by steve h » Sun May 05, 2013 10:24 pm
2013 Soak at the Oak Regatta Report
The 2013 Soak at the Oak EC12 Regatta was sailed under unseasonably chilly conditions this weekend, but the racing was hot and heavy. Saturday morning started with the Greensboro Model Yacht Club welcoming 13 skippers to breakfast at the lake, along with a stiff easterly breeze blowing parallel to the shore from 8-12. During pre-race tuning, one skipper withdrew, knowing the limits of his A-rig and light air boat, leaving us with 12 for the skippers meeting. RD Steve Helander provided a nice rectangular course, with long true upwind and downwind legs, and an upwind finish near the windward end of the course. Skippers who had B-rigs put them to good use. Boats took to the water for the first race, with Scott Vernon taking the first bullet. Chris Kakavas scored a win in heat 2, with Scott taking the bullet in heat 3. Racing was very close, with three boats getting tangled up after a very strong gust, forcing the RD to perform a rescue of a demisted boat, and another boat with a broken shroud. Repairs were made, and all soldiered on. Race 4 brought an increase in wind, and Rich Hawley surged ahead of the fleet, taking his first win after a long sailing hiatus. Dave Linville scored 3 second places in row, keeping himself near the top of the leader board. Gerry Cobley grabbed back to back bullets, followed by Dave taking the wins in heats 7 and 8. Racing in the pack was fierce with Tom Evens, Alan Morris, and first time Dixie Cup competitors Ron Small and Richard Wiley all vying for solid mid-pack finishes. The wind and waves began taking their toll on the fleet, with jib sheet failures, loss of radio contact, and two more demastings occurring. That kept the RD busy recovering boats so skippers could execute repairs. Lunch was provided by Firehouse subs, and the break allowed the fleet to dry out, repair, and tune. Gerry and Dave were tied for first with 23 points, with Tony Shoaf and Scott Vernon tied for third with 41 points. Rick Hawley was 5th with 41. The remainder of the fleet was within ten points of each other, about ten points behind 5th place.
Winds picked up even more after lunch, 12-15, gusting to 17, but still straight down the course. Starts remained clean, and skippers all battled strong winds and the occasional shift. Rick Hawley and Tony swapped first and second place finishes, with Scott, Gerry Cobley and Dave Linville grabbing the remaining heat victories of the day. Chris suffered his second demasting of the day, sustaining too much damage to continue. Every skipper scored at least one top 5 finish, and most suffered at least one DNF or DNS. Geoffrey’s boat was taking on water, and back at the hotel he discovered that the strong winds had caused a crack in the deck. He made repairs before dinner, and was watertight on Sunday.
The fleet and race staff met for dinner and conversation at Ham’s Restaurant, and had a good time socializing and bench racing while the scorekeeper tallied up the results.
Sunday morning brought temps in the high 40’s, with wind from the ENE at 12-15, forecasted to be near 20 around lunchtime. A quick skippers meeting reinforced the course and rules, and racing began. Gerry Cobley and Scott swapped victories, and Gerry took the third race of the day. Geoffrey recovered well, securing 3 solid finishes with his repaired boat. The action mid fleet rivaled those at the front, with Richard, Tom, Ron, and Alan swapping positions. Several finishes had three competitors within a couple boat lengths. Scott, Gerry Cobley, and Dave again grabbed the last heats of the day. All three saw sustained winds 15-17, with several gusts over 20. Twenty one races were run over the weekend, all remarkably clean considering the high winds. Racing concluded before the rain came. The RD ran through the finishing order, and presented the top five finishers with their trophies. Scott Vernon took his first Dixie Cup win by two points over Gerry Cobley, with Dave, Tony, and Rick Hawley rounding out the top five.
Final Results:
1. Scott Vernon (2880) 43 pts
2. Gerry Cobley (2125) 45 pts
3. Dave Linville (2099) 49 pts
4. Tony Shoaf (1347) 56 pts
5. Rick Hawley (1820) 63 pts
6. Alan Morris (2373) 109 pts
7. Tom Evens (1053) 136.2 pts
8. Ron Small (1858) 140 pts
9. Richard Wiley (1456) 146 pts
10. Chris Kakavas (2048) 151 pts
11. Jerry Fernald (1832) 155 pts
12. Geoffrey Cohen (1332) 173 pts
Greensboro Model Yacht club wants to thank those who participated in the second Soak at the Oak Regatta, and the RD gives his most sincere appreciation to the race staff. George, Glenn, Bob, Jerry, Martin, Clint, Joe, Jamie, Ron and Richard all worked very hard to make this event possible. GMYC would also like to extend an open invitation to all EC12 skippers to the 2013 Nationals in November. We look forward to hosting this event, and hope to see you all in the fall.
RD- Steve Helander
Last edited by
steve h on Mon May 06, 2013 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
#1988 and #1858...aka Frank's boat