| the 2019 Mississauga W/CL Regatta Mississauga SC * Sat 28 Sept Report by Marg Duncan W10962. ... |
| This year, MSC decided to
combine the CL16/Wayfarer Regatta on Saturday
with the Moe Fraser Long Distance Race on Sunday
for a weekend finale of our racing season.
On Saturday morning, we were thrilled that the storms
and rains cleared and after an hour's delay waiting for
the day's winds to fill in, we were off. Little did we know we were going to be facing a mixed bag of winds, directions and showers for the rest of the day. The first two races were sailed in southwest winds 8 to 10 knots, pleasant and uneventful - except for our Michigan guests, Marc and Julie, who placed first in the second race only to have it snatched away with an OCS (over early). This bad luck was a precursor to what was in store for them later in the regatta. Most of the third race was sailed in the same wind, but a sudden 150º shift to the north produced strong, gusty winds and had spinnakers downed quickly on the last leg of the race. At this point, the Duncans, Mike and Marg, were running in first place near the finish line with Marc and Julie thirty yards behind. The Duncans were slow to see the new wind coming and the strong winds left them hobbling to the finish line with a spinnaker mess. Marc and Julie took first, one second ahead of the Duncans. The wind stayed up and race four was a little too eventful for two crews. Scott and Les had a capsize to windward as the skipper failed to alert his crew that he was tacking. Then Marc and Julie had a catastrophe with a pin breaking on a shroud, effectively ending their racing for the day. This opened the door for teams Wiersdma, Pugh and Duncan to battle it out for first place overall. Race five was won by Rob Wierdsma and Paul Taylor who after a fine day of sailing won the regatta. Well done, guys. Jan d'Ailly and David Meijer from Conestoga had two great finishes, a third and a second. The Haights W4606 and Simi and Todd, W286, rounded off MSC's five-boat contingent in the regatta. Rob praised his crew, Paul and shared Paul's excellent advice: Just steer the boat, as crew, I will do everything else. Words of wisdom. That's exactly how it should be done. (Al's note: Isn't there an expression about some things being rarer than hen's teeth?) Many thanks to the Race Committee, PRO, Mark Dams, along with Mio Koledin, Matt Cooper and Ken Miller for providing excellent races. Also, a big thank you to Angelo Petrolito, Alan Anderson and Ivano Stellato for organizing and cooking the great BBQ dinner. And now on to Sunday, the Moe Fraser Memorial Long Distance Race ... Not so lucky with the weather on this day. A strong easterly blew through Saturday night and into Sunday. By Sunday morning, the waves were high and the winds continued to be strong. Nevertheless, our intrepid race crew ventured out to lay the course. It was decided to lay only three marks, twice around one equilateral triangle with two-mile legs, instead of the usual two connected triangles, so that the participants would be more safely corralled in a smaller area. Those who made it out to the starting area had difficulty finding the RC boat and laying the marks proved almost impossible. Thus the race was wisely abandoned. Even before the abandonment was called, a Hobie 16 capsized due to equipment failure. In another instance, a wave rendered the skipper of an Albacore airborne and flung him into his boat. A very good call indeed to abandon the race. |