Spring Regatta Report:  Kevin Jewett V-123

The 2008 E-Spring Regatta on Geneva Lake attracted teams from as far away as Colorado, South Carolina, New Jersey and New York.  A total of 45 boats registered and everyone finished at least one race..  With wind speeds clocking 25 MPH on Saturday morning the race committee headed by Mike Sherin decided to keep everyone on shore.   Around noon Andy Burdick decided to go out and test the waters showing everyone how to do a few jibes and take downs.  The breeze settled down after lunch and the fleet rigged up to go.  1 PM was the first race’s start time and with breeze from 15-20 out of the Northwest the fleet sailed a W 2+  with leeward gates, the course they would sail for the next five races.  Grand Lake’s Toby Sutherland was enjoying a nice lead via a large left hand shift he took advantage of on the first beat but he tipped over after having problems with his set.  The downwinds opened everyone’s eyes to the fact that we have some serious machines on our hand.  The eventual winner of race 1 was Augie Barkow followed closely by Brian Porter, Andy Burdick, Louie Hill and Art Brierton. 

Race 2 provided similar conditions with large shifts coming in from both the left and right side of the course.  Andy and team Melges got off to a good start and led the way with home town boy Brian Porter in hot pursuit.  There was plenty of action in the pack as the fleet adapted to the new angles and speed of the Asymmetric.  Laylines changed dramatically with shifting winds and changing velocity, making that all important approach to the leeward mark even more difficult.  In the end Andy prevailed in race two followed by Brian, Charlie Harrett sailing Chad Beaudry’s boat I-17, my team finished fourth, followed by Tom Burton. 

Crossing the finish line the fleet was told there would be a third race to follow, audible moans came from aching crews as they realized we were not done with the day.  The third race started only after two general recalls and the dawning of the Black Flag.  This meant the end of an otherwise great day for Brian Porter as well as Olympic bound Sally Barkow and a few other unlucky souls.  Last year’s regatta winner Will Graves fought to keep Andy Burdick from getting room on him at the first mark of the race after catching another great left shift.  Andy slid in right at the two boat length circle to gain the right of way and was gone after setting his chute on the downwind.  After the regatta I was told by spectators that Andy was simply sailing his boat higher and faster than the rest.  Ice boating as they say.  On day one this certainly worked well.   Second place switched hands between Will Graves, myself, and eventually Tom Burton with windshifts and good boathandling playing a major hand in the outcomes of boat on boat battles.  Behind Tom, Augie Barkow slid into third, we finished fourth followed by Will Graves in fifth.

On shore the fleet was greeted by a bit of a scare as an ambulance had been called in to care for Rob Terry’s lovely crew, Julie.  She had fallen overboard and spent time in the water which had caused an epileptic seizure.  This very scary situation thankfully ended well as she was warmed by the medics and was back on her feet greeting the fleet with a warm smile the next day. 

Dinner that night was served by the club’s wonderful staff and everyone enjoyed a great meal.  The Kattack system drew a few spectators as we enjoyed watching the races replayed from a bird’s eye view and watching the speed graph poke up to and above 18 knots.  Pretty stinking fast…

Day two welcomed the fleet with temps in the high 40’s and another stiff breeze, this time straight out of the north.  The sun was shining though and the fleet was on the water at 9:30 for the start of race four which was a bit port favored.  The leaders, Tom Burton and Brian Porter tacked quickly off the port end of the line and headed up the lake on top of most of the fleet.  Those that stayed left (like me) were punished by a large right hand shift off the eastern side of Williams Bay.   Augie Barkow, Andy Burdick and Rob Terry came back from the right to duel with the early leaders, Burton and Porter.  With slightly less breeze than the day before and bigger holes to trap the racing was very tactical, rewarding those that minded their compass and stayed on top of the shifts.  Burton won his duel with the others up front finishing ahead of Burdick, Barkow, Porter and Rob Terry who rounded out the top five.

Race 5 capped off the regatta with more of the same, another right hand shift took the leaders to the top of the course with Burton rounding ahead of us, with Tim O’Keefe, Brian Buzzel close behind.  Burton and I jibed into a bit of a hole trying to get back to the right hand shift that had carried us to the mark only to find Burdick already there(what can you say their pretty good).  The three of us locked into the breeze eventually extending down the left side of the course, meanwhile O’Keefe and other were locked into a good one on the right.  After jibing Burdick, Burton and I came in hot just ahead of the rest of the fleet crashing through high speed Mexican take downs and putting our crews to the test.  After rounding I found that my leeward board had a spin sheet stuck behind it and decided to tack away to clear it.  After getting on the new board we found ourselves underneath a great shift that took us across the middle of the lake, passing Buddy’s watchful eye, from his motorboat.  Eventually we got our lefty and crossed ahead of Burdick and Burton to take the lead. 

After separating in a nice puff approaching the windward mark we tried catching some of those Geneva shrimp but gave that up just in time to stay ahead of Team 45.  We again pulled away after sailing in a little more breeze coming into the leeward marks.  Up the last beat, Burdick did a good job closing the gap as we sailed the left side of the course.  Over on the right Jim Gluek popped up and we scrambled back to preserve a lead just in time.  My cover was blown and it took a windshift from the right at the finish to win the race, sometimes it’s good to be lucky. 

In the end you can see from the results, Andy and team whooped up on us but it was good to see that they weren’t unbeatable, just more polished than the rest of us.  It was a great event that really showed off the excitement of the new configuration.  Many of the competitors commented at trophies how exciting it was to see the energy present in the fleet throughout the weekend and that we hope to see this carry on throughout the season.  Thanks for coming, especially those from the East Coast, Carl Horrocks, Rick Turner and Will Hanckel it’s great to have you.  Lake Geneva Yacht Club always enjoys hosting the event and looks forward to an even bigger one next season.  

Reported by,

Kevin G. Jewett , V-123
Director of Sailing, Geneva Lake