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Peggy Menzies Reports on Wayfarers' First NOOD Appearance Annapolis * May 7-9, 2023 |
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From: Peggy Menzies [mailto:pmenzies10@aim.com] We all arrived at Eastport Yacht Club at various
times on Thursday to set up our boats and figure out the parking situation
and hoist system. It was my first time meeting John and Mary Driver in person,
though we've been on zoom calls before.
Friday all (except for me) assembled to launch
and proceed to the Pink Racing Area with Race Committee from Severn Sailing
Association. John and Mary Driver along with Ali and Mike
definitely showed their expertise in sailing Annapolis waters with current
and were leading the series by the end of the first day. The winds
were light from the north and our sailing area was in the corner near the old
David Taylor Research Radio Towers and the Bay Bridge, so the left side of
course in the shallower water was heavily favored in the adverse current upwind. There were times
we needed to hit the port lay line well to windward of the mark. The
courses were all windward-leewards - twice around with an offset mark and a
finish on the opposite side of the RC boat to accommodate
multiple fleet starts and finishes simultaneously. The current made starting challenging and I
couldn't
get a start near the line to save myself all day. At the
end of
the day, Richard commented that he had never seen the windward mark
plane
before. It was something to see - the windward mark was a bright
red tetrahedron and it had a huge bow wave and wake due to the heavy
currents. This was my son Will's first time ever in a Wayfarer.
Mary was also
talking about being quite new to dinghy sailing though both she and
John
are experienced sailors as they've crossed the Atlantic and sailed the
Med among many other adventures. John and Mary were most
wonderful hosts to RIchard, Michele, Will and me, and we had a
fabulous time
together. John's "current" app was amazing for helping us learn about
sailing
in such current. Unbeknownst, at least to me, a dam
upstream had been let
out and the currents, already expected to be strong with the full
moon,
were even stronger. Saturday was warmer and the winds lighter
(was this possible?), and this started our day with a two-hour
postponement. We Wayfarers paddled over to the Severn Sailing
Association for a bit of dock
space and spent time getting to know our PRO, Barbara.
After a bit
of a dock ramp stretch, it was time to get going as it was going to
take more than an
hour to get to our sailing area. First race got off
without much
fuss. The winds were just a little more easterly than
Friday,
same current so it was even more as a counter current - bang the left
and try
to pick the best time to cross the current to get to the windward
mark. Second race was started, Will and I were in the lead
again but
just after we rounded the offset, racing was abandoned for the day.
Our "Team Mom" (her button says
so) Ali had made arrangements with her brother and family to have us all over
for dinner. Transportation was her brother's lovely boat,
and we cruised down the Severn River complete with margaritas and much merrymaking - no
videos please!) A great time was had by all and many thanks to
Ali, family and friends for a spectacular evening. This is how to
regatta! Sunday was the warmest day of all with a complete
redirection of the wind to the south and it looked promising as we left the
dock. We actually thought we might need to hike a
bit. Those hopes were dashed shortly after the start but we
managed to race in medium to light air. The race was a little more
tactical as with this direction there was no shallow area with reduced
current to take make one side obligatory upwind.
The folks at the Eastport Yacht Club were terrific at haul-out
time. In all the congestion, the out-of-towners were
passed forward to the hoists and helped to get out of the water and
derigged. We managed to get to the awards session post margaritas
and were all invited as a class onto center stage (above). The
announcer gave a brief description of our newly established Jim Cook Award
and then from the anonymous voting, the winner was announced. To
no one's surprise - it was Ali who had arranged housing for us, launching,
hoisting, boat tour, a fabulous promo article in Sailing World, etc....
After awards, for me - it was time to be
crabby. (EAT CRABS that is). John, Mary, Will and I headed
to Cantler's Riverside Inn and feasted on a dozen blue fins. John
and I got roasted by our crews, Mary and Will who much enjoyed comparing
notes on what the nesting ospreys were doing.
Trying
to see who was taller... losing battle for me |
