Five Windmillers gathered in southern Maryland for the SMSA regatta September 19-20. Unfortunately last-moment conflicts dropped the entry from the anticipated 8+ boats, but the five who sailed were treated to an outstanding weekend.
Winds were 5-12 mph on Saturday, very shifty in both direction and strenght. The committee set WLWL courses except in the fourth race where WLWLW was used. Ralph and Sandy Sponar showed great speed and won the first race handily although Lon Ethington and Meg Gimmi closed on the final run. Allen Chauvenet and Lisa Hayes tried out Lisa's boat, newly refitted by Lon and were just able to nip George Kuney and Susan Bloomgarden at the finish while Dan Cudney and Matt Janson sailed Marty Shubert's boat to a distant 5th place. Dan and Matt were sailing a Windmill for the first time and up against some rather good sailors...but they were destined for a sharp learning curve!
The second race found a tight struggle among the top four but this time Lon and Meg came out on top ahead of the Sponars with George and Susan just slightly ahead of Allen and Lisa. Dan and Matt were still last, but at least in sight and around coming up the last beat before the others finished. The third race found Lon and Meg 4th at the weather mark but clever tactics downwind moving them into 1st at the leeward mark. Ralph and Sandy battled with Allen/Lisa and George/Susan throughout the race but the boats finished in that order--Dan and Matt moved up closer to the fleet.
The final Saturday race saw close racing on the second beat and when the Sponars fouled Allen/Lisa and did a 720 they looked destined for 3rd or 4th. However, finding a favoring shift on the final beat, they again secured the runnerup spot. Allen and Lisa gradually lost their lead on George and Susan until they approached the finish line almost dead even--at this point, Dan and Matt came down rapidly toward the weather end of the line (having picked up the shift found by the Sponars) and looked to have a chance to steal 3rd. The three boats finished within <5 seconds but George/Susan snatched 3rd while Allen/Lisa just saved 4th. Dan and Matt showed incredible improvement from the first to the fourth race, even if this was not reflected in finishing position.
After a delightful evening eating, partying and studying the incredile star sights in the area, the fleet gathered for the final two races. Unfortunately, Ralph Sponar had to fly off to Japan and missed these races. Lon and Meg won easily in both races. George noted before the racing that Dan and Matt seemed to have excellent speed...which was certainly borne out when they finished second in the first race! Allen was still struggling to find the handle on Lisa's boat and they finished 4th. In the final race all the boats were close until Lon spotted wind to the right, went under the transoms of all boats and grabbed a big lead. Dan and George were close, slightly ahead of Allen...but Fancy Free was moving well and closed on the run. On the second beat, Allen and Lisa had the boat moving the best of the regatta and found wind to the right while the others were drifting a bit in the middle of the river, on the left side of the beat. Allen and Lisa thus took second to secure overall 3rd while Dan beat George again.
Everyone had a wonderful time...so we confidently expect to see a return to 8-10 boats next year and were delighted to welcome Dan and Matt to Windmilling! Plan now for the 3rd weekend in September of 2010 and enjoy Allen's birthday! |
