Got Wind? by John Bauldry
Cat Fight VI – Muskegon State Beach, MI
August 19 – 21, 2005
Several Fleet 276 members made the trek to Michigan’s west coast for Cat Fight VI. This year’s edition of CRAM’s premier 3 day regatta featured wind. Lots and lots of wind. And when you have wind, you have swells…you know the big, rolling kind. And when you have swells, you have waves. Great Lakes surfers can’t be beggars or choosers but Thursday’s afternoon waves were fun. The best I’ve yet to see or ride.
One by one our fleet members began to arrive on Thursday evening. First the Bounds and then the Kruttys. The bright yellow Kruttymobile was parked at their favorite haunt…the Snug Harbor Motel, Bait and Tackle. The Bounds opted for tent camping at the regatta site only to have a tent pole snap during the windy/rainy conditions overnight. The crumpled tent meant searching for a motel room later in the day. Rounding out the Hobie Tiger contingent were Olli and Kelly Jason (fresh from their 2nd place finish at the F18 NA’s), the Griskos, (Mike and Karen) from Buffalo, NY and Robbie Daniels (on the Jason’s spare boat).
Friday morning was cloudy, rainy, coolish and very windy. Matt’s crew Michael Ehnis (our local Hobie dealer a.k.a. Mr. Velcro Boots) arrived for what would be an eye opening experience for him…being a Tiger virgin (Round the Bay doesn’t count) in windy conditions. More about that in a bit. The largest fleet were the F18’s at 20 strong. Followed by the Inter 17’s and a mix of just about everything else. The only Hobies there were Tigers (6) and a lone 16. Unfortunately for CRAM they lost attendance (about a 60 boat decline since Cat Fight II) due to past race management miscues and not catering to the high Portsmouth number boats.
With the conditions bordering on extreme, about half of the 42 boats in attendance stayed on the beach for the first two races. After the lunch break, more boats joined in the windy fun. The RC was running a Course 2 all day and yours truly had a brain fade by sailing a Course 2…you know ACACA downwind finish. Well a CRAM 2 means two laps (ACAC) with an upwind finish. Next time I’ll read the SI’s. Matt and Michael made the start after lunch and speaking of lunch, Michael lost his in the rough conditions. But he hung in there and was truly amazed at the sheer speed and raw power of the Tiger. This definitely is not a Flying Scot. He got the nickname Mr. Velcro Boots because he always got tangled up in the control lines when coming off the trap. But he was a trooper and stayed with it even though his lunches didn’t. The cure all…raspberry jam. It tastes the same going down as it does coming back up. Michael later said “that is the fastest, most physical sailing I’ve ever done” with a grin. Another Tiger convert?
Saturday was more of the same wind and sea conditions. During one race it rained very hard. Rain and telltales don’t mix causing the telltales to stick to the sails. This is where you learn how to sail by feel. 4 more races were completed before calling it a day. That evening the sky cleared, the wind died down, margaritas were consumed and dinners eaten. CRAM ran its version of Gutter Boat racing, ending with a beautiful sunset, a full moonrise, a DJ and Pain Killers (adult beverage). The party was still rockin’ at midnight.
Sunday morning, halyards were clanking loudly. Flags snapped at attention and the trees rustled. This meant only one thing when crawling out of bed - wind. At the skippers meeting it was already blowing at 17 knots. They gave us the forecast for increasing wind and the possibility of waterspouts. The sun was out and it was a very picturesque day. Two races would be sailed in conditions that were a test of sailor’s mettle. No Nancies allowed here. Matt had a close encounter with a swim area buoy when launching through the surf that would come into play later in the races. He broke a spin pole mid-stay which caused him not to fly the spin in fear of breaking the pole. I think he fixed it in between races because he flew the chute in the second race only to capsize after rounding A mark. Matt had great boat speed to weather with his new STX main only to crash and burn downwind. Sorry Matt…nothing is sacred in this group J The strategy for the day was to finish the races…period. And that is what we all did.
Tigers have a mind of their own when it comes to steering with the rudders up in the surf. Matt almost bought a new I-20 hull when he stopped one foot short of t-boning an Inter 20 on the beach. With the wind now well over 20 knots, several boats sailed way up the beach before stopping. Only after the last boat was on the beach could you relax. Many sailors left their jibs up to aid in the long haul back up to the trailers and seemed to be the ticket after expending all their energy on the race course. Boats were then taken down and made road ready for the trip home.
The awards were handed out in a number of different ways CRAM calculates their results - Cat Fight trophies and Fleet trophies. Cat Fight trophies are based on corrected time and Fleet trophies are awarded for boat on boat class racing. The number of trophies awarded depended on the number of boats in a class. They went 8 deep in the F18’s (20 boat fleet) with yours truly placing 2nd and the Strubles taking 1st. Matt and Dom also won 1st overall on corrected time.
A great time was had by all who came over to the west coast of Michigan. Sailing, surfing, sunsets and sand. It doesn’t get any better than this. Sure beats being at work. Hope to see you all there again next year.