“Feel the Burn”

Another gorgeous day for sailing greeted 9 boats for the third Spring Series regatta at ASC. Many came expecting light southerly breezes, as the National Weather Service forecasted 5-8 kt. But Mother Nature was in a foul mood this day as racing was contested in 15-18 kt. winds with occasional puffs exceeding 20 kt. This was too much for Bruce Sampson, who had his Thistle all rigged up and ready to roll. With crew nowhere to be found, Bruce graciously volunteered to provide race committee support. ”Megarette” was disappointed that Barney couldn’t make it this week. She was overheard saying that “Bruce was a nice guy but he just doesn’t do it for me”.

Sampson called for a triangle course in Race 1, 1 lap, with a downwind finish. Hennon came to the starting line with his new secret weapon, crew Julie Brockman. She’s young, experienced, and loves to hike. She also knows what to do in a near capsize – more on that later. Julie called the start and Team HB sailed out to an early lead, only to lose the starboard advantage to Berchem in her Y-Flyer at the top mark. Bill Winkler had his Widgeon out and seemed to enjoy the heavier air, posting his first of three 3rds in Race 1. Duke Angier did what he does best, sail at ridiculously fast, low angles and scare the crap out of port tack boats during crossings. Drew Langsner also had a nice Race 1 in his Laser, sticking with the top group most of the race and finishing in 5th on time. Rick Strickland, experimenting with his new “sail without a boom” setup, was forced to retire as the winds continued to build into the high teens.

With lake wind advisories imminent, Sampson thought it would be a great idea to kill any leg strength the fleet had left and sail two laps around in Race 2. To further confound the fleet, Bruce introduced a new mark in the course, the “middle of the lake mark”. After several minutes of questioning as to which mark this was, it was decided to name this the “Barney Sokol Memorial Mark” and to add this to the official NOR for future races. This race would be a struggle for a couple of boats. Hennon, wanting to impress Brockman with his expert reach to reach tacking, unfortunately caught the mainsheet in the cleet and started taking on water. This flustered the skipper so much that he decided to use his old “cross the start line 5 minutes after the gun” strategy to mixed results. Meanwhile, Curtis Boyd shot off up the lake in his Catalina and then disappeared for about an hour. Reports from scouts at the “Sokol” mark suggested he went the wrong way but we are still investigating. Bercham and crew, however, had no difficulty with the course or wind and went on to take the bullett. Winkler and Angier once again shared their special “3-4″ bond to continue their consistent series. Richard Hansen announced his presence in Race 2 with several “rooster tail” legs to finish a very nice looking 6th place.

Sampson, whose legs were feeling quite refreshed in the nice cool RC shelter, thought it would be funny to run two more races back to back. Each race would be once around, windward/leeward, with an upwind finish (no break inbetween so that legs could not be rested). Swann objected, stating quite forcefully that the Portsmouth handicap system does not allow windward/leeward courses. Sampson responded by starting the 10 minute countdown and off they went. Langsner said he had enough of this hiking stuff and hitched a ride with Angier, making this a 7-boat race. Hennon, Berchem, and Angier would lead most of the race, finishing 1-2-4 on time. Winkler sailed another nice race in white cap conditions to edge Angier once again. Sampson was exasperated when almost everyone came in after the race despite his explicit instructions to “stay on the water and feel the burn”.

Race 4 was started promptly. Winkler retired before the race so he could get home and watch the end of the TPC Players Golf Championship, leaving 6 boats trying to stay upright. Team HB had their best race of the regatta, thanks to Brockman’s supernatural hiking ability, to take top honors. Hansen also saved his best for last, finishing third on time. Bercham completed her fine regatta with another 2nd, taking 2nd overall. Sampson was so impressed that he nearly destroyed the Y-Flyer trailer with his truck in the parking lot after the racing.

Racing resumes on Sunday May 22 with PRO C. Hennon. Hope to see you there!

Skipper	Boat	Sail	D-PN	R1 ET	R1 CT	Place	R2 ET	R2 CT	Place	R3 ET	R3 CT	Place	R4 ET	R4 CT	Place	Regatta Score	Regatta Finish
C. Hennon	Jet-14	483	97.2	17.27	17.76	1	29.13	29.97	2	14.85	15.28	1	15.45	15.90	1	5	1
C. Berchem	Y Flyer	2310	86.7	16.75	19.32	2	25.97	29.95	1	14.08	16.24	2	16.17	18.65	2	7	2
D. Angier	Hobie 16	63072	76	15.03	19.78	4	25.1	33.03	4	14.23	18.73	4	14.97	19.69	4	16	3
B. Winkler	Widgeon	W	122.6	23.83	19.44	3	39.65	32.34	3	22.63	18.46	3	DNS	DNS	10	19	4
R. Hansen	Venture 14	1456	90.6	DNS	DNS	10	34.4	37.97	6	19.18	21.17	5	17.82	19.67	3	24	5
B. Swann	Hunter 23.5	2807	94.2	19.97	21.20	6	DNS	DNS	10	22.23	23.60	6	20.23	21.48	5	27	6
C. Boyd	Catalina 22	5771	96.3	29.67	30.81	7	51.25	53.22	7	26.13	27.14	7	24.62	25.56	6	27	7
D. Langsner	Laser Radial	12521	96.7	19.13	19.79	5	32.08	33.18	5	DNS	DNS	10	DNS	DNS	10	30	8
R. Strickland	Skiff	52	144.3	DNF	DNF	10	DNS	DNS	10	DNS	DNS	10	DNS	DNS	10	40	9

Results Key:

D-PN – Portsmouth Handicap (No wind adjustments)
ET – Elapsed time in decimal minutes (e.g. 30 seconds = 0.5 minutes)
CT – Corrected time, calculated as (ET*100)/(D-PN)
R1 place – Corrected finish for Race 1
Regatta Score – Sum of finishes for all race

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April 27, 2011

ASC Spring Series II, April 24, 2011

Love at First Sight

In what could be a new tradition at Asheville Sailing Club, Easter Sunday brought out bunches of families, newcomers, and boats. The racing was excellent, the post-race games were a blast, and the company was enjoyable as always. But perhaps the biggest story to come out of this day was that Barney found a new love; an elegantly shaped, authoritative yet gentle to the touch, short but cute….megaphone. More on that later.

As the 11 boats rigged for action, the numerous birds, just out of recovery from the Sokol spinnaker dance 2 weeks ago, were enjoying a sea surface that resembled the North Atlantic just before the Titanic hit the iceberg – barely a breeze to be found. After a 10 minute delay, the promised southerly began to build in and the fleet began their 50 ft. sail to the starting line. PRO Barney, seemingly using the megaphone for everything from announcing the lunch menu to landing planes at AVL , reminded sailors that the so-called “Hennon 1-minute rule” was in effect (no boats on course side within 1 minute of the start). How this became known as the Hennon rule is a mystery, since VC Hennon himself merely copied the sailing instructions in the NOR from last year. Anyways, apparently this caused some confusion, ultimately leading to an avalanche of “you better get your boat on the right side of the line” calls and other sweet nothings coming from Barney’s cutie pie. Things got progressively worse from there, as PRO Sokol had so many boats doing penalty circles after the starting gun that a series of vortices developed and moved toward the starting pin, finally freeing Sampson and Langsner from the hole they sailed into 2 weeks ago.

Race 1 was a windward/leeward, once around, with a windward finish. Establishing a trend that would persist the entire day, Connie Berchem and crew drove out to an early lead in her Y Flyer, followed closely by Hennon (Jet-14) and Duke Angier in his Hobie 16 (16 for 16 HP). Unbeknownst to all, Rick Strickland lead most of the race on time in his beautiful skiff and looked great out there even in the heavier breeze. As the boats crossed the line, Barney returned from his lunch date at Applebys with “Megarette” to welcome each crew home. Tom Cannon looked great in his Laser, finishing 4th on his way to a second place regatta finish.

Sokol decided to secretly change the course before Race 2 while Team Hennon was sailing around in the building breeze, but fortunately his better half, in a fit of jealous rage, notified them of the changes. Race 2 was a triangle course, rounded to port, with another windward finish. The multihulls had fun with this one as the fleet lined up on the layline into the dam mark. Angier led the way, followed by Cannon, Richard Hansen in his Venture 14, the Hennons, and then the Sokol Flying Scot, now adroitly driven by newcomer Julie Brockman. A 30 degree header at the top of the course threw the order into chaos as many had to tack 4 or 5 times to make the mark. On the run, Team Hennon was having a hard time holding off the Y Flyer and decided to launch their secret weapon. The site and sound of the kite enraged Berchem, who immediately hailed “cheaters!” as the Hennons laughed and pulled steadily away. Although Angier finished early enough to catch a few holes of the Heritage Classic Golf Tournament, Strickland took the race on time. Afterwards he broke out the “I love Portsmouth D-PN” T-shirts and distributed them to any who would take them.

Although all were eagerly anticipating what Barney and Megarette had in store for the Easter activity, it was eventually decided to get Race 3 in first. Winds were now conservatively 15-18 kt. with gusts over 20, apparently a little too high for Bill Winkler (otherwise known as the cupid who hooked up Sokol and Megarette). Strickland, in a tie for the regatta lead with the Hennons, also stayed on shore for this one. The course was a twice around windward/leeward. Team Hennon nailed the start and led around most of the course until the rooster tail of Angier’s Hobie announced his arrival.. Captain Spencer, in his Dougdish, obviously liked the heavy air and went on to a great 2nd place finish. Good hard and fair sailing by all.

Afterwards, Barney and Megarette said their goodbyes. They were later seen at Barley’s taproom shooting darts. It is not known if Lee plans to allow Barney aboard their FS next month, so stay tuned.

Skipper	Boat	Sail	D-PN	R1 ET	R1 CT	Place	R2 ET	R2 CT	Place	R3 ET	R3 CT	Place	Regatta Score	Regatta Finish
C. Hennon	Jet-14	483	97.2	22.88	23.54	1	22.80	23.46	2	31.45	32.36	1	4	1
T. Cannon	Laser	126721	91.1	22.93	25.17	4	22.25	24.42	3	36.78	40.38	5	12	2
C. Berchem	Y Flyer	2310	86.7	21.57	24.88	3	23.17	26.72	8	31.52	36.35	3	14	3
R. Strickland	Skiff	52	144.3	35.50	24.60	2	33.35	23.11	1	DNS	DNS	12	15	4
D. Angier	Hobie 16	63072	76.0	19.68	25.90	5	18.85	24.80	4	30.83	40.57	6	15	5
Spencer	Dougdish	591	110.9	30.75	27.73	7	30.60	27.59	9	37.30	33.63	2	18	6
R. Hansen	Venture 14	1456	90.6	33.97	37.49	10	22.53	24.87	5	36.55	40.34	4	19	7
L. Sokol	Flying Scot	2302	89.6	25.67	28.65	8	23.77	26.53	7	36.78	41.05	7	22	8
B. Winkler	Widgeon	W	122.6	33.07	26.97	6	31.22	25.46	6	DNS	DNS	12	24	9
C. Boyd	Catalina 22	5771	96.3	37.20	38.63	11	36.63	38.04	11	42.00	43.61	8	30	10
B. Hurni	Capri 22	697	88.9	26.17	29.43	9	26.28	29.57	10	DNS	DNS	12	31	11

Results Key:

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April 14, 2010

ASC Spring Series I, April 9, 2011

Sampson: “Drew made me do it”

Opening day for the 2011 season brought plenty of hard work, good sailing, and enough excuses to last an entire season. Sailors old and new showed up early for the ASC work day and work they did. Branches were cleared, leaves were raked, old boats were moved to make way for the new, and the deck is now so clean Howe was seen eating lunch off of it.

The competitors gathered for the 1 pm skippers meeting at the pavilion. PRO Rick Strickland, who did a fine job the entire afternoon, called for a triangle course, once around in the light southerly winds. Rick was assisted by some older guy who apparently knows something about sailing but decided not to sail to give others a chance. 9 boats started race 1 and the 2011 season was underway. Bruce Sampson and crew Drew Langser powered their thistle around the course and quickly intimidated the rest of the fleet with their speed and boat handling to take first. But there were signs that the pressure on Team Thistle was going to test them in race 2. Chris Hennon and crew Meredith were beginning to gel in the Jet-14. Barry Sokol expertly piloted his Flying Scot around the course to take 3rd and Duke Angier in his Hobie 16 was just getting his jet engines warmed up.

The building wind during the post-race break provided an opportunity for a 2-lap windward/leeward course, including 2 roundings of the dreaded “hole mark”. Life jackets became commonplace as the 10 minute countdown began. Hennon developed an incredible pre-start game plan, which included starting at the pin and sailing over the entire fleet. He nailed the start at the pin…3 minutes later he was still at the pin as the fleet sailed away. Meanwhile, Duke ignited his twin turbo cat engines and violated the “no wake” rules as he shot up the course, with Sampson close behind. Halfway down the first run, Hennon thought he had made up some ground until he saw the Hobie Cat pass him going to windward. But his spirits were lifted when Sampson and Langser, who had a 300 yard lead, decided to stop and have a picnic near the same hole that got Hennon at the start. Before long, the Flying Scots of Jeffries/Lee Sokol and B. Sokol , Hennon, and nearly every other boat in the fleet rolled over Sampson as he shared tea and crumpits with his crew. In the end Hennon went on for the win on time, even though Duke had time to go watch a couple of holes of the Master’s golf tournament before the next boat finished.

On shore, Sampson quickly looked to shift the blame to his crew for the error. ”Drew told me to go that way, and I said OK, I’ll do it, but I really want to go the other way”. Drew mumbled something to the effect of “try keeping that boat flat in the next race when I’m sitting in the cockpit drinking a beer” and the two thought better of it and made up.

Winds were now conservatively estimated at a puffy 10-15 kt. for race 3, and Rick called for a 1 lapper with a windward finish. Before the race, Barney was heard bragging how he could drink a beer, dance the Macarena, stand on one foot, and fly a spinnaker single handed, all at the same time. He put his theory to the test during the run, the end result being a very wet spinnaker and a couple of very scared geese. Bill Swann turned in his best race of the series for a 4th place and Jeffries with stolen crew Lee Sokol continued their consistent regatta with a 5th. Lynch also liked the fresh breeze, as he captained his Starwind 19 to his best finish of the series. It was also great to see Bob Murray out in his beautiful Melonseed Skiff – he would definitely win on looks (the boat that is).

Thanks to all who came to work and sail. It was a great opening for what promises to be a great season.

Skipper	Boat	Sail	D-PN	Race 1 ET	Race 1 CT	R1 Place	Race 2 ET	Race 2 CT	R2 Place	Race 3 ET	Race 3 CT	R3 Place	Regatta Score	Regatta Finish
C. Hennon	Jet-14	483	97.2	23.15	23.82	2	39.65	40.79	1	17.02	17.51	1	4	1
B. Sampson	Thistle	3185	83.0	19.70	23.73	1	37.63	45.34	4	15.77	19.00	2	7	2
D. Angier	Hobie 16		76.0	19.50	25.66	4	33.57	44.17	2	15.58	20.50	3	9	3
B. Sokol	Flying Scot	2302	89.6	21.97	24.52	3	40.35	45.03	3	23.42	26.13	7	13	4
B. Swann	Hunter23.5		94.2	31.10	33.01	6	46.38	49.24	5	20.07	21.30	4	15	5
B. Jeffries	Flying Scot	4131	89.6	27.27	30.44	5	45.63	50.93	6	19.80	22.10	5	16	6
N. Lynch	Starwind 19	RC357	106.2	36.30	34.18	8	58.53	55.12	7	25.48	24.00	6	21	7
B. Murray	Melonseed	M	110.0	36.45	33.14	7	65.67	59.70	8	34.00	30.91	9	24	8
C. Boyd	Catalina 22	5771	96.3	36.13	37.52	9	67.70	70.30	9	29.00	30.11	8	26	9

Results Key:

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