We went to Ephraim this past weekend. I know this blog is
technically for all of the Midwest District, but I’ve got to give a shout out
to the SEVEN boats that came from Fleet 135. We were all very, very proud. It
was the first time for a few of our sailors. In another case (Rick and Chris,
I’m looking at you!) they decided to come up the day before — AND found a
camping site. They live a charmed life I guess.
Speaking of travelers, this year there were two sailors up
from Florida, Tom McNally and Charlie (and his wife, Cindy) Clifton, as well as
Larry Taggert from New Orleans and Harry Carpenter and Melanie Dunham from Deep
Creek Maryland, not to mention Mark and Maria Benner, who traveled at least as
far, coming from Pittsburgh. It’s a real testament to the event to attract
people from so far away.
Ephraim is an epic event. This year they counted 35 boats. Friday
was kind of freaky, however, because the winds were sustained in the high 20s
with gusts so strong they blew you backwards. No one could put up their mast
because of the wind. And, because the wind was out of the north, the waves at
the club were incredible.
Everyone’s wheel chocks just floated away!
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| Here is a pile of chocks that were collected as they floated away |
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| Participants gathered at the end of the regatta |
Amazing. Still, Harry Carpenter gave an outstanding talk on
starting in large fleets that was very well attended. Those kinds of sessions
are always worth it — no matter how experienced you are you learn something
new.
Anyway, as predicted, the wind completely settled down by
Saturday morning and we had three races in increasingly light wind. The water
had also settled down though there still was some chop and a few errant waves.
We may have hit every one! (Kidding). Saturday’s races were each five legs and
each lasted an hour, so it was a real endurance test out there. Stacey Rieu and
Ryan Malmgren had an outstanding day with two bullets and a fourth-place
finish. Tom McNally (up from Sarasota, Florida) and local crew Liz Gheorghita
were in hot pursuit with seven points, as were Jennifer Ikeda and Michael
Faugust with nine points.
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| Never got to chat with these sailors but admired their one-of-a-kind sails |
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| Debbie and To m Yeagle from Clinton Lake. Debbie's first time sailing at Ephraim! |
The legendary bratfest was legendary, as usual. How could it
not be? J
Rain poured down at one point in the evening and everyone
crammed in under the one tent area. It was pretty loud, but that’s always the
sign of a good time, right?
Sunday was another light wind day. Even when people might
have been frustrated about the conditions it was hard to feel upset when you
took a minute to appreciate the gorgeous setting and the refreshing
temperatures. It was hard to believe it was August, the weather was so mild. Still,
the conditions were challenging. The poor mark boat set the mark to the north,
then had to dash to the west when the wind shifted about 30 degrees or more.
And then, of course, they had to dash back toward the north about 15-20 degrees
just before the start. And the start …. was agonizing. There was so little wind
that the horn went off and what felt like ten minutes later many boats just
crossed the start line. Painful.
Still, there was eventually enough wind that, if you didn’t
move much and your skipper had laser-like focus you could get the boat coasting
a bit. Thankfully the race committee shortened the race to two legs and then
everyone (except the three or four boats that somehow got a tow) struggled to
return to the dock under continued light conditions. A tow would have been
really nice! Just sayin’ … Instead I tried to practice steering with the
spinnaker up. Tried really hard to channel that whole idea of enjoying being in
this gorgeous place but finally gave up and handed the tiller back to my
skipper with a growl.
Ah well! I’m a work in progress, you could say… We packed up
our boats and headed home. But in a few short weeks many of us will re-convene
at Clinton Lake for the Glow in the Dark Regatta September 23-24.
Which reminds me, for those of you paying attention, there
are already more than 10 people qualified for the travel trophy. For those of
you at the Glow you might have envied the qualifying sailors who each received
a trophy made from a tire tread (so clever!) with a small plaque on it. I’m not sure if qualifiers will once again
receive a trophy or simply a plaque to add to their existing tire tread trophy.
I lean toward the later. That way you can just keep adding plaques to your tire
tread trophy til you fill it up! Other opinions are welcome, but I don’t think
we have set this up for comments so feel free to email me! debaronsonATnasw DOT
org
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