Glow Regatta Caps Midwest District Season

There are a lot of things you can control about a regatta: advertise your upcoming event plenty early, line up race committee members, arrange for registration, organize food and trophies. The one thing we all know that you can’t organize is the wind.

For our seventh annual Glow we have become a well-oiled machine: registration, t-shirt orders, race committee, it was all working flawlessly. Then came the weather to mess us up. All week we’d been watching NOAA predictions. There was a gust line on Saturday that had me worried on Tuesday. I was sure by Wednesday it would be gone. Wrong. It was there and growing stronger. Same thing Thursday. By Friday I couldn’t even look.

What can you do? You host a regatta and you wait and hope the weather will cooperate. Saturday dawned calm. I knew that could be misleading, but I was privately hopeful. Even by the skippers’ meeting at 10 a.m. it didn’t seem too bad. There were no whitecaps, after all. When we launched an hour later, however, conditions were looking decidedly less calm. Seasoned sailors were looping and spinning on their way to the course. We headed out and looped and spun ourselves.

Happily, the race committee saw the situation and, instead of starting a race, sent everyone in. Luckily no one capsized but there were some close calls.

In the end the only capsize was later in the evening, after dinner, when a picnic table overbalanced, sending a couple sailors overboard! Hardly any alcohol was involved, honest!

After all the boats came in and were pulled out we sat and watched in wonder as the wind grew and grew. There was talk of gusts to 32 or 38 mph. This was a rare instance where not a soul grumbled about the race committee’s call … probably because we’d all been out and experienced those gusts! 

Here are all the chairs toppled by the wind

A few sailors went into Clinton to experience the Apple and Pork Festival (it’s a Midwest thing, I think), but most people hung around at the club and visited. We had a volleyball net, but the ground was like cement since it had been so dry, so I didn’t even pull it out…note to self, we need one of those bean bag toss games… The beer, courtesy of Deb and Luther Torgerson, of Madison, WI, held up all day, though. 

Camp Torgerson!

We moved up our dinner schedule because of the threat of rain. After our steak cookout, followed by brownies and cookies and more beer we all sat by the bonfire and decked ourselves out in glow sticks. No sailing, but so far, a good regatta even so. 

Luckily the rain held off until the middle of the night. At least one tent was flooded but I think everyone else stayed fairly dry. The morning dawned clear and cooler and the wind was, as Goldilocks would say, just right. Not too big, not too small.

After a hot breakfast cooked over the fire by Ken Johnson and his trusty sous chefs Chris Tesdal, Jamie Cash, and Maria Benner, we all headed to the course. We had one minor setback at the ramp when Henry Schultz’s Prius got stuck in the gravel. Luckily that car is so light we just pushed it right out and used a four-wheel drive to pull his trailer. Then we were in business!!

Even though our cutoff was noon, we fit in three, good-length, windward-leeward, twice-around races in about 10 mph wind, which I think was enough for everyone to feel as if they’d really been sailing. The wind was shifty enough that fleet positions changed frequently, which was both frustrating and exhilarating, of course. 

In the end, Ryan Malmgren and Stacey Rieu, sailing Rick’s Café Américain, sailed strong and consistently, followed closely by Harry and Carrie Carpenter, sailing Eva, a new boat he delivered to Frank and Marianne Gerry at the regatta. 

Here are Harry, Ryan and Frank at Frank's new boat, Eva

Randy Adolphs and his son, Dave, sailing Into the Mystic, had a strong regatta, finishing third. Ben Williams and Deb Aronson finished fourth and Frank and Marianne Gerry finished fifth.

This year trophies were neon-colored towels, embroidered with contrasting, neon thread.

In a new Glow tradition, we offered hamburgers for lunch. Considering how fast everyone stopped what they were doing and came to eat, I realize we should have started doing that years ago, rather than having everyone hit the road hungry. So, another note to self, buy more hamburgers next year!

Here are the final results

20 Boats Coming to the Glow!

We are going to have an awesome event this weekend at the Glow in the Dark Regatta at Clinton Lake. It's not too late to come, you can register on site. So far we will have 20 boats attending, the most we've ever had, so come join the fun!!
Questions? Call me Deb at 217-417-1794

Also, we have eight boats who have sailed at least two of the designated regattas in the Midwest Travel Series, so if they come to the regatta they'll be in the running for the travel trophy!
Those boats are:
Eric Bussell
Geoff Endris
Michael Faugust
Frank Gerry
Jeff Gilman
Mike Pitzer
Ben Williams
Chris Wright

Adventures in Michigan

Ben and I traveled to the Michigan-Ontario District twice in the last month, once to Crystal Lake and then last weekend to Portage Lake (near Ann Arbor). We had a great time, and great wind, at both clubs. It's not a bad drive for us. In both cases it took a little over 5 hours of driving time. There is the pesky matter of losing an hour on the way there, but that's life.

At Crystal Lake we had 11 boats from six different clubs. It was also their districts, so that added a level of competition and excitement too! The wind was great both days (see photo above!). That's us and the Gerrys duking it out. Bill and John Pfund are probably just outside the frame....

The most unusual thing that happened that weekend was that Ben and I got into a port/starboard with a loon Sunday morning. It was THRILLING! I've never been that close to a loon before. I would say it looked a little startled and nonplussed by our boat before it dove. But it was very cool to see its elaborate black and white markings. If you've never heard a loon call, you can hear it here:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_loon/sounds

The results and a good write up of the weekend can be found at the FSSA website under regatta results. Steve R, the regatta chair, also put up a great collection of photos at that same link. Crystal Lake District results

 Here are Frank and Marianne Gerry, the regatta winners, celebrating with three servings of ice cream!

 From left, John and Bill Pfund, winners of the Michigan-Ontario Districts, and Suzie and Brian Hawkins, of Portage Lake, also in Michigan. They were the hosts of the Hot Scot regatta ... see below!

The "Steves." Steve Last, on right, was the very dedicated PRO, and Steve Rajkovich, the fleet captain and photographer for the weekend.

Here is the Crystal Lake Clubhouse. It's very attractive. And here is the boat ramp...I think it is the smallest ramp I have ever used! And it goes right into a marsh, but it is very very pretty....


Then just last weekend we hopped in the car again for another jaunt to Michigan. This time to Portage Lake, home of Brian and Suzie Hawkins, among other sailors, and the Hot Scot regatta. We had another really fun weekend. This one was extra special because we got to visit my childhood pal, Nancy, and her family (hubby Steve, kids Ben and Isabel). They took us to a great ice cream place and Saturday night we had dinner at an amazing Italian place, called Mani's, I think.

Anyway, the sailing...wind was pretty good both days, though it was a little gusty at times. Portage Lake is tiny and yet the race committee is good at setting long races. They do that by having us go around so many times that you get dizzy and can't remember what lap you are on! They use these placards, painted wood with symbols for either an upwind and downwind loop or a single up or down. The races this weekend consisted of, picture it, three plaques with up and back images, with three more plaques, each with a single arrow. So we were doing four and a half ... loops, if you will. My job was to count and not get confused. I almost had to use all my fingers to keep track!

The most exciting thing that happened to us the first day, the first race in fact, was that while trying to get the starboard spinnaker sheet back around the bow (we'd lost it under the boat...we NEVER lose it under the boat. NEVER!!), I fell off the boat. The first thing I thought was, "DRAT," because we had been reeling in the leader, Bill and John Pfund, and at that point were just barely ahead of them. The second thing I thought was, "no problem, Ben will grab me and pull me in." NOPE. He grabbed me all right, but then I PULLED HIM in!!

Luckily, I was still holding the spinn sheet, don't know how or why, so  I left Ben and his bright yellow life vest floating in the lake, and pulled myself back to the boat. The jib was still cleated so that baby was sailing!! The safety boat (thank you safety boat, never got a chance to do that on Saturday) helped me clamber into the boat, I uncleated the jib, the Pfunds delivered Ben back to the boat and we limped back to the starting line to try our luck in the second race.

It did seem to be the regatta of a million problems for us! That spinnaker sheet did not want to behave, then the clip that attaches the jib to the foredeck came undone and the jib folded up like an accordian. That is slow, so there I was back on the bow, trying to fix the jib and not fall in (I was successful that time, but only barely). Our lines got knotted over and over in the most creative and unique ways I've ever seen. The vang in with the jib, the spinn in with the centerboard, you get the idea. But anyways....as they say, we kept sailing and having a great time. No other disasters, but some near misses....

Lessons we learned Saturday: when/if I fall off the boat, Ben will let me go, and do a man overboard drill once he's stopped the boat; and when you have to re-rig a spinnaker sheet, better to do it on the downwind and hoist the chute a little late than fall off the boat and not finish the race! A third, embarrassing lesson I learned was to make sure your clothes are comfortable. The fleet came back in between the second and third races and I put on an underlayer to make up for being sopping wet, but it made my pants fit too tight. That whole last race I felt like I'd aged 20 years! I couldn't move, everything I did was a struggle. I thought I was just tired from my "swim," but it was definitely not that. The next day I just wore my foul weather pants and that worked great. I felt like a million bucks! And it probably helped our sailing...see below

Sunday we came back, refreshed by our Italian dinner with Nancy and Steve and rejuvenated by the fresh, beautiful weather. The wind was still kind of gusty but the holes were much bigger. The first race we lucked out with a shift in our favor (finally!!) that put us 1/2 a leg ahead of the fleet. We managed to keep our lead despite some nerve wracking moments when we had no wind and everybody else did...or at least it felt that way. I learned that when  you get that far ahead, no lead is enough, you always want a bigger, more comfortable one. And yet, when you are grappling the whole race, then a boat length or two at the finish feels like plenty.

The second race we had another good start but as the holes grew more frequent, I was moving all over the boat trying to keep it balanced. It was a losing battle. No sooner had I got to the low end, but a gust came and I should have been hiking. I got up to the high side, only for Ben to urge me (note there was no yelling implied), "go low! go low!" And so it goes...

We rounded the last leeward mark just behind Bill and John Pfund and John's fiancee Katie (didn't catch her last name). Thanks to some savvy strategy on Ben's part we managed to pass them and then stay, barely, between them and the finish, eeking out a second place finish. It was satisfying to catch Bill because he is a tough tough sailor who is very good at reeling sailors in himself.

 Bill, Katie and John accepting their first place trophy...

 Here is the Portage Lake clubhouse. It's owned by a single guy and it's got a great viewing deck. Forest Rogers spectated both days from there, I believe.

The day turned pretty chilly by the end, and while we ate the pizza that Brian and Susie (Suzie? Suzy? help!) had ordered, we bundled up and  enjoyed the trophy presentation. The Pfunds won, for something like the sixth year in a row. Maybe we'll have to come back next year!! I know Frank and Marianne Gerry got third place and the rest I can't remember. Maybe I'll email Brian and see if he can send me the full results....
Here they are:
file:///Users/debarons/Desktop/2013%20HotScotFinal.html

Anyway, that's it from my sailing world for now. Just four days until the Glow in the Dark begins. Also we have eight sailors who have qualified for the Travel Series, assuming they come to the Glow! We'll award that trophy at the end of the weekend, too. Stay tuned!!

It's Not Too Late! Two More Regattas in the Traveling Series.

For anyone who might have been reading these posts you'll know that we've inaugurated a traveling series trophy this year. So far the qualifying regattas have been the Districts, Sheridan Shores Race Weekend and Ephraim. If you have sailed any one of those you are still in the running for the trophy. You must sail three regattas to qualify and there are two more regattas on our "dance card."

Those are:
Egyptian Cup, Carlyle Lake, Labor Day Weekend
Glow in the Dark, Clinton Lake, September 28 and 29

I will post a photo of the trophy in the near future...I hope!

Also, briefly, here is the scoring:

At each regatta

First place = 10 points

Second place = 9 points

Third place = 8 points

Fourth place = 7 points

Fifth place = 6 points

Sixth place = 5 points

Seventh place = 4 points

Eight place or greater = 3 points

DNC = 0 points

Ryan Malmgren and Stacey Rieu Win 108th Ephraim Regatta

Top place in the Ephraim regatta (August 3 & 4) was a duel between Ryan Malmgren and Stacey Rieu and Mike Faugust and Jennifer Ikeda, which came down to Sunday's last race, when Ryan and Stacey prevailed. Exciting racing!!

Conditions Saturday were light and very shifty, taxing the excellent race committee headed by Don Smith and Chris Kacinski, who came up from Lake Norman, NC, to serve as PRO. They held out for some decent wind, having to almost continually move the marks and the boat, but their persistence paid off and we got two races in on Saturday.

The fleet was crazy aggressive. After the second general recall Don put up the "I" flag, but then had to postpone the race as the wind shifted again. By the time he got the line re-set and the wind filled back in he tried to run a standard race and AGAIN the fleet was over early. So then came the "Z" flag!

Do you remember what the "Z" flag even looks like?! I had fun talking to Don and Chris at the bratfest about what was going on on their boat. Don said, "One more general recall and I was going to go to the Black Flag!!"

Sunday the wind was steadier and there was a little less chop. Don and Chris didn't mess around and put the "I" flag up first thing. And the fleet was again over early. So then Don flew the "I" together with the "Z" and that seemed to calm everyone down!

We always have so much fun when we come up to Ephraim. The weather was gorgeous, as usual. though there was a deluge during the bratfest it did not dampen anyone's spirits. Ben and I particularly enjoyed talking with Ryan's mom, who came to the bratfest and also was at the club Sunday after racing was finished.

Full results are here:
http://www.fssa.com/content/2013-ephraim-108th-annual-regatta

Sheridan Shores Had Wind and Party Atmosphere

Bahai Temple behind Sheridan Shores Yacht Club

 Sheridan Shores, just north of Chicago, has a small club with tons of boats. It has a gorgeous view of the Bahai Temple, just to its west. Cool building, if you are ever in the neighborhood.

 Ben and I have never been to this regatta, Sheridan Shores Race Weekend (July 27 & 28), mostly because it is a multi-class regatta and, for whatever reason, Scots in our district don't tend to travel to it. Still, it is part of our Midwest Travel Series, so Ben and I wanted to support it. We had three out-of-town boats, us, Mike Pitzer from Carlyle Lake, and Henry Schultz from Neenah, WI.  Henry we don't see much, but he is a fast, fast sailor. His crew, Pierce (whose last name I did not catch), has moved back to Neenah, so maybe we'll see them on the circuit some more this year. That would be awesome!

Meanwhile, back to the harbor: to get many of those (sometimes enormous) boats in the water they have to use this monster hoist, requiring professional operators. Using it to put Sophie in the water was a little overkill, but still, it worked. And check out the size of that hoist!

Monster hoist putting Sophie in the water

 The wind Saturday was pretty windy, but more challenging were the waves, which were about 4-5 feet. I almost got seasick! Things got really hairy in the middle of the last race, when we got a puff of about 24 mph that almost knocked Ben and me over. To make matters more chaotic, my foul weather pants had fallen down to my knees. They've been a problem before: I tend to put them on over everything else, including my life jacket and the shoulder straps are just not tight enough to keep them up. It wasn't a problem until our almost capsize when I couldn't move fast enough to do my part, being "leg cuffed" in my pants.

Once we got past the risk of capsize i wouldn't do anything until I got my pants off and got my shoes back on. By that point we were half way down the downwind  leg and the wind was honking. Ben started thinking we should put the chute up and then he saw John and Chris Wright almost capsize gybing without their chute and he decided to play it a little conservative...

Of course, John Wright apparently had some trouble with his foul weather pants too...We'll have to find out the details!

The sailing was thrilling! I never imagined I would say that. I was sopping wet and a little terrified, but it was also really really fun. Of course, that also could be because we did well, catching Chris and John on the last leg of that race and catching Henry and Pierce on the first race. It's also because after traveling and sailing so much I have been almost completely de-sensitized to fear on the boat. Almost, mind you.

After two hair-raising races (actually more like hair plastered to my face) we came in and still had time to sink into a hot bath and take a nap before the lobster fest.  The party ("Clause for Celebration" har har) was the club's chance to celebrate re-earning the lease on the property. There were some ugly politics and it looked very likely that one-design racing, especially in dinghies, was going to get flushed down the pipes, when the lease was not renewed. But then, thanks I'm sure to some backroom maneuvers, the club got the lease back. Whew!

Lobsters, yum!

Sunday the wind had moderated a tiny bit and clocked more northwest so the waves were not quite as bad. I also don't remember any puffs like we had on Saturday.  You can see the Chicago skyline in the photo below ... kind of!

Sunday, no waves!

After we pulled our boat, jumping in line ahead of a J-24 — have you ever seen a J-24 hoisted from the water?! — the club had a really nice hot lunch grilled on the patio, where we joined our Flying Scot pals and relaxed in the sunshine. It was an awesome weekend and we'll do it again next year!

Fleet Captain Mike Fuller with his arms up celebrating

108th Annual Ephraim Regatta

The Ephraim Yacht Club invites all Flying Scot sailors to participate in the 108th annual Ephraim Regatta on August 2-3-4, 2013.  The Ephraim Regatta is consistently one of the largest Flying Scot regattas in the country, and features two great parties, a beautiful sailing area, and superb hospitality (the EYC won US Sailing’s One Design Regatta of the Year award in 2009 for its hosting of the Flying Scot NAC).  The NOR is available and registration is open at www.eyc.org/racing.  For more information contact regatta chairman Jay Lott dockside@eyc.org