Racing for Classic and Vintage Moth Boats resumed Sunday morning at 10 am. Recall that Saturday had offered up robust NW winds of ~15 knots with gusts higher. Sunday started off with a glassy calm on the Pasquotank River. A good regatta has something, condition-wise, for everyone and this was a good regatta! Photo Credits: Amy Smith Linton.
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| Milling around before the start of the first of three Sunday morning races. Not much air to work with. |
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| Having said that, it didn't take Mr. Linton very long to figure things out. This is probably why the guy is a defending champion... |
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| Eventually Mike Parsons was able to claw his way forward to Jeff. |
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| Ever notice how race committees seem to have this knack of being able to figure out where the deadest air on the race course is likely to be and then locate the marks in those zones? Do they teach that skill at RC school? |
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| The bulk of the fleet bunched up in time for this mark rounding. Your diarist is providing an excellent example of how lose a half dozen places at the mark by getting pinwheeled off. I'm second boat from the extreme right side of the photo next to Susan B. |
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| The breeze did fill in an on/off-ish way. More off than on. This group is milling about waiting for the count down of, I think, the second race. |
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| As regatta leader (lowest number of points carried over from Saturday), Jeff wore the "yellow jersey". Unlike the Tour de France's similar shirt, ours has a bull's eye on the back! |
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| Still in relaxed mode waiting for the pin end of the start line to be adjusted. |
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| Three Euros. Ed Salva (Nr 10), Walt Collins (Nr 2418) and your diarist (Nr 69). |
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| After three sloooow races, we came ashore and started the down rigging/packing-up-for-the-road drill. Here Nancy Swan and Walt Collins get Feather ready for the trailer. |
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| Randall Swan does likewise with Moth Balls his Etchells-Connecticut Moth. |
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| After Greg rooted around in his pick-up and found his Walmart reading glasses he and John Pugh started the task of tallying the scores for the three separate divisions. |
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| Greg attempts to read his own handwriting as the troops assemble for awards. |
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| Dan Malott was 3rd in the Vintage division. |
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| Bill Boyle sailed his Abbott to 2nd place in Vintage. |
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| Randall Swan was 1st in the Vintage division. |
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| Somehow, in spite of a lot of sloppy sailing, your old diarist salvaged 3rd in Generation I. |
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| Gary Gowans took 2nd in Gen I. |
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| Walt Collins, who always sails at the top of his game took both 1st place in Generation I but also won the Master's trophy for the best overall score for skippers above the age of 65. |
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| Zach Balluzzo won the Junior award. We hope to see him back next year. |
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| Nancy Swan took home the women's award. |
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| Joe Bousquet was 3rd in Generation II. |
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| Mike Parsons was second in Gen II just a single point behind Jeff. |
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| Drum roll, please--Jeff Linton repeated as CMBA National Champion. |
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| But wait, there's more: Randall took home the Founder's trophy for being the oldest competitor. No, you'll have to guess his age. |
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| Finally, although she didn't want it, Nancy got the infamous "Turtle Trophy" for her spectacular capsize on Saturday. My son won this a few years ago and is fond of saying "there's a lot of good names on that trophy". And so, gentle reader, that wraps up this year's edition of the Classic Moth Boat Association's annual National Championship. Our next regatta, as we head into fall, will be at Chestertown, Maryland on the 29th of September. I can't wait! |
Say hello to Sultana for me!
ReplyDeleteWill do. They usually having "down-rigging" weekend for Sultana at some point in October. I'll have to figure out when that is.
Delete10/26-28. I've never been, believe it or not.
DeletePutting the racing marks in the dead zones is taught in all the best Race Committee classes. The advantage of doing this is that it makes the leaders slow down and wait there for 10 minutes or so to let the rest of the fleet catch up to them, thereby creating more competitive races and more fun for all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming my suspicions. At Chestertown not only does the RC plant marks in dead zones but they double their pleasure by somehow coordinating those dead air zones with areas which also feature the strongest river current. That way you either can't make the mark (which seems oh so tantalizingly close as you watch your fellow competitors pull away via a private puff of wind which never extends to you), or you can't avoid being sucked into it (and of course after hitting the mark you've got a turn to do but no hope of any way of doing it). I can hear them cackling evilly over G&Ts at the club bar...
DeleteI set those marks perfectly, then while getting underway the wind shifted, then shifted again, The Pasquotank river was living up to her reputation as a challaging place to sail well. But yes as I took classes from John McCarthy, We did learn how to use the wind to set marks. I have passes these skills on.
ReplyDeleteDear Vintage mothist: I'm relieved to hear that the double wind shift did not compromise your ability to set the buoys in those dead air zones! Full "marks", Sir!
DeletePS: It really was a great regatta, dead mark zones and all!