2013 Fleet V Championship
"Nothing ever seems to go easy in this fleet" and last Sunday's Fleet Championship race was the absolute epitome of that statement. Let me explain.
Our Fleet Championship regatta took place with a disappointing attendance of only three boats; One Time, Tiburon and Iguana. The wind was promised to be a healthy ten to twelve knots and holding its velocity throughout the day. Never happened. The best it managed to do was approximately eight knots during race number two and that amount only held for a few minutes. For the most part it never got above five knots. It also never clocked around to the west but preferred to come out of the south for the entire day. Therefore, you just knew that if it didn't clock it was going to die. That's the nature of the beast in Long Beach.
Our PRO was the omnipresent Don Warner, who he made the most out of the cards dealt him. He and I had a previous conversation some weeks ago about not making the course lengths too short. I didn't want a repeat of what occurred recently in a Regatta wherein the legs were so short that it rendered passing and changing positions virtually impossible. Hence we decided on leg lengths varying from a half mile to a full mile for this regatta. This would have been perfect had the wind lived up to its predictions.
Dennis Diem's "Iguana" got hit with some bad news before they even left the dock. One of their crew was standing on the dock when informed that he had a family emergency back at his residence. He had to get home which left Dennis with only a three person crew. Not good.
Though there were only three boats on the line the three that did make it were mighty indeed.
The first race of the day saw One Time winning the start and parlaying that win with a bullet for the race. In the second race Tiburon won the start and was able to maintain their lead all the way to the end.
Iguana took a third place in the first race and a second in the follow up.
So here we were. Everything was coming down to the final race and everyone had a chance to win the whole thing. The PRO saw where things stood and gave us a three lap race with mile long legs. In other words he was giving us the opportunity to settle this matter on the water. Plenty of laps and ample distance to make things happen. Everyone was looking forward to the opportunity.
Iguana won the start and took off down the left side of the course. One Time went right and I believe (not totally sure) that Tiburon went up the middle. It didn't matter a whole lot because everyone converged mid way and began tracking each other. Iguana had a slight lead and the light wind conditions were very much to their liking insofar as they only had a three person crew. Around the weather mark it was Iguana, One Time and Tiburon. Everyone close. Heading downwind you could feel the wind starting to crap out. In light of the situation the One Time crew had a discussion that they had better get themselves into the lead in the event the race committee shortened the course. Therefore they did a lot of gybing and ultimately were able to get on Iguana's wind and pass them. When the fleet got to the leeward mark the wind was really starting to feel flaky. It wasn't going to last. Around the mark it was One Time with the lead, Iguana in second and Tiburon in third. Heading back upwind not much changed.
At the weather mark the mark-set boat was flying the "S" flag. Sure enough-the course had been shortened and the finish line had been changed to the weather mark. The race and the regatta were over. One Time took the race and with it, the Fleet Championship. One Time's crew was happy but the other two competitors weren't quite so ecstatic. Why should they be? I don't blame them. All the boats were very close and just about anything could have happened had the race gone to its scheduled length. However, the wind had died to three knots and we may well have been out there "drifting" until dark. No one wanted that. This is our sport and sometimes you just have to take what it gives you.
In retrospect I understand and respect everyone's position. However , in the final analysis, I believe the PRO made the right call.
In conclusion let me say that it saddens me to think that this may well have been our final dedicated regatta with Long Beach Yacht Club. LBYC has been our historical home through the years but those days are now over. They're moving on and so are we. I want to thank them for all the help, support and consideration they have extended Fleet V for so very long. A special thanks to Waterfront Director Rick Roberts who helped me in oh so many ways and to all the wonderful ladies who so generously gave of their time. People like Mary Beth Ives, Jan Warner, the late Judy Johnson and Kelly Johnson all of whom were always there to help us. I hope they know how much we'll miss them.
Our next race is the Sunday Sailor's Series with SLBYC. The dates are Nov 9th & 24th and Dec 9th. Each one of these races constitutes an individual race in our High Point Series.