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Team Tawas at the 2003 Volvo NAs |
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Team Tawas members: Jennifer Princing, Bill Coberly and Chris
Princing sailed USA 838, Anti-Swine in the 2003 Volvo J/22 North
American Championship. Team Tawas was representing J/22 Fleet #44
and Tawas Bay Yacht Club. The event took place off the shores of
historic Youngstown, New York on Lake Ontario and was hosted by
the Youngstown Yacht Club.
Jennifer and I arrived with the boat on Sunday June 22, 2003
around 3:00pm. We quickly raised the mast and had the chief
measurer, Paul Grenauer, weigh the boat. After this was done,
Jennifer and I headed off to Buffalo for the night to enjoy the
world famous wings at the Anchor Bar.
Monday morning came around and our search for Diet Code Red
Mountain Dew began. I expressed to her that I wanted a few
bottles for the regatta and we could just stop along the way back
to Youngstown and pick some up. How wrong I was! Not a single
bottle to be found and we stopped at 7 different stores.
Exhausted and discouraged from our failed search effort, we
stopped for lunch at a little restaurant in Little Italy in
Niagara Falls. We ate some tasty hot wings and some original New
York style pizza, YUMMY! The pizza was so good Chris wrapped up
the leftovers and had them for lunch on the boat all week. After
lunch we ventured into Youngstown (population 1200 people) for one
last stab at the elusive Diet Code Red Mountain Dew. To our
surprise we found 9 bottles at the little grocery store. Off to
the boat we went and spent the day washing and waxing her, playing
with the rig, greeting old friends, and weighing ourselves in at
the registration table. Our only complaint was being saddled with
unlucky 13 for a bow number. This did not bode well for the rest
of the week. Other than this, Sue and Carol Doyle did a wonderful
job with registration and other regatta functions. We then went
in search of our hosts for the week, Judy and Dave Ellcomes. We
found our way to their house and put our luggage up just in time
to head out to old Fort Niagara for the opening ceremonies,
complete with eighteenth century looking dudes with muskets. The
password at the gate was: "Hey, let us in, we just want the beer!"
Once inside we were amazed at how well the fort was preserved and
at how beautiful the views were from it. We ate delicious
Caribbean food and listened to a band. It was great, thanks to
Beth Snyder and folks for putting that on. Jennifer and I watched
a really pretty sunset from the fort and then headed back to Crazy
Davies trailer park and resort. Once back we had a couple of
beers with Judy and Davy, and also with the trailer park loonies
from out back, Pete and Jill Welsby while we waited for Bill to
arrive.
Tuesday morning came early as we had to get Bill weighed in before
racing. We went down to the Anti-Swine, got the dew wiped off her
and rigged for racing. Skip Dieball of North Sails stopped by and
helped us get the correct rig tension and head stay length. Skip
may have been a little apprehensive about hanging out with us at
first, his brother Ernie apparently having told appalling stories
about a certain boat ride to Hooters in Bay City at the Lightning
regatta a couple of weeks before. I think Skip will be a real
asset for information to our fleet, he also won the first race of
the regatta!!!
We left the dock and were greeted by light air and a forecast that
did not look promising. After a long slow sail out to the racing
area the race committee chairman, Mark Murphy, postponed racing at
10:00am while we waited and waited and waited for wind. Some of
the braver sailors even jumped into the chilly water (naked?!) to
get relief from the sun and heat. At 1:30pm the wind started to
fill in and a sequence was under way. Just like a sailor who has
been at sea for six months the start was premature, general recall
was blasted and we finally got the start off in light air at
2:22pm. USA 838 did not have a good start and was floundering
around in the bad air of 47 other boats. After going really slow
up the first beat we rounded the weather mark 45th out of 47
boats. However slow upwind we were in the light air we seemed to
be super fast downwind in the light stuff. We routinely found
ourselves sailing lower than and just as fast as the boats around
us. Each down wind leg on Tuesday we passed boats. We ended up
34th for the first race (after fouling CAN 399), well below
expectations, but with the start we got and the poor upwind speed,
we felt it was what we deserved. Skip Dieball sailing with Chris
Howell (from Cleveland) won the first race! Team McChesney was
2nd, Team Fisher was 3rd, Team Elam was 4th, and our good buddy
from Canada Larry and Ann Huibers along with Tim Booth were 5th.
Other friends and chums of Fleet 44: Pete Welsby 9th, Susan
Turnham 15th, Scott Batchelor 16th, Peter U/Kris Zillman 18th, Tim
Gibbs 23rd, Todd Hiller 24th, Sue McDowell 26th, Chris Doyle 30th,
Lars Hansen 35th, Jane Lumbers 38th, Vic Snyder/Kevin Doyle 40th,
Peter Doyle 30th, Morgan Paxhia 43rd, Marty Jensen 44th, and Peter
Hale 47th.
Thank God! No more races were held that day. As this was the
first time USA 838 had ever left the dock without beer, we were
especially happy to see the great big flag of our title sponsor,
Volvo Heavy Equipment, as we neared their boat that threw us ice
cold beer! This was a new regatta tradition that should
definitely continue – the after racing beer barge was a real hit.
Off to the yacht club to shower up and then it was Canada night at
YYC.
Street hockey where you could pick your own team based on boats.
USA 838 team with Pete Welsby on USA 1050. We had Jennifer in
goal, Pete on the left, Bill on the right, Jill was everywhere
(Tough Cookie!) and me who just hit the other team with my stick.
Bill got pushed my some spoiled little rich bastard from the other
team and went down to the pavement. Bleeding was soon followed
and cold beer was administered. Luckily Jake Doyle and his buddy
stepped in to give us a lift, but it was too late as we were
beaten 1-0.
Team Doyle (ex-hockey players) ended up winning the tournament and
the admiration of Ann Murray and Canadians everywhere. Then it
was off to the club for Karaoke and movies. Did I mention dinner?
Back bacon sandwiches and a strange Canadian french fry dish with
cheese and gravy. Uh, err yummy! Must drink more beer!!
Wednesday morning looked to be a repeat of Tuesday. Sunny, light
winds from 245-250 and pretty smooth water. We set a spinnaker
and ran out to the course which was set about 2-3 miles out. This
was done to eliminate the possibility of local knowledge and also
to make sure we were out of the current of the Niagara River.
Race one goes off in 5-6 knots of breeze from 245 degrees. We get
a better start but soon find ourselves slow going upwind and
sailing in shitty air. We round mark one in 32nd place. Again we
found ourselves fast downwind and passed boats, only to give them
up going back up wind. The fifth beat was the worst as we gained
a lot of boats on the second run only to lose six boats in the
upper third of the beat to the finish by going right. We wound up
38th for the race. Scott Nixon and team won this race followed by
Terry Foster, Kelsem Elam, Terry Flynn (World champion along with
Paul Grenauer and Randy Borgess) and Greg Fisher in 5th. Other
friends and chums of Fleet 44: Peter U/Kris Zillman 6th, Morgan
Paxhia 7th, Chris Doyle 10th, Pete McChesney 12th, Todd Hiller
14th, Marty Jensen 15th, Scott Batchelor 16th, Lars Hansen 20th,
Vic and Kevin (and Jake) 23rd, Tim Gibbs 24th, Pete Doyle 25th,
Susan Turnham 33rd, Larry Huibers 34th, Skip Dieball 40th, Peter
Hale 41st, Pete Welsby 44th, Sue McDowell 45th, and Jane Lumbers
47th.
Race three was started right away, with the wind shifting to the
right at 275 degrees and BLOWING 4.5 knots. We got off the line
OK, but with little speed. We tried pinching the guy to weather
off and it worked but a boat from up the line came reaching
through and got us both. Oxygen masks came down and were went
slow and low up wind, again. Does anyone see the pattern here?
We rounded the first mark in 38th place. We were fast again
downhill and made up ground only to lose it upwind. The second
run saw more gains and the beat to the finish saw us pass boats
upwind for the first time all regattas. We finished 31st for the
race. Top 5: McChesney, U/Zillman, Flynn, Nick Cromwell, Ingham.
Other friends and chums of Fleet 44: Hiller 8, Hansen 9, Paxhia
10, Turnham 11, Fisher 12, Doyle/Snyder 14, Gibbs 17, Hale, 18, P.
Doyle 21, C. Doyle 22, Dieball 26, Huibers 27, Welsby 34, McDowell
36, Jensen 37, Batchelor 38, and Lumbers 40.
Race four the wind was lighter and farther right. Peter McChesney
and his crew won wire to wire for the second race in a row. USA
838 slow boat to china, brought a few beers on the boat but no
where near enough! Sharp objects were not allowed either or I am
sure they would have been used. We finished 37th for the race.
Kaiser 2, Elam 3, Fisher 4, U/Zillman 5, Huibers 9, Dieball 13, C.
Doyle 17, Doyle/Snyder 20, Paxhia 21, Hansen 22, Hale 23, Turnham
24, Hiller 25, Gibbs 27, P. Doyle 30, Flynn 31, Batchelor 33,
Welsby 39, Lumbers 41, McDowell 44, and Jensen 45.
Day two is over and we were salivating for the Volvo Beer boat!
It is at this time that I must say, "Sue Doyle you have never
looked as radiant as when you were throwing those beers to us!
And thanks for the tow to our slip." It is off to the free beer
keg, get showered up and head to Niagara Falls! The Doyle/Snyder
team got us all onto the Maid of the Mist and we rode around
underneath the falls. If you have never done this, it is a must!
Thank you to Scott, Richard, and AJ! That Jager was just the
ticket to keep the chills away! After the Maid of the Mist we
were off to dinner.
About forty of us sailors went to eat at a restaurant that Vic and
Helen Snyder told us about – a Mexican place called Cactus Jacks.
We were a little worried when we found it. It had no sign and was
a run down building. That and the fact, there was no sign of Vic!
As we walked in I swore I heard someone yelling "here kitty
kitty." That was when Vic and Helen showed up and we all sighed a
breath of relief. Pitchers of margaritas and some of the best
Mexican food we had ever tasted! We shared some stories and
laughs with the Annapolis/Chesapeake crowd. Thanks Vic and Helen!
This is where our story takes a sad twist. This morning we found
out that our host Judy’s father had passed away overnight. So
Jennifer felt it best to find another place to stay and let them
have their space to mourn. Judy and Davy were great to us and
great fun and we appreciate their hospitality. So we were off to
another house to spend the rest of the regatta. It is hard to
find one family that you seem to fit into in a new town, let alone
two. But our new hosts Maggie and John Steyn were super nice as
well! John (Pronounced Yon) had just completed the Bermuda 1-2
race. After moving into Maggie’s, we had a little ritual of a
small cocktail party each night on the deck with the Steyn’s and
the Welsby’s. That Maggie really puts the Goslings in a Dark &
Stormy!
Thursday morning, I am sure none of us wanted to be on the boat.
We were slow and frustrated. We had retuned the rig twice and
were not getting better. What happened was a super fun day to
sail that saw us make some gains. Winds were around 9 knots from
220 degrees. Greg Fisher from North Sails jumped on our boat and
sailed around for 5 minutes with us to check our tune. We had
been hoping it would be lighter for his opinion on our light air
setting, but it was an honor just the same. The race started out
in about 11 knots of breeze, we got a poor start and pooped out
the back all the way to the far right side of the beat. We felt
like a ping pong ball going up the first beat. With the wind up a
little our speed advantage downwind disappeared, but we now could
hold a lane going uphill. We made gains throughout the race both
upwind and down. On the final beat the wind went soft again, and
we went slow losing most of the boats we fought to get ahead of.
Right is bad! We wound up 40th, our throw out for the week. The
good news is our friend and buddy Chris Doyle on Elmo won this
race! Great job Chris, Tim, and Mark. Ingham 2, P. Doyle 3,
MacDonald 4, Elam 5, Fisher 6, U/Zillman 8, Hiller 9, McChesney
10, Hansen 12, Dieball 14, Flynn 15, Doyle/Snyder 17, Turnham 18,
Batchelor 19, Huibers 22, Paxhia 28, Hale 30, Gibbs 37, Welsby 38,
Jensen 44, McDowell 45, and Lumbers 46.
It was after this race that Jennifer, Bill, and I just decided to
have some fun. We all were disappointed in our results and our
inability to figure out the problems. We went back to the mast
and loosened everything up, a lot! We were using light to medium
air setting on the uppers, light air settings on the lowers, and
an extra ¾ inch of length on the forestay.
Race six started out in 12 knots of breeze, we held our lane off
the line and sailed out to the left of the course. We were to
windward of both regatta leader McChesney and Greg Fisher. We
were pretty far left and ended up being a little over stood, but
felt ok as we were holding a lane and had decent upwind speed for
the first time in the regatta. About 2/3 of the way up the beat
the boats on the right got a decent wind shift, we were coming
into the weather mark on port and had about 30 J/22s on starboard
bearing down on us. (NOW the right pays off!) We bore off onto
a reach and found a small hole and tacked into it right at the
mark, I did a poor job of steering and could not keep us from
hitting the buoy. We had to go back and reround the mark and try
to find another hole in the long line of starboard tackers. We
rounded the weather mark in 42nd giving up 9-12 places by hitting
the mark. We had a great run picking up a few boats and at the
end of the run the wind came up a bit. We had the best two beats
so far in the regatta and another good run that saw us passing
boats on every leg for the first time at this event. By the time
the race had ended the winds were now over twenty knots steady and
we went from 42nd all the way up to 26th at the finish. Not bad
after hitting the first weather mark. We felt happy that we found
some speed. Cromwell 1, MacDonald 2, C. Doyle 3, Batchelor 4,
Nixon 5, Flynn 6, McChesney 7, Hansen 8, Fisher 10, Hiller 12,
Paxhia 16, Doyle/Snyder 18, P. Doyle 20, Dieball 22, U/Zillman 28,
Jensen 34, Huibers 36, Turnham 38, McDowell 41, Hale 43, Welsby
44, Gibbs 45, and Lumbers 46.
Race seven got off after two general recalls. Mark Murphy and
crew on the race committee boats did a great job all week! We got
off the line decently only to get rolled again from a boat well up
the line footing while we were fighting to hold our lane. This
time we did not mess around and aggressively fought our way out of
the pack. We did end up out to the right but clearer air got us
to the first mark in 34th. The wind is now steady at 24-27 knots
with wind gusts higher. A big chop has settled in and boat
handling becomes an issue. I have to say this was the most wind I
had been out in on the boat and it handled well. The first run
went by fast with a couple boats broaching behind us. We had our
jets on and passed 10 boats on the first run. The next beat was
difficult because the wind was heavy, the waves getting big, and
we were overpowered. Oh, and we went right (WRONG!). We did
fight our way back and actually passed some boats on this beat, we
were a little upset because we also gave a few away again at the
very top of the beat. The next run was the fastest I have ever
gone on a J/22, we were rocking and rolling, surfing long and
hard, and passing boats. With the wind up even higher and some
wicked gusts that went nuclear we saw some really spectacular
wipeouts. Two deserve special mention: sorry Skip, but it was
cool to see! USA 1488 wiped out 6 boat lengths from the leeward
gate, hard. Showing everyone how beautiful their US Watercraft
bottom and keel is and tangling kite and jib around the stays.
Honorable mention goes to Lars Hansen, Lars and his guys wiped out
hard, but were up and back sailing with their kite in less than 30
seconds! They did not even lose a boat on the run! We rounded
the leeward gate and went on to our best finish of the regatta,
17th. We had 12 beers on the boat this day and man did they taste
good after that work out! We sailed in beating the shit out of
our new mainsail, but with huge smiles on our faces from one of
the most fun sails we’ve had on the boat. Flynn 1, Nixon 2,
MacDonald 3, P. Doyle 4, C. Doyle 5, McChesney 7, Doyle/Snyder 11,
U/Zillman 12, Fisher 13, Hansen 14, Gibbs 15, Hiller 16, Turnham
21, Batchelor 22, Paxhia 24, Hale 28, Dieball 33, Lumbers 34,
McDowell 38, Huibers 42, Jensen 44, and Welsby 45.
Off to the keg for the first time we wanted to see results. We
were getting better and the we could finally laugh about the
week. Showers back at Maggie’s and the off to a cocktail party at
one of the other hosts house, then it was dinner at the corner bar
called the Stone Jug. Or so we thought. Our gleeful selves got
caught in a phenomenon called the Maggie triangle. It is a small
area the size of most backyard decks; actually it was a backyard
deck. The triangle was formed between your drink, Maggie (our
host) and the refrigerator that held more drinks. By the time we
got cleaned up and cleaned out her liquor cabinet we had missed
the cocktail party and went straight to the Jug. Being of happier
spirits, the little biscuit and I had a few more drinks than
normal for the week and forgot to eat, but we didn’t care. Bill
was the only one of our team that remembers the food is good
mantra! On a good note we did have a beer with our original host,
crazy Davy and he said Judy was doing well.
Friday morning rolled around and I don’t recommend a Krispy Creme
donut on an empty stomach after drinking a couple of brewmylars
the night before. Wah wah wah! We sail out to the course a
little bruised and battered from the previous day and are greeted
by 4-5 footers and 17 knots of breeze. Before the racing starts
the wind increases to 20 knots. I comment that this start will be
interesting as the wind and the waves were big and the waves
especially were throwing the boats around. Just like yesterday we
were all wearing life jackets.
We got to the line a little early and looked to be jacked, pinned
to windward and not moving in huge seas is bad. Somehow we snuck
the bow down underneath the two boats to leeward and were launched
off the line! Our best start of the regatta. We held in there
and ended up in 16th at the first mark We had a fun run down wind
in the big seas and actually lost a couple of boats downwind for
the first time all regatta. Luckily we bounced back with good
speed and height and held our own and gained a couple of boats
back on the next beat. The wind was now down to 12-16 knots and
all the boats pretty much stayed the same downwind. We rounded
the leeward gate going right (WRONG) and fought our way out of it
by the time we got up to the upper third of the beat. We were
doing good but let a couple of boats get by us right at the
finish. Another good race for us finishing 20th. Nixon 1, Fisher
2, Hansen 3, Flynn 4, McChesney 5, Doyle/Snyder 8, C. Doyle 11,
Hiller 12, Batchelor 15, U/Zillman 18, P. Doyle 19, Paxhia 21,
Jensen 27, Turnham 31, Gibbs 33, Huibers 35, McDowell 39, Lumbers
41, Welsby DNS, Hale DNF. Just after the start of race eight, our
friend Peter Hale lost his mast, it snapped just above the
spreaders. Fortunately everyone is ok and Peter is hoping to have
a mast in time to get to the Tawas regatta.
Race nine the final race of the regatta. 12 knots of breeze from
245. The seas are dying as fast as the wind. Bad start, bad air,
and man am I tired. I remember thinking, shit, I should have
eaten last night. We got ponged all the way to the right and it
was WRONG! We rounded 39th. Wind is still lighting up, we have
our downhill speed thing going again and pick off a few boats.
Feeling better! We go off to the left this time and nail a couple
of little shifts, but keep digging left. It worked, in light air!
Got to the weather mark in 30th. The run was pretty much hull
speed on the J/22, no gains, no losses. Round the last leeward
gate and we see that the windward gate was favored. We dig into
our strategy of favoring the left and we are making gains. We
ended up with our best beat of the regatta, only to lose three
boats to pressure at the finish. The last race we finished 23rd.
We were happy that we could pass boats in the lighter air. Wind
up the last beat was around 6-7 knots. Fisher 1, Elam 2, Ingham
3, MacDonald 4, McChesney 5, Flynn 8, Paxhia 10, Bachelor 11, C.
Doyle 13, P. Doyle 14, Hansen 15, Gibbs 16, Huibers 20,
Doyle/Snyder 21, Hiller 24, U/Zillman 28, Turnham 32, Jensen 34,
McDowell 40, Lumbers 41.
With the racing over we had on last event – the awards gala on the
lawn at YYC. This is a great club full of great people and we
hope that more Tawas boats get to make the trip soon. Chris
Doyle, co-chairman of the regatta passed out many special awards
and trophies to the winners. Tawas Bay Yacht Club got more than
her fair share of love. Jennifer and Chris were awarded a pair of
special awards just because "Chris Doyle likes us." Thanks Chris
– we appreciated it - although we took some ribbing from other
teams wondering what they have to do to get you to like them too.
TBYC also received a YYC burgee which will be proudly displayed
over the infamous bar beginning the 4th of July. We had one more
night of drinks and sharing laughs with old and now some new
friends before heading for home Saturday morning.
Shameless plugs: I want to thank Bill and Jennifer for sailing
this regatta. These two are great competitors who hate to lose as
much as I do. I think we all feel we are better sailors than our
score indicates and wish we could have had some of that speed from
the last four races in the first five races. That said, this also
was a fleet stacked with great sailors and my congratulations to
all of them, but especially Peter and Margaret McChesney and Keith
Murphy for their win at this year's Championship! Also we want to
thank Volvo, North Sails, Waterline Systems, Quantum Sails, RCR
Yachts, VC Rigging, and all of the other sponsors who stepped up
and made this regatta possible for us sailors. Thanks also to
Chris Doyle and Vic Snyder, Sue Doyle, Helen and Beth Snyder,
Kevin and Carol Doyle, Tim Booth, Paul Grenauer and Mark Murphy.
A special thanks to Kathy Goller for getting us such great hosts!
I know we have missed a few and I apologize, but thank you!
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