Gerry Christman's "Synergy" sailing upwind.
Rick Wojnar's "Tim Tim" was skippered by Don Johnson in the regatta.
Just after the start of Race 2. Don in "Tim Tim" correctly picked the favored end of the line.
Upwind leg, Race 2.
Upwind leg, Race 2.
Chris Wojnar: enthusiastic race committee!! Chris ran a superb series of races.
Hard guys Paul Gush and Doug Walker sail their lasers. They each probably wished for a 1000 pound keel by the end of the second race when the wind began to pick up.
Rod Moseley's J24 powers upwind.
"Synergy" with spinnaker flying.
Boats at rest at the end of Saturday's races.
Linda & Joe Budden at the awards ceremony.
Hugh Robertson
Don Johnson (left) with crew Ben and Amy
Gerry Christman (left) & crew
Captain Morgan Regatta trophy winners!
CLSA Sunset after the conclusion of the Captain Morgan Regatta.
The Captain Morgan Regatta was May 24 & 25. This was lots of fun for all, as you can tell from the report below contributed by Chris Wojnar, who served as race committee. The photographs were contributed by Betty Toland. Additional photographs of the awards ceremony were taken by Bill Vokac.
NOTE: There would have been additional photos of all the participants if the webmaster had remembered to actually put a flash card in his camera. He deeply regrets the error. Perhaps he was a bit distracted helping Don, Rick and Amy sail "Tim Tim" around the course...
The top three over all were:
1. Gerry Christman
2. Don Johnson
3. Hugh Robertson
The 2008 Cap't Morgan weekend regatta is over. The participants sailed in the most pleasant wind conditions ever. Both days were overcast moderate temps, with wind 10 to 12 mph. Saturday had two "half/distance" races..one to the Mascoutin bridge..the other to the Dam and back. Some of the best racers from the past were on hand.
The first race was easily won by Gerry Christman in his Capri 22 as the wind was solidly out of the east which enabled long, uninhibited spinnaker runs to distance them from the fleet.
The second race had winds veering more out of the north so tacking on wind shifts became paramount...at the finish surprising everyone was Dave/Betty Toland's "Bluechip", a San Juan 21, in first place! Dave used his vaunted "poling out" technique to gain favor downwind. The Tolands were the inaugural winners of this Regatta at its inception in 1985. Hugh Robertson and wife Christina with "the kids" and grandma fought valiantly in their O'day 23 but were forced to let their children swim to shore after telling them there would be one more 3 hour race coming up!
The second day commenced with a delicious brunch of scrambled eggs hash browns and sausage, with donuts and orange juice on the side. The "full distance" race had to be delayed for the passing of 50 mph winds. After being becalmed for about an hour the winds returned to more civilized puffs.
It all came down, in the end, to two boats, after Joe and Linda Budden's Mac 26 ran aground at Mascoutin beach. The upstart Don Johnson displayed his "Top Gun" skills he's been learning in the Flying Scot Fleet the past few years. With Ben Williams' strategic calls, Don went on a tear around Lake Clinton over the two and a half hour race in their cabin boat, but lost to Gerry Christman's "Synergy" by two minutes overall! Gerry had put up his biggest sails and this time made no mistakes. Bird island again played a pivotal role in the outcome of the day's race as..unlike Gerry Christman's famous accidental "grounding" there two years ago .. Don sailed brilliantly around the point just north of the CLSA pavilion almost to perfection and had just geared up to windward and as his vision was obscured by his big Genoa he "missed" rounding to the outside of just one of the many hazard buoys lining the shallows there [which by rules you must avoid]. No other boat was even near him, but Don held himself to the highest ethical standard and came about, sailing all the way back were he had come from and rerounded that buoy. It cost him the race! Some things are more important than winning....
Chris Wojnar