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D11 Championship Writeup
>>Forwarded from Nick Place...
Rock Hall Yacht Club hosted the 2005 Laser District 11 Championships last
weekend. Mother Nature provided a good variety of sailing conditions
throughout the five race series. We had great wind throughout the weekend
in the 10-15 knot range only dropping to about 3 knots in the final leg of
the last race. We had SW winds on Saturday that were very steady and
provided decent waves with the long fetch up from Kent Island Narrows. On
Sunday the wind had veered to the Northwest which made for more tactical
racing and flatter water.
We had a great turnout in terms of numbers and certainly in terms of
quality. We had 39 boats from 13 clubs, 7 states and three Laser Districts,
from Virginia to Connecticut. We also had a good contingent of junior and
female sailors. The results are at
http://www.laserdistrict11.org/events/?r=7. Ryan Minth (19th in the Olympic
Trials last year and 2005 US Sailing Team member) won the regatta; Jason
Currie was second; Nick von der Wense was third; Diane Burton was 1st
Female; Billy Martin was first Junior.
Ryan Minth very kindly provided a great write up, which is below - thanks
Ryan - take it away...
The D11GP regatta for me was one of those Laser events that surprise you on
the Class calendar. My preparation was a classic example of Laser sailor
preparation, that is to say, almost none. One hears about the regatta and
decides to go with just enough time to get the car loaded with boat/gear and
drive to make it to the first start, maybe. Any other details, like
housing, are figured out on the fly through the miracle of mobile
communications. Well, Rock Hall YC is wonderfully located on a quiet
peninsula in the northern region of Maryland's Eastern Shore, somewhat
lacking in wireless connectivity so that plan was out.
Truth be known, NYC's street cleaning rules had me off at 11am Friday and
down to the venue in plenty of time to unload the boat, secure some nice
housing, drive pretty much every farm road in the area, and have a nice
dinner at a waterfront restaurant for some lump Blue Crab cakes.
In any event, it was so nice to be at Rock Hall that I was saying to myself,
"This in the best regatta ever" even before launching.
The forecast was off quite a bit and we were greeted with warm temperatures
and mid-teens on-shore breeze. Although the water was still chilly, one
good layer and airprene pants were enough. Almost 40 boats headed upwind to
the line for the first, and windiest, race of the series. John MacCausland,
Jason Currie, Nick von der Wense, and Bobby Martin led the fleet tightly
packed into a group of four. I made time on the first run working the waves
and rounded about the middle of this group. John and I worked away from the
fleet on the next beat and I passed him on the run. I don't think he said
it out loud, but I think he was thinking, "I am going to have this pinner
for lunch on the final beat". He did, taking the first bullet. This was an
85 minute race (for John at least) with looooong beats.
In race two, Jason got off to a nice lead early on. This time Bobby and
Nick were in pursuit, but everyone spaced apart a bit and seemingly no
passing lanes to be found. In the three leg course it was all final beat
cover and there are your 1-2-3 finishers.
The final race of Saturday had lightened to very low teens, or maybe 10-12
even. With another three legged, windward leeward, I jumped off the favored
port end, worked one small shift back to the middle 2/3 of the way up the
beat, but went back for more left corner and had a good lead by the weather
mark. The wind and waves were just not enough for anyone to make big gains
(or losses in my case either). A loose cover on 2003 NAs Wiffle Ball MVP
Dave Breder (who also worked the left side with success) and there is your
1-2, with Jason posting a 3. For the day, I 2-1-4'd to Jason's 3-1-3.
Tied.
We headed in, which seemed like a good idea as we were all still recovering
from the first race, at least at the time. As we waited for dinner, like
from 2 or 3 until 7:30, it was easy to look back out and want for a fourth
race, especially after one had showered and fully derigged. The dinner was
amazing; easily worth the $10 and the wait. I had mine, a double portion,
then Brian Raney's, and I think Phil Hood and I went back for more after
that! A wonderful white fish, mussels/steamers, salad and veggies.
Delicious. We were lucky enough to have Lee (the RHYC bar tender) and his
wife join our table. I think that this paid off later in the regatta, but I
am not sure exactly how.
Sunday brought offshore breeze that appeared to be about half-strength from
what we sailed in on the prior day. Appeared is the operative. We found
ourselves in a stiff northwesterly, but with much smaller waves/chop. The
shifts were faster and bigger, and the courses tighter, but all at five
legs. Again I got off the favored end and worked the right third time for a
wire-to-wire win. Jason made a miraculous recovery from almost 10th to 3rd,
keeping the regatta close, now at two points.
The last race was almost a copy, except it seemed like half the fleet was
tangled in some sort of starting line mayhem. Some new faces found their
way to the front of the fleet while others struggled to catch up. The wind
now dropping from a full hike to sitting in, starving to find pressure, to
an even worse getting silly light and shifting wildly. Places changed
beyond anyone's capability to track. Jason went from mid-teens to sixth
behind my third or fourth at the bottom mark, another even more impressive
recovery and coming on strong. We separated a bit and his leverage put him
just past me as I waived by a port-tack D11 Past-Secretary Ted Morgan,
giving him a boat in between us. Jason needed two boats in between and
probably needed to move up the fleet as well. It wasn't in the cards as I
squeaked past Ted at the favored pin end. With a drop, I won by two over
Jason's remarkably consistent (3)-1-3-3-3.
The line "This is the greatest regatta ever!" probably deserves an
explanation, but that'll have to be another article. If you missed this
event, just take the line at face value and do not miss the next. Rock Hall
YC rocks. Joe Bob says, "Four stars. Check it out."
Complete <http://www.laserdistrict11.org/events/?r=7> Results
For all that came to support our club you have my great thanks. Next event
on the RHYC list is our Summer One Design
<http://www.laserdistrict11.org/events/?e=15> on June 18-19 - join us - I
am sure you will have a great time.
Sincerely,
Nicholas
racing@rockhallyc.org
Rock Hall Yacht Club: www.RockHallYC.org
For more results and regattas in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, including
the US Laser Masters <http://www.laserdistrict11.org/events/?e=30> and
Chesapeake Laser Masters <http://www.laserdistrict11.org/events/?e=25>
visit the District 11 Website at <http://www.laserdistrict11.org>
www.laserdistrict11.org. Don't worry, we have regattas for the younger
folks as well. -Jon
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