Gusts and grounding in third August race
Hoopla and Dolce -- both flying spinnakers and skippered by Mark Meyer and Bob Yin, respectively -- are seen in close quarters during Wednesday's race on Little Bay de Noc. (Photo by Tyler Anthony)
Hoopla and Dolce -- both flying spinnakers and skippered by Mark Meyer and Bob Yin, respectively -- are seen in close quarters during Wednesday's race on Little Bay de Noc. (Photo by Tyler Anthony)
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LITTLE BAY DE NOC -- Wednesday’s yacht racing made for some close competition between crews as they negotiated a sudden wind shift late in the action. The winner of the spinnaker class was Lucille, skippered by Steve Harris; Wanderer, with Terry Reynold as skipper, took first in the cruising class.
A light breeze out of the south, with gusts up to 13 knots, prevailed during most of the race, which was the third in the August series. Taking advantage of those gusts, the fleet stayed rather close together on the upwind leg to the number eight buoy. Downwind from there, spinnaker boats Dolce and Hoopla dueled for the lead when Dolce moved to overtake to windward. Hoopla held its ground through the end of the leg, making for some shouts of “buoy room” -- a right for a boat to round mark on the required side, as set in the Racing Rules of Sailing -- at the turn into another upwind leg.
After 7 p.m., the winds seemingly dropped away to nothing across much of the course, although some gusts continued to sweep up and down while the wind made up its mind. In time, things settled into a gentle breeze from the north-northeast. Around then, Gallivant unwittingly grazed the bottom off Sand Point in four feet of water. Quick thinking by the crew got the vessel out into safer waters, but they had to start the engine to do so, thereby disqualifying Gallivant from the race.
The spinnaker course took sailboats from the start gate at Sand Point to Little Bay de Noc Buoy 8, back through the start gate, out to Buoy 8 again, once again through the gate, then to Escanaba Buoy 1 (near the Municipal Dock) by way of the Sand Point Crib Light, finishing through the gate at Sand Point. Cruising class boats started at the Sand Point gate before sailing out to Buoy 8, back through the gate, past the Crib Light to Buoy 1 and finishing at the Sand Point gate.
In the spinnaker class, Lucille (Steve Harris) took first place, followed by Hoopla (Mark Meyer) in second, and Dolce (Bob Yin) in third.
In the cruising class, Wanderer (Terry Reynolds) took first, with Manitu (Dave Anthony) picking up second; Gallivant (Jim Hansen) did not finish the race due to grounding close call.
The Escanaba Yacht Club’s next event will be August series race number four -- the final regular race of the year -- which begins at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The pre-race skipper’s meeting takes place at 6 p.m. at the EYC and the races are open for public entries and participation. Spectators are always invited and encouraged to watch the action from the end of Sand Point.