Ben and I went to the Ohio Districts to help support the young Flying Scot fleet at the host club at Lake Pymatuning, Ohio. The regatta coincided with their annual Independence Day regatta and I haven't seen so many boats in one place since I was at St. Petersburg. There were 45 Thistles, 20 Flying Scots, six Lightnings, about the same number of Highlanders and J-22s. You'd think that tempers would flare trying to maneuver all the boats into the water, but nothing of the sort happened. Everyone was very mellow and patient with one another. As Ben and I rigged our boat in the middle of the lot, blocking several parked boats since it was the only free place without overhead wires, a Lake Pymatuning Thistle sailor generously moved his buddy's Thistle (who wasn't sailing the regatta) onto the grass so Ben and I could pull in and out of the way. Very kind! This photo doesn't even convey the degree of crowdedness, but it's the best I could do.
Pymatuning is a large lake and it has a horse power restriction on boat
motors so we had the lake to ourselves, except for some pontoon boats
and fishermen. The wind was light on Saturday and I'm not sure we really should have had the last race, which ended this way!
Though I shouldn't complain because Ben and I were at the back of the fleet on that last race, with not even a whisper of wind. Our mantra, "don't give up," and so I practiced not feeling frustrated (practice being the operative word). On the last leg we got some weird private wind and ghosted past a big knot of boats, coming in second. The wind gods were on patrol for us, I guess!
Sunday was a little windier — we were even both on the high side! — and we got a couple very good races in. Bruce and Lynn Kitchen had an awesome day, beating Harry Carpenter and Courtney Dunham in one race.
I don't have the results, unfortunately, but I'll try to track them down....
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