Post by W.F. Oliver III on Apr 2, 2002 20:17:05 GMT -5
I am just getting settled after returning home late last night, so I accept my apology for my tardy report!
Things went great for the class on its debut! After a few trials and tribulations in getting the trailer, trucks, and boats to the site, we arrived at Lake Hartwell late PM on Tuesday. The wheel bearings on my nearly new SUV seized up and left us stranded for 17 hrs+ during our second trip to Georgia!
We arose early on Wednesday am and unloaded the final Jav 2s. We began to assemble Randy's, the Brown's, the Diamonds, Tim Bowens, and Team 1 Sailing's (the one Matt and myself sailed) new F-18HTs. They went together well and the Italians got all the parts included! In fact, the only snafus was a minute gelcoat drip in Tim's port d-board well and a small chip in the Diamond's port rudder blade. Both issues were easily fixed.
By Thursday the Brown's and Team 1 were on the water for a little shake down sailing. Everything went smoothly. Several of the class members went to dinner together and good times where had by all.
On Friday morning, we finished the assembly, prepped of the boats, attended the skipper's meeting and off to the races we went. The F-18HTs were placed int the first start with the spinnaker boats (less the F-16HPs). <br>
Shortly after the start, there was a significant (~60 degrees to the right) shift. Team 1 (T1) and several of our class boats were unfortunately on the left side of the course when this occurred. Matt and myself (T1) bit the bullet and tacked to port as soon as we realized what was going on. The shift allowed several boats on the right side to fetch the mark without tacking! Randy Smyth and Tommy Gonzalas were the first boat around the mark and had established a sizable lead over T1 and the rest of the fleet. A side note-Tom Korz, sailing an A-Cat in for the first time could be heard whooping it up as he rounded the first weather mark with the lead! Go Tom!
Randy/Tommy (Smyth Team) had problems at the second mark, when Tommy slipped off the boat. Amazingly, Randy was able to recover the boat from near capsize and retrieve Tommy very quickly, however T1 and Kevin Smith and Rundell Curtis (USA-1) slipped by. It was now a two boat race for the lead of the entire spinnaker fleet between the F-18HTs of T1 and USA-1. T1 edged out USA-1 by seconds for a F-18HT sweep of the spinnaker start (Randy/Tommy were third).
Race 2 was a little more straight forward and the wind settled in. The Smyth Team and T1 battled tightly with one another with USA-1 in hot pursuit. The Browns and Diamonds also were closer to the front of the 2nd race and were figuring out the boat with every passing manuver. Remember, most of the fleet had not even sailed their boats prior to the first race! Also, most had not ever sailed a lightweight uni like the A-Cats. These factors did not prevent the entire F-18HT fleet from establishing themselves near the front of the pack! Race 2 ended in another 1,2,3 sweep of the spin class by the F-18HTs!
Friday PM was Chinese Dinner night and everyone enjoyed themselves. We met up with Carl Roberts and again had a great time! Remember, food is very important to me!
See the next post for the rest of my post.............
Things went great for the class on its debut! After a few trials and tribulations in getting the trailer, trucks, and boats to the site, we arrived at Lake Hartwell late PM on Tuesday. The wheel bearings on my nearly new SUV seized up and left us stranded for 17 hrs+ during our second trip to Georgia!
We arose early on Wednesday am and unloaded the final Jav 2s. We began to assemble Randy's, the Brown's, the Diamonds, Tim Bowens, and Team 1 Sailing's (the one Matt and myself sailed) new F-18HTs. They went together well and the Italians got all the parts included! In fact, the only snafus was a minute gelcoat drip in Tim's port d-board well and a small chip in the Diamond's port rudder blade. Both issues were easily fixed.
By Thursday the Brown's and Team 1 were on the water for a little shake down sailing. Everything went smoothly. Several of the class members went to dinner together and good times where had by all.
On Friday morning, we finished the assembly, prepped of the boats, attended the skipper's meeting and off to the races we went. The F-18HTs were placed int the first start with the spinnaker boats (less the F-16HPs). <br>
Shortly after the start, there was a significant (~60 degrees to the right) shift. Team 1 (T1) and several of our class boats were unfortunately on the left side of the course when this occurred. Matt and myself (T1) bit the bullet and tacked to port as soon as we realized what was going on. The shift allowed several boats on the right side to fetch the mark without tacking! Randy Smyth and Tommy Gonzalas were the first boat around the mark and had established a sizable lead over T1 and the rest of the fleet. A side note-Tom Korz, sailing an A-Cat in for the first time could be heard whooping it up as he rounded the first weather mark with the lead! Go Tom!
Randy/Tommy (Smyth Team) had problems at the second mark, when Tommy slipped off the boat. Amazingly, Randy was able to recover the boat from near capsize and retrieve Tommy very quickly, however T1 and Kevin Smith and Rundell Curtis (USA-1) slipped by. It was now a two boat race for the lead of the entire spinnaker fleet between the F-18HTs of T1 and USA-1. T1 edged out USA-1 by seconds for a F-18HT sweep of the spinnaker start (Randy/Tommy were third).
Race 2 was a little more straight forward and the wind settled in. The Smyth Team and T1 battled tightly with one another with USA-1 in hot pursuit. The Browns and Diamonds also were closer to the front of the 2nd race and were figuring out the boat with every passing manuver. Remember, most of the fleet had not even sailed their boats prior to the first race! Also, most had not ever sailed a lightweight uni like the A-Cats. These factors did not prevent the entire F-18HT fleet from establishing themselves near the front of the pack! Race 2 ended in another 1,2,3 sweep of the spin class by the F-18HTs!
Friday PM was Chinese Dinner night and everyone enjoyed themselves. We met up with Carl Roberts and again had a great time! Remember, food is very important to me!
See the next post for the rest of my post.............