2007 MC Blue Chip Regatta Results
Spring Lake YC, MI September 22 - 23, 2007
(Results and picture submitted by Matt Young on Sep 24, 2007)
Front row (L to R): Lara Lanka, Christy Steketee, Charlie Lind, Maggie Klooe, Meg Bouman, Allison Price Middle row (L to R): Brien Fox, Bob Currier, Curt Miller, Eric Rivard, Cam McNeil, Joe Rotonda, Rob Kimball Back row (L to R): Peter Toumanoff, Andy Molesta, Lynn Walborn, Chris Eggert The 2007 MC Blue Chip was probably the nicest Blue Chip on record with 80 degree temps and decent wind throughout the entire regatta. For any of you who have attended in the past, we are usually in our foul weather gear, gathered around the fire enjoying warm potato soup!! This year, the fireplace was never used and shorts and t-shirts were the chosen attire we couldn't have asked for more. Saturday morning arrived with temps in the 70's early on and wind out of the west-northwest at around 10mph. Our regatta R/C, Steve Schiller, got everyone out on the water and was able to get in two races before lunch. Consistency was the key in these races as Cameron McNeil from WLYC came out with two bullets. Cam sailed his boat smooth and transitioned well from shift to shift. Keeping your head in the game 100% of the time was important as there were some unusual wind shifts during these races, and with these shifts came position changes. Downwind the fleet would split and it really came down to each individual leg to determine which side was favored. What was good one leg was not necessarily the right choice the next time. After lunch, the wind had picked up a bit, maybe to 15mph+ out of the west. Joe Rotonda with crew Maggie Kloote won the first race. He had a great start and was up in the front the whole way. Brett Hatton was leading the race when Joe split from him on the last leg and broke Brett's cover. He caught a nice shift into the finish line and took a bullet. The next race saw Brien Fox jump off the starting line and in the lead almost the whole race. He took a bullet with John McNeil close behind in 2nd and Brett Hatton in 3rd. Overall a great day with great wind that provided close, competitive racing. The day ended with a very close top five in points:
Saturday night was the annual Blue Chip dinner at the local Arboreal, known for their famous Prime Rib. Everyone enjoyed a great dinner and as always an animated speech by Glen Walborn, who acknowledged some key players in the fleet regarding participation. 23 of this year's participant's already qualified for the National standings. That means that counting the Blue Chip these sailors participated in at least 4 events in 2007. Some notables were Cameron McNeil, Rob Kimball, Rick Trester, and John McNeil who sailed 6 events each. Peter Toumanoff sailed 7 events. Ron Curio sailed 8 events. Dan Fink sailed 9 events. And Bob Miller tops them all with 10 regattas during the 2007 season. Great job guys this is the reason our class is so strong. Sunday was sure to be an interesting one with only 9pts separating the first and fifth place boats. Everyone arrived to a 5-10mph breeze out of the east the same course from the day before only reversed. Temps were a little chilly early but quickly increased to 75 degrees by mid-morning. The first race saw Cam McNeil, Joe Rotonda and Kyle Verplank out in front at the start and calling all of the right shifts all the way to the finish line. Cam took a bullet with Joe and Kyle right behind him. The second race saw John McNeil come off the line with a great start and in the lead pretty much the entire race. He took a bullet with Joe in 2nd and Phil Weiler from CLSA/OH in 3rd. On this day, what little local knowledge is usually a benefit on Spring Lake was useless. The shifts were unpredictable to say the least. The wind direction kept switching to the south as the afternoon thermal slowly tried to fill in. However, just when you thought that going right was the correct choice, and looking up the lake at the water confirmed that, a pack of boats on the left would catch a huge lefty and sail right over you. There were more position changes in this last race than in any of the previous races for sure. Thank you to our Race Committee. Our head PRO for the weekend was Steve Schiller assisted by Pete and Nancy Price on the start boat. Our windward mark-set boat was previous Blue Chip Champion Happy Fox. On the leeward end of the starting line we had Midge Verplank. These guys make the races run smooth and flawless thanks to everyone that helped out!! On shore, Matt Young handled our scoring. This is a big job and one that keeps Matt in the "office" while everyone else is socializing. We really appreciate it. Thanks Matt! Thank you to Herman van Beek and Ron Stryker for all of the help they provided including the enormous task of organizing, managing and sending out invitations. Thank you to the Mystery Guest, Bob Sagan of Traverse City, for coming and joining in the fun. Hopefully Bob purchases an MC sometime soon and we'll see him on the water. Also, thank you to Gary Verplank for loaning his MC 2266 to Bob for the regatta. Also, thank you to Tiffany Fox and Emily Molesta for working so hard all weekend coordinating lunches and making sure the keg stayed iced-down while everyone was out sailing. These ladies and their helpers made the regatta what it is!
Thank you to all of the competitors for participating it wouldn't be a
regatta without you - and thank you to Brien, Glenn and Andy for hosting
the regatta. It was another excellent Blue Chip, and as previously
mentioned, we completely lucked out with the weather. Sail hard and do
all you can to make the Blue Chip a goal for 2008. The racing is tight,
extremely competitive and a lot of fun.
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