Rock Hall Yahct Club – Hard Rock Masters Regatta

Rock Hall Yahct Club – Hard Rock Masters Regatta
September 23rd, 2006
15 boats participated in the RHYC Hard Rock Masters Regatta this past Saturday and once again Rock Hall put together a great event. The forecast had been calling for a solid 20 knots of breeze with gusts to 30 knots, which no-doubt put a hamper on attendance. At the crack of dawn Saturday morning I shamelessly pulled out my radial rig (heavy air insurance policy) and headed for Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When I arrived I wasn’t surprised to hear the big topic of discussion being which rig folks were going to use – full, radial, or 4.7. You see, in Laser masters sailing you can pick any one you want without penalty.
I was kindly reminded by a number of more senior folks that at 38 years old and 170 pounds, I might as well head home with my tail between my legs if I was going to even consider using a radial rig; being the youngest in the group I better suck it up and deal with it. That being established I got ready to go racing.
I’m never a good judge of what the breeze is actually blowing, but I would guess that at the start of the first race we were up against a good 18 knots of breeze. A few boats flipped during pre-start maneuvering, but for the most part everyone was under control. The race committee had set up a fairly long windward-leeward-windward course that kept up busy for about 45 minutes. Mike Schmidt (Magothy River SA) showed exceptional speed and agility and ran away with the first race. Race two was again a breezy one and a few new faces started to show up at the front of the fleet. Chris Fisher (West River SC) had the wheels rolling really well upwind, as did Nicholas Place (Rock Hall YC) with both finishing 3rd or 4th , and Schmidt again taking 1st place.
About halfway up the first beat in race 3 the wind started to drop off – though the results were still the same with Schmidt taking 1st place, followed by Ted Morgan (Severn Sailing) in 2nd. At the start of race 4 the breeze had dropped to below 10 knots. Shifting gears was critical at this point. Morgan was able to pull into the lead downwind to take the gun. After 4 hours of sailing the race committee decided to call it a day. They had done a fantastic job! Mike Schmidt won the regatta for what I believe was the 3rd time. Congratulations Mike for sailing flawlessly. Nice job!
Others notables in attendance included Roger Link (West River SC), Rich Parolski (Rock Hall YC via Ocean City, MD), Robert Danforth (Potomac River SA), Jane Schmidt (Magoth River SA), Jim Knab (Cooper River), Richard Plunkett (Marsh Creek SC), and Bob Tan (Severn Sailing). My apologies for not listing everyone – I’m getting old and don’t have the results sheet memorized.
Several folks used radial rigs and for the most part I would agree that it was clearly the right choice, especially given the forecast. Upwind in breeze over 15 knots these folks had very good speed regardless of whether they weighed 150 pounds or 180 pounds. Downwind they suffered a little bit from a lack of horsepower – especially the bigger folks.
On a side note, the other neat trick about masters sailing is the scoring system. Essentially it handicaps racing based on your age. The younger you are, the more points you get added to your score. If you are an apprentice (35-44) add 3 points to your finish in each race. If you are a master (45-54) add 2 point to your finish in each race. Grand masters (55-64) get 1 point added and great grand masters (65+) are fortunate enough not to have any points added to their scores.
It’s a great system for leveling the playing field. If you haven’t participated in a masters event, consider adding one to your regatta schedule in 2007.
Overall results:
1. Mike Schmidt (M) 16 points
2. Ted Morgan (A) 19 points
3. Nicholas Place (M)
1st Female – Jane Schmidt
1st Grand Master (55-64) – Terry Clarence 31 points
1st Master (45-54) – Mike Schmidt 16 points
1st Apprentice (35-44) – Ted Morgan 19 points
Complete results should be posted shortly at http://www.rockhallyc.org/Results.htm
Past Winners:
2006 – Mike Schmidt
2005 – Mike Schmidt
2004 – John MacCausland
2003 – Terry Clarence
2002 -
2001 -
2000 – Mike Waters
1999 – Mike Schmidt
1998 – John Wright