John Bauldry, Gregg and
Rocio Kittinger, Jim Vander Jagt, and myself, made the trip to Angola, NY for
the Hobie Kenobie Regatta this past
weekend. It was a 5-hour drive from Detroit; crossing through Canada, and
slipping by Niagara Falls, traveling down the coast of Lake Erie, just south of
Boofalo.
Yes, Boofalo. Rocio’s
rolling tongue, and South American accent, created Boofalo: a name that has
stuck, probably for eternity. John and the Kittinger’s arrived in Angola on
Thursday evening. Friday was a scheduled long distance race, and John was the
defending champ. It was a race down the shoreline, beginning at the regatta
location, South Shore Beach Club.
The contestants raced down
the coast, first one to the finish beach got pizza and beer first, but not
necessarily the trophy. Time was corrected, so that all boats could compete on
an even basis. The winner would not be announced until the awards banquet on
Sunday, after the end of the regatta. You just have to wait until the end of the
email.
Jim Vander Jagt called me
on Friday with a proposal. He would fund the weekend if I drove, took my boat,
and allowed him to crew. It was just what an unemployed sailor needed to hear!
Within a couple hours, we were on our way. Thanks to John and Gregg, who had
helped me with my trailer bearings earlier in the week, we made some pretty good
time on the Canadian highways, and arrived in time to set up the tent, and enjoy
some complimentary beer at the Beach House.
John and Gregg had talked
up this event: Great Lakes sailing, beautiful beach, and typically lots of
Hobie’s. In addition, they give you a choice of campgrounds…the State Park
(home of the Kittinger’s for the weekend…quiet, honeymoon-style camping), a
small RV campground (home of the Bounder, John’s RV), and the free
campground next to the Beach House (the economical choice made by Jim and I –
more about that choice later.)
With another bar right next
door, both with decks overlooking the beach and Lake Erie, this event looks top
notch from every view. Best of all, it is. $15.00 registration fee for a two-man
boat, with free beer Friday and a barbeque at the awards banquet that could
feed…well…Jim. Gift bags were given out at registration, and wristbands for
food and drink discounts. Absolutely top notch.
Saturday morning brought
headaches for some…especially those who had consumed beverages during and
after the long distance race…and for those of us who couldn’t seem to get
the deep REM sleep in our tents next to the bar. You see, NY bars don’t seem
to have a closing time. The Beach House closed at 4 a.m. The music, the
patron’s cars leaving, the whole ambiance, Jim and I were right there in the
middle of it. We did manage to sleep however, and when the sun came up Saturday
morning, we couldn’t help but be inspired as we saw the beautiful stretch of
beach and water in the light of day.
Jim and I went down to the
beach early, in order to assemble it and get it ready to sail. When we arrived
on Friday, they had a valet service for the boats. They would take your trailer
off your vehicle, hook it to a tractor, and drive it down to the beach for you.
The soft sand required it. We set the boat up as the wind had just started to
turn the glassy waters into small ripples.
It was a great site to
see…about 50 Hobie’s on the beach. There were going to be three fleets for
16’s…A, B, and C. I registered for B fleet, thinking that it was the best
fit. With some junior sailors sailing C fleet, I thought it best to be in B.
There were 17 Hobie 16’s there all-together, with 6 of them in B fleet.
Once everyone’s sails
were up, it was a picture postcard. Tigers, 20’s, 18’s, 17’s, and the
16’s were all represented. By the time the horn blew for the skipper’s
meeting, the wind had really begun to build. Being on the East side of Lake
Erie, with wind, you get waves. With big wind, you get big waves. Locals told
stories of 6-foot swells. Wow.
As we headed out to the
committee boat, winds had built to about 10 mph, with waves about 2 – 3 feet.
The sky was blue and it was obvious, we were in for a full day of absolutely
perfect sailing conditions. The race committee set the windward – leeward course with two different windward
buoys…a longer course for the Tiger’s and 20’s and a shorter course for
the 16’s, 17’s, and 18’s.
The Tiger’s hit the line
first every start…their speed was amazing. The open class went next, with the
20’s and a couple other cats, followed by the 18’s and 17’s, and then the
16’s hit the line. It had been many years since I hit the line with 16 other
boats! Obviously everyone wants to start on a starboard tack, and it makes
things interesting as you try to reach the line at the moment the starting gun
goes off!
Without boring you with
details, Jim and I made every type of start possible…great, decent, and
terrible. The most memorable was in the second race of day two. I set up
parallel to the starting line, shifting gears to try to time it right, while
trying to avoid boats to my left. As I got closer to the committee boat, I
couldn’t get far enough ahead of the boat a foot to my left, and had no rights
as I approached the beautiful speedboat.
I had no options. I turned
into the wind, leaving us in irons, parallel to the committee boat, as the
entire 16 fleet passed behind us. As the waves and wind began to slowly push us
toward the committee boat, personnel scrambled to the side, figuring that we
were going to hit them. I yelled at Jim (I think the only yelling I did at my
crew all weekend) to release the jib line. He did and I back winded the main
while turning the rudders. We backed up, Jim resheeted the jib and I the main,
and we were off. We crossed the starting line and the good news was, we could
see exactly where we stood. Every 16 was in view. I focused on driving the boat
hard and we rolled a few C fleeters. We tacked for the first mark and continued
to gain on the field.
That’s when things got to
be real fun. You see, when you are that far behind, coming to the first mark,
there is a bit of traffic, to say the least. We were coming in on port tack.
Tiger’s were coming downwind with spinnaker’s flying. Some 16’s had
rounded the mark, while others were coming up to it on starboard tack. On port
tack, with out much in terms of right of way, we had to find a hole between the
three layers of boats…like that video game Chicken.
Jim was calling out boats
and I was steering from the trapeze. A
Tiger on port tack flying a chute and I were on a collision course. I headed a
bit downwind as I heard him luffing his chute, we sot across his bows and
immediately cut back upwind, to avoid the course of a starboard 16 coming at us.
We tacked like A fleeters and took a perfect line to the mark.
To make a long story a bit
shorter, we finished ahead of most of the C fleeters and took our typical 6th
place out of 6 boats in B fleet. We felt good about it though after the
nightmare of the start. In fact, that pretty much summarizes our sailing all
weekend. We made mistakes that kept us from finishing high in the B fleet, but
we beat out the C fleeters with some consistency. Had we sailed C fleet, we
might have brought home some hardware. Speaking of hardware…
John Bauldry loves the
competition in Division 16. There are three skippers on Tigers that compete
event after event for the title. Bob O’Connor and John have had some very
tight races this year, as John continues to get faster on his Tiger. As you have
read in the past, John has won some events already this year, just beating out
Bob by the slimmest of margins.
This regatta was more of
the same. Bob had sustained some significant dagger board damage on Friday
during the distance race, and was sailing with a dagger board that had been
sawed off by 8 inches or so. Nonetheless, Bob and his wife Stephanie are fast.
After Saturday’s racing, the Tiger fleet was tight. John had a couple firsts;
Bob had a couple as well.
Sunday would decide the F18
Tiger Champion. With shifting winds and limited time, they only had time for one
race. The Tiger’s sailed twice around the course. With two upwind legs, two
downwind legs, and a short upwind leg to the finish, the race was decided by
less than a foot. John and his crew, Giselle, headed upwind at the line, to
nudge out the O’Connor’s and bring home the trophy. Great stuff.
That brings me to the
Kittinger’s. Let’s just say that next year, the Hobie Kenobie event should
have a name change. Perhaps, the Hobie Kittinger Kenobie near Boofalo..
There were only 3 Hobie 20’s at the event, and the other 20’s were set up
with spinnakers. Gregg doesn’t fly a spinnaker, so that forces the races to be
decided based on the boat’s ratings. This is unfortunate, because to be
perfectly honest, the ratings are only as good as the amount of information and
results that are out there…and there aren’t that many results for 20’s
with spinnakers. This puts Gregg at a disadvantage.
Nonetheless, Gregg and
Rocio managed to place 2nd in the 20 class and bring home a great
looking trophy (John got on as well). It was a Hobie model, machined out of some
type of plastic, that would stand on a shelf as if it were flying a hull. The
sail had lettering on it describing the fleet, and the place you finished in.
The skipper got one, and the crew got one. One was flying the starboard hull,
the other the port hull. They were very well done.
Then came the raffle. You
could by raffle tickets for prizes, gift certificates, and
a grand prize of $250.00. I won a t-shirt from last year’s event. Rocio
won the $250.00. In addition, they presented the long distance race trophy –
to the Kittinger’s. What a great victory. Rocio said she is going shopping
when she gets home. It was nice that the long distance trophy was returning to
Detroit…to be held until next year, when Gregg says it is my turn. We’ll see
about that…I know John would like his name engraved on it again.
Speaking of John…in one
race this weekend, he broke his trapeze components, sending him for a Lake Erie
baptism. When Giselle, looked back, she saw him body surfing behind the boat,
mainsheet in hand. He pulled himself back on the boat, grabbed the tiller, and
finished the race…with a second place. A fast reach to the beach for spare
parts out of the sail box, and he was back in time for the next race and another
bullet (first).
As for the Kittinger’s,
their fun meter peeked out as we all flew on a reach for the beach after
Sunday’s races were abandoned by the race committee. The wind had built to probably 15 mph and it was double trap
weather all the way. It was a scream! Literally, it was a scream for Rocio.
Gregg said she screamed from the moment she went out on the wire; to the moment
they hit the beach! Her fun meter was nearing the edge of the fear meter…
The evenings were pretty
subdued. Every regatta has it’s unique atmosphere. This one was pretty
reserved, although a blues band consisting of many of New York’s fleet members
brought the crowd out on the dance floor on Saturday. After John’s world
famous margarita’s after racing Saturday, and a whole lot of snacking on food
brought over from other RV dweller’s, Jim and I had very little energy. After
a 10 P.M. ice cream cone at the store across the street, we called it an evening
and retired to the peace and quiet (ha, ha) of our tent. The wind, sun, waves,
food, and drink, had taken its toll.
The return drive home was
like a caravan. The two border crossings were uneventful. We arrived home…some
of us with trophies and cash, some of us with a t-shirt from last years regatta.
Nonetheless, I continue to see improvement in my sailing. Best of all, I’m
developing closer friendships with Hobie sailors from Division 16, as well as
enjoying the time I spend with the great people of Fleet 276.
Regattas are great
experiences. I again encourage all of you to take part in them. There are more
Division 16 events coming up in the next weeks and months. We will be going and
we would like you to join us. As for Fleet 276, Wednesday, August 6, is the
first of 7 straight Wednesday nights on Anchor Bay. In addition, Saturday,
August 9 is the Gull Island Escape II. I look forward to seeing all of you soon.
Still grinning from the
weekend,