District 5  Regatta Report

Sat Jan 15th, 2005 through Sun Jan 16th, 2005

Brown Star

 

Report by Karen Butler

The 2005 Brown Star Clinic and Regatta was held January 15th and 16th at San Diego Yacht Club. We had two beautiful clear, warm and sunny days, a much appreciated break from the past couple of weeks of relentless storms in Southern California.

In attendance was an assortment of Star regulars and new Star sailors. One team, Foss Miller and Greg Newhall, flying in from Seattle! Lawrence Ives from San Francisco (who restored 4663) and Tim Ray of Beverly Hills (new owner of 6397) coming in just for Saturday's Clinic.

Saturday's Brown Star Clinic was presented by Rick Peters and Will Stout. The morning started off with everyone meeting at the Star Hoist at 0900 for a rigging clinic presented by Rick with a little help from Will using some of the participants' boats as examples. After the lunch break Rick and Will ran an on-the-water clinic on San Diego Bay. Lawrence, Jack Fain and I were also on board.

The Fleet (except for Kyle Henehan who had to get home to set up for that evening's party) met the coach boat out on the Bay just off the entrance to Shelter Island where we had set up a windward/leeward course across the Bay. Will and Rick then shepherded the boats back and forth across the bay, coaching and taking photos of the boats upwind and downwind. Rick went aboard 7094 with new guy Angel Lopez for special instruction. With Rick back we finished up the on-the-water program with three short races in which the strong out going tide played a major part in race strategy. After putting the boats away and we met on the front deck for a wrap up discussion. Later we gathered at Kyle's home for drinks, dinner and to view the photos.

On Sunday, Rick borrowed a boat and with childhood friend Jack (a Star first timer) as crew and joined the rest out on the race course bringing the total to seven Stars. The warning signal for the first race was scheduled for 1200. Things were not looking good, the ocean looked like a mill pond, no swells and no wind, flat as a board.

The RC postponed for fifteen or twenty minutes looking for wind. The breeze filled in at a whopping three to four knots, the RC went into sequence after the Fleet informed them to just go for it! The first race was two legs in light, patchy and extremely shifty breeze oscillating right and left of 280 degrees making for very tricky conditions.

For the second race the breeze shifted right to around 320 degrees and increased in velocity to about five to six knots. With the breeze holding the RC called for a two lap course for the third race. The breeze decided not to accommodate and proceeded to dip into the one to three knot zone creating a big split in the fleet between the new guys and the regulars.

The rest of the day the wind continued to come from a more or less a 320 direction. The last two races were more in the eight knot range which encouraged the Fleet to attempt to sail in; however, by the time they neared the end of Zuniga Jetty the wind began to die and the RC had to round up all of the Stars and tow them in.

Last year's Brown Star winner, Mark Butler in 7209 was a repeat winner in 2005 with 10 points beating out Chuck Driscoll in 7570 with 12 points, Foss Miller in 7844 and Rick Peters in 8024 tied for third with 14 points with the tie breaker going to Foss. Kyle Henehan in 7932 sailing single handed finished fifth with 28 points with straight fifth places except for the last race in which he round the weather mark and continued on in while the rest continued on for another lap. The new guys rounded out the pack with Angel Lopez in 7094 with 29 points in sixth, and Norm Dewitt sailing 6942, his newly acquired Star (purchased on eBay) in seventh. It was a beautiful day on the water and although a bit more breeze earlier on would have been appreciated, everyone enjoyed themselves, and the new guys' skill level improved with each race. We hope to see more of Norm and Angel!


Star
Place Boat Skipper Crew Sail #: Fleet 1 2 3 4 5 Total
1 Francesca   Mark Butler     7209     1.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 2.0 10
2 Jamba   Chuck Driscoll     7570     2.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 12
3 Miller Time   Foss Miller     7844     4.0 4.0 1.0 4.0 1.0 14
4 8024   Rick Peters     8024     3.0 1.0 4.0 2.0 4.0 14.0001
5 Ursula   Kyle Henehan     7932     5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 8.0 [DNF] 28
6 Star   Angel Lopez     7094     6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 29
7 The Mad Cows   Norm Dewitt     32     7.0 7.0 8.0 [DNF] 7.0 6.0 35

ISCYRA Central Office
2812 Canon Street
San Diego, California 92106 USA
Phone: +1 619 222 0252
Fax: +1 619 222 0528
SKYPE: star.class.office
office@starclass.org

Star Class
Home
- ContactWebmaster

Results - Calendar - Classified Ads - History
Districts & Fleets - Rules - About - Online Store

Sign up for eStarlights...
Enter your email address in the box
below and click submit to receive
monthly updates from the Star Class.


(Starlights Newsletter Archives 2003-2010)