Alligator Run Regatta 2023 Waccamaw SC * April 14-16 |
Seven
Wayfarer skippers and their crews made the trip down east to Lake
Waccamaw about 30 miles north of Myrtle Beach for the third annual
Alligator Run Regatta April 14 through 16. On Friday night, the Waccamaw
Sailing Club hosted a delicious barbecue and taco welcome dinner for
the sailors and volunteers.
Early
Saturday morning the wind was light with a forecast of more to come
later. A group of Wayfarer sailors went out to breakfast before the
competitors’ meeting. Around noon, the Wayfarers joined the F18s,
Tanzers, Holder 20s and various other multihulls and monohulls on the
lake in typical lake wind: shifty and gusty, but with plenty of wind all
over the lake.
The Wayfarers paid tribute to the late Jim Cook by luffing the line before the first race. Jim Cook, an amazing Wayfarer sailor and awesome human being, died in a tragic accident while rowing on Lake Wylie March 28. After setting the starting line, the signal boat raised the Wayfarer flag and sounded the horn eight times while the Wayfarers luffed their sails near the start line. After
completing one race, we waited for a capsized Tanzer to be towed. By the
second race, the skippers and crews had their sea legs back after a
late winter and early spring of very little sailing due to poor weather.
The second and third races were hard fought, both up-wind and down,
with many place changes and close finishes.
We were
treated to fantastic fried chicken and fixins for dinner. While several
Wayfarer sailors asked a retired pharmacist for naproxen, others were
spry and nimble.
Sunday
morning brought quiet air. The race committee was skeptical that races
would be held. But around 11AM, the wind filled in and we were off the
dock, ready for more racing. The Wayfarers battled it out in 10-15 knot
winds, similar to Saturday's, with several calls of “starboard” but no
collisions. After numerous place changes during the races and very close
finishes, the final standings revealed AnnMarie Covington and Gareth
Ferguson as the solid winners ahead of Ali Kishbaugh and Johnh MacAdam.
How did they do it? - Some of the key strategies Gareth and I used for upwind sailing during the two days of racing were: loosening the vang during lulls to avoid stalling the main, tacking on the shifts, employing ease-hike-trim, and finding our way to the port side of the course in the last third of the beat because the wind gave us a lift to the mark there. For downwind, we stayed on broad reaches, planing when possible and maneuvering to stay in clear air. In the last race, we protected our series lead by staying between our nearest series challengers (Ali and John) and the next mark. Great competition! AnnMarie |