August 6th Race: Good winds build character

photos courtesy of Lisa Duret and Sandy Miller 

Another day of  good wind for sailors!

Seven boats get ready for the race. Committee Boat also.

Here, prior to the race, sailors are testing their wind-driven strategies for crossing the starting line

John Gall single-handedly set up a good long course appropriate for the wind.  The start was tricky, requiring a quick shift from the preferred starboard tack to a port tack after crossing the starting line.   Unless of course you risked a port tack and foul trouble from the get-go.  And some did😁.

A pack of Lasers found themselves going at speeds one seasoned sailor had not experienced before, and it had the boat vibrating. The wind had it’s unpredictable shifts. A few times it got crazily erratic, shifting from one direction to another within seconds, making the first reaction the wrong one. There was a dead spot of variable duration between the second and third mark.  The best planned maneuvers were at the mercy of fickle wind. But it sure beat having little or no wind.  And it built character. Uh huh 😕.      

A line of boats heading for the 2nd mark.  No congestion yet, but wait....

Rounding the 2nd mark:  Congestion of a pack of 4 boats all rounding the mark at the same time, trying not to foul each other or touch the mark flag.  Two more boats also approach the mark, a bit behind. The captain out front at the far left got hit with a gust and is trying to recover control.

John is fully hiked out, approaching horizontal, as he tries to go through the finish line without touching the Committee Boat from which the photo was taken.

The experienced gourmet committee boat volunteer team of the Millers, Fishers and Meshbergers did their usual flawless job of conducting the race between bites. Their Reuben sandwiches, pasta salad and lemon bars had to be eaten at a faster than leisurely pace because of the quick elapsed race times.   And bless them for taking in all the race markers after the race!  That was a huge favor on this particular day due to circumstances.  

 Jim Riffle captained the safety boat and had company this time, with Mimi on board, and Lisa taking some good photos.

We are always so grateful for our volunteers, and glad they can enjoy the fun and witness the competition, brilliant moves, and foibles. They get to know sailors', at times, "Jekyll and Hide"range of personas, from the joyful smiles and banter in anticipation of a good race, to game faces and barked alerts during the congested starts and close finishes.

Bob Orben watched the race from "At Last"

We gathered after the race for the “protest meeting” where a moot protest was explained, appetizers were enjoyed, new baby Gall was admired, and older brother played hide and seek.  Tom and Julia hosted in Arlene’s absence.  Thank you!

Thanks as always to Beth Auld and Kevin Preuss for organizing another great race!

 

Cindy "spins a yarn" at the protest meeting

Oh yeah, we did keep score:

July 23 2023 Trophy Race Report

 Thanks to the Committee Boat team of Bob Orben, Cindy Bartlett and Margaret Powers, and Jim Riffle on the safety boat.  Thanks also to Laura Garrett for setting up the course, Kevin Preuss for organizing the race, Beth Auld for organizing the Committee Boat, and Arlene Truex for hosting us after the race.

 

June 25th Race: FEROCIOUS

Photos courtesy of Margaret Powers

 We had a fast wind for our race.  Unfortunately it was very unsteady and unpredictable even by Grandview standards. There were "ferocious gusts" as Catey Hale described them. Only she and her crew, Elizabeth escaped either capsize or inability to continue the race. Catey said that luckily Elizabeth was back in town to crew for her and did an excellent job handling the difficult conditions and keeping them from trouble.  They sailed a great couple of races. They won the second race by an impressive margin. Matt Bartlett won the first race also by an impressive margin. 

Two Y-Flyers and two Lasers approaching the 1st mark with full sails

Thanks to our fine Committee Boat crew of Beth Auld, Bob Orben and Margaret Powers for an  excellent job of conducting the race.  And a very nice job of staying well anchored in the gusty winds.   They expressed gratitude that they didn’t have to anchor in the deepest part of the lake.  John Auld and Paul Hass set up a great course.  Jim Riffle in the safety boat had a busy day minding capsized sailors and towing John and Paul to their dock.  He also pulled up all the race markers after the race with a little help from Tom Schroeder.   We had a fun protest meeting at Arlene’s and had to dash inside when the storm hit.  Thanks Arlene!

The first casualties were Tom Schroeder and Phil Bush in the JY-15.  Before the start of the first race, they nearly capsized and in the process lost the tiller to Davy Jones’ locker. With no control over the boat, they had to lower the sails and abandon the race.  They mounted the trolling motor and limped to Arlene’s dock struggling to keep the boat pointed in the right direction in the gusty winds.  Tom and Phil watched the races from Arlene’s dock wishing they were participating, but as events unfolded, maybe a little relieved they weren’t.

John Auld and Paul Hass, while trying to point just a little higher toward the wind,  heard a loud pop as a spreader broke, and their mast bent.  Whoa!  They could no longer sail.  Ouch!  They were towed back to their dock by Jim Riffle.  John will be looking for a new mast for his Y-flyer. 

John and Paul being towed home by Jim Riffle. If you look closely you can see the bent mast

Later Lance and Bianca in their newly acquired Y-Flyer had achieved an advantageous position relative to some other competitors.  They celebrated a little  (uh-oh) and whack!  “High five syndrome” strikes again!   They capsized and turtled.  The Voelz family paparazzi became good Samaritans and came to their rescue.  They gingerly towed the upside-down boat close to  shore where the mast could be lifted and the boat righted.  They then towed Lance and Bianca, still smiling about an exciting day,  to their dock.  

Late in the second race the boats that were still seaworthy were having loads of trouble near the third mark in the big inlet.  Tom and Sara Cartwright in the mighty Thistle just had too much sail to be able to proceed upwind.  They drifted all the way down to the north end of the inlet, and with sails lowered were towed back to their dock by good Samaritan Marty  (from next to the lighthouse) on a jet ski. 

The next race is July 9th and is the "Fourth of July" Trophy Race. 

June 4th Race: A Great Day For Sailing! Thwack!

It was a great day for sailing!  Five captains and their crews participated in the June 4th race.  Committee Boat volunteers were Beth Auld, Bob Orben, and Margaret Powers.  The race was set up by Jim Voelz.  John and Rachel Gall hosted a well attended protest meeting at their home.  Thanks everyone!

We are always grateful to Kevin Preuss and Beth Auld respectively for organizing the race and arranging for Committee Boat volunteers.

The Race:

The Cartwright Thistle capsized prior to the first race when they were thwacked by a gust of wind, but they did a masterful job of righting the craft quickly.

The next race is June 25th since we are skipping Father's Day.

May 21st Race: A PERFECT START TO SAILING AND BAREFOOT SEASON

 Photos courtesy of Beth Auld, Laura Garrett and Julia Schroeder

The first sailing race day of the season was idyllic.  Sun, good wind, great temperature, quiet lake and a good turnout.  Afterward we celebrated barefoot season by burning our stinky winter socks and shared associated poetry including Haiku!  Matt shared a brief touching tribute to his departed father who was an avid sailboat racer and commodore.

Thanks to our Committee Boat crew of chairperson Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett and Margaret Powers. Races were conducted flawlessly.

When setting up the race, Tom Cartwright and Kevin Preuss (thanks gentlemen) were concerned about the lack of wind.  Some wondered about cancellation. John Gall struggled to get enough wind to get to the race in time for the start and we thought he might miss it. By race-time a fine wind for sailing arrived.  John found a narrow vein of particularly fast wind that propelled him quickly to the starting line (north of the rest of the fleet) and carried him to the first mark before all others,  surprising us all. We did not experience dead spots of any significance during the race.

The first “protest meeting” of the year was very well attended and we had our annual spring sock burning ritual with no mention of the P-word or the M-word  as in the past few years.  Thanks very much to Arlene Truex for hosting us!

The first poem was Haiku composed by a young sailor. Bet you can relate!

A year lacking snow

harbors sadness and yearning.

Full sails restore hope.

Arlene's Turn:

 

Spring has Sprung.

the sails are raised.

We're ready for that summer craze.

Sailing!

The summer sport dependent on the wind.

Are your hopes high or dim?

Whatever they might be it's about the fun - not the win!

Then Tom's:

All winter long

you've come along

on adventures not sailing related.

Now you're threadbare

and fouling the air.

So it's time for you to be incinerated.

Plenty of socks were tossed into the fire.  P.U.!

Race Results