Penguin (9 boats) (top)
Series Standing - 5 races scored
Information
is provisional and subject to modification
Regatta results last
updated: Sunday, August 11, 2013 11:54:46 AM CDT
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The Oxford Annual regatta is Tred Avon Yacht Club’s premier sailing event with 6 different race courses running simultaneously, ranging from Opti green fleeters to Log Canoes, plus the PHRF boats including the 80’ Donnybrook. The Penguins, Lasers and Laser Radials were on one of the small boat courses under the direction of PRO Todd Kana. The competitiveness of the fleet, and difficulty of the sailing conditions resulted in five different boats winning each of the five races, and a sixth boat collecting two 2nds, the only boat to manage that. Bill Lane and Charlotte Cook sailed to a tie with Jonathan and Annie Bartlett in Saturday’s four races, matching race finishes. Martin Krafft with Molly Greenfield (in her first Penguin race) made it look easy by sailing away with the first race by capitalizing on better pressure on the right side of the second beat of the two lap windward leeward race. That was the only race where the right paid off, as the wind was stronger and the lifts were better the further left one went, in spite of the ripping ebb tide with the northerly breeze, which put the left side in more adverse current. The other issue on the race course was the leeward mark was just upwind of the starting line, and with the 5 minute starting sequence, the Laser fleet invariably was sailing upwind through the Penguin fleet, or the Penguins were catching the tail end of the Laser radial fleet, or being caught upwind by the leaders.
Sunday, the sailors were greeted with a slick cam, as an Eastern shore native would say. A few teases of wind appeared out of the east and the fleet headed out to the race course. The breeze held for the Lasers, less so for the Radials, but had pretty much shut down by the time the Penguins were half way up the first beat. David Cox rounded the weather mark with a comfortable lead, and was headed across the Tred Avon on the Olympic course. Charlie Krafft eventually rounded second, followed closely by a pack of boats including Bill Lane, Sandy McAllister (with a live crew replacing the lead he sailed with on Saturday), Jonathan Bartlett, and Martin Krafft, and Patrick Firth sailing with Hayley Crowder in her boat. The wind invariably went from being a dead run to a beat, with velocity ranging from zero to negative (remember the strong ebbing current which was transverse to this leg of the course) to maybe half a knot. The race committee decided to finish the Radials at the windward mark, but were short staffed and there was no way the Penguins were going to make it back to the windward mark in the 60 minute race time limit.
David Cox reached the gybe mark first, but was unable to get around it without tacking, as the current had swept him to leeward of it. Charlie Krafft, who had been slowly closing the gap, and with a better vantage on the effects of the setting current, managed to sail high of the mark, avoiding the need to tack on the reach and sailed past Cox at the mark and lead to the leeward mark. After some discussion with the RC, who had announced that they had finished us at the gybe mark, with no flag or RC boat on station there, it was determined that we did make it to the leeward mark within the hour time limit (possibly using a watch without a second hand). Charlie Krafft took the win in race 5, breaking a tie with David Cox. Bill Lane took third in the race which was enough to take first overall and to finally win the Classic Penguin trophy dedicated in memory of his parents William and Alice Lane (hurray for Bill), who promptly gave the first place trophy bowl and classic trophy cup to his crew – Charlotte Cook. It was great to see Penguin 9723 sailed by Charlotte and Sophie Cutts, out on the water for the second time since the boat was built some 20 years ago by their grandfather Barclay Trippe.
As always, the trophy reception at Harleigh, the home of Chip and Sally Akridge, sponsored by the Tred Avon and Chesapeake Yacht Clubs, and a small army of Harleigh and TAYC and CBYC employees, was exceptional.