Events

Tight Racing at the 2011 June Bug Regatta

June 20, 2011 | by John Kabel | Results | Photos

After a long weather delay Saturday, a total of 9 Laser races and 7 Open races were conducted under good and improving conditions. The Sunday racing conditions were about the best the group has seen in the past few years.

The regatta could not have taken place without the assistance of a number of people, several of them cajoled into roles they have not held before. Everyone performed admirably, and several racers took opportunities to issue private thanks to one or another of the Committee during and after the event.

John Kabel – Race Officer and Scoring
Mary Watson – Assistant Race Officer, food for volunteers
Emily Durward – Assistant Race Officer
Lori Chesman – Registrar
Bob Magill – Safety Boat Driver, Principal Mark Layer
Steve Walker – Safety Boat Assistant and Assistant Mark Layer
Patricia Johnstone – Safety Boat Assistant
Paul Chesman – Safety Boat Driver
Lance Warren – Safety Boat Assistant
Bobby Hampton – Safety Boat Assistant
John Bryant – Safety Boat Assistant, RC Boat Photographer
Steve Currie – Safety Boat Driver

Two fleets combining five classes were registered for each race. The Dinghy Fleet consisted of 8 Lasers, 5 Laser Radials and 2 Picos (which retired before starting due to mechanical issues). The Open Fleet consisted of 2 Wayfarers and 5 assorted hulls (Catalina 22, CS-22, Edel 540, Tanzer 22 and Y-Flyer).

Racing Saturday was delayed for 1-1/2 hours to allow some thunderstorms to clear out after the marks were laid, and to give the dinghy folks a chance to rig without getting zapped. John Kabel was tracking weather radar closely on his new PlayBook. The squall line was narrow but noisy. Conditions the rest of the day were acceptable under southerly breezes, shifty and gusty.

Sunday we woke to a heavy fog obscuring the lake. Once it burned off, racing conditions rapidly developed to excellent under steady and holding northwesterly winds, with clear skies and low humidity. Winds peaked at about 12 kn. These conditions seemed to favour our lake-level buggy pests, however, and more than one racer or official had to brush them out of hair or off clothing.

Racing was fair, competitive and technically tight. Winning margins were as close as 3-4 seconds in several Laser and Wayfarer races. The advantage of on-the-water race control became evident on Sunday, when several dinghy starts had boats spread from one end of the line to the other. Conditions were so good that we were able to pop off two extra dinghy starts without delaying the Open fleet or going past posted last race time.

There were no injuries, barring some light sunburns on the Sunday. And no protests or requests for redress. There was a light collision after the last race (Wayfarer, Y-Flyer) upwind and to starboard of the start line; damage was reported as restricted to the Y-Flyer rub rail. Sue Goldt tried to go fishing with her mainsheet on a rowing lane marker buoy, resulting in a capsize. She was assisted by her "knight in white T-shirt" hubbie, and righted without further incident. The Safety Boats did not have to offer significant aid to any sailors.

Races were run without major incident or delay other than weather and wind shifts apparent to racers. The Race Committee has already started to debrief itself, and we welcome any comments or questions about racing. Please direct these to the Rear Commodore or any Executive member. A number of improvements to flags, race forms and scoring procedures are already in work to help the Club Championship in August go even better. If weather permits an earlier start to racing, a series of 12 races in August is not out of the realm of possibility. Hopefully by that time, the black bugs of June will be a long-faded memory.

Finally, it's only a race if you can win. The Laser class was taken by Brad Biskaborn, followed closely by Steve Carroll of Toronto's Water Rats Sailing Club, and Kevin Biskaborn in third. Paddy MacCallum took the Laser Radials; good to see new young blood out there gunning for it! Doug Schofield, assisted by his son Ian, took the Wayfarer's First. And Jack Blocker rode the new paint of his Y-Flyer to the Open First, assisted by Colin Read; Mark Anderson narrowly defeated Szymon Kornobis for Second.

A hearty "Thank You" from the Race Committee for a great spectacle, much appreciated from our vantage point on the boats!