WYC Wednesday Chimo Night Race - Stirred not Shaken

This race started in the Detroit River in front of the Windsor Yacht Club. The course went up past DP5, DP7 and then up to R8 in the shipping channel out in the lake. The wind was coming up the river at maybe 5 or 6 knots from the Windsor side. I wanted to start from left side by the buoy but got there a little early. We gybed to starboard along the line until the gun. Night Moves was on our right and eventually started to gas us. I could tell there was less pressure in the middle because of high rise blocking the wind so I called for a gybe. When we hit the island side it was clear with less current and more air and were making time on the other J120s. As we got pushed into the river

we got caught with Hot Ticket our left and had to concede a place to them. We continued with a chute out the leg where we went to a head sail at R8. We allowed Jayhawker to get up on us and they rounded ahead of us at R2. The next leg was at about 45 degrees apparent but I could see everyone getting lifted farther down. We went high on the leg and when we got farther down we would put up our code 0. At that point we rolled right past Merlin and beat them to mark Dp7. They immediately tacked and we went a 100 yard past and did the same thing. At this time a free for all started. 4 J120s were tacking back and forth. We entered the river with Merlin in the lead, Jayhawker, Us and Hot Ticket. We had tacked a little to the center of the river and got more pressure there. We managed to roll Jayhawker and nearly reached Merlin. It was an exciting race and a fitting end to our Michigan season. We came out of it in 2nd in a close race and recovered enough to end up first overall for the Wednesday night season.

Result 2nd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Chimo%20Race.pdf

WYC Wednesday Night Race - Who needs wind?

The first leg was 110 degrees with light air around 5 or 6 knots out of the northwest. The starts in front of us were starting on port with spinnakers. The boats farther in the lake were getting more air so they seemed to get a little more speed. I noticed about 7 minutes before our start some cat paws coming from the south shore. I could see there was a major shift coming (180 dgrees) and actually motored for 15 seconds before the 5 minute gun to get to the new air. We hung around the right pin before the gun and put up our spinnaker. Hot Ticket reached up to us and got across first with Merlin and Night Moves in a hole farther down the line. Up the first leg I could see the pressure was still on the right side of the course so I tried to bias the us there. It was enough to round mark A with us on the inside of Hot Ticket. They tacked immediately where we held out tack about a 100 yards since Merlin right behind stretched their tack out also(port tack was favored). Going farther up the leg we managed to hold our lead with Ticket and they crossed behind us on the next tack. At this point I only wanted to cover HT and stay to their right. Hot ticket had a battle with a fishing boat and went aground. After a number of tacks in lighter and lighter air Merlin managed to catch up four boat lengths behind us. At DP5 the wind shut down and essentially we drifted in ahead of them. We could still win the race even without wind. Go figure.

Result: 1st out of 4 J/120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%207.pdf


COURSE 5 - 4.6 nautical miles
Start to A (110o) leaving it to starboard
-then to DP7 (275o) leaving it to starboard
-then to DP5 leaving it to starboard
-then to finish line.

(Comment on this)

WYC Wednesday Night Race - Where's Waldo?

This was a weather start in about 8 knots of air with the left pin slightly favored. We came in on port and tacked to starboard when we got close to Merlin on the left side of the line. We could not this time got up in Merlin's lane when she got lifted. We could not get control of her because they managed to stay on our right hip. Up towards the top of the leg she managed to get in our lane and tacked on the layline before us and managed to get lifted to the mark. That put us at the top B mark in 2nd. At this point in went dark quickly with the rain coming on. We gybed back and forth a couple of times looking for mark D and just could not find it. This proved to not be problem for Hot Ticket and Night Moves where they rounded it on top of us and quickly rolled us on a broad reach. As we approached DP8 Jayhawker got inside of us and to injury to insult I steered the boat too slowly and stalled at the mark causing us to touch it. We did our penalty turn and then went up the right side of course because we felt there was more pressure there. We managed to round right after Night Moves and stuck to them until DP5. Since it was almost dead downwind we managed to start gassing NM and then got on the left side of the river where there was more pressure. This put us in the position of passing her to finish third. This race was not successful mostly since we could not find that mark D. In the group of boats ahead of us we just could not see it. Maybe if Colleen had been there....

Result 3rd out of 5 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%206.pdf

COURSE B - 7.5 nautical miles
Start to B (065o) leaving it to port
-then to D (261o) leaving it to port
-then to DP8 (208o) leaving it to port
-then to CC (063o) leaving it to port
-then to D (309o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Grosse Pointe Yacht Club Bluenose - How Carinthia Got Her Groove Back

This was a triangle race running around the triangle clockwise. The wind was varying between 335 and 348 degrees with wind speeds around 12 knots. Because the first leg was going to be a close reach I felt it was important to start at the left pin upwind from all the other 4 J120s. At 1.5 minutes before the gun I ran up toward the pin on starboard and when I felt there was enough room to tack on port. We managed to be near full speed at the gun where the leeward boats were going a little slow because of maneuvering. Merlin was the next boat down and they could not get up us before the start because the where too far down the line(thanks Doug). With a clean start I could sense the others were drifting south of the rhumb line we went down with them in the puffs to give cover. Every time the wind went left we gave them some gas. Hot Ticket got caught in the group and got squirted out the back. They then went to the north of us but I was not concerned because there were other slower boats up there to block there air. Merlin went way low on the course but I felt it would only be extra distance and when she came up to our line at the mark we would still gas them. With Jayhawker on our line behind us we would go up to their lane the wind backed and still get faster down the leg by doing so. We got the first mark in first place. After gybing we put up the .6 oz spinnaker. We were going slow at first so I saw an open spot above us and got

the boat moving again. At the end of the leg we needed to gybe before reaching mark W. We had it catch on the spreader so it was necessary to go behind the C&C35 to our left since we were on port. We did a Mexican takedown so we managed to accelerate and get above most of the boats ahead of us on another close reach. The last 2 miles of the leg the wind went to 50 degrees apparent so we put up the code 0. We used it around the last mark and the short dogleg in first. This race was determined at the start and if executed well there would be no pasing lanes for the boats behind us. It feels good now that Carinthia has her groove back.

Result: 1 out of 5 J120s
Link: http://drya.org/race2007/Results/gpycBN.htm

WYC Wednesday Night Race - Never Give Up

This was another race to mark D on broad reach in 10 knots of wind. I tried to get us to the committee boat side at the gun because it was favored. Unfortunately Merlin had maneuvered to the middle of the line and at about 20 seconds to the gun had forced Hot Ticket over to our side from leeward. I originally thought there was room to squeeze through but by the time the gun went off there was only a half a boat width to make it. At the last possible

moment I told the crew we were going to spin to the left ( we already had the spinnaker up). We did a 360 turn, getting the spinnaker half way down. Back on course we put the chute back up and started on our way. Merlin just ahead had problems with her spinnaker and we gybe rounded just behind her. Fortunately we rounded from far out and managed to get an inside on Jayhawker, causing us to gas her and move up to 4th. At mark B it was a spinnaker drop rounding. This leg we caught up to Merlin and managed to pass her when she went left and we went right. Just before DP7 we crossed behind Night Moves and on the next tack we were in front. The only boat to catch was Hot Ticket. The only chance we had was to go farther south on the Detroit River and almost caught them when we had the wind pressure they did not. In any case we were stern to bow and they only beat us by 13 seconds. If we would of had a 1/4 more mile we would of passed them. It just goes to show even in last place never give up.

Result: 2nd out of 5 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%205.pdf

COURSE D - 7.2 nautical miles
Start to D (309o) leaving it to starboard
-then to B (081o) leaving it to starboard
-then to A (187o) leaving it to starboard
-then to D (296o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

BYC Long Distance Race - The Good, The Bad, and the Real Ugly

This was a romp counterclockwise around Lake St. Clair. The wind was out of the northwest at about 15 knots. We managed to get to the line a little ahead of the other boats. But after the 3/4 spinnaker went up the trimmers got an overide and collapsed the spinnaker. This caused night Moves to roll us and we had to ride her stern. It was a very fast leg with boat speeds between 7 and 10 knots. We managed to only broach only once. After getting slowed down under a Na40, Hot Ticket got in just ahead of us at Thames River buoy. At this point I thought we had good chance to pass Night Moves. They put up their #3 and it was blowing only 14 knots and sure to go slower. Hot Ticket only had 4 people so they most likely would be unable to do well going to weather. Both predictions came true. On this leg the wind was shifting 25 degrees so it was necessary to continually tack. Somehow the only boat to catch up was Merlin. We must of come together with Merlin at 7 times and manged not to lose ground. The last time we tacked towards them and got hit with a header in the middle of the tack. We could not tack back because the wind speed was down to 5 knots by this time. So we rounded buoy g27 in the shipping channel behind Merlin but still ahead of Jayhawker. What happen next was simply amazing. Even though Jayhawker was only two lanes above us they got a lift and we got a header. If we would of tacked I thought we would cross behind them. They simply took the lift almost all the way point huron buoy where we just managed to sail into a hole. We rounded the buoy in 3rd and put up the .6 spinnaker since the .75 had a rip in it. Luiz and I repaired the rip and when completed we put up the .75. We almost caught up to Merlin and Jayhawker but they managed again to leave us behind. The rest of the race we got headed and went back to the ap1 to finish in the river. We finished at about 8:30 so it was relatively fast.

We had about 30 tacks on 2nd leg so the crew never got bored. I felt we had good upwind boat speed and most of the time we were in the hunt to win so it was good bad and ugly.

Result: 3rd out 6 J120s

WYC Wednesday Night Race - A nice fall evening

This race started in 3 knots of air with the port tack favored going to dp8. I decided to start on the middle of the line since I thought it was important that we had good boat speed with the light air. The other J120s fought for the pin end and even though it was favored I knew there would be problems if we had do a lot of maneuvering before the start. After the gun we seemed to do well against the other J120s. Hot Ticket came down to our line behind us. Just as fast they got a lift we did not get and got even to us to windward. Down by the mark I tacked to starboard before HT did. Since were a little behind I thought that the current would push us down and may get a small lift. We did manage to round on the inside of HT and got our spinnaker up quickly. Farther down the leg Merlin who was in first went high on the reach leg to get around the other boats where I decided to go low because it seemed that the fleet in front of us was also going high. In any case Merlin rounded far in front of us and HT got in on the inside. The next leg was a close reach. We rounded the next mark and tried to get to weather as close as possible. HT got behind a J105 and was force to tack to starboard. I thought this was perfect for us since we could get downriver faster. On the next crossing we were in front of Ticket and the rest of race we just covered her to hold our lead. I thought this was well sailed race. The worst mistake I made was to no recognize that there was more wind pressure on the left side of the course on the first leg. This allowed Merlin to get in ahead of us.

Result: 2nd out of 5 J120s
Link: http://www.wyc.info/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%204.pdf

COURSE 3 - 6.3 nautical miles
Start to DP8 (243o) leaving it to port
-then to A (091o) leaving it to port
-then to CC (291o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (251o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

WYC Wednesday Night Race - A nearly perfect race

The first leg was a broad reach on port. This time I got the boat to the line on the left side to the windward side of the 3 other J120's. We managed to get the boat to mark d in 1st with Night Moves and Merlin with the 3/4 oz. chute in 12 knots of wind. We made the turn gybing the spinnaker. Unfortunately the chute was a little slow coming around and I let NM get on the inside to windward. This was the noisy leg as Kurt o NM would not shut up. I am glad he was on the other boat. We managed to get just ahead of NM at mark B and this time getting tight to the mark so they had no room to pass. This allowed us to gas them on this weather leg and gain some ground in front of them. We stayed on port until the lay line which allowed us to gas NM all the way in on starboard. The following leg to D was another reach so there was very little to gain or lose there. I just tried to stay between NM and mark D. The leg to DP7 was a weather leg. Hot Ticket and Merlin went to the left side of the course where we stayed on the right to cover NM. At DP7 we simply went on a close reach and managed to hold off Merlin and NM to finish 1st.

COURSE D - 7.2 nautical miles
Start to D (309o) leaving it to starboard
-then to B (081o) leaving it to starboard
-then to A (187o) leaving it to starboard
-then to D (296o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Result: 1st out of 4 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%203.pdf

WYC Wednesday Night Race - Party at the end of the world

We knew that the thunderstorms were going to show but did not know when. The first leg was a broad reach on port. Again I got the boat to the line early. The crew was quick to point out that I was going to be early so I turned the boat back in time before the gun. We managed to get the boat to mark d in 3rd behind Merlin and Hot Ticket with the 3/4 oz. chute in 8 knots of wind. We made the turn gybing the spinnaker. Merlin and HT took each other up where we stayed on rumb. About a third the way down the leg the wind hit from behind at 30 knots. Immediately we rounded up so the first order was to get the spinnaker down. After a couple of attempts we managed to get it down. Then the wind picked up to the high 30's and I considered taking down the main and quitting. I had even started the engine. HT already had ripped their main in half. Merlin was just ahead. I decided that it would be better for the main if we continue going down wind rather than try to take it down. We rounded around mark b with just the main and the ap #1 rolled. Merlin took theirs down and put up their #3 on this reach leg. Since we had only 6 people without Brian and Sandy on board we decided to ride it through until the wind would die down to put up the #1. The wind went down to 18 knots on the leg to D so we unrolled the #1. We caught up considerably to Merlin and just before mark DP7 they did a bareheaded change of their headsail to the #1. This allowed us to catch up to their stern. At DP5 we put up our code 0 since the wind was at 80 degrees. Merlin put up their 3/4 spinnaker after us but not soon enough. We managed to roll them and finished 30 seconds ahead. This was an exciting evening with Night Moves, Hot Ticket, and Jay Hawker dropping out. Jay Hawker got their prop shaft wrapped around a line so it took a while for them to get back to BYC. As the storm hit and while they were flying their kite, the yacht "Risky Business" had a man overboard. Within 45 seconds, they got the boat around and sailed back and got the man back on. The yacht "Epic" clocked the wind at 48 knots true and we got to see a water spout travel up the fleet.

COURSE D - 7.2 nautical miles
Start to D (309o) leaving it to starboard
-then to B (081o) leaving it to starboard
-then to A (187o) leaving it to starboard
-then to D (296o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Result: 1st out of 5 J120s (only 2 finished)
Link: http://wyc.info/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Fall%20Race%202.pdf

Crescent Sail Yacht Club Regatta - Another nail biter

This was a port reaching start with the first leg at 29 degrees to mark D. The wind was coming out to maybe 100 degrees at 11 to 12 knots. It was needed that we start at the left side of the fleet. We only had 6 people for this race so we had problem getting the .6 oz. spinnaker up twisting the head. Hot Ticket got their nose ahead of us to leeward. Ihnsanity and Night Moves got above us so we stayed low since we knew there was more pressure farther out in the lake. We rounded right behind Hot Ticket. The next leg was a close reach at 20 knots. Ihnsanity almost caught us but had to round behind us. The next leg was a weather leg with the favored being port. We were not able to tack because Saturn, a Melges 32, was to leeward and waited a half mile to tack. We had to still wait because a good portion of the boats behind us were blocking us. Ihnsanity managed to pass us because they did not have to overstand the mark and more people on the rail. At the next mark we were unable to gain on the boats in front but did not lose any places even though we were extremely light on rail weight. At this point there were major shifts so we tacked and almost caught HT. We finished just behind HT in 3rd.


Result: 3rd out of 4 J120s

Link: http://www.drya.org/race2007/Results/csyc.htm
Course: Start, D, C, B, A, Finish

Detroit Yacht Club Sweepstakes Regatta - Another St. Stupid Day

This was to be a 2 race windward leeward series. The first race was set in about 6 knots of air with the line straight. We started in the middle but Hot Ticket managed to get on the left of us and eventually we had to tack to port and duck Ihnsanity. We wanted to get on the right side of the course but we soon found out that the left side had more pressure near the shoreline. We rounded the first mark in fourth place but picked off two boats on the downwind side by going near shore. After rounding the leeward mark we tacked to starboard to get back to the shore. We got a lot of distance up to HT but after rounding we stayed near the shore on the downwind leg. It turned out there was more pressure this time out in the lake and Night Moves nearly caught us at the finish. Because of the lack of wind they canceled the second race. Just another typical day on Lake St. Stupid.

Result: 2nd out of 4 J120s
Link: http://drya.org/race2007/Results/dycsweep.htm

Bayview Mackinac Race - Go East Young Man and Seek Your Fortune!

This race started with the wind wind out of the north at about 15 knots. It was a difficult start when we had Flyin' Irish come down and foul us. This caused us to get in their windage so we bailed on port crossing to the right of the fleet just behind Merlin's stern. It was forecast that the wind would moderate that evening with the wind eventually filling in from the southwest. We also knew because the air temperature was close to the water temperature that there would be no offshore effect at night. Since a high pressure was going to travel over Saginaw Bay we decided to stay east and try to get around it to the north before it got too far east. After dusk the north wind started to die. Although we did not get a lot of wind we managed to keep moving the entire time. At about 2 am on Sunday we were about a 1/4 mile behind and left of J120 Hot Ticket. The wind went to about 55 degrees apparent and we put up the code zero. This allowed us to pass Ticket and slowly horizon them. Fortunately for us Ticket did not see the sail change before it was too late. As we got further north we got the stronger wind before Ticket. When daylight broke we had the NA40, Velero, to our right, Hot Ticket a mile behind, and Natalie J to our left. At this point, we thought we had a good night but until we got closer to the mark the realization came about we were also with some Santa Cruz 70's, a very good sign. In fact after rounding the mark a couple of more 70's passed us and that was because they had a 30 foot waterline advantage.

At this point it was a straight shot down to the straits. We made an effort to not get within 5 miles of the Michigan shore because we felt the wind would get soft there after sunset. At this point we discovered that the alternator had failed and we had limited time on the batteries. We cut all power consumption down to only the instruments and gps. The boat kept moving all

the way to the point at Bois Blanc Island. It was necessary to make a couple tacks in 2 or 3 knots of air but crossed the finish line at 8:54 am, 20 minutes ahead of Power Tripp and 2 hours ahead of Hot Ticket. Fortunately for us the wind shut down behind us. Because our batteries were low we had to sail into the dock. This prompted a safety inspection from the race committee and they did check to see we had the mandatory fuel left. Obviously we passed it with flying colors. I think

we did well because we came up with a strategy and stuck to it. We wanted to stay on the eastern third of Lake Huron so we would have all the options needed when the wind changed and the belief that the wind would be a little stronger on the eastern half of the lake. The crew performed nearly flawlessly and getting others up when we needed to make major sail changes. When we docked in the harbor there were only two 50 footers, 46 foot Natalie J and the SC 70s, 2 of which had motored in earlier in the race. This is one race that I am still overwhelmed by, 1st in class and 1st overall - what a race, what a year.

One postscript story - on Sunday afternoon a bird landed on the good ship Hot Ticket. He promptly took a dump on Bobby Kirkman's head and then attacked elder Bob Kirkman's glasses. They therefore named him little Frank. A little later Mike Kirkman was releaving himself when little Frank then went after his plumbing and almost got it with his claw. Little Frank, the son I never had.

Results in J/120 Class:
Link: http://www.byc.com/mack07/results.cfm?Cl ass=J120&Class2=OD

Carinthia 43:14:28 1
Hot Ticket 45:16:13 2
Jayhawker 47:09:08 3
Ihnsanity 53:55:33 4
Capers 54:04:13 5
Flyin' Irish 54:27:42 6
Night Moves 55:30:30 7
Merlin 56:34:20 8
Irresistible too56:37:45 9
Jahazi 74:10:00 10

Results overall: (1st of 158 boats corrected time)
Link: http://www.byc.com/mack07/results-overal l.cfm?Div=Division I - IRC

USA 25497 Carinthia Frank Kern Monday - 08:54:28 43:14:28 47:26:07 J120 1
USA 28990 Power Tripp James Kraft Monday - 09:17:18 43:27:18 47:40:12 IRC B 2
USA 15044 Velero VII JOHN S. BARBOUR Monday - 12:22:51 47:22:51 48:19:42 NA40 3
CAN 4151 Mystery Stephen Jay Monday - 16:23:54 51:33:54 48:59:12 CC 35 4
USA 25328 Hot Ticket Robert Kirkman Monday - 10:56:13 45:16:13 49:45:07 J120 5
USA 50596 Natalie J Philip D. O'Niel III, D.D.S. Monday - 07:36:07 41:36:07 50:02:49 IRC A 6
USA 43737 Gaucho Sanford Burris Monday - 09:29:47 43:29:47 51:01:16 IRC A 7
USA 18970 Nitemare Thomas W. Neill Monday - 05:25:11 39:15:11 51:20:34 GL 70 8
USA 70 Evolution Kohler/Reichelsdorfer Monday - 05:26:06 39:16:06 51:54:45 GL 70 9

The crew included: Mike Badendeick, Colleen Flanagan, Fred Rozelle, Steve Rozelle, Bob Declercq, Nancy Caldwell, Nathan Caspers, Rod Weston

WYC Wednesday Night Race - Nuts

This was a downwind start in about 8 knots of wind. The plan was to start at the left side of the line. We could of stayed on starboard. Then when I got the other 2 boats extended out on right side of the course, we could jibe on port to be first to the mark. Night Moves immediately got a hourglass in their spinnaker and we got ahead. What I should of done is immediately jibed but NM got on our wind and rolled us to the first mark. This got us around second and the next leg was to weather We stayed on the left where Hot Ticket went to the right and was first to round the next mark. The next leg was a near fetch and we still rounded in third. On the next downwind leg we went to the left and then right and jibed on a header. We rounded in 2nd and went down to DP7 just behind HT. We then got caught in small boat traffic when the wind died. We managed to drift past HT but NM managed to get on the right side of the river and passed both of us.

COURSE D - 7.2 nautical miles
Start to D (309o) leaving it to starboard
-then to B (081o) leaving it to starboard
-then to A (187o) leaving it to starboard
-then to D (296o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (212o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Result: 2nd out of 3 J120s
Link: http://www.wyc.info/2007-regatta/WYC%202007%20Spring%20Race%206.pdf

Windsor Overnight Race - Ouch!

Carinthia did not race this night but Shooter and I took out Fast Traxx to watch the start and get maybe a few pictures. After the gun went off in the J120s I heard a bunch of yelling between Hot Ticket and Jayhawker and then a big bang. At first we thought someone had hit the committee boat but it turned out HT had taken out a back corner of Jayhawker with her bow. Needless to say both dropped out of the race. I understand Flyin' Irish quit when the wind died later at 2am.

WYC Wednesday Night Race

This was a fun race. The first leg was a windward leg. I tried to get on the left side of line but Merlin did a great job of keeping us on the outside. We luffed and started behind Merlin where we immediately tacked on starboard. I could see farther up the course the wind was going right. The mistake I made was to tack back on port and held it to the starboard layline. This caused us to round in 4th. The next leg was a reach so there was no room to pass. The following leg was a run. Although the starboard tack was favored we gibed to port. This allowed us to get to the next mark in a close third, going inside Night Moves. The last leg down the river was a run where it turned into a drag race, Ht managed to round DP5 ahead of us but because they had lost speed we managed to roll them finishing second.

Result: 2nd out of 5 J120s

Course:COURSE A - 6.8 nautical miles
Start to A (110o) leaving it to port
-then to B (007o) leaving it to port
-then to D (261o) leaving it to port
-then to CC (129o) leaving it to starboard
-then to DP7 (251o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Mills Race - What could of been

This one I managed to recruit the world famous Chuck Bayer and the veteran Tony Lawrence. Leading up to the regatta the race committee decided to put it to us. Since we did not have dacron headsail they decided we did not deserve a roller furler credit. This took us down to a 45 from a 51 DRYA rating. This Mills was fast. We started on a run at 17:50 with up to 25 knots of wind. We put up our small spinnaker and managed to stay even with Large Marge and Crazy Horse. The sport boats in these conditions simply left us. When the wind moderated to 20 we did a nearly perfect spinnaker change to the .6oz large chute. When we rounded the buoy at Cedar Pointe we went to a head sail and later a code 0 when the wind moderated going north. At midnight we got headed and went to the ap1. When we rounded the top mark we then went the code 0 and left the sportboat behind us by at least a mile. For the next mark I called for the .6 and we to the .6 spinnaker. Unfortunately we had to launch it 3 times before we could get it up without a twist. The rest of the race we gibed back and forth as needed to the finish. We finished at 03:58, 35 minutes behind Marge and 30 behind Crazy Horse. When I plugged in the numbers we would missed 1st place in IRC by 62 seconds but in Lake Erie PHRF we were 6th. What a shame!

Results:
1 1 USA 139 Vanpire 32 Melges 32 /Reichel P Dan van Heeckeren 27 1/2:54:18 -00:33:49 08:30:28 1
2 2 51757 Stand Aside Thompson 8 /870 Bill Bollin 45 1/3:20:11 -00:56:21 08:33:49 2
3 3 691 Adrenalin Mumm 30 Sailing Team, MSU 45 1/3:34:57 -00:56:21 08:48:35 3
4 4 73273 Pterodactyl Evelyn /Evelyn Symonds, Mark 39 1/3:40:24 -00:48:50 09:01:33 4
5 5 117 Say Uncle Henderson /Henderson Lemonds, Kevin 39 1/3:41:51 -00:48:50 09:03:00 5
6 6 25497 Carinthia J/120 /J/120 Frank Kern 45 1/3:58:18 -00:56:21 09:11:56 6
7 7 USA39 Three Niner Mumm /30 Gonzalez, Dave 45 1/4:04:21 -00:56:21 09:17:59 7
8 11 USA 42744 Crazy Horse Frers /50 Bud & Andy Siudara 12 1/3:38:53 -00:15:01 09:33:51 8

Detroit Noods - It can only get better

On day one I had us start on the left side and slowly got lifted. The mistake was I should of tacked to consolidate our losses. Instead I took us to the left side and thus ending the race in 6th. Because of the lack of wind that day there were no more races.

On day 2 we took 5th in the 1st race, 4th in the 2nd race and 3rd in the last race. There were no races on Sunday.

Finally after sweat and tears Carinthia is ready to go

I put together a collection of pictures of the repair we made of the front bulkhead of Carinthia.This was a major repair that delayed us for the first race. We managed to make the WYC night race our shakedown cruise.The top had rotted out because it had not been sealed and the tabbing was not totally across the top. The extender line had pulled right out of the bulkhead because of rot. The bottom cavity had rotted out because TPI had put no water protection inside the cavity. In this case we decided to use 3/8" marine plywood for the front and sliced up some mahogany boards and epoxied them on for the cabin house side. Of course we made sure the bulkhead was sealed on all edges. We put in blind nuts to attach the back of the bow pulpit because the bulkhead is directly below the attachment point. We also put in an access port for the cavity for easy cleanout and inspection.

Pineapple Cup - Ya mon!

This is a race that I have wanted to do for a long time and this was the year I had the time to put it together. Its course starts at Fort Lauderdale, crosses the Florida Straits, arcs through the Bahamas, turns around the eastern coast of Cuba and finishes at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Since it is usually a 4 or 5 day 811 mile race we decided to sail with a small 7 person crew to keep the weight down from bodies, supplies, and gear. It was important that most of the crew be capable of doing all jobs including steering. It usually starts with a reach and ends with a run past Cuba.

We had a good start with the wind coming across our port stern. We had a fast night crossing the Florida Straights with the wind blowing out of 315 degrees at about 20 knots. We flew our .75 oz AP spinnaker from our 14:05 start until it just blew up just before sunrise. We had been generally happy with our progress since we knew that the only boat ahead of us was a Santa Cruz 52 with a 33 second faster PHRF rating than us. Around midnight we kept shorting out our navigation lights.  Fortunately it was diagnosed as a short in the bow lights and we snipped off the wires and put up the emergency bow light. We were leading Blue, a 1D48, most of the night along with a J133 from the IRC class. When we reached the northern tip of the island of Eleuthera in

the morning as the wind dropped to 5 knots out of the northwest directly behind us. The wind was so light the only spinnaker we could fly was the code 0 and took most of the day to sail 20 miles. It took nearly 16 hours to pass the island. It then filled in from 280 degrees and the wind speed went up to 25 to 30 knots. Frank got the boat up to 19.6 knots driving where Karl managed 19.9. It could have been faster but with the water spraying over the cabin top it was difficult to see the instruments. The seas were rough and we found every leak on the boat. Thank goodness for duct tape!

Once past the south point of Long Island, we passed to the west of North Rock, On Monday at 2 am we launched the 1.5 oz spinnaker in 26 knots and destroyed that when the bow sprit extender line snapped. We still averaged 10 to 12 knots per hour with the jib top in heavy air. It was pretty rough to the extent that all hands on deck were tethered on with safety straps at all time. We saw regularly wind speeds up to 33 knots. Since we expected a right wind shift we sailed on starboard until we were approximately 18 miles off shore.
At this point we unrolled the regatta flag since it was pointed out in the regatta premeeting that the Cuban military should leave us alone with it displayed. We then jibed over and paralleled the shore of Cuba.

We rounded the eastern tip of Cuba at about 11am with a jibe onto starboard. We then decided to toss up the code 0 and sailed with that successfully for some time, until the shackle blew on the sheet, resulting in a shredded code 0. The jib top went up again. We were sailing along in somewhat civil waves (at least compared to previous night) with wind speeds approximately 20 knots true at a heading of 265 degrees.

After Cuba we sailed directly for the finish line at Montego Bay. The winds were pretty much easterly and then went to the northeast at 18 to 22 knots true. We then launched the .6 oz, running chute after sunrise and headed directly to Jamaica in 18 knots of wind. We were down to our last spinnaker (.6 oz.) and we babied it the entire way. In many cases we tried not to surf on the waves since we would go so fast that the spinnaker would collapse into the spreaders and then the consequential pop when it filled again. We did have one major broach when I was in the bunk and salsa sauce went literally all over the cabin and specifically on Ken’s head. Most of the night we were going at 10 knots with a little bit of surfing we got as high as 16 knots. At about 80 miles out we knew we were not far behind on corrected time the Santa Cruz 52, Renegade. We needed to make us go faster. The only thing left was to jettison the food and excess water, and ice.  Since I had been wearing the same shoes in salt water for 4 days they were really starting to smell bad. I had talked the crew into not jettisoning them. By 13:44 pm on Tuesday our race was over.  Upon finishing we knew we had beat Renegade by 54 minutes corrected time. The boat we were worried about the 48 foot schooner, Munequita needed to arrive by 0:930 the following morning to beat us since we owed them a 17 hour handicap. Fortunately the wind moderated in the ocean and they did not arrive until 13:57.

Carinthia, with a quality Bayview crew won 1st Overall in the Pineapple Cup race to Montego Bay. We beat an impressive combined PHRF & IRC fleet including the new Sjambok, Titan, Blue Yankee and a host of others. Second overall was Cone of Silence which corrected out 28 minutes behind Carinthia.  More information can be found at www.montegobayrace.com. Trophies won include the Arawak Trophy for winning PHRF division, Pineapple Trophy for winning overall, and the Navigators Trophy won by Erik Ryan. Even more satisfying is Carinthia's and my picture and will go on the wall in the Montego Bay Yacht Club with some great sailors and boats that have won this race before such as Escapade,  Tenacious

(Ted Turner),  Kialoa, Stormy Petrol, and Zephyrus V. Even more amazing are the boats that sailed this regatta in the past and did not get this trophy such as Roy Disney's Pyewacket and Larry Elison's Sayanara.  Most of the larger boats used pro crews where we basically got high caliber Bayview racers.  What a ride....it does not get better than this!

Result: 1st in PHRF, 1st Overall
Link: http://www.montegobayrace.com/acrobat/2007%20SILVER%20PINEAPPLE%20OVERALL%20RESULTS.pdf
http://www.montegobayrace.com/acrobat/MOBAY%202007%20%20FINAL%20RESULTS%20BY%20CLASS.pdf

The crew includes (from left to right) Ken Flaska, Erik Ryan, Karl Kuspa, Frank Kern,  Bob Declerq, Colleen Flanagan. Missing from the photo is Jim Best.

One final note: Ted Neesley, a regular Carinthia crew man,  managed to land a ride on Munequita, a 48 foot schooner. Since they arrived last he did get the cook's award. This is certainly a more attractive photo than his mug shot. (see below)