July-Sept. Regatta Reports

Picture from Rickey Point Regatta, Lake Roosevelt, WA.

Spud Cup (Sandpoint ID.) report

By David Cohen

At Sandpoint, Idaho this weekend I sailed Eye Eye (J80) in the Spud Cup Regatta.  There were 8 boats in the “Performance A Fleet”. We have sailed with or against most of them for many years— all tough competitors and  very good sailors. One of the Melges 24 owners even brought in a ringer, Professional helmsman for the series.  One of the Ultimate 20 boats has won their National championship with the same crew that he had in this, and past Spud Cups, so we knew that we had to sail well to even get on the podium. As it turned out it was almost a repeat of the Montana Cup. We were in 4th place going into the final day of racing.

Going into the last two races we were 3 points behind the Ultimate 20 (we had to beat her across the line by over 5 minutes to place ahead of her). As luck would have we finished up strong, with a first in each of the final two races and won the 1st place trophy for the second major regatta in a row. Once again all the credit goes to our wonderful crew of 8. No professional sailors, but they could be if they chose to. The real secret was a “quiet boat”. This skipper only heard where to go to find the best pressure on the course.

Once again the host were fabulous, great food lots to drink, and a wonderful race committee.

A Note by Miles Moore...

On a side note the Summer Dinghy regatta only had 3 Holder 1’s participate. I was there with my Weta but racing a trimaran against some dinghy monohulls did not seem like a race to me so I just flew around the cans and stayed out their way. Hopefully next year more small boats will show up.

Visit the Sandpoint Sailing Assoc.

Montana Cup (Flathead Lake, MT.) report

A week ago I sent out the first iteration of this note the night we got back from the Montana Cup. We just realized that it is floating out in space somewhere and nobody received it.  So, here goes again.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at CSR Marine, AAA and Washington Auto Carriage in Spokane and B&R Boat Repair in Rathdrum Idaho we were able to get Eye Eye over to the North Flathead Yacht Club in Somers Montana for the 24th edition of the Montana Cup.  This year there was enough wind for Scott Galbraith and his hard working  race committee were able to get 10 races started in in two days and they only had to abandon one long race when the wind died on our last leg. And that didn’t include a practice race on Friday night called for in the deed of gift of the Cup.  We were DFL in the practice race, but it allowed us to make adjustments in the crew assignments and techniques, so we were ready to compete by 6:30 am the next morning when we left the dock.

We had a superb crew (see attached photo), great karma and a very competitive fleet.  Going into the last day we were in second place, 2 points behind the leader. Three other boats in our fleet were within one or two points behind us.  The final morning we managed to get two bullets and a second to win the Cup by one point. Then it was back to the dock get the boat on the trailer, mast down, wrap up all “the loose ends”, pack up the tents and sleeping bags and head back to Newman Lake.  This time the trailer behaved nicely and we dropped the boat off in Rathdrum before dark even after a stop for dinner at the Olive Garden in Coeur d’Alene.

We are really grateful for all the help from everyone that had a hand in getting this super boat ready to go to Montana and to all the crew that travelled long distances to come sail with us. Even Kaci, our one local talent, had to scrounge to get time off to sail with us and was just healing up after a double course of antibiotics to treat a bad case of strep throat.

We are looking forward to  the Spud Cup our next regatta in Sandpoint on the Saturday and Sunday of the Labor day weekend (September 3rd and 4th). Please let us know if any of you can sail with us so we can make arrangements to have you stay with us at our condo at Schweitzer during the regatta. The weather is usually great, the wind fair and the Sandpoint Sailing Club does a fine job of getting everyone well fed and entertained.

Best wishes…

Visit the Flathead Lake Yacht Club.

Rickey Point Sail Club 28th Annual Regatta (Rickey Point Lake Roosevelt, WA.) 2011 Report

 

By J. Foster Fanning, sailing Aquila

Far on the northern reaches of Lake Roosevelt where the rolling, pine covered hills meet the Columbia River a small sailing club has just celebrated another year by hosting it's 28th annual regatta. When thinking of Lake Roosevelt, the 150 mile long lake formed by the impounded waters behind Grand Coulee Dam, bass fishing, houseboats and party barges come to mind. But nestled against the eastern shore, in the lee of Rickey Point, just south of the historic Kettle Falls

is the small nautical community of Rickey Point Sail Club operating 26 buoys under a National Park Service permit with over 40 members and associates.

Starting on Friday evening the ‘Skippers Meeting’ was hosted at Riverview Orchard and Crandall’s Coffee Roasters over looking the Rickey Point Sail Club buoy field on northern Lake Roosevelt

. Having a couple of taps of donated Northern Ale’s porter and pale was certainly appreciated by us land-locked sailors.

An exciting component of sailing a regatta is the proximity of other boats. Aquila

’s crew oft sail remote places and off-seasonal times, thus a lot of our time under sail is solo. In a regatta there is often two or more vessels right under your rail (or closer). The keelboat RUNRIG is definitely one of the boats to beat in any club race, especially in light air. This Cal 2-24 skippered by owner Gabriel Cruden with a crew of John Tyra is a formidable contender. The S/V Aquila knew this going into the races and fortunately poached crew from Runrig. Thus we beat them three out of six heats across the starting line. P.S. Nessie was great to have onboard!

There were very close finish in many races, in particular on one of the heats between two very differing vessels, the Luders 21, DAVY JONES REVENGE (a sailboat with a classic salvage-from-the-depths and restore project history) piloted by Adam Wharf and the 30’ AQUILA nearly beam to beam at the finish line.

Of course I failed to mention we were respectively 8^th and 9^th…

On Saturday there are usually five around-the-cans triangular buoy races. So if you didn’t get a good start on the last one there is a chance you will nail it on the next.

The S/V TANGO, a Clipper Marine 26, had the strategy of letting the madness of the starting line clear for an open run at the course. RPSC Vice Commodore Brian Golphenee at the helm. If there is any one to blame for all this nautical madness it is Brian, who has coordinated our annual regatta for a number of years now.

On the 2^nd day of the regatta, Sunday, the race is an eight mile windward/leeward run to French Rocks and back to the Rickey Point Sail Club buoy field. A great race when the wind holds steady…

Once again AQUILA

managed to find herself in good position at the starting line when the race horn sounded the start of the 2^nd days event and we were the first across the line.

The morning winds were light and variable as the fleet made its way to the French Rocks islands. It’s a ‘parade’ of sailing vessels running downwind and fetching the western channel of the islands. By the end of this race the already light winds had nearly vanished but we all were able to all finish the race.

The Sunday afternoon RPSC awards banquet was once again held at Barney’s Junction on the western shore of Lake

Roosevelt near the historic site of Kettle Falls on the Columbia River. And a good time was had by all…

For a detailed review of this regatta, info about this club, and great pictures go to Ricky Point site blog.

36th Annual Tribune Cup reports 2011

By Lewiston-Clarkston Sailing Assoc.

Sailing in his red Comet Trimaran, Randy Blair of Clarkston missed coming in first place by just 14 seconds at the 36th annual Tribune Cup at Chief Timothy.

In the light winds Sunday, sailboats in the open class failed to finish within the 1-hour, 30-minute time limit – by just 14 seconds. Those 14 cost Blair first place as David Walker of Seattle won with this Buccaneer 18.  Blair took second.

In the San Juan class, three-time national champion Mark VanderSchalie continued to dominate the field of 11 boats and took first place in his green “Kermit” boat. In Saturday’s race Vander Schalie employed a strategy of hugging the shoreline of the island as he went upstream to the first mark, tacking with each slight wind shift.

Tim Lynch of Lewiston placed third in the San Juan class while his crew, 4-year-old Dylana, fished over the side for yellow plastic fish.

A total of 16 boats competed in the two-day race, which is sponsored by the Lewiston Tribune.

San Juan Class – 1, Mark VanderSchalie, Wenatchee, 2, Lauren Murphy, Clarkston, 3, Tim Lynch, Lewiston. (Lynch wins three-way tie-breaker for third with Wes Vaugnh, Clarkston and Sergio, Boise).

Open Class – 1, David Walker, Seattle, 2, Randy Blair, Clarkston, 3, Jeff Hanson, Pullman.

Visit the Lewiston-Clarkston Yacht Club.


For other 2011 regattas/events reports such as the May Desert Regatta SEE MAY & JUNE SAILING report