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Small Boat Regatta in South Bay
Mike Jue - October 25 & 26, 2002
Saturday morning everybody was excited about the weekend's regatta in South Bay. Marc and I arrived at Coronado YC and found the four FD's rigging up. Pretty soon the rest of the 505's started showing up. Weasel (Dan and Bill), Fever Pitch (Bill M. and Teresa Shand), Kitty (John and John III), and our newest friends in Taz (Bryce and Channing). Bryce and Channing had very puzzled looks as they pondered the spaghetti of lines in Taz. We all pitched in and helped them rig and get them on the water.The winds were light, but soon built enough for steady trapezing. The starts were especially interesting since we started with the FD's. Picture 4 FD's barely moving, their mains luffing, and their genoas furled with less than a minute to go and five 505's zig-zagging around them. The Weasels showed their usual speed and tangled mostly with the FD's ending up with a 4th, 2nd, and 3rd in the combined fleet. Kitty, with John III driving and Big John on the wire, were fast and sailed really well. They took two 2nds and a DNF after Big John banged up his shin. Fever and us were pretty well matched (both flying small kites) and duked it out for most of the day. Fever beat us in Race 1. We beat them in 2 and 3. Bryce and Channing did amazingly well and were not very far behind the fleet in each race. Way to go guys. Free beer at the bar and a BBQ at the Billings' place capped off a very fun day.
On Sunday, Mike and Roger showed up with Freebee to give Taz some classic competition making it 10 boats on the line. Well, sort of. We almost missed the start until Freebee was nice enough to yell "30 sec. to start!" We turned and burned and hit the line in the 4th row behind Weasel and Freebee. Fever, Kitty, and Taz weren't even in the starting area. We passed Freebee on the beat and held on to take 2nd. Freebee took Fever below the rhumb line on starboard, but Fever got them in the last upwind leg to the finish.
Race 5: With "Dolly Parton" bragging rights up for grabs Dan and Bill went to battle against the FD's on behalf of our fleet. They sailed masterfully and took two 1st places in the combined fleet. Kitty, with Big John driving and a young junior named Caleb crewing, sailed well. Bill McKinney and Teresa Shand sailed well too. We were sailing pretty well too, and the three boats traded places a number of times. For most of the race we were all within a few boatlengths of each other. Coming in to the last leeward mark, Kitty was barely ahead of us. Fever a little bit behind us. Kitty doused early. We kept our kite up. We both took evasive maneuvers to avoid FD Wally coming upwind and somehow Ben and I rounded ahead. We held on to take 2nd for the race and 2nd place in the regatta. We were psyched.
Of course, the wind picked up for the sail back to the dock and we all blasted home.
Once again, another great weekend on the water and a fun regatta for us all. Congratulations to Dan and Bill for beating the FD's when it really counted and to Bryce and Channing for sailing really well for the first time in a very complicated boat.
Mike
Results: 5o5
| Place | Sail Number | Team | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Total |
| 1 | USA 6991 | Weasel: Bill/Dan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | USA 7152 | 7152: Mike/Marc/Ben | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| 3 | USA 6931 | Fever Pitch: Bill/Teresa | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| 4 | USA 7773 | Kitty: John/John/Caleb | 2 | 2 | DNF | 5 | 3 | 19 |
| 5 | USA 5507 | Freebee: Roger/Mike | DNC | DNC | DNC | 4 | 5 | 30 |
| 6 | USA 6587 | Taz: Bryce/Channing | 5 | 5 | DNF | 6 | DNF | 30 |
Results: FD
| Place | Sail Number | Team | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Total |
| 1 | USA 153 | Dommermuth | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 2 | USA 40 | Matinez | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | USA 87 | Algert | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | USA 45 | Eaton | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
DP Combined Race Finish Order (Race 5)
| Place | Class | Sail Number | Team |
| 1 | International 5o5 | USA 6991 | Weasel: Bill/Dan |
| 2 | Flying Dutchman | USA 87 | Algert |
| 3 | Flying Dutchman | USA 40 | Matinez |
| 4 | Flying Dutchman | USA 45 | Eaton |
| 5 | Flying Dutchman | USA 153 | Dommermuth |
| 6 | International 5o5 | USA 7152 | 7152: Mike/Ben |
| 7 | International 5o5 | USA 7773 | Kitty: John/Caleb |
| 8 | International 5o5 | USA 6931 | Fever Pitch: Bill/Teresa |
| 9 | International 5o5 | USA 5507 | Freebee: Roger/Mike |
| 10 | International 5o5 | USA 6587 | Taz: Bryce/Channing |
Important Commentary by Bill Jenkins
Mike's totally excellent article neglected the all-important list of
lame excuses. Fully researched and 100% accurate, here it is:
Eberhart - trapped in kitchen by stacks of building materials.
Kursava - bag of parts in one hand, tool box in the other, and a bare boat
in front of him: brain has completely shorted out.
Liebat - waiting to hear from Steve.
Nelson - enjoying the wanker lifestyle.
Schnelker - dodging sniper bullets on the east coast.
Shand - installing baby carrier under foredeck.
Stomberg - constructing kayak storage facility in new hillside villa.
Woodcock - scouring the planet for deals on used sporting equipment.
Some History: The Dolly Parton Challenge by Dan Merino
Some years ago Doug Dommermuth issued a challenge between FD's and
505's at what was once the FD West Coast championship. The challenge was
friendly and encouraged 505's to sail with FD's. According to ratings for
the boats, in light air the 505s have the advantage, Medium air both boats
are evenly matched, and the FD's have the advantage in heavy air. Since
that challenge was issued, the 505's have never beaten the FD's on the
water for this particular challenge**. The closest we came was in 1999
when Mike Martin and then girlfriend (and now wife) Stephanie O'Keefe put
up a great battle against Doug Dommermuth and former crew Marco Columbo.
In the end though Doug Pulled off the win. The "Dolly Parton" Chute was
awarded to the fleet captain of the losing fleet with the instructions
they had to fly the chute on opening day (the only day it's ever flown).
It's also signed by all the members of the winning fleet...
However this all changed last weekend when a 505 was victorious over the
FD's in the last race on the Planing Boat Regatta. I am now in possession
of the dreaded DP chute and invite all 505 fleet 3 members to sign it
before our fleet captain awards it to the FD fleet at the trophy dinner
November 23. I encourage you to attend the awards ceremony to watch the
presentation and to attend MBYC's 2003 Opening day to watch it being
flown.
** I believe in 2000 the chute was given back to the FD fleet for only
getting two boats on the water for an FD regatta...