USSCA MidAtlantic Region

Green Pond Yacht Club hosted 31 Sunfish sailors from across the MidAtlantic, New York and New England Regions.  The regional championship was run as part of Green Pond’s Biennial Howard Griswold Memorial Regatta.

The first day of racing treated the fleet with a shifty south-southwest breeze between 10 and 15 mph.  The wind was slightly left of the length of the lake which allowed for long upwind legs with minimal interference from the trademark cliffs that hover over the northwest shore.

Steve Manson started the regatta with a bang.  He precisely tied the shifts together on the first windward leg and jumped out to a large lead on the fleet.  For the rest of the race, Manson protected his lead and held off Mark May to earn the bullet.  In the next three races, Derek Jackson and Bill Betts III played the right center part of the course upwind and repeatedly found themselves 1-2 at windward mark.  However, in each race Derek was able to put some distance between the two of them on the downwind legs and reeled off 3 consecutive first place finishes.

At the end of the first day, Derek Jackson had a small lead overall.  Steve Manson, Mark May, Chad Coberly and Bill Betts rounded out the top 5.

After strong thunderstorms passed through the area on Saturday night, the wind shifted to the northwest for Sunday’s races.  This brought the high cliffs that line the northwest shore into play.  In a northwest breeze, the wind dives off the cliff tops, hits down in the middle of the lake and fans out.  This results in extremely challenging conditions that feature huge puffs and shifts, and extremely large holes.   Steve Manson tamed the wild winds and started the day with two consecutive bullets and jumped into the regatta lead.

In the third race Steve found himself deep in the fleet at the windward mark.  Despite a valiant effort that brought him to within a few feet of the race leaders by the leeward mark, he was only able to salvage a 10th place.  This setup a final race showdown between Steve Manson and Derek Jackson for the championship.

In the final race of the series, Steve Manson was again deep in the fleet at the first mark of the short windward leeward course.  Steve kept his air clear and rode the puffs down the lake to close the gap on the race leaders who struggled around the course.  Steve rounded the leeward mark immediately behind Derek.  Shortly after the leeward mark rounding, the two were split by a large pack of boats sailing downwind.  When they crossed again, Manson was 100 yards in front of Jackson.  Steve continued his assault on the race leaders and climbed back to third place to win the regatta.

At the regatta’s conclusion, Chad Coberly of Pittsburgh, PA managed to jump Mark May to finish in third place overall.  Green Pond’s Bob Griswold rebounded from an atypical first day to finish 5th.  Joe Wright, also from Green Pond, had the lowest point total on Sunday and moved into sixth place overall, only two points behind his fellow club member.

Full Results
Video from Race 1
Video from Race 2

Green Pond Yacht Club Website

Day 1 of the MidAtlantic Regional Championship at Brant Beach Yacht Club was sailed in a 10 knot northerly.  The first three races were short once around windward leewards.  The second four were twice around windward leewards.  At the end of the first Day, Mark May of Shattemuc Yacht Club in NY had a slim lead over Brant Beach Yacht Club’s Chris Williams.

As Day 2 dawned, there was a little more wind.  Chris Williams used his “go left” strategy to produce results of 1-1-2 in the final three races.  This was enough to overcome Mark May.

With his regatta victory, Chris qualified for the 2010 Sunfish World Championship in Italy.

Full Results

Brant Beach Yacht Club Website

The resurgence of SANJL’s youth Sunfish scene continued at the 2008 Midget and Youth Championship. Highland Lakes Country club hosted seventeen competitors for SANJL’s premiere youth event.

Experience was vital to success at the championship regatta.  The veteran sailors, who had competed at SANJL events in prior years, monopolized the top five places.  However, they were always pushed by the twelve other competitors who were sailing their first SANJL events this year.

The SANJL youth sail downwind
Photo by Sue Buruchian

Detailed Summary and Full Results

It has been said that there are two sides to every story.  That was definitely true of the 2008 MAYRA Regatta at the Yacht Club of Pleasantville.

Mother Nature flexed her powerful muscles on Saturday July 27.  Strong thunderstorm cells formed and approached the Atlantic City area from the west.  Unfortunately, lightning and high winds threatened to keep sailors onshore for the day.  Mother Nature was well positioned to “win” the regatta, and leave the Sunfish sailors helpless in her wake.

However, sometimes when a dominant position is established, over confidence and a relaxed attitude leaves the door open for others to take advantage.  Mother Nature did just that.  Her plans for the day faltered and a brief window of opportunity appeared for the fleet to write their side of the story.

When a window appeared between two storm cells, the race officials and sailors ventured to the water.  The hearty skippers flexed muscles of their own in the 20 knot wind gusts.  The fleet overcame the elements, persisted for two races and enjoyed some fun rides on their boats.

Despite the sailors’ best efforts, Mother Nature would not be denied.  She had finally seen enough and closed the door on the fleet.  The regatta ended and the boats were forced to shore as a second thunderstorm loomed.

While Mother Nature smiled with pride at her handiwork, the race officials tallied the regatta’s scores onshore.  Jenna Balicki was victorious in the youth division.  Jim Greenfield beat out Bill McLaughlin, Tom Doris and Art Littleton in the Master’s division.  Mother Nature was left puzzled about how she had been excluded from the day’s honors.

As the tired sailors crawled into their cars, faint whispers could be heard through the falling rain.  “When is it supposed to stop?”  Finally it dawned on Mother Nature; she had DNFed.

Balicki, Jenna - 1st Place Youth
Greenfield, Jim - 1st Place Master
McLaughlin, Bill - 2nd Place Master
Doris, Tom - 3rd Place Master
Littleton, Art - 4th Place Master

MAYRA website

Thirteen young skippers successfully endured light, challenging conditions throughout the day as thunderstorms threatened.  The day’s winners were those sailors who consistency maintained their speed in the trying breeze by keeping their heads out of the boat and avoiding competitors’ wind shadows.

Lucy Bertocci leads the fleet downwind

Three experienced sailors walked away with the day’s coveted Junior hardware.  Lucy Bertocci finished first, Alec Manson was second and Nathan Altomare was third.  Despite competing in their first regatta, Andrew Daniel and Robert Gossett dominated the Midget division and gave the seasoned Junior veterans all they could handle. Andrew and Robert finished tied in points in the Midget Division and were closely followed by Spencer Holmberg in third.

More important than any individual trophy was the fearless tenacity demonstrated by the participants.  Half of skippers in attendance were racing in their first regatta, and for some it was the first time racing a sailboat!  Everyone left feeling rightfully proud of their accomplishments.  The future of youth Sunfish sailing in Northern New Jersey looks bright.

Detailed Summary and Full Results

Cooper River looking west to the skyscrapers
Photo by D. Howlett and R. Richards

Cooper River Yacht Club regatta was held this past weekend and the Sunfish sailed with Lasers on Sunday June 29, 2008.  It was a typical Cooper River day: large variations in wind direction and velocity. PRO Jim Greenfield set a short triangular course that had the sailors taking the marks to starboard and finishing in front of the club house.  The predicted gradient from the southwest held and the late afternoon build and shift to the south did not materialize for the races.  Because Cooper River (a dammed up tidal creek with a view of Philadelphia on the edge of  Camden, NJ.) is but 100 yards wide at best and kind of east-west in orientation the first leg was in the across direction.  This meant a generally windward start, but a very short leg.  Thus, the start was crucial, though not always decisive.  Art Littleton, the eventual winner, was very consistent in this regard, and was always in the leader group.  But because of serious lulls and puffs on a highly localized basis one could see a nice lead disappear in an instant. Connie Meeks flashed a first in the first race and one could see that the light weight reachers and runners had an advantage.  But  experience counts because the first six finishers at the end were Cooper River YC locals.  Mike Parsons finished second without a bullet and Allyn Miner, fast all day, took third and finished strong with two firsts.  Dave Oberg, a really good local sailor, took fourth and first grandmaster.  Mark Horihan was the first in the youth division.

Littleton leads McLaughlin and Graham in the light stuff
Photo by D. Howlett and R. Richards

Looking down the line at the last start
Photo by D. Howlett and R. Richards

Allyn Minor demonstrating excellent form and speed in shifty conditions
Photo by D. Howlett and R. Richards

by Bill McLaughlin 77721

Full Results

MAYRA website
Cooper River Yacht Club website

24 boats showed up to compete at the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association in Delaware this past weekend, June 21-22nd, 2008. Sailors travelled from at least 6 states for the competition including Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, and New Jersey. Among the competitors was former Sunfish Regional champions and place winners, in addition to one former North American Continental Champion David Davies, whom shared the hotel costs with me over the weekend.

The group of competitors were treated to beautiful sunny weather and wind conditions that increased each day as it progressed between a range of 7-15mph, with the occasional gust over 20mph. Race Committee Chairman Dave Racine setup excellent Modified Olympic courses with each leg being approximately a half-mile for races totaling 3 miles in length. The starting lines were very square to the wind, probably one of the finest jobs of line-setting that I have personally witnessed. The benefit of the squared starting lines was that we did not have 1 general recall for the entire regatta. In addition, I would like to thank all of the people involved with the regatta for their excellent hospitality. I especially enjoyed the Saturday evening meal which highlighted Pulled-Pork, veggies, breads, and some fine dessert selections.

On day 1, the fleet managed to complete 4 competitive races all decided by less than 100 feet distance separating first and second, with 2 of the races won by just boat-lengths. However, at the end of Day 1, Brian McGinnis amassed four first-place finishes to end the day with 4 points total. 2nd place on Day 1 went to John Meier of Virginia totaling 12 points, 3rd place to Steve Evans of Delaware with 16 points, 4th place to Sarah Lester of Delaware with 20 points, and 5th place to Chris Raubacher of Delaware with 24 points.

The interesting element of the day was the upwind dynamic; each layline provided sailors with a small lift as they approached the mark on that tack. However, when in doubt, I tended to choose the right side as it seemed their may have been a slight velocity benefit on that side. Each race brought with it a little more wind and waves as the day progressed, I can recall sliding back my gooseneck slightly before each new race. Consistent downwind speed throughout the day was the necessary edge that propelled to cross the finish line first in all the days races. One thing I noticed is that I personally sailed with much more vang on then the other sailors, I think this contributed to my downwind speed advantage.

Day 2 was very similar to the first day as far as the weather conditions go, the only difference being that we were not on the water as late on Sunday as the previous day. Soon after reaching shore at days end Sunday, I noticed the wind howling again as it had around 3-4pm the previous day. With the wind starting at around 7mph for the first race, Brian McGinnis managed to pull off another 1st place finish, virtually clinching the regatta unless something catastrophic was to happen. Brian McGinnis finished the regatta off with a throw-out race of a 7th place, followed by a 2nd place finish in the final race to complete the regatta with 7 points total and earning him not only the Regional Championship, but qualifying him for the 2009 Sunfish World Championship currently destined for Nassau, Bahamas. The next 2 races really became a dogfight for second place in the regatta. Steve Evans pulled off a 2nd place, then 1st place, in the last 2 races to come from behind and capture 2nd overall in the regatta with 15 points. John Meier stayed consistent throughout and held on for third just a few points behind.

by Brian McGinnis 3481

Full Results

Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association website

Five boats attended the second MAYRA regatta of 2008.  Results to come…

MAYRA website
Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia website

First of all, what a great day! After suffering through a horrendous heat wave the weekend before it was a pleasure to find such fine sailing conditions for this one-day regatta. The t-shirt says “The best small boat regatta venue you’ll find”, they weren’t kidding. 18 boats registered for the regatta and everyone ranging from master, women’s and juniors were in attendance. Being that it was an Area qualifier for the O-Day national championship; the Sunfish class had a bit more urgency than the other classes on the water. The wind conditions ranged from 8-10 in the morning for 14-16 in the afternoon and the direction remained constant throughout the day.

Jack McCarthy Was The Top BBYC Finisher
Photo by Scot and Suzanne Ellis

The race committee was run by a local legend. I don’t remember his name but at the skipper’s meeting he warned us that 11 races will not be out of the question. He abandoned the traditional “order” of starts. His philosophy was “Whatever fleet is ready, I’ll start” and it worked beautifully. He also believed more races instead of longer races (something that this author agrees with) were important, and to his credit the cream always seemed to rise to the top. We raced with Lasers, Optis, and 420s and the committee did a fantastic job keeping the fleets separated.

BBYC Youth Sailor Jake Ellis
Photo by Scot and Suzanne Ellis

I am trying to remember each race, however we sailed 7 races in just over 4 hours, and I am having trouble distinguishing one race from the next. I do remember that Art Littleton from Cooper River sailed a consistent regatta, recording only 15 points in 7 races. That is tough to beat. And he ended up the winner followed by Todd Pearce (20pts) and Steven Drapcho (32 pts).

Cooper River YC’s Judy Lazo Was The Top Female
Photo by Scot and Suzanne Ellis

The regatta ended with great burgers, grilled chicken and cold beer. And of course, the quickest awards presentation I have seen in a long time. I know I will be making the trip to Brant Beach next June to sail again….how about you?

by Todd Pearce 46714

Full Results

Brant Beach Yacht Club website
US Sailing O’Day Championship website

Bill McLaughlin sailing downwind
Photo by June Neuman of RYC

It must have been the hysterical weather reports. Mid-90’s hot and humid. Time to sit in the AC. Only three stalwarts of the class in MAYRA showed up. I was there early to putter with the rigging. Dave Graham, a consistently good sailer from Cooper River YC, the land of good sailors also showed up. Then the old master Jimmy Greenfield, showed up. But that was it. The wind was under 5 knots for almost all of the first three races with the occasional puff coming up the river from the southwest. Then it started kicking for the last two races. Jimmy Greenfield dominated in the light stuff, pointing higher and moving faster than Dave who finished behind him, and the two of them burying me in last. Even with a couple of good starts by Dave and me, Jimmy pointed higher and moved faster than his two sorry rivals. But in the forth race the finish got tighter with the same order of finishes. Of course that clinched it for Jimmy, but he started in the next races as the wind rose to over 12 knots with puffs to 15 or so. Again Jimmy got to the weather mark first by playing the shifts correctly, but not by much. I got my mojo working and was right behind. But then Jimmy headed for the dock to quit for the day! Like the batter just watching the ball go over the fence at the plate. I was really looking forward to a competitive race just to possibly mix up the order. It was not to be. I worked out a nice lead on Dave and that was it for the day. Jimmy 1, Dave 2 and Bill 3.

Jim Greenfield was untouchable for most of the day
Photo by June Neuman of RYC

The series was raced in an outgoing tide on the Delaware River with the wind blowing generally the other way without huge shifts. Because of this, the port tack after the start out into the current and nice clear wind was the only choice and many racers (The Lasers) would only tack once. Some shift ladder climbing was possible once you got out into the current, and both Jim and Dave used them to get ahead in the light to medium stuff.

Bill McLaughlin rounds a mark inside of Dave Graham
Photo by June Neuman of RYC

A word must be said about this club. It is the most unusual facility I have ever seen for a Yacht Club. A long, heavy duty peer wide enough to store a variety of racing boats a couple of hundred feet long. At the end is a wider section topped with a 2 1/2 story high Victorian boathouse complete with finials and brackets with a proper multi-chromatic paint job. Really nifty to look at and it puts you out in the breeze on the Delaware River. Which brings me back to the low turnout. It was hot, and it made you sweat, but it was a good day on the water even when you were hanging at the club because of the wind, which was predicted in the weather reports. (5 to 10 knots) The race committee was excellent and cold water was available after each race. Glad I went even if Jimmy beat the pants off of me, again.

by Bill McLaughlin 77721

Full Results

MAYRA website
Riverton Yacht Club website