Districts/Egyptian Cup: Not Much Wind, But SO Much Fun!!

All these great photos were provided by Jeannette Beier, wife of Ted Beier. You can see more here

This weekend's prediction did not look great. With a high of 3 mph predicted for Saturday, many sailors did not bother putting their boats in the water. Sure enough, at the skippers' meeting at 9:30 Ted Beier, Carlyle Lake's PRO, said he was going to postpone in the hopes of a little more wind in the afternoon. Ted mentioned that he might even wait so late in the day that we wouldn't get off the water until 6 or 7 pm. The day also promised to be oppressively hot, so many/most headed for the air conditioned club house.

Meanwhile, the postponement gave Brian Hayes, representative for North Sails, time to give a detailed power point presentation on several elements of racing. This was in addition to his all-day seminar on Friday about sail trimming and boat rigging. The thing to know about Brian is that he is a master entertainer. Even experienced sailors, who knew most of what he talked about, stayed for the sheer magnetism and humor of his presentation. There is no way to convey that humor or skilled delivery, but if you ever get a chance to see Brian in action, don't miss it.

Brian Hayes, in blue hat, providing tips on Friday

Next came lunch. The lake became calmer and calmer and calmer. Next came naps, gab fests in the air conditioned club, and laugh fests out under the trees. But no wind. At 3 pm Ted looked. He looked hard. Nothing. At 3:30, same thing. Would he call it? Let's wait until 4, he said. Sailors started popping beer tops. Those that had put in their boats started to pull them out (though many waited until dusk when the temperature had become bearable). Finally, about 4:30 even Ted gave up and blew the horn to signal no racing today. These things happen.

Meanwhile, the day was just gearing up. In case you hadn't heard, CSA has two gourmet chefs that run a catering company called...And the food, which I believe I have written about here before, was, as usual, magnificent. The food was fresh, with lovley, light sauces on little baby vegetables, a salad so flavorful it was a meal in itself, a rice pilaf with chicken dish that tasted a bit tangy, and some lovely steak. Ahhhh! And, then, as if that weren't enough. The Pharoah, aka Mike Pitzer, arranged for fleet member Linda Ditzler to sing. Linda has an amazing voice and stage presence. She showed up with a vaguely Egyptian gown, decidedly Egyptian make up and proceeded to sing "King Tut," with the game dancing assistance of Emilio Tellini and Mike Pitzer. Let me give you just a small sample:

The evening was magnificent. Meanwhile, PRO Ted Beier moved the Sunday start up by 30 minutes in an effort to catch the early morning easterly.You wouldn't think 30 minutes would make a difference, but it sure did.



We managed to get a three-leg race in before the easterly petered out. Ryan and Stacey won the pin end (as you can see from Eric's postings on this blog) and they were gone! Meanwhile, the wind shifted about 30 degrees. Ben and I were hoping it signaled the southerly that might arrive. Ted repositioned the course and sent us off again. We were optimistic this time, but once again the wind gave a gasp and disappeared. Ted again shortened the course to three legs and we were done. In that race, again, Ryan and Stacey got off cleanly from the start and had clear air the whole race. The go pro videos Eric posted are very cool!

Egyptian Cup, Districts results

Frank and Marianne Gerry. Perfect boat balance!