[J24 ListSrv] 2015 J/24 Western Lake Superior Championship

[Joshua Bone]

Regatta Write Up
2015 J/24 Western Lake Superior Championship 
Friday – 
We arrived in Superior around 2pm to 90+ degree temps on the pad. Typical boat prep of washing, polishing, launching, and rig up all went really smooth with the assistance of the Barker’s Island Marina staff. A few beers and cocktails were enjoyed during the process.
Dave, Bernie and I made our way to our host home around 430 to get cleaned up after a grocery run. We stayed with Amy and Jason, who provided us with a great home, bed or sofa for each of us and some canine company.
Jon and Lynn both had work to do they came up a bit later and met us just east of Duluth at New Scenic Café. We enjoyed a few drinks in the parking lot before heading in for a fabulous meal that included Beef Tenderloin in Mole Sauce, Soft Shell Crab with Chimichurri, Sashimi Tuna Tacos, Pork Tenderloin in Adobo with Masa, and a Scallop dish that desperately needed additional lemon. Both desserts were great.
Drove back to Amy and Jason's. Had a few more drinks, then off to bed.
Saturday – 
Up early. Sandwiches made. Out the door for breakfast at The Kitchen. Bernie didn’t like his pancakes due to the misuse of cinnamon. We discussed the finer points and importance of crispy hash browns. 
Due to a clerical error on my part we got to the dock about an hour earlier than any other boat. This gave us time to get organized before the skipper’s meeting. We left the dock immediately after the meeting and motored out the course. We were the only boat on the race course at the scheduled time and the committee postponed briefly to allow everyone to make it out there.
The wind was very shifty the entire first day. It never got above 5kts. Bernie was down below for every upwind leg. Even on the downwinds he pretty much stood in the hole and trimmed the kite. 
Race 1 had the most consistent breeze of the day. BORK BORK BORK lead the first mark, Context was second, Motorhome 3rd. The 2 front boat had some sort of a Ooops-I-Pooped my pants moment with their spinnakers and we were able to quickly roll them. 
Race 2 was much different; the wind was around 3kts at the start. At times during the race it dropped to nothing. The water on Superior is very cold and with the clear skies and hot temp there was a ton of wind shear, especially on Port while sailing downwind. Insatiable sailed a very solid race. We split tacks on the second beat and at one point we were probably a mile apart. When we converged at the top mark they had us by about 4 boat lengths. Insatiable took the bullet, followed by Motorhome in 2nd and Blondie in 3rd (they made some huge gains on the final run!).
Race 3 took a fair amount of time to get rolling as the wind shifted nearly 90 degrees left. We had an early bail out at the start. About 2 minutes into the race the wind shifted 45 degrees to the right and the majority of the fleet were able to lay the windward mark. I think we rounded in 5th in that race. We gybed quickly to take advantage of said shift and then it was really a 3-4 boat parade for the next couple of legs. Kraken took the bullet, followed by BORK BORK BORK and Motorhome in 3rd. 
By this point my brain was fried. It was too hot to drink beer. We tried to get the RC to let us go home early but they weren’t having it. 
Race 4 started in a decent 5kts and we managed to play the shifts well enough to come out ahead. 2nd was Insatiable, 3rd was Blondie. 
At this point it was 5pm. The motor back was about an hour. We got the boat put away and then headed to our Car Bar. DYC/BIYC were having their annual gala that night. We served cocktails to their guests as they arrived. Fun times were had. After 10 hours in the sun our team was ready to get cleaned up and grab some brain food. We went to Sara’s Table in Duluth. It’s always nice to go there. 
After dinner we went back to the party around 915. Most of the people had scattered. We got to spend some quality time with friends. The Duluth/Superior people are a great bunch to hang out with. 
Dave Crum was up there doing some boat work on The Q. I only intended to give Bernie and Lynn a tour…. that quickly turned into an entourage and after party. Someone from BORK BORK BORK left a body fluid surprise for Crum to clean up in the morning. Not naming names.
We headed back to the house to get some rest, but first, yes, a cocktail.
Sunday – 
Up early again. Cleaned up the house. Breakfast at East End Café. Jon opted for the Country Fried Steak and Eggs this time. Bernie missed out on the pancakes. No cinnamon this time.
Again, were the first boat to get out on the race course which gave us enough time to do a full up and down. The breeze was nice for day 2. 6 to 12kts with maybe an occasional puff to 14. 
Race 5. We started midline pin and carried the shift out the left really well to take a decent lead on the first beat. We covered for the rest of the race. BORK BORK BORK took 2nd with Insatiable in 3rd. 
Race 6. We started midline and were able to hold our lane well while the wind shifted right. The fleet was really tight in this race. On the first beat alone there were probably 4 lead changes. We tacked 50 yards short of lay while other boats kept sailing to right. We were greeted a 20 degree right that took us to the mark and helped us get around Blondie. Motorhome took bullet, Blondie in 2nd, BORK BORK BORK 3rd. 
Race 7. We needed a top 6 finish in Race 7 in order to secure the win. We started midline again. We were a boat length or two behind the fleet at the start gun as I was probably playing the start a bit too conservative. BORK BORK BORK lead Race 7 wire to wire, giving Cory Huseby his first bullet in his new boat. Well done. Motorhome took 2nd and Insatiable took 3rd.
We did not sail Race 8. We thanked the RC and headed back to breakdown the boat. A few beers were enjoyed on the way back in.
The Duluth Regatta was a good time. It was a great team effort. The competition was great. It didn't rain or snow. We look forward to attending again next year.
Joshua Bone
USA 4242 Motorhome
Team: Bernie Soya, Lynn Holz, Jon Monson and David Rappath
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.wyc.org/pipermail/j24/attachments/20150819/a0b213bb/attachment.html>