Comet
Internationals
Tred Avon Yacht Club - Oxford,MD
August 22, 23 & 24th
| 1.
#4123 Dick & Judy Harmon |
1-1-(3)-3-3-1 |
9 |
| 2.
#3737 Eliot Oldak/Barbara Best |
2-3-5-1-1-(6) |
12 |
| 3.
#4110 Mark Hess/Anne Filbert |
4-2-1-2-(9)-5 |
14 |
| 4.
#3866 John Costanzo/Stacey Kelley |
(6)-4-2-4-5-4 |
19 |
| 5.
#4127 Rudy Bailey/Emily Rodgers |
(9)-6-6-5-2-2 |
21 |
| 6.
#4117 Brad Meade |
3-5-7-6-(12)-3 |
24 |
| 7.
#4061 Jim Widdis/Steve Widdis |
5-(8)-4-7-4-7 |
27 |
| 8.
#4069 Ed McLean/Ralph Grossmann Jr. |
7-7-9-13-8-(dnf) |
44 |
| 9.
#4130 Rick Sloan & Chris Wright |
(12)-12-8-9-11-9 |
49 |
| 10.
#3957 Wick Dudley |
13-(15)-11-12-6-8 |
50 |
| 11.
#4124 Howard Simmons |
(16)-10-14-11-7-11 |
53 |
| 12.
#3578 Jack Devine |
11-(14)-13-10-10-10 |
54 |
| 13.
#3864 Jeremy Rosenberg |
8-11-12-15-(dnf)-13 |
59 |
| 14.
#4093 Ralph Grossmann/Jack Grossmann |
10-9-10-16-(dnf)-15 |
60 |
| 15.
#4120 Bob Peronne |
15-16-15-8-(dnf)-dnf |
73 |
| 16.
#4028 Sandy Downes |
17-(18)-17-14-13-16 |
77 |
| 17.
#3997 Bill Wolf |
14-17-165-(dnf)-dnf-12 |
78 |
| 18.
#4038 Terry Jackson |
18-13-(dnf)-dnf-dnf-14 |
83 |
Dick
Harmon's International Report:
18
Competitors gathered at the birthplace of the Comet, Tread Avon
Yacht Club to participate in an action packed, fun event. Dave
Rodgers worked extremely hard to make this the successful event
that it was. The class should be encouraged by the participation
of some first timers, and competitors from Tread Avon and Corsica
River. Substantial interest is building in these locations, and
anyone looking to sell a boat would be well advised to let these
fleets know. Another real treat was the appearance of Jack Boehringer
watching the action. JackÕs name is enshrined on the Championship
Trophy, having won the Internationals in 1970 in Comet 2844, a
boat he built. Part of DaveÕs work was in seeking sponsorship
and in trying to keep cost down. He succeeded in both efforts.
A Beaton/Omega jib was won by Rick Sloan. Ralph Grossmann won
a $100 gift certificate from West Marine. A still unnamed sailor
won a $100 certificate from APS. Anne Filbert claimed the beautiful
half hull model made by Dave Rodgers and the West Marine brass
clock. It should be noted that North Sails donated $100 to the
trophy fund, and an anonymous donor paid for the Heritage Regatta
entry fee for the entire fleet.
Winds for the first day appeared moderate leaving the dock, but
dwindled to a light westerly by the second race. No matter the
conditions, the first race strategy set the stage for all 3 races
on Friday. The key was to hit the right side, where the pressure
was, and carry it close, but not all the way to the layline. The
shifts never made up for lack of pressure on the left side until
close to the mark. More than one boat experienced the disaster
of overstanding as the starboard tack repeatedly lifted closer
to the mark. Harmon, Oldak, Meade, Hess, and Widdis finished in
that order.
Ed
McLean figured the windward strategy perfectly on the first leg
of the second race. O. P. Merrill had to be smiling as Ed had
one of his old mainsails bent to the spars. By the finish it was
Harmon, Hess, Oldak, Costanzo and Meade. The wind freshened a
bit for the 3rd race and Mark Hess and John Costanzo showed they
had been paying attention how to get upwind. Several of the previous
race leaders managed to get themselves herded to the left off
the starting line and quickly out of contention. This group got
a refresher course in one of those lessons that sometime it is
best to swallow some pride, fall off and tack behind boats, rather
than trying to outrun them and sail into oblivion. Following Hess
and Costanzo at the finish were Harmon, Widdis and Oldak.
Friday night the fleet enjoyed a dinner of what surely are the
best crab cakes on the planet.
Saturday
was Elliott Oldak day. The wind had stiffened to the mid teens
out of the north, giving the crews, cramped from the day before,
a chance to stretch out hiking. The planing on the reaches and
runs was also a welcome change from the day before. Keeping things
interesting were 10-15 deg short period shifts nested within longer
30 deg shifts. Oldak nailed the start of the 4th race, banged
the first shift and never looked back. Howard Simmons made a valiant
effort in the 5th race by reading the shifts and leading around
the weather mark. By the final leg, a persistent wind line had
developed down the center of the course, making things interesting
for those crossing it. Containing a significant shift, the tendency
was to tack the instant you crossed it, however, since it was
not moving, you merely recrossed into another knock. Hess managed
to capsize on this line and appeared to be in some trouble. Meade,
checking on him capsized at the same location (yeah- it was as
big a mess as it sounds). Simmons was further down the same line,
fell out of the boat, and his boat capsized. That proved to be
the throwout for Hess and Meade but Simmons managed to recover
to 7th. There were now three boats close enough in points to set
up a "who beats who" situation in the final race to determine
the championship. We made it back to the club in time to be able
to watch the finish of the log canoe race. These 100 year old
beauties are a sight to behold and are reason alone to come to
Oxford. Saturday evening, Tread Avon put on a super "pig picking"
dinner that nearly rivaled the crab cakes.
The
Sunday winds appeared to be a repeat of the day before, however,
they began to dissipate after the start. Bailey and Harmon tacked
early to the right looking for a knock and found one good enough
to cross the fleet. The wind died almost completely on the first
reach and Harmon and Bailey separated themselves from the rest
of the fleet. The wind was kind to them, never filling in from
behind and bringing in the rest of the fleet. Things were looking
good for Harmon until midway through it became obvious that they
would not make the 2 _ hour time limit. This would give the series
to Oldak since enough races had already been sailed to have a
throwout. The race was now against the clock. At the last mark,
the wind finally filled in from the west but it appeared to be
too little, too late. The finish was still a long way off. To
end the suspense, Harmon managed to finish with only 4 minutes
until the time expired. The boats rounding last in the main fleet
charged through the pack and scrambled the order. Following Harmon
and Bailey were Meade, Costanzo, Hess and Oldak.
It
is an encouraging feeling to have improving scores and be able
to sail your best race(s) toward the end of the series. Rudy Bailey,
Rick Dudley, Howard Simmons, Jack Devine, Sandy Downes and Bill
Wolf definitely sailed an improving trend. John PotterÕs race
committee was kept busy following the wind and setting replacement
marks. The courses were some of the most accurate this writer
has sailed in a long time. Enough cannot be said for the quality
of the work of this committee. By the way, in addition to everything
else, Dave Rodgers also served on the start boat. |
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2003
Territory 5 Championship
Eagle Creek Sailing Club Indianapolis, IN
| 1.
#4123 Dick Harmon & Tony Beatty |
LYC
1-2-1-2-1 |
7 |
| 2.
#4110 Mark Hess & Anne Filbert |
LYC
2-1-2-1-4 |
10 |
| 3.
#4089 Jerry Chapman & Tim Hilgard |
VSA
3-3-3-3-2 |
14 |
| 4.
#4083 Phil Cotton Bryan & Uhlmansiek |
VSA
4-4-4-4-3 |
19 |
| 5.
#4085 Nelson Laffey & Tom Lester |
VSA
5-5-5-5-5 |
25 |
| 6.
#4011 Greg Polanik & Corina Iukovici |
VSA
6-6-6-6-6 |
30 |
Finally,
a cold front pushed south dislodging a stationary front that had
pumped moisture up from the south all week. The result was 2 absolutely
glorious days of sailing. Eagles Creek Sailing Club again went
out of their way to make the Comets feel welcome. They set great
racecourses, had a wonderful dinner of shrimp, mussels, clams,
and crayfish, and held a Saturday night "beach" party. A full
moon rising over the lake was a bonus. For the campers, the usual
wake up call by the 5:30 am crows was replaced this year by blue
jays. We all met for the now traditional breakfast on Sunday morning.
Greg and Corina even managed to find a drive in movie theatre
still in existence!!! Indianapolis is such a neat city. They have
hosted the Pan Am games in the past and cater to minor sports
as well as the majors. So whether you're into sculling or track
bicycle racing, you can find it here. In short - - - if you missed
the territorials this year, you missed the best one in several
years. |
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