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the Clark Lake Fall Regatta
Clark Lake YC * Sept. 24-25, 2005
Race 4 pics - part 1
by Dan Hockenberry

Looking north from the windward mark as the Interlakes proceed up the beat from #5 on a course of ...
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... 1-2-5-1. With the winds angling off the tree-lined Eagle Point shore at up to 30°, Marc and I decided we should avoid that shore for as long as possible. Our plan was to sail up the middle, and to hit the starboard layline early to avoid the east shore for as long we could. The plan for going up the middle was to seek better wind as priority #1; the shifts could be played as they happened, provided we were in the middle.
Our worst fear was that we might get forced into the lee of Eagle Point on starboard tack as we came off the line. We therefore decided once again, that the RC Boat end would be our chosen starting spot, favoured or not, even if we had to start there a bit late. This strategy worked very nicely as each time (races 4 and 5) we tacked to port right after the start, moved the boat well, and played the shifts and puffs to good effect once we were well away from Eagle Point. Each time we had boats lift inside us on port tack but each time we ended up getting a more consistent breeze and wound up with the lead. As a preview, we also saw Bob Sagan in Interlake 628 do exactly what we had in mind at the start of race 4, and were cheered to note that the last we saw of him as we turned to concentrate on our own race, he appeared to be winning nicely.
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A gaggle of Interlakes comes off the Eagle Point shore.
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I believe this may be Bob Sagan (r) rounding in first as Tom Marriott approaches on starboard.
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Not much wind for the Interlake leaders as they round mark #1 and inch their way towards #2 on what was mostly a beam reach. Note that series leader, Bob Bradley in 1332 (red hull) is having a tough time in this race. And at Clark Lake, you have to count 'em all!!
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How sweet it is to be the first of a becalmed group to reach a nice breeze: Here, Bob Sagan (l) is rolling to a huge lead over Ron Gall (1325), Jamie Jones (1267) and Tom Marriott.
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Rebel leaders, Al and Marc (4180) continue to try for centre right on the beat but above all sail to avoid anything that looks like a dead spot. Ron and Catie (4171) also look to be in perfect upwind form. Meanwhile John Hudak? (or is it Brian Main - both were doing well up the first beat) (r) has tacked to sail into a puff, he hopes. But he'll have to tack soon if he wishes to avoid the apparent dead spot indicated by the flatter water at the bottom of the photo here.
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The Interlakes finally escape the windward shore effects.
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Messrs. Geis, Sharkey and ... round just off our bow as Marc gives them an encouraging glare. Note the jib leech ticker that Uncle Al installed on Dan's boat at the Nationals - very useful for those really fine upwind sheet tension adjustments, and simple, too, because the rule is: sheet in until the ticker is about get sucked in behind the leech but never sail with it being actually sucked in. You can let the main leech ticker get sucked in behind its leech at times, but never, never, never let the jib leech ticker do this! Note Jeff and Brittany Hoover who are doing great and will round just barely astern of 4180 in 2nd place.
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Note the jib leech ticker in action once more as Al actually lucks in: the Interlakes' dead spot around #1 has passed away and 4180 actually has wind to fill her sails and create a (mini-)wake. To leeward of Al, John Hudak and Larry Christiansen move towards the windward mark which they will round in third place.
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Ron and Brittany reduce the resistance caused by wetted surface.
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John and Larry round 3rd with Dave and Todd about to follow.
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Brian Main (4160) waits for the starboard Woody (4077) to tack so that he can follow suit and round. Meanwhile, John Weakley (4162) crosses Larry.
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Brian Main and Mike Wolf (4160) carry a nice puff around the mark ahead of Jim and Theresa (4179) while John Weakley (r) cautiously tacks to port with a view to rounding the mark. What John needs to do here is get his speed up with a view to just shaving the transom of Larry Schmida (4191) who will then have to keep sailing to avoid tacking in John's water. In that case, John will be through to leeward before Larry can get around to blanket him.
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Ron and Catie (ya gotta love the hat!! no cold ears for this lovely young lady!) move off smartly down their reach.
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RC czar, Neil Robb, surveys his empire while behind him, Jim Quiniff's keen parents follow their son's progress. On the left, we have Hugh and Helen Harris with a front row seat.
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Donald Fritz starts his first reach.
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After sailing through a few more dead spots while going from #2 to #5, the main body of the Interlake fleet finally begins the beat to the finish. Al and Marc (3rd from right) nearly caught most of the Interlakes here but were themselves nearly caught by Jeff and Brittany (416) and John Hudak (4194). A disagreement aboard 4180 here as Marc wanted to hold starboard for a bit but Al's paranoia about Eagle Point and its potential wind shadow (and the fact that Al had the tiller) won the day. So, here they are tacking before John and/or Jeff can get lifted and block them from tacking. Less than a minute later, both Jeff and John, having held starboard, were sitting becalmed behind Eagle Point. Al then couldn't resist. He nudged Marc and said: "Look behind us!" One of the rare times that Al has been right in the infrequent disagreements that he and Marc do have.
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