2005 4th District Championships

Place Boat Skipper Crew Fleet 1 2 3 4 5 Total 1 8077   Tom Londrigan Jr   Chris Wallner   LS   3.0 7.0 5.0 1.0 1.0 10 2 7636   Brad Downen   Gill Cole   LS   8.0 8.0 1.0 4.0 3.0 16 3 7933   Mark Lewis   Mike Londrigan   LS   5.0 11.0 4.0 5.0 2.0 16 4 8175   Jim Babel   Bill Hawk   GL   1.0 10.0 2.0 16.0 7.0 20 5 7618   Joe Londrigan   David Caesar   LS   2.0 2.0 9.0 8.0 22.0 [DNF] 21 6 8036   Jack Rickard   John Corrigan   WH   7.0 9.0 7.0 6.0 4.0 24 7 8214   Jon Vandermolen   Steve Ticknor   GL   4.0 1.0 10.0 13.0 11.0 26 8 8217   Todd Gay   Jon Klerk   LS   12.0 14.0 6.0 3.0 5.0 26 9 8168   Jim Vandermolen   Mike Wolfs   GL   9.0 3.0 13.0 7.0 8.0 27 10 7739   Roger Turner   Tom Belco   GL   6.0 4.0 8.0 14.0 16.0 32 11 7634   Jeff Schaefer   Matt Pederson   GLW   15.0 13.0 3.0 2.0 15.0 33 12 8111   Rick Brethorst   Bob Carson   LS   22.0 [DNF] 6.0 16.0 9.0 6.0 37 13 7814   George Preckwinkle   Linda Preckwinkle   LS   17.0 5.0 19.0 10.0 13.0 45 14 7602   Pat Londrigan   Ashley Boeyan   LS   11.0 15.0 11.0 17.0 9.0 46 15 7078   Rick Rundle   Carson Menges   JP   10.0 20.0 17.0 11.0 12.0 50 16 7309   Mike Wysockey   Andrew Barber   WH   22.0 [DNF] 12.0 15.0 15.0 10.0 52 17 8017   LJ Powell   Mike Reisinger   LS   13.0 16.0 18.0 12.0 14.0 55 18 7533   Al Covington   Andrew Wise   IR   22.0 [DNF] 17.0 14.0 19.0 18.0 68 19 8015   Tom Londrigan Sr   Larry Sweat   LS   14.0 19.0 22.0 [DNS] 18.0 19.0 70 20 7986   Bill Allen   Brad Lichter   WH   22.0 [DNF] 18.0 12.0 22.0 [DNS] 22.0 [DNS] 74 21 7664   Michael Pick   Jim Wise   LS   16.0 21.0 20.0 22.0 [DNF] 17.0 74

2005  4th District Championship

Report by Tom Londrigan Jr. 

The 4^th District Championship was held July 8, 9, and 10^th on Lake Springfield.  The weather did not cooperate.  Tropical Storm Cindy just finished making sweet love to the State of Florida when Hurricane Dennis cut in and ravaged her mercilessly.  In the Midwest, the weather was much more prudish; sunny skies, 90 degree temperature, and no wind.  The lovemaking in the South only served to stall out the high pressure and staid attitude over Lake Springfield.

 On Friday, the wind tried to get it up early in the morning but became listless and impotent by the afternoon; probably too much caffeine.  We sailed one race.  Chris Wallner and I were winning with a nice cushion when the wind stopped and we set up an impromptu parking lot in the middle of the lake.  Joe Londrigan/Dave Caesar and Jim Babel/Bill Hawk slithered over to the shoreline and slid around the fleet and then the leeward mark.  The next two legs included more of the same and Jim Babel and Bill Hawk staked their claim for their first Blue Star with Joe Londrigan and Dave Caesar in second, Chris and I in third, and then Jon VanderMolen/Steve Ticknor in fourth.  

Friday night most of us played Texas hold’em poker for prizes donated by stargear.net.  However, Jim VanderMolen was lamenting his difficulty sailing in light wind when Mike Wolfs suggested that they get in a little more practice, it was eight in the evening.  While we were playing poker, we watched Jim and Mike float backwards.  The sailors had a lot of fun but the women (most of the big winners) were less than excited about bidding on jib sheets and sailing gloves.  Later that night, Rick Brethorst was having difficulty keeping his balance while sleeping.  Finally, Rene Brethorst dutifully asked if he was okay.  Rick moaned, “I need help, please help me Rene.”  Rene rolled her eyes, thought of the wonderful poker prizes, arose and delivered a bucket to Rick to help soothe his misery.  Rick needed more than a bucket. 

 Saturday brought the same weather.  The first race included many of the same fits and starts but the race was on.  Jon VanderMolen and Steve Ticknor raced to a huge lead and perfected the “connect-the-dots” routine necessary to stay in the breeze.  The first leeward mark provided some colorful debate.  Ten boats on a dead run were overlapped.  The second boat on the pinwheel, Pat Londrigan/Ashley Boeyen, positioned their bow over brother Joe Londrigan/Dave Caesar’s mainsheet.  The inside boat rounded and sailed on, the rest of us continued to sail past the mark.  We kept going and going. 

 Some of us on the pinwheel casually wondered why Pat and Ashley had chosen not to round the mark.  Joe and Dave were a little more expressive and Mike Wysockey was down right clear in his concern.  Pat’s only response was, “it is what it is.”  In the end, a similar pack of (now, quite friendly) ten boats crossed the leeward finish line overlapped again.  Joe Londrigan and Dave Caesar seemed to will their boat across the line inches ahead of the rest to finish second.   As, Babel and Hawk were nowhere to be found and Chris and I were seventh, it seemed that a race between Joe Londrigan/Dave Caesar and Jon VanderMolen/Steve Ticknor was brewing.

 We waited at the harbor and a couple hours later we tried to get in the third race.  The wind was much better but still spotty and the fleet was stretched out over a full leg.  Going into the last leg Jeff Schafer/Matt Peterson were defending a lead with Chris and I about fifty yards behind, the next three boats seemed out of reach but on Saturday nobody was out of reach.  Brad Downen/Gil Cole scraped along the rocky right shoreline with Babel/Hawk right behind to finish first and second. 

 After three races, two points separated the top four boats: 

8175  Jim Babel/Bill Hawk 13 pts. (1,10,2)

7618  Joe Londrigan/Dave Caesar 13 pts. (2,2,9)

8214  Jon VanderMolen/Steve Ticknor 15 pts. (4,1,10)

8077  Tom Londrigan, Jr./Chris Wallner 15 points.  (3,7,5)

It appeared to be a Gull Lake/Lake Springfield shoot-out.  However, Babel and Hawk were advocating an end to the regatta and to proceed directly to the awards ceremony.  The Race Committee disagreed.  In hopes of sailing two races on Sunday, the start time was moved up an hour; five races would have guaranteed a throw-out for each competitor which benefited Babel/Hawk the most. They were still in the driver’s seat.

 Sunday finally brought some wind and the hiking vests were used for the first time.  Everyone sailed off the line on starboard closer to the pin-end of the line; Joe was watching Jon, Jon was watching Joe, and Jim was watching Jon and Joe, and Joe and Jon were watching Jim.  Chris and I started near the committee boat, snuck off to port, and caught a nice right shift.  Nobody saw us.  We won the race, Jeff Schaffer/Matt Peterson were second, and Todd Gay/Jon Klerk were third.  Joe Londrigan/Dave Caesar accepted an eighth after their mainsheet broke and both Jim Babel/Bill Hawk and Jon VanderMolen/Steve Ticknor collected a race they needed to throw-out.  Joe and Dave re-rigged a one-to-one mainsheet and did the math; fortunately it was still a three boat race.  Both Joe and Dave and Jim and Bill could win but they needed to beat Chris and I by three boats to win.

 The fifth start was clean.  This time, however, the other guys tried the committee boat end of the line and a tack to port but Chris and I started on the pin and continued on starboard.  We got a nice left shift and tacked port ahead of the fleet.  Go figure, clean living, I guess.  Joe and Dave broke their mainsheet again and retired.  Babel and Hawk kept the pressure on but there was too much ground to make up and Chris and I won the race and regatta.

 Brad Downen/Gil Cole scraped along the same rocky shoreline to pass a handful of boats on the last leg to finish second in the race and, surprisingly, second in the regatta.  Mark Lewis/Mike Londrigan deftly sailed by a handful of boats on the last leg as well and finished third in the race and third in the regatta.  Who job was it to watch those guys?  Tropical Storm Cindy is sleeping it off and Hurricane Dennis is having a smoke.  Today all is back to normal, the wind has returned to Lake Springfield, Rick Rundle is back in Chicago, and the Gull Lake boys have already started retooling.