AUGUST 10TH GHOST RACE REPORT

Due to weather we had to cancel a race for the first time this year - pretty darn good for middle of August.  And it was going to be a very well attended race, with a couple of our ghost sailors planning to be  there “in the flesh” (really, no kidding, honest, sure-as-shootin – they were).  So they and the rest of us ALL became ghost sailors - wishing we were able to sail, but not being able to.

Thanks nonetheless to those who would have made the wet race possible including committee boat volunteers, Beth Auld, Bob Orben, Mimi Riffle and Tricia & Bob Zachidny.  Catey and Doug Hale and family took care of taking down all the race markers after Catey and Tom Schroeder set up the race earlier in the day.  And thanks also to Race Chairman, Kevin Preuss who sweated out the weather and the decision to cancel or not, while also entertaining a house full of company.   Good call Kevin!

We did not miss the chance to gather after the non-event.  Yes, we had a protest meeting at the Truexs’ and had fun catching up with former sailors/lot owners Dave and Marlene Brown.  Thanks Wayne and Arlene for hosting!

The next race is August 24th.  Don't be a ghost sailor - be there!

SAILING TERMS "HEADER" AND "LIFT"

In a previous post, the term "header" was incorrectly defined. Credit to Catey Hale for catching the error.   Below is a correct definition of "header" and its opposite term "lift"

Header: a shift in true wind direction more forward on a boat’s sail plan, which makes the apparent wind stronger and more forward. Upwind, a header causes you to bear off and to point farther from the direct course to the windward mark. Downwind, a header has the same effect, which causes you to bear off and to point more directly at the leeward mark. If you are sailing upwind and want to point as close as possible to the windward mark, sail on lifts and tack on headers. If you are sailing downwind and want to sail tighter and faster down the rhumb line, sail on headers and jibe on lifts. A header usually arrives in a puff moving laterally across a boat’s course from forward of the prevailing wind direction; e.g., fewer than 45 degrees aft of a close-hauled sailing course. The opposite of a lift.

Lift:  a shift in true wind direction more aft on a boat’s sail plan, which makes the apparent wind lighter and more aft. Upwind, a lift allows a helmsman to head up or alter course to windward and point closer to the direct course to the windward mark. Downwind, a lift causes a helmsman to head up and point away from a direct course to the leeward mark. Upwind, sail on lifts and tack on headers so that you point as close as possible to the windward mark. Downwind, sail on headers and jibe on lifts so that you sail tighter and faster down the rhumb line. A lift usually arrives in a puff that moves laterally across a boat’s course aft of the prevailing wind direction; e.g., more than 45 degrees aft of a close-hauled sailing course. The opposite of a header.

JULY 27TH RACE REPORT "JOINT EFFORT"

The storms were punctual in their departure from the area prior to the race. The wind and a few sailors were fashionably late and not as strong as expected. And the Race Chairman, unlike The Weather Channel and Windmapper.com, was clairvoyant and calm (and also fashionably late).   A Joint Effort was unveiled at the protest meeting, and a sailor was informed he had no rights.

Our thanks to volunteer Committee Boat veterans Beth Auld, Donna Mount and Mimi Riffle for a superbly conducted pair of races that had been skillfully set up (and later dismantled ) by Jim and Peggy Voelz to whom we are also very grateful.

We were supposed to have 13 mph winds gusting to 23mph all morning and afternoon (those kinds of gusts are Laser-flippers), so our sailors were surprised to get out on the lake and find little if any wind.  Many had a hard time even getting out to the starting line in time.   As the rest of us sat there drifting as the heat increased, the crowd started getting a little surly (just a little).  There was talk of cancelling the race for lack of wind.  The Commodore deftly deferred to the Race Chairman when asked by the Committee Boat for a decision.  Dr. Preuss, recognizing this as a non-life/death decision,  calmly answered “patience”.   And lo! About a minute later,  ripples on the water from the west side of the lake swept toward us, and a fairly race-worthy wind showed up.  We had ourselves a race!  Unfortunately the wind never did live up to its forecasted strength, which would have been quite exciting.

Ever since Jim Voelz's “tips and tactics” seminars, our racers have been getting better and better at hitting the starting line in unison as the 5 minute countdown strikes 0.00 (many races are won based on the start).   Our rookie sailors even seem to have figured the starting line timing out earlier in their racing careers than their predecessors.  Congratulations by the way, to rookie Sherri Agnew who won a race for the first time!  The boats were not strung out as much as usual, so it seems all were sailing very well without much in the way of mistakes.   Tom Schroeder fessed up to one though.  At the second mark he made sure not to let any of the boats close behind him get inside of him at the mark, but after making the turn he should have followed through by not letting those same boats turn sharper than him and get upwind.   They did though and he suffered “dirty air” (see prior posts for the definition… not gross in any way) from Peggy Voelz and Riley Leonard.  Riley, by the way, got the best of Peggy in the same way Peggy got the best of Tom.  Some other successful race tactics were also revealed later at the protest meeting.     

We’ve heard comments that the races are getting more interesting to watch with more participants and as skills improve.   So, come on out and watch the action.  The best place of course is on the Committee Boat where you’ll be practically on top of, but not in the way of the sailors, and where you’ll learn about sailboat racing and get into the spirit and camaraderie of things.

The protest meeting was well attended and lively, with more hypothetical rules questions hotly debated.  The highlight was the unveiling of a modern art woodwork/sculpture entitled “Joint Effort”. “Joint” because the raw material consisted of numerous practice woodworking joints of various types, the effort of Mike Mullinix as part of a class he had taken.   Wayne and Arlene’s granddaughter (and GYC race fan) Mayra, contributed the brilliant creative design of a sculpture that joined the joints.  And Wayne and the Truex’s grandson (and water skiing instructor) Tanner provided the skill and effort of actually joining the joints to Mayra’s design and specifications.   After oohs and aahs, the sailors were informed of the name of the sculpture and got into the "joint effort" spirit of things.  They added a few temporary adornments to the sculpture to make it more “nautical”, such as sweaty sailor’s hats and, yeah, beverage containers (empty). 

"Joint Effort":  With Mayra and Wayne in the background. The sculpture cannot be fully appreciated in this photo because it has been obscured by the sailor's adornments.

That's more like it

A question was raised and Jim Riffle was surprised to learn that an according to an unintuitive rule, a sailor who finds him/herself between a start/finish line marker and another sailboat, has no right-of-way rights whatsoever at the start of the race, and that sailor is considered to be “barging” (Jim and crew Arlene were in that position and were being given the squeeze by John Auld and Paul Haas).  So try not to put yourself into such a position at the start of a race.  One other race rule question was kicked around, but when asked if the rule book should be retrieved and consulted,  those involved knew that the equivalent  of consulting the IRS code would be a party-killer and said…”naaah”.  Also, John Auld and Jim Voelz were asked why they deviated from what seemed the obvious shortest distance to turn markers under wind conditions at the time.  They both had correctly read changes in the wind pattern on the lake far ahead, better than the rest of us, and while their chosen courses didn’t seem to make sense, they proved very advantageous to both.  In that regard, race results were as follows:

First Race:

Laser Class:  Jim Voelz 1^st, Tom Jennings 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3^rd, Riley Leonard 4^th.

International Class (on a handicapped basis):  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 3^rd, Sherri Agnew 4^th, Tom Schroeder/Ross Kunkler 5^th, Bianca & Lance Snider 6^th.

All boats on handicapped basis (not for scoring): Jim Voelz 1^st, Tom Jennings 2^nd, Auld/Hass 3^rd, Peggy Voelz 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5^th, Riffle/Truex 6^th, Riley Leonard 7^th, Sherri Agnew 8^th, Schroeder/Kunkler 9^th, Sniders 10th

Second Race:

Laser Class:  Jim Voelz 1st, Tom Jennings 2nd, Kevin Preuss 3rd, Riley Leonard 4th.

International Class (on a handicapped basis):  Sherri Agnew 1^st, Peggy Voelz 2^nd, Auld/Hass 3^rd, Riffle/Truex 4^th  Ross Kunkler/Tom Schroeder 5^th,  Bianca & Lance Snider 6^th

All boats on handicapped basis (not for scoring):  Jim Voelz 1^st, Tom Jennings 2^nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd, Peggy Voelz 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5^th, Auld/Hass 6^th Riffle/Truex 7^th, Riley Leonard 8^th, Kunkler/Schroeder 9^th, Sniders 10^th.

Our next race is August 10^th.   There are five race dates left of the total of eleven scheduled this season, so if you are interested in joining us this season, now is the time to hop aboard.

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.

INDEPENDENCE DAY BREAKFAST & KAYAK RACE REPORT

In addition to Independence Day, there was a sub-theme of “Christmas in July” with inflatable Christmas lawn ornaments in every nook and cranny of the Hoyt lakefront, creating a lot of red and white to go with the blue water.  

Hoyt's place ready for a celebration

View of Hoyt's after the fireworks.  Tree is in blue.

It was also quite a scene all lit up the night after the fireworks display.   A Christmas tree was decorated with ornaments made at the ice cream social the day before.

Ruth and Harry in red, white and blue.  Ruth picks up on the Christmas sub-theme.

It was quite a big crowd. We even ran out of name tags.   We stopped, reflected, and cheered the reason for all the weekend’s celebrations:  In 1776, a brand new nation was conceived in liberty.  This nation declared that all men are created equal with God-given rights, that power ultimately resides in "we the people”, and that our government would be “of the people, by the people and for the people”.  Revolutionary!    Dan Hoyt made us aware of a charity called “No Greater Sacrifice” that he has become familiar with.  They honor the sacrifice of fallen service members by investing in their children’s capacity for greatness through education: www.nogreatersacrifice.org

Lot owners made some interesting entrances, by kayak, by antique boat, and most noteworthy;  the group rowing the big swim raft with paddles and rakes, while  singing the Star Spangled Banner! 

Patriots arrive by sea at Hoyts via swim raft they paddled from across the lake

 

Bringing to mind General Washington and his troops rowing across the Delaware River, (below) they sang the Star Spangled Banner as they rowed with rakes, oars, and paddles. Look for brooms and shovels to be added next year!

After thanking the Hoyts for hosting breakfast and recognizing them, the Sanders and Marcums for hosting the ice cream social the    day before, and Beth Auld for overseeing the ornament decorating table at the social, we turned it over to Max Henry who directed the kayak race starting from under the row of checkered flags dockside.

The kayak race was exciting!

An energetic start to the kayak race.  Jack takes an early lead, but....

Steve cuts in on Jack and John at the first turn (around the pontoon boat manned by patriotic Jim Riffle)

Malachi pauses to pose

Gene gives it his all.

Corrine digs in hard with her paddle

Bea takes her turn paddling, giving Kristin a rest

John Gall (1^st place) and brother Jackson Gall (2^nd place) again dominated, but had a serious challenge by Steve Willment (3^rd place).  Other racers were Malachi Henry (4^th), Gene Zoellner (5^th), Corrine Orben (6^th), and Kristin and Bea Orben (7^th).  Max Henry had prizes for the racers.  Thanks to Max for organizing and to Jim Riffle for assistance with the course. 

JUNE 29 RACE REPORT

(photos courtesy of Jack and Sandi Miller)

We tied our largest turnout of sailboats in Wayne Truex’s memory (eleven boats, and it happened also in August of 2012). Ross Kunkler skippered his first sailing race and did very well.  We welcomed back Jackson Gall and Brad Stinebring.  And things may be getting a little decadent at the Grandview Yacht Club, what with a co-ed community shower prior to the race, a gourmet meal aboard the Committee boat, and a generous donation.  We also had some exciting action at the finish line, and took a brief dive into a rule-book conundrum and threw up our hands.

OK, the “co-ed” shower was just a brief but heavy rain, and our Committee Boat volunteers got just as soaked as the rest of us.  Thanks to volunteers Steve and Gretchen Fisher, Jack and Sandi Miller, Donna Mount and Mimi Riffle.  Kudos to them for calmly sizing up the rain situation and not cancelling the race in a knee-jerk fashion when the downpour began and the winds got a little gusty. There was no thunder or lightning, and it was pretty clear it was just a squall.  They also did a good job of protecting the decadent gourmet lunch Gretchen had prepared for the group.  And they enjoyed the luxury of a brand new, big, vinyl-coated anchor donated by Jim and Peggy Voelz after Jim’s experience on the Committee Boat at the last race.  Thanks very much Jim and Peggy!  Yeah, things are getting pretty cushy on the Committee Boat these days!  But our fine group went above and beyond the call by hauling in all of the race markers after the race.

Our volunteers take down the markers.  It "takes a village' to conduct a sailing race

  

Thanks to Kevin Preuss and Jim Voelz for setting up a fine course with the start/finish line well away from the power boat traffic.

In his first and second races as skipper, Ross Kunkler took the helm of the Schroeder JY-15, finishing with a very respectable 3^rd out of 6 boats in his class in the first race.  According to our scoring system, captains that turn the helm of their boat over to their crew earn the same number of points as if they had captained the boat themselves.  So Ross may not have realized it, but he was actually doing that particular boat owner a favor with his fine debut as skipper. And in only her 4^th race as a skipper, rookie Sherri Agnew finished 2^nd place in her class of 7 boats and beat the other 2 Butterfly sailboats that are also part of the “International Class”.  In his first time at the helm this season, and with little sleep after  handling the late shift at the E.R., John Gall, with returning crew, Jack Gall, came in 2^nd out of 6 in the “International Class” in the first race, and beat the other Y-Flyer and reigning champion John Auld and crew Paul Hass. Jack took the helm for the first time this season in the second race. And finally, Brad Stinebring returned to the Laser class after a year off, finishing 4^th overall on a handicapped basis out of the fleet of 11 boats in the first race, looking very relaxed, evoking to some, images of former GYC great, Dave Brown.  So it appears there will continue to be plenty of competition in Grandview sailing to keep things lively.

The first race was a snoozer for an on-looker with a low-to-no wind situation following the pre-race dousing.   For the most part, the finishing times were pretty tight on a handicapped basis though.

Laura tries to squeeze speed out of very little wind.  Jim and Arlene are behind her in the Hobie Cat.

For the sailors, it is just as much, if not more work, since low-wind sailing requires constant vigilance and optimizing.

The fleet heads for first mark. Riffle/Truex in catamaran in foreground

The second race was more exciting with a much better wind, and boats finishing in half the elapsed time.  At the protest meeting, eyewitnesses said that about three boats got in the path of the Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex catamaran which had the right of way, causing Jim to alter their course (at Arlene’s urging).  No protest was made, but could well have been successful if pursued.  Nevertheless Riffle/Truex finished first in their class. 

Start of 2nd Race: Jim Voelz (right) and Sherri Agnew (left) foreground

At the finish line, Sherri Agnew was hiked out to the maximum trying not to have to make a final tack.  She nearly went over, but kept the boat upright, and the committee boat and those nearby erupted into cheers.    Shortly thereafter, Peggy Voelz and daughter Laura, both just a wee bit competitive, were in a photo-finish, just like in the race two weeks ago. Peggy prevailed again, but we hope Laura keeps the pressure on.

Heading for 1st mark in 2nd race (more wind). Brothers Gall in foreground attempting to catch Auld/Hass in yellow boat. Sherri on right, Brad on left.

We enjoyed a fine protest meeting at the Truex's.  Thanks Wayne and Arlene!  We discussed a situation that occurred at a mark with the Riffle/Truex boat and the Jim Voelz boat.  The question was who had the right-of-way when they both turned.  We won’t bore you with the details involving Rule 13 and rule 18.3, but the rule book gave unclear guidance for this particular situation.  We were quite pleased there was no protest upon which a ruling would have to have been made and argued over.  Maybe next time.

Race results were as follows:

1^st Race, Laser Class

Jim Voelz 1^st, Tom Jennings 2^nd, Brad Stinebring 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th

1^st Race,  International Class on handicapped basis:

Peggy Voelz 1^st , John & Jack Gall 2^nd, Ross Kunkler/Tom Schroeder 3^rd, Sherri Agnew 4^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 5^th, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 6^th

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

Peggy Voelz 1^st, Jim Voelz 2^nd, Tom Jennings 3^rd, Brad Stinebring 4^th, The Brothers Gall 5^th, Kunkler/Schroeder 6^th, Sherri Agnew 7^th, Auld/Hass 8^th, Kevin Preuss 9^th, Riffle/Truex 10^th.

2n^d Race, Laser Class

Jim Voelz 1^st, Kevin Preuss 2^nd, Tom Jennings  3^rd

2^nd Race,  International Class on handicapped basis:

Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 1^st, Sherri Agnew 2^nd, Peggy Voelz 3^rd, Laura Garret 4^th, Kunkler/Schroeder 5^th, Auld/Hass 6^th, The Brothers Gall 7^th,

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

Jim  Voelz 1^st, Kevin Preuss 2^nd, Riffle/Truex 3^rd, Tom Jennings 4^th, Sherri Agnew 5^th, Peggy Voelz 6^th, Laura Garrett 7^th, Kunkler/Schroeder 8^th, Auld/Hass 9^th, The Brothers Gall 10^th.

 

The next race is July 13^th and is a “trophy race”.  We don’t race on holiday weekends anymore, but this will be for the historic “July 4^th trophy”.   In the meantime we hope to see you at the various functions over the Independence Day weekend.

JUNE 15TH RACE REPORT

Old English proverb: "A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor”.  This stiff-winded race either honed or demonstrated the skills of our sailors, who were skillful enough to stay upright… or mostly so.  We welcomed back some sailors we’ve not seen in a while, Sherri Agnew christened her new sailboat without capsizing, and we have a candidate for the “Good Samaritan” award.

Thanks to Jim Voelz and Dick Pitman for setting up and taking down the race course.  And to our wonderful Committee Boat volunteers Beth Auld, Maura Leonard, Mimi Riffle and Jim Voelz.

Welcome back to Dick Pitman and John Gall.  The two doctors teamed up to give Dick’s Y-Flyer a great shakedown race after its 2-year absence, and they did really well!  As anticipated, rookie sailor Sherri Agnew was sailing her brand new Butterfly sailboat.  Considering the conditions, it was really quite an accomplishment that she did not capsize as she learned about her new boat’s limits while also skippering her first race which can be a little bit of sensory overload especially in high winds – well done!  

Lasers are very responsive sailboats, with the trade off that they also tend to respond to sudden wind gusts by attempting to capsize unless the skipper has lightning-fast reflexes.  So considering the winds, it was impressive that Riley Leonard, in only his second race in his Laser, only capsized once and recovered handily.  Well done Riley!  The rest of our Laser sailors were “Ghost Sailors” for this race: They were either out of town, or on committee boat duty, or had Father’s Day commitments, but all wished they could be racing instead. This included Chris Braun who watched the race with his guests from his pontoon boat, disappointed that parts for his new Laser haven’t arrived yet – it would have been quite a fun first Grandview race for him.   Just to make sure you keep our lingo straight, a “Ghost Sailor” doesn’t race, but “sure wishes they could”; A “Mystery Sailor” doesn’t let us know ahead of time they will be racing, but just shows up, and of course, is always welcome.  Anyway as the only Laser sailor, Riley picks up some points relative to the others, coming in first place in the Laser class.  That being said, from a scoring standpoint, the best time to miss a race is when many of those in your class are also absent.  So seven of our eight Laser sailors were fortunate in the timing of their absences.

Laura Garret capsized as we waited for the start of the second race while the Committee Boat struggled to get its anchors to hold.  She was having trouble righting the craft, so Paul Hass, aboard the John Auld Y-flyer jumped in and helped her out.  Thanks Paul and John!   Laura did quite well in both races, and in fact missed third place in the first race by only two-hundredths of a second behind Dr.s Pitman and Gall, and took 3^rd place in the second race.  Laura and Riley were both recipients of coaching from Jim Voelz from the Committee Boat.

Peggy Voelz won both International Class races in a fine performance. Although it would have been nullified by a disqualification, the two Y-flyers, each with experienced sailors, had quite a close battle in the second race, finishing within thirteen seconds of each other.  Final maneuvers approaching the finish line made the difference.  John Auld feels their last strategic tack won the race for him, but Dick Pitman thinks he would have won had he not mishandled his tiller extension, fouling his main sheet in it in the process.  His claim is based on the wind having just provided him a “header”  that would have provided his boat with a shorter distance to the finish than Auld’s boat. Nevertheless, the fact that Pitman/Gall touched the third mark without taking a penalty turn (as confessed at the Protest meeting) disqualified them anyway.    

A small group gathered for the Protest Meeting on the Schroeder’s dock and enjoyed the breeze, cheese, fruit and lively re-living of the race.   Dick Pitman forthrightly spilled the beans about touching a mark, which resulted in his disqualification in the second race as mentioned above.

Race Results were as follows

1^st Race Laser Class:

 Riley Leonard 1^st.

1^st Race International Class: 

Peggy Voelz 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd, Dick Pitman/John Gall 3^rd, Laura Garrett 4^th, Tom Schroeder/Moe Lar  5^th, Bianca & Lance Snider 6^th, Jim Riffle/Ross Kunkler 7^th

1^st Race Overall Results on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring): Riley Leonard takes 6^th, moving Sniders and Riffle/Kunkler down one place each.

2nd Race Laser Class:

 Riley Leonard 1^st.

2^nd Race International Class: 

Peggy Voelz 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd, Laura Garrett 3rd, Tom Schroeder/Moe Lar  4^th, Bianca & Lance Snider 5^th, Sherri Agnew 6^th Jim Riffle/Ross Kunkler 7^th

2^nd Race Overall Results on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring): Riley Leonard takes 5^th, moving Sniders, Agnew and Riffle/Kunkler down one place each.

Our next race is June 29^th.