Story: Greg Romano / Photos: Joel Oglesbee
The competition on Tempe Town Lake was as hot as the air temperature as the TTL Fall Series kicked off Sunday, Sept. 25.
The Laser, Sunfish, and Capri 14.2 fleets came out in force, joined by a handful of juniors and ASU Flying Juniors. Light winds were the order of the day, keeping the fleets close and the Portsmouth Fleet Race Committee hopping to capture finishes that were often mere seconds apart.
The racing was so heated the Laser fleet earned a general recall on their first start of the day as at least three boats were OCS at the gun. They sorted it out for their restart with no one over. Perennial Laser favorite Joel Hurley scored three bullets for the day, while regulars Paul Miachika, Gordon Briner, George Sheller, Mike Hester, Mike Bernard and Dave Newland duked it out for the remaining seven places.
Four Capri 14.2s were at the starting line Sunday, joined by two ASU FJs. In the Capris, George Tingom, Joanne Aspinall, Mike Ferring and John Mayall all had good showings, especially since they were often jockeying for position with other fleets in the fluky winds.
Six Sunfish came out to play, too. AYC Fleet Champion Jen Lee scored two bullets while AYC Commodore Bob Naylor, Doug Sycamore, Tim Mitchell, Jose Vicente and Lori Reger stayed close behind. The third race saw the race committee scrambling for the rule book as NONE of the Sunfish sailors sailed the course displayed during the starting sequence.
The Juniors, Myles Danner in a Laser Radial and Aled Lorans in a Bic, sailed two races. They’re coming up quickly and are sure to be ready to hunt with the veterans in just a few very short years!
Racing resumes at TTL October 9!
