the 2008 Pumpkin Regatta
Fanshawe YC * London, ON * October 4-5
Race 1.15
photos by Bob Steer, Steve Currie and Paul Chesman
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Both Dave (4782) and Ben Harrison in his Laser heel to windward here to avoid weather helm.
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Sorin Popa on a port run, not that far from where the others are on a starboard beam reach! The moorings effect!
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Hannah Waitschies looks good as she leads the Laser Radials.
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And now it's just a relatively short beat for Al and Julia through the shiftfield (based on minefield?) between #2 and the finish line A-B.
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Rounding 2nd are Roger and Rae, ahead of ...
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... Jens (just visible through the leaves)
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Lucky Al! Just when he wanted to tack and put half his lead on each tack,
he got a port header, tacked to the favoured starboard tack, and ...
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... crossed Kevin (187414).
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Good spi form here for Len and Andy as they approach #2.
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And now, a little speed testing with Rick (38585)
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So who has the right of way here? Jeff (7220) or Al. If you said, Al because he's on starboard while Jeff is on port, you get the gold star! Again however, as right-of-way boat, Al must be careful not to alter course in such a way that Jeff becomes unable to keep clear - not even if Al at this very moment, gets a huge lift.
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Meanwhile, Jeff (7720) and Paddy in her ...
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... Laser Radial are ...
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... pacing each other nicely.
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Jon Dietrich on his way to Laser 5th.
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Roger Shepherd continues to hold 2nd among ...
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... the Wayfarers - a nervous 2nd, as three W's were very close to him at last report:
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... Jens, Sue (4677) and ...
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... Dwight.
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Doug Carey continues in the Hobie lead.
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The final moments of the battle for W 2nd: Roger (7700) looks well placed unless Jens (7663) can lay the windward end of the finish line from here without tacking. Tough choice for Sue: if she bears away for both starboard boats this close to the finish, she'll lose them pretty much for sure. The alternative, tacking, at least gives her some hope if ...     
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... she can do a great tack and has enough time to lee bow Jens into submission before the finish line comes along. And now ...
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... Dwight (4606)  has to make the same decision. If believe he bore away for all three starboard boats and then tacked for the line. This leaves him very little hope - principally that the other three sail into a dead spot that Dwight misses or that the other three somehow get tangled up (distinctly possible when they are this close together!)
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Roger looks like he has it wired here, but Bob Steer's camera angle on the beach may be deceiving: seconds later ...
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... things looks decidedly closer. And it's all in the angles:
Here, Sue (4677) looks hopelessly trapped with very little distance to go to the finish.
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But now, it looks like her bow is nicely ahead and all three seem to be laying the line!
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And way up to windward, we have Dwight who must have gone some way past Roger before tacking.
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Mike and John (7351) are also close.
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The angles and the zoom lens are again deceptive here as Jens (7663) and Roger (7700) cross the 4th-place Laser, Jacob. You'd swear that Jens has Roger beat if he holds starboard tack and lays the line. With starboard so hugely favoured, (virtually) nothing could convince me to tack here. But ...
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... Jens does indeed tack and Roger, in fact ...
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... covers him. I guess the zoom lens made them look closer to the finish than they were, and they still have some way to go. Unfortunately, none of the photographers got pictures of the finishes here, so I'll have a look at the results and tell you that we finished in this order, 1 through 5: Al, Roger, Jens, Sue, Dwight.
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A quick check of the Race Hut shows not only hard workers but also Fanshawe's own special signal - a white circle with a diagonal slash through it on a red background - that indicates lunch break ashore or racing done for the day, depending on the circumstances. Either way, you head for shore.
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