2004 Al Morris Regatta/District 6 Championships

Well, so many of you missed out on a really great weekend of racing at Yale Lake for the Lido District 6 Championship!

I guess maybe folks were still worn out from the fun at Eugene for the Class Championships.  What we lacked in numbers, we made up for in competitiveness on the course and a great time talking Lidos and racing at BBQ dinner on Saturday night.  The four teams that did attend covered the Northwest pretty well however:

Carl Heisel and son from Portland Jerald Skeen and his crew from Eugene (sorry Jerald - I never formally met your crew and missed her name), Bud Temple and crew Sandra from Utah, Jim Sterner and daughter Kay from Bainbridge Island, WA.

Besides Lidos, other classes attending the Al Morris regatta hosted by Willamette Sailing Club were: Lasers (20), Snipes (6), Vanguard 15s (5), and Europes (6).

Saturday's weather was mostly sunny and warm, but wind was pretty light and shifty - ranging from 2kts to 7kts.  Race one - a W-L - saw Jim and Kay get off the line quickly, hitting the shifts, and getting to the weather mark first with Jerald and Carl a few boat lengths behind.  Downwind it didn't take long for Jerald and Carl to chase down and catch Jim, and at the leeward mark all three rounded very close with Bud not far behind.  Back to weather in the light and shifty, Jim was able to get back out in front until in the last 20 boat lengths to the finish when Jerald called the right side of the course and sniffed out the last few breaths of wind to take 1st.  Jim finished 2nd overlapped but behind Jerald.  Carl and then Bud were very close behind for 3rd and 4th.

After a short postponement to let the wind build, race two was started in similar conditions.  The W-L course saw a carbon copy to race one on the windward and leeward legs with Jim building a short lead to the windward mark to see Jerald, Carl and Bud pull him back in by the leeward mark.  The difference in the beat to the finish was that it was Carl that called the right shifts to pull ahead of Jim and Kay in the last few boat lengths to the finish.  Bud and Sandra doggedly chased down Jerald and took 3rd.  With two light wind races complete the race committee sent everyone in for the day with Carl and Jim tied with 4 points, Jerald with 5, and Bud at 7.

Day two greeted sailors with a building breeze after a strong rain front blew through overnight.  Throughout the day there were brief showers, but the air and water temps were warm.  Race three started in a moderate 8 knot breeze, sailing a triangle course.  Jim and Kay got out front again and were able to hold everyone off this time to take 1^st from start to finish.

For race four, the wind continued to build - approx. 12 knots now - and while Jerald and Bud got off to a clean start, Carl and Jim were both OCS and had to head back to clear their start.  That advantage was all Jerald needed to hold the lead from wire to wire sailing a perfect race, leaving no chance for the others to chase him down.  And then in the final race of the regatta, the wind had built to a steady 15 knots with some puffs a bit higher.

The committee sent all classes on an Olympic "triangle/sausage" course to finish the day and ensure we were all completely worn out when it was all done.  In these stronger conditions, Carl and his son were in their environment.  They nailed the start, hit all the shifts and sailed the boat flat and fast.  Jim and Jerald chased close behind to the first mark, but after the jibe mark, Carl was gone.  He continued to pull out through the W-L portion of the race and left no doubt about his 1st place in that race.  Jerald and Jim fought it out the rest of the way, with Jerald taking 2nd, Jim 3rd, and Bud close behind.  In the end, Carl and Jim were tied on points with 10 and Jerald was only one point behind with 11.  With two 1st place finishes, Carl and his son won the tie-breaker and are the District 6 Champions for 2004!!!

At the trophy presentation all four Lido teams remarked that they'd never had so much fun with just four boats on the course - the racing was close and competitive throughout the regatta and the result showed it.

For next year, we will be trying to schedule the District Championship a bit further from the Class Championship - perhaps prior to the Class Championship as a great prep regatta for the CCR.  And next year we expect the rest of you District 6 sailors to be out there - you know who you are!

Jim Sterner
Lido 5110
District 6 Secretary