| the
2004
Midwinters Regatta Report by Uncle Al |
|
16-boat
fleet
treated to another fine Midwinters by the Lake
Eustis SC
The 5th annual Wayfarer Midwinters are in the books and were, as always, a great success. The sailing - on February 6 through 8 - was blessed by plenty of wind (too much for some of us) and the weather was warm - by Toronto standards at least. The new clubhouse and great hospitality were fully enjoyed by 16 Wayfarers, about 20 Flying Scots and a variety of family and guests. A horror that I have neither the courage nor the inclination to dwell on was a freak Saturday afternoon accident that has left Hubert Dauch and former North American champion, Dick Rothery in critical condition in an Orlando hospital after a van backed over them when the driver tried for the brake but accidentally hit the gas. There has been an outpouring of support for Hubert and Dick and their families and we are all praying for them. Heroes of the hour were Michele Parish (of Free Range Chickin who is a "baby" doctor) and Frank Goulay who rushed in to administer first aid until the police and ambulances poured in. Frank Goulay and Nick Seraphinoff subsequently spent the entire night in hospital awaiting developments with Dick and Hubert. The sailing was a lot safer. A series of 9 races was cut short to 6 races (three on each of the first two days) when Sunday brought nasty cold and shifty winds gusting over 20 knots. When our excellent RC of Dave and Joan Williams decided to cancel Sunday's racing, not a dissenting word was heard. Instead, we adjourned into the nice, bright but cozy new clubhouse for more free breakfast, coffee and free draft beer. After most of the boat packing up had been done, the awards presentations were started. A lively group of Flying Scots received their awards, and then it was the Wayfarers' turn. Displaying mid-season form, Al Schönborn and Marc Bennett had methodically won all their races and retained the trophy. In fact, the defending champions came closest to losing their title in the first race. Having beaten out Geoff Edwards with Pat Reardon, and Nick Seraphinoff with Joe Blackmore, Marc and Al were sailing back to the club for lunch, when Marc looked up from his beer and announced: "Houston, we have a problem." Marc had discovered that the starboard half of SHADES' mast step was separating at keel level and that the laminated front extension of the centreboard box was therefore splitting apart. A quick run into the Ace Hardware in Eustis while others ate lunch produced two large C-clamps, which Marc duly attached in the relevant locations. Soon the mast was back up and SHADES - we hoped - ready to go again. After lunch, the winds seemed stronger than ever (15 - 25 knots??). We lingered at the dock, in no hurry to rush out to race 2 any earlier than necessary. But once we reached the course area - some of us reefed - the winds abated to quite benign proportions and those who had decided to pass on the day's racing were kicking themselves for not having gone out. In race 2, SHADES again won by a considerable margin with Nick 2nd and Geoff 3rd as Kim Bergevin (the CWA digital camera) and Ellen Hill (video and digital) captured the action for posterity. Ellen had hoped to race but wisely decided not to subject her new young crew, Heather White, to the tough sailing conditions of the day. Friday's final race saw Al and Marc switch places as the latter took the helm and Uncle Al provided the hourglasses in the fine spinnaker so kindly provided by Nick Seraphinoff after Al had forgotten his spinnaker at home. This time Nick and Joe made a close race of it but still ended up having to settle for 2nd place ahead of Hubert Dauch with Frank Goulay. After Friday's fine sunburns and 80ºF, Saturday was expected to reach only 60ºF under more sunshine and winds similar to Friday's 12 to 20 knots. In fact, the temperatures felt like they were approaching 70º, and Saturday ended up being a great sailing day. Our first race was at the ungodly hour of 0900 because the RC needed to be back ashore for an 1100 hrs Flying Scot skippers' meeting. Winds of 8 - 12 knots attracted our best numbers of the series - 13 Wayfarers - and the sailing was truly fun. Al and Marc, though, did it again as they outpaced the fleet while Nick Seraphinoff and Joe Blackmore scored their third straight 2nd-place finish. A fine performance, too, from Lake Eustis' Peter Hylen with Dave Hepting who scored a fine 3rd!! After a lengthy shore break, the winds had once more increased. They were still mostly 8 to 12 knots but interspersed with lengthy gusts of 15+ knots which produced a number of capsizes. Two more races were held with dwindling numbers of entries. Both races saw Al, Nick and Geoff place 1-2-3. When Sunday's racing was cancelled, Saturday's standings became final, and Al and Marc were confirmed as repeat Midwinters (and Spinnaker Fleet) champions. Runners-up in both overall and Spinnakers were Detroit's Nick Seraphinoff with Joe Blackmore, while Toronto's Geoff Edwards with Pat Reardon of Lake Eustis scored a solid third place overall (and in Spinnakers). Series 4th went to Charlotte's Richard Johnson and his wife, Michele, who illustrated the adage that "he who makes the fewest mistakes, wins the race". When not busy losing a shroud or a mainsheet or doing a 720, Free Range Chickin was moving well, and holds high hopes for better things at the Cottonwood in April. First among 11 entries in the non-spinnaker fleet (and 5th overall) was LESC's Hank Van Twyver with a couple of different crews: Stan Boydon and Richard Kinnie. Hank will not be trying for better things at the Cottonwood, since by then, he will have started a five-month walk up the Appalachian Trail (from Georgia to Maine!!!). Good luck, Hank! 6th overall went to Michigander, Hubert Dauch, who teamed up with Ottawa's Wayfarer Man, Frank Goulay. Close behind them in the series was Jim McIntyre who sailed Friday with Ted Benedict and Saturday with Glenda Libby. After a fine series - much better than last year's - Jim and his crews not only won the green Most Improved flags but also took a fine new trophy for the most improved sailor(s) at the Midwinters, the Bob Brown Memorial Trophy. The trophy commemorates the late Bob Brown who was instrumental in creating our beloved Midwinters as well as the strong LESC Wayfarer Fleet. Jim, Ted and Glenda also took second place among the non-spinnaker boats. After crewing for Jim on the Friday, Ted Benedict sailed his own W with Fred Smith on the Saturday. He looked very good in races 2 and 3, and captured series 3rd among the non-spinnaker boats (8th overall). Well done, Ted! A disappointing series for the LESC "club rabbit", Gale Shoemaker, who wins as often at LESC as Uncle Al does up north. Gale and his keen young crew, Taylor Arnold, sailed only two of the 6 races and ended up series 9th. But Gale was smiling anyway. And why not? You know you're doing well in your sailing career when it makes other people's day just to have finally beaten you in a race or a series. And you should have seen the grins on Peter Hylen's and Jim McIntyre's faces - each of whom had managed to beat Gale in one of the races. After ripping a jib in race 1, and illness on Saturday, Joe De Brincat of Walled Lake, Michigan, with his 80-year-old crew, Peter Every only finished races 2 and 3 and ended up in series 10th. But hey, one of the many beauties of the Midwinters for us northerners is that even if you decide it's too windy to race, it's still glorious just to be in weather that is so much warmer and more pleasant!! Series 11th went to LESC's Peter Hylen and Dave Hepting who made their one finish a result to remember: third place in race 4 ahead of several excellent W racers. In the same race, Eddie Kraft and Hank Boydon made their one finish a good one as well, placing 6th on their way to series 12th. LESC's Mike Murto and Wayfarer newcomer, Sam Montondo, each also finished one race, while Ellen Hill with Heather White, and Robert Hart never did get conditions that were suitable for them. Ellen did however get Heather out for a sail, so that Heather's day off school was put to good use. Sam Montondo meanwhile, raised the intriguing possibility of a summer W event in his summer home area, the Finger Lakes south of Lake Ontario. Sounds great to me!! Registered but unable to attend due to a business conflict, was our good friend, Jim Higgins from Charlotte whom we'll now have to see at the Cottonwood, I guess! We missed you, Jim! Special thanks to Dotty Murto who organized the Wayfarer Midwinters once more, and again provided a home away from home to Marc and Al. And also to Hans Gottschling, our marvellous cover maker, who donated three of his brief-case format W Bags to the Midwinters which went to Dotty for her hard work, and to Joe DeBrincat and Gale Shoemaker as long-standing and valued Wayfarers. Scoring was once more capably done by Tom Kidd, while Dennis Oldham, legendary at LESC for all the work he does, manned the Rescue Boat. Also thanks to Ellen's husband, Fred, who was standing by in his Coast Guard Auxiliary motor launch with several coast guards in case of need. Finally, thanks to the many LESC club members who again made our stay at the Lake Eustis SC a thing of beauty. Ooops! Not to forget the fine folks of the LESC Flying Scot Fleet who provided delicious Saturday night wine, which they freely shared with the Wayfarers! Thanks - it was fun sailing and drinking with you! |