Sailors, including some visitors, enjoyed another day of
good winds. We had a couple of downpours
accompanied by very strong gusts, and were assisted with an equipment
malfunction by some “Good Samaritans”.
And a thousandth of a second made a difference.
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| L to Right: Laser, JY-15, Y-flyer, Thistle, Laser |
Our Committee Boat volunteers were Beth Auld, Cindy
Bartlett, Bernice Rains and Mimi Riffle. Jim Riffle performed safety boat duty.
Catey Hale and Kevin Preuss set up a fine race course. Kevin and Beth Auld organized the race and
Committee Boat, and Arlene Truex hosted our Protest Meeting. Thanks everyone!
We had six boats in the first race and eight in the second. Dianne
Fisher had some rigging trouble prior to the start of the first race and
drifted over to the Max & Cindy Henry lot. The Henrys rushed out to help Dianne get ship-shape for the second race. Thanks Max and family! We were happy to have Lance and Bianca Snider
join us in their Y-Flyer, albeit a little late for the first race as they were
getting their visitors, Bill Kent & Gay Lawson set up to race their other
boat, the Sunbird. Bill and Gay did very well considering their
claim of being racing novices. And we were
glad to have Bob Orben back on a Y-Flyer again, crewing for John Auld in Paul
Hass’ absence. Jeff Cartwright followed
our urging to come back and visit soon. He joined brother Ben and father Tom in the
Thistle.
The first mark was to the north of the starting line so we
were facing dark clouds that appeared in the northern sky. No lightning or thunder though. Shortly
after the start the heavens let loose with pounding rain and strong wind gusts
creating whitecaps. In seconds sailors were drenched by both the rain and the
spray, and were fighting to keep control of their boats. This happened at about the same point in both races, lasted about five minutes, then cleared up.
Afterward, sailors were downright gleeful about the
experience. It was fun to be in
all that wind, all that rain, with all those waves. It made for an exciting race - an adventure not an ordeal. So we pass
the Bob Bitchin attitude test. And remarkably, there were no capsizes, not
even among the tippy Lasers.
Those having particularly good races, taking first in either their
class or on an overall handicapped basis: Matt Bartlett finished first in
the Laser Class and overall in both races, John Auld and crew Bob Orben were
first in the International Class in the first race, as were Tom Schroeder and
crew Phil Bush in the second race.
Noteworthy: A one one
-thousandth of a second difference (once you do the handicap math) put
Cartwrights in the Thistle ahead of Auld/Orben in theY-Flyer in the second race. So Cartwrights finished
second and Auld/Orben third.
And we had a great protest meeting until the rain returned at about the time we normally disband. – thanks Arlene!
Race Results:
First Race (Trophy Race):
Laser Class: Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd
International Class: John Auld/Bob Orben 1st, Ben/Jeff/Tom Cartwright 2nd, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 3rd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 4th
Overall on a Handicapped Basis: Matt Bartlett 1st, Auld/Orben 2nd, Cartwrights 3rd, Kent/Lawson 4th, Schroeder/Bush 5th, Kevin Preuss 6th.
Second Race (Trophy Race):
Laser Class: Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd, Diane Fisher 3rd
International Class: Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 1st, Ben/Jeff/Tom Cartwright 2nd, John Auld/Bob Orben 3rd, Lance/Bianca Snider 4th, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 5th.
Overall on a Handicapped Basis: Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 3rd, Cartwrights 4th, Auld/Orben 5th, Lance/Bianca Snider 6th, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 7th, Diane Fisher 8th.
Our next race is Sunday, August 5th at 2pm
