as clear as the tax code including “defined terms” such as “room at the mark” which led to a separate defined term for “room”, the definition of which assumes you are sailing in a “seamanlike" manner.   We wondered if Auld/Townsend’s boat did a witnessed-360 degree penalty turn for not giving Gall/Kunkler room at the mark as we concluded they should have, or if they had committed some other infraction.  When John arrived later at the meeting he was advised to answer all questions very carefully. And when asked the reason for the penalty turn, he gave the right answer – failing to give room at the mark.  Yes, you have to keep your wits about you when arriving later to the protest meeting.  And if you are there early, make sure to keep your back to the wall and eyes on the entry! And try to act in a seamanlike manner. Thanks Wayne and Arlene, and Myra and Tanner for your hospitality! 

Race results were as follows:

1^st Race (Trophy Race), Laser Class

Tom Jennings 1^st, Jim Voelz 2^nd, Andy Jennings 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Riley Leonard 5^th, Brad Stinebring 6^th.

1^st Race, (Trophy Race), International Class on handicapped basis:

Peggy Voelz 1^st , Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 2^nd, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 3^rd, John Auld/Tug Townsend 4^th, Laura Garrett 5^th, Sherri Agnew 6^th, John Gall/Ross Kunkler 7^th, Bianca Snider/Stacy Able 8^th.

1^st Race, (Trophy Race), Overall (not for scoring) on handicapped basis:

Peggy Voelz 1^st, Tom Jennings 2^nd, Jim Voelz 3^rd, Hale/Schroeder 4^th, Riffle/Truex 5^th, Auld/Townsend 6^th, Andy Jennings 7^th Laura Garrett 8^th, Kevin Preuss 9^th, Sherri Agnew 10^th, Riley Leonard 11^th, Brad Stinebring 12^th, Gall/Kunkler 13^th, Snider/Able 14^th.  

2n^d Race, Laser Class

Tom Jennings 1^st, Jim Voelz 2^nd, Andy Jennings 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Riley Leonard 5^th, Brad Stinebring 6^th.

2^nd Race, International Class on handicapped basis:

Townsend/Auld 1^st, Hale/Schroeder 2^nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd, Peggy Voelz 4^th Laura Garrett 5^th, Riffle/Truex 6^th Kunkler/Gall 7^th.

2nd Race, Overall (not for scoring) on handicapped basis:

Tom Jennings 1^st, Jim Voelz 2^nd, Andy Jennings 3^rd, Townsend/Auld 4^th, Hale/Schroeder 5^th, Kevin Preuss 6^th, Sherri Agnew 7^th, Peggy Voelz 8^th, Laura Garrett 9^th, Riffle/Truex 10^th, Riley Leonard 11^th Kunkler/Gall 12^th Brad Stinebring 13^th.