2009 Runyon Colie / Bilgeboarder One Day

E Scow Regatta

Hosted by Mantoloking Yacht Club

 June 13th 2009

Report by Chad Hillyer, T-17

15 Boats showed up to compete in the 5^th Annual Runyon Colie Jr. Bilgeboarder Regatta held June 13^th at Mantoloking (NJ) Yacht Club.  The fleet completed 3 good races with winds ranging 5-13 out of the Northeast.  Racing was extremely close, with short legs and consistent wind shifts; nobody was ever out of the hunt.

The first race was led most of the way around by the newly christened boats SS-1 John Brown and BH-8 Russell Lucas.  The two new boats looked hot with their black masts and sleek new internal board systems and rigging.  However, due to the shifty conditions T-17 Chad Hillyer had an opportunity to pass Russell on the top section of the third leg and barely hold Russell off on the run to the finish and in doing so, break up the runaway 1^st and 2^nd place finishes for the two brand new E Scows.

In the second race, John Brown again led most of the way around the course.  However as the results show IH-1 Chase Hillyer, who rounded the last windward mark in 3^rd, was able to catch him on the last down wind run, followed by the MA-6 Sayia/Wright team in a close 3^rd.  The downwind action to the finish was very close, with the top six within just a few boat lengths of each other.

John Brown had a commanding lead on the fleet and seemed to be in control leading around nearly every mark up to this point.  For the third race, the breeze had shifted to the north a good 20 degrees which made the race course skewed and pin end favored.  Bobby Koar BH-22 won the pin followed by Chad Hillyer, who were both able to control the left side of the course and lead the entire way around due to the few passing lanes created by the shift.

However, the real story was back in the 3 position. On the 1^st down wind leg John Brown’s team seemed to figure out how to hoist not only his spinnaker halyard but also the sheets that became trapped inside the dog clip on the spinnaker halyard; what a “Calamity” and because of this John lost 6 or 7 boats and unfortunately the regatta.

After the racing, the “Bilgeboarders” put out a great spread of tasty beverages and food for all.  For the awards ceremony, the sailors were greeted by the guest of honor, Runnie Colie himself, who was out on the water all day helping keep the race committee honest with tid bits of wisdom.  Runnie remains a legend in our class, and a mentor to so many E sailors.  It was great to have him present on this day!

 FINAL STANDINGS

Winning Team:     Chad Hillyer, John Ambis, Ryan Bailey, Katie Scholes