Before the start of Race 2, Team Suzie Q heads below Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter.
Team Suzie Q (3683), Bill Vogler & Susie Stombaugh (5182), Mike & Chris Hartman (5670).
Just after the start of Race 3. "Suzie Q's" bow (light blue) poking out ahead at the weather end.
Downwind leg during race 3. "Suzie Q" in second place (far right).
Dousing the spinnaker at the leeward mark.
Heading upwind.
Don Johnson (left) flies the chute as Team Suzie Q keeps looking for more speed downwind.
Frank and Marianne Gerry reach aboard "Helga" in between races. They finished 3rd overall.
Frank and Marianne relax in between races.
Larry Klick and Kurt Holmquist sail "Ketchup" in between races. They finished 2nd overall.
Jay Lott & Cash Goettelman (left) on "Reindeer II"; Frank & Marianne Gerry on "Helga" (right).
Mark and Mike VanEgeren of Team "Snout Dog" prepare to jibe.
Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter bring "Hogwart's Express II 3/4" across the finish line for a bullet.
Ryan and Carrie were first overall.
Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter.
Regatta chair Jim Harris.
CLSA Flying Scot Sailors Ben Williams and Don Johnson traveled to Carlyle Sailing Association for the combined Midwestern District Championships and Egyptian Cup May 31 & June 1. They sailed on Ben's boat, "Suzie Q", Flying Scot 3683. The story below was contributed by Ben Williams. The photos were taken by Ben's son Doug Williams.
The Midwestern District championship drew a very competitive fleet of 22 boats to Carlyle Sailing Association. Don and I (together referred to as "Team Suzie Q" below) started the regatta in non-standard fashion. Through circumstances that Team Suzie Q has decided to politely keep to ourselves, we arrived at CSA at 10 AM only to find the whole fleet already on the water and sailing toward the starting area several miles from the club. It turns out the start was scheduled for 10:30 AM! So, we opted for the best Le Mans start that we could manage. We rigged and launched the boat in 15 minutes (a personal record for all involved), and then sailed to the starting line. While we were still at least 5 minutes from the line, we watched (with some distress) as the entire fleet lined up and executed a beautiful start in a 10 - 12 mph breeze. When we finally crossed the starting line, the rest of the fleet was half way to the windward mark. We kept in phase with the shifts and by the end of the race we had passed several boats, finishing 19th out of 22. This was not an auspicious start to a regatta with no throw-out races, but the day was beautiful and the wind was perfect for racing, so life was good.
After a lunch break, the second race started at 2:30. This time we actually started with the fleet, and things went a bit better. We managed a good first row start near the middle of the line and were able to stay in phase with the shifts on the first leg. We probably rounded the weather mark in 7th place or so. We held our own downwind, and picked up a few more boats on subsequent weather legs. We crossed the finish line 5th out of 22.
Before the third race we looked up the course and decided that there was more pressure to the right. It was also clear from our compass readings that the wind was gradually veering. We decided to start near the weather end of the line and then protect the right side on the first beat. We fought hard and started cleanly near the boat end. You can see "Suzie Q's" beautiful blue bow poking out just ahead in Doug's picture to the right, third photo from the top, taken seconds after the start from a position a few hundred yards upwind of the pin. This was an aggressive fleet, and at least 5 boats were called over early further down the line. Don called the first shift perfectly, and we tacked to port and headed toward the right side of the course. After a few more tacks, perfectly in phase thanks to Don's compass work, we took the lead! Ryan Malmgren (a sailmaker who won the regatta overall), sailing with Carrie Carpenter (daughter of Flying Scot builder Harry Carpenter), managed to just get by us, so we rounded the weather mark in 2nd place, just 2 - 3 boat lengths back. We held this position (having some back and forth battles with Jay Lott, who rounded 3rd at the first mark) until the very last rounding, when one boat behind (Mark and Mike VanEgeren of the mighty team "Snout Dog", from Madison) gained a last second overlap, and we had to give them room. We (Ben) handled this rounding badly, and ended up letting three very fast boats slip by us ("Snout Dog", Jay Lott & Cash Goettelman in "Reindeer II", and Frank & Marianne Gerry in "Helga"). After a short final windward leg, we finished 5th overall. Despite the problem at the last rounding, Team Susie Q was feeling very good about our boat speed, pointing, and tactical calls. With consecutive 5th place finishes, we had worked our way back up from 19th to 9th overall.
Sunday's one and only race was started in 5 mph winds, but then rapidly became a drifter. Before the start, Team Suzie Q correctly called the left side of the course as favored, but after a so-so start, we failed to implement our game plan. We then paid dearly for this mistake. We had a forgettable race, and honestly, I don't remember exactly where we finished, although it was in the back half of the fleet.
In the end, we were 10th out of 22 overall, which was not too bad considering the 19 points that we collected in the first race. On shore, Ryan Malmgren paid Team Suzie Q a very nice compliment on our sailing in the 3rd race (we had kept the pressure on Ryan for all but the last leg): "I couldn't shake you guys off! You really had that boat going fast and pointing high." That was really fun for us to hear, especially coming from a sailor of such high caliber (Ryan was 3rd in the 2007 Flying Scot North American Championships).
Ben Williams
