Ky takes on the big boys!
2003 Race Reports
Moonbeam caught between Hurricane and Typhoon!
June 29th was a landmark day on the New Meadows as sailboat racing was raised to a new level of technology! The British had their new Typhoon racer out and had left nothing to chance bringing the beautiful weather with them from the old country to confound the Yankee sailors who have been gripped in depressions since last year! The depression is still there but the weather has changed.
Six boats competed in the first race of the summer, although the scratch boats were waiting to see what happened before showing their noses out on the river.
There were some new boats around and some old boats in new hands. Denis and Sarah “Flower Power” McCarthy were out in the boat formerly known as Carpe Diem and after a slow start got down to business very well, improving by nearly 6 minutes on their second lap in trying and gusty conditions. They have a way to go to match up to Lorelei Kidger, who, rumour says, has bought a former championship winning boat in a no expense spared effort to wrest the laurels this year.
With Moose Schwabe kicking his heels in South America she could be the boat to beat this year.
Another championship winning boat has also changed hands, The Lightning, Pattie B 11 is now being fettled by Charlie “Salty Dog” Whitehead and is sure to make an impact if she can start on time!
The Typhoon’s of Black Hands Maslen and Geoff “Altered Images” Leighton (who found a lot of traffic on the river) got a shock from the new Typhoon sailed by the British crew representing The Queen. Pattie B 111 capitalized on some mistakes from the others and had a resounding handicap victory just 25 seconds behind Celia “The Hills are Alive” Whitehead, on the water, who was crewed with some athletic ability by Harris and Ky.
20 seconds in front of Moonbeam was not a Typhoon but a Hurricane that appeared 5 minutes after the race started and sailed through the fleet to just snatch the lead on the last leg. The mystery boat came from Birch Point and may well be back next week-end.
Wrecker Dupont was another absentee but his stand-in worked hard to make sure he was not missed.
Basic rules:- When two boats are on a collision course Starboard tack boat has right of way. You’re on starboard tack when your boom is on the left or Port side of your boat. Of two boats on the same tack, the leeward (downwind) boat has right of way. Windward boat has to tack away if they can’t keep clear. A boat needing to tack to avoid an obstruction has right of way over a starboard tack boat.
|
Boat |
Finish |
Elapsed |
Handicap |
Corrected |
Place |
Points |
|
Moonbeam |
3.19.15 |
.79.15 |
103 |
76.85 |
4 |
3 |
|
Carpe
Diem |
3.24.15 |
.84.15 |
102 |
82.5 |
6 |
1 |
|
Pattie
B |
3.19.40 |
.79.4 |
109.5 |
72.51 |
1 |
6 |
|
Polaris |
3.25.45 |
.85.45 |
112 |
76.29 |
2 |
5 |
|
Shearwater |
3.25.50 |
.85.50 |
112 |
76.33 |
3 |
4 |
|
Harpoon |
3.18.55 |
.78.55 |
96.1 |
81.73 |
5 |
2 |
Lightning & Typhoons becalmed by Flying Scotch Mist
July
6th saw the big boys (and girls) come out to play and they finished
at the head of the fleet as was their right. Lorelei Kidger found a way to
escape the bowsprit of wrecker “A Bridge too far” DuPont and that was to
leave him in her wake. While she was at it she left the rest of us there too in
a thrilling first time out victory in the Flying Scot that won the championship
as long ago as 1999. Three minutes
behind and just 5 seconds in front of another past winner, was Lady Ship,
sailed by Bob and Diane “Heavenly Ocean” Wilbur who just edged home in front of
Pattie B 11 now sailed by Charlie “Later” Whitehead and “Young” Carol. Just 3
minutes late starting, they had the fastest elapsed time in the race and with a
bit of tuning should be the boat to beat.
Behind these three another battle was taking place between Sage and the leading Typhoon in the hands of the British mercenaries. The little Typhoon took its life in its hands as they exchanged broadsides all down the first run, the larger boat finally giving way at the mark before retaking the advantage on the following close reach back from Rich Man’s House.
Behind these two, another DuPont, Jonathen was involved in a duel to the bitter end with the wily former champion Eric “To follow you I am content, once I know which way you went” Maslen with a small proportion of his family as crew.
Catspaw just took the honours by 20 seconds at the end of an epic struggle that ended when the wind left both boats becalmed on their final half lap.
Two more boats were left more seriously becalmed and unable to complete the race, Shelby “Whenever” Leighton making a brave attempt to complete the course and Shearwater unable to recover from a disastrous first beat up to Sheep Island buoy.
More drama was to come after the race when the race officer, Nick “Mucky Specs” Price gave the first three boats a 20 minute advantage that wasn’t rightly theirs. That this error, when corrected, should give handicap victory to the self same sailor was particularly unfortunate and brickbats will be accepted as delivered!
For
the second week running the British wind satellite was in operation with the
air being sucked right off the river as soon as the Pattie B finished. What can
the Yanks do?
|
6th
July |
Start |
lap |
finish |
elapsed |
handicap |
Corrected |
Place |
Points |
|
Flying
Scot |
2.01.05 |
2.41.25 |
3.23.05 |
83.05 |
91 |
91.26 |
4 |
6 |
|
Lady
Ship |
2.00.20 |
2.42.30 |
3.26.10 |
86.1 |
98 |
87.85 |
2 |
8 |
|
Pattie
B 11 |
2.03.20 |
2.43.00 |
3.26.15 |
86.15 |
87.7 |
98.23 |
5 |
5 |
|
Sage |
2.00.40 |
2.46.15 |
3.31.13 |
91.13 |
100 |
91.13 |
3 |
7 |
|
Pattie
B |
2.00.15 |
2.46.35 |
3.33.35 |
93.35 |
107 |
87.24 |
1 |
9 |
|
Catspaw |
2.01.05 |
2.49.50 |
3.59.05 |
119.05 |
112 |
106.29 |
6 |
4 |
|
Polaris |
2.00.05 |
2.49.35 |
4.00.15 |
120.15 |
112 |
107.28 |
7 |
3 |
|
Shearwater |
2.01.05 |
2.56.55 |
dnf |
* |
112 |
|
8 |
2 |
|
Whatever |
2.12.30 |
3.24.50 |
dnf |
* |
150 |
|
9 |
1 |
Rule 18.2 When boats are overlapped within two boat lengths of a mark the outside boat shall give the inside boat room to round or pass a mark or obstruction. This does not apply at the start or to boats on opposite tacks.
Melody hits sour note in Typhoon
July 13th was blowin some but 7 boats came out to play amid the white caps. There was spray and drama enough for all with a change of cast from last week. The Whitehead singers were back sailing Moonbeam with Celia in charge, Ky and Harris on the ropes. They finished a strong 3rd on the water and on handicap harrying Rink “After you” DuPont and Phil Goiran in Sage all the way to the line. Polaris with the usual suspects kept her nose clean, if wet, and were falling over themselves to finish 4th on the water 3 minutes ahead of another Typhoon with a change of crew, Deidre Whitehead and Linnie guesting in Shearwater. That 3 minutes was critical however and the difference was 1st for Polaris and 4th for Shearwater! The first 5 boats to finish were within 3 minutes 20 seconds of each other and but for a disorder at the start it is likely that all the boats would have finished within 5 minutes of each other on handicap. The start was good in some respects with 5 boats starting in the first minute. Melody, on starboard tack, was in collision with Pattie B just after the start, the two boats getting locked together by the stays and a dangerous situation resolved with a bit of luck and no little agility from James “Hands” Blachly who climbed the mast of Melody in very difficult conditions to relieve the crisis. Jim & Jacquie Price did well to continue sailing and complete the first lap. I recommend that all boats and particularly those over 20 feet, exercise extreme caution in any situation on the course where two boats are approaching each other on opposite tacks whether or not they have right of way. The rewards are not so great that risks need be taken. When the wind is blowing, visibility on many boats is impaired by the large genoas and those crews as well as those around them must take extra care. We have already had 3 collisions this year and a serious injury could be the unfortunate outcome if more care is not taken.
Back
on the course the Flying Scot of “Lorelei” Kidger with guest helm “Seadog “
Price and Beth “Thumbs “ Hobart struggled to the Sheep Island Buoy but took
control thereafter and extended their lead, leg by leg, to the finish. As the
others were left in their wake just one boat was able to compete and in fact
win on Handicap. Eric Maslen and his “motley” crew of Mary H and Barbara K
finally got their jib in to win by nearly 2 minutes on handicap while Moonbeam
failed to snatch second by just 4 seconds!
|
13th
July |
Start |
1st
lap |
finish |
order |
elapsed |
handicap |
Corrected |
Place |
Points |
Total |
|
Melody |
2.20.05 |
2.53.45 |
3.27.00 |
6 |
.87.00 |
91.00 |
95.60 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
|
Flying
Scot |
2.00.15 |
2.35.20 |
3.07.55 |
1 |
.67.55 |
91.00 |
74.23 |
2 |
6 |
12 |
|
Polaris |
2.00.00 |
2.41..00 |
3.21.10 |
4 |
.81.10 |
112.00 |
72.41 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
|
Moonbeam |
2.00.04 |
2.38.40 |
3.16.50 |
3 |
.76.50 |
103.00 |
74.27 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
|
Sage |
2.00.45 |
2.38.30 |
3.16.00 |
2 |
.76.00 |
100.00 |
76.00 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
|
Pattie
B |
2.01.00 |
3.04.05 |
dnf |
7 |
|
107.00 |
dnf |
7 |
1 |
16 |
|
Shearwater |
2.02.55 |
2.42.50 |
3.24.35 |
5 |
.84.35 |
112.00 |
75.31 |
4 |
4 |
14 |
Typhoons rip through New Meadows fleet!
July 20th saw Typhoons blowing through the New Meadows and little was left standing. On a day made for the little Cape Dory’s they took 1, 2 & 3 on handicap to extend their lead in the 2003 race series. All three have now sailed in the maximum of 4 races however and will have to drop points in the next races as other boats take full reward. Final race and prize giving will be August 24th. Handicaps have been cut.
On the water, there was a race long battle between Sacagewa and Pattie B 11 with places changing hands several times before the Lightning took the lead and line honours for the first time this year. There were duels all through the fleet with Lady Ship and Pattie B also swapping places several times before Lady Ship just overhauled the Typhoon in the last few hundred yards to take 3rd by 10 seconds! 5th and 6th was also hotly contested with the 2 Typhoons, Polaris and Shearwater, just over a minute apart at the end of one and a half hours of racing, Polaris taking 5th overall and 2nd on handicap from Shearwater in 3rd.
Deidre and Linnie again moved boats to crew for Harris in Sacagewa, well enough to ease out the Lightning of Charlie and young Carol by less than 2 minutes on handicap. Moose Schwabe was on the water but out of the results unlike one experienced sailor out in a new boat, Ky “Kamikaze” Whitehead in the Optimist who did well in the difficult conditions to take 4th place on handicap. Moonbeam, with Celia singing out orders, had Grace and David as crew and were also finding the conditions difficult in spite of David hanging on the boom in the best tradition of that little boat! Sad that such a fine young man could be replaced by a piece of rope!
Major drama was the start of the flying Kidgers who flew in the wrong direction when they left their mooring, only being saved by Debbie “Lean on Me” Hobart who threw herself between boat and rocks in a heroic and successful effort to save her sister. Lorelei is supposed to lure others to the rocks but I guess you have to experience it for yourself! Christopher and Allysa were powerless to rescue their mother but sailed well once launched to set the 3rd fastest elapsed time having started 12 minutes late. Probably seemed like hours!
In the Typhoons , Geoff Leighton was on his own, Eric Maslen had the usual suspects, Mary & Barbara on the ropes while Nick “Seadog” Price shared the tiller with Cuzin Jim.
Conditions were a bit blowy for Bob & Diane Wilbur in Lady Ship, unable to repeat their strong handicap showing of two weeks ago in spite of a good 3rd on the water.
Charlie
“Salty Dog” Whitehead (No relation to Seadog)
had Young Carol sitting out and looking good! Dock crew was Eleanor, Carla,
Gary and Wendy, thanks to them!
|
20th
July |
Start |
lap |
finish |
order |
elapsed |
handicap |
Corrected |
Place |
Points |
Total |
|
Moonbeam |
2.00.30 |
2.48.38 |
3.37.09 |
8 |
97.09 |
103 |
94.26 |
8 |
2 |
10 |
|
Whizzbopper |
2.01.33 |
3.16.30 |
|
9 |
153.00 |
185 |
82.7 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
|
Polaris |
2.00.00 |
2.45.49 |
3.31.15 |
5 |
91.15 |
112 |
81.38 |
2 |
8 |
23 |
|
Sacajewea |
2.00.40 |
2.39.11 |
3.16.13 |
2 |
76.13 |
91 |
83.65 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Lady
Ship |
2.00.12 |
2.42.35 |
3.24.30 |
3 |
84.30 |
98 |
86.02 |
7 |
3 |
11 |
|
Pattie
B |
2.00.26 |
2.44.00 |
3.24.40 |
4 |
84.40 |
107 |
78.87 |
1 |
9 |
25 |
|
PB11 |
2.01.13 |
2.39.06 |
3.15.21 |
1 |
75.21 |
88 |
85.46 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
|
Shearwater |
2.00.50 |
2.46.14 |
3.32.45 |
6 |
92.45 |
112 |
82.54 |
3 |
7 |
21 |
|
Flying
Scot |
2.12.29 |
2.56.51 |
3.34.43 |
7 |
94.43 |
91 |
103.77 |
9 |
1 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mehitabel ghosts back and takes the cream!
July 27th was too windy and the race was cancelled but August 3rd turned out a little too extreme in the opposite sense.
Light airs were blowing which was OK but they were blowing from every which way and getting round the course for a 1 lap race was no mean achievement
The race start was delayed as tributes were paid to Keith Prouty In the Wynburg Meadow and he would have laughed as we struggled to find wind around the course.
First over the start line was Pattie B and onlookers were amazed at the cut of her jib which was in the colours on the Union Jack. Woven from the finest pastry by English maidens this sail was dyed with the blood of aristocracy, white collar workers and the proletariat and will pull a boat along even when there is NO wind! A duel developed between Pattie B and Sacagewea just after the start and they stayed in close proximity around the Sheep Island buoy and back across the start line when the Indian called upon the spirits to give them wind and they disappeared across the river with the fleet closing up behind the luckless British. Polaris and the Flying Scot were neck and neck for the first 3 legs of the race initially followed by young Christopher Kidger, making his debut solo in Blueberry, his many years of experience being put to good use in his first race in the little boat as he snuck past into 3rd place just after rounding the HoJo mark. But for a rudder problem he was a likely looking winner at this stage of the race. Melody made light of the 10-minute delay on the second start and was soon up with the pack while Sage was always struggling in the windless conditions with their prop in the water. Moonbeam was the latest starter of all but recovered well to sail past a becalmed Flying Scot just before the finish. The two boats were barely 50 yards apart with Moonbeam moving at a good clip and the Flying Scot on a virtual rock!
Sacagewea did well to win on the water with a a loose leech and a tight foot but the star of the day was Mehitabel who, comfortably last when rounding the Hojo mark, completed the last leg to Rich Mans 3rd fastest overall, nearly 4 minutes faster than Melody, in real time! This lifted them to a well-deserved 1st place and 9 points, a stunning return for the now immaculate little boat. The British are now in a strong position but have a difficult handicap to overcome and will have to get more than 6 points to improve their position. With three races left they can still be caught by a determined assault if there are enough boats in the races! Thanks to the dock crew of Eleanor, Rollie and Gary who stuck it out when lesser mortals retired to their cabins! There was some pathetic whinging from crews complaining about the marks being lifted early but they were ignored in the best traditions of the Monarchy. Let them sail faster!
|
3rd August |
Start |
1st 1/2 |
lap |
elapsed |
handicap |
Corrected |
Place |
Points |
Total |
|
Pattie B |
3.01.00 |
3.36.55 |
4.29.55 |
89.55 |
98 |
91.38 |
2 |
8 |
32 |
|
Polaris |
3.10.20 |
3.43.30 |
4.55.25 |
115.25 |
111 |
103.83 |
4 |
6 |
26 |
|
Blueberry |
3.02.05 |
3.47.10 |
dnf |
|
|
|
8 |
2 |
2 |
|
Flying Scot |
3.05.05 |
3.43.40 |
5.08.27 |
128.27 |
96 |
133.61 |
7 |
3 |
16 |
|
Sacajewea |
3.01.40 |
3.35.05 |
4.24.30 |
84.3 |
91 |
92.64 |
3 |
7 |
12 |
|
Mehitabel |
3.02.10 |
4.00.05 |
5.02.30 |
122.3 |
140 |
87.36 |
1 |
9 |
9 |
|
Melody |
3.11.35 |
3.45.35 |
4.51.15 |
101.15 |
91 |
111.15 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
|
Sage |
3.14.30 |
dnf |
dnf |
|
|
|
9 |
1 |
11 |
|
Moonbeam |
3.15.00 |
4.07.15 |
5.04.34 |
124.34 |
112 |
111.02 |
5 |
5 |
18 |
| 17th August | Start | 1st 1/2 | lap | finish | order | elapsed | handicap | Corrected | Place | Points | Total |
| Pattie B | 2.00 | 2.27.41 | 2.42.12 | 3.28.47 | 4 | 88.47 | 99.0 | 89.36 | 7 | 4 | 32 |
| Mehitabel | 2.03.23 | 2.45.50 | 3.08.12 | 4.10.00 | 10 | 130.00 | 145.0 | 89.66 | 8 | 3 | 12 |
| Polaris | 2.00.21 | 2.30.15 | 2.46.02 | 3.32.32 | 5 | 92.32 | 110.0 | 83.93 | 1 | 10 | 31 |
| Moonbeam | 2.00.28 | 2.31.38 | 2.46.17 | 3.34.58 | 7 | 94.58 | 112.0 | 84.45 | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| Humble Pie | 2.01.00 | 2.24.14 | 2.35.54 | 3.16.09 | 2 | 76.09 | 88.0 | 86.47 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Melody | 2.10.29 | 2.33.21 | 2.46.45 | 3.26.33 | 3 | 76.33 | 90.5 | 84.34 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| PB11 | 2.00.39 | 2.23.03 | 2.35.20 | 3.15.50 | 1 | 75.50 | 88.0 | 85.80 | 4 | 7 | 16 |
| Harmony | 2.00.31 | 2.33.18 | 2.47.31 | 3.34.00 | 6 | 94.00 | 104.0 | 90.38 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| Sage | 2.10.20 | 2.38.00 | 2.54.14 | 3.39.07 | 8 | 89.07 | 100.0 | 89.07 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| Lady Ship | 2.10.04 | 2.40.07 | 2.53.58 | 3.42.23 | 9 | 92.23 | 101.0 | 91.32 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
24th August cancelled