"Tale of a Tie"
By Jon VanderMolen

I had a great time sailing with Joe at the Districts. I learned so many things, especially during our two days of training. Racine is a great spot to sail out of. It is choppy but the racing is very close to shore, so it's not an inland lake sailor killer type of chop. I will try to share as much information as I can through email and someone on one stuff if you want it. But, let me tell you how things happened over the week in Racine, it was a great week for me.

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Joe and Todd Gay arrived shortly after. The three of us set up the boats and went to pick up Mark Strube, Todd's crew at the airport. Mark is Joe's regular crew. (A Pro sailor.)

On Wednesday we arrived at the YC at around 9:30 am to rig and tune for the day. The Racine Star Fleet had racing that night at 7:00 PM, so our plan was to sail most of the day, break, and race in the fleet race. I learned the importance of proper tuning. It doesn't do anyone any good unless you position the boats in the right spot. It's very difficult to set up just right next to another boat. Todd and Mark seemed to have a slight speed advantage most of the afternoon. We were sailing in a southeasterly 10-12 mph breeze and moderate chop. They had a weight advantage and could power up more than me and Joe.

We never did make it in for a break. By the time we knew it, it was time for the fleet racing to start. I was very excited to be able to practice what we worked on all day. The boat was just flying and we won the race. Todd and
Mark finished third but felt pretty good themselves. Local strongman Tony Hermman showed he was ready to go for the Blue with good speed as well.

Thursday we got to the YC at around 10:30 am. There was very light wind so we elected to make some control changes on the boat and wait for the sea breeze to fill in. Please look at the way I have my boats controls setup. This is the most simple setup I've ever had. We got to sail for about three hours on Thursday. The wind never filled in, so it was good light air practice. We had much better speed than Todd and Mark in the light stuff on Thursday.

Everyone started to arrive Thursday afternoon and we had a fun night at the Corner House Restaurant. We had an 8:30 Skippers meeting and 10:00 am start so we didn't stay out too late.

Friday brought blue skies and a light NNE breeze. We were postponed for about an hour and a half on the water, but finally got a start off just before noon. I got a clean start on the boat end of the line and got off to the right side. We rounded the top mark in fourth place. We passed three boats on the run and rounded the bottom mark in second. On the second beat Bill Allen went way left and passed everyone. We rounded ten boat lengths behind him, but way ahead of the rest of the fleet. He held us off the rest of the race and we went on to finish second. Todd and Mark finished a solid third and felt good.

The wind died completely and racing was canceled for the day.

Saturday's forecast was for a building breeze out of the SSE. We started the first race in 8-10 mph of wind. The lake was still pretty flat in the morning. We had another good start at the boat end of the line. We worked hard to the right hoping to pick up some shore breeze, but it became clear that the left was paying off. We rounded the top mark in sixth place but felt good about that considering we went the wrong way. We had a great run and rounded the bottom mark in second behind Bill Allen. Tony Hermman was right on our heels. The three of us broke away from the rest of the fleet by about a minute and a half. We reached the top market in the same position and the next bottom mark as well. Bill and I pulled away from Tony a little bit on the run. The last beat up was a blast. The three of us battled up the two mile leg tacking probably 25 times each. In the end it was Tony who came out on top, with us second and Bill third. Todd, and Mark worked real hard to get a sixth place finish. They had a real nice comeback on the last beat.

Race three got started in a building breeze and sea. When we started the wind was S at 12-15 knots, but it only getting stronger. The entire fleet stayed very close together this race. The heavier teams were showing some teeth this time around. We were always in the top three or four boats in this race but could not break out. We raced hard whole way and looked to have third wrapped up but........ We got into a confrontation with Rob Maine near the finish line, lost focus and let two boat slip inside us, at a heavily favored boat end of the finish line. That mistake would eventually cost me the regatta.

Todd and Mark won the race with a solid wire to wire act. We ended up fifth, so after three races we were in second, one point behind Bill Allen, and one point ahead of Todd. The forecast for Sunday was Breezy. We knew how we had to sail and how we had to finish to win the regatta. It would take a flawless effort.

Race four started in 15-18 mph of breeze. The chop was big in my opinion, but still manageable. We won the start at the pin end and tacked over the entire fleet. The only boat we could see that had any chance of hanging with us was Todd. And he did. He and Mark worked their asses off to catch us. They got an inside overlap on the last run and reached to the finish in a huge wind shift. We had no chance to pass. Todd won the race and won the regatta on the tie breaker. I feel really happy for Todd because he worked really hard to get the Blue Star. I would be a liar however if I said I wasn't disappointed. I really felt I was the best boat at the regatta. Look for my three new blue chevrons next time we get out, they look pretty darn good too.

Joe said he had a good time and would team up with me again to give it another shot.

 

Peace
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