It's nice when a business trip fits with a good regatta.
A business trip to Washington DC lined up nicely with the Atlantic Coast Championships for me this year. When a friend of mine who is a member of the host club, the Severn Sailing Association (SSA), lent me his Laser and another old sailing buddy in Annapolis put me up for the weekend, I was out of excuses (not that I was looking for any).
Throughout the regatta, a flooding tidal current played a big role, with the flow taking us upwind (mainly NE breezes) both days. Because aggressive Laser fleets tend to get pushed over early, it made starting difficult. It also made the downwind legs in light air painfully slow. The RC quickly figured out that a black flag would be needed on all starts. Talking to the PRO after the event, he commented that while most fleets tend to have a mid-line sag, Lasers fleets seem to have a mid-line bulge! As a result, general recalls and BFD's (black flag disqualifications) were numerous.
Saturday was a light air day, and we could only squeeze in two races. The race committee started a third race, but it was just too light. The second I heard the guns go off about 5 minutes in, I looked for the biggest towboat I could find. It was a key move. I was one of the first to the showers, the keg and the BBQ!
We headed out Sunday in a drizzling rain, and had another light, shifty race to start the day. Some decent breeze filled in for the second race, and it was good to hit the straps. The wind was up and down the rest of the day, and it required frequent vang, outhaul and cunningham adjustments to power up and down.
A BFD in the 4th race (in one of about 6 recalls) ended up costing Raul Aguayo the regatta title. Raul is from the Dominican Republic, and was his nation's first ever Olympic sailing representative last year in China. Raul's BFD opened the door for some kid from Toronto (I call him a kid), named Evan Lewis, to grab the top prize. Evan closed with a 2-1. It's always great to see a guy win the last race to take a regatta win. Raul finished second.
Somehow I managed to put together an okay regatta. I was determined to start near the RC boat and bang the right corner on the first leg of the 4th race (to get into stronger current). In addition to the current, I picked up a decent shift, rounded in first and managed to hold on the rest of the way for the bullet. It turned out to be the windiest race of the regatta, with some hard hiking required and decent planning and surfing on the reaches and run. I must admit, it was nice to beat the young whipper snappers in a breezy race.
Going into the 5th and final race, I had a shot at 3rd, but would need a good one. I had the position I needed at the first mark (about 3rd), but was dog slow on the first reach. In 12-14 knots, puffy and sloppy wave conditions, it's important to get a high lane, and only work back down towards the mark when you have a decent puff and/or wave. I didn't and it cost me. If you are positioned low and miss a puff or two, it can end being one boat after another sailing over the top of you. Coupled with what I think was too-loose a vang, I think I ended up dropping six boats on the first reach.
Congratulations to Evan on the win, and good to see a good group of Canucks making the trip and grabbing four spots in the top ten. SSA is a dinghy club (plus Solings and J24‚s), and they know how to put on a regatta. Great food, beer kegs after racing, excellent RC work and an on the water jury that knows how to call Rule 42.
Results can be view at the following link:
http://www.severnsailing.org/results/2009/53laser.shtml
Andy Roy races in the Laser Full-Rig class in District 3.
