Gibson Island Yacht Squadron Penguin Frostbite
Lawson Rum Bucket
November 21, 2015
Nine Penguin teams competed in the 2015 Rum Bucket hosted by the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron. A cool and relatively stiff easterly breeze with frothy white caps on the Bay greeted sailors as they arrived, however the water in the harbor was smooth and it warmed up to the low 50’s so the sailing was quite pleasant. After a one lap windward leeward which took all of 11 minutes, PRO Peter Jost doubled the laps for races 2 and 3. Bill Lawson took race 1, followed by Bob Lippincott and Scott Williamson. Bob Lippincott took race 2, followed by Bill Lawson. The wind shifted towards the south a bit, as predicted. For race 3, between the windshift and the competitive fleet, there were two general recalls before the committee hoisted the virtual I-flag. During the race, the wind lightened considerably, which caused the race committee to go back to one lap for the subsequent races. In race 4, John Majane showed some light air magic, and nearly won the race, finishing a close second. In race 5, it was Scott Williamson who started at the favored pin end of the line, lead around the course, and took the bullet. By race 6, the wind shifted momentarily towards the north (so much for the forecast), making the weather mark a fetch from the pin, however the wind eventually shifted back to the east. Charlie Krafft sailing with Donna McKenzie held off a strong challenge by Bill Lawson, finishing just ahead at the favored committee boat end of the line, while Bill was sailing in much better pressure, but finished at the pin end. After the scoring was completed, and tiebreakers figured out, the top three were merely one point apart. Chris Conway and son Chase showed great consistency in the usual Gibson Island variable conditions with shifts, puffs, and holes that appear and disappear, often without reason, finishing 5th in each of the first four races, but ending up 6th overall. Jonathan Phillips and his wife Bethany borrowed the Class owned boat and were often near the front of the fleet. Bethany uploaded some Go-Pro camera footage to youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZbPOpFI_0w
Amy Krafft, sailing with Stephanie Gajar finished 8th, and Carl Langkammerer, sailing solo this week in his newly refurbished Wright Penguin, found the going a little more difficult without crew, but still managed a good finish in race 3, and was always close to the closely packed fleet.
After racing the Lawson trailer became party central, with hot chili, hot cider, and homemade cornbread by Amy Krafft to warm and nourish the sailors. Trophies were awarded in the newly renovated temporary clubhouse, with a round of drinks offered by a GIYS member. Special thanks to Joe Fernon for once again, bringing his lapstrake skiff, Rattie, and serving as a mark boat. Given the continually shifting breeze, he was kept busy.
This was a great turnout, up from 4, 6 , and 5 in the previous three years. Our Gibson Island hosts couldn’t have been more congenial and our sincere thanks go out to them.
|
Boat |
Skipper |
Crew |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Total* |
|
9478 |
Charles Krafft |
Donna McKenzie |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
10 |
|
9677 |
Bill Lawson |
Colette Preis |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
11 |
|
9664 |
Bob Lippincott |
Hayden Gibbons-Neff |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
11 |
|
7703 |
Scott Williamson |
|
3 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
19 |
|
5282 |
John Majane |
|
7 |
8 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
22 |
|
9657 |
Chris Conway |
Chase Conway |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
26 |
|
9575 |
Jonathan Phillips |
Bethany Phillips |
6 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
30 |
|
9676 |
Amy Krafft |
Stephanie Gajar |
8 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
39 |
|
8241 |
Carl Langkammerer |
|
9 |
9 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
9 |
40 |
X indicates throw-out race for scoring