Wayfarer/CL
16 Regatta Mississauga SC, Sept. 17-18, 2005 Sunday: race 5 pics by Iza Hansen ... |
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Tom and Al had arrived
early on this sunny Sunday and switched back to Tom's #1 centreboard
which had been kindly repaired by Hans Gottschling, but we were still
nervous about the fact that Mark, Peter, Marc and Doug had all
outspeeded and/or outpointed us far too often on the previous day.
Thus, we were not unhappy to see race 5 start in the patchy westerly
above.
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These conditions would put
more emphasis on wile and boathandling than had
been the case in Saturday afternoon's pure boat speed
contests. ... |
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We did lead off the first
beat, but were only
marginally ahead of ... ... |
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... Marc and ... ... |
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... Mark (7673) and Doug. ... |
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Also close behind were Rod
and Rod (3568) as well as Paul and Naomi Taylor. The latter appears to
be making her
helming debut above while Paul does his familiar spi routine - slowly
and gently as befits these light airs. ... |
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Mike and Karen Collier
looked good in this race. ... |
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Here they are both easing
their sails in textbook fashion as they begin to round onto the run. ... |
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Pretty patchy stuff as the
fleet tries to keep spinnakers filled. Note Uncle Al (far left)
once more ... ... |
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... defending the left
side of the run, having checked that passing the RC boat end of the
closed start/finish line would in fact take him only a very small
distance off the rhumb line. Note how 600 is heeled slightly windward
to make the spinnaker easier to fly by letting gravity bring it out
from behind the main. It was just before this that Marc Bennett gambled
a bit by gybing to port in hopes of getting better breeze and/or an
advantage from tacking downwind which sometimes pays in really light
winds. In the event, Marc sailed into a huge hole and lost most of the
fleet!
... |
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As the fleet nears the end
of the first run, Paul and Naomi (3rd from left) have fared very well
on their first go at the spinnaker. ... |
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Four minutes later, the
leaders, Al and Mark (3rd and 4th from left) and Doug (blocked from
view by Gary- 2nd from left) are finally getting close to rounding.
Other boats from
left to right are: Colin, Gary, Paul in front of Stuart and Kathryn
Wilkinson (CL604), Rod, Peter and Geoff.
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Al made an early tack
around the mark here, having seen what was happening to Marc Bennett
inshore. Meanwhile, Doug Netherton (1366) displays hitherto hidden
light air finesse and rounds inside Mark Taylor to take over second
place. While those lucky enough to already be going upwind pull away in
far better apparent wind ...
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... Peter (300) and Naomi (4617) wait patiently to reach
the mark. ... |
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Likewise for Geoff (9483)
and Rod. ... |
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Naomi and Paul (4617)
switch places again just in time to round ahead of the doldrums kings,
Marc Bennett and John Weakley. ... |
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Now Marc (3854) and
Colin
(929) will make mistake #2 by going far out into the lake where the
wind has been stronger. Al did this to a lesser degree and appeared to
be doing a horizon job on Mark Taylor. But being a cautious soul in his
dotage, Al tacked
towards shore to get back into a safe position between Mark and the
mark (ho! ho!) instead of being way ahead but off to the left where Al
would be vulnerable if there should be a big starboard-tack lift.
Very soon thereafter, Mark could be seen sailing on starboard in a nice
little
breeze that had lifted him about 45°. He and Al were now converging
at about 45° to each other. Soon Al
got the dreaded port-tack knock which would have Al cross a good 100
yards behind Mark if Al should hold the bad tack and thus change Mark's
edge from potential to real. Rather irked, but not too irked to keep
their cool, Al and Tom tacked a nice roll tack and stayed in position
re-take the lead if the wind should change back from NW to W. Besides,
there
was some evidence of better breeze to leeward and ahead. So we footed
off for speed, did find a nice breeze that shifted back to the west and
regained our lead. But to get back to the leeward mark where none of
this had happened yet ...
.. |
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... Stuart and Kathryn
(604) get a nice inside overlap on Geoff Edwards with Hazel Hewitt
(9483) while Gary and Jennifer (l) sail away upwind, perhaps
oversheeted just a tad. ... |
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Colin (929) is still
within
easy striking distance of Gary with whom he is currently tied for
the lead in the CL division. But rather than nibble away at Gary's
lead, Colin will bang the left corner and never be seen again (so to
speak). Meanwhile, a traffic jam at the mark sees ...
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... Stuart sneak inside of
Rod (3568) who ... ... |
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... is too busy sorting his
spinnaker to notice and will now lose Geoff as well. ... |
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If he could get helm,
Denise, to
sit further forward and hold the boom out, Mark - still fighting with
Doug for second place as Al has run away with the lead by carrying a
nice puff around the windward mark and halfway down the run - could sit
to windward and heel the boat to make his spinnaker much more likely to
fill.
... |
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Paul and Naomi move nicely
in a little puff while Marc and John (3854) still await their share. ... |
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Oops! ... |
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The winds remain shifty.
Here, Peter (300) and Gary find themselves on a ... ... |
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... close spinnaker reach
as the wind - such as it is - takes a brief jog to the NW once again. ... |
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Both crews, Matthew Visser
(300) and Jennifer Ross (2679) do excellent work keeping their
spinnakers flying in such a light and fickle breeze. ... |
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With Al and Tom long gone
and approaching the finish line, Doug (l) is poised to take an
excellent 2nd ahead of Mark (2nd from left). Marc Bennett
meanwhile will come up from way to leeward of Peter (300) and Naomi
(4617) to rescue a 4th-place finish. ... |
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Our serious RC: (l to r) Gord Leachman, Alan Anderson and Eric Schaefer. John Hayward is hidden up front. |
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