This appeared in the Sarasota newspaper and a couple of newsletters,
including the Johnson 18 class. I hesitated to publish it here, I hope
it is not seen as bragging.

Johnson 18 1998 Midwinters, Sarasota Florida
by Doug King

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosts an annual Midwinter One-Design
regatta. This year about 109 boats from eight classes met there. My wife
Kathie usually crews for me, and is capable and enthusiastic. However
she had a medical seminar to attend, so I asked Pete Thorn who is an
excellent sailor in another class and a great guy. The Johnson 18 class
had nine boats, a bit down from last year. There were two practice races
on Friday in balmy conditions with about eight knots of wind and
threatening thunderstorms. We missed them, although conditions were so
different the next day it didn’t matter!

A cold front passed that night. Saturday morning was crystal clear, with
25-30 knots blowing down the bay. A lot of the other boats were delaying
at the dock, but we maneuvered past them and got underway like a shot
from a cannon. My goal was to not get tired out on the forty-five minute
beat to our course. The conditions seemed envigorating to us, but other
boats found them trying: only one E-Scow came out to race and they
flipped and swamped right to windward of the starting line. The only
other class to complete races on our course was the Vipers.

The long beat was good practice steering through the chop, and when we
got to our start we got down to business- windward/leeward course, pin
end favored, wind shifted slightly left: Bang!

Pointing is not the Johnson 18’s strong suite. I footed off even more
than usual for power through the chop. Traveler down, hike like crazy...
We got plenty wet, but it was worth it when we took a long port tack
clean in front of the fleet. By the windward mark, we had a good lead,
and took off down a nice deep & easy spinnaker run. I looked back,
checking Matt Michaud in second-place often. They headed up onto a
tighter reach, and came rocketing towards us, spinnaker straining.
“Let’s head up for speed, Pete,” I said. Boy did we ever! A five degree
change in course gave us a fifteen-degree shift in apparent wind and we
took off like we had afterburners. Pete later said it was like being in
a Road Runner cartoon.

Matt had made a large gain, but pushed it a bit too much at the leeward
mark. Of course, when closing on the mark at 20+ knots it's hard to
judge time & distance accurately. I did not see all the details since we
were busy with our own boat, but it looked like they accidentally
rounded up during the spinnaker take-down, and capsized.

We held our lead for the rest of the race, covering loosely. David Keane
held on for a second place finish, followed by Shelley Cerf, John Weiss,
and Charlie Kilandor.

The second race was even tougher as the wind and chop built. We led
briefly, then Matt Michaud passed us just before the windward mark when
we busted a jib sheet. We caught up right at the leeward mark, and
regained the lead as we both sailed right past the mark getting the
spinnakers under control! On the next downwind run, we capsized gybing
and Matt took a well-earned first. Waving off assistance from a
powerboat, Pete tucked the spinnaker back into it’s bag before we pulled
the boat upright and jogged around the course for a third. We were both
dog-tired!

Sunday things were a bit calmer. It was sunny, with wind about twelve to
fifteen knots from the same direction. The chop had calmed down a bit,
too. The first start saw a recall flag- we circled back, although I was
fairly sure we were safe. It’s cheap insurance, Pete and I told each
other as we took everybody’s transom. This put us a bit farther back in
the fleet, but at the first leeward mark several boats pulled up and
hove-to next to the Race Committee boat. They were the ones the recall
flag was for! Suddenly we were in third place.

Right about then, John Weiss from White Bear Lake and his crew Cara came
zooming up on a hot reach, and we were fending off a challenger from
astern. The next windward leg saw us through an exciting tacking duel
including some false tacks. Up ahead, Charlie Kilandor was getting a
bullet, closely followed by Herman Sorin in his new boat crewing for
Jason from Johnson Boat Works. We finished third which still gave us a
solid lead for the regatta.

The next race saw me botch a start, but at least we were at the favored
end and not over early. The first leeward leg we caught a nice gust and
planed cleanly past most of the crowd in front of us. Right ahead, Jason
read the shifts well and could outpoint us by just enough to keep clear
ahead. We gained on him on the next downwind leg, but couldn’t get close
enough to threaten for the all-important inside overlap at the mark. We
took a second in that race, followed by David Keane, Charlie Kilandor,
Matt Michaud, John Weiss, Shelley Cerf, and Gregg Graton. By my figures
we had it locked up. So I asked Pete if he wanted to drive in the last
race- “Sure!”

Pete got us our best start of the regatta, and we sailed conservatively.
We had one wild scramble, planing in hot to the leeward mark with a
crowd on the outside, and although I couldn’t see anything while
kneeling in the front of the boat wrestling the spinnaker, Pete shot us
through like a pro. A little covering, and we were following Jason and
Charlie across the finish line with another clean third place and the
Johnson 18 Midwinter Championship.

Skippers Crew Sail # Finishes Score
Douglas King Pete Thorn 140 1-3-3-2-3 12
Charlie Kilandor 183 5-DNF-1-4-2 22
David Keane 0 2-2-DNS-3-5 22
Herman Sorin Jason Brown 173 DNF-DNF-2-1-1 24
Matt Michaud 151 DNF-1-DNS-5-4 30
John Weiss Cara Weiss 148 4-DNF-4-6-6 30
Shelley Cerf 138 3-DNF-DNS-7-7 37
Gregg Graton Eileen Graton 152 DNF-DNF-5-8-8 41
Brian Malone, Bahamas 147 DNF- - - - 50

OzOne wrote:
You're kidding!
What sort of derelicts were these boats?

They weren't derelicts, they were just sailed by people that didn't like
25+ knots of wind.

In this article I didn't mention things like the Daysailer fleet
crashing and burning... only 2 finished the first race on that Saturday
and none started the 2nd. No E scows. No MCs. A couple of San Juan 21s
and none the 2nd race. etc etc. Broken gear capsizes, tales of woe &
disaster, and a scoreboard of almost universal DNS.

Basically, we won on the strength of winning the first race and
finishing the 2nd, and placing well the next day of course.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Mr. King,

Good effort, Douglas, but please allow me to edit your article to make it more
palatable. Here we go . . .


Johnson 18 1998 Midwinter's, Sarasota Florida
by Doug King (edited by Capt. Neal)

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosts an annual, Midwinter, One-Design
regatta. This year approximately 109 boats from eight classes competed.

My capable and enthusiastic wife, Kathie, usually crews for me, however,
she was unavailable for this event so I recruited Pete Thorn, an excellent
sailor and a great guy who competes in a different class.

The Johnson 18 class was comprised of only nine boats - slightly down from
last year's number. On Friday, there were two practice races in balmy conditions
with winds of about eight knots but there was a threat of thunderstorms which
did not materialize. However, they heralded some very different conditions
the following day.

A strong cold front passed through the area during the night bringing
with it a crystal clear, Saturday morning accompanied by a brisk and chilly,
25 to 30 knot wind blowing right down the bay. A number of other boats
were hesitating at the dock but we maneuvered past them and got underway
like a shot from a cannon. Our goal was to conserve our strength during the
forty-five minute beat to the course starting line.

The brisk conditions seemed invigorating to us but some boats found them
trying. Only one E-Scow dared to brave the winds and seas but they suffered
a knock-down and were swamped immediately to windward of the starting line.
The only other class to complete races on our course was the Vipers.

The long beat, steering through the chop, was good practice and when we
lined up for our start we were definitely ready for business- windward/leeward
course, pin end favored, wind shifted slightly left: Bang!

Pointing is not the Johnson 18’s strong suit. We footed off even more
than usual for power through the chop; traveler down, hiked like crazy . . .
We got plenty wet, but it was worth it when we came around on a long port
tack clean, well ahead of the fleet. By the windward mark, we enjoyed a
sizeable lead while taking off downwind on a fast but comfortable spinnaker
run.

I looked back often, checking Matt Michaud in second-place. Their boat headed
up onto a closer reach and came surging towards us, spinnaker taught and straining.

“Let’s head up for speed, Pete,” I said. Boy did we ever! A five-degree change
in heading gave us a fifteen-degree shift in apparent wind and we took off as if
on afterburners. Pete later said it felt like being in a Road Runner cartoon where
Wiley Coyote lights the fuse on a giant, red, sky rocket strapped to his back.

In spite of this, Matt had gained significantly on us but was pushing it too
much as he approached the leeward mark. Of course, when closing on the
mark at 20+ knots it's not easy to accurately judge time and distance. Being
preoccupied with our own boat, we did not see what lead up to it but Matt's
boat rounded up during the spinnaker take-down and capsized.

We maintained our lead during the remainder of the first race, covering
loosely. David Keane held on for a second place finish, followed by Shelley
Cerf, John Weiss, and Charlie Kilandor.

The second race turned out to be even tougher as the wind and chop built.
We led briefly, then Matt Michaud passed us just before the windward
mark when we mishandled a jib sheet. We caught back up at the leeward
mark and regained the lead even as both boats sailed well past the mark
in the process of getting our spinnakers under control!

On the next downwind run, it was our turn to capsize and, to lend a little
variety, we did it gybing which afforded Matt a well-earned, first place
finish. Waving off assistance from a powerboat, Pete stuffed the soggy
spinnaker back into its bag before we righted the boat and jogged around
the course finishing a dog-tired third.

By Sunday, conditions were somewhat calmer. It was sunny with winds of
twelve to fifteen knots from the same direction. The chop was less steep.

The first start saw a recall flag. We circled back. Although I was
fairly certain we were safe, doing so is cheap insurance, nonetheless.
Pete and I reassured each other of that fact as we fell in line.

This put us a ways back in the fleet but at the first leeward mark
several boats pulled up and hove-to next to the race committee boat.
They had been recalled, not us! Suddenly we found ourselves
in third place.

At about that time, John Weiss from White Bear Lake and his crew Cara
came zooming up on a hot reach and we busied ourselves fending off this
determined challenge from astern. The next weather leg saw us engaging
in an exciting tacking duel, including some false tacks. Up ahead, Charlie
Kilandor was getting a bullet, closely followed by Herman Sorin in his new
boat crewing for Jason from Johnson Boat Works. We held on and finished
third which maintained our solid lead for the regatta.

As luck would have it, the third race saw me botch the start, but at least we
were at the favored end and not over early. On the first leeward leg, we
caught a nice gust and planed cleanly past most of the pack in front of us.

Directly ahead, Jason was reading the shifts well and out pointing us by
just enough to keep clear. On the next downwind leg we gained, but couldn’t
close enough to jockey for the all-important inside overlap at the mark. We
finished second in that race, followed by David Keane, Charlie Kilandor,
Matt Michaud, John Weiss, Shelley Cerf and Gregg Graton. By my reckoning,
we had the regatta locked up. So I asked Pete if he wanted to drive in the
last race. “Sure!” he beamed.

Pete did us proud with our best start of the regatta so we sailed
conservatively taking no chances. We did have one wild scramble, though,
planing in hot to the leeward mark with boats close on the outside and,
although I couldn’t see much while kneeling in bow wrestling the spinnaker,
Pete held the inside line and around we went like a pros. A little covering
was in order and we followed Jason and Charlie across the finish line with
another, clean third place and the overall, Johnson 18, Midwinter Championship.

YES!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++

Skippers Crew Sail # Finishes Score
Douglas King/Pete Thorn 140 1-3-3-2-3 12
Charlie Kilandor 183 5-DNF-1-4-2 22
David Keane 0 2-2-DNS-3-5 22
Herman Sorin/Jason Brown 173 DNF-DNF-2-1-1 24
Matt Michaud 151 DNF-1-DNS-5-4 30
John Weiss/Cara Weiss 148 4-DNF-4-6-6 30
Shelley Cerf 138 3-DNF-DNS-7-7 37
Gregg Graton/Eileen Graton 152 DNF-DNF-5-8-8 41
Brian Malone, Bahamas 147 DNF- - - - 50

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++

I hope this helps.

CN

Crap'n Neal® wrote:
Mr. King... but please allow me to edit your article to make it more
palatable.

Why is it not "palatable" to you? Can't you read plain English? Not
enough BS and bluster for you?

How about writing up some of *your* sailing stories and posting them
here? Non-fiction would be preferable, but since you never actually
sail, you can write your fantasies instead.

DSK

Your use of English is not up to par for story telling.

Ya gotta have better sentence structure, paragraph organization
and more of the human interest factor. You need to flesh out
your characters more and ya gotta pepper it with a few nautical
words and phrases to make it all come to life. Strive for
cohesiveness.

You are welcome to use my edited version free of charge.

CN


"DSK" wrote in message . ..
Crap'n Neal® wrote:
Mr. King... but please allow me to edit your article to make it more
palatable.

Why is it not "palatable" to you? Can't you read plain English? Not
enough BS and bluster for you?

How about writing up some of *your* sailing stories and posting them
here? Non-fiction would be preferable, but since you never actually
sail, you can write your fantasies instead.

DSK

Doug, quit bragging!

You will swim in the lava lakes!

Bob Crantz

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
This appeared in the Sarasota newspaper and a couple of newsletters,
including the Johnson 18 class. I hesitated to publish it here, I hope
it is not seen as bragging.

Johnson 18 1998 Midwinters, Sarasota Florida
by Doug King

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosts an annual Midwinter One-Design
regatta. This year about 109 boats from eight classes met there. My wife
Kathie usually crews for me, and is capable and enthusiastic. However
she had a medical seminar to attend, so I asked Pete Thorn who is an
excellent sailor in another class and a great guy. The Johnson 18 class
had nine boats, a bit down from last year. There were two practice races
on Friday in balmy conditions with about eight knots of wind and
threatening thunderstorms. We missed them, although conditions were so
different the next day it didn’t matter!

A cold front passed that night. Saturday morning was crystal clear, with
25-30 knots blowing down the bay. A lot of the other boats were delaying
at the dock, but we maneuvered past them and got underway like a shot
from a cannon. My goal was to not get tired out on the forty-five minute
beat to our course. The conditions seemed envigorating to us, but other
boats found them trying: only one E-Scow came out to race and they
flipped and swamped right to windward of the starting line. The only
other class to complete races on our course was the Vipers.

The long beat was good practice steering through the chop, and when we
got to our start we got down to business- windward/leeward course, pin
end favored, wind shifted slightly left: Bang!

Pointing is not the Johnson 18’s strong suite. I footed off even more
than usual for power through the chop. Traveler down, hike like crazy...
We got plenty wet, but it was worth it when we took a long port tack
clean in front of the fleet. By the windward mark, we had a good lead,
and took off down a nice deep & easy spinnaker run. I looked back,
checking Matt Michaud in second-place often. They headed up onto a
tighter reach, and came rocketing towards us, spinnaker straining.
“Let’s head up for speed, Pete,” I said. Boy did we ever! A five degree
change in course gave us a fifteen-degree shift in apparent wind and we
took off like we had afterburners. Pete later said it was like being in
a Road Runner cartoon.

Matt had made a large gain, but pushed it a bit too much at the leeward
mark. Of course, when closing on the mark at 20+ knots it's hard to
judge time & distance accurately. I did not see all the details since we
were busy with our own boat, but it looked like they accidentally
rounded up during the spinnaker take-down, and capsized.

We held our lead for the rest of the race, covering loosely. David Keane
held on for a second place finish, followed by Shelley Cerf, John Weiss,
and Charlie Kilandor.

The second race was even tougher as the wind and chop built. We led
briefly, then Matt Michaud passed us just before the windward mark when
we busted a jib sheet. We caught up right at the leeward mark, and
regained the lead as we both sailed right past the mark getting the
spinnakers under control! On the next downwind run, we capsized gybing
and Matt took a well-earned first. Waving off assistance from a
powerboat, Pete tucked the spinnaker back into it’s bag before we pulled
the boat upright and jogged around the course for a third. We were both
dog-tired!

Sunday things were a bit calmer. It was sunny, with wind about twelve to
fifteen knots from the same direction. The chop had calmed down a bit,
too. The first start saw a recall flag- we circled back, although I was
fairly sure we were safe. It’s cheap insurance, Pete and I told each
other as we took everybody’s transom. This put us a bit farther back in
the fleet, but at the first leeward mark several boats pulled up and
hove-to next to the Race Committee boat. They were the ones the recall
flag was for! Suddenly we were in third place.

Right about then, John Weiss from White Bear Lake and his crew Cara came
zooming up on a hot reach, and we were fending off a challenger from
astern. The next windward leg saw us through an exciting tacking duel
including some false tacks. Up ahead, Charlie Kilandor was getting a
bullet, closely followed by Herman Sorin in his new boat crewing for
Jason from Johnson Boat Works. We finished third which still gave us a
solid lead for the regatta.

The next race saw me botch a start, but at least we were at the favored
end and not over early. The first leeward leg we caught a nice gust and
planed cleanly past most of the crowd in front of us. Right ahead, Jason
read the shifts well and could outpoint us by just enough to keep clear
ahead. We gained on him on the next downwind leg, but couldn’t get close
enough to threaten for the all-important inside overlap at the mark. We
took a second in that race, followed by David Keane, Charlie Kilandor,
Matt Michaud, John Weiss, Shelley Cerf, and Gregg Graton. By my figures
we had it locked up. So I asked Pete if he wanted to drive in the last
race- “Sure!”

Pete got us our best start of the regatta, and we sailed conservatively.
We had one wild scramble, planing in hot to the leeward mark with a
crowd on the outside, and although I couldn’t see anything while
kneeling in the front of the boat wrestling the spinnaker, Pete shot us
through like a pro. A little covering, and we were following Jason and
Charlie across the finish line with another clean third place and the
Johnson 18 Midwinter Championship.

Skippers Crew Sail # Finishes Score
Douglas King Pete Thorn 140 1-3-3-2-3 12
Charlie Kilandor 183 5-DNF-1-4-2 22
David Keane 0 2-2-DNS-3-5 22
Herman Sorin Jason Brown 173 DNF-DNF-2-1-1 24
Matt Michaud 151 DNF-1-DNS-5-4 30
John Weiss Cara Weiss 148 4-DNF-4-6-6 30
Shelley Cerf 138 3-DNF-DNS-7-7 37
Gregg Graton Eileen Graton 152 DNF-DNF-5-8-8 41
Brian Malone, Bahamas 147 DNF- - - - 50

For his elementary school writing level he surely
will be put in purgatory for a while at least.

CN

"Bob Crantz" wrote in message k.net...
Doug, quit bragging!

You will swim in the lava lakes!

Bob Crantz

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
This appeared in the Sarasota newspaper and a couple of newsletters,
including the Johnson 18 class. I hesitated to publish it here, I hope
it is not seen as bragging.

Johnson 18 1998 Midwinters, Sarasota Florida
by Doug King

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosts an annual Midwinter One-Design
regatta. This year about 109 boats from eight classes met there. My wife
Kathie usually crews for me, and is capable and enthusiastic. However
she had a medical seminar to attend, so I asked Pete Thorn who is an
excellent sailor in another class and a great guy. The Johnson 18 class
had nine boats, a bit down from last year. There were two practice races
on Friday in balmy conditions with about eight knots of wind and
threatening thunderstorms. We missed them, although conditions were so
different the next day it didn’t matter!

A cold front passed that night. Saturday morning was crystal clear, with
25-30 knots blowing down the bay. A lot of the other boats were delaying
at the dock, but we maneuvered past them and got underway like a shot
from a cannon. My goal was to not get tired out on the forty-five minute
beat to our course. The conditions seemed envigorating to us, but other
boats found them trying: only one E-Scow came out to race and they
flipped and swamped right to windward of the starting line. The only
other class to complete races on our course was the Vipers.

The long beat was good practice steering through the chop, and when we
got to our start we got down to business- windward/leeward course, pin
end favored, wind shifted slightly left: Bang!

Pointing is not the Johnson 18’s strong suite. I footed off even more
than usual for power through the chop. Traveler down, hike like crazy...
We got plenty wet, but it was worth it when we took a long port tack
clean in front of the fleet. By the windward mark, we had a good lead,
and took off down a nice deep & easy spinnaker run. I looked back,
checking Matt Michaud in second-place often. They headed up onto a
tighter reach, and came rocketing towards us, spinnaker straining.
“Let’s head up for speed, Pete,” I said. Boy did we ever! A five degree
change in course gave us a fifteen-degree shift in apparent wind and we
took off like we had afterburners. Pete later said it was like being in
a Road Runner cartoon.

Matt had made a large gain, but pushed it a bit too much at the leeward
mark. Of course, when closing on the mark at 20+ knots it's hard to
judge time & distance accurately. I did not see all the details since we
were busy with our own boat, but it looked like they accidentally
rounded up during the spinnaker take-down, and capsized.

We held our lead for the rest of the race, covering loosely. David Keane
held on for a second place finish, followed by Shelley Cerf, John Weiss,
and Charlie Kilandor.

The second race was even tougher as the wind and chop built. We led
briefly, then Matt Michaud passed us just before the windward mark when
we busted a jib sheet. We caught up right at the leeward mark, and
regained the lead as we both sailed right past the mark getting the
spinnakers under control! On the next downwind run, we capsized gybing
and Matt took a well-earned first. Waving off assistance from a
powerboat, Pete tucked the spinnaker back into it’s bag before we pulled
the boat upright and jogged around the course for a third. We were both
dog-tired!

Sunday things were a bit calmer. It was sunny, with wind about twelve to
fifteen knots from the same direction. The chop had calmed down a bit,
too. The first start saw a recall flag- we circled back, although I was
fairly sure we were safe. It’s cheap insurance, Pete and I told each
other as we took everybody’s transom. This put us a bit farther back in
the fleet, but at the first leeward mark several boats pulled up and
hove-to next to the Race Committee boat. They were the ones the recall
flag was for! Suddenly we were in third place.

Right about then, John Weiss from White Bear Lake and his crew Cara came
zooming up on a hot reach, and we were fending off a challenger from
astern. The next windward leg saw us through an exciting tacking duel
including some false tacks. Up ahead, Charlie Kilandor was getting a
bullet, closely followed by Herman Sorin in his new boat crewing for
Jason from Johnson Boat Works. We finished third which still gave us a
solid lead for the regatta.

The next race saw me botch a start, but at least we were at the favored
end and not over early. The first leeward leg we caught a nice gust and
planed cleanly past most of the crowd in front of us. Right ahead, Jason
read the shifts well and could outpoint us by just enough to keep clear
ahead. We gained on him on the next downwind leg, but couldn’t get close
enough to threaten for the all-important inside overlap at the mark. We
took a second in that race, followed by David Keane, Charlie Kilandor,
Matt Michaud, John Weiss, Shelley Cerf, and Gregg Graton. By my figures
we had it locked up. So I asked Pete if he wanted to drive in the last
race- “Sure!”

Pete got us our best start of the regatta, and we sailed conservatively.
We had one wild scramble, planing in hot to the leeward mark with a
crowd on the outside, and although I couldn’t see anything while
kneeling in the front of the boat wrestling the spinnaker, Pete shot us
through like a pro. A little covering, and we were following Jason and
Charlie across the finish line with another clean third place and the
Johnson 18 Midwinter Championship.

Skippers Crew Sail # Finishes Score
Douglas King Pete Thorn 140 1-3-3-2-3 12
Charlie Kilandor 183 5-DNF-1-4-2 22
David Keane 0 2-2-DNS-3-5 22
Herman Sorin Jason Brown 173 DNF-DNF-2-1-1 24
Matt Michaud 151 DNF-1-DNS-5-4 30
John Weiss Cara Weiss 148 4-DNF-4-6-6 30
Shelley Cerf 138 3-DNF-DNS-7-7 37
Gregg Graton Eileen Graton 152 DNF-DNF-5-8-8 41
Brian Malone, Bahamas 147 DNF- - - - 50

It's ok to toot your own horn...at least your tooting is based on fact...

"DSK" wrote in message
.. .
This appeared in the Sarasota newspaper and a couple of newsletters,
including the Johnson 18 class. I hesitated to publish it here, I hope it
is not seen as bragging.

Johnson 18 1998 Midwinters, Sarasota Florida
by Doug King

The Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosts an annual Midwinter One-Design
regatta. This year about 109 boats from eight classes met there. My wife
Kathie usually crews for me, and is capable and enthusiastic. However she
had a medical seminar to attend, so I asked Pete Thorn who is an excellent
sailor in another class and a great guy. The Johnson 18 class had nine
boats, a bit down from last year. There were two practice races on Friday
in balmy conditions with about eight knots of wind and threatening
thunderstorms. We missed them, although conditions were so different the
next day it didn’t matter!

A cold front passed that night. Saturday morning was crystal clear, with
25-30 knots blowing down the bay. A lot of the other boats were delaying
at the dock, but we maneuvered past them and got underway like a shot from
a cannon. My goal was to not get tired out on the forty-five minute beat
to our course. The conditions seemed envigorating to us, but other boats
found them trying: only one E-Scow came out to race and they flipped and
swamped right to windward of the starting line. The only other class to
complete races on our course was the Vipers.

The long beat was good practice steering through the chop, and when we got
to our start we got down to business- windward/leeward course, pin end
favored, wind shifted slightly left: Bang!

Pointing is not the Johnson 18’s strong suite. I footed off even more than
usual for power through the chop. Traveler down, hike like crazy... We got
plenty wet, but it was worth it when we took a long port tack clean in
front of the fleet. By the windward mark, we had a good lead, and took off
down a nice deep & easy spinnaker run. I looked back, checking Matt
Michaud in second-place often. They headed up onto a tighter reach, and
came rocketing towards us, spinnaker straining. “Let’s head up for speed,
Pete,” I said. Boy did we ever! A five degree change in course gave us a
fifteen-degree shift in apparent wind and we took off like we had
afterburners. Pete later said it was like being in a Road Runner cartoon.

Matt had made a large gain, but pushed it a bit too much at the leeward
mark. Of course, when closing on the mark at 20+ knots it's hard to judge
time & distance accurately. I did not see all the details since we were
busy with our own boat, but it looked like they accidentally rounded up
during the spinnaker take-down, and capsized.

We held our lead for the rest of the race, covering loosely. David Keane
held on for a second place finish, followed by Shelley Cerf, John Weiss,
and Charlie Kilandor.

The second race was even tougher as the wind and chop built. We led
briefly, then Matt Michaud passed us just before the windward mark when we
busted a jib sheet. We caught up right at the leeward mark, and regained
the lead as we both sailed right past the mark getting the spinnakers
under control! On the next downwind run, we capsized gybing and Matt took
a well-earned first. Waving off assistance from a powerboat, Pete tucked
the spinnaker back into it’s bag before we pulled the boat upright and
jogged around the course for a third. We were both dog-tired!

Sunday things were a bit calmer. It was sunny, with wind about twelve to
fifteen knots from the same direction. The chop had calmed down a bit,
too. The first start saw a recall flag- we circled back, although I was
fairly sure we were safe. It’s cheap insurance, Pete and I told each other
as we took everybody’s transom. This put us a bit farther back in the
fleet, but at the first leeward mark several boats pulled up and hove-to
next to the Race Committee boat. They were the ones the recall flag was
for! Suddenly we were in third place.

Right about then, John Weiss from White Bear Lake and his crew Cara came
zooming up on a hot reach, and we were fending off a challenger from
astern. The next windward leg saw us through an exciting tacking duel
including some false tacks. Up ahead, Charlie Kilandor was getting a
bullet, closely followed by Herman Sorin in his new boat crewing for Jason
from Johnson Boat Works. We finished third which still gave us a solid
lead for the regatta.

The next race saw me botch a start, but at least we were at the favored
end and not over early. The first leeward leg we caught a nice gust and
planed cleanly past most of the crowd in front of us. Right ahead, Jason
read the shifts well and could outpoint us by just enough to keep clear
ahead. We gained on him on the next downwind leg, but couldn’t get close
enough to threaten for the all-important inside overlap at the mark. We
took a second in that race, followed by David Keane, Charlie Kilandor,
Matt Michaud, John Weiss, Shelley Cerf, and Gregg Graton. By my figures we
had it locked up. So I asked Pete if he wanted to drive in the last race-
“Sure!”

Pete got us our best start of the regatta, and we sailed conservatively.
We had one wild scramble, planing in hot to the leeward mark with a crowd
on the outside, and although I couldn’t see anything while kneeling in the
front of the boat wrestling the spinnaker, Pete shot us through like a
pro. A little covering, and we were following Jason and Charlie across the
finish line with another clean third place and the Johnson 18 Midwinter
Championship.

Skippers Crew Sail # Finishes Score
Douglas King Pete Thorn 140 1-3-3-2-3 12
Charlie Kilandor 183 5-DNF-1-4-2 22
David Keane 0 2-2-DNS-3-5 22
Herman Sorin Jason Brown 173 DNF-DNF-2-1-1 24
Matt Michaud 151 DNF-1-DNS-5-4 30
John Weiss Cara Weiss 148 4-DNF-4-6-6 30
Shelley Cerf 138 3-DNF-DNS-7-7 37
Gregg Graton Eileen Graton 152 DNF-DNF-5-8-8 41
Brian Malone, Bahamas 147 DNF- - - - 50

katysails wrote:
It's ok to toot your own horn...at least your tooting is based on fact...

Thanks.

It was really a heck of a lot of fun. Although by the end I was
dog-tired, I couldn't understand why everybody was going in.

Last time I talked to Pete, he mentioned that capsize

DSK

I'd drown my sorrow, too, if I were as inept . . .

CN

OzOne wrote in message ...
On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 09:27:27 -0500, DSK
scribbled thusly:

Last time I talked to Pete, he mentioned that capsize

DSK

Yep, you always remeber the dunking that cost, or near cost a
champioship win.

I will till the day I die remember my mistake as a crew that cost us
an Oz national champ, when we gybed in 25kt+ and I'd left the dagger
board just an inch or so too high and it caught the vang.
We were far enough ahead, and recovered quickly enough to scramble to
a 3rd, but needed a 2nd to take the champ. Bugger!

I'll be seeing some of those guys for a Xmas beer tonight...It will
come up...again (hangs head in shame) :-(


Oz1...of the 3 twins.

I welcome you to crackerbox palace,We've been expecting you.