Race Reports 2005

August 7th 2005 Wrap Up!

Nineteen fine boats turned out for the last official race of 2005 and a glorious day it was with a strong Southerly wind over a fairly slack tide giving perfect conditions for those with enough weight to hold it all together! Of the 22 boats that sailed in at least one of the 7 races, only three failed to make the final regatta.

Sacagewea made the best start but the 2 Lightnings were close behind. Harmony with Chris and Steve Soderling was also showing early pace and at the Sheep Island Buoy on the first lap the old maestro Charles Whitehead with a big crew of family members in the wooden Lightning had a clear lead over Humble Pie, Harmony and Sacagewea which was sailed with a reef by two young men from the Macy Whitehead family ably assisted by Bevan & Lionel. 5^th to round was Polaris with Wendy, Zelda & Ben crewing the old salt Nick, in a carefully choreographed ballet of maritime dexterity.

Cleo, sailed by the creator of a sailing dynasty, Macy and his c-crew, Gee Gee were 6^th at this point but were to be bumped by one of his descendants, Celia, her mum Carla and Stephanie in Moonbeam on the next leg. 1^st Place & Catspaw were circulating in close proximity to Cleo but Melody and Tarka were closing the gap after their delayed start and these two were to pass the 3 smaller craft by the time they got back from Sheep the second time. Moonbeam closed the gap on Polaris on the run back from Sheep and cut further into that lead as they reached across to Rich Mans, although a slow rounding of the mark there saw them just fall back far enough to prevent them gaining another place and it also put them at the mercy of Tarka & Melody who were closing fast. Tarka overhauled Melody on this leg to take 7^th place on the water, 5^th and 6^th overall in the race on corrected time. Places at the front had not changed until Humble Pie, going well with just Lael to hold the boat down, deposed the venerable Lightning of the Whiteheads dropping them to 2^nd, which they were able to maintain to the finish ahead of Harmony and Sacagewea. 1^st Place held 9^th  place on the water ahead of Cleo and Second Chance. Pattie B III, in her last race on the New Meadows, crewed by Jim & Jacquie Price was involved in a race long duel with Shearwater which they lost in the end by just 16 seconds, the wily Debbie using her experience and a youthful crew to hold off the youngsters from Cumberland. Catspaw and 1^st Place were also duelling on the first lap but Catspaw lost her way on the second lap and was also passed by Second Chance on the last leg, the big boat with Phil & Bonnie overpowering the little Typhoon. Lori in Flying Scot had her hands full with wind and power boaters and did well to finish, Kirit helping out on the last leg having jumped ship from the Lightning.

As far as the series was concerned, Cleo was demoted to 6^th with a heavy discard of 6 points, Humble Pie snatching 5^th by one point from the little Bulls Eye. Melody & Tarka also made big strides to finish 3^rd and 4^th while Moonbeam made a strong finish to take second place after their 1^st last year. Top spot went to Polaris in her first series in new hands. Look out for a new look and new name next year.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the racing and to the time keepers, Eleanor Rollie & Gary as well as back ups Carla and Bill & Margaret Holcomb. We’re very lucky to have people there to help us enjoy ourselves.

 2005 Points totals (Best 4 results count)

The Longest Day! 31st July 2005

A war of attrition against the elements was the main point of yesterday’s sail, not least for the dock crew who were on station for nearly 3 and a half hours! The longest New Meadows race ever in living memory. (and the results took even longer when it was discovered that the preliminary results were based on an elapsed time 60 minutes shorter than the actual race! Apologies to all concerned especially the winners who, ……………. ………………………….still won, by a mere 10 seconds! The fault was the handicappers, not the dock crew and the biggest loser was Pattie B II who was demoted from 4^th to 9^th place.)  Humble Pie however, took a only2 hours and 20 minutes, nearly one hour before the final boat to finish!
Half way to the Sheep Island Buoy on the first leg, Humble Pie seemed to find a breath of wind that no one else got and pulled away in dramatic fashion from Pattie B II to round first ahead of Polaris who was closely followed by PBII and Moonbeam who stole each others wind in what was to be an early turning point for the whole race. 1st Place managed to creep past these two to take a 3^rd place they were never to lose through all the calms and wayward zephyrs that were to follow. Cleo also passed Moonbeam and led them for some time only relinquishing that place near the end. Remember gentle readers that these were the two boats sharing the series lead before the race started.
Big boats, Melody & Tarka were also hoping for great things and swapped the lead various times but neither boat could wrest a significant advantage and they were to finish just 10 seconds apart, Melody finishing first on the water but Tarka just eking out the higher handicap place. Catspaw and Shearwater were battling it out with Silky at the back of the fleet, the last two calling it a day after one lap which had already taken over 90 minutes! Catspaw went on to claim 6^th on handicap, a good result out of 13 boats on the water.

Everyone who finished deserved praise as the conditions were at times, awful and especial praise to Moose Schwabe on his maiden victory, picking up crumbs no more! Results now have Polaris sharing the series lead with Cleo, Moonbeam 1 point adrift and Tarka in 4^th place, 2 behind Moonbeam. Melody is in 5^th place with 24 points, but with a valuable 1 point discard to come, a luxury none of the boats ahead of her have. 1^st Place soared up the rankings with her excellent 3^rd place and is now just 3 points behind Melody.

Next Sunday will be the final official race of the year as we fly home the following weekend but the buoys will be available if anyone want to take responsibility. This year has seen varied wind conditions each week and overall, consistency has been rewarded.  

Typhoons blown away! 24^th July 2005
 

 Cleopatra kicked her Asp into gear on her first tack and was never in danger of being caught (on handicap) from that point onwards. Nine boats sallied forth and one sallied straight back again when their shroud pulled out of the hull! Silky was also going to kick butt today but stubbed her toe instead.
Pattie B III trailed Cleo from the start by 3 seconds but once Cleo tacked over to Sheep Island it was all over and when they next met Macy “the fox” had rounded the mark and was heading back to HoJo with his c-crew, Gee Gee while the rest of the fleet was struggling up to the mark. By the end of the first leg she was a full 9 minutes ahead of the second placed boat, Pattie B III. Another twist was in store as the Brits in Pattie B III went from second on the water to last in the course of one beat over to Rich Man’s Buoy! Melody had already sailed through the rest of the fleet with not a Moose in sight and Moonbeam, with Harris in charge now had 3rd place but the Loney crew in Tarka were breathing down their necks. 1st Place with the usual suspects, was still ahead of Second Chance, another welcome newcomer from Phil Goiran who was actually fastest overall on the second lap although never quite closing the gap to Tarka. The 3 Typhoons battled amongst themselves at the back of the fleet.
With 5 races sailed in the 2005 series and two to go, it’s very close at the top. The best 4 results of each boat will count, Moonbeam and Cleo are tied for the lead, with one discard each, on 25 points. Pattie B III is 3rd with 24 points, Tarka is 4th with 23 points and Polaris is 5th with 22 points. These 5 boats all have to discard their worse score from now on while Melody is lurking on 18 points with no discards to come from their next race having sailed only 3 races so far and they also have a 1 pointer to discard from an early retirement. Cleo and Moonbeam are each sailing with nearly 10 points off their official handicaps so it's all credit to them on their performances

Dock crew this week were Bill & Margaret Holcomb who quickly stepped into the role and coped well when the start mark departed down river! Our thanks to them.
 

When the Going got Tough! 17^th July 2005
 

 The tough got going! Only 7 boats ventured out on Sunday but they were top crews and they battled hard for the honours. Average race time was 40 minutes quicker for the two laps than the previous week and 10 minutes quicker than the previous fastest this year, only 5 minutes off the outright record!
Pattie B III and Polaris were the early leaders with 1st Place close behind. Silky & Moonbeam were only seconds ahead after the 1st half lap but Tarka was already showing her pace having reduced the 10 minute start deficit to 7 minutes.
At the end of the first lap Moonbeam, with a top crew of Celia on helm and Harris & Kai as ballast had got themselves into 3rd place, less than a minute behind Nick & Wendy in Polaris and 35 seconds ahead of 1st Place with the usual suspects, Eric, Mary & Ms Kirkham. Cleo, with Tom Whitehead enjoying a prompt start had Lael Schwabe as crew/time keeper/enforcer, was a strong 6th but Tarka was now just over a minute behind her with a lap still to go. The second beat up to Sheep Island Buoy and the run back saw Silky with Paul, Denny & Abigail pass 1st Place and Moonbeam relegate Polaris to 3rd as they continued to put pressure on the leaders, Christopher “Stroppy” Edwards and the verse-tile Alison. Tarka was Grace personified (As well as Jim & Dan) and went from 7th to 4th in just half a lap now trailing Polaris in 3rd by just under 2 minutes.  There was only one further change on the last reach to Rich Mans and back but it was for the lead on the water and Moonbeam took first place on the reach back to take a fine 1st place on the water and second on handicap behind Tarka who finished just 20 seconds behind Polaris and first on handicap. The visiting British took 3rd on handicap from the resident Brits with Cleo 5th, 1st Place 6th and Silky 7th after a collision with Rich Mans mark saw them lapse into momentary confusion.  All in all a windy but fun sail with just 8 minutes separating the boats on handicap.
The dock crew were bobbing about a bit in the conditions but I could hear no complaints above the noise of the wind! Thanks to Eleanor, Rollie &Gary as well as Carla, a job well done.

Reversal of fortunes! 10^th July 2005

Everything was turned upside down this week for the 3rd race of the season. There was more boat swapping, strange crews in unlikely boats and the NW wind played strange tricks with us all! Even stranger was the race was "won" by a canoe! In an inspirational bit to snatch glory when they were thrown out of Silky moments before the start Tom and Connor Kelly completed the entire course. As the smallest boat in the race and with the smallest sail area they had to have a good handicap. Of course when the handicapper is told by a lawyer what to do to avoid a lawsuit, what can he do? Back in the real world, Stringbean Kidger stole the sailing part of the handicap race with a fine 1st place. Almost everyone had their moments of confusion but Peter “Lightning Rod” Blachly eclipsed everyone to be easily fastest in elapsed time. Beating Harris & Ky in Pattie B II by over 9 minutes on the water. The British challenge sailing Humble Pie crumbled before they could get a taste of the action when the main halyard parted company with the sail and their race was over. Or was it? Tarka could never get on terms with Melody or the lightning but was third quickest in elapsed time. Jim Baloney was sailing with a regular Smorgasbord of a crew but was still one bite short of a solid meal. Trailing the flying lightning from the start was a gaggle of boats who were led by the typhoon, Pattie B III. Or was it?
Having seen the light, Moonbeam decided to make up for its 6 minute late start last week by starting 5 minutes early this week but I have to say this just won’t do. Good sail though. Polaris, in the hands of Nick’s father Jim this week, recovered from a slow start to take over over take 1st Place by the end of the 1st lap. Cleo was flying with Macy at the helm, though sometimes in the wrong direction, but another strong handicap performance saw him come 4th. Moonbeam took 5th even with the addition of a penalty and by the end of the race the British had consolidated their crews but could only take 4th place in elapsed time and 6th on handicap. Thanks to Eleanor, Rollie &Gary as well as Carla, two sets of times with but a single result.

British Fight Back!!

After a short break of 229 years to re-gather their forces the British announced the start of a long and (hopefully not too) bitter campaign in resounding fashion yesterday by trouncing a strong American fleet in the New Meadows river close to the first landing of settlers in 1607.  At first the Americans thought they had won the battle but when the fog cleared it transpired that the British had taken 2 of the first three places and the seemingly invincible Lightnings had been relegated to 4th and 6th places. One of the smaller boats in the race, Cleo made the best showing for the home sailors but could only manage 2nd, splitting the British pair.

It was good to see Silky back in commission, the Kelly boys sailing steadily through the fleet, from a slow start, without being able to get onto terms with the leaders. Shearwater and Tarka were also out for the first time, Debbie losing none of her competitive edge and Tarka showing grace under sail if a little too much caution for the conditions. Moose Schwabe and his fit young crew led almost the entire distance holding off a spirited challenge from Pattie B II and was crushed when the handicap results were announced. His was a fine achievement however and this handsome young man can only improve! 

Scuttlebutt has it that Harris was so dispirited by his defeat that he off loaded his Lighting to cousin Charlie to spend his time preparing another racer for battle.

1st Place put in a good showing, lying a strong 3rd Typhoon to the British for most of the race until they stopped to pick up a young g-girl from a distant shore. This boat just doesn’t understand the concept of racing! The Flying Scot saw the welcome return of  “stringbean” Kidger as crew, hoping to repeat last weeks performance but it was not to be in spite of a good 3rd on the water. Pattie B III saw the guest appearance of the distinguished British Privateer Christopher,”keep out of the water at all costs” Edwards and his perfect crew, “legs” Alison. In spite of a strong 3rd on handicap they never quite got to terms with the slick crewing, local knowledge and larger jib of Polaris who were able to hold off Cleo for 1st place in just it’s second race in new hands. What can I say about Moonbeam? A shaft of light that never quite made it through the clouds? A glint that was never seen behind the drawn curtains? Another Whitehead late start? Yes, that would cover it!

 Thanks to Eleanor, Rollie & Gary for their timekeeping duties, if others can help from time to time that would be much appreciated so these three don’t have the full responsibility every week.

2005 Kicks Off!!

Some things never change. For a race starting at 2.00 you can be sure that a good number of boats will still be on their moorings at start time and so it came to pass. Their were tales of sails on upside down, mooring ropes tied on so a hurricane couldn’t loosen them (which hurricane was that, I wonder?)

There was the usual musical boat game with sailors who had swapped boats, a fine new boat rumoured to be called “1^st place” (which retired in order to perpetrate dastardly acts on another competitor, so no change there). The Whiteheads needed 3 generations to sail 2 boats, but the Maslen/Hobart/Kidgers needed only two to sail the same number. Melody turned up, and then turned tail soon after the start when the skies started to grumble, (thunderstorms were forecast) and the only boat to finish the scheduled course was the Flying Scot of Lori (clueless keyless) Kidger.

Nick & Wendy in Polaris, (freshly showered) led at the start followed by 1st Place (?) and the Flying Scot. Macy & Harris in Cleo crossed the line just 4 minutes late and Moonbeam, last years’ overall winner was so confidant Celia & Ky gave everyone a 7-minute lead!  At the end of the Sheep Island leg Flying Scot turned a 2 minute deficit to Polaris to a 1 minute lead and Lori was to extend this to 4 minutes by the time they returned from Rich Man’s House. Polaris had the second fastest elapsed time for the first lap just over a minute ahead of Moonbeam but the second beat up to Sheep saw this lead cut dramatically from 8 to just 4 minutes by the finish at HoJo Dock where a falling wind determined an early finish. Once that was decided, the wind picked up again but the Flying Scot was a comfortable winner on corrected time from Moonbeam and Polaris with Cleo the only other finisher.