Road To The Cup – Week 12
*Road To The Cup – Week 12*
*Top-10 as of 8/9/15*
Not a lot in the mailbag this week, other than a couple of emails
expressing solidarity with last weeks rules rant. You guys in fact are
being particularly quiet in this calm before the nationals storm! Very
uncharacteristic!
Four boats showed up Thursday night for the Twilight race. Our man on the
scene *John Casler* reports that the lineup included two boats out for the
first time this season, *Eckart & Walter Colsman* and *Larry Ehrhardt* sailing
with son *Allen Erhhardt* – it’s nice to see Larry back on the line with
his new rig. So to paraphrase *Mr. Casler*:
The course was to the nun off the Fort and then Can “1MH”, posted as twice
around. This was the first of our 6:36pm starts, and the weather gods,
accordingly, turned off the wind at 6:34, leaving a light northwesterly
that made the first leg look like a one-sided beat. There also was a wisp
of southeasterly over by the lighthouse that, at times, could look
promising, and there was a hole between the two breezes. *Sarah Sheldon* (or
whoever is sailing her boat) won the start, trailed by *John Casler &
Connie Blake*, with the *Colesmans* and *Ehrhardts* starting later due to
the dying breeze. The fleet split with *Teams Sheldon* and *Ehrhardt *going
right for the promising southeasterly, while the other two stayed left.
Left paid and *Team Casler* built a huge lead by the time they rounded, and
they held that through holes and shifts until the finish (there was no
second time around). So taking 1st was *Team Casler*, 2nd *Team Ehrhardt* and
3rd was *Team Colsman*. Congratulations to all.
Out on the MRA line, just ten boats showed up, which I find remarkable
considering that nationals is in less than two weeks. Although, as I scan
down the list of absentees, none of the usual suspects were really AWOL.
We’re talking weddings, planned family vacations, trips to Cooperstown and
so on. The ‘big swim meet’ at the CYC, which shut down the crane pier for
the day, probably also played a part, though in CYC’s defense, they
provided months of notice. I suppose there also could be a little residual
RW hangover.
Anyway, the Chamber of Commerce outdid itself by dialing up a perfect sunny
summer day. The various forecasts predicted an 8-10 knot northeasterly
petering out as the low to our south moved offshore and giving way to the
sea breeze, and that’s exactly what we got. The tide was low at 12:30, so
we battled an incoming tide for most of the day, the direction of which
varied depending on where you were. The sea breeze kicked in about halfway
up the first beat, resulting in a 30-40 degree righty with pressure. Those
on the right were living large while those on the left had to take the walk
of shame across on the header. The RC, by the way, showed tremendous
judgment in shortening that race at the bottom and resetting. Also worth
noting is that they set shorter courses than our usual 0.8 (0.5, 0.5 and
0.7), which in the lighter breeze with fewer boats made sense.
New to the MRA line this week was *Walter Colsman* sailing with his son.
Also new was former BC standout and EYC team racer *Spencer Powers* who
sailed with *Evan Cooke* (aka ‘the Kid’) in *Matt Hooks* boat.
So taking 1st on the day (benefiting from the light turnout and moderate
conditions) with a 3-1-3 for 7 points was *Team Pandapas*. Finishing 2nd
was *Spencer Powers & Evan Cooke*, who rolled a 1-2-6 for 9 points. What
a great sailor Spencer is! This was his first time on the stick all summer
and he took 2nd! Well done. He sure would look good in his very own R19,
don’t you think? Let’s see what we can do about that. And taking 3rd on a
tiebreaker was *Dave & *(son) *Cameron Nelson*, who put up a 7-5-1 for 13
points. Honorable mentions go to *Team Pendleton / Raisides* who took 4th with
a 5-3-5, also for 13 points, and to *Larry Ehrhardt & Ken Cormier *who took
5th with a 6-6-2 for 14 points.
So, in Cup competition, the start of our 4th quarter is typically the time
you start wondering if you have enough races left to pass the guy in front
of you. However, that is definitely *not the case* at the top right
now! *Team
Pendleton/Raisides* has *Team Hourihan/Frisch* looking over their shoulders
as the gap between them continues to shrink. Can *Pendleton/Raisides* come
back to win their 4th straight cup? When will they make their move? Is
*Frisch/Hourihan *hearing footsteps? Can they hold on? Will this dogfight
extend into the Fall Series? Stay tuned, we will see. The top-10 are
listed below.
1st
1210
Hourihan / Frisch
209.29
2nd
1217
Pendleton / Raisides
217.75
3rd
982
Team Pandapas
253.86
4th
3172
Dave Nelson
278.00
5th
2585
Steve Uhl
281.86
6th
1683
Matt Hooks
293.00
7th
2623
Mike Lane
310.57
8th
2692
Team Heffernan
316.00
9th
1316
Fava / Mazareas
331.00
10th
1926
Team Taylor
333.00
Week 13 racing will include the Twilight this Thursday night and the 2-3
races of MRA Series 3 Day 3 -kp