Corsica River YC Annual Regatta at Corsica River, MDJuly 22 - 23
Story
Allen & Christina Chauvenet (5586 Beauty & The Beast) surprised themselves with a victory in the Corsica YC Annual regatta after placing 3-1-1-2-(4)-1 in this delightful and laid-back event on the eastern shore of MD--essentially across the river from the Rock Hall YC. The regatta came down to the final race with Ralph & Matt Sponar (5060 Go Blue) finishing only 1 point behind after (4)-2-2-1-2-2 results.

One highlight of the event was the appearance of Roy Sherman from WA (who will someday be moving to MD, close to the regatta) with his top crew Maggie Arnesen who immediately celebrated y winning the first race!

The races were all set as WLW with finishing to windward. Airs were light in the 5-7 range on Saturday. B&B found the favored side on the first beat and rounded 1st, retaining that lead to the leeward mark. Roy & Maggie held a slight lead over Larry Christian & Allie Sponar (5319 Dave) who were followed by Ralph & Matt Sponar (5060 Go Blue) as the boats started the beat to the finish. When headed inshore on port tack, Christina warned Allen about water depth...just after a reassuring comment, B&B ran aground!! Roy & Maggie went on to win ahead of Larry & Allie while B&B recovered for what proved to be a critical 3rd.

The next two races were sailed in similar conditions with B&B winning both although in the final race of the day a quick tack at the finish kept them ahead of Go Blue by 3-4 feet (or less!). The Sponars also finished 2nd in the prior race so their 4-2-2 left them tied (but ahead on potential tie break) of Larry & Allie (2-3-3). Lance Williams & Sandy Sponar sailed an excellent final race to take 4th ahead of Roy & Maggie--finishing fairly close behind the top 3.

All enjoyed the relaxed environment with dinner and music following the racing and came out Sunday ready for more races--the wind was perhaps slightly lighter than Saturday (4-6) though there were rare stronger puffs and some moments of almost no wind. While the Chauvenets led at the weather mark, the Sponars took the lead at the leeward mark and they finished that way with B&B carefully watching Larry/Allie and Roy/Maggie. A special feature was Roy running aground almost exactly where Allen ran aground on Saturday--in spite of a warning from Maggie. Roy was assured of his safety because Larry/Allie were ahead and to leeward and thus even closer to the shore. In a lesson for all of us--Roy overlooked that fact that he had a long board while Larry & Allie were sailing with the short board!!

The wind died at the start of the second race of the day and B&B never found it, finishing 4th. The Sponars moved amazingly well but Larry & Allie were even better to take the lead an win the race with Roy/Maggie in 3rd. B&B at least applauded Larry & Allie as their win left the Chauvenets and Sponars tied with tiebreak favoring the Chauvenets.

However, with just a bit more wind, the RC quite reasonably decided to have one more race. The Chauvenets recovered to make a good start and lead at both marks. They covered the Sponars approaching the finish line but the wind died almost completely as the Chauvenets made their final tack with the Sponars moving toward the line. Somehow the Chauvenets were able to drift over the line about 1/2 boat length ahead to win a very close regatta!

Corsica is always a casual environment and great fun to sail regardless of the conditions so we hope more boats will join us in the future. That will be 2019 as the Nationals will be held across the river at Rock Hall the same weekend as the Corsica regatta.
Result
PosBoatNameTotalRace 1Race 2Race 3Race 4Race 5Race 6
15586Allen Chauvenet/Christina Chauvenet83(3)1(4)1(5)2(7)(4)(11)1 (12)
25702Ralph Sponar/Matt Sponar9(4)(4)2(6)2(8)1(9)2(11)2 (13)
35319Larry Christian/Allie Sponar122(2)(3)(5)3(8)3(11)1(12)3 (15)
41718Roy Sherman/Maggie Arensen161(1)4(5)(5)(10)4(14)3(17)4 (21)
53800Carroll Sparwasser/David Burrell265(5)5(10)(6)(16)5(21)6(27)5 (32)
65255Lance Williams/Sandy Sponar27(6)(6)6(12)4(16)6(22)5(27)6(33)
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