JULY 28TH RACE REPORT

This was Ben Hicks first full race.  He crewed for Tom Schroeder.  Welcome Ben!  

We had to cancel our July 21st race due to lack of wind and rescheduled to July 28^th and we are glad we did!  We had a sunny day with a high in the mid-70s with wind!  What kind of wind?  Well, it was mostly moderate to strong with lots of gusts, plenty of direction changes and a fair number of dead-spots. 

And for any particular sailor, most of these changes occurred at the worst possible moment.  So each captain/crew had to deal with their own challenges,  unfairness, etc., but we all had our share.  Sort of like life only not as serious (depending on who you're talking to).

Thanks very much to our Committee Boat volunteers Norm and Susan Egbert, assisted by Beth Auld.  And also ready to help were Mimi Riffle, Donna Mount and Bob Orben. We are grateful to you all.

And for race set-up, Catey Hale and John Gall set up the course on July 21, only to have it cancelled, and Kevin Preuss and Tom Schroeder set up on the 28^th.  Thanks!

We had a very well attended protest of the lack of wind on July 21^st at the Truex’s with all sorts of great snacks to munch on.  Thanks Wayne and Arlene!

July 21 Protest Meeting:  How many separate conversations?

Laser Class:  In the first race Jim Voelz came in well ahead of the entire fleet.  Kevin Preuss edged out Tom Jennings by just a handful of seconds to take 2^nd place in the Laser class.  In the second race, Tom Jennings took first place. Jim Voelz capsized right after the start after taking an ill-timed gust of wind, and also took a penalty turn after fouling Kevin Preuss on the way to the second mark.  Nonetheless he finished 2^nd to Tom Jennings by a very close margin, with Kevin finishing third.

International Class:  The International Class is timed, then handicap factors specific to a particular make/model of boat are applied, since some boat designs are faster than others.   Peggy Voelz won the first race followed by John Auld/Bob Orben, Tom Schroeder/Ben Hicks, Laura Garrett, and Bianca/Lance Snider.  In the second race, John Auld/Bob Orben finished first followed by Peggy Voelz, Bianca/Lance Snider, Laura Garret, and Tom Schroeder/Ben Hicks.

Not how we score the races, but if we handicapped the Lasers as well, the finishing order would have been as follows:  1^st race: Jim Voelz, Peggy Voelz, Kevin Preuss, Tom Jennings, John Auld/Bob Orben, Tom Schroeder/Ben Hicks, Laura Garrett,  Bianca/Lance Snider.   2^nd Race: Tom Jennings, Jim Voelz, John Auld/Bob Orben, Peggy Voelz, Bianca/Lance Snider, Laura Garret, Kevin Preuss, Tom Schroeder/ Ben Hicks

The next race is  this Sunday, August 4^th at 2pm.

July 7th RACE REPORT

You can't always get what (wind) you waaaaant.....

Wind was scarce so we had just one race on July 7^th, the “Independence Day Trophy Race” (we are not daring enough to put all those sailboats out there on the holiday itself).  Josh Gray volunteered for the first time on the Committee Boat and was joined by Beth Auld, Bob Orben, Mimi Riffle and Trish Zachidny.  Tom Jennings and Lance Snider set up the race course, and Tom Jennings acted as Race Chairman.  Thanks everyone!

In the Laser class Jim Voelz finished ahead of Tom Jennings.  

In the International Class, Peggy Voelz finished first, followed by Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex second, John Auld/Bob Zachidny third, and Jack Gall/John Gall fourth.  Laura Garrett and Bianca and Lance Snider decided not to wait out the wind and bowed out on the hot afternoon. 

On an overall handicapped basis Jim Voelz and Tom Jennings finished first and second respectively, then the rest of field (the International Class) finished in the order mentioned in the previous paragraph.

INDEPENDENCE DAY BREAKFAST AND KAYAK RACE

Breakfast:

Good weather favored the very large gathering of Grandview neighbors and friends at the very patriotically decked-out lakefront of Dan and Judy Hoyt.  They even had a checkered flagged banner to mark the start/finish line for the kayak race.   A golf-car shuttle service operated by Hoyt grandchildren  took participants from the road down to the  

lake and back, leaving us with a little more energy to entertain guests at our own lots upon our return from the breakfast!

As usual we did not forget the reason for the holiday and took a moment to acknowledge the world-changing Declaration made on July 4, 1776, and the reason for it. And we cheered the freedom the red white and blue stars and stripes of the American Flag are intended to represent.

Thanks to Dan and Judy Hoyt and their family for their enthusiastic hospitality!   Participants also thanked them and the Sanders family for staying up late the night of July 2 to make all at that delicious home-made ice cream the two families served at the Sanders lot to all comers on July 3^rd.  

 Some  photos will have to be removed before
Labor Day for obvious reasons!

Red (sort of), white and blue - well done!

(Well... if you can)

Kayak Race:

Max Henry coordinated and sponsored the annual kayak race and provided prizes for the winners.  Thanks Max! And thanks to Jim Riffle and Tom Schroeder for helping out with some course logistics. 

The exciting two-lap race had the brothers Gall, John and Jackson, in a close battle in the first lap in the men’s division.  

Jack and John battle for lead early in race

But John pulled ahead and stayed well ahead for the remainder of the race leaving Jack to fight for second place with Sam Hoyt.  Jack kept the lead until shortly before the finish when Sam pulled ahead and finished just ahead of Jack. 

John sits at finish and watches as Sam pulls ahead of Jack, followed by Malachi

Kyle

Malachi Henry, just back from a fine 3rd place finish in an "Iron Man" competition out west,  came in a close fourth followed by his brother-in-law Kyle Turner.  

Tracey

Tracey Day, borrowed a kayak at the last-minute and, paddled hard to a first place finish in the women’s division. 

Jack Gall was racing the historic forerunner of the modern plastic variety of kayak used by most of us.  This, in fact was the maiden voyage for the hand-built frame-and-fabric kayak he just completed building.  

Jackson Gall in his just-completed kayak and paddle

He also used a “Greenland paddle” which is much different than the paddles most of us use.

A little background on that paddle:  “The ancestors of today's Greenlanders, known as the Thule culture, moved east from Alaska and northern Canada only about a thousand years ago, about the same time that Eric the Red was settling southwest Greenland. Since a different style of paddle with a longer loom and much shorter, leaf-shaped blades was used until recently by many Inuit west of Greenland, the Greenland paddle may have evolved after the Thule Inuit reached Greenland” -by Chuck Holst:  Making a West Greenland Paddle