CRISS-CROSS AND CONFINEMENT: July 19th Race Report

With temperatures in the 90’s we were grateful for good winds and plenty of clouds.

We’ll let Sandy Miller’s pictures from the Committee Boat, and from Lisa Duret at Arlene Truex’s dock tell some stories about the race (thanks Sandy and Lisa for the photos).

Steve and Gretchen Fisher joined Jack and Sandy Miller on the Committee Boat.  The virus has put a temporary kibosh on the gourmet lunches they usually enjoy with a larger crowd. Jim Riffle manned the safety boat. Thanks to all of our volunteers!  Thanks also to Jim and Peggy Voelz for setting up a good and challenging race course.  Beth Auld and Kevin Preuss coordinated Committee Boat and Race logistics and we are grateful.

Steve yells "All Clear!"  after the starting horn was blown. This indicates that no sailor crossed the starting line too early.

Criss-Crossing all over the place. This is a few seconds after the start of the race. You would only get a view like this from the Commmittee Boat. The sailors are trying to get to the first mark which is dead ahead.  The wind is also coming from dead ahead and you cannot sail directly into the wind. The boats pointed to the left are on a starboard tack and have the right of way. Normally most sailors choose to start on a starboard tack to avoid having to yield to others. But that was difficult due to the wind direction/starting line position, so some started on a port tack.  This lead to some potential fouls and quick maneuvering.

Yes, it was close. A moment earlier Matt (far right) yelled "starboard"! to claim his right of way as he approached Schroeder/Bush (2nd from right)  who were on a port tack.  Schroeder yelled "stay your course" to indicate he would yield to avoid a protest by Matt, then quickly turned to also be on a starboard course.  Auld/Hass (2nd from right) were following close behind Schroeder/Bush and had to quickly react as well.  Auld/Hass stayed on their port tack longer than either Schroeder/Bush or Matt.  This proved to be to their advantage. Auld/Hass came in first in the International class in both races.

Lisa captured this scene from Arlene's dock of  all seven boats in the spread out field, criss-crossing their way to the first mark (to the right out of the photo).

In the first race Matt (above) was out front after rounding the first mark.  He came in 1st in the Laser class.  Jim Voelz was first in the Laser Class in the 2nd race.

A few seconds earlier these three boats were practically on top of each other and moving fast. Jim Voelz was ahead and had Tom and Phil boxed in, inches from him, and unable to maneuver.  Lance and Bianca were maybe a foot behind Tom and Phil adding to their confinement.  Lance chose just the right moment to make a quick move to starboard, getting out of all the "dirty"(turbulent) air coming from Tom and Phil and Jim. He was able to get ahead of and finish ahead of both of them as shown in the photo.  He and Bianca finished 2nd in the International Class in both races. Tom and Phil (far left) got the raw end of the deal - all a part of sailboat racing- and will no doubt avoid such a circumstance in the future.  All of this was just a few minutes after another close encounter of the three at the last mark which was discussed in depth of course at the protest meeting at Arlene's, where all such excitement is re-lived. Sailboat racing is a blast!   Thanks Arlene for hosting us!

John and Paul after one of their 1st place finishes

Tom and Phil chasing John and Paul

Race Results

1^st Race:

Laser Class: Matt Bartlett 1^st, Kevin Preuss 2^nd, Jim Voelz 3^rd

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Lance & Bianca Snider 2^nd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 3^rd

2^nd Race:

Laser Class: Jim Voelz 1^st, Diane Fisher 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3^rd, Matt Bartlett 4^th

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Lance & Bianca Snider 2^nd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 3^rd

HOW DID SHE DO IT? June 28th Race Report

We do not know how Dianne Fisher was able to keep moving, albeit slowly, while the other four boats sat motionless after the “start” for half an hour.

We didn’t expect a great wind day, but with consistent predictions of 5-7mph winds across several weather sites we were surprised to have almost no wind at all.  It was a snoozer. The starting strategy couldn't be to just follow Jim Voelz. Instead of in a sailboat, he and Peggy showed up in their tandem kayak to watch the race - a wise choice it turned out (for the exercise that is). Instead, for the start there wasn't much choice but to just sit motionless about a foot from the starting line and hope for a breeze when the starting horn was blown.  But there was no breeze.  Only Dianne moved forward ever so slowly.  Barely noticeably at first.

Much later,  As Dianne inched up on the first mark, the rest of us killing time back at the start agreed that this would be a one mark race – out and back, and that we would be lucky to accomplish even that. Steve Fisher on the Committee Boat jokingly asked if there would be a second race.  We sent Bob Orben out in “At Last” to inform Dianne of our decision.   She rounded the mark and encountered us barely moving, less than halfway to the first mark as she made her way back to finish the race.   

After Dianne finished, there was some slow-motion drama for the four boats that finally made it to the first mark.  A subtle change in the direction of the barely-there movement of air ( can’t dignify it with the term “wind”) allowed Kevin to round the mark but kept Tom, Lance & Bianca, only inches away from Kevin, from making the turn.   John and Paul were approaching from a different angle and were able to make it around the mark.  Tom was fortunate to follow but had to significantly overshoot the mark to clear it after the turn. Meanwhile Lance and Bianca sat motionless with no moving air, and eventually were forced to abandon the race.    

Dianne waited patiently for all of us to finish, hoping for the second race that Steve had joked about.  Sorry Dianne.  

We DID finally have our first protest meeting of the season though. No pitch in goodies to share though, and we dutifully kept our distance – not a problem on Arlene’s spacious patio.  It was great to finally gather.  Thanks, Arlene, for having us.

We had some very patient volunteers! Thanks to Beth Auld and Steve and Gretchen Fisher for volunteering on the Committee Boat, and to Safety Boat volunteers Jim Riffle and Phil Bush.  And we are grateful to Lance and Bianca Snider for setting up the race.  Thanks to Beth Auld for organizing the Committee Boat volunteers and Kevin Preuss for organizing our sailors for all our races.

Race Results:

First Race:

Laser Class   Dianne Fisher 1^st, Kevin Preuss 2nd

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Tom Schroeder 2^nd.

Second Race:  Are you kidding!

TWO IN A ROW. LET'S MAKE IT THREE! June 14th Race Report

Photos by Beth Auld and Bernice Rains

It was Deja vu with a nearly identical race course as May 31 to match the nearly identical good winds again from the northeast and nearly the same moderate temperatures on a similarly sunny day.  We will take as many sailing days like this as we can get! 

We also had the same Committee Boat and safety boat volunteers on the same pontoon boats. Thanks (again) to Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett and Bernice Rains, and to Safety Boat volunteers Jim and Mimi Riffle.  It was Catey Hale’s turn to set up the race course. Thanks to her, husband Doug and helper Kevin Preuss our race chairman for setting up the course.  And as always, thanks to Beth Auld for organizing the Committee Boat volunteers and Kevin Preuss for organizing the sailors and the race.

We had eight boats and twelve sailors, with all three of the Y-Flyers in the fleet. In the first race the speedy Thistle captained by Tom Cartwright and crewed by wife Sarah catapulted ahead of the rest of the fleet to finish 1^st by a wide margin.

 

1st race - on the way to the first mark. 7 boats are visible, Tom and Sarah Cartwright are already most of the way to the 2nd mark and not visible.  Catey and Elizabeth got a late start (but came in 3rd in their class).

Tom and Sarah were also doing well in the 2^nd race until a capsize approaching the finish line took them out of contention, and John Auld and Paul Hass finished first.  In a scene repeated roughly once a year, John and Paul came to the rescue of capsized sailors.  Paul dove in and helped right the Thistle, while John did his best to keep his Y-Flyer topside-up without a crew to man the jib – not easy in good winds.  We appreciate our Good Samaritans.

The weather was so great, and the wind was so good it lured us into having a 3^rd race (optional, not for scoring).  Long-time race report readers know what happens when the wind tempts us into another race.  This time was no different.  Shortly after the start the wind became calm and we sat motionless for many long stretches.  Good grief.  You would think we would learn.   Jim Voelz won this race followed by Kevin Preuss.  

 Bernice and Beth on the Committee Boat captured in photos a failed race maneuver near the finish line: After rounding the last marker in extremely close proximity to Lance & Bianca Snider and Matt Bartlett, Tom Schroeder took a gamble to take the most direct course to the finish line rather than going wide to stay upwind of the other two boats. The three boats were abreast of each other most of the way to the finish line with Lance & Bianca upwind, Matt in the middle and Tom downwind.  At first Tom was a bit ahead of the others, and in early going it looked like he might beat them to the finish line. But with the other two boats keeping the wind from his sails, Tom fell behind.  The gamble failed.  Somehow Matt was able to finish ahead of Lance & Bianca even though they were stealing his wind as well. 

Tom was ahead, but starved of wind, now starts to fall behind

At the finish (yellow flag), Matt was able to stay ahead of Lance & Bianca (middle), while Tom was no longer even overlapped.

Race results are below.  We did not have a protest meeting for COVID reasons, but we are starting to consider when to have them again – stay tuned.  When the time comes, we will forgo the pitch-in of snacks and will keep our distance which will be easy at Arlene’s spacious outdoor patio setting. 

RACE RESULTS:  To accommodate social distancing on the Committee Boat, we are not timing each boat or applying handicaps.  Instead we are scoring solely on finishing order in two classes:  Lasers and International (all other boat models).

First Race:

Laser Class   Matt Bartlett 1^st Jim Voelz 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3^rd

International Class:  Tom & Sarah Cartwright 1^st, Lance & Bianca Snider  2^nd, Catey & Elizabeth Hale 3^rd, John Auld/Paul Hass 4^th, Tom Schroeder 5^th.

Second Race:

Laser Class   Matt Bartlett 1^st Jim Voelz 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3^rd

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Tom Schroeder 2^nd, Catey & Elizabeth Hale 3^rd, Lance & Bianca Snider 4^th

Third Race:

Laser Class   Jim Voelz 1^st, Kevin Preuss2^nd, Matt Bartlett 3^rd

International Class:  Lance & Bianca Snider 1^st, Tom Schroeder 2^nd, John Auld/Paul Hass 3rd,