2004
Territory 5 Championship
Eagle Creek Sailing Club Indianapolis, IN
July 10 & 11, 2004
1. Dick Harmon Judy Harmon 2, 4, 1, 1, 1 - 9 pts
2. Mark Hess Anne Filbert 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 - 11 pts
3. Phil Cotton John Lark 3, 1, 3, 6, 2 - 15 pts
4. Don Hanson Mark Wissner 6, 3, 4, 5, 5 - 23 pts
5. Greg Polanik Corina Iukovici 4, 5, 5, 4, 6 - 24 pts
6. Eric Waldschmidt Karen Doerr 5, 6, 7, 7, 4 - 29 Pts
7. Nelson Laffey Paul Gross 7, 7, 6, 2, 7 - 29 Pts
Eagle
Creek Sailing Club again welcomed the Comet sailors with the traditional
style and hospitality that leaves us shaking our heads and wondering
what we do to deserve it. Arriving hot and tired Friday night,
some of the Highlander fleet members took it upon themselves to
be waiting for us with beer, brats, and burgers. All this in the
middle of a rainstorm. As for the racing, it was to be a variable
and sometimes fitful series. Saturday was one of those days when
the wind thumbs itÕs nose at you between races by blowing a perfect
velocity, only to decrease steadily throughout the progress of
the race. If the first race was any indication, Hess looked to
be on fire up the first weather leg. Unfortunately, he missed
the offset mark and dug himself into a hole starting the downwind
leg. Not to worry. He blew through the fleet on the run to damage
everyoneÕs psyche. The fleet was spread out and Cotton took a
solid 3rd. The second race was one with significant, but predictable
shifts, but even so, it was steady enough to want to drag race
the boat next to you. It consumed incredible concentration to
make adjustments, concentrate on steering and gauge relative speed.
Harmon and Hess were engaged in one such battle while sailing
a clearly unfavored tack. Several of the fleet including (Cotton
and Hanson) with their heads outside the boat rode the favored
tack and rounded the top mark with a nice lead. Phil Cotton led
the contingent and easily held it to the finish. Don Hanson judged
the correct end of the finish line perfectly and put the hurt
on Harmon by inches. The third race of the day looked to belong
to Hess as he seemed to be able to hold the fleet behind him at
will. Unfortunately he dropped his tight cover and Harmon finally
made some adjustments close to the finish line to slip past and
at least make Sunday interesting. The sailors at Eagles Creek
like to have fun. They like their sailing, too, but they never
lose sight of what their club is all about. Saturday night was
the 2nd (probably) annual Beach Party with music and dancing.
To appreciate this, there is about 49 ft of clear "beach" beside
the lasers and FJÕs that launch in this area. Last year things
got a bit wild and several people suffered foot pain from hours
in the rough sand. The solution? Truck in a couple of loads of
fine white sand for the party and make it look like anything but
central Indiana!! You gotta love their spirit! |
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