Lake Crabtree Open

A beautiful fall foliage backdrop provided a scenic view for high school racing at Lake Crabtree in Cary, NC. Seven teams of sailors represented A and B divisions. The morning began with a frigid 29 degrees and ice filled sailboats warming to a mere 41 degrees when racing began. Since “safety first” is always a priority in sailing, sailors were asked to gear up for the conditions. Wind projections could not have been more off for the day, projecting 8-12 from the NNE. It was actually 0-6 knots from every direction on the compass.

Starting off the day, race 1A proved to be very interesting. As the entire fleet headed off to the left of the course beating to weather, one sailor headed right thinking a wind puff would hit him at just the right time. At that moment, the universe was not in sync with him. Now, trailing way behind, he watched one boat after another “follow the leader” leaving the leeward mark to starboard. One team even convinced another team that was about to round the mark correctly that they were making a mistake. Succumbing to peer pressure, they changed course at the last second and rounded incorrectly. Now, comes the studious sailor that went off to the right seen grinning half way down the leg. He had read the SI’s and had his crew pull them out to verify what he knew, the mark should be left to port! Every boat in 1A rounded the leeward mark to starboard except for this studious sailor. In the end, he was the only boat to finish that race correctly with every other boat being DSQ. Lesson learned, “Read the SI’s”!

A visual highlight of the day was Judge Jerry at the bow of the pin boat hanging on to the bow line as if he was driving a sleigh. Kids, this man has mad skills. Do not try this at home! Later in the day, the pin boat gave a quick free Uber ride to shore for an RC bathroom break during a rotation.

At one point during the regatta, oscillations were up to 180 degrees. The course was quickly reset between each race. The biggest challenge arose during race 3A when two postponements were called during sequence. On the third try, the course at the horn was set for a perfect downwind start per approval from US Sailing Judge Jerry when virtually the entire fleet was OCS. After a general recall, going for the fourth start of that race, the sailors were prepared and ready to go for it. Now, the winds had died down and RC was focused on getting the required six races completed. After a wind shift to the south, a tornadic event caused the parts boat to capsize at the dock raising extreme concern with the coaches. Winds shifted again while B division came out to complete their third race in light air fulfilling the regatta requirement. Winds were steady enough to attempt a fourth race for B division, knowing it could be thrown out if the final A division race was not completed. If all else fails, “TRY!” RC quickly towed stragglers back in and substitutions back out to the course. Miraculously, this enabled the course to stay set exactly the same for the A division to get in their fourth and final WD race for the day.

As was stressed in the Competitor’s meeting, winning is not important. Being a Corinthian, sailing fair, doing your circles and most Importantly having FUN is top priority! There were no formal protests during the regatta. The evening ended with dinner and excited chatter about the day's activities. Until next year...

The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.

The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.