June 13 & 14, 1996

Fourteen Lidos registered, (10 A’s and 4 B’s). Saturday started out with a moderate Northerly (the lake runs East/West) with slightly rough waters due to wind action and motorboats. By the start of the first race, the winds had clocked to a more typical Westerly direction and picked up nicely. The course chart provided for windward/leeward and windward/reach/leeward courses with three different windward marks to choose from based (typically) upon the strength of the wind and the likelihood of multiple classes coming together at the same time.

 The first race went to Papadopoulos who gradually worked his way up from the upper middle of the fleet by capitalizing on the frequent lifts up the middle and right side of the course. The second race was similar in conditions to the first with the race, again, going to Papadopoulos. A short break and then the start of the third race. Just a few minutes out from the start, the entire Lido fleet found itself in a big hole. Dave and Jeanne Smith and Chuck Babcock had established an early lead on the rest of the fleet, enabling them to catch the freshening wind as it came down the lake. As conditions picked up, the fleet, now more condensed, marched around the course, only to fall into another (the same one?) hole just windward of the last leeward mark, giving yet another randomizing to the positions. But, as before, those just ahead prevailed, giving the bullet to Chuck Babcock. Papadopoulos, taking an 8^th, still managed to lead the regatta after the first day’s racing by a scant ½ point over Bob Yates and Chuck Babcock.

Day two saw considerably different conditions with winds rarely less than the peak of Saturdays. One trick thrown into the mix was the occasional lightening of the breeze while the wind driven chop persisted, making for challenging times to keep powered up.

Race five was set as a WRL course. Again, the same group of sailors (Yates, Babcock, Campbell, Smith, Papadopoulos, and Lockwood) arrived at W with Yates in the lead by a dozen or so boat lengths. As everyone paraded down wind to R, Papadopoulos and company charged towards Yates for a close rounding around R. Yates rounded first clear ahead but the group of Smith, Campbell, and Papadopoulos saw trouble as Papadopoulos lost his inside overlap at the last second and drove into the two boat length circle, only to cause a temporary raft up. After persistent urging from the Smiths (they were the outside boat), Papadopoulos came to terms with the fact that he had lost his rights and needed to do some turns. Alas, while all this was happening, Babcock stole the show by passing unharmed above the log jam. Papadopoulos fell back four boats, none of which were ever recovered. Yates, quietly reached the finish line with plenty of distance to spare, only to find that the Race Committee had given him a PMS! (which, according to Lido skippers starting near Bob, was a questionable call), thereby dropping him from a solid first overall to 4^th place. Bummer!