On Saturday, April 15, 2017, Oak Hollow Sailing Club opened its 2017 Sailing Season with its first regatta. We had 33 members attending, 16 boats that participated, and Anne Marie Covington sailed with us, visiting from Lake Townsend (crewing with Annette Grefe, in the Wayfarer) . With the beautiful weather and the number of members present, this was one of the best opening regattas we have had in many years. Thank you to all of you who attended!
Special thanks to our volunteers: Sue Cole, Pam Lineberry, and Sally Leigh for providing morning snacks and coffee. Race Committee: Jerry Eldred, John Fulcher, Linda Marsh, Roger Bates, and Meghan – thank you guys and ladies for keeping us organized, timed, and on schedule, and helping with the capsizes!. And to our new members Don and Donna Beal for generously providing chopped barbecue, chips and drinks for everyone when we came off the water – what a great surprise! We are anxious to help you get that newly-acquired Flying Scot out on the lake!
With temperatures approaching 80 degrees by mid afternoon, and double digit winds with gusts in the teens, the multi-hulls finally got some conditions to their liking, and the handicap scoring reflected that. The conditions were tough for most of the mono-hulls, and our safety boat stayed busy assisting on several capsizes. Everyone was required to wear their PFD’s (in the Captains’ Meeting), so everyone was fine, but the day was cut short for several boats that did not have crew, or became “waterlogged” and could not continue. We were able to run three (one lap triangle) races. We started Race 1 with 16 boats, (12 mono-hulls and 4 multi-hulls), in Race 2 we had 6 mono-hulls, and in Race 3 we had 5 mono-hulls. All four multi-hulls completed all three races.
Congratulations to Chris Malcolm and Mary Dusek who sailed an almost perfect race in Race 1 in their Hobie 16. It is unusual at Oak Hollow for anyone to beat Phil Andrews in adjusted scoring, and overall Chris and Mary beat Phil (who finished 2nd overall in that race) by a minute and a half, and they destroyed the rest of the field in that race. Way to go, Chris and Mary!
It was also interesting to note that all four mulit-hulls finished ahead of 11 of the 12 mono-hulls AFTER the adjusted scoring, which is an unusual feat on our lake. We are happy all you multi-hull sailors finally got some good conditions so you and your boats “could show your stuff.” Congratulations also to Andy Squint for winning Races 2 and 3 in the multi-hull class, and to Phil Andrews for winning all three races in the mono-hull category. Way to go guys! Very impressive sailing! Finally, congratulations to Bruce and Sally Leigh for their consistent sailing in all three races, posting a 2nd and two 3rds, with their 1350 lb. wing keel Capri 16.
Next Regatta is May 20th. Let’s exceed 20 boats for that event!