Organzing and running a regatta is hard enough, but when the last race has been run, the last trophy given out and all the boats packed up, the really really good teams keep working. They post the results (especially to fssa.com), they post photographs, they write stories about the event.
Fleet 83 at Carlyle Lake has done this and more. Kudos to them!!!
Here is a link that will take you to their website that is full of fabulous photos from Jeannette Beier and Bob Winston. Enjoy!!
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Egyptian Cup ~ Hot as Hades!
Things heated up this weekend at Carlyle Sailing Association with the Egyptian Cup Regatta. It was no surprise that the parking lot seemed to melt under your feet and the downwind runs reminded you of a rotisserie oven. The only relief was a wonderful cooling tent set up on the asphalt desert by our wonderful Fleet 83 Captain Bronson Bowling
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| cooling tent with a sprinkler head in the center of the tarp |
and the welcome AC in the Observation/Club house building, which gave us each a break from the heat. The winds were variable in the 5-8 range and allowed us 3 races on Sat and 2 on Sunday morning. The Egyptian Cup Regatta (ECR) was founded at the Crab Orchard lake and over the years has evolved to be Fleet 83's home turf Flying Scot event.
Twenty-two boats competed in this year’s event with 10 traveling to CSA from Ohio, Tennessee, Kansas, Indiana, Georgia and Clinton Lake of Illinois. Bruce and Lynn Kitchen from Cowan Lake in Ohio were back after a couple years away from ECR with a shiny new "Kitchen Sink III." Bruce also celebrated his 50th birthday and was roasted at the dinner on Saturday eve, and then roasted us all with his final scores and 1st place.
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| Bruce and Lynn leading the fleet around the course |
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| Kitchens (with Bronson to the left) with the venerable Egyptian Cup trophy |
We had some great new additions to the event with three boats traveling up to see us from Privateer Yacht club in Chattanooga, TN. Rob and Patti Fowler, Lynn and Bill Bruss (GA) and Linda Knudson Lind and her crew Hannah Ginese all made the drive from TN and GA to IL, and Rob did especially well with his new boat #6055 which placed 2nd. Thank you to all of our longest distance travelers from Privateer Yacht Club. Also making the journey traveling to Carlyle were Lawrence Bigus and crew David Eisenberg from Kansas Sailing Assoc. KS, Geoff Endris and crew Tom Moore from Eagle Creek Sailing Club, IN. The largest number of traveling boats came from Clinton Lake with Frank and Marianne Gerry, Ben Williams and Deb Aronson, Eric Bussel and Trent Johnson, and Chris Tesdal and Heather Johnson (sailing her first regatta). We thank you each and everyone for traveling on such a hot humid weekend.
All of Fleet 83 pitched in to make the regatta a success. Special awards were presented to Greg and Melissa Ziegenfuss of Butler's Pantry for the outstanding menus they provide and to Ted Beier PRO for heading up another great race committee, both are long time supporters of the ECR, and we thank them for all the time and effort they give each year to the ECR. Another big thanks goes out to Bill Kesler for making registration so much easier this year and for making our ECR web page spectacular!! We also had a retired pharaoh on hand to tell us how bad things have gotten in retirement (thank you Mike Pitzer for rounding out the entertainment). It’s always good to hear so much laughter and lie telling from friends and competitors, and we cannot wait to see everyone at the next regatta.
~By Linda Vitt
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
And Here's Really the Most Important News : Travel Trophy
I have been remiss in reminding people about the Midwest District Travel Trophy. Indy was the first regatta that qualified and this weekend's Egyptian Cup at Carlyle Lake is the second. Other qualifying regattas are Ephraim, the Glow and the Districts, which are being held at Delavan Lake in mid-August (check fssa.com for details).
This year , because the Districts are not connected to a regularly occurring regatta, you have an extra opportunity to qualify for the trophy. Start planning your race schedule and get out there on the road!! As this blog is trying to show you, it's fun fun fun!!!
This year , because the Districts are not connected to a regularly occurring regatta, you have an extra opportunity to qualify for the trophy. Start planning your race schedule and get out there on the road!! As this blog is trying to show you, it's fun fun fun!!!
Berlin Regatta
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| Only photo so far from Berlin. Thank goodness my mouth isn't hanging open like it usually is. More photos coming... |
Still, it was a fun weekend. Again we saw Bruce Kitchen, met his son, Nathan, who was sailing in Lynn's place, and Mark and Maria Benner, Frank and Marianne Gerry (Berlin is really their "home" club, where their kids grew up), plus several sailors from Berlin we see on the circuit, including George and Rachel, Tom Dawson, Marjorie (sailing with her dad), Rick Banning (sailing with his wife), and Jim Diffily, whose wife, Paula, we also met.
In addition, this event is clearly a "family" reunion for the club. So many people who grew up there, returned, with their kids in tow, and visited all weekend. Jim Diffily proudly talked of his kids and his 8 grandkids, several of whom were there this weekend. Did I mention there were tons of kids? That made the meals very enjoyable.
Saturday the wind was ghostlike. I don't like to speak ill of the race committee, but there was so little wind I sat in front of the shroud trying to hold the jib out to make some kind of surface. Even the Thistles were dead still. You know there's no wind when you see that! And I shouldn't complain since Ben and I eked out a win, with Bruce and Nathan accelerating with some fresh breeze they found just 100 yards from the finish! Thankfully race committee called it a day after that.
That evening Berlin Yacht Club outdid itself with appetizers that stretched over two tables and included shrimp, cherries, some crazy yummy dips and more. It was a feast ... and then came dinner!!
The funniest part about Saturday were these kids next to us ... maybe 4-years-old? 5? Who were munching on these cheese balls, like Cheetos but spherical. Bruce Kitchen first asked for one. Naaaah, said the little boy. Bruce begged. Then some more of us started to beg. The boy shook his head, grinning, no no no. They were his! But soon, he shyly offered them around. Then the adults were trying to toss them in their own mouths. I confess both Ben and I fell off the picnic bench trying to catch them, but no luck. It's true that Nathan, Bruce's son, showed us how it was done, but the funniest moment was when a second little boy sidled up to see if he could play. He offered a cheese ball around and Ben accepted the offer. The little boy threw it toward Ben's mouth ... and it went RIGHT IN!!! High point of the night, IMHO!
Sunday didn't look good, but miracle of miracles, at the appointed start time of 9:30 the wind had filled in nicely from the south and we had three fine races. Definitely a full regatta. Bruce and Ben were battling down to the last race. At that point we had two firsts and two seconds and so did Bruce. We realized we had to keep Bruce from winning the last race in order to clinch the regatta. Luckily the last race was a single lap, so we stuck to Bruce like white on rice, as they say. We were so busy covering Bruce and trying to slow him down that we both ended up mid-fleet at the windward mark. No worries, just keep Bruce from the front and it's all good! Anyway, in the end we finished 4th and he was 6th I think, so mission accomplished. It definitely gave me a taste of what's to come at Carlyle Labor Day weekend in their match racing event. Yikes!!
More Catching Up: Wife-Husband and Berlin Lake (Ohio)
Boy, June is a hard month to keep up with! No sooner had we sailed Cowan Lake's Pig Roast Regatta, than we "had" to drive 15 hours to Deltaville, VA, and the annual Wife-Husband Regatta. I've always wanted to sail at Fishing Bay and it lived up to my hopes and more. First of all, it's on the Chesapeake and gorgeous, plus the club is on a spit of land so they have water on both sides. You pull into the club and on the left are slips for big boats and a hoist and to the left is a club house and a ramp. Something for everyone! Did I mention the pool?
With 32 boats, turn out was good and competition was fierce! As you can see from the results (go to fssa.com and click on regatta results) plenty of good sailors had at least one finish in the double digits, with the exceptions being the top two finishers - the Lintons and Roger and Kate Sharp (congratulations you all!). And we'd include Tyler and Carrie Andrews in that list, except that when the wind built significantly on Sunday, they came in before the third race...
Carrie is expecting in September, after all!!
Speaking of the expectant parents, Lynn Bruss (Chattanooga) and Diane Kampf (Massapoag, Mass.) organized such a thoughtful baby shower for Tyler and Carrie. They lured the couple upstairs after dinner Saturday, where they'd decorated and Diane had made cupcakes and everything. The only hard part was that not everyone had heard about it ... considering the plans were made on Facebook and they were trying to keep it a secret, it was hard to send out a global message.
Anyway, sailing, sailing. Saturday the wind started out nice but by the time the race started it was light and shifty. Still, it was race-able. Then the wind died entirely and we sat for a long time hoping for the sea breeze. It came, and that was nice, but it only established itself further out into the bay. The race committee was convinced they had breeze where they were and started a second race. But then something happened I'd never seen...the morning's breeze not only stayed around but conquered the sea breeze. Chaos ensued. We started the race, then the morning's breeze came back and not only overtook the sea breeze but made such a shift of direction that the race committee abandoned the race. After that they were so discouraged they sent us in. We had a lovely sail in, but no more racing.
Sunday the wind was more steady and even built significantly so that by the second and third races we saw lots of whitecaps and other excitement. But the puffs built steadily so there were few surprises. The race committee managed three races for the championship fleet in these marvelous conditions and we all came in completely and totally wiped out. The challengers held two races, so they were entirely pulled out and packed up by the time we got back to the dock, which worked lovely for everyone.
It was a very long drive for us and I think I think Ben and I might have been the only Midwest District sailors. We hung with our friends Mark and Maria Benner (Ohio District), who also camped...I think we were the only two camping couples. At least in tents. We also saw Bruce and Lynn Kitchen, also from the Ohio District. Ryan and Stacey were going to come but Chloe, Ryan's daughter decided she would attend her high school graduation ceremony. Sailors still all enjoyed the Mad Sails-sponsored keg!
With 32 boats, turn out was good and competition was fierce! As you can see from the results (go to fssa.com and click on regatta results) plenty of good sailors had at least one finish in the double digits, with the exceptions being the top two finishers - the Lintons and Roger and Kate Sharp (congratulations you all!). And we'd include Tyler and Carrie Andrews in that list, except that when the wind built significantly on Sunday, they came in before the third race...
Carrie is expecting in September, after all!!
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| Cupcakes and more courtesy of Diane |
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| The happy couple!! They were surprised. |
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| This is Lynn, the mastermind |
Anyway, sailing, sailing. Saturday the wind started out nice but by the time the race started it was light and shifty. Still, it was race-able. Then the wind died entirely and we sat for a long time hoping for the sea breeze. It came, and that was nice, but it only established itself further out into the bay. The race committee was convinced they had breeze where they were and started a second race. But then something happened I'd never seen...the morning's breeze not only stayed around but conquered the sea breeze. Chaos ensued. We started the race, then the morning's breeze came back and not only overtook the sea breeze but made such a shift of direction that the race committee abandoned the race. After that they were so discouraged they sent us in. We had a lovely sail in, but no more racing.
Sunday the wind was more steady and even built significantly so that by the second and third races we saw lots of whitecaps and other excitement. But the puffs built steadily so there were few surprises. The race committee managed three races for the championship fleet in these marvelous conditions and we all came in completely and totally wiped out. The challengers held two races, so they were entirely pulled out and packed up by the time we got back to the dock, which worked lovely for everyone.
It was a very long drive for us and I think I think Ben and I might have been the only Midwest District sailors. We hung with our friends Mark and Maria Benner (Ohio District), who also camped...I think we were the only two camping couples. At least in tents. We also saw Bruce and Lynn Kitchen, also from the Ohio District. Ryan and Stacey were going to come but Chloe, Ryan's daughter decided she would attend her high school graduation ceremony. Sailors still all enjoyed the Mad Sails-sponsored keg!
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Just Because I Forget to Post Doesn't Mean Things Aren't Happening!! (Indy and Cown)
Sailing season is in full gear now, which of course makes it harder to post regularly. Though, to be honest, there is also some laziness involved! I'll play some quick catch up ~ We had our first Midwest District regatta the weekend of May 21 and 22 at Eagle Creek Sailing Club in Indianapolis. The regatta was ably hosted by Geoff and Myra Endris and was lovely as usual. For those who might remember, last year Ben and I got caught in a microburst that snapped our mast. The majority of the fleet escaped by not putting up their spinnaker and the monster just swept by. I confess I had a tiny bit of PTSD this weekend. But the weather cooperated beautifully. We had just lovely breeze and nice, cool temperatures.
Carrie and Tyler came back from Deep Creek for the regatta and Frank and Marianne traveled from the Chicago suburbs as well. In addition, Bruce and Lynn Kitchen traveled from Cowan Lake to defend their title from last year. There was a bit of a snafu in scheduling the regatta this year and I did not help matters. The regatta will generally be the second weekend of June, right before Father's Day weekend. But this year it turns out that is when the Wife-Husband regatta is. So Geoff checked with me to find another date that might work. Unfortunately, I didn't think to check with our district governor (sorry Bronson!) or the Ohio District (sorry Hoover Lake/Buckeye Regatta), so we managed to reschedule in such a way that it conflicted with Carlyle Lake's Open House, which the Flying Scots were hosting, and the Buckeye Regatta, which was in Bruce and Lynn's district.
All of which is to say, the fleet was on the small side for the Indy regatta, but boy, was the competition stiff! Ben and I were really pleased with our performance; it's not every day we beat Carrie and Tyler, much less Bruce and Lynn and Frank and Marianne!! I'm looking for the results and having no luck...so I'll have to track them down and post them later.
Next up was Cowan Lake, which was this past weekend. Cowan Lake is in Ohio, so not part of the Midwest District but an easy four hour drive, so we often go. Cowan's regatta, which used to be called the Pig Roast but now might be the Flying Pig, based on the tshirt I got, has a Hog fleet and an Oinkers fleet. There were 8 boats in the Hog fleet, led by Harry and Karen Carpenter and Bruce and Lynn Kitchen, and six boats in the Oinkers fleet. For some reason I did not take any photos, but I did see someone on a safety boat with a nice looking camera, so maybe photos will be forthcoming.
The conditions were pretty nice on Saturday. Cowan often has fairly shifty winds, but they were manageable. On Sunday the wind picked up and, to my mind at least, it felt more and more like a roller coaster: not just up and down in velocity but side to side to a dizzying degree! Still, Harry and Bruce held it together, sailing steady and strong, to take first and second, respectively. Nice sailing!
We'll be seeing Bruce and Lynn, as well as other friends, at this weekend's Wife-Husband, being held in Deltaville, VA, at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. I'll try to be better about photos, etc. for that adventure!
The regatta organizers (thanks Mike Conrad!) already posted the results to fssa.com, so they are here
and also here:
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| This photo is not from Indy b/c I forgot my camera, but I like this shot of our spinnaker. This was in Chattanooga... |
Carrie and Tyler came back from Deep Creek for the regatta and Frank and Marianne traveled from the Chicago suburbs as well. In addition, Bruce and Lynn Kitchen traveled from Cowan Lake to defend their title from last year. There was a bit of a snafu in scheduling the regatta this year and I did not help matters. The regatta will generally be the second weekend of June, right before Father's Day weekend. But this year it turns out that is when the Wife-Husband regatta is. So Geoff checked with me to find another date that might work. Unfortunately, I didn't think to check with our district governor (sorry Bronson!) or the Ohio District (sorry Hoover Lake/Buckeye Regatta), so we managed to reschedule in such a way that it conflicted with Carlyle Lake's Open House, which the Flying Scots were hosting, and the Buckeye Regatta, which was in Bruce and Lynn's district.
All of which is to say, the fleet was on the small side for the Indy regatta, but boy, was the competition stiff! Ben and I were really pleased with our performance; it's not every day we beat Carrie and Tyler, much less Bruce and Lynn and Frank and Marianne!! I'm looking for the results and having no luck...so I'll have to track them down and post them later.
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| That's Harry Carpenter's Pittsburgh Steelers spinnaker |
Next up was Cowan Lake, which was this past weekend. Cowan Lake is in Ohio, so not part of the Midwest District but an easy four hour drive, so we often go. Cowan's regatta, which used to be called the Pig Roast but now might be the Flying Pig, based on the tshirt I got, has a Hog fleet and an Oinkers fleet. There were 8 boats in the Hog fleet, led by Harry and Karen Carpenter and Bruce and Lynn Kitchen, and six boats in the Oinkers fleet. For some reason I did not take any photos, but I did see someone on a safety boat with a nice looking camera, so maybe photos will be forthcoming.
The conditions were pretty nice on Saturday. Cowan often has fairly shifty winds, but they were manageable. On Sunday the wind picked up and, to my mind at least, it felt more and more like a roller coaster: not just up and down in velocity but side to side to a dizzying degree! Still, Harry and Bruce held it together, sailing steady and strong, to take first and second, respectively. Nice sailing!
We'll be seeing Bruce and Lynn, as well as other friends, at this weekend's Wife-Husband, being held in Deltaville, VA, at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. I'll try to be better about photos, etc. for that adventure!
The regatta organizers (thanks Mike Conrad!) already posted the results to fssa.com, so they are here
and also here:
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