TURNING POINT WINS TWO AT 2009 OLYMPIC CUP REGATTA

VAYU WINS LIGHT AIR SPRING OPENER

Olympic Cup  (Sunday, May 24, 2009) At the first regatta of 2009 that counts for any of the season-long series, Turning Point, led by Dave Hardy and Bill Bartz, swept both races and picked up where they left off last year, in first place in the Best Beneteau 40.7 on Lake Michigan series.  Conditions for the Olympic Cup Regatta, hosted by Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, were challenging with winds mostly 16-20 knots and seas of 4-5 feet.   The event consisted of two races, the first at a course of 355° and distance of 1.75 nm, the second on the same course but at 2.25 nm.  Both races consisted of four windward/leeward legs. 

Both races of the Olympic cup count for both of the season-long buoy series:  the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation's Best Beneteau 40.7 on Lake Michigan and the Chicago Yachting Association's Boat of the Year. 

At the start of the first race Turning Point began at the boat end of the line, winning that end handily.  They proceeded to round the weather mark in first place.  In the second race seconds before the start, Turning Point peeled Mojo off at the committee boat and then proceeded upwind on the right side of the fleet.   It's reported that Turning Point was first around all the marks in all the races that day, never trading 1^st place with any other boat. 

2^nd place for the day was Ron Buzil's Vayu with a crew of eleven aboard.  Buzil found the second race more challenging and had this to say about it:  "Between the races the wind dropped a bit and we readied the heavy #1 genoa, keeping an eye on the rest of the fleet to see who would make the change, and who would not.  Everyone had their #3 up for the first race.  In the end, though we saw a couple of boats swap headsails, we opted for the more conservative #3. 

"At the start, approaching the right end of the line with less than a minute to go we saw Turning Point to leeward peel the barging Mojo off at the boat.  We were right behind TP.  As soon as we cleared the boat we tacked and went right.  I think TP tacked soon after we did.

"Approaching the weather mark we were in a good position but we way overstood the starboard layline and gave up several places.  We made up by having a good downwind leg during which we passed a couple of boats and then watched Collaboration go sailing off downwind at the leeward mark.  We rounded inside overlapped with La Tempete and began chasing Turning Point. 

"The upwind driving in those conditions is a lot of fun.  You have to play the waves and the wind.  I work on constant boat speed to crush the waves.  In those conditions tuning is important.  Nigel Brownett, on our crew, is our tuning master and he had it set up fairly tight on Sunday.  The rig felt very balanced and powerful.  Of course the guy who really gets us upwind, more than the driver, is our mainsail trimmer, DS, who's been doing it with me now going on ten years and almost four hundred races together.  That's DS for "Doctor Scott" (real name Scott Reich). 

"At the second weather mark we did a tack set and rounded about four or five boatlengths behind Turning Point and with maybe that much lead over second place La Tempete.  The entire leg it was back and forth a bit but nobody was giving anything away and we finished in that order, one, two, three.

"I'm glad for the guys on Turning Point.  I know they had some new crew this weekend but they really did an excellent job both days and especially on Sunday.  Congratulations on some great sailing and on a job well done to all of them.

"Also, congratulations to Mojo, finishing in 5^th place.  That's the first time they've finished in the top half of the fleet in a buoy event.  Their hard work is paying off."

Turning Point skipper Dave Hardy had this to say about Sunday:

"We had some new faces on Sunday, six of the twelve were new and three of the regulars were in new positions.  This being said, you can imagine there was some anxiety on board as we cleared the north gap of the break wall and headed for SA1.  Because this was our second day on the water (Saturday being our first) the plan for the day was to be conservative, get to know the boat again, get to know each other, and go be competitive.   We talked through the basic maneuvers on the way out and by the time we got sails up we were feeling better.

The wind seemed to us to be very accommodating - 16-22 kn with 5-15 degree oscillations.  The waves, of course, were not as accommodating, but when the wind is northerly, that's what you get - sail what ya got.  The only concern was the start of the second race when it dipped below 16, waves still building, and we saw Bob (Vickery on Collaboration) putting up his heavy #1 - figured we better keep an eye on that. 

Pretty much the whole day our strategy was the same:  keep boat speed through the waves, loose cover on the boats nearest to us, give the crew time to set up, and nothing fancy inside the zone.  OK, maybe our cover was not so loose a couple times, but in those cases, we were trying to encourage boats to tack to what we felt was the unfavored side - we respect this fleet too much not to do that from time to time.  For the most part it worked for us.  Bill did a great job of driving, we were able to stay in sync with shifts, and the crew did great - even recovering from a few snafu's.  All in all a great day on the water: sailing with good friends, sailing against good friends, all in a competitive, intense venue...I love this sport.

Turning Point's Sunday Crew:

Bill Bartz, driver

Dave Hardy, tactics

John Mykleby, main

Pat McHue, jib/spin trim

Aaron Downey, jib/spin trim

Mike Stills, jib/spin trim

Yasmine, jib/spin trim

Terri Ammirati, jib/spin trim

Toke Sankaran, pit

Mikey Gebhardt, bow coach

Heather Pond, mast/bow

Darcy Cook, bow/mast

Reinholtzen Spring Opener  (Saturday, May 23, 2009)  The day before the Olympic Cup Regatta, at the Reinholtzen Spring Opener, the Beneteau 40.7 fleet met for the first time in 2009.  This event was also hosted by the Chicago Corinthian Yacht club at Montrose Harbor.  Although this event's races did not count in any of the season series, seven fleet members showed up.  The only problem was the wind, or lack of it, as what little wind there was died before the starting sequence began at 11:00.  During the one hour forty minute postponement, Cancan and Das Boot left the area.  Five boats started in about 4 knots of wind out of the south. 

The course was on the Olympic circle, five legs, designed to be a beat, a reach, a run, another reach, and a final beat back to the finish.  The radius of the circle is .75 nm.  The south mark was designated as first for the course. 

At the start Vayu and Turning Point were at the pin end with Vayu to leeward.  For the first several minutes off the line Vayu worked above Turning Point and then tacked, crossing, and headed for the windward mark on or perhaps slightly above the port layline.  For the rest of the race Vayu led at all marks although on the long running leg, Turning Point was gaining on Vayu and closed the gap between them to about one boatlength.  Before reaching the bottom mark and beginning the final reaching leg Vayu extended her lead to about ten boat lengths and finished in first place. 

Vayu's crew on Saturday:

Photos of the 40.7 fleet at the Reinholtzen Spring Opener and Olympic Cup Regattas are at  Photos.

Results of the Reinholtzen Spring Opener:

Results of the Olympic Cup Regatta: