the North
Bay
Wayfarer Weekend 2006 Regatta Report by David Hansman |
Before getting into what
happened, we want
to make clear why it happened! We extend our
thanks for the many volunteers who helped make these
four days possible
and most enjoyable.
Race Committee Fred and Anne McNutt Mogens and Doreen Christensen, and their Hunter 320 Rascal Too Mark Boat Trevor Hughes, Rob Sevigny, Hospitality (bar and meals at club) Bill and Joyce Simkins, Lynda O’Shea Protest Committee (there if we needed them) Bill Stewart Bob Brown, who allowed us the use of his base for launch and haul out Ken Holloway Rob Greenfield, who also contributed some great photos Registration (and 101 other things) Carol Hansman Prize Sponsors Saturn of North Bay http://www.northbaysaturn.com/ The Redpath Group http://www.jsredpath.com/ Power Sports and Marine http://powersportsmarine.com Autohaus Stackelberg http://www.vwnorthbay.com Sully’s Auto Spa Shark Mobile Communications http://www.sharkmobile.com North Bay Yacht Club http://www.nbyc.ca Thank you to everyone. And, if I overlooked someone, please forgive the oversight: your help was appreciated! Dave Hansman W282 Banshee Regatta Chairman (Al's note: not to forget to thank the absolute main mover behind this whole wonderful Wayfarer treat: Dave Hansman. Thanks a million, Dave!!) |
The
North Bay Wayfarer Weekend began early this year with
the arrival of
John and
Dolores de Boer arriving on the 28th to set up camp at
NBYC and getting
in some
sailing before the weekend start. The
area behind the club house (below) provided a
good base for
what turned out to be, for
them, over a week of fun and relaxation in the North
Bay area.
![]() Saturday 1 July The
first competition of the weekend was the annual Canada
Day race
sponsored by
the NBYC. This year, over 28 sailboats,
including 7 Wayfarers, participated under light and
variable winds (so
different than the 30 to 39 knot winds of last
year). The planned
course, over 12 miles in length,
headed due south from the North Bay waterfront, and
then through the
channel
and on to the yacht club facilities in Callander Bay.
The 1:00 pm mass
start in light wind proved
interesting for all, and three of the keel boats had
to make their way
back
across the line after inadvertently drifting across
the start line too
soon. All 7 Wayfarers had reasonable starts,
although two were scrambling to get to the start line
on time.
![]() W282 Banshee, Dave Hansman and Dave Richardson (above), managed to secure excellent positioning right from the start, maintaining the lead on the entire fleet for over an hour and a half using the light, off shore easterly puffs before the breeze started to pick up and two J24s and a Santa Cruz 27 moved by. The head of the fleet was also passed by W3140, Lori and Jason (below), having despaired of getting any significant wind, were under tow by a larger keel boat. ![]() The
wind turned south east as it picked up slightly, and
soon Banshee
was being
closely pursued by John and Dolores in Silver Fox,
with Uncle
Al and Michele
Dicker coming on strong in Shades. All
boats had sailed low (west) on the mark anticipating a
south west
breeze which
did not come, so the freshening south east breeze
required the fleet to
make
several tacks up to the J5 buoy mark which would start
the long beat
into
Callander Bay. J5 was also the set mark
for a shortened course which was soon to prove
significant for
Dave and
Dave in Banshee.
John
and Dolores slowly made their way closer and closer,
finally outdueling Banshee to take the lead
(after more than 3 hours of
sailing and only a few
hundred yards from J5). Sailing from
behind, and the fact that they were so close to the
finish, forced a
change in
tactics for Banshee. Silver Fox
was on a
higher line for J5 and slightly ahead. Silver
Fox
appeared to be pinching to make J5, but Banshee
realized that
there would only be one more tack to port needed to
make a dash for the
finish
line. On a starboard tack, Banshee took
a lower line for speed and managed to move ahead of Silver
Fox
enough to tack
to port and come over top of them and cross the finish
line first; Silver
Fox
crossed only seconds behind. Within a
minute, Shades also crossed the finish line to
take 3rd place
(We found out
later that both Silver Fox and Shades
did not realize
the course would be shortened at J5).
![]() Soon
after the race was finished, the nice breeze we had
been enjoying from
the
south east packed it in and the rains came, light but
still
inconvenient. However, all of the Ws managed to
scrounge a
tow for the last 5 kms of the trip to the club.
One unusual feat of towing had one keel boat towing
two Wayfarers, a
J24
and a Santa Cruz (see photo above).
The
evening was occupied by a NBYC sponsored BBQ, awards
ceremony, prizes
and
sailing talk, and the Ws took high profile in the
awards by sheer
strength of
class numbers.
Sunday 02 July – National Cruise Race Day The
wind starting blowing at 4 in the morning and, by 9:00
am, had built
into 20-knot
winds with gusts to 30 knots. Although
it was a clear day to enjoy, the huge winds and
accompanying waves
forced a
postponement until 1:00 pm. Several
people went off to explore the shops and attractions
in North Bay for a
couple
hours, but when we all reconvened at 12:30 it was
evident that safety
would
still not permit us to race.
This
called for some flexibility in planning, and so the
afternoon race was
postponed to the evening and dinner moved up to mid
afternoon.
After a few calls made by Carol Hansman, the
stage was set for drinks at 3:30 and dinner at 4:00
pm. By the
time dinner was served, it became
obvious that the wind was starting to retreat.
At 5:30, with dessert in boxes for later enjoyment, we
all headed back
to the club. With the Ws in the water
and after a hasty skippers' meeting, the race was
started at 7:00 pm
(the first time the NCR had been held in the
evening). The
shortened race course called for sailing
within the bounds of Callander Bay, making use of the
islands near the
western
shore and the permanent marks used by NBYC for
races. A fine 8 to
10-knot wind from the west allowed
excellent sailing across the bay, with Dwight and Pat
Aplevich in W4606 Eclairelle leading from the
start and never looking
back.
Course direction of the first leg, with
westerly winds, demanded that the majority of sailing
be done
closehauled on
port. A few of the leading Ws found
themselves trying to cut things a bit too close as
they neared the
islands,
suffering from the lee side winds and weeds, and
allowed some of the Ws
further
back to catch up and, in some cases, overtake the
leaders - except for
Dwight
and Pat (below) who were firmly in the lead
and playing it
smart.
![]() On
the windward side of the islands, the whole complexion
of the race
changed with
the winds; the winds died down and began, slowly, to
move to the
south.
It became a drifter, with air movement just
enough to give hope. W282 Banshee, who
had managed to work up from 6th to 3rd as the islands
were rounded,
managed to
“blow it” on this leg and was able to witness the
success that six
others had
in dealing with the light winds of this evening on
what turned to be
the
final leg of the race. Most remarkable
of comebacks was that of Geoff Edwards and crew
Barbara in Jansubar,
sliding
from back in the pack to eventually capture 3rd place
behind Dwight and
Pat in
1st with John and Dolores in 2nd. The
most improved (or should we say, the “most learned”)
boat was W4667 Mystic,
an
NBYC club boat with Ross Jamieson at the helm and
Uncle Al as crew.
As
a counterpoint to the very strong winds we had waited
on all day to
subside,
and the mix of winds we saw in our evening race, the
wind gods drummed
up a
beautiful south wind at about 4 to 5 knots to make our
trip back to the
club
harbour both memorable and enjoyable under a clear sky
and half
moon.
There, our erstwhile sailors gathered in the
NBYC clubhouse for chocolate mousse served in wine
glasses before
calling it a
night. It had been an interesting day
requiring a lot of flexibility in planning, but we
were able to get the
race
in, even if shortened.
Monday 03 July – Don Rumble Memorial Series The
winds were predicted to be southwest 10 to 15 knots,
but what we got
was light
and variable from the northwest, so the accuracy of
the weather
predictions
continued on this day.
We
had two different layouts for the races, the first two
being triangular
courses
(modified Olympic) and the final two being
windward/leeward. (For
more complete details, please refer to
Uncle Al’s report on this series and most of the
awards.) Ten
boats participated and there were no
protests.
![]() The
beautiful, spacious Committee boat was a 32 Hunter Rascal
Too
provided by
Mogens Christensen, NBYC Commodore. Anne
McNutt came to the conclusion that this is the way
life is supposed to
be lived!
Mogens was under the weather but nevertheless hung in
there for the day
and later commented on the professional
manner in which the races were conducted.
He even commented on the fact that racers came by
after the races and
were thanking people on the Committee boat, something
he had never seen
before.
Bill
Simkins, his wife Joyce, Lynda O’Shea and Arlene
provided the bountiful
on-the-water lunch. This group was busy all
weekend making sure that the hot breakfast, lunches
and the bar at the
club were
well organized, available at need and cleaned up
afterwards, and our
whole gang,
especially the “resident” Wayfarers camping at the
club, were grateful
for all that
volunteer work.
![]() One
other worthy note: The annual “Wax” award, presented
to the W who
participated
in the NCR and all the series races, but who finished
last overall,
went this
year to Henry Van Brussel (above left) and
John Symmonds in Felicia.
John, who is a regular contender in races at
NBYC in his Kirby 25, said this was “all a bit
embarrassing!”
![]() The
“most helpful person” award this year went to Trevor
Hughes (above).
Trevor manned the mark boat for the series
races, but he was there all weekend to help with
whatever came
up.
His big voice and big laugh could be heard
all weekend as he good naturedly pitched in the help
get it done.
Tuesday 04 July – Trout Lake Poker Event We
once again celebrated the American Independence Day,
this time with
Tony Krauss
and Mary Abel as our “token” Americans there to
help. This day
also saw the best combination of
winds and weather over the four days of events, with
winds starting
early and
the morning and rising to 10-12 knots in the mid-
afternoon, with sun
and warm
temperatures all day. A thunderstorm did
pass by well to the south, but the resulting winds did
add some
additional
interest to the return trip (but I am getting ahead of
myself!).
The
smaller Wayfarer fleet for this event did not reflect
the level of
enthusiasm
the participants brought with them; everyone was there
bright and early
soon
after 9:00 am to get set up. All were ready
to go by 10:00 am, so the Poker Event was underway as
scheduled by
10:30.
![]() This
year’s start proved “interesting” for some and quite
amusing for others
(namely
Uncle Al). With a shore start with an
onshore wind, we were quickly into a minor bump
festival (see photo
above). It all happened very fast, but I
do recall
at one time being sandwiched between the side of Silver
Fox
(John and Dolores) and the bow
of Felicia (Henry and Bridgett Van
Brussel).
The small dent in Banshee’s rub rail bears
witness to the event
as, I am
sure, will Uncle Al’s photos. Al and
Julia had wisely hung back and avoided the tangled
start.
![]() After
a few laughs the racing part was underway, sailing
beats to the west
end of the
lake for our first Poker point pickup, manned by
longtime Wayfarer
enthusiast, Ken Holloway, and Yvonne Brown (above).
Silver
Fox made the first pickup, followed
closely by Tony and Mary in Trouble, Dave,
Carol and Mitchell
in Banshee, Al
and Julia in Shades and then Felicia.
![]() Turning
east allowed the spinnakers to be run up for the 1 km
run to the north
shore of
Trout Lake and the 2nd pick up at the dock of Wayfarer friend
and member of the 2005 organizing committee, Tom McClements (above).
![]() From there, the course headed due south another km to the beach at the bottom of Dugas Bay. In this leg, Banshee and Shades were able to close the gap opened earlier by Silver Fox and Trouble; the former two having entered low winds in the lee shore areas that Dave and Al were able to avoid. Four Ws arrived at the 3rd pick-up within a minute of each other. Here it was necessary for one member of each boat to get out and go to the beach (above) to get the cards from Charlie Hansman (said to be the oldest person to ever crew at a Wayfarer Worlds, 2004). ![]() From
here it was a beautiful sail under spinnaker east
between Hemlock
Island and
the south shore of the lake. The nature
of this fun race became evident by the number of great
photos that were
taken
as we sailed along. Unfortunately, my
camera was not ready at the most crucial time: the
time when Al and
Julia ran
aground! Fortunately for Shades, it was
soft sand. Fortunately for us, Al did
manage to get a photo of his situation (above) before
he and
Julia scrambled to
clear Shades of the sand bar.
This situation developed as we were rounding the end of Hemlock Island, and, with spinnakers now stowed, were starting a beam reach which would take us between Hemlock Island and Poplar Island to the east. Silver Fox was still in the lead and were first to encounter the sand bar, not enough to stop them, but enough to kick up the center board and (we later learned) break the line which holds the rudder down. Both Banshee and Trouble saw what happened and avoided the sand bar, but we suspect Al was paying more attention to taking photos than what was ahead in the water. Wayfarers stop fast when there is only a couple inches of water over the sand! ![]() After the “Shades scramble” on the sand bar was completed, we headed north east under spinnaker, across once again to the north shore of the lake to our 4th pickup point. Like last year, Erinn Hansman (above left) was in the shallow waters handing out poker cards, but this year only to her knees, forcing the Ws to raise their c/b and rudder (practiced under duress by Silver Fox and Shades only 10 minutes earlier) to make graceful pass-by pick-ups. ![]() By then, there were three groups of Ws, Silver Fox and Shades duking it out for the lead, Trouble and Banshee positioning for 3rd and 4th, and Felicia well to the rear, enjoying the fine sailing weather. Shades and Silver Fox flew their spinnakers for most of the 2.5 kms to the next pickup position, and the lovely wind made it quite a sporting situation for the leadership duel, as witnessed by us a few hundred yards behind in Trouble and Banshee. It was also a sporting situation for Rob Greenfield (in motor boat above) who was sitting in his boat as the 5th pickup point; he had two Wayfarers coming at him from two different directions at the same time, both determined to get their cards first. Rob literally had to jump from one side of his boat to the other to accomplish the near simultaneous handoffs; and darned is he didn’t get some good photos at the same time. From there, it was a beam reach drag race across the lake to duck below Falconbridge Island and the finish at McNutts' cottage. The duel continued across, which as the results show, was won by Shades, after Silver Fox turned the wrong way at that pick-up point. Meanwhile, the race was still on between Trouble and Banshee to determine 3rd and 4th place in the water event. Banshee was 50 yards behind Trouble after the 5th pickup, so strategy was needed to change the fortunes. Trouble was taking the same line as that of Silver Fox and Shades, a course that Banshee realized would take them to the lee side of Falconbridge Island. Sailing closehauled but conscious of boat speed, Banshee saw it would be possible to pass Falconbridge Island on the windward side and maybe, just maybe, squeeze out Trouble who would run into some strange winds in the lee of the island. The strategy worked, and Banshee (Dave, Carol and Mitchell) arrived safely in 3rd position with shouts of “local knowledge” abuse being heard from Tony and Mary in Trouble. Finally, with great fanfare from the peanut gallery on shore, all the Ws arrived for lunch, good conversation and friendship offered by the McNutts. The morning sail had taken just over 2 hours to complete. Our picnic was sunny, warm, and congenial. The beer was cold, the food plentiful and the conversations good hearted. Given that this was a relatively new event, only started last year, we soon realized that, after sorting poker hands, that a new event rule would be necessary. Otherwise, Uncle Al would win again! How can it be that, for the 2nd year in a row, the boat that finishes the water event in first also has the best poker hands? So, Silver Fox the winner. They had, interestingly, enough placed 2nd in the water and had the 2nd best poker hands. Tony and Mary placed 4th in the water part of the event and had the 4th best poker hands. Further evidence that a handicap rule is needed. At 2:30 p.m. it was time to make for the water again, this time to return “up” the lake to where we had started. By this time, the storm backed south west winds were making it a gorgeous sail, with lifts that allowed us to sail good parts of the lake directly up, making the expected 100 minute trip something that was accomplished in under 75 minutes. Before 4:30 p.m. we had the Ws out of the water and all packed up for the road. After thanks and good-byes, we headed our separate ways, thinking about how much fun we would have again next year at the North Bay Wayfarer Weekend. |
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