Recap – Green Bay 2023

For as long as I’ve been racing with CRAW, the Windjammers Regatta in Green Bay, WI has had at least one big breeze day, and this year’s regatta definitely delivered on “big breeze!”

Saturday morning was sweltering, with temps rounding in the mid 90s and humid. The southerly winds were predicted to be in the 18-22kt range, so boats knew that they were in for a day of depowering on the water. With a goal of staying upright and incurring minimal damage, boats pushed off from shore, with skippers and crew excited for the sporty day ahead.

Dave Reese, as PRO, ran a clean four races, with Bob Gruen from Windjammers running the race committee. Tassi and Debbie on the crash boat had their hands full with recovery of capsized vessels and folks in need of assistance getting back to shore. The breeze was big. The gusts were bigger. The local airport registered 30kts of breeze around noon, conveniently aligning with the time that we spent on the water. Most folks went swimming, but a few had tales of staying upright against all odds (Brian and I were not one of those boats).

And there was carnage. CARNAGE! as folks made it back to shore. We saw everything from broken trap lines to broken harnesses, to a minor demasting (whoops, ha), to a hole in the side of Kurt’s boat (again? Really?), to a bow split so hard it had folks scratching their heads as to how the rudder that split it barely had a chip taken out of it. Thankfully the tally of bodily harm sustained came out much smaller. There were a few bonks and bruises from unplanned swimming scenarios, but sailors walked away (mostly) unscathed. 

And so Saturday night was celebrated with boat fixing parties, harrowing tales from varying perspectives on the water, and bellies filled with delicious grillables from a generous Windjammer by the name of Dave Wigman. Thanks to Dave, no sailor had to go hungry as they enjoyed some incredible, locally sourced burgers, and got to sink their teeth into some of the juiciest sweet corn ever to exist! Absolutely delicious!

Sunday morning provided similar weather to Saturday with just a few minor differences: The wind was now from the north, and was blowing 5-8kts. Okay, okay! So maybe the only thing similar about the weather was the heat – golly, was it warm – and sailors had to shift gears from the day before.

We managed to get two races off before the winds shut off. Out on the course it looked like the right side should have been where the wind was going to have the highest pressure, but the local guys all went left. And sure enough, the left was where boats wanted to be. There were a few upsets as a 45 degree shift conveniently lifted folks rounding the leeward mark right up to the windward finish, allowing them to pass boats that had previously been in front of them in the final race.

All in all the regatta was a huge success, with sailors navigating both the high and low-wind extremes! Thank you to Clay, Windjammers, and all of the volunteers for organizing and running a great event. I look forward to seeing everyone at the next one!

This is AP, signing out!

Arden Patton