2002 East Coast 12 Meter National Championship
By David Brawner
The locals have told me that State College,
Pennsylvania is a beautiful place to be in the fall. The Weather Channel
was doing it’s best to convince me otherwise. Thankfully, the Weather
Channel’s doom and gloom forecast was entirely wrong every single day. We
had everything from bright sunshine to thick clouds. The winds ranged from
too little to too much. These are great conditions to crown a National
Champion, or in our case, two National Champions.
To say the least, our schedule was ambitious with both
the National Fleet Racing Championship and National Match Racing
Championship to be sailed over four days. Thanks to the co-operation of a
great group of sailors and a prepared Race Committee, we were able to get in
113 heats over the course of four days.
Wednesday: Match Racing
We had 28 entries for the Match Racing Championship,
which was set up in single match elimination format. Each match was best 2
out of 3 with the winner advancing to the next round. Based on timing and
the weather forecast, we decided to race both the first and second round
matches on Wednesday. There were 12 matches in the first round and eight in
the second. The man of the day was giant killer Tony Bollers. In his first
match, he knocked out Star National Champion, Scott Rowland. His next
victim was CR914 superstar, Dave Ramos. At the end of the day, we were left
with eight skippers and all four top seeds had advanced.
Thursday: Fleet and Match Racing Round of Eight.
We started the day with seeding races for the fleet
racing using a windward/leeward course sailing from right to left. The
thirty-two boat fleet was divided in two 16 boat heats with each seeding
heat being sailed twice. After those four heats were sailed and while Frank
& Linda Angel tallied the scores and divided the fleet, we got on with the
round of eight in match racing and some mouth-watering match-ups. My
favorite had to be Reichard Kahle and Rick Gerry who drove from South
Carolina together. In what was termed an upset, Rick won the match 2-0.
Both pre-starts were good battles with the edge in each going to Rick.
The first day of fleet racing proceeded like expected.
Everyone was a little bit antsy and for those who generally are at the head
of the local fleet, it takes a while to get used to so many boats being
ahead of them. At the end of the day, Mark Rinehart had a lead of 7 points
over his closest rival, Reichard Kahle. Bob Kjellberg had an outstanding
day and found himself in third at the end of day one. Defending champion
Danny Thomas dug himself another early hole this year trailing the leader by
15.
Friday: Fleet Racing and Match Racing Final Four.
We started the day with fleet racing over a zigzag
course. The wind had shifted just enough to the left to take away the
windward/leeward course from the day before. The skippers sailed to
windward, then a reach across the lake and then another windward leg before
turning for the run back down to the start. There were a few less than
cordial roundings at the reaching mark. But, overall the skippers did a
great job adjusting.
At the end of this day, the top five for the regatta
had been set. Danny Thomas, Ivor Walton and Dave Ramos made their moves.
Mark was still on top. He had even increased his lead a little bit and that
little bit would prove important.
The Final Four in match racing featured Rinehart versus
Wathne and Thomas versus Ricky Gerry. All are very familiar with each
other. In the first race, I would assume that the peanut gallery was
putting their money on Rinehart. Well that calm cool Jarl Wathne became a
hunter once the tape started and beat Mark to advance to the final. In the
other match, Danny Thomas took the first race but was trailing in the second
when Rick Gerry had a mechanical failure. Danny, in true sporting fashion,
pulled out of the race to allow Rick time to repair. The quote from Danny
was “we had come too far to have it end like this”. When the race was
resailed, Danny ended up winning it and advanced to an all Maryland Model
Yacht Club final.
Saturday: Final day of Fleet Racing and the Match
Racing Championship
The weather forecast had been for 30 knots. Though
that didn’t materialize, the wind was far from settled. We set a
windward/leeward course and crossed our fingers. What started as a fleet
race turned into a match race between Rinehart and Thomas. The early
morning found Mark holding his lead. Then in race 12, disaster struck as
the jib sheet wrapped around the boom. Mark took a last place and the
scores got a lot tighter.
It all came down to the last race with Danny trailing
by 4.8 points. While Danny did beat Mark in the last race, Mark held on
close enough to win his second National Championship by just 1.8 points.
Match racing on Saturday included the 3rd &
4th place match of Rinehart and Ricky Gerry and the
Championship. Rinehart won his first race against Ricky and in the second
heat the only part he led was the last six inches which was enough to earn
him 3rd place.
The Final pitted Danny vs. Jarl. What could be more
fun? They are from the same club, have sailed together for years, one is
mellow, one is a bit hyper and they drove together. The pre-start was
expanded to two minutes to allow for some more excitement. Jarl was the
hunter again. During both pre-starts, Jarl attacked Danny from a leeward
position time and time again. Both starts, Danny slipped away by an inch or
so. Once in front, Danny is hard to catch. Danny took the Championship 2-0
in front of a large crowd.
Saturday night we had our awards banquet at Duffy’s
Tavern, which is a charming place built in 1819. During dinner we gave away
a bunch of door prizes from the suppliers of the class. While the drawing
was totally random, some were very ironic, such as sail maker Danny Thomas
winning a pair of sails or Soling One Meter National Champion, Greg Vasileff
winning a Soling One Meter. Once dinner was over trophies were handed out.
Each skipper received a half hull plaque thanks to the hard work of Bob
Kjellberg and others.
A special award was given to Frank & Linda Angel for
Lifetime Achievement for Service to the Class. A more deserved award could
not have been given. Not only are they the driving force in the Carolinas,
this was Frank’s 100th regatta.
It takes a man like our host, Fred Maurer to pull off
such a regatta in State College, PA. Prior to this regatta, their club
experience with regattas totaled one. Prior three years ago, the total
number of EC12s in State College was zero. Fred is a tireless worker who
approaches everything from the positive side. Thankfully, his wonderful
wife Nancy is there to keep him out of too much trouble, or even more
importantly to get him out of it. Fred, Nancy and the rest of the State
College Model Yacht Club took care of every detail imaginable regarding
creature comforts. Trust me, we were all fed well during our stay. Thank
you Fred, thank you Nancy.
The race committee was made up of Rick West, the Angels
and myself. Rick and I handled starts and on the water judging. Frank and
Linda took care of the finishes and all of the scoring. What a pleasure it
is to work with people so prepared for their jobs. After 113 heats over
four days, the regattas are over and we turn our attention to San Diego in
2003.
Match Racing:
Danny Thomas
|
Champion |
Jarl Wathne
|
Second |
Mark Rinehart
|
Third |
Rick Gerry
|
Fourth |
Full Matrix shown below |
Fleet Racing:
|
Captain |
Score |
1 |
Rinehart |
44 |
2 |
Thomas |
46 |
3 |
Kahle |
79 |
4 |
Walton |
89 |
5 |
Ramos |
101 |
6 |
Rowland |
102 |
7 |
Kelter |
109 |
8 |
Gerry,R |
117 |
9 |
Wathne |
122 |
10 |
Sellers |
135 |
11 |
Cobley |
177 |
12 |
Bottensek |
190 |
13 |
Houtz |
196 |
14 |
Mueller |
200 |
15 |
Metcalf |
231 |
16 |
Vasileff |
248 |
17 |
Hale |
251 |
18 |
Cole |
259 |
19 |
Kjellberg |
280 |
20 |
Proefrock |
300 |
21 |
Pendino |
321 |
22 |
Kornmann |
334 |
23 |
Donohoe |
338 |
24 |
Ottopal |
340 |
25 |
Bollers |
359 |
26 |
Gerry,D |
371 |
27 |
Hein |
402 |
28 |
Lenhart |
410 |
29 |
Aiken |
410 |
30 |
Dukehart |
416 |
31 |
Wood |
438 |
32 |
Slater |
487 |
Daily Results
Thursday |
|
Friday |
|
Saturday - Final |
Captain |
Score |
Pos |
|
Captain |
Score |
Pos |
|
Captain |
Score |
Pos |
Rinehart |
8 |
1 |
|
Rinehart |
28.2 |
1 |
|
Rinehart |
44 |
1 |
Kahle |
15 |
2 |
|
Thomas |
37 |
2 |
|
Thomas |
46 |
2 |
Kjellberg |
18 |
3 |
|
Kahle |
59 |
3 |
|
Kahle |
79 |
3 |
Wathne |
18 |
4 |
|
Walton |
62 |
4 |
|
Walton |
89 |
4 |
Thomas |
23 |
5 |
|
Ramos |
69 |
5 |
|
Ramos |
101 |
5 |
Kelter |
25 |
6 |
|
Wathne |
69.2 |
6 |
|
Rowland |
102 |
6 |
Ramos |
25 |
7 |
|
Rowland |
74 |
7 |
|
Kelter |
109 |
7 |
Walton |
26 |
8 |
|
Gerry, R |
76 |
8 |
|
Gerry, R |
117 |
8 |
Gerry, R |
27 |
9 |
|
Kelter |
93 |
9 |
|
Wathne |
122 |
9 |
Rowland |
30 |
10 |
|
Sellers |
101 |
10 |
|
Sellers |
135 |
10 |
Mueller |
30 |
11 |
|
Bottensek |
126 |
11 |
|
Cobley |
177 |
11 |
Sellers |
34 |
12 |
|
Mueller |
135 |
12 |
|
Bottensek |
190 |
12 |
Bottensek |
40 |
13 |
|
Cobley |
140 |
13 |
|
Houtz |
196 |
13 |
Cole |
46 |
14 |
|
Metcalf |
154 |
14 |
|
Mueller |
200 |
14 |
Cobley |
57 |
15 |
|
Houtz |
162 |
15 |
|
Metcalf |
231 |
15 |
Vasileff |
58 |
16 |
|
Cole |
169 |
16 |
|
Vasileff |
248 |
16 |
Hale |
58 |
17 |
|
Kjellberg |
177 |
17 |
|
Hale |
251 |
17 |
Houtz |
60 |
18 |
|
Vasileff |
185 |
18 |
|
Cole |
259 |
18 |
Metcalf |
62 |
19 |
|
Hale |
191 |
19 |
|
Kjellberg |
280 |
19 |
Bollers |
70 |
20 |
|
Pendino |
219 |
20 |
|
Proefrock |
300 |
20 |
Gerry, D |
74 |
21 |
|
Ottopal |
225 |
21 |
|
Pendino |
321 |
21 |
Pendino |
80 |
22 |
|
Proefrock |
232 |
22 |
|
Kornmann |
334 |
22 |
Proefrock |
81 |
23 |
|
Donohoe |
235 |
23 |
|
Donohoe |
338 |
23 |
Kornmann |
85 |
24 |
|
Kornmann |
247 |
24 |
|
Ottopal |
340 |
24 |
Dukehart |
90 |
25 |
|
Gerry, D |
250 |
25 |
|
Bollers |
359 |
25 |
Lenhart |
90 |
26 |
|
Bollers |
255 |
26 |
|
Gerry, D |
371 |
26 |
Ottopal |
91 |
27 |
|
Lenhart |
258 |
27 |
|
Hein |
402 |
27 |
Aiken |
91 |
28 |
|
Hein |
266 |
28 |
|
Lenhart |
410 |
28 |
Hein |
95 |
29 |
|
Aiken |
281 |
29 |
|
Aiken |
410 |
29 |
Donohoe |
95 |
30 |
|
Dukehart |
282 |
30 |
|
Dukehart |
416 |
30 |
Wood |
101 |
31 |
|
Wood |
302 |
31 |
|
Wood |
438 |
31 |
Slater |
104 |
32 |
|
Slater |
322 |
32 |
|
Slater |
487 |
32 |
Match racing Matrix
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Saturday |
|
|
|
Semi-Final |
Final |
|
|
|
Consolation |
|
|
Kahle |
Kahle |
Kahle |
Rick Gerry |
Danny
Thomas |
|
|
|
Rick
Gerry |
|
|
bye |
|
|
|
|
|
Metcalf |
Metcalf |
|
|
|
|
|
bye |
|
|
|
|
|
Gerry, R |
Rick Gerry |
Rick Gerry |
|
|
|
|
|
Wood |
|
|
|
|
|
Vasileff |
Vasileff |
|
|
|
|
|
Ottopal |
Semi-Final Loser ---------> |
|
|
|
Thomas |
Thomas |
Thomas |
Danny
Thomas |
|
|
|
Lenhart |
|
|
|
|
|
Houtz |
Kjellberg |
|
|
|
|
|
Kjellberg |
1st Place |
|
|
|
|
Kelter |
Kelter |
Kelter |
Danny
Thomas |
2nd Place |
|
|
|
Aiken |
Jarl Wathne |
|
3rd Place |
|
Bottensek |
Bottensek |
|
Mark
Rinehart |
4th Place |
Hale |
|
Rick
Gerry |
Rinehart |
Rinehart |
Rinehart |
Mark
Rinehart |
Jarl
Wathne |
|
Mark
Rinehart |
bye |
|
|
Mueller |
Mueller |
|
|
|
Gerry, D |
|
|
|
|
Rowland |
Bollers |
Bollers |
|
|
|
|
|
Bollers |
|
|
|
|
|
Ramos |
Ramos |
|
|
|
|
|
Hein |
Semi-Final Loser ----------> |
|
|
|
Wathne |
Wathne |
Wathne |
Jarl
Wathne |
|
|
|
Donahoe |
|
|
|
|
|
Sellers |
Sellers |
|
|
|
|
|
Kornmann |
|
|
|
|
|
Walton |
Walton |
Walton |
|
|
|
|
|
Dukehart |
|
|
|
|
|
bye |
Pendino |
|
|
|
|
|
Pendino |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|