It took me a long time to come back here but what a comeback. All I could remember were the little green bugs that swarmed all over the boat when I was on Lake Erie 20 years ago. It took an awful long time to get the stains out of everything. 
What we saw at the start was a 80 degree wind of about 6 knots where the pin side was favored alot. I knew that both the 50-foot Crazy Horse and Stripes, a 70-footer, wanted that side of the line too. They could run over us and smother us - a little 40-footer. We saw more air on the right side so we took our lumps by starting on port behind four other boats a little farther down the line. It paid off by keeping us close to Stripes and Crazy Horse but out of their wind shadow. We hit the pressure and because there were 15 degree shifts we tacked back and forth to get on the favored leg. As the leg continued, the wind got up to 12 knots as well as going more north. By the time we got around the Niagra Reef buoy we were 3rd in the entire fleet with only the bigger boats ahead of us. By the time we rounded the Sandusky lighted buoy by Cedar Point, the wind had switched to the north and was blowing 21 knots. We knew we had to switch to a smaller headsail but as with all J120s we had to do it bareheaded and of course it just took too long. At that point Perodactyl had caught up behind us.
We beat 22 miles on the northeast leg, in typically miserable, square, deep Lake Erie waves. I think every fifth wave would slam into the boat and slowing it down by 1 and a half knots. We developed a system where the crew on the rail would yell "big wave" so we could roll over it. According to crew member Tom Schulte, "The waves just kept coming. The rail crew was yelling 'weird wave' all night." In fact it was ijust tough to keep my balance steering. Slamming into the waves would sometimes just throw me over the wheel. The best I could do was to just wedge myself in. Tom would ease the main so I could turn down at the right time. He would also announce the wind speed and ease the main in the puffs and trim in the lulls. We kept track of wind shifts tacking when the wind would change. Of course Baker, our wave barometer, puked more than 5 times and being in the front he injured his siatic back nerve, which can be very painful.
The fun part was putting up a .75 oz. spinnaker when the apparent wind went to 80 degrees after rounding at the top mark by Point Pelee. After passing the next mark we put up the .6 oz. We did 9 to 10 knots in the puffs to the finish and gybed when we got knocked.
How the forecast, even though the direction and velocity was off, what the wind did with respect to oscillations was spot on. Basically meaning that the front was just in a different spot when it came through. So even though some of the shifts were only 10 and 20 degrees, knowing they were coming helped us determine when to tack / jybe -- especially on such long legs. For example, the last kite leg, we knew the wind was going to make a 10-15 degree shift --- allowing us to potentially not have to jybe --- so we waited and waited, and it did shift where we made it all but the last 100 yards. So keeping track of that type of stuff throughout the race allowed us to put the boat in the right spot.
Also the crew did what they needed to by mostly staying awake the entire time and on the rail. Heather nearly got hyperthermia by getting wet and not going inside.
Crew: Frank, Heather Papp, Tony Lawrence, Lynn Kotwicki, Nathan Caspers, Tom Schulte, Colleen Flanagan, Dave 'Baker' Keeler
Result: 1st in PHRF, 1st in PHRF Overall, 2nd in IRC - Winner of Mills Trophy, Commodore Harry Wood Trophy, and the Commodore Holton Navigator Trophy to Colleen Flanagan
Link: http://www.toledoyachtclub.com/millsrace/P
Course: From the starting line in an eastsoutheasterly direction to Niagara Reef lighted buoy (G “5” Fl G 4s) leaving it to starboard, then in a southeasterly direction to the flashing Red Buoy No. 2 (R “2” Fl R 4s) at the Sandusky Harbor (Moseley) Channel, leaving it to port, then in a northeasterly direction to the Mid-Channel buoy (RW “X” Mo (A)) approximately 1 mile south of Southeast Shoal Light, leaving it to port, then in a northwesterly direction to Pelee Passage Light (Fl 4s), leaving it to port, then in a west-southwesterly direction to the Bell Buoy (G “1” Fl G 4s) off the easterly tip of Middle Bass Island, leaving it to starboard, then to the finishing line leaving Ballast Island to port. Total length of course 75.15 nm
What we saw at the start was a 80 degree wind of about 6 knots where the pin side was favored alot. I knew that both the 50-foot Crazy Horse and Stripes, a 70-footer, wanted that side of the line too. They could run over us and smother us - a little 40-footer. We saw more air on the right side so we took our lumps by starting on port behind four other boats a little farther down the line. It paid off by keeping us close to Stripes and Crazy Horse but out of their wind shadow. We hit the pressure and because there were 15 degree shifts we tacked back and forth to get on the favored leg. As the leg continued, the wind got up to 12 knots as well as going more north. By the time we got around the Niagra Reef buoy we were 3rd in the entire fleet with only the bigger boats ahead of us. By the time we rounded the Sandusky lighted buoy by Cedar Point, the wind had switched to the north and was blowing 21 knots. We knew we had to switch to a smaller headsail but as with all J120s we had to do it bareheaded and of course it just took too long. At that point Perodactyl had caught up behind us.
We beat 22 miles on the northeast leg, in typically miserable, square, deep Lake Erie waves. I think every fifth wave would slam into the boat and slowing it down by 1 and a half knots. We developed a system where the crew on the rail would yell "big wave" so we could roll over it. According to crew member Tom Schulte, "The waves just kept coming. The rail crew was yelling 'weird wave' all night." In fact it was ijust tough to keep my balance steering. Slamming into the waves would sometimes just throw me over the wheel. The best I could do was to just wedge myself in. Tom would ease the main so I could turn down at the right time. He would also announce the wind speed and ease the main in the puffs and trim in the lulls. We kept track of wind shifts tacking when the wind would change. Of course Baker, our wave barometer, puked more than 5 times and being in the front he injured his siatic back nerve, which can be very painful.
The fun part was putting up a .75 oz. spinnaker when the apparent wind went to 80 degrees after rounding at the top mark by Point Pelee. After passing the next mark we put up the .6 oz. We did 9 to 10 knots in the puffs to the finish and gybed when we got knocked.
How the forecast, even though the direction and velocity was off, what the wind did with respect to oscillations was spot on. Basically meaning that the front was just in a different spot when it came through. So even though some of the shifts were only 10 and 20 degrees, knowing they were coming helped us determine when to tack / jybe -- especially on such long legs. For example, the last kite leg, we knew the wind was going to make a 10-15 degree shift --- allowing us to potentially not have to jybe --- so we waited and waited, and it did shift where we made it all but the last 100 yards. So keeping track of that type of stuff throughout the race allowed us to put the boat in the right spot.
Also the crew did what they needed to by mostly staying awake the entire time and on the rail. Heather nearly got hyperthermia by getting wet and not going inside.
Crew: Frank, Heather Papp, Tony Lawrence, Lynn Kotwicki, Nathan Caspers, Tom Schulte, Colleen Flanagan, Dave 'Baker' Keeler
Result: 1st in PHRF, 1st in PHRF Overall, 2nd in IRC - Winner of Mills Trophy, Commodore Harry Wood Trophy, and the Commodore Holton Navigator Trophy to Colleen Flanagan
Link: http://www.toledoyachtclub.com/millsrace/P
Course: From the starting line in an eastsoutheasterly direction to Niagara Reef lighted buoy (G “5” Fl G 4s) leaving it to starboard, then in a southeasterly direction to the flashing Red Buoy No. 2 (R “2” Fl R 4s) at the Sandusky Harbor (Moseley) Channel, leaving it to port, then in a northeasterly direction to the Mid-Channel buoy (RW “X” Mo (A)) approximately 1 mile south of Southeast Shoal Light, leaving it to port, then in a northwesterly direction to Pelee Passage Light (Fl 4s), leaving it to port, then in a west-southwesterly direction to the Bell Buoy (G “1” Fl G 4s) off the easterly tip of Middle Bass Island, leaving it to starboard, then to the finishing line leaving Ballast Island to port. Total length of course 75.15 nm
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