Dieter Creitz is at it again, putting PNW youth sailing in the limelight. This time down in San Francisco Bay where the St. Francis YC is putting on a heavy weather regatta, the slalom portion of which just concluded. Format details are a little unclear, but it looks like 35 boats started in groups of four or five, and after each heat the top 2-3 boats moved to the next round. Dieter (can we call him “our” Dieter?) made it all the way through to finish 3rd overall. Here’s a gallery of photos, a video of what I believe is the final race and then the results sheet.
Here’s a video from the St. Francis Facebook Page:
As the chockablock spring racing season winds down in the Northwest, lots of other racing is lining up.
J/Fest June 23, 24
J/Fest is back, and the folk at Sail Northwest are excited to have folks sign up. Here’s Sail Northwest’s intro:
Sail Northwest, your northwest J/Boat dealer, invites you to join us for the comeback of the original J/FEST. For 26 years, we produced some of the best racing and after race socializing available on the planet. This is a two-day regatta (with a Friday night PHRF fun race) is open to all J/Boats owners and crew. Starts will be provided for ONE DESIGN, PHRF AND CRUISING classes. The on the water activities are hosted by Sail Northwest and CYC Seattle. Shoreside activities will be in the Courtyard west of the main building on Friday night and at the CYC Seattle Shilshole clubhouse Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s the website where you’ll find the notice of race and entry form.
Round Orcas June 23
If you don’t have a J/Boat, or just want to try a new and different course, check this out from the folks in the San Juans. Note that there will be several different divisions including a paddleboard/kayak division. This one sounds like a lot of fun for folks who’d rather go around an island than buoys!
Orcas Island Yacht Club is pleased to invite you to participate in the first annual race around Orcas Island. Held on the longest Saturday of the year, the race presents intriguing navigational challenges set against the splendid scenic beauty and tall, forested bluffs of the largest island in the San Juans. We look forward to you joining us!
The start is between a red flag on Orcas Landing and the flag pole on Shaw Island.
We are planning on a fully crewed division, a double-handed division, and a self-propelled paddleboard/kayak division.
Buchan Star Clinic This Saturday
Local sailors Derek DeCouteau and Jaimie Stewart working upwind. Local photo by Jan Anderson.
This Saturday is the Buchan Star clinic. In addition to all the Star aficionados out there, Laser and RS Aero sailors are invited to sit in as well. If you’ve never heard experts talk about setting up and sailing a Star, I’d recommend this as definitely worth the time. Of course much of it will be unique to the Star, but it will be great insight into perhaps the most sophisticated and challenging boat on the water. Here’s a brief description by Star sailor Dave Watt.
Our agenda is as follows: We’ll be gathering next Saturday morning at about 10:00 A.M. in the dry storage area with Carl Buchan discussing and reviewing boat set-ups, followed by Carl speaking at about 11:00 A.M. about boat handling drills. We’ll then go out onto the water for boat handling drills during Saturday afternoon, followed by a de-brief on-shore lead by Carl during the late afternoon and early evening. We’ll resume next Sunday morning at 10:00 A.M. with a short land briefing, followed by short races on the water, and concluding with a post-racing de-brief on-shore by Carl. For more information contact Foss Miller at foss@pacific-research.com.
It’s hardly like the old S.O.C.K.S. regattas of the 1990s, where there were up to 9 one design dinghy fleets (including Europe’s-!-, 28 Lasers and A-class Cats). But there was good racing last weekend off Shilshole, including an ever-stronger fleet of RS Aeros. In a sense, CYC’s POD (or PNW) regatta is a grandchild of the old S.O.C.K.S. regatta, with the NOOD regatta in between.
The weekend’s POD was largely keelboat one-designs, with J/105, J/80 and Melges 24 fleets. The bright spot in the dinghy side of things was the RS Aero fleet, with seven boats competing in at least one race.
Thanks to Matt Wood and Diana Yuen for giving us the lowdown from the committee boat:
On Saturday there were mostly shifty north to north-easterlies, and light but moderately building all day. By mid afternoon it was 8 to 10 knots, with a VERY large ebb pushing to fleet to the North. On the RC side of things, it was tricky to set and keep the marks in place in that amount of current.
It started light on Sunday and shifted to nothing - we had to recall the first start and postpone the rest. After lunch it picked up quite a bit and the best race conditions were at the end of the day. In one memorable moment the lone Hobie 16 started paddling by hand before the start - when the wind was really dead. In the last race, Underdog’s main halyard sheared off and Stellar J got its spinnaker tangled up under the boat and both had to retire. Aside from that, the classes were all fairly competitive and fun to watch.
And this from our man in the RS Aero straps, Jacques Garrigues:
It was out of the south on Saturday and started mid range and slowly dropped down towards the end. Although the participation was low (5 Aeros and no Lasers), those of us on the water commented over beers what a good time we had. On Sunday the first start was in dying southerly, no second start, Aeros heading in, no wait a minute - a northerly is on the horizon. Cool. Fills in nicely and we are racing. The breeze built all day from the north against a HUGE ebb, therefore a big and CONFUSED sea state. It was full on hiking so a really good workout and the boats were close, sometimes overlapped at the finish. At beers we were all feeling good about being on the water and we all agreed that each time we get in our boats we learn something NEW.
It is an incredible sport in that with the ever changing conditions a new scenario always plays out which you need to deal with. We were happy to be out there even though it would have been nice to have more company. I would say the race management was very good, pretty much incident free but approaching the weather mark in an Aero and a group of Melges 24 you need to pick your battles very carefully.
Help requested for the Leukemia Cup - June 9
By Matt Wood, Fleet Captain Race Corinthian Yacht Club Seattle
I am co-chair of the Leukemia Cup this year. We’re looking for people to volunteer day of event (contact me : matthewewood@outlook.com ) and to sign up or sponsor boats. It’ll take place from Elliott Bay Marina in it’s Thursday evening format, but will be on Saturday June 9th.
We’re a little tardy getting this out. The NWISA Team Racing Championships were held the weekend before last, and Burke Thomas reports that “there was lots of good 3 on 3 team racing.” It sure looks like it from these pictures borrowed from The Dome Studio’s Facebook Page. Where was this kind of racing when I was a kid? I’d highly recommend looking at these photos if you want to get excited about the next generation. The Orcas High School Vikings were the big winners in the Team Race Championship and the Gig Harbor High School Tides were the JV Team Race Districts.
Click to enlarge any picture.
Team Race Championship
Saturday, May 5:
Sailors were greeted with clear skies, northerly breeze, and flat water. Racing got underway about 20 minutes late, but then four flights of varsity sailors cranked through the qualifying round by mid-afternoon. The top four teams met in the first final round, and the remaining seven teams sailed a number of races in the consolation round before wrapping up around 7pm.
Sunday, May 6:
Warm sunny weather prevailed for the day, but the winds were light. After an initial postponement ashore, racing continued in an attempt to complete another final round. Unfortunately there was not enough breeze to finish those races before the time limit.
Pat Mitchell and his crew from the Bainbridge Island program ran 55 races on a sunny day with northerly breeze. Three flights of FJs and a flight of V15s kept the silver fleet busy rotating all day.
Sunday, May 6:
Sunny warm conditions unfortunately did not also provide very much wind. Just a few races were completed before the time limit at 3pm.
Rankings
Note: Preliminary results; teams ranked by winning percentage.
Things are heating up at the Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center and with the Mount Baker Sailing Team. Classes are already starting up and an early season regatta is on tap. This is an up and coming program with a great facility just south of I90 on Lake Washington.
Here are upcoming classes.
Middle/ High School Sailing Team
Sailing in FJ’s (two person boats). Open to beginner through advanced sailors in 7th/8th grade and high school - if younger may be able to join by invitation from coach Kaitlyn
Cost: $180
Tues & Thurs: 4:30-7:00pm
April 10th – May 17th
Please note: the dates for this course are incorrect in Seattle Parks’ online registration system. We are working on correcting this error.
Opti/Laser Race Team (Ages 8+ by invitation from coach Kaitlyn)
Please register through the office
Cost: $90
Saturday: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
April 14th – May 19th
Safety Note:
Please make sure your child has a wet suit, rain gear, and float test on file. For sailors new to Mount Baker, please schedule a day and time to meet with Coach Kaitlyn at mtbakersailingteam@gmail.com if you haven’t already.
And here’s the regatta…..
Mount Baker Open Regatta: April 15
We will be hosting our first event this Spring at Mount Baker and have over 100 sailors with 20+ FJ’s on the start line. It will be exciting and a great kick off to our season to sail the event we are hosting.
Cost: $10 per sailor entry fee (no coaching fees for this one)
Schedule:
8:30 am: Report time
9:15 am: Skippers Meeting
10:00 am: First Race
4:00 pm: Racing ends
Food will not be provided, so BYO lunch.
Parent volunteers are needed to help manage parking, dock traffic, setup and breakdown. We’ll have specific needs available next week.
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.
Back to a PNW Wet Wednesday, specifically Sloop Tavern’s Iceberg Series. This video comes courtesy of Marc-Andrea Klimaschewski (thanks!) from onboard the J/80 Reckless. Some fun footage of a flying reach to Skiff Point including losing the chute a couple times. Reckless ended up winning Class 4. Send those videos in. Now’s a good time to get your video gear sussed out for the season. You want to save it for posterity, right?
And for you dinghy sailors, all those Olympic and up-and-comer types were in Miami for the World Cup Series a week ago. And while all the final races were broadcast live online over the weekend, I’m thinking not many of us spent our days doing that. Here’s a 50 minute recap of the series, with some great heavy air sailing in all the Olympic classes. Check out the boat handling, and check out Caleb Paine coming from behind to grab the silver in the Finn. You can skip around to enjoy the classes you find most interesting.
The UW Sailing team sent singlehanders Erik Skeel and Laura Smit to Nationals in Florida. They’ll bring back some hard-earned experience to this very fun, very active team. Go Dawgs! Here’s Erik Skeel’s report:
Laura Smit and Erik Skeel
Each year in September, college sailors from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia compete in Lasers to qualify for college sailing singlehanded nationals. This year the qualifying regatta was held at Shilshole. After one day of good racing Laura Smit from University of Washington was leading the woman’s fleet in radials, and I held first place in the men’s fleet in the full rig by just one point. In typical Northwest fashion the second day of the regatta refused to have enough wind to race. The Radial Fleet didn’t get off any races so Laura earned the woman’s berth to nationals. One race was completed in the men’s fleet, but it bumped me to second, leaving University of British Columbia in first. UBC decided not to go to nationals despite earning the berth, so I found myself booking plane tickets to Florida for nationals.
Singlehanded Nationals was held the first weekend of November, so as Seattle was getting covered in snow, Laura and I were flying to sunny Florida. Laser Performance outfitted all 18 sailors in each fleet with brand new Laser hulls, spars, rigging, and Mark II sails for the full rigs. To the other sailors from schools such as Stanford, Yale, and College of Charleston, this probably was not far from what they usually raced with, but I was blown away; I’d never even sailed with a Mark II sail. It quickly became clear that I was one of the only sailors without a paid varsity coach and I think I was the only sailor in the men’s fleet without a coach present who could offer support and advice on the water. The atmosphere was a stark contrast to the college sailing I was used to in the Pacific Northwest, but I tried not to let that discourage me.
Report time was 9:00am on Saturday, but everyone was already rigged by then and soon after began launching for a 10:00am start. The wind was a solid 5-8 knots in the morning until it dropped around 2:00. Racing was tough, but I had expected that as I was competing against the best college sailors in the nation. After all, among those in the regatta was 2016 Olympian Stefano Peschiera and others who will probably campaign for the Olympics. Due to the lack of wind in the previous afternoon, the first warning on Sunday was 9:00am. The wind, though slightly weaker than the previous morning, was shiftier, making for more variable scores among the competitors. With one day of racing under my belt, I had a better idea of how to approach such a competitive start and how to fight for clear air while still playing the shifts and sailing a strategic path. There was no room for error with such a talented fleet. If I ever missed a shift, took a risk that didn’t pay, or lost too much speed on a maneuver, I’d find myself suddenly fighting not to get last. Despite the incredible competition from sailors who had much better training and resources than me, when I sailed my best I was able to hang with the best sailors. On Sunday I had a couple races where I rounded the first mark in the top five. It was an honor to represent the Northwest college district at nationals. Men’s Results. Women’s Results.
There may be nothing as worthwhile as messing about in boats, unless it’s specifically racing the Laser Master Worlds. For the 300+ “mature” (35 years old +) sailors, it’s a chance to enjoy sailboat racing in one of its purest forms, against an international crowd who are as interested in having an enjoyable regatta as winning it. It’s a long, tough regatta for a sailor of any age and the quality of racing is quite extraordinary.
Pacific Northwest Lasers outdid themselves this year in Split, Croatia. Bill Symes (Portland) won the Great Grand Master Radial, Al Clark (Vancouver) in the Grand Master Standard Rigand Deirdre Webster (Portland) in the Women’s 75+ all won their divisions. But more than victory on the water, the event and venue were by all reports tremendous. Bill and Al both sent in reports, and we’re lucky to have them. Reading Coach Al’s piece really gives an insight into the racing aspect end of things, especially the psychology, within the lead group.
Championships aside, Greg Jackson, who raced in the Great Grandmaster full rig division, had every bit as much fun if he was “making the top half of the fleet possible.” See a little video below.
These photos by Duje Petric were all lifted from the event’s Facebook site. To scroll through all those excellent photo galleries is to see a lot of fit “mature” sailors having a lot of fun with one of the world’s simplest, yet most challenging, boats. Click on any photo to enlarge.
Bill Symes
The Split scene
Split
Split
Waiting for a start is the same everywhere.
Lots of boats on the line.
Yes, the confounded boat does capsize.
Righting the boat is good exercise at any age
Check out all the nationalities represented in these sail numbers.
Bill atop the podium
Al atop the podium
Deirdre atop the podium
Don’t know who this kid is, except a future Laser sailor with stops in the 4.7 and Radial classes.
Report from Al Clark
2017 has been busy for me with my full time position at Royal Vancouver YC as their head coach. Duties included coaching our Laser/Radial high school aged sailors. Also I coached 29’ers at their Midwinters in March and Worlds in August. I particularly enjoyed these high level events with some very talented sailors. I love to learn about new boats and get all the pieces together to help them go fast the right way.
The third component has been coaching some of our Race Team alumni, Kyle Martin in his Finn (Miami OCR and Sailing World Cup Final) and Isabella Bertold (Delta Lloyd and Worlds in Holland) .
I watched and competed in about 17 regattas, 8 major events in 2017. So I would say I saw plenty of high level sailing and have come up with ideas over the years how to get to the front of the fleet.
My training for this year’s Worlds (Vacation time for me with my wife Sharon ) was very minimal. I wasn’t sure I had the mental energy to attend but signed up believing that when the time came I would be excited to race.
I did sail a local regatta in early July in Radials and then sailed the US Nationals in Lake Tahoe later that month. I kept in decent shape at my Crossfit gym and riding my bike .
On water training prior to to worlds was a few days in early September, and then it was on the plane to Croatia with the idea of sailing at the site. I had chartered a private boat and was able to start practicing Sunday September 17th, so with the practice race on the Saturday the 23rd, I had the week to work up to race trim.
I bought a carbon top section and had a new sail, and added my own hiking strap and compass (I use the compass quite a bit these days) . Generally I was quite happy with the boat (I really like the new boats from LP) and the gear by the end of the week.
I have marks for my vang, outhaul and cunningham. I find that when I feel the boat is fast with certain adjustments I make a note of it and try to keep that in mind. An example is I had 2 distinct marks on my vang for puffs and lulls in the 6-10 its we sailed a lot in. My outhaul marks are for upwind, a 1-5 scale on my deck.
The practice race (I sailed one lap) went well and I had decided to start near the favoured end then go on the first shift. Andy Roy was first off the pin then tacked , Peter Vessella was fast off the boat and I trailed both of them at the weather mark. I was in about 6th by the end of the run . Generally happy with my execution. The breeze was about 6 knots .
One of the factors for this event became clear after the practice race . The sail out to the race course was going to be about an hour and a half each day with at least an hour sail in . The wind didn’t happen till about noon each day (if it happened at all) so we were going to have long days on the water with lots of waiting . As a coach I am used to this .
The silver lining for me is that all the sailing out then in gave me plenty of time in the boat and I know that as I get the “feel” back I can be very quick in moderate wind in the Standard rig.
I was training whenever I wasn’t racing . Also entering the harbour each day there was no wind so I had a chance to work on roll tacks and gybes.
The first two days of the regatta (Sunday and Monday) we had no wind so there was a lot of catching up with old friends . Monday was cancelled early so after chatting with some of the guys I was walking home and noticed there wad a late afternoon breeze so I went sailing for a few hours . I really like sailing everyday when I’m at these events , even for a short time.
The Tuesday we had a decent sea breeze (12 knots) by the time racing started and many of the favourites were near the pin at go. Andy Roy was smokin’ fast in this start and I made up my mind to stay with him. This ended up being a recall. In the next start I was motivated to go hard near the pin again and was near Andy and a number of other favourites. I realized that my speed was good and my height also . I arrived first to the weather mark then sailed too conservatively on the run and rounded third . I fought through the race and was better on the final run , I had a 5 boat length lead down the final reach. Unfortunately I picked up a bag on my rudder and was passed by 2 boats .
Race two I made adjustments and again was pleased with my speed. I won this race with a good gap and felt, as I sailed in that this was one of my best sailed first days at a master’s worlds (nerves had been an issue) My self talk was to execute the game plan without fear. Keep the “what ifs” at bay. Examples are don’t go to the lay line to early and have faith in the decision your making .
Wednesday was slightly lighter wind but again 2 good races. I was a little too conservative in race one but was generally happy with a 4th , Andy won that race. The next race was Andy leading again at the top mark, I snuck into 2nd on the rounding and I sailed smarter on the run and rounded close behind Andy going out to the right. I hung with him (happy with my height) then decided to carry on after Andy tacked , this got me into the lead, I extended down the reach and won race 4 .
So after 2 days Andy Roy ,Tomas Nordqvist, Peter Vessella , Wolfgang Gerz and Nick Harrison were all sailing well and the battle was on for the Championship .
Wednesday there was no racing
Thursday brought again little wind and lots of waiting on the water with one race. This turned into a pivotal race. I started near the pin even though my compass was saying square line, even a bit boat favoured. I never came back from this and with plenty of scrambling ended 10th. Andy sailed a nice race and could have led but a big righty came in late up the first beat, so Tomas won this race . So now we have a close battle for the podium with others ready to pounce.
I decided that generally this race was one that I left the game plan and that I would ignore it and focus on the good races I had sailed .
Friday there was no racing , we actually had a breeze come up but ended up being to unstable and with the 175 Standards, we needed 2 hours to get in before sunset, pressure was building. There were a number of sailors that thought I had it won because the forecast for the last day was poor and no racing after 3.
I kept to the routine and sailed out to the race course Saturday. I will say that the long waits and the broken up regatta between races was difficult and I was pleased that I entered the final race with a positive mind set. I was determined to be on my front foot going hard, same as all the races that I did well in
We had one race with a late moderate sea breeze that was enough for me to be in the hiking strap (always good). I had a midline start that turned into a decent rounding at the weather mark (5th ). I passed Tomas on the run and headed left in 4th with the two leaders well ahead . Tacking on the shifts up the beat (many were going left) , I gained and was close in 3rd with a good gap to the rest of the fleet.
Andy and Tomas now had their own battle going on and I only had to keep my head. I ended 2nd in the race and was relieved that I had not let myself down by sailing poorly, but had risen to the occasion. Andy did what he had to with Tomas ending 2nd overall, Tomas 3rd .
My post mortem for the event is that the psychological aspects of competing are of utmost importance. There are a number of factors that helped me succeed - boat speed and height (when needed), executing quality starts, solid lane sailing tactics on the first beat, aggressive tactics on the run, hitting shifts on the second beat (and remembering that what seemed to work on the first beat doesn’t always work on the 2nd) , pushing hard to the finish .
It was amazing how much nicer it is to have a countryman and friend (Andy Roy) nearby on the race course when I wasn’t sure about a strategy. We fed off each other in terms of confidence, discussing tactics etc. at the end of each day.
Looking forward to the Worlds in Ireland next September
–Al Clark
Report from Bill Symes
My wife LauraLee and I have just returned to planet earth from one of the most dramatic sailing venues I’ve experienced in more than half a century of sailing, the Croatian coast. Split, Croatia’s second largest city and site of the 2017 Laser Standard Men’s and Masters World Championships, rises up from the remains of a 3rd century Roman emperor’s palace against a towering backdrop of granite cliffs, facing a cobalt sea and a string of islands surrounded, even in October, by swarms of white sails. Very cool.
We arrived as the guys from the just completed Standard Men’s Worlds (that’s the one for the younger, fitter, full-time sailing crowd) were leaving town, and the city was gearing up for the onslaught of 350 Laser “masters” (minimum age: 35; maximum age: unlimited), their significant others and assorted entourages. We were greeted with a gala opening ceremony on the city’s waterfront promenade – the Riva – complete with welcome speeches by the mayor and various local and Laser Class grandees, live performances by folkloric singers, a really loud audio visual spectacle, and vast quantities of food and beverage (the first of many).
Unfortunately, the wind in Split turned out to be somewhat less robust than the hospitality. We settled into a daily routine of waiting all morning for the offshore breeze to die, then waiting all afternoon for the sea breeze to fill in. The first two days it never did. Racing finally got underway on day three, with each fleet completing three races in light-moderate conditions. The pecking order quickly emerged, with the usual suspects topping the leader board in most divisions.
In the 62-boat Radial Great Grandmasters fleet (65+), I ended the day with finishes of 4-1-16, leaving me in third place behind a couple of Australians, current world champion Rob Lowndes and former world champion Kerry Waraker. Day four produced enough wind for two more races and 4-1 finishes for me. More importantly, I was able to drop the 16th, which boosted me into second, two points shy of the lead. The next day, on a dying breeze and shortened course, I managed a third bullet and moved into a two-point lead.
The forecast for the next couple of days was for no wind and, sure enough, after drifting around for 3 hours on day six, we were sent in without a race. Now the regatta was mine to lose; another abandoned race on the final day would not have been an entirely bad thing. But the race committee was determined, and they sent us out at noon to wait on the water while they prayed for wind. Their prayers were answered at 2:55 pm, five minutes before the deadline for last warning gun. We took off in an 8-knot breeze, and despite my initial anxiety and a mediocre start, the momentum was now on my side, and I was able to work through the fleet and take the race and the championship.
A couple of timeless bumper stickers.
Laser Masters Worlds is like an annual reunion with several hundred of your best sailing buddies, always in some wonderful place you’d have never thought to visit were it not for this event. For masters, the après sailing revelry is just as important as the on-the-water action. Not that the racing isn’t serious business; the field always includes former world champions and Olympic medalists, and the competition at the front of the fleet is intense. There’s a bumper sticker for Laser masters that says “Cheat the nursing home. Die on your Laser,” and these guys are living it. I can’t think of a better way to go.
(For a full regatta report and results, go to laserinternational.org. For Laser geeks interested in the more technical aspects of the racing, check out an upcoming article in Doug Peckover’s blog Improper Course.)
–Bill Symes
Greg Jackson may not have been in any of those podium pictures, but I can guarantee he had as good a time as anyone there. Here’s a little video of him talking about the event for a non-sailing crowd. Well worth a chuckle or two.
