TAYC 2007 Invitational

When 10 Penguins launched for the Spring Invitational at TAYC it looked as if we would end up spending the afternoon at the bar. After a wait of a long hour the breeze filled in from the southwest at about 9 knots for the first two races increasing to 12 to 14 for the last two - fine conditions for this popular regatta with no other fleets on the course.  PRO Marge Robfogel set windward leeward courses of just the right length for this first regatta of the season for 7 of the boats.

Sandy McAllister appeared with new crew April Elliott, cruised around for a bit to introduce April to the boat and left to attend to more pressing business. It’s always good to see Sandy even if he can’t stay for the fun. Monty Baker and Donna Mackenzie got Current Event wet for the first three races. Kate Carraher appeared with crew Spencer after a long hiatus to sail America and discovered she was “a little rusty”. She graciously apologized for not providing more competition. No apology necessary, Kate. Just come back. You did fine. I have personally sailed in a lot of regattas in which I thought it was an accomplishment simply to not sink. Bill Lane and Kathleen Kurtz were consistently in the middle of the fleet. If history is any guide this anomaly will not last long and we can expect some fine competition from Bill and Kathleen.

Four boats won individual races. David and Julie Cox got off to a blazing start with an easy win in the first race and a third in the second. They were consistent enough in the last two races to secure a second place overall. The other three winners  sailed without crew, a special accomplishment in the Penguin.

John Jenkins put the hammer down in the third race as did Ed Lutz in the fourth. Great boat speed for both traditional Penguins in the bigger breeze of the last two races.

Scott Williamson single handed Thunder Chicken to three fine top four finishes for third overall in his first Penguin regatta of the year. He demonstrated outstanding boat speed and handling. We hope to see more of this fine sailor.

But the day really belonged to Charlie Krafft who single handed Rockhopper and gave us all sailing lessons. With a 4,1,2 in the first three races and an apparent second in the final he had an easy win only to discover he was OCS  in the last race. An unlucky result for a very fine sailor. 

Due, no doubt, to excellent RC planning the regatta ended just before the big breeze and rain kicked in.

Thanks to PRO Marge and Kim and Sharon Corkran, Becky and Casey Firth and Steve Requardt. TAYC is an outstanding venue and we all enjoyed fine sailing and a fun social after the regatta.