Div. 4 had two regattas on back-to-back weekends — one at each end of its boundaries. To the south, Eugene (OR) Yacht Club and its wonderful facilities played host to “Living on the Edge” regatta on Fernridge Lake June 11-12.
It was lake sailing at its best — with 20 degree wind shifts, lulls that would frustrate you and puffs that could/would take you from “zero to hero” in seconds. Tactics played a huge part of the final outcome. But the real story was the warm, sunny weather that served as a backdrop to the 8 races in all.
What makes Living on the Edge so much fun, besides the fantastic food, beer, & facilities of EYC, is the team and overall prizes they give out. They pair up 3 or 4 teams in different classes and have a magical formula that regatta organizer Roeland Kapsenberg plugs results into. There were a ton of laughs and a rowdy good time, particularly with the southern contingent of Div. 4.
The following weekend Hobie Catters trucked up to the northern environs of Div. 4 to the Jericho Sailing Center in Vancouver, BC. Coming to this town is always a treat, and the beach and facilities at Jericho make for easy shore-side living. Easy, that is, if you were not camping in the boat pen.
Rain and no wind on Saturday had everyone tied for first (and last) going into Saturday night’s BBQ. The rain Friday night also had a few wayward campers in the boat pen seeking drier accommodations Saturday night. But the Nanaimo bars after a fantastic BBQ dinner Sat. nite made up for it all!
Sunday dawned much drier and racers anxiously set their boats up in a light breeze. Committee ran 3 races before the wind started dying and everyone was on the beach by 1315 — well in time for an early drive home.
The big stories of the day were the 1st place finishes of Jerry Valeske (H-18) and Laura Sullivan (H-16). Both enjoyed their very first regatta wins. Jerry’s was a total surprise. When Paul Evenden mentioned a 4-way tie for 2nd but didn’t call Jerry’s name we figured Jerry was on the outside looking in. But then Paul awarded Gillian Thomson 3rd and himself 2nd place before announcing Jerry’s first place! Meanwhile in the 16s, Laura Sullivan, sailing under the sketchy name “Peter Nelson”, was able to overcome Martin Hollinsworth’s early bullet to nab the gold. In the 17s, grand dad Caleb Tarleton showed cunning and wisdom can still sometimes overtake youth by edging grand son Dan by a mere point for 2nd place to Dave Wilder’s 1st.
Once again it was great catching up with members of the northern contingent of Div. 4. Kelowna sailing club was well represented, swelling the 18 fleet to 7 strong for this relatively small regatta. It is really cool to see the 18 fleet growing like it is. Hats off to Paul Evenden for organizing the second of three regattas he is putting on this season for all of us.
Hobie Division 4 