Blog neglect & the 2007 LOCCR & NA

Six owners + three 235's= good time!
I am guilty of blog neglect! I have a insane work schedule which kept me from sailing as much as I would have liked.
We had a great LOCCR & North American Championship for the First235 this summer. It was held at Crescent Yacht Club July 21 & 22 2007.
It was most likely the largest gathering of 235 owners ever!
I will try to get all the pics up from the event over the next few days.




Here is a race by race review of what we saw on the RC boats last weekend.
Day 1
Race 1:
Practice hits the line perfectly with one minute until the start and proceeds up the course. After recall and restart, Scott covers all lost ground by making the most of the shifty conditions. Practice tacked just inside of 4-play at the top mark, but 4-play is moving faster and rolls Practice back as they round the mark. On the downwind leg, Pandora passes both, and is leading at the bottom mark. On the next windward leg, Practice heads to the left, for more pressure and the lead, 4-play narrowly crosses Pandora on port tack to regain a position, with Pandora in third. Practice stretches out to win by 2:15, Pandora passes 4 play just at the finish to take second by 2 feet.
Race 2:
All start close, but Practice is leading toward the top mark. Pandora on the right, benefits from a right shift and is lifted to the mark ahead of Practice, with 4-play in third. No passing on the first downwind leg, with Pandora still in the lead, but Practice right on her transom with 4-play in third. On the third leg, the breeze builds and Pandora builds her lead. 4-play's amazingly blown out main is actually an advantage, as it depowers and lets the boat climb as the other two slip sideways in the stiffer breeze. Pandora remains in first, 4-play passes for second and Practice is in third. The last leg saw some excitement as Practice began to roll 4-play and 4-play takes her to (the moon, the prom, the mall, you know, way up) 4-play is successful in defending as Practice eventually jibes away. Pandora wins by 32 seconds, 4-play second by 31 and then practice. Between Races 2 and 3, it is still early in the day, with good wind, but the courses have been short because of the wind direction and the geography of the bay. RC decides to add one more sausage to the last race of the day.
Race 3:
All start equally late (heh) with 4-play at the committee boat end, Pandora near the pin, and Practice lee-bows Pandora just inside the pin, comes up beneath and forces Pandora away. Practice and 4-play continue out to the left while Pandora heads out to the right. They cross tacks and Practice and 4-play stay in phase while Pandora does the opposite (rebel). At the first mark it is Practice followed by 4-play and Pandora. No change at the second, third or fourth marks. Pandora passes 4-play during the last upwind leg, as the wind is dropping. Practice wins by 1:07, Pandora next with 4-play third.
Day 2 the distance race.
The forecast is NE winds under 10kts, shifting to West under 10 for the east end of the lake. The course was set for about 16 miles of fun. The wind was shifty and dying out of the NE which looked to be good news (it wasn't) Normally, it will come in out of the new direction and build to the high end of the forecast in our bay, with the assistance of the funnel effect in the bay and the thermal induction. The AP went up at 10 am, but at 1030, the breeze began to build from the west, and the start was at 1040. 4-play went for the local knowledge, bang the Point Salubrious shoreline, Practice headed for what looked like more wind to the right, and Pandora was stalled at the line. A little while after the start, 4-play was looking good on the left, Practice had found a hole to the right, and Pandora had found another hole to the right. The wind was getting spotty, but still passable, as the RC rolled out the headsail and chased the competitors around. Then the wind really went soft. After some drifting, the RC notified the competitors that a mark would be dropped somewhere near the rhumb line of the original course. Unfortunately for Pandora, the Rhumb line was about a mile away and on the other side of the island. 4-play's furtive plea to have the race end at that mark was ignored (nice try though, but it was just past 1200) They would continue back to the CYC dock to finish. At the mark, 4-play first, Practice a couple minutes back in second, Pandora third. I'm not sure how Practice passed 4-play, but by the time Pandora had rounded, and the mark was retrieved, she had. The wind tried to come back from the NE, and at times was successful, but just as often just died again.

Practice finished at 15:06:03
4-play 15:31:41
Pandora 15:43:56

Results Practice 1 3 1 1 =6
Pandora 2 1 2 3 =8
4-play 3 2 3 2 =10


Thanks to the race committee: Jack (Dad), Peter on the markboat, and Amy on Sunday...it was her suggestion to follow the fleet to make sure the wind held. Thanks to Keith, Al, Lawrence, Scott, and Jon (and Fro) for making their respective trips. I hope CYC can host you again, soon. And congratulations to Scott on a well sailed regatta.

Dan