District 12  Regatta Report

Sat Aug 6th, 2005 through Sun Aug 7th, 2005

Regatta Base

2005 Lake Sunapee Open

 

Report by Magnus Liljedahl:

Report by Brad Nichol:
This year's Lake Sunapee Open was blessed with perfect weather and enough wind to get off the three scheduled races over the weekend. Notable attendees included the Secretary of the International Star Class John Chiarella, Vice President of the Western Hemisphere Claude Bonani, America's Cup tactician for the Prada syndicate and top ranked US Sailing Team Member Andy Horton, and Olympic Gold medalist Magnus Liljedahl among others.

Saturday saw a nice northeasterly at 10-12 knots in the morning and the traditional shifty conditions you would expect on a mountain lake. Race one kicked off on a course three (windward-leeward, five legs) that many people thought would lend itself to a right side favored weather leg. The left side paid well throughout the race and Sam Rowse sailing with Magnus Liljedahl in his brand new boat took first followed by Andy Ivey and Tommy Nunez while Andy Horton and Brad Nichol came from eighth at the last mark to finish third.

The wind shut off as the second race started and filled in from the right about one minute after the start. The race turned out to be a lesson in patience as the wind shut off and filled in a number of times. The key was to keep the boat moving in the lulls and not get stopped by boat waves. Andy Horton and Brad Nichol did this masterfully mounting a large lead and carrying it to the finish.

Saturday night the Lake Sunapee Star Fleet hosted their World Famous Steak Dinner. The fleet members, friends, and families did a wonderful job as usual putting on a great meal and everyone in attendance brought home party favors sponsored by Bacardi.

Sunday did not look promising when the sailors arrived at the club but by 1pm the wind had filled out of the southwest and everyone headed out for the final race. It took two general recalls to get the aggressive fleet off the line. Tricky conditions prevailed and the sailors had to figure out if the wind would prevail from the west over harbor hill or be funneled down the lake from the south. Protecting the right and sailing toward the pressure turned out to be the dominant strategy and Horton and Nichol again showed what a year of practice can do finishing first followed by Claud Bonani sailing with Richard Burgess and Mike Feeney close behind in third.

In the end, consistency proved invaluable in the tricky conditions. Andy Horton finished first followed by Ron Sandstrum who has won the Open more than any other sailor, and local hero Andy Ivey finished third.

-------------------------

Report from the Lake Sunapee Open by Magnus Liljedahl
The Lake Sunapee Open took place during the sunny but not very windy weekend of August 6 – 7. Despite the challenging conditions, the race committee did a great job and was able to run all the three scheduled races. This was my second trip to this absolute paradise, located in New Hampshire, about 1-1/2 hour NW of Boston. How incredible is it to be able to drink the water you are sailing in? Lake Sunapee is something else!

The more that I race sail boats on lakes, the more convinced I become that it is one of the best ways to learn and practice sailboat racing. One has to really master the art of shifting gear in shifty conditions. Waves build quickly and powerboat traffic can really mess you up. It can be very frustrating a lot of times, and no lead is big enough, but there is always a chance for a comeback during the course of a race. Some of the world’s best sailors grew up sailing on lakes. It ought to tell us something and like always, the best team wins. This time around it was the top ranked US team of Andy “Hot-Rod” Horton and Brad “Ace” Nichol, not only to win, but also dominated in their pursuit.

My skipper and host for the event was local resident, Sam Rowes. It was the first regatta for his brand new Follie star # 8231. It is a beauty. We had a miserable start in the first race, which usually is a bad thing in a sailboat race, but on a shifty lake it has lesser significance. We played the left side and rounded the first weather mark, of the double sausage course, in sixth. We had some great sailors ahead of us; among them were Andrew Ivey/Tom Nunez, Ron Sandstrom/Steve Braverman and Susie Pagel/Tom George. On the final up-wind leg we were the furthest boat to the left and while the leaders sailed into a big “hole”, we cruised right around them for the win. Later that night at the regatta dinner someone said: "Shame on you Sam!"

It didn’t take long for “mother luck” to put us back in reality. We had a great “smoking” start in the second race and rounded to the weather mark in good shape, but lost big at the bottom of both runs. “Hot-Rod” and “Ace”, who arrived to Lake Sunapee early on Saturday morning had obviously woke up and demolished the fleet with a 3-1/2 minute victory margin. Rick and Clark Dhein finished in second, while Barbara “Queen” Vosbury and veteran crew Bruce Hatfield, took third.

The Saturday night buffet was incredible. The Bacardi sponsored bar was much welcomed and the Star fraternity was at its best. How extraordinary is it to have someone like the 92 year-old Emil Karlovsky racing against you? Or how about legends like Ian Bruce? Thirty teams in total were present. Much improved Fotis Boliakis was there and so was the team of Claude Bonanni/Rick Burgess, the Vice President of the Western Hemisphere and the Chairman of the International Governing Committee, respectively.

Sunday morning was flat calm. The outlook was dim with no breeze in sight. I spend the morning hanging out at Sam’s waterfront pad, swimming and enjoying the breathtaking view of Mount Sunapee with surroundings. By the time we arrived to the yacht club, to all of ours surprise, the wind had picked-up and we headed out for race #3.

There was a number of general re-calls and postponements, but the race committee got the job done. Ron Sandstrom/Steve Braverman the early lead, but the #1 team grinded them down and went on to win by another big margin. Mike Feeney and Rob Bowers sailed smart and crossed the line in third. Sam and I struggled but made a great recovery on the last beat to finish 10th in the race. At the awards ceremony, “Hot-Rod” said: “I’m not sure that we have ever sailed around with the jib car that far out-board. It seemed like we were footing around the race course, chasing the next puff, all the time”. In my mind that is a great lesson for everyone. Let’s try it sometime.

Many thanks to the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club, Dave Cook and John Chiarella, for putting together a great event. See you next year.


Star
Place Boat Skipper Crew Sail #: Fleet 1 2 3 Total
1 8156   Andy Horton   Brad Nichol   8156   NB   3.0 1.0 1.0 5
2 Poison   Andrew Ivey   Nunez   7830   Sun   2.0 4.0 7.0 13
3 Turnip Truck   Ronald Sandstrom   Steve Braverman   7468   BH   5.0 8.0 2.0 15
4 My Horse III   Richard Dhein   Dhein   8013   LG   14.0 2.0 8.0 24
5 Ruffian III   Susie Pagel   George   7982   WH   4.0 5.0 17.0 26
6 Kalypso   Scott Rosen   Stoe   7101   BH   8.0 12.0 6.0 26.0001
7 Ice Blue   Barbara Vosbury   Hatfield   7425   AN   12.0 3.0 12.0 27
8 Don't Look Back   Edenbach   Christiansen   8052   BH   7.0 7.0 13.0 27.0001
9 Golden Delicious   Samuel Rowse   Magnus Liljedahl   7639   Sun   1.0 18.0 10.0 29
10 7833   Claude Bonanni   Rick Burgess   7833   TaB   20.0 6.0 4.0 30
11 6585   Beckman   Nolin   6585     10.0 9.0 14.0 33
12 7927   David Ivey Sr   Meyer   7927   Sun   18.0 22.0 5.0 45
13 Sonya   John Chiarella   Carson   8083   Sun   13.0 10.0 22.0 45.0001
14 Rebel   Nathaniel Cook   Black   7192   Sun   6.0 20.0 21.0 47
15 7628   Michael Feeney   Bowers   7628   Sun   16.0 30.0 3.0 49
16 7952   Bacbeau   Richard   7952     24.0 16.0 9.0 49.0001
17 Footsteps   De La Porte   Vranderick   6997   Q   21.0 13.0 15.0 49.0002
18 7890   Gurney   Gotsulyak   7890   CLIS   11.0 15.0 24.0 50
19 Summer Sleigh Ride   Richard Atkinson   Nichol   7835   Sun   9.0 17.0 26.0 52
20 Sutter's Mill   Fotis Boliakis   Dayton   7763   CLIS   25.0 11.0 18.0 54
21 7731   David Cook   Wood   7731   Sun   19.0 24.0 11.0 54.0001
22 6831   Duane Delfosse   Skarin   6831   Sun   17.0 25.0 16.0 58
23 Sunlight Express   Joseph Goodnough   Leavitt   6979   Sun   23.0 19.0 19.0 61
24 6756   William Hendershot   Foucseau   6756   Q   15.0 23.0 25.0 63
25 Dearest Friend   William Farrar   Gottling   8099   Sun   29.0 14.0 23.0 66
26 Trojka   Emil Karlovsky   Schutz   7554   Mid   26.0 21.0 20.0 67
27 7497   Kris Wilson   Bud Elsaesser   7497   AN   22.0 28.0 31.0 [DNC] 81
28 6633   Bruce   Farmer   6633     28.0 26.0 31.0 [DNC] 85
29 7940   Philippe Hofer   Mascot   7940   Q   27.0 29.0 31.0 [DNC] 87
30 7009   Miller   Winthrop   7009     30.0 27.0 31.0 [DNC] 88

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