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2002 Doug Sydor Regatta Results September 14 - 15, 2002 (Results and narrative submitted by Mark Long on September 15, 2002)
31 boats made it to the 2002 Doug Sydor regatta this weekend at Lake
Winnebago MO. Race teams came from Shreveport, Dallas, Lake Lotawana and
Zenda. Winnebago is one of the smallest lakes on the MC circuit and we are
located just south of Kansas City. We started the weekend with 2 short
practice races with Aimee Long and Eric Hood as PRO. They enjoyed calling me
OCS to get the weekend started. Conditions were 2-5 with very smooth water.
Paul Estes of Lake Winnebago won a practice race and Lewis Conger of from
Fleet 1 in Shreveport won the second race.
Saturday brought rain and light winds. Bob Cooley from Lake Lotawana was PRO
and he was assisted by Kris Long and Amy Pollard. Bob tried to get a race in
before lunch but the wind disappeared and the race was abandoned. After
lunch, we went out again in calm and shifty conditions. There was a sprinkle
of rain from time to time, but it did not bother the group. We sailed a W2
1/2 and Eric Hood and Jeff Baldus jumped out to a big lead with Lewis Conger
and Bob Cantrell not far behind. With conditions this shifty I thought we
would see a few lead changes, but Eric managed to hang on. The start for
this race was difficult because there was a big header just before the start
and if you did not adjust quickly you were on the third row. Finding "lanes"
of clear air and sailing to dark water was everything in this race. We tried
for a second race but the wind disappeared.
We ended the day with a party at Aimee and Mark Long's house. The group was
fired up when they saw a perfect forecast for Sunday. The party went long.
Sunday was very nice. We had a north breeze at 5 to 12. The North wind is
rare so local knowledge was limited. The temperatures dropped and the sun
came out. We started our first race at 9:30A and Bob Cooley set a perfect
line. Robert Rimel and I went out 1 hour before the race to determine the
favored side. We sailed on opposite tacks for 30 seconds with Rimel on the
left side of the course and I sailed on the right, when we met in the middle,
we would tack back to our side for another 30 seconds. We learned that the
left side of the course was the place to be. We also learned that shifting
gears would be important as some puffs required full hike with tension on
the vang and at the end of the puff you had to shift gears, ease the vang and
get back inside the boat quickly. Race 1 was a W2 1/2 and it was me, George
Silvey, Jack Kern and Jeff Baldus in the lead at the first mark with Wiley
Pollard and Austin Chamberlin close by. Clear air and sailing the lifted
tack was key. If you were in traffic, you had to find lanes and sail for the
puffs. There was no motorboat traffic at all so the wind was easy to see. I
got a bit excited and tipped over to lose my lead 1/2 way down the last beat.
PRO Bob Cooley was very quick to get back and set another line and we had 3
races back to back to back. Race 2 was Wiley Pollard, Me and Eric hood
fighting for the lead and in Race 3 John Martin of Lake Lotawana was the
leader at the first mark followed by Jack Schwindler of Lake Lotawana.
Here are the top finishers:
Thanks to all that helped make this a great event. Special thanks to all that
traveled. We hope to see more of you next year.
One additional note, our fleet captain, Gunter Stien bought MC 2184 and we
will grow the fleet to 21 with Gun's son taking his old boat.
Mark Long
MC 1942
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