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Written by Ken
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Thursday, 20 May 2010 13:22 |
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Thanks to Jim Meyers for sending me this link:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0518/
I'm in the second photo down. And I'm not even falling out of the boat!
Ken |
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Written by Ken
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Sunday, 16 May 2010 22:16 |
For a change I didn't mess up too much on the last day! Peter S. Was out there on points so all I really tried to do was beat the other guys in my division. My conservative approach netted me a 2nd and 3rd place finish for race 9 and 10. The wind was the usual sea breeze but a bit stronger ( 12 to 15 kt). So I ended up 2nd overall in the Radial and top Master (age 45 to 54).
All in all I am very happy with my results. I was very nervous about the tides but it turned out to be not a huge factor. Sure...you had to be aware of it...but everyone seemed to be in similar "water" so the game didn't change too much over the whole race course. Generally the right paid but there was still some occasional magic to be found on the left.
Now the vacation starts. After Leigh and Joyce leave early Monday morning we can go back to sleep (probably not...). We have until Wednesday in our house in Charleston then we are off to Savanna for a couple days (another new venue for us...).
If I think of more I will post but for now...Ken out...
Thanks.
Regards,
Ken
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Day 1 and 2 are over...way better than I expected!!! |
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Written by Ken
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Saturday, 15 May 2010 22:05 |
We did the drive down with a stopover in Ashville, NC (near the
Biltmore...didn't see it...) Everything went really well. The traffic
was good. The mileage in the van was 16 to 17!! Only thing that was
not so good is the AC failed. It used to just need a quick recharge but
no-go this time. So driving while it is 85 out is no fun. It reminded
us of the old days of going to regattas in my 85 van (too cheap to get
AC...really nice stereo though!!).
Below are links to the results. So far we got 4 races in each day for 8
total. The schedule is for 10 so if the sea breeze does wait too long
Sunday we should be done by early afternoon.
The Venue: In the background we have this really cool huge suspension
bridge. Occasionally a container ship goes by. Ferry boats. And there
is the aircraft carrier "Yorktown" across the bay! We are staying in a
house not far from the club....very nice and very convenient.
Day 1 the first race was scheduled for noon and after a recall (2 kt ebb
tide pushing boats over) the Full rigs finally got under way. The wind
was about 190 and spotty. Velocity ranged from 6 to 12 with some
shifts. The sea breeze had to come over some land before it got to our
race course. This made for some interesting shifts. It was not "Pond
Sailing" but there was a bit of unpredictability in the top of the
course. For example after one bad start I went hard left at the end and
reached in with a big puff to pass about 10 boats! As the races
progressed the breeze filled in a bit more and the tide subsided. I'd
never sailed in tides this strong. It was kind of like sailing in the
Detroit River...a really big river! The tide was pretty consistent over
the race course so you did not have to try and sail to a shore or shoal.
My starts as usual were awful and I had to pin ball to get into clean
lanes. Luckily our fleet was smaller than the full rigs so we were more
spread out. My speed was good and considering the last time I really
race the Laser was the Worlds last September I felt ok...out of "sailing
shape" but ok... Race 3 I was striking distance to the winner (Glenn -
apprentice master). So I got into a tacking duel and put him on the
defense by looking for good shifts or bad waves. After a quick double
tack I got close enough where I had to duck him twice. Then I ran out
of race course out to one side. I spent a lot of energy but it was fun
to get into it again!
Day 2 we were supposed to start at 11. The sea breeze did not
materialize until noon. We had to get towed to anchored boats to keep
from drifting into the channel and out to sea. The sea breeze came in a
bit stronger than Friday (8 to 15?). Also the wave action was a lot
bigger due to the Saturday stinkboaters! This made the conditions very
similar to Lake St Clair (my stompin' grounds!). My starts got a bit
better. In one race I led for much of the race and got stupid on the
2nd beat and let about 6 boats go by! I was going fast and pretty
pissed at myself so I battled back to 2nd place. Wow! Then I finally
got lucky enough at the end of race 7 to get around Tom Labelle and Glen
Watkins at the end for a win! Woohoo! Time to pack up and go home!
Oh...not over yet... Then in race 8 I was battling for 2nd and got
strung out to one side with Glen. At the finish I blew a tack and got
beat by a couple noses to end up 5th! Doah! Oh...and there is this guy
name Peter...Great Grand Master...who is kicking all of our butts!
Besides humbling me it give me hope that growing old will be ok.
To be honest I am pretty ecstatic with my finishes and my overall
standings. Hopefully I can keep it together on Sunday.
Results : http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubs/carolina.html
Event website: www.carolinayachtclub.com
Regards,
Ken
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2010 Masters US Champs
