Tim Mitchell aboard his gorgeous new Sunfish. Photo: Mike Ferring
The lake looked like glass at the 2pm start time. A flicker of breeze wafted from the west at 2:15. PRO George Tingom, screamed “Start ’em!” Okay, he probably didn’t, but the day needed some action.
Most of the Tempe Town Lake race group this Sunday (2/16) figured it might be another day of drifting, like the last day we were here. Or super light like the time before. Instead there was enough breeze to justify a few races and moving the windward mark out a distance to give the Lasers a bit more runway.
By a little after 4 o’clock the breeze had shut down entirely and the few boats still racing ghosted across the finish. Day over.
The biggest AYC event of the year is days away, the three-day regatta and maximum party starts on Friday (2/7) with practice in the afternoon and a big Friday night:
North Sails Clinic – North Sails has joined our Regatta! Don’t miss their Tuning and Trim Clinic on Friday evening. Click here to sign up.
The Rum Bar will feature drinks from Leukemia Cup sponsor Goslings, and, for the first time, from Curt Naegeli’s North Woods Distillery, located in Coleman, Wisconsin. Before moving out of the area, Curt was an AYC member. Now he’s back for the Birthday Regatta. Watch for his Sunfish with the sail featuring his signature product, Smooth Sailing Rum.
We’ll fire up the grill to cook burgers and dogs, with side dishes. Beer and wine will also be available.
After sailing on Saturday, don’t miss the year’s best party:
Dinner and Drinks – Dinner is being provided again this year by Scottsdale’s premier, award winning caterer, Arizona Taste, now in their 30th year. For just $25, they’re providing a delicious $50 dinner menu in support of our Birthday Regatta. Also available: craft beer from Peoria Artisan Brewery, and fine wine from J Dusi Wines in Paso Robles, California.
Must-see Entertainment – Over dinner guest speaker Onne van der Wal will share photos from the day and discuss the making of “Sailing in America,” his popular new photography book.
Celebrate our 62nd Birthday with cake and with a little help from our friends – Arizona’s newest maritime band, The Keeltones.
“Pay it Forward” deals – Go home rich! Buy lots of 50-50 raffle tickets for the big drawing. Then after cake, auctioneer Rowlan Hill will lead our live auction to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Arizona Sailing Foundation and the Arizona Yacht Club. Credit cards will be accepted, so bring them all.
Click here to preview some of the great offers on the auction block this year, including:
See the Grand Canyon: from the bottom up with a “bucket list” raft trip.
Relax in the Caribbean: choose from 8 Caribbean vacation packages.
How about a charter aboard a 42-foot catamaran?
Golfer? You’ll have two nice golf packages to choose from.
Bid for an overnight stay at Lon’s Hermosa Inn, one of Arizona’s most romantic destinations.
Check out the competition – Click here for a full list of competitors by fleet. Our birthday regatta will include at least nine fleets:
Buccaneer 18
Catalina 22
Cruising
Laser
Merit 25
PHRF Non-Spin
PHRF Spin
PHRF Sport Boat
Santana 20
Sunfish
With all this happening, you just gotta regatta – see you at the Lake soon!
Pictured above, The Keeltones, the Regatta’s musical headliner. From left to right: Charlie Joiner (CJ) – an animal on those drums; lead singer Michelangelo Caggiano (a wayward sailor from a secret harbor); guitarist and back-up singer Steve Dolter (C-22 sailor); keyboardist Wayne Powell (New Freedom heat); guitarist Steve Grothe (C-22 sailor); and guitarist Dennis Lynde (former AYC Commodore and member for nearly 50 years). The Keeltones will feature original nautically-themed music by Michelangelo and a well-rounded playlist of your favorite sailing songs. Mamas, don’t let your children grow up to be maritime band musicians!
Mark Trainor summed up the Lake Pleasant opening weekend in a familiar phrase: feast or famine. Saturday was famine, as light wind kept the boats creeping and allowed only a couple races each, always in low gear. Sunday was the feast—way too much feast!
Wind in the upper teens with puffs into the 20s tested race teams on Sunday (1/19). Here Mike Ferring hits 9kts under main alone. Photo: Mike’s GoPro
The wind was licking the high teens at the 9 o’clock race time and rose from there. With all the boats overpowered, it was a contest of bravery/skill/weight on the rail. The climax came as we watched the PHRF spin boats reaching back from Horse Island rounding.
Dean Johnson’s Andrews Governor’s Cup 21 had a nice lead and was flying south under spinnaker, one of only two boats risking it with the heavy wind. As we watched, it appeared that Dean turned left as he approached a very blown-long finish line in order to avoid illegally passing through it. The boat jibed, flipping three of the crew into the water, one of whom was able to grab the trailing main sheet and scramble back on board. The spinnaker meanwhile was flapping out of control. The two swimmers were pulled out and taken to the Peoria fire station to be warmed up.
The Tempe Town Lake kickoff was a wheeze-off, with wind so light it was nothing at all. In spite of that, the fleets managed to get two races in. We knew we were moving by watching light posts on the south shore. Meanwhile, the Portsmouth race committee snacked from Clay Poulson’s shoreside charcuterie.
The day before, 8-10 boats turned out for a practice run at Lake Pleasant. The wind was light there, too, with moments of moderation, but it was a good way to shake off the rust and make sure all the lines still worked (what do you mean the spin halyard is wrapped around the forestay?).
Wendy Larsen volunteered as the day’s PRO (Principle Race Officer) and attracted a good group of people for a morning race committee clinic where she explained the basics of running races at Lake Pleasant before bringing them out for the afternoon’s practice.
Practice Start on Saturday, January 11. Photo: Sabrina Bryant
Nice form at the Lake Pleasant practice day. Photo: Sabrina Bryant
How dld the first Tempe Town Lake race series go for the new Sunfish class? Quite well, thank you, and congratulate longtime Sunfish fan Gary Oberbeck for a fall series home run. Gary not only won the fleet, but he did it with a perfect score: 16 points in 16 scored races. All bullets.
Bob Naylor formed the class for fall to have a place for him to race his wife’s Sunfish (true). Jeff Bryant was convinced: he sold a perfectly good Laser and picked up a Sunfish and used it to finish second in the series. Tim Mitchell was third and Bob Naylor fourth.
When perennial C14 champ Dave Haggart was injured in a bike crash, Dick Krebill broke a leg, and John Mayall decided to skip some races, it opened the door for Maryellen and me, Mike Ferring, to win the class. Dave and Amy Henning finished second and John and Joyce Mayall third.
The hotly-contested Laser fleet win went to Paul Miachika, topping a 17-boat entry. Joel Hurley finished second, Mike Bernard third, and Chuck Norris fourth.
Colin Gibbs continued to dominate the junior fleet, followed by Myles Danner and Ryan Zornik. Clay Poulson managed to schedule his extensive international travel so that he could make it to TTL most weekends and handily won against light competition in the Portsmouth fleet in his Fireball.
Spring racing begins January 12.
One-man band Clay Poulson stretches to set the pole while not letting go of the tiller. Photo: Mike Ferring
Celebrate the improbability of a yacht club thriving in the middle of the Arizona desert for 62-years! Happy Birthday, AYC! Register and race in the Birthday Regatta – top finishers in each class will be recognized with awards. These classes are expected:
Sail with us, over 200 sailors and “shore crew,” and 70+ boats. Sail under blue skies in front of the Black Mountains near Castle Hot Springs, Buzzard Neck and Humbug Bay. Celebrate with us under the stars, between the saguaro and ocotillo, with the burros and coyotes on Lake Pleasant, just 45 minutes northwest of Phoenix.
Our Keynote Speaker this year is award-winning nautical photographer Onne van der Wal. He will be on the water during the day taking photographs that will be shown during the dinner Saturday night. More about Onne van der Wal here.
Lake Pleasant called up the biggest wind of the season for AYC’s final day of the fall series, enough wind to break boats and send lots of sailors back to shore. By late morning racing was over and the final standings locked down.
Paul Liszewski checking main trim as the team goes Rolling in the Deep. Photo: Mike Ferring
Congratulations to the fleet winners: Bob Worrall, Catalina 22; Paul Liszewski, PHRF Spin; Mike Hester, PHRF Sport Boat; Scott Richards, Santana 20; and Jason Rziha, Thistle.
Paul Liszewski’s party boat, Rolling in the Deep, won with a net score of 22 in 20 races, after the 20% throwouts, another dominating performance over a much improved Marshall Williamson in second and Charles Landis in third. Bowman Jeff Coulter said Dean Johnson’s Andrews 21 had a shot at third until the Sunday winds locked the spin pole to the mast, collapsing their final two races.
Sport Boat Champ Mike Hester won the fall in a tiebreaker. Photo from February by Mike Ferring
Mike Hester went into the final weekend with a huge lead in PHRF Sport Boat, but his weekend ended with a bang—a collision before the start of the first race Saturday. This time the starboard side of his boat was battered and shrouds frazzled. It was the port side of his Viper 640 Nectar Sled that splintered in a crash at the Viper Worlds just three months before.
Mark Trainor and Court Roberts had been sharing the tiller on Court’s Melges 24 until the final two-and-half weekends of racing, when Club Champ Joel Hurley stepped off his Santana 20 and began driving the Melges—aggressively and very well, of course. With Mike Hester on the trailer for the final weekend, the Court/Mark/Joel boat tied him for the series win, just losing in a tiebreaker.
Former Club Champ Scott Richards’ win in Santana 20 was his swan song before heading to a great job in Massachusetts. Past S20 winners Joel Hurley and Martin Lorch gave Scott a departing advantage by taking a couple weekends off.
Take a breath. After a two-month pause and maybe some “winter” racing, the spring series begins January 18.
The Governor’s Cup regatta will be Saturday, November 23, with the first boats starting at 12:30 pm from a start line at the south end of Lake Pleasant.
This is a pursuit race, so your handicap determines the time you start and your start time will be posted on the AYC website the day before the race, November 22nd.
Awards will be given for the top-finishing multi-hull and the top-finishing monohull boats. The Governor’s Cup (a perpetual trophy) will be awarded to the top-finishing boat in the fleet with the most entrants. In addition to the prize for winning there will be other prizes available for boats that finish the race. Awards will be presented at the December AYC meeting. A brunch will be served starting at 10:00 am at Spinnaker Point as a pre-race social. The regatta costs $10.00 and you can sign up now using this link.
Almost as big as he is: Martin Lorch hefts the Governor’s Cup after winning in 2017, flanked by crew James Morphis and Katie Yearly. At right: that year’s Event Organizer Tom Errickson. Photo: Mike Ferring
The pictures tell the story. Surprisingly patient sailors waiting for a breath of air on Tempe Town Lake (11/10). Kick back, enjoy the sun. Don’t move or you’ll yank the laminar flow from the drooping sails.
Emory Heisler tries out a Sunfish in the reclining position. It was that kind of day. Photo: Mike Ferring
Seven Sunfish were out, decorating the water with colorful reflections. Longtime Sunfish sailor Gary Oberbeck showed the others the way around the lake, as he has all fall (you know he’s doing well when his 20% discards included first-place finishes).
Paul Miachika and Will Zornik headed the Lasers, with Paul winning two races and Will one. The Bic kids showed more sense than the adults: they went in early.
Concentration on a light-air day. The kids had it figured out. Photo: Mike Ferring
The C14 fleet was on race committee, a large gathering of them, including but probably missing several, Ron and Lynn Simzyk, John and Joyce Mayall, Mike and Maryellen Ferring, and David Henning.
The Sunfish lit the lake with color. Photo: Mike Ferring
Will Zornik focuses downwind. Photo: Mike Ferring
Clay Poulson watches for flow. Photo: Mike Ferring
Paul Miachika managed to be out front on two out of three races. Photo: Mike Ferring
Gary Oberbeck shows the other Sunfish the way around the course. Photo: Mike Ferring
Lori Reger loves to cruise around TTL watching the races. Photo: Mike Ferring
The Lake Pleasant Fall Series experienced “No” to light winds on Saturday (11/2) and the usual stronger winds early Sunday, but diminishing by late morning. The C22s were sailing Saturday, while Santana 20s, Sportboats, and Thistles were out both days, getting in two finishes Saturday and four on Sunday.
Tucson Sailing Club: Photo by Marshall Williamson
Many thanks to the large number of spin fleet folks who came out for RC both days: Paul Liszewski, Steve Nahkala, and Bob Brie did a great job handling PRO duties. Cindy Williamson Creech spent all day Saturday photographing those on the water, seeking a full spinnaker, which was a rarity.
The post-racing “social” at Spinnaker Point was a big hit, and drew a record crowd! Sponsored by AYC and Tucson Sailing Club, specialty burgers, zesty chicken, and cold beverages were enjoyed by all. Special thanks to the J/24 Jim Bird crew; Eric Whiteman and friend Sarah who brought a large pot of delicious vegan gumbo. Tom Creech contributed a tasty “Indiana corn salad” which rounded out dinner.
From high winds to no wind, from recycling to composting, and from DC to Alaska, the 2019 running of the Buccaneer North American Championship had it all! The regatta was held at Lake Pleasant, Arizona from 22-26 October. We had teams from Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alaska and of course the home teams from Arizona. The food was magnificent, the camaraderie was jovial, and the competition fierce!
Kudos and Thanks!
Regattas don’t happen without a lot of effort and volunteers. All of the competitors gave much thanks to the Race Committee that consisted of PRO Wendy Larsen, Scorer Dave Christensen, Mark Boat Driver Mike Grijalva, Committee Members Jo Grijalva, Dale Buccanan, Chuck Landis, Bob Naylor, and Lori Reger. We also had Shore Crew! Deb Heisler helped organize the on-site food, which was a homemade TACO EXTRAVAGANZA on Wednesday night, and catered-in Mexican food on Friday night, as well as continental breakfast every morning and a sandwich and snack line.
Green Team Leader Deb Heisler and all the “Landfill Trash” that we produced in five days!
Clean Regatta
This event met all the criteria set by Sailors for the Sea to qualify for the Silver Level Clean Regatta Certification. This is no small feat. There were 13 Best Practices that we chose to comply with, some easy like giving out practical gear as regatta trophies. Others were more difficult, like composting and doing “paperless” regatta management. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Rear Commodore Deb Heisler for her efforts to earn this certification.
Racing Recap
The Tuesday practice afternoon was fluky even by Lake Pleasant standards, with the wind shifting from south to west from the 10 Lane Boat Ramp. Mostly, the practice day is just to make sure you put the boat together correctly and shake out the cobwebs a bit, so everyone had fun with it.
Wednesday morning race day came and it was all game faces. The Skipper’s Meeting came with just a few questions, and then it was go time. Four races, all in pretty good breeze, came and went, and a trend in the scores began to appear, but the real story was the forecast for Thursday.
With no wind forecast less than 20kts all day and gusts into the 40s forecast for Thursday, it was an easy, however disappointing, decision to cancel for the day. Several out-of-town groups found their way to local breweries as everyone sought shelter from the relentless wind. That night gusts were recorded over 50kts, which made Friday a tenuous decision for the Regatta Management Team. With racing set to start at 9, sustained winds in the high teens and gusts in the low 20’s, with 4 foot, wind-driven waves demanded yet another postponement.
Racing was then set to start at 10, and while the forecast had wind dissipating, those who jumped out on the water found out very quickly that mother nature had not been informed of the forecast. Now on the water, postponement with more signals ashore was decided as people took shelter at the north and south ramps and the Pleasant Harbor courtesy docks. Finally, at 11:30, after taking multiple readings on the water and reviewing several more forecasts, racing would start at 12:30.
The wind did dissipate some and the wind driven waves were in the 1-2 foot range by 12:30. The first race of the day tested skippers and crew as it was at the top end of the range for racing the Bucc 18. Everyone stayed upright and we got four solid races in as the wind continued to relent into the afternoon and overnight.
Saturday was the final day, and it started early with good breeze, but it wouldn’t be Lake Pleasant without a bit of a drifter, and the third and final race of the day ended on just that. A course that was shortened at the south mark.
Results
Joel Hurley and Tony Chapman – Bucc 18 Champs!
The Bucc Fleet has a strong history of honoring not only the winning skipper, but also the crew. On a two-person boat, the skipper and crew relationship is very important and can make or break the team. In fact, some of the owners were actually crewing their boats. The Bucc 18 Fleet Champion Trophy has both skipper and crew listed on it. In honor of one of Arizona Yacht Club’s winningest Bucc crew and one of the best sailors, either at the helm or as crew, that I’ve ever known. The Bucc 18 fleet commissioned the Crew Trophy in Honor of Dennis Martinelli. Finally, the B-Fleet trophy was created in order to encourage sailors to come out and improve their skills. But once you’ve won it, you are banished from the B’s! For all the scores, you can visit the scores page here.
The B-Fleet Trophy was awarded to Tom Gage and crew Sue Goodglick from Big Lake Sailing Club Alaska
In third place overall from Denver Sailing Association, Dave Spira with AYC crew Vanessa Wisbaum
In second place overall, from Potomac River Sailing Association, Jeff Neurauter with crew Heather Howard
Finally, in first place overall, from the Arizona Yacht Club, Joel Hurley with crew Antony Chapman. Joel and Tony had a total of 12 points over 11 races.
Additionally, we have some other awards: The Centurion award goes to the highest-finishing boat with a combined crew age over 100, which went to Dave Spira and Vanessa Wisbaum. The Oldest Boat award went to Jim Irwin for his early copy of the now revered Nickels Bucc. And the Sportsmanship award went to AYC’s own Dave Newland. His was the only boat to have a failure, which caused him to be the only capsize. It happened on Thursday morning, right after the second postponement. He didn’t let that bother him, though. He went in, fixed the boat, toweled off, and he and his crew Matt Baker got right back after it.
Thanks to Chuck Landis, Deb Heisler, Dave Spira, and Wendy Larsen for the photo gallery!
Santana 20 Fleet on RC Saturday. Photo: Marc Danner
This past weekend the wind forecast looked promising and perfect weather.
The race committee boat on Saturday consisted of Martin Lorch, Greg Woodcock, Brian Hackman, Michael Parker, Josh and Vanessa. Marc, Myles, and Avery Danner joined Cedric Lorch on the Boston Whaler, working furiously to keep up with the shifting winds.
The fleet captains agreed to postpone the races due to the lack of wind. As the fleets sat in the boat parking lot enjoying the weather and conversation, around 1 pm the wind started to build out of the west, which prompted the start of racing for each fleet. The last two races were a north/south course and overall the day ended strong with decent wind.
Rolling in the Deep and red Solo cups! Photo: Marc Danner
Sunday’s races started with 10 kts of wind, which prompted an early start for the Thistle fleet. The race committee Sunday consisted of Greg Woodcock, Brian Hackman, and Marc and Myles Danner. Joel Hurley and Grant Younger provided support on the runabout.
Each fleet was able to get in three races, but unfortunately the last race was shortened, ending at the south mark. Each fleet decided to call it a day as the wind was reading 0 kts on the committee boat.
In between races, the fleets continued to enjoy each other’s company. Rolling in the Deep played music and drank from their red solo cups! Overall, the weekend was a success. A big thanks to the Santana fleet for an awesome weekend!
Wind conditions for Sunday’s races (10/13) were less than favorable on an otherwise beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Sailors relied on their light-air tactics for much of the day while contending with periods of no wind, very light wind, 180-degree wind shifts, and the occasional, and all-too-brief, periods of 7 kt winds, which moved the fleets along nicely. The Lasers and C-14s eked out three races, and the Juniors and Portsmouth fleets each ran two races. At times, entire fleets drifted slowly backwards, and at other times, the wind was up enough that boats closed to the marks at speed.
No shortage of Safety Boat crew, ready for any contingency! (l-r):Tarah Garcia, Gary Oberbeck, John Edmonds, Jeff Bryant (coxswain), Bob and Robin Naylor. Photo by Rajesh Jha
The new Sunfish Fleet took its first ever turn on race committee, supporting a decent turnout of 20 boats across four fleets. Eleven Lasers were on the line, with Rob Gibbs, Joel Hurley, and George Sheller each taking first place wins in three heats, and otherwise finishing somewhere in the top three in most races. David Newland and Paul Miachika also each notched 3rd place finishes.
Five Capri 14.2s faced-off in three races, with Team Ferring scoring a pair of first place finishes, and Team Henning taking the honors in the last race. And it’s always fun to watch the Juniors race. Colin Gibbs, Ethan Wei, and Ryan Zornik campaigned their Bics for two races, with Colin and Ryan each taking a first place win.
The Portsmouth Fleet was thin with just one boat on the lake. Craig Taylor raced his Butterfly against himself for two races, handily winning both heats against tough competition!
All in all, a decent Sunday afternoon on Tempe Town Lake despite the weak winds.
Move along folks. Nothing to see here. NO air. Photo by Rajesh Jha
Brooke Miller won the 2019 Ruth Beals Cup. Jeff Coulter crew. Photo: Scott Richards
On a breathtakingly beautiful fall day at Lake Pleasant, a group of eight highly competitive women would have made our AYC founder proud. The Ruth Beals Cup is a regatta that mandates a woman at the helm of every boat and is considered by most as the Woman’s Club Championship. The skies were clear, and the wind gods were smiling, giving the ladies a perfect sailing breeze out of the north at 7 to 10 knots before the start. We had boats of all types and sizes registered ranging from the “sporty” J/70 and Melges 24 to the more “sophisticated” Impulse 26, Santana 20, Olson 25, Catalina 25, Merit 25, and a B-25.
The warning gun went off precisely at 9:30am as the women started into their pre-start routines and strategizing. As the time ran down, we could see a very competitive start emerging. During the last 10 seconds before the start we heard several “very direct conversations” (we don’t yell on a sailboat) between various boats to try to gain an advantage. Although, if I wasn’t mistaken, those were all male voices I heard, while I noticed that the women remained very calm at the helm of their boats. Anyway, the J/70, with Maryellen Ferring at the helm, and the Melges 24, with Stacy Loula steering took the early lead at the start.
Stacey Loula pilots the Melges 24 (foreground) and Maryellen Ferring the J/70 in very light wind. Photo: Greg Woodcock
The speed difference between all the boats became very apparent about halfway up the first leg as the ladies had their sights on Horse Island. The wind had diminished slightly to 5-6 knots as the Melges 24 and J/70 sprinted away from the fleet. But wait, this race has only begun, and everyone knew the real racing would begin while rounding the two northern islands.
As expected, the wind lightened considerably on the north side of the islands and the Impulse 26, with Elaine Charteris on the tiller, surged into the lead after navigating a most efficient path around Horse Island. This left the sporty boats wondering what happen as they had a good view of Elaine’s transom. While the J/70 and Melges 24 were struggling a bit navigating the treacherous island winds, the Santana 20, with Brooke Miller driving, slowly started to sneak up behind the leaders. As exciting as it was, the Melges 24 team regained their composure and with the help of a nice shaft of wind made the turn south in the lead.
“Luminosity that encircled the boat,” writes Scott Richards. Photo: Skip Kempff
As you can imagine, the rescue boat was primed and positioned to catch the anticipated great pictures of all the boats popping their chutes while making the turn south to No Name (Bobcat) Island. You could feel the anticipation in the air, and we could tell that the J/70 team was itching to get their asymmetric flying after having some challenges on the east-west leg. And pop it did – I think I heard several oohs and ahhs as the J/70 introduced a bright turquoise front sail that seemed to generate a luminosity that encircled the boat as it climbed the mast and filled with air. Cameras were flashing from all angles as Maryellen proudly made her way through the left-hand turn.
Moments after that, the Melges 24 rounded the island and was in clear water as she jibed and her asymmetric went immediately into a prolonged hourglass. The turquoise sail was flying strong as the J/70 pushed her bow into the lead for the first time. Unfortunately, the J/70 got a little too close to the island and fell into a huge hole, giving the Melges, Impulse, and Santana some time to regroup. A couple more boats rounded the islands, not too far behind, which included the Olson 25, skippered by Lulu Baydoun, and the Catalina 25, with Pam Neff on the helm.
The downwind leg consisted of the “haves” and “have nots.” The boats that took the eastern-center course were the haves and the western shore boats were the have-nots. The J/70 and the Santana 20 took the eastern option while the Impulse 26 and the Melges 24 decided to go west. East was right and west was wrong. The J/70 made a brilliant move eastwardly and rolled the Melges 24 that was literally appearing to be standing still along the western shoreline. Commentary after the race, with the eventual winner, suggested that the Santana 20 chose the eastern route after Brooke recalled a previous conversation with Maryellen that said, “when the wind diminishes go east my lady.” That turned out to be most valuable information.
The boats finally made it to the yellow mark in front of Bobcat Island with the J/70 with a big lead, followed by the Melges 24, Santana 20 and the Impulse 26. At this point the south breeze was starting to fill in, but it was still fighting with the morning northerly. The J/70 did well coming up to the finish until she was about 300 yards away and the wind died. This allowed the three boats coming up from the south mark to make some time gains as the prevailing south breeze started to take hold.
All and all it was a fantastic day on the lake and we were all impressed and proud of the all the fine women skippers. All the boats finished, and it seemed like everyone had a great day. I would like to give a special shout out to the Merit 25, with Ellie Carrol on the tiller with her the kids as crew and to the B-25, with Elizabeth Allard at the helm. They really made the race committee’s day when they cheered loudly as they crossed the finish line to close out the regatta.
Unfortunately, the 2018 Ruth Beals Cup winner, Cindy Pillote, could not attend this year due to an injury so we were guaranteed a new champion. A big congratulations to the 2019 Ruth Beals Cup winner, Brooke Miller with crew Jeff Coulter (driving my boat… Woohoo!). Maryellen Ferring came in second for the second year in a row and sailed a great race. Rounding out the top three was Elaine Charteris in third place.
Editor’s Note: Big thanks to the race committee of Scott Richards, Skip Kempff and Greg Woodcock.
Maryellen Ferring rounds the Bobcat mark in no wind in the 2019 Ruth Beals Cup. Photo: Greg Woodcock
Elaine Charteris aboard Shazam with Marshall Williamson. Photo: Scott Richards
Elizabeth Allard at the helm of the B-25, sparkling on Lake Pleasant. Photo: Skip Kempff
Stacey Loula and the Melges 24 team at the start. Photo: Skip Kempff
On Saturday we gave some serious thought to giving up when the wind failed to show until well into the afternoon, but when it arrived we enjoyed some good racing, bouncing west-east on windward-leeward courses.
Sunday arrived with with strong north wind and let us get enough races in before going slack… and heading home.
Mike Hester on his Viper picked up where he left off in the spring, by leading the Sport Boats despite some stiff competition from Court Roberts and the Melges 24 team. Mike tested his new fiberglass repair Saturday by slamming into Laurent Dion’s Viper, but apparently avoided a return to the shop.
Yes, Joel Hurley was a clear first in Santana 20 and Rollin’ in the Deep kept rolling in Spin while Marshall Williamson in Shazam has shown huge improvement from past seasons (maybe it’s that new sail). You’ll find all the results here.
Photo above of spins headed to the start line was taken by Joel Hurley.
Week three of the 2019 Tempe Town Lake race series turned out to be a dandy. The racing dinghy fleets were greeted with fairly steady westerlies ranging up to the mid teens. A bit up and down but generally, we had great wind for TTL.
The good winds attracted lots of sailors and with nearly 30 boats on the water representing five different fleets, the sailing was just great.
In action were Lasers, Sunfish, C14s, and the Juniors. Plus a gaggle of ASU students showed up with their FJs and asked if they could sail.
“Of course! All are welcome… you just have to show up.”
Those ASU boats did show up to sail. They had three boats and more then six sailors so they traded teams each race. We never knew who any of them were but they got in five good starts and five good races. Great to see you guys!
Starting and racing with them were the C14s. Whether old guy experience or a faster boat, the C-14s came around the course faster then those college kids’ FJs.
The first four races the C14s had match racing with the Ferrings and Scott Richards duking it out. The Ferrings took three of the races, a few by a wide margin, though the Richards team did squeak out one good win. Dave Henning showed up to make the fourth and fifth heats.
The Sunfish also got in five heats. Gary Oberbeck was the fastest boat all afternoon with a string of bullets. Jeff Bryant took most of the seconds, with Bob Naylor once sneaking into the back-up position. Tim Mitchell battled into the tough winds all day and had a line full of well earned thirds.
We also saw three Open Bics and one Radial Laser in the Junior class. The Bics looked awesome with their sporty lines and the kids hiking out with all their weight. Colin Gibbs and Myles Danner fought neck and neck, each earning two bullets and two seconds. Likewise Michael Haggart on the Laser and Ethan Wei traded positions with two threes and two fours apiece.
All great racing, though the big class this weekend at TTL was the Lasers with 13 boats on the line. I must say it was almost a clinic as club and class champion Joel Hurley ran away with four straight wins. Paul Miachika had a good consistent day with two seconds and two thirds. Scott Sharples had a single second and a third. Chuck Norris had a nice consistent day getting a second and Mike Bernard took the other third.
We did see very impressive sailing by the leading Laser and the committee did hear words of advice from our sailing champion which I will pass on to the other sailors.
After winning one race Joel, speaking half to the committee half to no one, said, “Those other guys don’t know how to change gears. I get away from them in the light stuff. They don’t loosen everything up… they just keep it all tight.”
A few words of honest advice for all dinghy racers out there: you need to learn to change gears.
Joe and Bonnie Motil handled the breakfast. Photo: Deb Heisler
Okay, Opening Day 2019’s opening cannon shot was actually just after Joe and Bonnie Motil’s beautiful breakfast spread, just after Fleet Captain Scott Richards’ welcoming and just before everyone headed out for a magnificent day on the water.
When the racing concluded, the show began. Rear Commodore Deb Heisler was the event organizer and a crowd of volunteers stepped in to help her present dinner, awards, and music to about 60+ sailors.
Mike Ferring’s Saturday and Sunday racing photos and some dinner photos below, but first, let’s offer some credit to the volunteers from Deb’s playbook.
It was Steve Dolter and his B Sides pal Greg playing the Beatle’s tunes. Bob Naylor handled the club trailer, including inventory and cleaning. Joe and Bonnie did breakfast. Maryellen Ferring handled dinner. Martin Lorch was on grill. Ralph Vatalaro mixed the Dark & Stormies. And there were lots of others who pitched in, including Lori Reger, Rob and Colin Gibbs, Emory Heisler, Bob Nesbit, Mark Trainor (who constructed the water filtration system), Scott Richards, Cindy Pillote, Brian Hackman, and more.
Martin Lorch and Joel Hurley picked up where they left off last season: match racing for the lead. Here Joel luffs Martin from leeward. Photo: Mike Ferring
Race Committee both days included David Newland and James Dishong on Whaler, Tony and Neil Chapman, Jim Colceri, Elizabeth Allard, Mike and Maryellen Ferring, Court Roberts, and Mark Trainor on the RC boat.
Deb is trying to turn us all green and drove an effort for recycling and composting. The filtration system system does an amazing job of taking tap water from the hose and turning it into good-tasting stuff that avoids mounds of plastic bottle waste.
The all-woman Ruth Beals Cup Regatta will return to Lake Pleasant on Saturday, October 12, with the starting gun at 9:30 am. It’s for women at the helm in run-what-you-brung boats rated by PHRF handicap.
The race is named for the founder of AYC, Ruth Beals, and offers a chance for the women of the club to compete against other women. Men are allowed to crew, but not to get too close to the tiller.
There will be a single long-distance race, following the familiar course from a start/finish in the south portion of the lake, around Horse and Balance Rock and a mark north of No-Name island (also called Bobcat), back to a finish line in mid-lake. It’s more or less the same course we’ve used for the Governor’s Cup and the Tall Cactus Regatta.
Cindy Pillote is the defending champion, teaming up with Bob Worrall in his C22 to win in light air one year ago. Maryellen Ferring finished second in her J/70.
Jeff Bryant rounding a mark in his Sunfish. Photo: Mike Ferring
That’s the gentle way to describe the generally breeze-less race day (9/15). It didn’t prevent a dozen Lasers, a few Sunfish, Clay Poulson (his own fleet of one Portsmouth) and the Juniors from testing whether they could still move. They did it enough to lay down a few races.
When Dave Christensen retired from race scoring in the spring, Mark Howell bravely volunteered to score both lakes until the club could come up with another answer. Fleet Captain Scott Richards recruited Joel Hurley to score, evaluated various computer scoring programs, and has settled on Sailwave to replace our existing software (which is quite complicated).
The goal is to post results quickly after race days, ideally the same day as the races. Here is the results page.
See, it’s important to stay low in light air to avoid any aerodynamic drag. Photo: Mike Ferring
Joel Hurley winds up for a roll tack at the mark. Photo: Mike Ferring
Stacey and Dave Haggart coaching the juniors. Photo: Mike Ferring
Lori Aoki’s Sunfish in the sparkles of a Sunday afternoon. Photo: Mike Ferring
Fireball sailor Clay Poulson travels the world for his import business and manages to race Fireballs all over the world as well. This warm August he’s racing at the North American and World Championships at Pointe Claire Yacht Club of Montreal.
Clay finished 29th out of 40 entries in the North American Championship and 33rd (and first from the U.S.) out of 42 entries in the World Championship.
Action at the Viper Worlds off Long Beach. Photo: Sharon Green
AYC sailors were two of the 41 entries in the Viper 640 World and North American Championships this last week (8/20-24) at Los Alamitos Yacht Club in Long Beach. Mike Hester finished 32nd and Tony Chapman 34th and Mike is looking for a recommendation for a good fiberglass repair place, saying his boat was broadsided during the start to the last race.
Tony’s boat was crewed by Edward “Buttons” Padin and former AYCer Lucinn Sahali, who’s now living in the Monterey area. Mike’s boat was crewed by John Mayall and Ruta Bandziulis.
The Viper website reported, “Marcus Eagan, Andrew Eagan, and Jackson Benvenutti (Mandeville, LA) [won] both the Goslings 2019 Viper 640 World Championship and the 2019 Viper 640 North Americans. Hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA), the four-day Championship consisted of 13 races in atypical Long Beach conditions – light, 8-10 knots except for the final race on Day 2 and the last two on the final day when winds were mid to high teens. It was a regatta where sailors were faced with a wide range of conditions and those atop the podium had to be capable of dealing with them all.”
Ace sailing photographer Sharon Green (ultimatesailing.com) shot some of the action and collected random shots of some of the sailors, including Mr. Chapman.
Tony Chapman, photographed at the Viper Worlds in Long Beach. Photo: Sharon Green
By Rob Gibbs
