The Solution to Low Participation in Regattas
Are you tired of hearing about regattas with very low turnout? Well, Encinal Yacht Club (EYC) has solved the problem. All you have to do is have a fun regatta in an awesome, easy-to-get-to place with great boats. EYC did just that when they hosted another Alameda One Design Regatta on Saturday, Nov. 15, for the newly formed San Francisco Bay Harbor 20 Fleet #10 and the local Columbia 5.5 Meter class.
The Harbor 20 fleet was just formed a month ago with seven boats. It has already grown to eight, with more to come soon. All eight boats in our fleet showed up for a great day on the water that was dominated by Drew Hess and PJ.
You can’t really say that PJ was crew on Drew’s boat because they traded off skippering. It didn’t seem to matter who was driving, because they won four of the five races by sailing fast and staying away from the crowds. The only race they did not win was taken by Mike Bishop with Gerard Sheridan crewing. Mike had won the last Alameda One Design regatta but ended up a close fourth this time, which is a testament to the close racing all day.
Second in the Harbor 20 fleet were Jon Andron and Chris Boome, who were only one point ahead of Rebecca Hinden and her dad Bob in third.
The beautiful Columbia 5.5s had three different race winners. Coming out on top with two of the wins was Ken Bodiley and his crew of Drew Guay and Brendan McNally. They ended up four points ahead of Ryan Nelson, who also had two wins. Ryan sails with his two sons Wallace (age 11) on jib trim, and Thomas (age 14), who steers downwind while Ryan plays with the spinnaker. The other win went to Chris Davis and his crew of Volker Frank and Stephanie Wilson, ending up two points behind Ryan to take third in the six-boat 5.5 fleet.
The awesome race committee worked overtime because during the day the wind shifted from west to south. Regardless, they kept getting the marks and the starting line organized very quickly so we were able to complete all five races before the 3:30 cutoff time. This allowed everyone to join up at EYC for some nice social time. Many thanks to PRO Bryan Aamot, recorder Anne Aldridge, and vice commodore Mike DiBella, who were very busy all day moving marks.