On two delightful days, the Triangle Model
Yacht Club hosted 20 skippers at the 7th annual
Triangle Cup Regatta at Lake Johnson. The festivities started
with a welcoming BBQ on Friday night attended by a majority of
the skippers. Many spent the afternoon sailing on the race
course.
Saturday morning started with steady brisk
winds from the west. Four seeding heats were run to divide the
boats into the two fleets for a promotion/relegation regatta.
By the end of the day, 6 additional races composed of two heats
each were run before quitting. Racing was quite competitive
with lead changes occurring regularly during a heat. During the
day winds built from the west and at least two skippers switched
to B-rigs. It proved to be challenging to those with A-rigs. At
the end of day one, Gerry Cobley (Triangle MYC), Reichard Kahle
(Charleston MYC), Richard Hawley (Columbia MYC), Rick Gerry
(Charleston MYC), and Chris Kakavas (Piedmont MYC) were in the
top five positions.
Sunday started with light breezes from the
east and moving around to the south by mid-day. Light air was
to rule the day, with the course changed three times in an
attempt to find a windward leg. In one race three boats were
called and scored in relative position due to lack of wind.
The regatta ended with 13 completed races comprising 26 heats
plus 4 seeding heats. All skippers sailed in at least 15 heats,
with many “riding the bubble” between the B and A fleets.
Gerry Cobley finished in first place with
30 points, Reichard Kahle in second with 38 points (4 first
place finishes), Chris Kakavas in third with 38 points (3 first
place finishes), Rich Gerry in fourth with 48 points, and
Richard Hawley in fifth with 53 points. Close racing was found
with Winston Mathews out scoring Frank Angel by one point for 6th
place, and Pete Kremlick out scoring Carl Olbrich by one point
for 9th place.
All skippers earned points in the first leg
of the Dixie Cup competition.
In one memorable moment, Pete Kremlich’s
boat broke across the starting line at the bell and surged ahead
to the lead the fleet, only to keep on sailing beyond the
weather mark and across the lake. With the rescue boat
following, the boat maintained a close hauled trim through
various wind shifts until it came to rest in a sheltered area.
Pete fixed the problem and from the rescue vessel sailed the
boat back in time to participate in the next heat.
Many thanks need to be given to Justin
Flint (scorekeeper), Charles Hall (marks judge and rescue boat),
and to Jim Utley and Ron McMenamin for race planning and course
setup. Without the help of these volunteers, the regatta would
not have been a success.
Finally, we need to thank the City of
Raleigh Department of Parks and Recreation for the use of their
facilities at Lake Johnson Nature Park.
Respectfully submitted:
Douglas Hale,
Race Director
Scores:
Skipper |
Sail
Num |
Posn. |
|
Gerry Cobley |
1625 |
1 |
Reichard
Kahle |
1767 |
2 |
Chris
Kakavas |
1536 |
3 |
Rick Gerry |
1818 |
4 |
Rick Hawley |
1820 |
5 |
Winston
Mathews |
4316 |
6 |
Frank Angel |
1858 |
7 |
Dick Proseus |
1519 |
8 |
Pete
Kremlick |
1920 |
9 |
Carl Olbrich |
1896 |
10 |
Dick Gerry |
1796 |
11 |
Jim Utley |
1646 |
12 |
Cameron Hunt |
1616 |
13 |
Bob
Mersereau |
1389 |
14 |
Alan Fernald |
1832 |
15 |
Mike Roe |
1460 |
16 |
Scott Vernon |
830 |
17 |
Ron
McMenamin |
1649 |
18 |
Skip Allen |
840 |
19 |
Jim Donohoe |
1706 |
20 |
|