May 22nd

Guess you still need to hear about Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Well, here goes. We'll see what i can remember.... Sorry if this report is a little long (it does encompass the better part of a week). Have I invented another cure for insomnia? If the daily reports bore you, just head down to the Summary and the Best of and Worst of lists....

Wednesday:

don't remember much, except it was a very long race, and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. didn' t have much speed to speak of. The results speak for themselves. The shift to the older cut of sails didn't help much.

Thursday:

Thursday was the breeziest of the days at 15 knots. which after races in 5-10 was a lot. and a TON of chop. We were using the older sails again. Triangle Windward-Leeward-Windward course. First triangle of the regatta (the rest were Windward-Leeward-W-L-W)

Had a decent start on the wrong end of the line. knowing we were having speed problems that we hadn't been able to figure out, we went for clear air, and minimal tacks (because of the nasty chop). Got off the line OK, but couldn't point, and were overpowered. Quickly fell into the gas of VanDerHoff to Leeward, and John Foster, from the Virgin Islands, passed us to winward like we were standing still. i guess we were standing still. our air finally became clear, and despite hitting the left (wrong) corner, and despite a big righty at the top, we still rounded midfleet, because most of the boats that went right overstood the mark by a mile, and sailed a lot of extra distance!!!!!

Rounded ahead of Bermudan olympians Peter Bromby and Lee White near midfleet. Stuck with them on the first reach which was pretty low. The wind started hooting at the gybe mark, but we had a good rounding, and having sailed lasers, ron and i worked the boat pretty well on the tight reach. we surfed past at least 10 boats before the leeward mark. We thought that was just excellent, until we saw that Peter Bromby not only had passed us, and the ten boats that we passed, but had also put an additional 10 boats between us. Those olympians are good!!!! Lost a little the next windward leg, and the rest of the race is just a blur.

On the scoresheet, it says DSQ (Disqualified, which usually means we hit someone, or cheated, or were jerks on the water). this is misleading actually. what it really means is that we were OCS (over early at the start) during a black flag, which means if you're over, you go home. They tell you this by posting your bow number (we were 51) in very small print on a boat at the windward mark that you're supposed to see despite the four boats (who overstood) that were inbetween us and the committee boat rounding the weather mark in a bit of a breeze, trying your damndest not to hit the boat in front of you that has slowed down because they let out the mainsheet. We were supposed to see our puny number on that little board during this confused rounding and go home. But we didn't so we get DSQ, not OCS. Not a big deal. still the same 113 points.

This is all well and good, and i can respect the fact that we were over. but their notification method sucks. after the races, not only were they notifiying people that needed to do the weight check by this puny number board method, but they were also using a bullhorn, and following them in an avon to notify them of this. why they couldn't do that for OCS boats i'll never know (especially if they really wanted us off the racecourse, being the menaces that we are) (beware -- more flaming and whining to come)

Lots of margaritas and food at the 'mexican cafe' right around the corner from barb's house. good way to kill the pain. (now that i think about it, we did margaritas wednesday night).

thursday night, we went out with district 1 sailors and guests for seafood at Phillips Tourist Trap on the harbor. Hey if its good enough for Gavin Brady (they were one of his corporate sponsors), it's good enough for me. Good food. good beer!

tomorrow's another day.

Friday:

Put the new sails back on today. didn't matter though.

Towing out to the racecourse was a mess. Annapolis Yacht Club kept bringing more and more spectators to The Good Ship Marksmanship from CPYC in Boston (our support/tow boat), and there were lots of stragglers waiting for tows (cause there weren't as many towboats friday as there had been other days). So we left the towing area by 10:30 for a 60 minute tow with 20? extra spectators, and 16 stars (that's a lot) in tow. Marksmanship went extra slow (and i can't blame them) because the tow lines we have for stars are not strong enough to tow the 7 or eight boats behind us so it took 90 minutes. We got out to the racecourse almost exactly at 12:00. and as we dropped our tow, they fired the 10 minute gun. We all rushed, and rushed to get our sails up and get close to the line before the final gun. Did i mention there was stroooong current dragging us downwind further from the line (since we didn't have our sails up)

We were 45 seconds late. i think the fastest boat in our tow was only 30 seconds late. there was also another tow group that was late to the line, and countless others that had been swept downbay by the current. so there were 30 or so boats that weren't even close to the line at the gun....

Despite my pleas to the judges boat (that was following us) to stop the race because it wasn't a fair contest especially for the last race of the 2000 star worlds, and that 'he with the fastest tow boat wins', they wouldn't stop the race. If anyone needed a 45 second head start it was me and Ron, certainly not Mark Reynolds and Gavin Brady.... It's a long way out to the racecourse. In the little wind there was we wouldn't have been able to sail out unless we left way before nine, and paddled too!!!!

I can appreciate wanting to start the race on time, i really can. But OUR support boat was picking up THEIR spectators for some on-the-water action, and picking up some 14 other stars because other tows wouldn't take them, and 30 or so competitors were still in tow with their sails down and not even close to the line when they fired the 10 minute gun. And yet they still started the race. (figured that this would be the only time all week, they actually started a race on time) I thought this was a TOTALLY CLASSLESS act by AYC RC, and sailed the race with my protest flag up -- not that it would really have done any good.... May the fastest tow boat win.... (don't worry i'll get over it)

Once again, this flame is directed at AYC RC, and NOT Marksmanship. Marksmanship volunteered their time and came down to support Cottage Park and District 1 star sailors, and did an amazing job, and thank them greatly for their support (of us, and the help they gave AYC accomodating spectators, and coaches) the entire week!!!!

And now the race. Was about 10 knots at the start with the current ripping against us. The wind totally died at the windward mark. We started in the middle of the course, and caught some boats at the first mark, despite the fact that i was not really concentrating because i was still livid that they actually started the race on time.

Of course, we were ahead of some boats at the windward mark. By the time we got to the mark, boats were making their third or fourth pass to round the mark in the fierce current. We played it smartly, and rounded it with no casualty on the first approach, passing 15 boats who botched theirs.

The downwind leg, was really a downcurrent leg, because there was no wind. We rounded the leeward mark, kept getting swept downwind, anchored for a short moment, and then they blew the race. serves them bloody right!!!! good thing saturday and sunday were reserve days.

Got back to the club early. Tried to exchange my defective digital compass at a local store, but they didn't know if they could exchange it, and let me a message after their store had closed for the evening (and the weekend). hung out. Fun time at the awards banquet. Good food. Nice video of star boats, with an awesome bloopers segment of star sailing, and other kinds of boats....

Saturday:

Great conditions. we picked up the first tow boat (Marksmanship was on their way home), but he took forever to leave, was so slow and someone broke their line so we dropped the tow halfway (fearing that we'd have a repeat of friday), and sailed to the line. made it with minutes to spare.

Pretty square line until the big lefty came in 20 seconds after the gun. of course we started on the right side, and spent the whole race clawing our way back. The fleet wasn't as big because many decided not to sail the reserve day, and packed it in on Friday. RC was really itching to end the regatta today, so there was no way they were going to restart (like they did the first day, and nearly every race thereafter), so we had to live with it.

Very shifty. Bad first leg, kept going the wrong way. Picked up a bunch of boats downwind. picked up more upwind, and even a few more the following downwind. but imploded on the last leg by trying to cover both sides of the course (one of my fatal flaws -- ron's still trying to convince me out of that errant tactic), and lost nearly everyone we clawed back.... such is life.

moved our mast butt yet again (third time this week), and adjusted the mast rake (for the 10th time this week). think we finally found the speed button. boat felt the best it felt all week (and in a long time), and we were flying by the boats we were around, in the light air, medium air, and the chop. too bad we kept going the wrong way. hope i can remember all the settings. mast butt waaay forward. mast raked waaay aft. crank the mainsheet. outhaul and cunningham if necessary. yup, i'll remember that.

ron made the best call all week -- haul at severn sailing association (that has 3 cranes) instead of AYC. hauled the boat, cleaned it, and packed it up within an hour of hitting the dock. dropped it off at AYC before most of the boats had even been pulled out of the water.

Uneventful drive home saturday night. Made it home at 4am sunday!!!

Summary:

May 14th, 2000

the good, the bad and the ugly

First race, may 14th.

Friday:

We got our sail measured in, and finished measurement. thanks to koopman and crew. pretty impressive organization. pretty impressed by the land staff overall the first few days. they seemed pretty organized!. Ron and i went out for a practice sail, hauled the boat (for the last time until friday). Boat's in pretty good shape. All set to go.

Saturday: Practice Race.

Launched the boat for the practice race. Marksmanship (Betram 30something) from CPYC (Phil Marks, Bob Sheppard, Dave O'Brien, and JoeZ) is down here. They've been towing us back and forth to the racing area so far. hour tow. Thanks guys!

After a couple attempts at a practice start, they blew the gun and called it a day. was pretty early, but appreciated getting back to the club early. Hot, hot, hot, (a little cooler on the bay) but no measurable wind. Tied the boat up in the crowded slip. Was pretty tired at that point. After long shower, walked downtown. Pretty impressive thunderstorm rolled in as we walked back over he bridge on our way home. Sky was pitch black with lightning streaking across. we made it as far as the corner when it started downpouring, so we ducked into the local bar on the corner for about an hour and waited it out.

Sunday: First race.

Got tow out by Marksmanship again. Wife Kelly, cousin Shari, and new Annapolis resident Barb Evans kept the aforementioned CPYC guys (except for JoeZ who went home) in line aboard our support boat today.

112 boats. long line with mid-boat. Everybody still jammed up at the pin.

Started a race at 295 degrees in 5-8 knots. Very crowded line. Tough getting air, but we slogged through, and got out to the left. In the top 3rd of the fleet but about 3/4 way up the beat, the RC abandoned the race (no comment)....

Second start. 3-5 knots. Big lefty AND a huge clusterf--k at the pin. Got hit by two boats on port. Ron ran back and pushed them off with his feet. no noticeable damage. General Recall (thankfully).

Third start. 5+ knots. Created huge hole near the pin, and launched ourselves to the left. rounded the weather mark 14th or so. (112 boats. really really excited!!!!). unfortunately, we lost boats on every leg. Played left on the second windward leg, but there was more consistent breeze on the right (and a little righty). Team Costa played the right and came from midfleet to pick up a ton of places. They finished 38th overall. Played middle right on the third windward leg, and were looking good at a pack of 20 boats that were ahead of us, but they were a little more left, got a lefty, and they and a few others crossed the finished in front of us.

Finished 59th or so. Speed's ok, although there are lots of shifting gears. doing a decent job of getting in open lanes and keeping our air clear (really tough with 112 boats), but made a couple of bad choices that hurt us big. learning a ton. hope we can apply it the rest of the week Not happy about losing boats on each leg, but overall, not too upset finishing 59th in a fleet of this caliber!!!! Reynolds lead pretty much the whole way. MacCausland was 3rd. Doug Schofield and Gavin Brady were in trouble early, but both dug back nicely to finish top 10.

Had dinner with Mom & Dad downtown. Happy Mothers day.

Tough crowd! Lots of great sailors. 5 more races to go.

Very tired. More tomorrow or Wednesday.

more stories and pictures, and results: http://www.annapolisyc.com/starworlds2000/

May 11th, 2000

As I was leaving work tuesday en route to the airport, most of my coworkers told me to have a good time, and have a good relaxing vacation. well, i've worked as hard (if not harder) since i've gotten to annapolis. so much for this relaxing thing. if they only knew... i'm gonna need a vacation when this is over (don't tell my boss i said that)

I've been down here for two days now, and haven't sailed yet. After delays on both ends of the flight, we arrived at BWI around 11:45 tuesday evening. Ron's has good flying karma, and I have had the worst flying luck in the last year or so, so i'll take the blame for this one (our flight out of BWI a few weeks ago was also late). But, our ride STILL came to pick us up, and that was a good thing.

Woke up Wednesday morning. IT WAS HOT!!!! Hit breakfast at the Chick and Ruth's Delly on main street. great heavy 'old style' breakfast. put enough grease in us to last the whole day, but worth every ounce of it!!!! Eggs, homefries, toast, the works!

Hit the marine stores (several trips), got parts, and started working on the boat. the boat's in great shape, always has been, but there are always those little pesky things that need fixing, that i'd rather take care of before the regatta then have to scramble to take care of during (when i'd rather be enjoying all the post-race activities). alllll dayyyy looooong. did i mention it was hot? it \was a 4-gatorade day (and that was just me!!!!) accepted invite for melges 24 racing in west river (30 minutes away), but were thundershowered out when we got there.... pretty impressive storm. fun to watch.

100+ boats at the 2000 star worlds. not sure what the final number is, but there are a helluva lot of boats here. and a lot of masts, and a lot of sailors, and a lot of languages i can't understand. and people cursing in them when people cut in front in the measurement line or their boats don't measure in. (most of the cursing i CAN understand -- four years at Tufts with housemates from Greece and Maine taught me most of that)

Today was our measurement day. Cooled down a bit, but was still hot. Mast, boom, boat, sails, lifejackets, anchor, paddle, rudder, everything on a starboat you can imagine. Crane to weigh the boat. Warehouse with tape on the floor to measure the sails. Mini john deere type tractors to tow the trailers back and forth across the lot (nice touch). pretty well organized. i'm impressed. We're all set except for a little sail issue. hope to have that resolved tomorrow so we can get our Nautica stuff. they're holding it hostage until all our registration & measurement are done.

Mounted our new digital compass on 1" plastic blocks on the deck. replaced and re-ran most of the old stretched worn out shock cord below decks, reran wires, checked our rig tuning. fixed our outhaul (yet again), siliconed all the holes and little cracks we have in the deck, lubed all the blocks and cleats.

even waxed the boat. put one coat on before dinner. then put it on the hoist for a few more coats after dark. figured nobody would screaming at us to get the boat off the hoist, and we could get to those hard-to-reach-because-of-the-trailer areas. couple other people had the same idea we did, and we had to wait 30 minutes to hoist the boat off the trailer. great minds think alike.... once the boat's in the water on saturday (for the practice race), it stays in until the regatta is over the following friday. let's just say the river isn't made of poland spring water. hopefully that wax will do the trick so the hull doesn't look like astroturf from centerfield at vet staduim during the lenny dykstra centerfield tobacco spitting years.

in all, having a fun (but tiring) time so far. met some great people. nice hosts (two blocks from the club!!!!) seen some old friends.

boat's all ready to go sailing. best shape she's been in since i got her in '97. hope to go for a nice practice sail tomorrow (we need all the practice we can get).

got the ISP connection working, and got Ron's digital camera all hooked into my laptop.

just uploaded a couple of pictures to the front pages of the CPYC and Boston Harbor Star sites.

http://www.cpyc.org

http://www.cpyc.org/star

regatta site is here, so if i'm too tired to write, you can check there for some sort of update.

http://www.annapolisyc.com/starworlds2000/

regatta starts sunday.