A quick (late) update on Fernridge, and also a reminder that Jericho is THIS weekend and Splash NEXT weekend.
Fernridge’s “Livin’ on the Edge” regatta was a ton of fun – some of the most fun Laura and I have had in a looong time. We were sailing Laura’s new (to her) boat that she picked up from Greg Thomas. Greg said he only used it 3 times to sail to church and Laura believed him! Anyway, it came with EPO 3’s and it was my first chance to try out the new boat and new blades. The 3’s were wonderfully well – much better than the 2’s. We still had some cavitation when we got our weight too far forward. But we were able to manage it much better. One time coming into the weather mark we had overstood and were reaching in and with our weight forward the EPO’s started sending off a rooster tail that would have hit into the 2nd panel of the main it was so tall!
The sailing was great. Committee sent us on 4 really long courses on Saturday that used up the whole course. They set a traditional reach mark (1/2 way between the gate and weather mark), so there was no real reaching. The other weird thing was they set the finish 1/2 up between the gate and weather mark. They used a finish boat that was well camouflaged so the finish was mostly invisible! It made for some interesting finishes. But we had single and double-trap conditions under sunny skies all day Saturday.
Sunday was more of the same. Only this time the breeze was a little lighter – mostly no trap to single-trap. Both days were very puffy, and crew work was at a premium. Sunday the wind was fickle and oscillating all over the place, so strategy and boat placement on the course and relative to the fleet was at a premium.
My first time going to this regatta was last year. I drug my heels going to it cuz it was so far away. But Laura kept saying it was a lot of fun. Well, she was right! The Eugene Yacht Club puts on a great time, and it is a lot of fun to meet up with sailors from other parts of the division. The lake has flat water, and when the breeze is up (and the sun out), it’s tough to hit the beach without a smile. I would definitely recommend putting it on your regatta list for next year.
The Youth Wave NAs take over Sail Sand Point this coming Thurs.-Fri. in advance of the bigger sailors arriving Fri.-Sat. for next weekend’s Splash. Lynn & Jeff Rickard have graciously opened up their “eastern 40” acres to sailors for camping over the weekend. I’ve been out to their place, and they have a nice spread. Should make for a good party!
Hobie Division 4 