Rock Hall Yacht Club, MD this past weekend…  30+ wooden sailboats, a variety of one-design and custom designs.
What an incredible setting at Rock Hall Yacht Club.  We could not have been made more welcome.  The Race Committee was flawless and (seemingly) without any anxiety; staff, officers, and other members were so generous.
The WOOD Regatta is for one-design AND custom-design sailboats.  This is what makes it work so well:  a combination of classic one-designs as well as some boats that were started building in January, the epoxy still drying.
This is the type of race that anyone can produce.  Use Portsmouth Yardstick numbers from US Sailing and encourage participants to fix up their older boats, or produce new ones.  This is much less an event that concerns itself with being competitive, and much more about having fun.  And we did.  I’d be happy to dispense advice to help you get started.
So much so that we’d like to bring the event back to Rock Hall Yacht Club next year at the same time.  Please comment below to give us your thoughts.  (Thanks to Frank Pedersen and John Harris for suggesting Rock Hall Yacht Club to me a year+ ago.)
And I do apologize for having no photos yet.  They will be forthcoming, from ChessiePhoto.com and from John Harris.  If you have some as well, please email to me?  carl@woodenboat.com.  Dale has posted some, here:
Day One:  Wind 0-9 knots; about 80 degrees.  We raced in two courses out on the Chester River, in spectacular surroundings.

Corinthian Class corrected as follows after six races:
1.  Tom Lippincott in his speedy Duster, a class previously unknown to me.
2.  David Edinberg in his 16′ 3″ custom design.
3.  Andrew Slavinskas in his Blue Jay.

In the Moth class (seven boats):
1.  John Zseleczky
2.  Erik Albaugh
3.   Victor Stango

Performance Class 1.  Four boats, five races.
1.  Ross Weene and Eli Slater in their hot modified International 100, last seen cleaning up the fleet at last summer’s Eggemoggin Reach Regatta.  They won all five races.
2.  David White’s Fireball (see this year’s edition of Small Boats).
3.  Dudley Dix’s Paper Jet.

Performance Class 2. Five races, six boats.
1.  Al Schonborn in his Wayfarer.
2.  Jim Hefferman in his Wayfarer.
3.  Mark Lathrop in his Windmill.


Day Two:  Wind 5-6 knots, but it exceeded that as the day wore on.  Another lovely 80 degree day.

Corinthian class, five races.
1.  David Edinberg’s tactic of wearing down Tom Lippincott worked, as David’s custom design won the day.
2.  Tom Lippincott’s Duster.  At one point he passed us and said “I’m SO tired.”
3.   Tom Lathrop in his Lapwing.

Moth results.  One dismasting.
1.  John Zseleczky.
2.  Erik Albaugh out-dueled his father again.
3.  George Albaugh.

Performance Class.  Ten boats, three races.  Thanks to the tender ministrations of Al Schonborn, we combined the two classes from the day before.
1.  Ross Weene and Eli Slater finally lost one race in their modified International 110.
2.  Al Schonborn in his Wayfarer.
3.  Bob Astrove in his Lightning.

OVERALL RESULTS (except for the two Performance classes):
Corinthian class:
1.  David Edinberg (custom 16′3″)
2.  Tom Lippincott (Duster)
3.  Tom Lathrop (Lapwing)
Moth class:
1.  John Zseleczky
2.  Erik Albaugh
3.  George Albaugh

Congratulations to all, skippers and crew and families.
Shall we do it again?
Now I’ll go on vacation for a few days…..  Thanks so much, Carl