The sailing gods must have had a meeting and decided that this year’s CYC-Seattle Turkey Bowl, sailed this past weekend, was going to be spectacular. I can hear them having a chuckle: “Let’s see if we can send everyone home really sore and tired. And while we’re at it, let’s see if they wore warm enough clothes.”
Those gods succeeded. With winds in the high teens on Saturday and into the low teens on Sunday, the race committee could run race after race. And they did. Seven class raced, and eleven races were sailed, except in the Tasar class which only participated on Saturday. The physical nature of each of these boats, and the hiking demands of boats like the Laser and Aero, meant some very sore bodies. The temperatures weren’t all that bad, reaching into the 50s, and the sun was spectacular, but the wind chill tested everyone’s gear and more that a few of us came back to the dock not even in the neighborhood of toasty.
It’s easy to forget what we can have here in the Pacific Northwest. The weekend’s snowcapped mountains, sparkly blue waters, fresh northerly and a contingent of organizers, volunteers and parents made this an event to remember for a long time to come, and a poster-event for future Seattle dinghy events. It’s not always like this, but it can be!
The event also served as the Laser 22 Districts. Thanks to a coordinated effort between kids, coaches and parents the Laser Radial fleet saw 24 entries and the Laser 4.7 class saw three boats. The 4.7 is following the European lead and becoming a popular alternative in the U.S. for kids transitioning out of Optis. There was also a healthy and competitive fleet of a dozen Standard rigs. In the Standard fleet Matthew Stranaghan of Canada overcame the early lead of Brian Ledbetter to win comfortably. Amongst the Radials, Kit Stoll and Owen Timms picked up their rivalry with Stoll coming out on top this time. In the 4.7s, the brothers Cruz and Chase Custodinho were one and two with Delfino Li coming in third.
For me, the quote of the day came from one youngster to another – “Bye – See you at Frigid Digit!” referring to the Seattle Laser Fleet’s big January regatta to be held on the same waters.
In the very competitive RS Aero class, Dan Falk won a hard fought battle over Dalton Bergan and Carl Buchan, ahead of Bergan by a single point. Finishes were very close and the fleet often very tightly packed.
Matts Elf and Brent Campbell won the 505 class, Jacob Posner dominated the Opti class with straight bullets and Jonathon and Libby McKee won Saturday in the Tasars. Jonathan came out on Sunday and sailed in the RS Aero fleet.
These photos courtesy of Brad Greene. Thanks Brad! Click to enlarge.
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.
