Boys of Ballast add muscle to
heavy Wayfarer Fleet at perfect June Bug!
Wayfarers
were once again the biggest fleet at the June Bug
Regatta, held June 12-13 at London’s Fanshawe YC. 18
Wayfarer crews enjoyed a fine weekend of sailing.
The hot weather was a good match for the hot fleet
which saw most of our top seeds racing in a good
variety of winds and sweltering sunshine. All of us
who raced owe a big thank you to PRO’s, Scott and
Grant Town. The Towns once more gave up their racing
so that we could have good racing with water-based
starts instead of the less flexible courses dictated
by the use of the race hut on the cliff near the
club. And as predicted by Scott, we had great winds
since Scott was not going to be sailing! Other
Wayfarer contributions to the quality of sailing
came from RC volunteers, Roger Shepherd and Genna
Goldt. Thanks to all who helped!!
Although we
missed Grant and Scott as competitors, the gap was
very ably filled by two Boston brothers: Tac sailing
his own boat, and his younger brother, Brad, sailing
the Townmobile. What with the presence of Scott
Bamford and Brian Jeffs, the fleet was filled with
“yacht” sailors who added lots of talent to our
fleet.
Schönborn/Bennett
top
competitive fleet at June Bug
Bamford/Jeffs
Most Improved!
.....
Uncle Al made
his 30th anniversary of sailing at Fanshawe a June Bug
to remember. Sailing with ace crew, Marc Bennett, Al
thrived on the challenges coming from many directions,
especially our keelboat imports. Despite being behind
in many situations, Marc and Al managed to find ways
to win (or luck in) in each of the first 5 races to
take the title.
Another wily
old veteran who has sailed Fanshawe even longer than
Al, was second-place Rick Goldt. Getting superb crew
work from 16-year-old daughter, Erika, Rick was also a
master of the comeback as he scored 2-2-2-3-3 to take
the runner-up spot.
Third place
went to Tac Boston and Scott McNeill of Sarnia. Tac
took time off from his ‘work’ aboard a million dollar
yacht to record 3-4-2-2-5 finishes and edge out that
little whippersnapper, his younger brother, Brad, for
series 3rd. The latter, sailing with Cory Ireland, was
also a model of consistency at 6-5-3-4-2. And all this
in a borrowed boat!!!!
A slow start to
the series and a lost jib in race #3 that lost them 8
places kept Scott Bamford and Brian Jeffs from doing
even better than their series 5th. But our resident
keelboat experts have every reason to be pleased with
their series. They won the last race, and beat their
seed by an outstanding 6 places to take the green
flags as the June Bug’s Most Improved crew.
The closeness
of the competition was underscored by Fanshawe’s Steve
Graff and his wife, Barb, who sailed consistently
among the leaders, counted 5-3-5-6-6 but still ended
up 6th overall, 1.25 points behind Scott. And the same
was true for 3rd-seeded Peter and Alex Rahn who placed
7th, one point behind the Graffs. Their finishes
included three 4ths, a 6th and an 8th.
Three husband
and wife crews rounded out the top ten. Series 8th
went to Jens and Sharon Biskaborn of FYC, ahead of
Dwight and Pat Aplevich from Conestoga, and Fanshawe’s
John and Dolores deBoer.
In 11th
overall, we had Fanshawe’s Len Macdougall with Andy
Turnbull. They sailed well on the weekend, beating
their seed by 3 places, and ending up as the second
most improved crew with a performance that included a
couple a top ten finishes.
The Goldis,
John and Joan of TS&CC, found the going tougher
amid all the puffs and shifts away from home. They
ended up 12th – a drop of 10 from their previous
week’s WARTS & Balls second. Joan and John were
often up with the leaders but eventually got done in
by shifts and/or dead spots.
The Pedersens,
Ivan and his son, Chris, had a good series as they
began their plan to sail more ‘away’ regattas in
addition to all the TS&CC club races. Against much
tougher opposition than they’re used to, they beat
their seed by 2, and took 13th.
Robert Kennedy
had one of his daughters crewing for him as he beat
out Conestoga’s Al and Carol Nichols for series 14th.
In 16th place, TS&CC’s Hans Gottschling had his
family sharing the crewing duties: his daughter,
Martina, and her sons, Brendan and Christopher.
A tie for 17th
was broken in favour of TSCC’s Hazel Hewitt and Rosie
Mesrobian over FYC’s Justin Hairsine with his dad,
Doug. The former had trailer problems on the way to
Fanshawe and then left their tiller at the repair
place, but managed to get out for Saturday’s dinner
and Sunday’s racing.
Race
synopses:
#1 (Sat.): start near #4-0(near
A)-4-5-O-5-B; winds SE, 2-5 knots
Robert
Kennedy sailed a super first leg showing great speed
and fine strategic judgment to round just ahead of
Uncle Al. Unfortunately for the leaders, the wind
chose this time to have a bit of a rest, and soon
Robert and Al were ghosting along in the company of
Peter Rahn, Tac Boston, Scott Bamford, Brad Boston
and Rick Goldt among others. Uncle Al had gybed at
the mark to try to escape the potential wind shadow
cast by the Race Hut cliff and was trying the great
circle route to #4. After a nervous 10 minutes or so
during which the inshore group got the best puffs
first and pulled ahead several times, Uncle Al’s
willingness to be nervous was finally rewarded with
some extra breeze. He and Steve Graff rounded #4
ahead of the inshore group who ended up getting more
dead spots.
The run to #5
was more of the same. It was essential to stand in
your boat to look which of the boats astern were
bringing the best wind. Uncle Al made the right
choice by staying between Fanshawe guru, Rick Goldt,
and the mark, as these two rounded 1-2. Just behind
was a large group of boats, and Al, for one, felt
fortunate that his small lead was just enough to
escape the slow mess at the mark.
The long beat
that followed saw Al, Rick, Tac and Peter, all take
runs at the lead, depending on the shifts. Al
decided to try to make the maximum distance down the
lake while keeping a wary eye on Rick, and this
strategy paid off as he held first over Rick down
another long, slow run and a final beat. The race
for 3rd between Peter and Tac came down to the final
seconds of the race where Tac cleverly pinned Peter
on starboard until Tac could comfortably lay the
finish line to nail down 3rd. Long-time Wayfarers,
Steve and Barb Graff, did well in their “new”
Wayfarer, #5625, and ended up in 5th just ahead of
Brad Boston.
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#2(after lunch): similar course: same
windward leg-4-6-O-4-B; winds SSE, 4-8 knots
Things looked
good for Uncle Al who started well and rounded O and
4 in the lead. The slightly veered wind should
however, have warned Al to stay off the leeward
shore. Even though it was possible to sail almost
straight up the lake on starboard, this wind
direction leaves the wind prone to lifting over the
land nearer the shore. Tacking around the mark and
getting into the middle of the lake and away from
the shore effects permitted Steve and Rick to get a
more consistent breeze and move into the lead at the
second windward mark. Still in the hunt though, was
Uncle Al who learned (briefly!) from his experience,
played the middle down the run to #4 and got better
winds while Steve and Rick fought each other up to
windward. Rick finally passed Steve, but in the end,
Rick, Al and Steve rounded onto the final beat
virtually even. With SHADES going at top speed, Al
was able to split tacks and come out ahead when the
boats met again a short time later. With Al keeping
a close eye on Rick, the leading trio of Al, Rick
and Steve crossed the line in that order. 4th place
went to Peter who edged out Brad and Jens. Pinning
his spreaders into the magic 38” between tips had no
immediate magic for Tac who fell to 7th.
#3: start (O) about 100m NW of
B-2-1-O-2-O-2; winds veered to SSW, about 6-15
knots
With this
wind direction, it usually pays to get over towards
the moorings early. Al entered the fray at the RC
boat end and got off the line in perfect position.
For Al, the beat went as planned, as he rounded with
a narrow lead. 2nd-place Jens, and then Rick, were
the only smart ones however. They gybed to port
right at #2 and made sure they got out from the
cliff right away. While Al and the others headed
straight for #1 but wallowed in lengthy dead spots,
Jens and Rick romped into the lead. Scott also moved
well in this leg and rounded 3rd over Al. But the
latter had decided to douse his spi before rounding
and was able to re-take 3rd when a windshift forced
Scott to bear off into Wye Creek (see chart) to keep
his spi full. The moorings were good again to Al and
Scott on beat #2 as the shifts they provided gave
this pair a solid grip on the lead. With Al and Marc
nursing a 20m. lead over Bamford/Jeffs in lovely
hiking breezes, disaster struck Scott and Brian near
#2. Their jib tack pin gave up the ghost with a loud
bang. They jury-rigged a replacement but the
misfortune cost them 8 places as they fell to 10th
at the finish. The beneficiary of all this was Rick
who cruised to his third 2nd of the day. A nice
recovery for Brad who took a solid 3rd just ahead of
a group of 4 Wayfarers who met at the finish line. A
port tack approach for Peter looked good for 4th.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite cross the starboard
boats, and finished behind Tac and Steve but did
manage to edge out Jens for 6th. Educational note:
Tac Boston’s newly fixed spreaders were great once
the winds came up, says Tac.
Saturday
night: A fine dinner
once more in the chalet. The many Wayfarer, Dart,
Hobie, Laser, etc. sailors that attended, not only
enjoyed a fine meal but good fellowship as well!
#4 (Sun.): start near B-2-4-6-2-6-O;
winds SSW, 5-10 knots
Tac Boston
was off to a fine start and led around the windward
mark with Al just to leeward and ahead as they
approached the mark on starboard. The buoys to
starboard rounding meant that Al not only had to
wait for Tac to tack (ho! ho!), but also the next
two boats. One of those, Rick, held his course past
the windward mark and made Al tack two more times
before Al finally limped around the mark in 4th.
With the wind
angling off the west shore rather than blowing
straight down the length of the lake, the moorings
were a risky place to be. Al again opted for the
middle and had moved into 2nd place by mark #4.
After sneaking in a few shifts on the second beat,
Al took a lead he would hold to the finish over Tac.
3rd went to Rick over Peter Rahn. Scott and Brian
continued their good speed and smart sailing and
took 5th just ahead of Steve Graff.
#5: start near B again, then 2-6-2-6-O;
winds SSW, 6-12 knots.
Was Al’s
string of firsts going to end? It looked like it
when Al rounded #2 behind Tac, Brad, Scott, Rick and
Peter and lost more distance by trying to sail along
the east shore to #6. But SHADES’ upwind speed came
to the rescue on beat #2 where Al recovered to round
4th - only about 100m behind Rick and Brad who were
fighting for the lead, and only a few lengths behind
Tac. It must have been exciting for those watching
from the cliffs as both Tac and Al brought better
winds from behind until all four leaders got to #6
virtually overlapped. Al wisely decided to stay back
from the likely mess at the mark, and was able to
round with full speed and tack immediately for the
middle of the lake where a better wind and wind
angle had soon given him the lead. Tac went even
further into the middle and got even better winds.
As the leaders passed the Race Hut cliff on their
way to the finish near mark#2, Tac had moved bow to
bow with Al but 100m. to windward. Since both boats
could lay the finish line, it became a foot race.
The leaders took turns getting puffs and taking
small leads. Al nursed SHADES to windward while
judiciously avoiding Tac’s wind shadow. Finally, the
boats were side by side with the finish only 100m.
away. About 50m. from the line, a slight header put
Al’s nose in front of Tac’s and the latter had to
tack for the unfavoured end of the line while Al
clinched the June Bug with his 5th straight win.
Scott had another fine race, scoring a close 3rd
over Brad, while Rick and Erika’s 5th over Steve had
Tac dreaming of series second with one race to go.
#6: start between #1 and #B-O-1-B-O-1;
winds SW, 8-12 knots
Scott Bamford
and Brian Jeffs put it all together in this one.
They led most of the way to win their first big
Wayfarer race. Congratulations, Brian and Scott!
Brad took 2nd, just ahead of Rick who held onto the
series runner-up spot with his 3rd. A fine race
also, for Conestoga’s Dwight and Pat Aplevich who
edged out Tac Boston for 4th. 6th place went to Marc
Bennett who was helming SHADES for the finale. Marc
got off to a great start but lost a fair bit on the
second leg when his crew, Uncle Al aimed him at mark
O instead of #1.
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