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Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn’t listening and it rained all weekend at the 33rd annual Liberty Bell Regatta in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. That didn’t dampen the spirits of 15 hardy sailors who braved the elements and completed 17 fleet races and a double-elimination match racing series totaling 29 races. The only amusing thing about the weather was that the sun finally made an appearance at the awards ceremony. Too little, too late!!
The Liberty Bell Regatta is really two events in one where skippers compete in both fleet and match racing. Separate trophies are awarded for each event. We started on Saturday with some fleet races and then switched to match racing. This alternating format was continued throughout both days of the competion until the match race winner was determined. The time remaining after the match racing ended was filled with more fleet races.
Match Racing
According to Dave Brawner, who ran the match racing event, the quality of racing was high with several exciting battles in the pre-start maneuvering. Top seeds Danny Thomas and Mark Rinehart made it to the finals where Danny overcame a one-race deficit to take first place. Doug Wotring got all the way through the loser’s bracket where he finally came up short against Danny. Doug had said earlier that he needed more practice in order to improve his match racing skills. He got his wish this weekend, sailing in 7 races, one more than the finalists. Other notable performances were posted by Hal Slentz-Whalen who sailed in 5 races, and Scott Todd, Pete Schilder, Jack Kendra and Al Sellers who each sailed in 4.
Fleet Racing
The fleet racing was also very competitive, with 7 different skippers recording a win. With light and variable winds (and rain) all weekend, the rewards went to the skippers who sailed in the best wind and who could take advantage of the shifts. Again it came down to a contest between Mark and Danny who were in a dead heat after 10 races. Danny won the last race on Saturday, giving him the overnight lead. Jack Kendra sailed well on Saturday and was in solid third place at the end of the first day, over Al Sellers, Joe Cole and Harry Mote.
On Sunday, with very similar conditions (and more rain) Danny shifted into a higher gear and sailed the remaining races in either first or second place. An impressive performance. The rest of the top six overnight positions remained the same except for Harry who overtook Joe to take fifth.
Thanks go to Dave Brawner for his invaluable help throughout, and thanks also to the “caterers” Lois and June who provided all the food and drink for the weekend.
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