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)

Key West - Day 5

This day we just wanted to start on the left side of the line and go up the left side of the course. We started on port and when we came to the first boat we tacked to starboard. Loose Fish was to our left but had trouble getting over the pin. We went up with a full head of steam and managed to roll them. To keep in pressure we stayed on the left side of the course and managed to round 4th. We were a little slow putting up the spinnaker but still got to the low mark in 3rd rounding the right gate. Although the start was in 12 knots the wind started to decrease to about 9 pulling us back with the other boats.The rest of the race we kept on the left side of the course but kept loose fish at bay.

Result 7th place
Link: http://premiere-racing.com/07_KW_Results/kw07_div2_series.htm#PHRF-2

Key West - Day 4

Again 8 knots of air so so it was not J120 weather. I talked to Doug Schiebner on the phone about the rig tune because we were dead slow upwind yesterday. We took some major turns off of the shrouds and depowered the backstay with full on running backstay. This seemed to be pretty good. We still had problems upwind because I think we crossed too many time and got disturbed air from the classes in front of us. We had some other problems with putting the spinnaker up. I think we tacked too early at the upwind mark and got swallowed. In any case it was not a fun da

Key West - Day 2

Key West - Day 2
I dont know what they ate but 3 of the crew got food poisoning. Baker actually fainted in the bathroom last night and Don was so sick he was not able to go out with us this morning.

Another light air day. We got a decent start on the left side of the line. We managed to reach the upper mark in 5th and had a successful rounding. On the first downwind leg in light conditions the wind filled in from the left and of course we were on the right. We managed to get a few places back but it was ugly. We also finished with Perrigrine. We entered the two boat circle clear ahead and they screamed that they needed room at the mark. (see picture below) To avoid hitting them I gave them enough room to cross so we ended up tying. I took it to the protest room but got ruled against in arbitration. I decided it was better to not take it to the room because I would of had to find the witnesses who by this time had scattered.

I race 2 we just could not just get on the right side.

Result: race 1 8th
race 2: 11th

Link: http://www.premiere-racing.com/07_KW_Results/kw07_div2_series.htm#PHRF-2

Key West - Day 1

Today it was at most at 9 to 11 knots wind speed. In the first race we got in the second row on the right side of the starting line. We thought Loose Fish in front of us was over early but it was enough for them to gas us. So the first part of the first leg was getting clean air. With the terrible start we managed to rope in boats ahead of us 1 at a time by good boat speed, tactics and handling. We had some good mark roundings especially in the leeward gates. We managed to polish off Cash Flow on the final leg and tied with El Ocaso. Unfortunately with his aluminum spar we give him 3 seconds a mile.

In the second race we got right up to start with a good carved hole. We got crushed a little when a Ben 40.7 was over early to our right. But he eventually bailed and we obtained free air and again started out move up the fleet. We first nosed out El Ocaso at the upwind mark and then polished off Perrigrine on the downwind mark. By the bottom of the 2nd downwind leg we got ahead of Emocean. On the last upwind leg I think that we sailed the boat a little too full and Emocean managed to pass us again to finish ahead. Bounder had a great second race by placing 1st. It was their type of conditions for the Sydneys, Ben 40.7 and the Hadley. I did like our boat speed most of the time in both races so I am still optimistic.

1st race: 6th
2nd race: 5th


http://www.premiere-racing.com/07_KW_Results/kw07_div2_series.htm#PHRF-2

Key West 2007

We have a first. Ted managed to land in jail before his feet even touched the ground. He drove down from Miami when one of the locals followed him into the parking lot where he was staying:

Arrest Date: 01/13/2007 Time: 01:58 CAD #: Offense #: KWPD07OFF000228
Name: NEESLEY, THEODORE ALDEN DoB:11/10/1980 Age:26 Sex:M Race:W
Address:
219 MCMILLAN ROAD, GROSSE PT FARMS, MI 48236
Occupation:
SAIL DESIGNER
Arrest Location: 300 GRINNELL STREET, KEY WEST
Charges:
1 Misdemeanor Count(s) of 322.03.1

Key West Feeder Race sailed by crew of Night Moves

This was posted by Eric Peterson-- crew of Night Moves

Umm, some highlights:

Big swells as soon as we left the safety of the Ft. L harbor, ok no big deal.

Decent wind out of the NE meaning set up for a fast reach with?

Rig the .6, hmm wind building and getting nosier for the start.

Ok, rig the .75 and have it ready, the three and main are up and wer'e moving quite nicely in the prestart.

Hmm, wind is building how about derigging the .75 and change to the 1.5 with 30 seconds to go.

Oh, look one of the tri-mirans has capsized, did I mention big swells and building breeze.

Forget about them, our start is going off, hoist the kite!

Kite up and drawing, douse the #3, ummm, you know what leave it up, it's a nice stable staysail and man we're going fast.

Can't shake free from the other sprit boats, two 109's and a Farr 395.

Hello Miami, good bye Miami.

Goodbye to the other sprit boats as well, they are losing their kites left and right and ours is flying well with the #3.

Wind and waves are growing as it's getting darker, wind is squaring up as we bend around the Keys.

Henry, Jeff and myself are driving and rotating with ever increasing speed. Trimmers and grinders are doing likewise.

Take the #3 down, it's too far aft.

The wind lightens for a while, 5 minute rule becomes a series of about 15 ten minute rules on changing to the .75 AP. Everytime we get close it fills in again.

Ok, let's finally change it. We don't have a regular bowperson and we don't like the looks of the other spin halyard so we'll go bare. No big deal, we're going to do 8 knots with main only for the minute it takes anyway.

.75 is up and drawing nicely, we need to do some jibes to stay out of the Stream.

Override develops after one gybe, we're working on it and puff hits, boat rounds up, no ease and no more .75.

Retrieve .75, now that was a bit of work and , put the 1.5 back up, ok all is good again.

The wind builds, it's pretty steady in the mid 20's with gusts to 30. Huge waves, HUGE, it's been blowing out of the E / NE for a week prior to the race and blowing pretty good day and night. We could tell we were in the stream as the waves got even bigger. For some reason the temp guage on the B&G's never really changes much. I wouldn't trust it for telling you where the Stream is in retrospect.

Regularly doing 15's and 16's with the occassional 17's.

I think it was about 3AM while I was driving and we hit 18.7

About a half hour later when Jeff Pearson was driving we hit the race high of 19.5.

Luiz said they hit 26 knots on the TP52!

More gybes, more rotation of crew. Drivers are so tired we're seeing things. Oh, maybe not, those are Dolphins.

The bow gets buried up to the bow hatch about 5 times, the last time a fish was flapping on the deck just in front of the cockpit.

BOOM, the halyard (the heavier one) blows and the kite comes down and fills with water. Shrimp city! Nine crew and I mean NINE as hard as they can pull crew are retrieving the 1.5. Put er down below and pack her again and put her back up on the lighter primary halyard.

Gybe some more, surf some more. Hey, do another body count make sure we still have 10.

We blow one gybe and wrap the kite around the headstay. It was a nice tight wrap, the kind where you're thinking we're going to finish that way or have to cut the kite down. With three 240 pounders on the bow (Me, Jeff and Charlie Elmer) we get it out.

More gybes, more surfing, more fun.

BOOM, the tack blows out of the 1.5!

Whatever is left of Charlie, Jeff, Me and the rest of the crew we managed to get it behind the main (with some effort as it was pretty well filled behind the boat flying on sheet and halyard as we're still surfing down LARGE swells with main alone doing 10's and 11's and then get it down.

Hmmm, now what? Code? .6? umm, I'm recommending the #3, ok, get it on deck.

Try wing and wing, waves too big, course too unsteady to hold it. Ok, sail slow gybe angles with jib and main for the next three hours and get to the sea bouy to make the turn and fetch the finish. Having the #3 up was actually a welcome relief for Henry, Jeff and I in terms of driving. The three of us were pretty well spent. Driving most of the night was like holding an angry tiger by the tail and for most of the night there was nothing to steer by, no moon, no stars, no stern lights. In those waves, with that kind of pressure it became a real challenge to steer by the compass, electronic or otherwise and the three of us were spent.

We cross the line at 8:50 AM. Fitth place - we beat the other sprit boats (109's and Farr), the Symmetrical kite boats all beat us. From Miami on it was deep and since we didn't have a full 1.5 to run with and it was a bit much to short gybe the reefs in those conditions at night we and the other A-sail boats likely spend far too much time bucking the stream. Proof of this is in our average speed. 160 miles in 20 hours = 8 knots over the ground. Other then the last three to four hours with the 3 we NEVER saw less then 9 knots and I'd say we were AVERAGING 12.



Oh well, we got the boat there and didn't break anything major that can't be fixed in time for the week. Get a well, rinse sails, rinse boat, rinse bow, dry out, swap B sails for A sails, eat, replace halyard clean up call Karl and Frank. As the .75 was in the KW race week picture, Henry had Frank call the loft and pick up the NM .75 before her left. Ahh, all is done, begin 72 hour drunk before returning home Sunday.

Did I mention Hip Kitty? Ah, a story for the future.........

Respectfully submitted to our friends and dock mates on the crew of Carinthia.

More to follow,

Sailfish Club - Munroe Race Ft Lauderdale to Palm Beach

The forecast had been for the wind to start at east northeast going to southeast in the afternoon. It was a partly cloudy day in the low eighties with a heavy chop. This race was set to have the first start at 10 am with Carinthia to be th the e second start. We got our main up at 9:30 when we heard on the radio that committee boat was having problems with their anchor and there was going to be a delay. For some reason they started on time anyway and we did not hear that. The first group got off and we put up our headsail and nearly had a perfect start at the windward pin side. To our leeward side was Act One, a Swan 45. We managed to pace with her which we were encouraged about since she rates a PHRF -12 to our Florida 42(ouch). We sailed with our heavy #1 early to get away from shore to get the gulf stream. At the appropriate time we put up the 1.5 oz chute and actually started to pull up to the Swan. When the wind went further back we put op the .75 oz. It took a little longer than appropriate where Lynn Kotwicki blasted at Erik Ryan “why is it taking so damn long.” Erik replied, “ it is because I have not done bow in f******g ten years ” With the .75 we pulled up again on the Swan 45. As the wind went back further we changed to the .6 oz chute. With the wind now at 135 degrees apparent the other Swan 45, Barbara Ann, also pulled ahead. But with the finish after 40 miles, they were only 4 ½ minutes ahead. As we docked we heard the other boats on the radio calling in we knew we won PHRF class B. We only placed 6th overall but it was fantastic race. It was wonderful reception with the waitress bringing our rum drinks out to the boat and of course the seafood buffet was again one of the best in Florida. Of course my brother Bob Judge ate too much and spent half of the night going to the bathroom but he said it was worth it.

Result: 1st in class B and 6th overall
Link: http://www.sailfishclub.com , http://www.sailfishclub.com/Final2006Sco

re.pdf

Crew: Lynn Kotwicki, Nathan Caspers, Ted Neesley, Colleen Flanagan, Bob Judge, Charles Bayer, Bob Declercq, Ken Morrison, Erik Ryan, Karl Kuspa


Go ahead--- make my day!

Windsor Wednesday Race - You got fins to the left, fins to the right

This race was only one leg out and back to finish. Thunderstorms to the north and thunderstorms to the south. 5 minutes before the gun we were reading 60 degrees apparent on port but at the gun we were getting 40 degrees at 8 knots, too little for a code 0.  This seemed to be the day Jayhawker would seem to follow me around the start. I could not just shake them and therefore could not get up to the pin end of the line. Night Moves was to the far left and then Merlin. We started up even with them and managed to scoot up enough to round with NM to the outside and Merlin behind after they got gassed by Night Moves. Jayhawker just did not start with her nose out enough in order get traction on us to the right. Hot Ticket had managed to get ahead of us at mark A by reaching up from below. They rounded in 15 knots of air and immediately shrimped the spinnaker, stopping the boat. I dove inside just missing them and NM got to the windward side of us. Fortunately the spinnaker raise was nearly perfect so we managed to get our nose in front of them. At that point it was a drag race with our .75 to the river. I boats to the left and boats to the right and we were the only bait in town to paraphrase Jimmy Buffett. We managed to hold of NM through the river nearly going aground. When they went up on us we went with them so they would not roll us but stayed on the left side this time. With nearly perfect trimming by the crew we finished 35 seconds ahead. The lesson I learned last week was that the wind lasts a little longer on that side and it turned out to be the right move.

Result: 1st out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC 2006 Fall Race 5.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.

Detroit Yacht Club Sweepstakes Regatta - Yes it is St. Stupid

This was to be a 2 race windward leeward series. The first race was set in about 6 knots of air with the committee boat favored. I knew that there would be a crowd at that end so I decided to come in on port and find a slot and tack in the starboard boats. Unfortunately Ihnsanity snuck in on my port side with a little more speed. It was obvious we had to bailed and tacked. Because I believed that the wind would continue to shift right I continued to work us to the right side of the course when possible. I was very successful at that so the wind filled in and shifted to the left and left us in 5th place at the top mark. We did a near perfect race to the finish but we could just no catch up enough. Night Moves and Merlin had bad last downwind leg and we nearly caught them but still finished a boat and a half behind. We were supposed sail a second race but it was canceled due to the black storm clouds forming to the north and west. So we never had a chance to redeem ourselves in spite a near perfect crew performance. Just another typical day on Lake St. Stupid.



Result: 5th out of 5 J120s
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/dycsweep.htm

Windsor Wednesday Race - Who me barge?

This race was only one leg out and back to finish. 5 minutes before the gun we were reading 60 degrees apparent on port but at the gun we were getting 50 degrees. I did a dipsy doodle on starboard and then turned port at 30 seconds before the start. Unfortunately Night Moves was to our left and came down fast. I though I could catch them barging but when I started making that point they retorted that if I could hit them then they were barging. As much as I tried they were just too far out in front. We followed them at the gun and put up the code 0. Farther down the leg as we got headed we went back to the genoa. After rounding A we put up the .6 oz and tried to roll NM. We barely made the mark and at DP7 I had to give room to 2 J105s on port. It was certainly a protestable offense for them but being a beer can race I did not throw the flag. In any case they messed up the jibe and we passed them anyway. Because I was still trying to over take NM I stayed too far right and we eventually hit a hole that Hot Ticket did not get. They beat us by 4 seconds. ONe lesson learned that if you look at the chart you can see that the wind will last longer on the left side of the river.

Result: 3rd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Fall%20Race%204.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.

Windsor Wednesday Race - That was a lot of wind!

This was another goofy race. The wind was consistently blowing out of 30 degrees at 20 to 21 knots. The committee boat was anchor challenged. They delayed a series of starts because they drifted downstream. I think they gave up because by the J120 start they had drifted nearly 3/4 a mile near DP7 (entrance to the Windsor Channel). Since the 3/4 mile line was parallel to the wind I chose to simply aim for the pin from a little up wind. Fortunately Merlin left me a big space to sneak in on starboard. Since eventually Merlin was going to wax us underneath I decided to go port for the long part of the leg. We just came in right of the mark but that was ok since Merlin would have to go behind us before tacking. The next leg to D was just a close reach so we held our lead there. Going down to DP8 Hot Ticket got their 1.5 spinnaker up before we did and got a little lead. Merling start catching us with their 3/4 when they had a catastrophic spinnaker failure.
We rounded DP8 behind HT and went to the #3 genoa again. No changes there. It was when we passed D that I decided to go to the 3/4 since it was run. We were not hurt until we hit DP7 when the fact that the port sheet was led over the lifeline. Because we were not able to get in our spinnaker we lost distance to Merlin who then passed us. It still was a close race considering we were only 11 seconds behind Hot Ticket. In any case it was a lot of wind and I think we were all exhausted by the end.

Result: 3rd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Fall%20Race%203.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.

Crescent Sail Yacht Club Regatta - 2nd tier start, 2nd tier finish

This was a starboard 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 right side of the line. Unfortunately I turned a little too late to get up on the line although there was space 50 yards wide that I could of sneaked through. Merlin stood right on the line and went right when the gun went off so he got a great start with Night Moves following close behind. We only had 5 people for this race so we took our time putting out the code 0. I waited for Merlin and NM to put theirs up since we were in the lane above them. Jayhawker had problems with their spinnaker and the guest appearance of Ihnsanity started low and then took Hot Ticket up and then passed her with her 1.5 oz. chute. As we approached the first mark the wind started going behind us. Ihnsanity almost caught us but had to round behind us. The next leg was a weather leg with the favored being starboard. We simply went to weather of Ihnsanity. At this point 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. Jayhawker must of had 8 people on the rail. The following leg was another weather leg and we still rounded 3rd. The next leg was a downwind leg where we had Jayhawker trailing us about 5 boat lengths back. We went a little higher than I wanted but Jayhawker eventually gave up and jybed. Before the last leg we put up our .75 under our genoa because the wind was going to be much closer. It was the right move since we had no rail weight. Again we finished 3rd. We did race consistently with a shortage of people so I guess 3rd is not so bad as kissing my sister.

Result: 3rd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/csyc.htm
Course: Start, D, C, B, A, Finish

Windsor Wednesday Race - Spinnakers, Schlimakers

This start was a fetch to starboard with the committee boat being favored. After watching many of the starts I knew it was going to be a fight to get a good start at that end because everyone would want the pole position. Instead I decided to come in on port and tack to starboard when I met the first boat. That seemed to work as we hit the line right when the gun went off. We had Jayhawker on our right hip and it was a struggle to get enough of lane and distance gain to shake them off. With this we rounded the mark first and went to a .6oz. chute about 2 boat lengeths ahead of Hot Ticket. We managed to lose enough on this leg where Hot Ticket passed us and then messed up the jybe by not releasing the lazy guy. However we still rounded in 2nd place and jybed. This is where I made my first tactical mistake. I should of done a mexican takedown and then we could of put up any chute we wanted. Instead we went slow with the .6 oz and then had to take replace it with a genoa as we got headed. Night Moves had put up their headsail up early and were higher than us when he put up his code 0. The rest of the way down we put up our code 0 trailing NM and HT to the mouth of the river. As we got in the mouth the J105 Windshadow took HT up and I took the opportunity to go low as I saw there was more wind ripples in the middle of the river. We managed to stretch out a 100 yard lead to HT to finish second. Thank you Al Fick!

Result: 2nd out of 6 J120s
Link: http://www.windsoryachtclub.com/regatta2006/WYC%202006%20Fall%20Race%202.pdf

COURSE 1 - 6.0 nautical miles
Start to A (110o) leaving it to port
-then to B (007o) leaving it to port
-then to DP7 (247o) leaving it to starboard
-then to finish leaving DP5 to starboard.

Grosse Pointe Yacht Club - At least the party was good

This was a windward leeward race only 6 knots of wind with only 3 J120s participating. My desire for this start was to go to the pin side on starboard and then tack to port. What I found was Ticket got on my left side and I had to get to the left of them for the gun. Unfortunately this was not the side I wanted to start on. I had to wait for HT to tack and we were already behind because we got into pressure later. Merlin started at the boat end so they were closer to shore and more pressure almost immediately. In any case we were a long 3rd getting the first mark and the rest of the race was like that. We finished a long way out.

The second race was almost the same conditions. I thought the pin side was favored and we managed to sneak in the left to Merlin. HT came barreling down the line on starboard and we had to tack to avoid fouling them. This put Merlin in a hole behind both of us and tacked away a slow third. Some how we got to the top mark in third again (not calling the shifts correctly). We seem fast on the downwind legs and on the last downwind leg I gybe to port to get to the left of the other 2 j120s and more pressure by the Canadian shore. We came in on starboard to the finish line just behind Ticket and ahead of Merlin. Merlin got caught in with some Na40s and got in traffic. Needless to say at least we pulled a 2nd out of our rear ends.

As you can see we celebrated Rodney's 60th birthday at the club. He is the one with the hat. We had a little too much to drink and took out the U20s out for a spin. Not a good idea. It took a life time to get them back when the wind dyed. Thanks Sandy for the encouragement.

Result: First race - 3rd out of 3 J120s Second race - 2nd out of 3 J120s
Total for day - 3rd Merlin won the tie breaker
Link: http://www.drya.org/race2006/Results/gpyc.htm

Chicago Mackinaw - Has anybody seen the wind?

This start was with the wind out of the northeast at about 5 knots with a heavy chop. We went down the line on port ducking other boats (there were close to 20 boats in our time slot) to start in the second row on starboard. When the last boat passed we tacked to port barely missing the anchor line of the committee boat on the right side. Bob had me stay on port and sailed the boat a little low to push through the slop. 2 hours later when I handed over the wheel we were ahead of everyone including Night Moves who started just to our right. Apparently the wind had died on the left side of the course letting us get the lead. Even though the NOAA report said there would be wind all over the lake Bob and I agreed to go right when possible and moving up the ladder. The weather reports we saw and the grib files showed more pressure towards Michigan but because there was not a temperature gradient, going in close would not be helpful.

In the morning the only boats we saw in our class was Hot Ticket and Night Moves with NM trailing behind. The entire day was spent trying to beat Hot Ticket. It was found that there was always a little more pressure closer to shore (1/2 to 1 mile out) We made the mistake of staying a little farther out because of the fear of the air dying closer in when the thermals stopped. As the sun went down we gybed from starboard to port and cut a little distance on Hot Ticket by being on the inside. As darkness came the wind picked up to 15 to 20 knots so we essentially rode it straight past Point Betsy and the 45th parallel to 3 minutes behind Hot Ticket. The radio announcement confirmed that we were in a solid 2nd place with a possibility of 1st. The wind continued to increase and as we got to 20 knots I could no longer sleep in the bunk because I was worried about our .6 oz. spinnaker. As we passed 27 knots I made the decision to take it down and go to the 1.5 oz. I could see HT ahead of us going right and probably broaching. I thought that port gybe was closer to the course. At this point I thought that the 1.5 oz was the correct chute. I commented to Dave Coffey that I had used it up to 30 knots at Key West so we should be alright. Early in the morning just as dawn came we got hit with a squall. Ultimately the wind went up to 36 knots and we blew out the chute. After 15 minutes of getting it back in the boat we partially unrolled the head sail and went wing and wing. When the wind speed finally dropped to 22 knots I made the decision to go to the .75 oz chute. Roughly 20 minutes later we saw the distinctive red dot Hot Ticket spinnaker go up about directly a mile behind us. At his point we knew we had a good chance to win this race. After we went through the Graves Reef passage we went to a head sail. Behind us Hot Ticket started going high on the course so I knew that they were planning to launch a chute. Because we went into the conservative cover mode we were set up to raise our spinnaker at a moments notice. When the wind backed we put up the code 0 and eventually to the 3/4 and then the .6 runner to finish a minute ahead of Hot Ticket.

What lessons did we learn from this race? We learned to come up with an intelligent strategy and to not sway from it even though we saw other boats do different things. Sometimes it takes discipline to stick to a plan. We also made sure we were always on the favored board to get up the ladder faster. Secondly you have to push the boat hard if you want to win. The crew was down below in the lighter air but when it came time to push hard in heavy air they were all up making sail changes and in the back of the boat to keep it going fast. It was a tough but rewarding race considering we went from 3 knots upwind to 35 downwind with all the sail changes. Hot Ticket was competitive to the end. Their sportsmanship was also 1st rate. They bought me all my drinks in the Pink Pony.

One final note - This is the first Mackinaw Race I have won since I was 15 years old where I was the junior crewman on a 1936 45 foot wooden New York 32. It is the first race I have won on my own boat so this one was very special for me. My father when he was alive sent me off on every Mackinaw race in Port Huron. I just know he is pleased.

Crew: Colleen Flanagan, Dave Coffey, Rod Weston, Mike Badendieck, Nathan Caspers, Dan Lorenz, Nancy Caldwell, Bob Declercq, Dave "Baker" Keeler

Result: 1st out of 11 J120's, 2nd Hot Ticket, 3rd Night Moves

Link:http://chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/ , tp://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/results.cfm?Class=J120 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/fkern

For a great story about Bounder's near win: http://www.sailinganarchy.com/fringe/2006/4%20seconds.htm

Kirkman kids showing their pleasure in placing 2nd.

Bayview Mackinaw Race - Who's on First?

This race started with moderate wind out of the northeast. Although it made sense to go on the port end of line because of getting the freshest breeze the boats previously had started at he starboard end seemed to have better starts. Unfortunately in previous classes the starboard end was not crowded most of the J120's had the same idea. After starting the race with the 1.5 oz. spinnaker, about 45 minutes up the course we got hit with a abrupt header causing us to dump the spinnaker and go to a head sail. In this entire melee Merlin,who started on the left side of the line, managed to get about a half mile lead on us. We managed to follow them into night time. We could only recognize them by their bright masthead light with no stern light. As we got close to the Southhampton turning mark dawn approached. Hot Ticket andIrristable popped out from the right side and Merlin stayed on the left. In any case the Canadians rounded 1st 10 minutes ahead, with Merlin and Hot Ticket 3 to 4 minutes ahead.

After rounding the wind was a close reach and eventually went to a fetch. During this time we did manage to pull ahead of the 3 other J120's with them being slightly north. This is the point I probably threw away the lead. When the wind went to a 15 to 20 knot reach I should of consolidated our lead ahead of Merlin and Ticket (we were already a mile directly ahead of Irristable). Instead I say a replay of last year where Capers was pulling up south of us and thought they would pass us. Unfortunately the smart money was on Merlin and Ticket. We did meet up with Ticket later in the day in practically no wind were we did a little circle dance (30 feet apart) with us and they managed to get the air faster and left us in front. As hard as we tried we could not catch up to Merlin and Ticket to the finish.

Result: 3rd out of 9 J120's, Merlin 1st, Hot Ticket 2nd
Link: http://www.byc.com/mack06 , http://www.byc.com/mack06/results-south.cfm?Class=J120
Crew: Colleen Flanagan, Henrik Hedegaard, Rod Weston, Mike Badendieck, Nathan Caspers, Brian Hawkins, Nancy Caldwell, Brian Ginnebaugh, Dave "Baker" Keeler