Flashlight Regatta 2011
Sleazy (Lake Ripley 2011)
Every year about this time CRAW makes me feel…well..kinda sleazy. You show up at Lake Ripley and find out that some of the old gals have been replaced with younger models. Sure, there may have been signs of wear: a few more wrinkles; a couple extra pounds; things sagging or not quite as stiff as they used to be; joints that object to every movement. Come on, admit it, you’ve seen the same thing! Maybe that’s why no one ever names their boat “Fidelity.”
Some guys are worse than others. They show up with their new “trophy boat” all shinny and flashy, having pawned off the old broad to some other fool in the club. Funny thing is, though, the new guy is happy to have her. Guess he figures he’ll treat her better, so she’ll put out more than she ever did for the previous putz.
There are a couple holdouts, though. They bring back the old battle axes every year knowing more about each other than you should talk about in public. They also generally give a lesson to the shinny flashy set about how to win races. Seems the old gal still knows how to get’r done, even if her party dress is no longer in the height of fashion. Beware, however, ye ol’ captains of commitment! There are a couple of dealer pimps lurking in our midst who would be happy to hook you up with a younger model. And word has it that all the ladies are now foreign types. Sort of like a mail-order bride, I guess.
Who’d a thunk that 20 spinnaker’d cats could have such a great time racing on relatively small venue? The veteran race committee led by Team Repyak and including Jim Blake, Rob Seder and several other volunteers did a spectacular job whipping off 5 races on Saturday and 3 more on Sunday. The light winds Saturday made for a good day for the Nacra 20’s and the featherweights, landing the Digger/Ninja, Chu/Chu and Hearn/Hearn teams at the top of the leader board after Day 1. The strong winds Sunday shifted the advantage toward the heavyweights causing a major move up the ranks by the Korte/Winquist team. And solid performances across both days kept the Carlson/Rothmeier and Selsmeyer/Selsmeyer teams in the hunt.
DNS races caused some of the Day 1 leaders to move down the ranks on Day 2. With blasts above 20 mph, many teams also spent some time upside down, mixing finishing positions up even more. In the end, it was the consistent teams that prevailed with Korte/Winquist, Carlson/Rothmeier and Digger/Ninja rounding out the top three.
Special CRAW shout- out to Lincoln and Emily Scott sailing with CRAW for the first time on their Nacra 20. Having never raced before, they did a fantastic job in a variety of conditions. We’ll look forward to seeing them and their family at CRAW events in the future! Congratulations to Nick and Corey Hatch racing for the first time as Team Hatch on their F18. The boys were impressive with consistent mid fleet finishes in their first regatta together, and they’re only going to get better, so watch out! Thanks also to our Minnesota friends who make the long trip to sail with us. We’re always thrilled when you can make it! And finally, thanks to Dave and Sue Repyak for chairing the regatta. A great time was had by all!
Daniel Hearn
