[J22-Fleet 1] Texas SW Circuit - Rush Creek Recap

Wed Apr 5 15:33:31 CDT 2006

The race management comments are interesting, having done early season scow
events at Rush Creek. It seems that regardless of where the PRO comes from,
or the type of fleet, they are challenged to get races off quickly. In fact,
several if not many, scow friends have stopped attending events there due to
race management issues. Too bad as it¹s a nice venue and easy to get to for
early season racing.

It makes me feel very fortunate to have excellent race management at WYC.

John Dyer

From: George Hansen <georgeh at nowmicro.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 11:00:33 -0500
To: "j22 at lists.wyc.org" <j22 at lists.wyc.org>
Subject: [J22-Fleet 1] Texas SW Circut -  Rush Creek Recap

FYI - A great synopsis from Paul Burlingame - Bowman on 1311(Norwegian
Woody) racing with Jappa and Kevin Kenny.
Really makes me want to get out and race.  Thanks Paul. Enjoy.

Here's my perspective on last weekend at Rush Creek.
Environment:  For those who have never been to Rush Creek, it is a great
venue for a regatta with two cranes, quick access to the race course (no
Wayzata Bay power boat dodging), showers, large outdoor deck, swimming pool,
and full service bar and restaurant.  The best feature, however, was the
quality and hospitality of the people who made every effort to make us feel
at home.  We had multiple offers for housing, support, and invitations for
return.

The Races:  Thirty-two boats competed in the RCYC leg of the Southwest
Circuit.  The competition was excellent as evident by the likes of Brian
Calk, Terry Flynn, Jeff Progelhoff, Rob Johnston, Kelsom, and numerous
others.  The regatta was set up to run 5 races (3 on Saturday and 2 on
Sunday) with no throw outs.

Saturday Races:  Cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 80s with wind out
of the south (170) at 8-18 mph greeted us for the three Saturday races.
The Oklahoma City based Race Committee set a start line that was both square
and appropriate in length....even if it took them 45 minutes to do so.    It
wasn't always intuitively obvious which side was favored with numerous puffs
and 15 degree oscillations.  About 2/3 of the fleet seemed to fight for the
Committee Boat side of the line.  Hindsight and reconstruction, however,
showed that the clean air and ability to get left quick paid big dividends.
With a couple of exceptions, those who went left faired well.  Several of us
noted that boat speed was pretty even in the top half of the fleet and, as
is the case with any large regatta, lane management, clean air, and mark
rounding set up were critical success factors.  A summary

At the end of day one Brian Calk, Kelsom (Genesta), and Faust (Slo Poke) led
the pack.  Despite a 16th place standing, Norwegian Woody felt pretty good
about several lessons (re-)learned, namely:

1.  Clean air and lane are equally important as position at the start.

2.  If most of the fleet is going one way and you're going another, you'd
better have a very good reason.  (We were 1 out of 2 in that category).

3.  Although sometimes painful, "getting in line downwind" is the way to go.
Several boats got clobbered chasing the elusive "passing puff".

4.  Mark rounding strategy, setup, and execution resulted in passing or
being passed by up to 3-4 boats.

5.  Changing conditions challenged our ability to quickly and effectively
change gears.

Sunday Races:  Mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s with wind out
of the south (190) at 8-16 greeted the two Sunday races.  In race one,
Norwegian Woody had the tactical advantage (?) of being able to view the
entire fleet from the fourth row at the start line.  Despite this we worked
boat speed and position on the first windward leg and were able to round the
first windward mark in the middle of the pack.  Applying upwind lessons
learned we rounded the leeward mark in the top 10.  Slo Poke tacked on top
of us...and apologized on and off the water (I mentioned how nice the Texans
are)....resulting in two extra tacks for us however we finished a
respectable 10th.  Race two got off to a better start for us.  We patiently
waited for a lane on the left side of the course and were able to take
advantage of some nice lifting puffs to the windward mark where we rounded
in the top 10.  A quick gybe at the top of the course resulted in more puffs
and fresh air downwind. We were fortunate enough to be a part of the lead
pack the rest of the way and finished 8th.

Brian Calk won the regatta on a tie breaker with Kelsom (Genesta). (We'd
like to think that Brian benefited from us staying at his house but somehow
I'm thinking that wasn't a factor in their victory).  Norwegian Woody moved
up four places and finished 12th.  We felt good about our place knowing that
(a) we learned a lot and (b) we sailed very well the last two races.  Some
additional lessons learned:

6.  At the end of day one, the top three finishers from that day led a
discussion, question, and answer session with the fleet.  Informal and
friendly, it was a great way to share observations, lessons, and build fleet
unity.

7.  Having a day or two of rest before a large regatta is a good idea.
Despite the luxuries of Jappa's Ford-a-saurus (Excursion), a 16 hour
overnight drive takes it out of you.  All three of us feel that our results
on Saturday would have been better is we had one extra day of rest.

8.  Despite some tight roundings, no protests were filed during the regatta.
Sure, some on water discussions occurred but people were able to either work
it out or do their spins.  (Kevin "Protest Committee" Kenny is hoping this
can apply to WYC this year).

Lastly there were discussions about North Americans.  While several people
are committing, others are on the fence. What's the weather like in
September? What are the sailing conditions like?  Is there housing? were
just some of the questions.  I'd encourage all of Fleet #1 to contact
friends in the sailing community and extend invitations, information, and
encouragement.

Paul

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