2005 Western Hemisphere Championship

Report by  Mark Mendelblatt

I arrived at the Nassau airport on Monday afternoon to be picked up by a limo arranged by one of our Bahamian benefactors, Steve Kelly.  Strube got in at the same time, but since I didn’t want to cramp myself, I made him take a separate taxi with no A/C.  Upon arrival at the Nassau Yacht Club, the weather was sunny and warm and the winds were light and onshore. 

We were lucky to get our boat undamaged from Tropical Shipping, as a few of the boats received damage to their hulls and rigs.  After a few hours of sweating in the sun, the boat was ready for racing.  The schedule was for a tune up regatta (Harry Knowles series) on Tuesday, then the spring series Wednesday through Friday.  The forecast was for the wind to start cranking up from the east and to get windier each day until Friday.  We went home to Billy Holowesko’s parent’s house to get some sleep.

Racing for the tune up was held inside the bay on windward/leeward courses.  The beats were about a mile long, so we were able to rattle off  3 quick races.  In about 12-15 knots Ross and Mike kicked everyone’s butt, scoring two firsts and a second.  Good starts and getting out to the left worked well, and the Canadians did this almost to perfection.  Strube and I had 2 good races, but with one bad one in between, we finished the Harry Knowles series 4^th.  We were pleased with our speed and the new main we tried, and felt ready for the championship to get underway.  The forecast promised 3 more days of good wind, and the only concern was that there would be too much.

As predicted, for the start of the spring series, the wind had increased from the east to about 15-20 knots.  The waves were much bigger outside, and everyone knew they were in for some serious racing.  The courses were long and with relatively small shifts, it was mostly a boatspeed race.  Paul and Brian showed their dominance from the beginning.  Fast upwind and downwind, and making a lot of good decisions, they had a pair of seconds to open with.  John Dane, sailing with Austin took the lead however with a 3,1.  We scored a 7,5, loosing a boat right at the finish line in both races. 

According to the forecast, the breeze was on the rise, and the second day was even windier than the first.  Strube and I were in much better form and were able to win the first race, after a great final run.  We scored a 4^th in the second race and had moved up to 3^rd overall in the regatta.  Paul and Brian were distancing themselves from the fleet with another pair of 2’s and John and Austin had a solid day as well to hold on to second overall.

After a little nervous discussion on the dock before racing on the final day, the RC guys said that it was not too windy on the course and to get out there for the day’s racing.  The wind had shifted to the right, being influenced by an approaching front and had picked up to the mid 20’s.  The waves were up and although the fleet was pretty beat up from the previous days, we all knew we had to suck it up and make it through one more.  Paul and Brian only needed one more decent race to secure victory in the regatta, but behind them, it was anyone’s game.  In the first race we broke our jib tack line up the first beat, and the excitement began.  I went up to the bow with a piece of line to lash the tack down to the bowline strap.  After what seemed like an eternity, I got it somewhat tied down and we continued the race.  We actually didn’t loose as much as I thought we would, and were right back in about 7^th place by the last windward mark.  With all our competition right around us, we knew we needed a good run, but at the offset mark, I bore away too aggressively and sent the boat into a deathroll gybe.  Not only did I do this, but I also fell out of the boat!  Strube didn’t think too much of it as he routinely gybed the runners, then started yelling at me to bear away on the new gybe.  Of course by this time, I was floating about 50 yards behind, right next to the offset mark.  Thankfully, Strube managed the situation like a true professional; tacking the boat back on to starboard, bearing away, picking me up, and not giving me too much crap.  After that we regrouped and actually had an awesome run to finish 9^th.  So going into the last race it was all very tight between us, Andy/Brad, Ross/Mike and Rick/Steve.  The only problem was that we didn’t know the scores because of the fiasco that just occurred.  And we spent all the time between races trying to better lash down the jib to the deck. 

Paul/Brian, and John/Austin had locked up 1^st and 2^nd respectively and were on their way in, leaving the last race to the also-rans.  The race was a good battle between us, Reynolds/Anders and Rick/Steve.  And Ross/Mike were right there just behind the whole way.  On the last run, things got really tight between us, Rick and Reynolds, but Rick managed to sail right between us and Reynolds to take the bullet.  We edged out Reynolds at the finish line, but it wasn’t enough as Rick/Steve got us by 1 point in the regatta, taking 3^rd overall. 

The Nassau Yacht Club and the RC did a fantastic job with this regatta, and I think all of us who sailed there will remember it for a long time.  Next on the schedule is the European Springs in Switzerland.  We’ll keep you posted.