St. Francis YC – Spring Fest April 22 – 23 Regatta
We are back from a long rest and finished with the boat maintenance and preparation for the season. The Spring Fest is always well attended, and what a great season opener this regatta was with 19 Knarrs registered, 6 scheduled races, and a promising weather forecast. Indeed, an overall great turnout for all 5 classes, including J/105, J/88, J/24, Knarrs, and Folkboats – a total of 62 boats on two racecourses. The PRO, Peggy Lidster, and Event Chair, Bill VanDervoort, and their respective team members did a fantastic job.
Day 1 – Race 1,2,3
It was Ethan Doyle in US-133 “Viva”, who had given Don Jesberg the day off, with crew Matt and Ryan, leading us off with a strong first race, closely followed by Randy Hecht US-128 “Niuhi”. The breeze picked up and Chris Perkins, with Hans Baldauf onboard, and Mark Dahm with Mike Peterson in US-102 “Benino” on tactics, showed great starting aptitude, point, and speed, while newcomers in US-123 “Gå” skippered by Mark Lively was looking for their bearings and got crew Nate and Evan up to speed.
Unfortunately, US-116 “Wintersmoon” skippered by Bryan Kemnitzer, lost a crew overboard in the leeward mark rounding, last I saw he held onto the whisker pole, so kudos to the crew and Bryan for the swift and complete recovery. The team decided to seek safe harbor after finishing the race which ended the day early.
Chris Kelly US-104 “Flyer” had a great day with a 3rd and 4th finish, and we saw moments of brilliance from Robin Driscoll and crew in US-114 “Brothers”, especially in the second race, the last upwind leg to finish where, clearly, the right gate had less traffic, southerly shifts, and current relief was had on shore. He, alongside new Knarr skipper Eric Kaiser in US-103 “Kulani” could sail home respectable 1st and 2nd finishes after trailing the fleet on the run by 5-6 boats.
Our lady skipper, Theresa Brandner US-130 “Adelante” brought good spirits and new crew to the fleet and offered skipper Jeffrey Spoering US-39 “Thor” company and fair competition most of the day.
Saturday ended with a 1-point lead to Ethan Doyle in US-133 “Viva” after a strong series, closely followed by Mark Dahm and Mike Peterson in US-102 “Benino” in 2nd and John Buestad with Peter Cameron onboard US-134 “Alinea” in 3rd.
Day-2 – Race 4,5,6
The forecast was promising. Started out light but had the potential to reach >20mph in the afternoon. Once we got started, the conditions were ideal – breezy, shifty, and relatively flat water.
It was skipper Mike Ratiani, with Billy, Vince, and Sunday including Scott Gordon in US-120 “Snaps III” who masterfully led the fleet to shore, took an assailant lead alongside US-102 “Benino”, and held it around the long course to win the first race, followed by US-102 “Benino” and Chris Perkins and crew in US-141 in 3rd. Ethan Doyle in US-133 “Viva” and John Buestad in US-134 “Alinea” came slow off the start, banked on the right, and dropped in the standings in this race. Jon Perkins, with Larry Swift onboard US-125 “Aquavit” showed up for Sunday racing and started the day in 5th.
The second start turned out very well for both Jon Perkins in US-125 “Aquavit” and Erik Kaiser, with crew members, Kurt, Pete, and Soren from Santa Cruz in US-103 “Kulani”.
The tight race for the entire fleet went close to the shore, and at the last tack in the top of the weather leg, US-125 “Aquavit” legged out for breeze, while US-103 “Kulani” inched up on port tack lay line and rounded first. The two split the gate, and finished ½ boat length apart, for a first win in Knarr for Eric and crew in US-103 “Kulani” – US-125 “Aquavit” in 2nd – Chris Perkins in US-141 followed closely in 3rd, and US-102 “Benino” in 4th with a leading score of 16 going into the last race.
The last race was full breeze >20mph and max flood. Randy Hecht in US-128 “Niuhi” and Jon Perkins in US-125 “Aquavit” came well off the starting line, and at the weather mark, they were neck to neck, followed by Ethan Doyle in US-133 “Viva” and Sean Svendsen in US-140 “Svenkist” with his son Tor, and Joe McCoy onboard, who had been steadily improving in the big breeze. A very tight finish which US-125 “Aquavit” topped, followed by US-102 “Benino”, US-133 “Viva” and US-128 “Niuhi” – about 5-6 boats overlapped upwind on the finish line.
A very convincing winner in the series, with a smooth bottom and new rudder and well-put-together crew – the glory goes to Mark Dahm and Mike Peterson, with crew Sofia Sole and Dustin Winn in US-120 “Benino” – followed by Chris Perkins and Hans Baldauf, with crew Mark Heer in US-141 in 2nd and Ethan Doyle and Sunday-Only Co-Skipper Don Jesberg, and crew Ryan Lynch and Matt Frymier in US-133 “Viva” in 3rd.
What a great weekend it was.
Words from the Knarr Racing Enthusiast:
A great sign of how our fleet has evolved into an evenly competitive field with opportunities for everyone at all levels of growth and skills is this:
- Each of the six 1st place finishes was won by different teams.
- Only 1 boat, US-102 “Benino” had 2nd place finishes.
- Even more telling, 11 of the 19 boats had at least 1 top 5 finish!
- And only 3 boats had a series with finishes no greater than 9, single digits!
The capable volunteers on the protest committee were on hand to handle a couple of protests.
Disagreements happen on the racecourse, it’s part of the competition, but we need to, as a fleet, back off on the close calls to protect the precious boats. Please!
TIPS for the Newcomer:
The rig base setting, the upper shrouds, in North’s Tuning Guide is 11 lbs on a PT-2 Loos Tension Gauge, over 12 mph winds, you add 1 ½ turn, and over 18 mph winds, you can add another 1 ½ turn to tension the rig, induce pre-bend, and depower the main. Bending the mast moves the luff away from the leech, which simultaneously flattens the mainsail, opens the leech, and moves the draft aft. Doing this will make you rely less on backstay tension to take the heel off the boat. Ask a fellow skipper about rig tuning if in doubt!
