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The Wayfarer
Midwinters of 2005 |
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Nick (864) is holding a solid
3rd over Richard (r) as he nears the
start/finish line. |
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Mo and Andrew chug along with
the jib winged nicely. |
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As Scot #5502 is about to
take line honours, Dave Hepting and his mystery crew
still enjoy the last run of the day. |
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Al and Marc near the final
finish of the day accompanied by a pair of Scots. |
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Nighthawk (FS5009)
knocks off Uncle Al who won't be complaining after
four "bullets" on the day. |
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Tsk! Tsk! Al finishes well
away from the favoured "pin" (leeward) end. In a
closer race this could cost him! |
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A very nice second for Peter
Rahn and Frank Goulay - duct-taped extension tiller
and all! |
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3rd place again for Nick
Seraphinoff and Joe Blackmore who should have |
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Another lovely 4th for
Richard and Michele (10139) ends their Saturday's
racing on a happy note. |
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In a very close race, Gale
Shoemaker and Taylor Arnold (4106) just edge out the
battenless ... |
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... Jim Lingeman and Mike
Tighe in a battle of the Non-Spinnaker leaders. |
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It's another 7th for The
Maltese Falcon who will just ... |
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... luff up to close-hauled
onto a one-tack beat to the free beer! |
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8th for Eddie Kraft and John
Conrader. |
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This
is what happens when you don't plan ahead: Ted
(2415) was so busy trying to lay the RC boat on port
tack that he didn't plan how he would cope with the
two (three, counting Robert Hart who has just
tacked) approaching starboard tackers. Assuming that
Ted must have seen them coming, Ted should have
decided what he would do in the event he couldn't
cross Mike (2959) and Geoff. Here, Ted was
approaching the line almost at right angles, so that
a tack here would leave him hopelessly trapped to
leeward of Geoff and Mike, unable to cross until
they chose to let him. Thus he might have warned
crew, Donna, that he would bear away if he couldn't
cross, and would then tack immediately after
crossing Mike's and Geoff's transoms. That way, Ted
would pin Geoff and Mike on starboard where they
were virtually sailing along the finish line instead
of across it, and with luck, Ted would then tack to
cross the line before Geoff and Mike could. ... |
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It's
hard to tell what actually happened here. Whatever
it was, it was not good for Ted. Perhaps he forced
Mike and Geoff to bear away to avoid the collision,
and then there was a panicky tack as the RC boat
loomed and cries of "Protest!" rang in his ears?? |
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A more experienced crew would
know that when in danger of dumping, you release the
jib. Meanwhile, Geoff and |
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Ted and Donna continue to
contemplate the situation as Robert and Tony grab
11th place. |
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Team 2415 is still gasping
for breath, as ... |
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... Bob and Peter cross 12th. |
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Ted
and Donna ended up retiring from the race. Too bad,
because this would have been their best finish of
the day! Ted explains what happened as follows: "I
think I was so set on passing in front
of Mike, which I misjudged, I didn't even
really notice Geoff coming right after him.
Mike's bow nailed the back of my boat about
18" from the stern, and then I had to
make a very hard tack to avoid hitting Geoff.
That's what threw us up on our side and we took in
a lot of water. Donna really saved
us by instinctively scrambling up to the high
side with me, or we would have capsized.
That was the first time I'd sailed with her, and I
think her first time in a sailboat race. In
talking with her, I had learned that she had raced
stock cars for a number of years at the New Symrna
Speedway as a teen and young lady. One of
the few females to race with the guys. I
don't think the excitement of our mishap unsettled
her a bit. We
were pretty tippy with all that water so I pulled
up the centerboard, and I think that by the time I
did my 720, I had decided there wasn't
much point in finishing. A plan,
a contingency plan, some forethought, a
strategy... where were they, what
was I doing?????? Ted
(W2415)" |
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2005
W
Midwinters |