2001 Arlington Regatta Results
Arlington YC, Arlington, TX

May 4 - 5, 2001


(Results and narrative submitted by Drew Mize on May 5, 2001 - Picture by Herman van Beek)


(click on picture for larger version)

Very Back: Greg Gust - Wins the regatta on his first day as a Master!
Back Row (L-to-R): Wiley Pollard, Jack Kern, Greg Gearing, Jack Hattendorf, Herman van Beek, Scott Butler
Middle Row: Nancy Vickrey, Charlie Lind, Nancy and Eric Protzman, Ken McClanahan, Bryant Williams, Paul Wyman, C.P. Burks
Front Row: Kevin Harper, Drew Mize

23 MC’s joined the 2002 Arlington YC Annual Regatta, along with the DaySailer, Catalina, and Sunfish fleets. The forecast looked a little leery going into the weekend, possible scattered thunderstorms and 15-20 winds were expected but never materialized as a high pressure system stalled and camped on the area for most of the weekend. Saturday morning made the meteorologists liars again, presenting a challenging 3-10 mph winds anywhere from the NNE to SSE. The puffs were short, and sometimes disappeared before they even got to you. All courses were windward/leeward with downwind finishes, always a challenge for the RC in light air. With Lake Arlington NS oriented and just over 1/3 mile E/W across, Easterly winds make the top quarter of the legs extremely challenging and the possibility of big gains or losses on the corners likely.

Race 1 started with Jack Hattendorf taking advantage of a left shift just before the gun, port tacking the entire fleet and riding a beautiful left shift nearly all the way to the 1st mark. He never looked back during the first half of the race, leading the way with a nice lead over Wiley Pollard. Wiley took that lead away at the top portion of the second lap, finishing 1st with Jack just behind. Greg Gearing was 3rd, followed by Charlie Lind, Greg Gust, Ken McClanahan, Drew Mize, Eric Protzman, Scott Slocum, then Jack Kern in 10th. The best story of Race 1 actually occurred after the race ended, CP Burks of AYC rescued a squirrel swimming in the middle of the lake that was just about out of steam. CP held out his paddle and the little critter climbed up and into his boat. Believe it or not, the little guy went behind the board well and stayed there for the rest of the day’s racing until CP flushed him out in the evening.

The wind lightened up a bit for Race 2, Drew just edged out Scott Slocum and Greg Gearing at the first mark. Drew escaped in a small puff and extended while Scott and Greg sat at the offset mark until the rest of the fleet piled up on top of them. Drew went on to win, followed by Jack Kern and Greg Gust in 3rd. Wiley Pollard was 4th followed by Jack Hattendorf, Charlie Lind, Scott Slocum, Greg Gearing, Richard Eglin, and Eric Protzman in 10th.

Race 3 saw Scott Slocum and Charlie Lind swapping leads for most of the race, until they ran out of breeze on the finishing downwind leg on the right side of the course. Drew Mize finished first followed by Greg Gearing and Eric Protzman. Greg Gust was 4th followed by Charlie Lind, Wiley Pollard, Jack Kern, Jack Hattendorf, Ken McClanahan, and Richard Eglin for 10th.

A large thunderstorm rolled through the area early Sunday morning, but the rain stopped about 8:30a and we headed out. There was a little more breeze and somewhat steadier, but was still from the East at 8-10mph which made the top portion of the course just as risky. Race 4 started with a general recall immediately followed by a Black Flag for the second start. Greg Gust won his first race of the regatta on his way to a comeback, followed by Wiley Pollard and Eric Protzman for a 3rd. Jack Kern was 4th, followed by Jack Hattendorf, Drew Mize, Greg Gearing, Charlie Lind, Richard Eglin, and Herman van Beek in 10th.

Going into the final Race 5, Wiley Pollard and Greg Gust were now tied for the lead with Drew Mize following by 2 points. Places 4-8 were just as tight, separated by only 4 points. As inconsistent as everyone’s finishes had been, it was anyone’s regatta. At the first mark, a pack of 4 boats led by Greg Gust were leading. Opting for the other side going down, another pack led by Wiley Pollard and Drew Mize found a nice puff and brought everyone back together. The last upwind leg brought several lead changes, it wasn’t until the last few hundred feet that Greg Gust again found his way to the front followed closely by Eric Protzman. At the finish, it was Greg Gust, Drew Mize, then Eric Protzman for 3rd. Jack Hattendorf and Wiley Pollard tied for 4th, followed by Greg Gearing, Jack Kern, Charlie Lind, Richard Eglin, and Herman van Beek for 10th. Congratulations to Greg Gust on winning his first regatta as a MASTER, and on his 50th Birthday no less!

Pl Skipper Div Club/ST Sail R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 Total Blue Chip
Points
1 Greg Gust   RCYC/TX 2035 5 3 4 1 1 14 1
2 Drew Mize   AYC/TX 2123 7 1 1 6 2 17 0.5
3 Wiley Pollard   SYC/LA 2007 1 4 6 2 4 17 0.5
4 Jack Hattendorf   AYC/TX 2001 2 5 8 5 4 24 0.5
5 Greg Gearing   AYC/TX 1947 3 8 2 7 6 26 0.5
6 Eric Protzman   RCYC/TX 2050 8 10 3 3 3 27  
7 Jack Kern GM RCYC/TX 2148 10 2 7 4 7 30 1
8 Charlie Lind GM RCYC/TX 2124 4 6 5 8 8 31 0.5
9 Ken McClanahan GM AYC/TX 1929 5 11 9 11 12 48 0.5
10 Richard Eglin   SYC/LA 1803 17 9 10 9 9 54  
11 Herman van Beek GM RCYC/TX 1939 11 13 12 10 10 56  
12 C.P. Burks   AYC/TX 1948 12 12 13 12 11 60  
13 Jay Mize M AYC/TX 877 13 21 15 13 13 75  
14 Mike Gralish   AYC/TX 1128 18 18 14 14 14 78  
15 Kevin Harper   AYC/TX 590 19 15 16 15 16 81  
16 Scott Butler   AYC/TX 1523 16 17 18 16 15 82  
17 Scott Slocum   RCYC/TX 2099 9 7 DNS DNS DNS 88  
18 Chuck Anderson M AYC/TX 1491 15 14 11 DNS DNS 88  
19 Bryant Williams   AYC/TX 1956 14 19 17 DNS DNS 98  
20 Nick Nervo   AYC/TX 200x DNS 20 20 17 17 98  
21 Nick Grunt M AYC/TX 1059 20 16 22 DNS DNS 106  
22 Dick Grigsby M AYC/TX 1398 21 23 19 DNS DNS 111  
23 Paul Wyman   AYC/TX 856 DNS 22 21 DNS DNS 115