Club
Championship Series Race #5 -- RECAP
Winds: E/NE @ 5-10
We finally got it in! After getting rained out of our
regularly scheduled date (8/9) for this race, we postponed for a week and
Mother Nature rewarded us with some beautiful weather -- temperatures in
the mid-high 70's and sunny skies (no chance of rain). She did play a bit
of a cruel trick on us making the winds out of the East, which at our pond is
one of the worst directions possible. However, we improvised a bit, and
created a modified triangle similar to one utilized back in March for the
Icebreaker Regatta and we were able to make it at least a challenge. The
fluky, extremely shifty nature of the winds also challenged, making for a very
tricky and sometimes frustrating day racing-wise, but we had fun, and BEST OF
ALL--WE
As mentioned before, the fluky, extremely shifty conditions
were at times a bit frustrating for everyone, but Scott Loesch
tends to let those kinds of things roll of his back so to speak. He
showed his usual poise and skill--navagating through this 'obsticle course'
with relative ease despite having to catch up to the majority of the fleet
(most of whom were using the RYGG handicapping system). Scott won the
first five heats, and never placed worse than 2nd. His steady performance
netted him and his #46 Seawind 11 pts. and first place
overall.
The skipper who managed to scratch out the second place
finish today showed many signs of things to come, when he proceeded to borrow
Andy Rust's #25 Seawind Tomahawk for the last five heats and win 3 of
those races. Rob Fresh has recently acquired a used
Seawind and is working at getting that boat operational, but he showed that
when he does, he should be a definate threat to win any race he
enters. In the meantime, Rob and his #4 Northwind 36 are showing that a
smaller boat doesn't necessarily mean bottom of the pack finishes. He
ended up with 21 pts.
In third was perhaps the ACMSC's most improved skipper for
2008, Randy White and his #34 Seawind Southern Exposure.
Randy has been showing steady and consistent improvement, and having a more
flexible schedule at work that allows him to join us more often has
helped. We look forward to seeing Randy as the season
progresses. He had five 2nd place
and six 3rd place finishes--never finishing worse than 3rd all day. Quite impressive indeed.
In fourth place today was me (Andy Rust), sailing my
#25 Seawind Tomahawk with 37 pts. Well, at least I sailed
that boat for the first 6 heats or so, scoring one second and one first during
that time before lending it to Rob Fresh. It was great to see Rob having
such a good time, and I'm glad that he had the chance to sail a Seawind so that
he has an idea about what he's going to be getting into. Rounding out the
field was Bob Girdler and his #163 Seawind Mirage.
Bob was gracious enough to let some of our new and interested club members
study his boat (and answer any questions he could to help them) before having
to leave a bit early to finish some items on his 'honey-do' list at home.
He finished with 45 pts.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS -- 5 of 8 Races
Complete
1. Scott Loesch -- 5 pts.
2. Rob Fresh -- 17 pts.
3. Brett Hudson -- 20 pts.
4. Randy White -- 24 pts.
5. Andy Rust -- 26 pts.
Bob Girdler -- 26 pts.
6. Dick Rust -- 27 pts.
7. Andrei Condratov -- 32 pts.
8. Rob Younkin -- 33 pts.
Congrats to Scott Loesch for another great performance, and
a special congrats to Rob Fresh for his 2nd place finish. With that 2nd
place and Brett Hudson's absence, he was able to move into 2nd place in the
points standings. However, everyone needs to keep in mind that each
competitor will be allowed to throw out their worst race at the end of the
season! Regardless, it was a good day for racing, and we hope to see the
new skippers and their new boats joining us at the pond soon!
See you at the pond!
Andy