AUGUST 30th RACE: Musical Boats & Timed Traffic Lights

Photos and video courtesy of Lisa Duret.

Butterflies ruled; We had eleven boats and fourteen sailors participating, but our sailors seemed to forget which boat they belonged in.  The start of the second race was done in fine unison (and we have a video clip for you).  The wind saw to it that if you were way ahead of the rest of the fleet (or way behind), that would soon change.  This led to some very close finishes.

1st race: Eleven boats head for 1st mark on much different courses

Eight of the boats converge to port (left) on the 1st mark, the other three are off to starboard.

Thanks to our Committee Boat volunteers Beth Auld, Lisa Duret and Bob Orben for running the race for us, and to Kevin Preuss for organizing and also setting up and taking down the course with help from John Gall. And thanks to Wayne and Arlene Truex for hosting the protest meeting.

Seven of the boats round the 2nd mark, starting pole is in the foreground

Our sailors must have felt they were in a rut and needed to change things up.  Who sailed in which boat?   It must have been whatever boat the sailors were standing next to when the music stopped.  It seemed no one was in the boat they belonged in, especially the Voelz dynasty:  Jim sailed Peggy’s Butterfly.  Peggy sailed Laura’s Butterfly, and Laura sailed Jim’s Laser.   We are all wondering what happened at Voelz household during lunch to bring this on.  Did it start with “Your boat is just faster than mine”?  We’ll have to find out at a future protest meeting.   John Gall left his newly refurbished Laser on the lift and sailed the Truex’ s Hobie with Arlene as Crew.  And Tom Schroeder left his JY-15 on the lift and crewed for Catey Hale.   So it’s time for another welcoming pitch to those who are thinking about learning to race, but don’t know how to get started:  Prior to this past race we would have sent you a one-page orientation sheet to read, and you could have crewed for Catey, or for Tom, had a great time, and we would have been able to have one more of our sailboat fleet on the water.  There are two races left, it is not too late!

In the past two years the pattern has been that the first sailors to the first mark would stay ahead the entire race.  This race was much different because the devious Grandview wind decided to overplay its powerful role.   On several occasions, those who were far ahead suddenly found themselves at a “red light” wind-wise, while the rest of the fleet suddenly enjoyed a fast breeze that proved to be the great equalizer.   Kind of like a busy urban thoroughfare with traffic lights timed to sequentially turn green for those driving exactly the speed limit.  But for those accelerating hard from each stop light, it is “1-2-3 red light”, which is the introduction to our background music for this race.  Yes, the 1968 bubblegum-pop song by the “1910 Fruit Gum Company” Click here to start the music if you dare (not recommended – it’s a lame song, and you’ll not be able to get the tune out of your head).   This wind pattern also kept the boats relatively bunched up, which allowed for unusually great photos of the whole fleet, usually difficult to capture. Well done Lisa Duret!  Unfortunately,for many stretches the whole fleet was idling at a “red light” - plenty of time to have a “Chinese fire drill”, perhaps even to switch back into their proper boats – but none did.

We had eleven boats, which made for quite a start.  At Jim Voelz’s “tips and techniques” classes of a year or two ago, rookies among us were taught what the veterans already knew:  Win the race at the start by hitting the starting line with plenty of momentum,  a good course, and hopefully on a starboard tack to have right-of-way just as the starting horn is blown.  As a fleet we have generally been doing quite well at that lately.  And observers said that the start of the second race was quite a sight to see.  We maneuvered around chaotically after the “five-minutes-to-start” horn was blown. Then suddenly with about ten seconds to go, all sails pointed in the same direction and we started in unison.  
 

A tight formation crossing the starting line in relative unison

 You can watch a video of the starting line below.  When the starting horn is blown, suddenly the boats will begin crossing the line.  There wasn't much wind, so not much speed, but it was a good start nonetheless.

The Butterfly Class ruled again in this race.  In the first race, the Butterfly class finished first, second and third (Jim Voelz, Peggy Voelz, and Sherri Agnew) on an overall handicapped basis.  In the second race, again on an overall handicapped basis, Jim and Peggy in Butterflies took 1^st and 2^nd again, with Tom Jennings in a Laser finishing third (but first in the Laser class).

9 of the 11 boats heading for 2nd mark in the 2nd race - Sherri is out front

2nd race heading for the 3rd mark with Hale/Schroeder in the lead before hitting the "stop light"

2nd race, after rounding the mark and getting a green light, all head for the finish line.  Hale/Schroeder still in the lead - but wait - there is the handicap to apply - see handicapped results below

If participants have any additional perspectives on the race, they are welcome to share them, and your are welcome to view them using the "#comments" button at the bottom of the post. Complaints about the music selection will not be published.

Race results are as follows:

FIRST RACE – TROPHY RACE

Laser Class:  Tom Jennings 1^st Place, Andy Jennings 2^nd, Riley Leonard 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Laura Garrett, 5^th.

Butterfly Class:  Jim Voelz 1^st Place, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd.

International Class: Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd, John Gall/Arlene Truex 3^rd

Overall on Handicapped Basis:

Jim Voelz 1^st Place, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd, Tom Jennings 4^th, Andy Jennings 5^th, Riley Leonard 6^th, Kevin Preuss 7^th, Laura Garrett 8^th, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 9^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 10^th, John Gall/Arlene Truex 11^th

SECOND RACE

Laser Class: Tom Jennings 1^st Place, Riley Leonard  2^nd, Laura Garrett 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Andy Jennings 5^th.

Butterfly Class:  Jim Voelz 1^st Place, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd.

International Class: Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd, John Gall/Arlene Truex 3^rd

Overall on Handicapped Basis:

Jim Voelz 1^st Place, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Tom Jennings 3^rd, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 4^th, Sherri Agnew 5^th, Riley Leonard 6^th, Laura Garrett 7^th, Kevin Preuss 8^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 9th, John Gall/Arlene Truex   10th, Andy Jennings 11^th