Pos	Sail	Boat	Skipper	Yacht Club		1	2	3	4	5		Total
1	LA-12	Island Heights Sailing Foundation	Eric Horrocks	Lavalette		4	1	5	4	1		15
2	LE 2	3 Amigos	Richard Ryon	Little Egg Harbor		2	3	3	2	11		21
3	SS1	BLIND SQUIRELL	JOHN BROWN	SPYC		5	5	2	1	9		22
4	MA 14	Lemar	John Manderson	keyport		3	6	11	3	5		28
5	ma18		Stuart Van Winkle	SSYC		10	11	9	5	3		38
6	MA 10	Rocinante	Dick Wight	MYC		1	2	4	16/DNS	16/DNS		39T
7	T-17	Ol' Blue	Chad Hillyer	TRYC		6	13	1	11	8		39T
8	LE-1	Fudge	John Bell Maschal	LEHYC		9	9	7	7	7		39T
9	Ih11	Island heights sailing foundat	Chase Hillyer	Island heights yacht club		12	10	6	8	6		42
10	LA-99	Magnum force	Dave Magno	Lavallette		11	4	16/DNF	13	2		46
11	LE55	REBEL	chris Fretz	LEHYC		7	14	12	10	4		47
12	LA-11	Eruption	Bill Nolden	Lavallette		15	8	8	9	10		50
13	IH 89	I'm In	Arthur Bailey	Island Heights		8	12	13	6	12		51
14	MA 6	Gater	Sayia Wright Wright Sayia	MYC		13	7	10	16/DNS	16/DNS		62
15	T-4	Flying Scow	Glenn Shaffer	TRYC		14	15	16/DNF	12	13		70

Eric Horrock' Report:

Well I can say that the first regatta started out with a bang. It was a well run regatta with some beautiful weather and some fantastic racing conditions. We had fifteen boats show up which was a great turn out for this regatta and the best competition from around the area.

 

On Friday afternoon after my last class, I hopped on the train to come home. I was very anxious because my first regatta was the next day and I was texting my crew making sure they all knew what time to be there. I got home and went down to Toms River to put the mast up and get the boat ready for racing.

On Saturday it was game time. I got to the racing site early to tune the boat to the wind condition. I checked the wind reports on my phone and was confident in what the forecast was. I borrowed a tension gage from fellow sailors Dave Magno and Chad Hillyer. I checked the tensions and was happy with the tune of the rig. As I finished this my crew came which consisted of good friend and all-American Andy Goettiing, Colleen Kelly who is part of the team, and Tim Faranetta long time e-scow sailor and one I used to crew for. We were very pumped for the regatta. We went out to the course, we were the second boat out there and started sailing up wind and checking sides and practicing our jibes. Then it was time for the first start and I was very nervous. I have been on a starting line with one hundred boats before but nothing compared to this. I had been waiting to do this for ten years and it had finally had come. The starting gun blew, we were off. We started in the middle of the line because we thought it gave us our best option and it was a good one. We rounded the first mark in 4th and were happy with it. We stayed in 4th and finished 4th. As we broke out lunch, Andy said to me we are going to win the next one. I just thought to myself good motivation Andy. So we got down to the start for the next race, with one start down we were on to the next. The gun blew off and we were on our way. We started in the same spot and went out to the left. We were in the breeze and going fast. I looked down to see the rest of the fleet in the window of my main sail and thought WOW we are crushing right now. We rounded the windward mark in first. We had a perfect set as most of them were this regatta, my crew was excellent. Went down wind and Richard Ryon, LE-2, caught up with us, it was no big deal because Richie is a good E-scow sailor. Up wind we were about even, but the next down wind we were very fast and made up a lot of ground, rounded the last mark in first, kept the lead and won the race. I was speechless, all I heard was Cliff and Mary Joe Campbell yelling Way to Go we were rooting for you. I had a smile from ear to ear. We slowly sailed back down to the starting area to wait for the next race. My fellow competitors were congratulating us on the win. But I had to stay calm so I could do it again the next race.

Well that one came and we had a horrible start due to me not keeping my hole on the line. But we as a team came through it and finished  5th.

All in all a good first day. We had been practicing prior to this but nothing really gets you mentally ready for a regatta. So we came in, derigged and socialized with the rest of the fleet.

Sunday came and I checked the race scores and we were in third. I didn’t really want to check them because I normally don’t like to think about the numbers. So we rigged and tuned the boat and with the help of Matt Goetting we fixed a frayed line while we waited for the wind to fill and the storm to pass. We got the boat in the water and went out to the course. It was a nice reach out and we headed out to the famous course the Wanamaker. We tested sides a little bit and did a few jibes. We were then ready for the start of race 4. We started at the pin and went, my crew like normal made sure we were on the line and going full speed. We went to the left side of the course and rounded the first mark in 4th.

 

The chute went up nicely and off we went downwind. We had a nice light air downwind and rounded the leeward mark in deep because of  a little mix up at the mark. But we quickly came back, which is easy when you have top notch in-sink crew work like I did. We ended this race with a 4th. I was happy with that. We sailed a great race and came back to a 4th. On the way back down to the start Andy and Tim were talking about points, what we needed to win, because Richard Ryon and John Brown had both beaten us and put some points on. I wasn’t really paying attention and was letting Colleen steer the boat while I hung out in the back. I read that it was good to get your crew steering the boat in between races so I let her steer and I wanted to relax a little bit. So here comes the next race, we started at the middle pin, had a great up wind and rounded 2nd behind local e-scow legend Dave Magno. I was pumped and Andy was yelling let’s go Eric, we are going to catch him as he said a lot this regatta. We caught up to him on the way down and split marks him going to the left and us going to the right. I went up the left side and we were even around the first mark again. Dave jibed early and I stayed out which paid off and we were winning the race. We kept up the first until the end. We crossed in first. I was amazed. I said to myself great first regatta this was the best thing ever. As I was day dreaming for a minute Tim and Andy looked back and said Dude, Richie and John are way deep. I think you might have Won this thing. I said noooo way!! I looked back and they were right we had won the regatta. My first regatta sailing this boat we won. I was speechless I had a smile from ear to ear. Now was the race in to the dock which is supposed to be the one that counts. Haha! We got the boat out of the water, Andy ran to the store for some beers and everyone came over to congratulate us on our win.

I have to say this was the best thing I have ever done in sailing. I have sailed a bunch of different boats in my life, I have been in the class for 10 years and this regatta was a huge high. My crew and I pulled through it and we won. I just want to say a huge thanks the Art Baily and the Island Heights Sailing Foundation, Russ Lucas for donating the boat, John Manderson, and my brother Carl for the coaching we had the two weeks prior to the regatta, my parents and finally Toms River Yacht Club and the race committee.

Report by Chase Hillyer:

The Tune Up regatta was a fantastic first regatta.  It had great conditions with sunny skies and winds in the 5-10 range all weekend.  The competition was good with 15 strong, including three boats up from Little Egg Harbor. I had a great crew, which included Mathew Geotting, Ian Southerland and Chrissy Mahoney.

On Saturday morning I got to the yacht club early and put the boat together and got it tuned just right. A nice west wind gave my crew some great spinnaker practice on the sail out.  While the race committee set the course my team and I talked about our strategy and watched for wind shifts.  All of my starts were one of my strongest points of the day; I was quite good at punching out and holding a lane. But in the first race I noticed I was tacking and jibing a little too much. I finished 12 the first race, which was not bad but my worst race of the regatta.  After that I started to get more comfortable with the length of the beats and sailing the boat with tight competition. The rest of the day went well, but I noticed that I had trouble keeping the boat moving in the changing conditions.  After the first day I was quite satisfied with my team’s performance.  I learned a lot, and got better with every race.  I feel more in tune with the boat after this first weekend.

On Sunday we had a short postponement due to lack of wind. Just after the race committee signaled us to go sailing we had a brief rain shower for the sail out. Once we got to the racecourse it was like some one turned a switch and there was clear skies with few clouds. I struggled to get off the line and was forced to tack in both starts. While I thought my speed was good, I just could not seem to pick the right shifts. There were many tight mark roundings that made for some big gains and losses throughout the day. All and all I though it was a fantastic regatta, the race committee was able to get some good fair races off. 

Although there is no regatta for next weekend, I intend on polishing my boat on Saturday and getting some crew to together for a practice on Sunday. I would like to work on all of my boat handling, from mark roundings to tacks and jibes. I have been having a blast with the boat so far and am really looking forward to a great summer with lots of good competition.  I was quite happy with the results of my first regatta and believe with more practice, I could be one of the better boats out there.  

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If you wish to make a monetary donation, your check or money order should be made payable to The Island Heights Sailing Foundation.

Sent to:
          Secretary
          Island Heights Sailing Foundation
          P.O. Box 1227 
          Island Heights, NJ 08732