This year's NCR was preceded by a day of measurement training for new Class Measurers, and we now have measurers in Seattle, Idaho, the San Francisco Bay area, Texas, and Georgia. We still need measurers in the New England, New York, Florida, and the Midwest so contact me if you are interested. We also measured 25-30 suits of sails and certified 5 new boats.

The Measurers seminar and the Regatta were organized by John Kelsey and Ken Weeks and hosted by the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. They were able to schedule the regatta into the CCYC's busy schedule and granted us full access to the club and its grounds. The CCYC is an excellent facility with multiple options for race course locations depending on wind direction. The club also offers a bar and dining area, as well as showers and heads.

John and Ken also put together a great crew of volunteers and professionals to run the regatta. Mark Foster (National and International Race Officer, National Judge) led a well trained and experienced crew of a National Judge (Chris Luppens), Mark Boat Drivers (Ray Johnson, Allen Borden and Bruce Gathier), Scorers (Robin Dinn, Chris Bell, Allen Dinn) and a great support crew (Mary Weeks, Debby Bullard) that kept the regatta running smoothly with near perfect courses both days.

Our regatta was sailed off the deck of the clubhouse and offered sea level, deck level (8 feet off the water), or lanai level (1 story off the water) control areas, with the lanai area being popular due to the excellent visualization it afforded skippers. We were also allowed to stage our boats and equipment on the large lanai (I imagine it could seat 150 people at tables easily) which proved quite convenient. The oldest boat was Steve Landeau's Skapel (circa ~ 2000) and the newest boat was Jess Atkinson's Red Ant (circa ~ first time in the water!).

A few boats with small rigs ventured out on the measurement day to experience sailing a Marblehead in 22 knots of breeze in a C3 rig and a few brave souls came out with larger rigs only to be quickly overpowered.

11 boats registered but 1 could not compete and withdrew prior to racing. A few boats had mechanical issues and/or rig issues mostly due to the high winds, which decreased the number of boats on the water for Day 1.

Day 1 opened in solid C3 conditions that continued to build throughout the morning. We were sailing in a protected harbor area so despite the high wind velocity, the water was rather calm. This allowed some to carry larger rigs for a time, but the wind continued to build with gusts to 35 knots just prior to lunch. Inasmuch as no one had rigs smaller than C3, the PRO and the fleet wisely decided to call it a day after 5 races and retired to the lanai to dine, repair, and relax.

Day 2 opened with more moderate winds, allowing us to sail in C2 conditions, right off the yacht club dinghy docks with multiple height options for our control areas. Mark Foster and his boat crew did a fine job of keeping the course and the starting line adjusted to wind shifts, and were able to complete 19 more races.

Gary Boell, Jess Atkinson, Jeff Byerly, Bob Wells, and Steve Landeau turned in consistent top finishes. Newcomer Dan Shier did a yeoman's job of fixing up a loaner boat during most of Day 1 then sailed well on Day 2. Electrical and mechanical gremlins sidelined George Pedrick, Gene Harris, Ken Weeks and Myself, resulting in too many DNS's to be proud of.

2022 Marblehead NCR Results
Place Skipper Points
1 Gary Boell 29
2 Jess Atkinson 39
3 Jeff Byerly 57
4 Bob Wells 66
5 Steve Landeau 90
6 Dan Shier 127
7 Bruce Andersen 177
8 George Pedrick 196
9 Gene Harris 220
10 Ken Weeks 220