Once upon a time when there were 50 Lasers lining up for the Seattle Laser Fleet‘s Frigid Digit regatta, there wasn’t much thought of adding other classes. Over the decades the event has moved to various spots around Lake Washington, but now appears to have found a home with Cortinthian YC-Seattle doing the race management as a multi-class event on Puget Sound.
The history of Frigid Digit dictates that coverage starts with the Laser class. As was seen during the Turkey Bowl/Laser Districts last fall, the Laser class is definitely seeing a youth movement in the region. And, as if right from the brochure, it was growing young men making the move up from the smaller Radial rig to the Standard rig. Owen Timms, Max Doane and Kit Stoll all made the switch and were sailing at the front of the fleet all weekend. It was David Brink, a bit older but not that far removed from the Radial, who won the weekend and had his name written on the back of the trophy (for the second time!). His boat name, TCB, stands for Taking Care of Business. That he did.
Photos courtest of Brad Greene. Thanks, Brad!
Aeros
Aeros off the start
Bob Ennenberg of Jericho
Tasar jockeying
Optis rule
Jim Santroch
Radials rounding
There weren’t many capsizes, but a few.
Lasers
The Tasar fleet had “arranged” among themselves for it to be a one day regatta. While both days were good sailing days, they definitely picked the better of two. Bright sunshine and 8-14 knots ruled the day. On top of the frighteningly talented six boat fleet was Jay Renehan who won all four races entered.
Renehan and fellow Tasar skipper Jonathan McKee returned Sunday to have some fun in the biggest class, the 21-boat RS Aero fleet. It was Dalton Bergan who won the last three races to dominate that fleet in Sunday’s lighter air, with Dad-in-law Carl Buchan second. Third was Mike Johnson, one of the more recent Laser-to-Aero transplants, who is clearly getting the hang of the lightweight Aero.
In the Laser Radial class, Seattle’s young Erik Anderson class came up with a convincing victory over Bob Ennenberg of the Jericho Sailing Association of Vancouver, BC. Ennenberg had a smile on his face the entire time, and proved that the Radial is a great place for smaller adults or those that don’t want to risk the wrath of the standard rig if conditions deteriorate. Three Radial sailors made the trip from Bellingham.
There were three brave Opti sailors on the course as well, and without a doubt they had the biggest smiles all weekend. Sam Bush won all the races except one.
This regatta showed that singlehanded sailing, and dinghy sailing in general, is alive and well in Seattle. The RS Aero continues to attract a large group of top-flight competitors and the Lasers are the premiere venue for young people moving up the sailing ranks and honing their skills.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
Girts Rekevics woulda been proud to see the brave sailors and plenty or rubber chickens gathered for this annual jaunt to Friday Harbor. Girts loved to compete in his beloved Catalina 27, once winning Swiftsure, and he thought rubber chickens were just plain funny so he always had one hanging from the backstay. A light snow was falling as the survivors from a sign up sheet of 24 drifted near the start line, maybe 18 hearty skippers and crews. The start line is just off the tanker dock in Anacortes and the finish line is just at the entrance to Friday Harbor, just shy of 20nm.The new light air rocket ship Beneteau First 30 Zephyros faded right chasing wind while the rest of the fleet slipped left toward Guemes Channel. The last time I saw snow piling up on spinnakers causing them to collapse was 12-meter action in Victoria when Canada True and Buddy Melges at the helm of Heart of America faced off. It should be noted he may have been the last Americas Cup skipper that was seen sweeping snow off the decks that same morning. I bet Larry Ellison doesn’t have that on his resume….the northerly and the southerly breezes teased one another and the fleet with the classic PNW experience of sailing in the same direction on opposite tacks separated only by boat lengths. Thermoses full of good cheer kept the conversation lively and music drifted across the still waters. Eventually the fleet drifted into Thatcher Pass compressed, caught a decent southwesterly and the real race was on. Spinnakers blossomed the sun came out, time for a sandwich and losing at least two layers of Gore-Tex and fleece. Most all boats were moving hull speed to the finish line so cutting corners was helpful except not so much at Upright Head where a few boats found a little less velocity than they intended. Finally it was a lovely spinnaker reach to the finish and a good ‘ol fashioned dock party.
The SJIYC served up heaping helpings of homemade lasagna and the bartenders moved with alacrity.
Girts woulda cracked a smile to see a well sailed Catalina 27 win her division and probably would have offered advice on how they coulda done better as was his way.
Sunday everyone surfed home under heavy canvas and another year of sailing has begun at AYC.
Ed. Note: Thanks Andy, for all you do to promote sailing. Andy owns Northwest Rigging.
Frigid Digit
For decades, Frigid Digit attracted Laser sailors who would become luminaries of the sport. As part of a Pacific Northwest traveling Laser series, it was not to be missed. 50+ boats were the rule, and winners included Carl Buchan (a ridiculous number of times), Jonathan and Charlie McKee, Ross Macdonald, Mark Brink and many others. Today’s current Seattle Laser Fleet Captain, Mark Ross, wrote his name on the back of the painting that serves as the perpetual trophy on Sunday afternoon after winning a chilly one.
Corinthian Yacht Club ran the regatta on behalf of the Seattle Laser Fleet, and while the number of competitors (9 RS Aeros and 7 Lasers) was down, no doubt at least partially due to the cold, the number of races was way up. Both Saturday and Sunday promised big winds, but both delivered light to medium. On Sunday when the wind went east several of us thought “that’s it” and thought longingly about hot showers. But the race committee quickly set a course and reeled off several short (yippee – we love short races with lots of action) races.
Thanks to Brad Greene for the photos!
In the Lasers, Mark Ross sailed consistently for the win, followed by Jay Leon and Bob Ennenberg visiting from the Jericho Sailing Center in Vancouver. Dalton Bergan dominated the RS Aero fleet. Jay Renehan and Eric Becker sailed consistently for second and third place. Carl Buchan lent his boat out one day but was out there Sunday at the front of the fleet much of the time.
Sorry, no report out of Port Madison Yacht Club, but it looks like a dozen boats came out for the race across Puget Sound, with the TP 52 Mist finishing an hour ahead of everyone and garnering the corrected time win as well.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
I was headed downwind passing about 10-15 boatlengths from the Opti’s weather when I heard the jawing. Two Opti kids, one was Dieter Creitz and the other I assume was Jack Carroll, rounded it nearly overlapped, and there were words. Oh oh, I thought, the plague of my racing generation’s yelling has infected the kids. But something different was going on. As they eased off onto the run, I’m pretty sure I heard singing coming from both boys. Singing. How great is that?
There was a distinctive youth movement at this year’s Frigid Digit Regatta. Seven Optis sailed their own course, and as Matt Wood noted, “They were great. After every race they thanked the committee, and they had a great time!” I asked one kid, swishing up the dock bundled up in a drysuit and seemingly carrying more gear than his own body weight, “Did you have fun out there?” Bright eyed, he looked at me and said “Yes! Did you?” How great is that? If I hadn’t had fun (which I did), seeing his enthusiasm would have made the whole weekend for me.
But it wasn’t just the Optis. Ten Laser Radials were out as well, with kids from Portand to West Vancouver coming to Seattle for a weekend of great camaraderie – err – competition. Grant Gridley of Portland managed to beat locals Owen Timms and Abbie Carlson. As the beautiful hat-trophies were handed out, the tightness of this group of Radial sailors was evident.
Of course it was pretty hard not to have a good time out there. On Saturday the wind was light but the air was warm, and on Sunday a good breeze, building to hiking conditions in the last few races, definitely cleared some of those winter blues from our sailing psyches. Ten races were sailed, except for the Aero class which got an extra race in.
Here’s a sampling of photos from the event. I’m going to try to get some videos up as well. Thanks to Cameron Hoard, Eric Arneson and Erin Timm for taking photos and making this happen.
Radials racing in slow motion.
Saturday starts were painful sometimes.
Hangin’ out.
Mixed fleets.
A dramatic sky on Saturday.
One of Saturday’s better breezes.
The fleet splitting.
A lot of line for the Opti skippers to work.
Radials sticking close together downwind
Wind picking up Sunday.
Later races Sunday were sailed in great breeze.
This was a sea change for Frigid Digit. It’s been a Seattle Laser Fleet event for 40 some years, managed by the Laser sailors. It’s been held several different places, from Union Bay at UW to Shilshole Bay on the Sound to Sail Sand Point to Leschi. Its history is profound, from the days of 60 boat fleets to barely surviving the down cycles. This year, the fleet decided to give up much of the race and food management of the event to Corinthian YC. Laser sailor Mark Ross worked with Matt Wood of CYC to produce a spectacularly successful event, helped no doubt by the sailing conditions. PRO Geoff Pease took our pleas for lots of races, little downtime, to heart and races got reeled off one after another even through 55 degree windshifts.
The RS Aeros have certainly taken root in Seattle, and drawn in many top sailors. Carl Buchan managed the win over Jay Renehan in final race. Third in the 13 boat fleet was the mightily-bearded Dan Falk, but only one point ahead of Derek Bottles, who had recently placed third in the Aero Midwinters. Libby McKee is back on the water in her new Aero, and was fourth after the first day but had to miss day two.
Radial sailors Owen Timms, left, and winner Grant Gridley.
Opti winners were Sammy Farkas, Jack Carroll and Dieter Creitz.
The Aero winners, left to right, Dan Falk, Jay Renehan and Carl Buchan.
Laser winners, left to right, Blake Bentzen, David Brink and Dalton Bergan.
Dalton Bergan and Connor with the Frigid Digit trophy.
A dozen Lasers raced, and it was Dalton Bergan showing that even after Moth sailing and fatherhood, he still knows how to make a Laser go ridiculously fast. Second, but always big in Dalton’s rearview mirror, was David Brink. Blake Bentzen won a race and finished third overall. Carlos Abisambra, who just announced he was leaving Seattle for a new job in Colorado, was fourth and left us all a reminder about just how on it he always is by being the only one to sail the correct course in the last race. (btw, the results at CYC have it as race 8 when it should really be race 10)
Rumor has it that a number of our young Radial sailors are headed to Laser Radials Midwinter East, and that should be yet another milestone in their development. I’ll track what they’re up to there and ask for on-the-scene reporting. I understand that youth no longer do emails. Maybe I can get them to text some reports.
Yeah, I hope they tear up the fleets back east. But mostly, I want them to keep having fun.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.
