Brian Weir’s own Non-Spinnaker
Class wrap up!
The first race from Tammany to Pontchartrain was simply a drag race with all the boats in classes F & G right with each other and at the turn towards the finish line, the shifty winds gave every one fits and the boats that had time in their pockets took the trophies, with little Throwdown crossing with all the big boats in F. Stargazer, Indigo (what a beautiful boat) and the frigate Impulse took the top spots in F and Throwdown, Moon Shadow and Getaway, 1, 2, 3 in Class G.
Sunday's race (the annual north to south drift) was a lesson in Patience as everyone tried to keep the boats moving to avoid the evil 7-hour limit. For the later class boats who start 25 to 30 minutes after the Grand Prix boys, the breezes always takes a mid day siesta. Most stayed close to the bridge, trying to draft on the 18-wheelers but some adventurous souls went east looking for cleaner air. As the wind died even further around 3:00 there was a noticeable current pulling the outside boats south towards the finish. The breeze came back with the leaders 3-4 miles out and the clock ticking fast. The first to finish in Class F, XTC roared across the line just over two minutes ahead of the eventual winner Jambalaya, and newcomer Blue Jacket third 38 minutes later. Impulse and Indigo tossed in their cards a little to early and missed the finishing breeze. The gang on Stargazer, though, had the Big screen TV, the barbeque, Jacuzzi & sauna going and finished last but well fed, relaxed and refreshed. No boats in G managed to cross the line in time and DNF's went up on the boards for them.
Saturday's race @ NOYC was delayed 2 1/2 hours so all the boats drifted and motored about listening to Jambalaya's DJ rock & roll the fleet. When the race finally started, the breeze was dying again, it was a light air boat's dream and yet XTC won Class F (on correction) by only 1 second over Indigo and 1 minute, 30 seconds over Impulse. Blue jacket, Jambalaya, Grand Cru and Stargazer filled in the listing. In Class G, Throwdown, Getaway and Corona (a nice Mexican beer) topped their class.
Sunday morning, the committee was determined to get in 2 races so the DNF's from last week would not hurt as bad. It was blowing good at the start with a vigorous chop knocking the boats about. By the time the non-spinnaker boats started the breeze was lighter but the seas had not settled downand the chop made life miserable for any boat under 45 foot. Several boats from Class F were parked at the line, when the G class started and there was a lot of loud, but friendly banter directed at those "F" boats stalled on the line. Something about one's mother, I believe. With the lumpy seas and light breeze it became a tactical struggle and the end result was XTC, Blue Jacket and Jambalaya 1, 2, 3. Way to go SSYC!!
The last race started soon after all the last spinnaker boat crossed (who was that guy?) and it was a good race. Nice breeze and very little chop. The beat to the first mark was pure speed, but on the second leg,Bluejacket had an idea about a good breeze off to the west, packed a lunch and went for it. At the downwind leg though, with light air, boats tried every combination trying to get some speed up but XTC left everyone behind. The end result was XTC, Indigo and Bluejacket followed by the rest of the Class F fleet. Class G results are unknown to this reporter, but I have a feeling Throwdown took the gold.
Regatta results have not been posted as I write this, but from what Ican remember (exhaustion and adult beverages took their toll), Class F was XTC first, Bluejacket second and Indigo nipped Jambalaya by a point or two for third. In Class G, all I remember was the Throwdown crew got a bunch of trophies and hats. My apologies to the second and third place winners, both in the individual races and the LPRC overall.
|