Tuesday Evening Series on 10/27/2020
Tuesday 10/27/20
A wet, cold night greeted us as we reluctantly left the warmth of our cars. Temperatures were in the upper 50's, but the lack of sun, and the thick grey cloud cover made it seem a lot colder than the thermometer indicated. As the evening approached, it only got worse, moving from a fine mist to a light rain, AND the wind began to go away.
Courses were simple windward-leeward-windward. Starts were important, but the races were dependent on a good first leg- where most of the skippers took 2 - 3 tacks to reach Mark 8. After a long run (where no place changes took place) the final upwind leg offered some close competition, use of tactics, and one bad choice of WHEN or WHERE to tack made the difference between first and fourth place finishes.
In Gold Fleet- Rick Lawler won, but this time by just ONE point over Mike Wyatt. In Silver, Brad Ferrell took first, followed by Bob Kalman.
Looking back over 2020, things could have been a LOT worse. In Spring, our long-standing main race venue, Camp Stigwandish, was sold, and in the process WRMYC lost its access to a crash boat, docks and the pond.
Our Commodore - Rick Lawler, Vice Commodore - Doug Rieger, and Sailing Director Bob Green, along with Board Member Larry Lamphier found us a new venue, negotiated a deal, purchased a set of docks and installed them, and Larry made an entire new set of Marks. Covid-19 meant a delay in our normal April startup until June, so we raced at Old Rec Park (thanks also to Painesville- always there in a pinch!). No matter where we were, Covid precautions were inconvenient, and we had a large number of Members who did not feel comfortable sailing, so our participation was down some 30%. We even had to (for the first time ever) cancel our fall regatta.
BUT- we had what was probably one of the best summers ever as far as weather goes. Not too hot, rain at the right times, no low water, and very few drifting matches, looking for wind. We had/ have a beautiful place to sail, and an accommodating host in SPIRE Institute. The 2020 racing was fun and competitive.
All in all- not a bad year! Thanks to all of our Officers, and our Members. Let's look forward to a good winter (Build Clinics!), and a fantastic 2021!!
A wet, cold night greeted us as we reluctantly left the warmth of our cars. Temperatures were in the upper 50's, but the lack of sun, and the thick grey cloud cover made it seem a lot colder than the thermometer indicated. As the evening approached, it only got worse, moving from a fine mist to a light rain, AND the wind began to go away.
Courses were simple windward-leeward-windward. Starts were important, but the races were dependent on a good first leg- where most of the skippers took 2 - 3 tacks to reach Mark 8. After a long run (where no place changes took place) the final upwind leg offered some close competition, use of tactics, and one bad choice of WHEN or WHERE to tack made the difference between first and fourth place finishes.
In Gold Fleet- Rick Lawler won, but this time by just ONE point over Mike Wyatt. In Silver, Brad Ferrell took first, followed by Bob Kalman.
Looking back over 2020, things could have been a LOT worse. In Spring, our long-standing main race venue, Camp Stigwandish, was sold, and in the process WRMYC lost its access to a crash boat, docks and the pond.
Our Commodore - Rick Lawler, Vice Commodore - Doug Rieger, and Sailing Director Bob Green, along with Board Member Larry Lamphier found us a new venue, negotiated a deal, purchased a set of docks and installed them, and Larry made an entire new set of Marks. Covid-19 meant a delay in our normal April startup until June, so we raced at Old Rec Park (thanks also to Painesville- always there in a pinch!). No matter where we were, Covid precautions were inconvenient, and we had a large number of Members who did not feel comfortable sailing, so our participation was down some 30%. We even had to (for the first time ever) cancel our fall regatta.
BUT- we had what was probably one of the best summers ever as far as weather goes. Not too hot, rain at the right times, no low water, and very few drifting matches, looking for wind. We had/ have a beautiful place to sail, and an accommodating host in SPIRE Institute. The 2020 racing was fun and competitive.
All in all- not a bad year! Thanks to all of our Officers, and our Members. Let's look forward to a good winter (Build Clinics!), and a fantastic 2021!!