| The
Cottonwood
Regatta & U.S. Nationals Catawba YC, Charlotte, NC April 24-25, 2004 Sunday: morning ashore, sailing, awards & home photos by Emily Johnson, Alan Hallwood, Bill Waller, Uncle Al et al. |
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| With the first
start
slated for 0900, we all had to get up early and
certainly appreciate
the free morning coffee at the club. Here, Morris
Metcalf (l)
and Marc Bennett (r) keep a keen eye on the
developing breeze
out on the lake. Most of us have a serious drop, which
we won't get
unless at least two more races are completed. ... |
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| Gary Van Tassell looks disgustingly awake before
0800 on a Sunday
morning. ... |
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| The odd stirring
of
wind on Lake Wylie but nothing spectacular as yet.
Still, it's only
0730. ... |
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| Ready to fight
fire
with fire: watch out, hangovers!!! ... |
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| By 0830, the wind
is
filling in nicely. Bill Waller gets out the waterproof
camera aboard Murphy's
Law and takes pics of SHADES (3854) and
Mike Anspach in
the parade out to the line. ... |
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| A gaggle of
Vanguards
arrive in the starting area. ... |
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| Check-in with the
Race
Committee as ... ... |
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| ... the breeze
continues to come up nicely ... ... |
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| ... and the day's
first race approaches. ... |
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| Michele Parish
checks
her watch as Richard Johnson reaches down the line. ... |
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| A bit of a lull
as the
Wayfarers are off for Sunday's first race. ... |
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| Uncle Al and Marc
(above) won the first two Sunday races with
Peter Rahn placing 2nd
each time, which effectively reduced the championship
battle to these
two boats. ... |
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| One of Sunday's
Lightning starts with Ron Wright (14620) off to a nice
leeward end
start. ... |
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| Avis Bridgers and
crew
also looking nicely trimmed. ... |
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| Nearing the end
of the
second run of race 7, Uncle Al (3854) is about to round
onto the final
half a beat to the finish in second place ahead of Hans
(938) and Nick (behind
Hans). Having been given a gift by Uncle Al who
hit the windward
mark while comfortably in the lead and who then
compounded this
stupidity by needlessly re-rounding the mark, Peter and
Alex Rahn are
already around the mark and on their way to victory. ... |
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| The view from Murphy's
Law as Morris and Richard duel it out down the
run. ... |
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| A spinnaker-less
Morris nears the leeward mark just being rounded by Mike
Murto who in
turn is just behind Jim McIntyre. ... |
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| Pam Barron in
Lightning 15180 does a nice safe early spi douse while
Ron Wright holds
on a bit longer. ... |
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| Too long as it
turns
out! Ron does an unwanted gybe right near the mark,
which will
ultimately allow ... ... |
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| ... boats that
got
there a bit later but better prepared to cut inside and
gain a fair bit. ... |
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| Leonard Little
(Lightning 13848) cruises down the lake in a lovely
Sunday morning
breeze. ... |
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| Windward mark
Vanguard
action as Mike Stoughton (717) rounds a nice 4th, close
behind the
three leaders. ... |
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| Stanley Hassinger
(1289) rounds almost overlapped in 5th. On the left, we
can identify
Bill Wiggins (1299) while Dan Lawrence (1001) is off to
the right. ... |
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| Next we have Greg
Tew
(205) and ... ... |
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| ... Mark Atkinson
in
1023. ... |
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| An object lesson
for
W93 who capsized and let his back tank fill. Recovery of
the boat
without breaking the mast took quite some doing on the
part of at least
five rescuers. Fortunately, the water was warm, the
waves non-existent
and the rescuers close at hand. This is why we stress
the absolute
necessity of having your Wayfarer meet the
buoyancy test
requirements and never removing the hatches once sailing
in strong
winds or capsized. Having
this happen
to you away from help could mean death. While the lads
spent some
serious bailing time ... ... |
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| ... it was lunch
time
for others. ... |
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| And then it was
awards
time: ... |
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| With a smiling
Bill
Wiggins (l) looking on, Nick Seraphinoff and Joe
Blackmore (r) took Wayfarer 5th. ... |
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| Series 4th went
to
Hans Gottschling (l) and Frank Goulay. ... |
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| Bill tries to
present
the 3rd-place mug to John and Dolores de Boer. ... |
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| The 2004
runners-up:
Peter (r) and Alex Rahn ... |
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| First place in
the
2004 Cottonwood and U.S. Nationals went to Marc (l)
and Uncle
Al. While Marc outlines a few of the things he had to
suffer through,
Uncle Al displays the appropriate amount of concern and
affection. ... |
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| A big thank you
to the
Catawba YC and all the volunteers - especially the great
Race Committee
- for another outstanding regatta enjoyed by one and
all! ... |
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| (l to r) Gale
Shoemaker,
Dolores and John de Boer: Most Improved. ... |
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| Nick and Joe
proudly
display the lovely Designer's Trophy which they
won as the top
USWA boat in the US Nationals. ... |
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| Bill Wiggins this
year
had his son, Jordan, help pick up the hardware as he
again won the Meyers Cup as the highest placed CYC sailor in the Cottonwood Regatta. ... |
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| By Sunday evening
the
trip back home was well underway for us. As we began to
scout around
for suitable dining and accommodations near Beckley,
West Virginia,
Nick Seraphinoff loomed in the rear view mirror, and
after a loud
conference through opened windows at 65 mph, we ended up
... ... |
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| ... in the Days
Inn
for the night where we showered and then had a lovely
steak dinner just
up the road. We made it back to the hotel just as an all-night rain was starting. ... |
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| By 0630 the next
morning, Nick had already left for Detroit and home and
only SHADES
was left ... ... |
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| ... to spiff up
the
hotel parking lot. The weather did not look promising
for the long
all-day trip back to Toronto, but by noon the skies were
clearing and
we easily made it home by dinner time, even taking the
lovely, unspoilt
scenic Rte 5 along Lake Erie from Erie, PA to Buffalo,
NY. |
| 2004
Cottonwood Regatta & U.S. Nationals results report photos: Friday - 1 Friday - 2 Saturday morning ashore Saturday pre-race Saturday: Race 1 Saturday: Race 2.1 Saturday: Race 2.2 Saturday: Race 3 Saturday: Race 4.1 Saturday: Race 4.2 Saturday post-race - 1 Saturday post-race - 2 Sunday (incl. awards & home) |