I-20 sailors met at the Indian Lake Yacht Club for it’s 2008 season opener, the Cinco De Mayo Regatta. Sailors started arriving and setting up on Friday, and members of the ILYC were there to meet, greet, and take them to host housing for the evening. By around 7:30 PM, most of the sailors went out together for dinner, and reconvened at the yacht club house to get caught up after a long winter and talk sailing.
On Saturday morning, the winds were predicted to blow 15 to 25 with some higher gusts. As the sailors finished registering, we had 11 boats on the line and sailors from no less than 8 states including Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Everyone was glad to see Alec and Anita from Michigan sail together on a borrowed boat, thanks to the generosity of the Indian Lake I-20 fleet. The younger crowd found excitement in the I-20 class too as Juniors were crew on 4 boats, ID-4, S-17, WA-38, and F-314 and skippered on WA-38.
When the class flag flew and the warning gun sounded, the winds, already blowing around 15 piped up on cue and offered challenging and exciting conditions for the first race of the year. After a clean start, the fleet remained tight up the first beat and as sailors jockeyed for position, the leader around the first windward mark was none other than Indian Lake sailors, Bill Monsma and Jeff Patten. Monsma/Patten maintained their lead as the fleet absolutely ripped down the lake on a windward 2 course and continued to hold off the fleet as they rounded the 2nd windward mark, still in 1st place. Close behind were Carlyle Sailors, John and Erika Sepanski who got tangled up with Willie Crear and Pat Towie in a port-starboard situation close to the windward mark.
Monsma/Patten’s hot pace was cooled quickly with a capsize in a big puff just after the set, allowing the following boats to take the pace. Similarly, Crear/Towie sailing toward the front of the fleet and Ben and John Herdrich capsized when some strong gusts ended their first race.
At the final bottom mark, new leaders Aaron Lynn and Mark Bucheit had a late takedown and allowed local sailors, Brook and Anne Patten to sail inside and take the lead. The husband and wife team from Lake DuBay, Joe and LaCinda Terry had positioned themselves toward the front of fleet by taking advantage of some huge puffs on the right side of the course and after a conservative takedown, made a very tight final leeward rounding to position themselves in contention for a win. While Lynn/Bucheit worked toward the right, the Terry’s tacked away and worked up the middle. The Patten’s covered the Terry’s and while they were working tack for tack on the left, Lynn/Bucheit made gains on the right. When the leaders converged back to the middle of the course, Patten had worked clear ahead of Terry and was on Port while Lynn was on Starboard. Crossing was questionable, so Patten tacked toward the finish line on Lynn’s lee hip and the drag race was on. The Pattens had their equipment and sailing skills dialed in and Lynn/Bucheit just could not beat their upwind speed. The finish was tight with the Pattens taking the horn, Lynn/Bucheit only a half a boatlength back, and the Terry’s in a close 3rd about two boatlengths behind Lynn/Bucheit. Joe Ewing and his 13 year old son, Cole were contenders after clawing their way from the back of the fleet and finished in a close 4th.
The Race committee postponed the 2nd race due to high winds and the fleet broke for lunch. During lunch, some serious gusts rocked the club house, but overall it was determined suitable for some good afternoon racing. As the fleet sailed to the race course, the winds continued to build and after a few minutes into the start sequence with gusts in the upper 20’s and low 30’s, the RC wisely flew the abandonment flag and racing was discontinued for the day.
The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up and enjoying a quarter barrel. Some sailors visited with local and longtime E-boat sailors, Tom and Sue Ewing at their house and enjoyed the Kentucky Derby. As evening approached, the ILYC prepared a fantastic chicken dinner with beans, salads, potatoes, and fruits. The yacht club turned into a banquet hall as many members of the ILYC joined in to help prepare and enjoy in the meal with their out of town guests and friends.
Sunday looked to be just the opposite of Saturday, with very light air, but everyone was hopeful as the new spring leaves on the trees kept waving.
As the RC started the first race, the Terry’s hit the line right on time with some speed and took a substantial early lead. As the holes got bigger, the fleet closed together. The Ewings worked their light air magic and were the first to round the windward mark followed by Lynn/Bucheit, the Crosby’s, then Crear/Towie.
The Terry’s gave up some precious distance doing a 720 after fouling Lynn/Buchite, then Lynn/Buchite tangled with Crear/Towie at the windward mark and in doing so, touched the offset requiring then to turn a 360 in the very, very light air.
The downwind reach was difficult to sail and positions changed dramatically. The Terry’s found a breeze on the left and were the first to round the leeward mark just inside the Ewings and closely followed by the Herdrich’s. Ben Shaevitz held off both the Pattens and Crear/Towie showing some light air speed. The Terry’s extended their lead and were the first boat around the last windward mark to a shortened finish, but by midway down the reach, the Chablowski’s, and Monsma/Patten closed the gap as the leaders drifted to a stop. The boats at the back of the fleet then found some breeze and took control of the race. Crear/Towie came from deep in the fleet to take the gun, and Monsma/Patten struggled to hold off the remaining boats for 2nd. The rest of the fleet finished very closely and within only a few minutes, resulting in a dramatic finish considering the exceptionally light conditions and that the fleet was spread out over a half a leg at the windward mark.
The time limit for starting another race expired and as the scores were calculated, consistency paid off. The Terry’s took 1st with 7 points while 2nd and 3rd were a tie between Lynn/Bucheit and the Chablowski’s with 8 points and Lynn/Bucheit breaking the tie. Rounding out the top six were the Ewings and Pattens, and Crear/Towie with well deserved awards.
Accompanied with the awards and thanks to generous sponsorships from Quantum, Windward Boatworks, and Annapolis Performance Sailing, sailors took home some beautiful duffle bags, gift certificates, hiking straps, and mesh boat bags.
The I-20 fleet is off to a great start to the new season with new sailors, new excitement, and fantastic venues. We hope to see everyone in Carlyle in June!
For photos and video, check out the following link:
http://indianlakeyachtclub.com/?q=node/740
