Mark Golison wins the df95 region 8 regatta

By Mike Ferring, Commodore

The DF95 Region 8 Travel Series Regatta couldn't have been better, enjoying some of the finest RC sailing conditions imaginable: wind 5-10 knots and temperature in the 70s.  The competition was even better.  A dozen of the best sailors in California (and in the country) traveled to Arizona on January 27-28 and dominated the results sheet.

Mark Golison came in marked as the man to beat, and at the end of two days of racing at Estrella North Lake he'd captured first place with a dominating performance.  The next spots were closer, with Larry Grant, Dennis Rogers, Keith Ives, and Jim Sears finishing second through fifth. (They're pictured first to fifth below right.) Al Lehman, Jr. was WVRCM's highest placing entrant in seventh, just one point out of sixth.  Al told me his biggest challenge was punching through on the starts, since our regattas don't have a dozen boats or more on the start line, as this one did.

Of course, the starts are critical to RC racing, and I was fascinated to watch this bunch of expert sailors navigate the start line. They lined up in textbook fashion, setting up very early, often about 30 seconds before the gun, just a few feet from the line. They wiggled into open spots and then expertly held position, barely moving in the wind, protecting the leeward gap until the countdown ticked toward zero. They didn't always nail it, sometimes crossing early, but the top few generally crossed within milliseconds of the gun. Race Director Al Stiewing called many over early and stopped a few races with a general recall when so many were over that it was impossible to call sail numbers.

The regatta was scored under the HMS heat system, so boats were continually going in and out of the water as A and B heats fired off. Al presented simple clothes pins to racers to designate which race they were assigned to run, telling them to click them onto their hats to identify themselves.  After short windward-leeward races, the clothes pin exchange began, with some racers promoted to the A heats or demoted to the B heats. The scores below are how it shook out in the end, showing 18 races but actually 36 heat races, so you'll see two first places, two seconds, and so forth, in each race column.

Behind the scenes, your WVRCM team was buzzing around to organize this weekend and to run it once it arrived. Give your thanks to the crew: Organizer Mike Fruciano, Advisor Mike Eades, Race Director Al Stiewing, Estrella liaison and lunch caterer Terry Kraus, Major Helper Rod Sturgess, Scorekeeper Maryellen Ferring, and me. Region 8 Director Len Bose did a lot of the work to get the group over from California and he's already asking about a repeat performance next year. Since I haven't enjoyed a regatta of any kind so much in a long time, I say "absolutely"!

Below: pictures I took during the regatta.  Below the pictures: The scoreboard.