Ben & Deb sail downwind on Lake Chicamauga - can you get any more colors on that spinnaker?
Upwind...
Impromptu tiller extension...
Ben Williams and Deb Aronson spent the weekend of April 26 in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the Privateer Yacht Club hosts the annual Chattanooga Choo Choo Regatta. This is the third year they have gone. Last year fellow Flying Scot sailors Don Johnson, Joe Karbarz and Chris Wojnar also attended. This year the conditions Saturday were perfect. Winds were about 10 mph, the skies were overcast so the puffs were easy to see on the water and the temperatures were mild. The committee got in three good races.
The next day thunderstorms and heavy rain set in and, unfortunately, no races could be run.
Nevertheless, Beb and Deb, sailing Suzie Q, had their best regatta ever. Placing second the first race, fourth the second race and third the last race, their performance earned them second place overall in the regatta. This, despite the tiller extension falling off and disappearing rounding the first mark in the first race and requiring Ben to tape the boom crutch to the remaining tiller for the duration of the day (arrow, bottom photo). The second race held more excitement as, in her enthusiasm to hike, Deb fell out of the boat, again at the first mark, and despite being completely submerged managed to climb back in the boat with Ben’s help, and continue to race! The third race was mercifully uneventful!
We met many sailors who were interested in attending the Glow, including one who even got out his road atlas so we could show him where precisely Champaign-Urbana was and how he would get there from Paducah. Perhaps this year we will get a few southern Scot sailors to join us at the Glow!
Choo Choo Regatta Final Results
Debby Aronson