EC12 Class News

Ahoy Gang

In this issue, we have a bunch of regatta reports, including one that should have been in the last issue. Sorry Annapolis for leaving you out last time. Better late than never.
     We are still going through a bit of a slow turnout period lately. I am not sure what the reasons are, but I am sure it has to do with folks getting older and not enough newer, younger people to replace them. I hope it is just a phase and we will see higher turnouts in the near future. I am still registering new boats and many transfers. We just need to see that translate into more participation at regattas.
     There is some growth going on in Region 4. Michigan has had good turnouts for sailing days and fun regattas and that is great to see. Also in Wisconsin, there is a push to build new boats and grow the fleets in the area. Maybe next year we will see a full racing season of several regattas in this region. If there is anything I can do to help your club or region promote the class, do not hesitate to let me know.
     There are two final regattas on the 2019 schedule. Both are in Florida and both are actually part of the 2020 Florida season. Be sure to enter as soon as you can. We are finishing up the 2020 schedule and I will have it posted next week when I get back from another regatta.

Annapolis Regatta

August 24-25 by Scott Graf

The weather for day 2 of the 11th Annual Annapolis Regatta was the absolute best. Whoever dropped the coupon for that I'm indebted. As RD, I really enjoyed working with the diverse group of sailors from Florida, Massachusetts, South Carolina and of course our local vagabonds. I have to give a shout out to our support folks, Nick Mortgu, scorer Roni Brandt-Simpkins, photographer Judy Bonnano, Ernest Freeland and my spouse Kathleen.
     Saturday's conditions were 8 - 15 out of the NE, the perfect wind direction for our pond. The race committee decided to use a gate at the leeward end which provided additional leverage options and multiple lead changes all weekend. Most of the players stayed with heavy "A" rigs even with a steadily building breeze throughout the day with surprisingly minimal carnage. Only one boat was disabled permanently.
     With Saturday's 16 races plus Sunday's 11, we completed 27 races in total and race committee only had to make minor course adjustments. Five skippers earned first place finishes and the weekend was owned by Danny Thomas earning over 50% of the first places and 8 of 11 victories today. We all had a great time and hope to see more friends next year. This year's pictures can be enjoyed by checking out www.judybonanno.smugmug.com. Pictures are fully downloadable at no charge.

Results
1    Danny Thomas        42
2    Dave Ramos            60
3    Reichard Kahle        74
4    Mark Reinhart         79.4
5    Jaime Betz               90
6    Robert Hill              148
7    David Branning       160
8    Leonard Cass          192
9    Dominic Bonnano    211
10 Roger Baldwin         217
11 Martin Besant          259
12 Frank Ligon             268
13 Scott Todd               271
14 Michael Denest        334
15 Skip Hall                  335

Mark Rinehart 4th, Reichard Kahle 3rd, Dave Ramos 2nd, Danny Thomas 1st and Scott Graf with his amazing ability to shake hands with four people at once.

Soak at the Oak Regatta

October 5-6 by Ron Small

The annual EC-12 Soak at the Oak Regatta was held on Oct. 5-6, 2019 at Oak Hollow Lake in High Point, NC. This year, the Regatta doubled as the Region 3 Championship as well. When the 10 competitors from three states arrived at the lake, they were greeted by 12-15 mph winds directly down the lake from the east. Several B-rigs were mounted. However, by race-time the winds had dropped to 7-10, so everyone switched to their A’s. Temperatures were in the mid 60’s, quite a change from the upper 90’s the days prior. Throughout the day, the winds did cause electrical and mechanical issues to affect at least five boats, including those of two of the top three finishers. From the start, it was apparent that Chuck Millican, Reichard Kahle, Gerry Cobley and Leonard Cass would be the skippers to chase. However, during the day, six of the ten captains managed to earn at least one bullet. The wind remained fairly constant through lunch and the rest of the day.

     Day two brought quite a change in conditions. The sky was brighter, the temperature was up a little and the wind was much lower. It held at 3-6 mph until late morning when it dropped to nearly zero at times. A decision was made by the RD and racers to end the Regatta an hour early when the last race took nearly an hour and there was no improvement in sight. In all, twenty-six 2 ½ lap races were completed, and the eventual winner wasn’t decided until that final race was completed. The winner, Chuck Millican, edged out Reichard Kahle by one point, followed by Gerry Cobley and Leonard Cass. Congratulations go out to all competitors and, especially, the top finishers.
     Special thanks go to Skip Allen for volunteering to serve as Race Director rather than race. Also, to Lawrence Feir for taking pictures which can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-1p5uJs4Kk&feature=youtu.be
Brass sailboat trophies, once belonging to Frank Angel, were donated by his wife Linda, making them very special.

Summary of 2019 Soak at the Oak / R-3 Regatta:
Chevrons: Red
Date: October 5-6, 2019
Location: Oak Hollow Lake High Point, NC
Host Club: Greensboro Model Yacht Club
# of Entries: 10
Winds: 7-12 mph day one; 1-6 mph day two
Races completed: 26
Scoring System: Low points, 1 throw out each 7 races

Regatta Committee & Valuable Assistants:
Skip Allen: Race Director, Tom Early: Scoring help, Leonard Cass: Drinks, Pat Jones: Breakfast and Lunch and Lawrence Feir: Photography.

2019 Soak at the Oak / R-3 Regatta Results
Place    Skipper           Sail#     Points
1   Chuck Millican       31         38
2   Reichard Kahle       48         39
3   Gerry Cobley          25         79
4   Leonard Cass         59          89
5   Bert Pirson             38         124
6   Ron Small               69         133
7   Dennis Headberg    66         138
8   Shaun Fry               81         151
9   Bo Jones                 89         178
10 Doug McLellan        73         215

The group at Soak at the Oaks.

Fall Classic Regatta

October 12-13 by Don Ouimette

The Housatonic Model Yacht Club hosted the annual EC12 Fall Classic regatta on the weekend of October 12 & 13, 2019 at our Bethany sailing venue. We had great weather both days with light but reasonable wind on Saturday that died around two o’clock and a bit lighter wind on Sunday.
There were ten skippers, so we were able to get in 24 races despite the light wind conditions. Brian Kerrigan sailed well, especially on Sunday and won the regatta. Congratulations to Brian!
Many thanks to the race committee of Fred Goebel (RD), Mary Goebel & Art Fressola (scoring), Kenichi Tatsuno, Dick Chandler, Rick Goebel and Randy Carreira as mark judges and all those who pitched in to help. Without them, regattas like this could not happen. Congratulations to all who competed!
Next year is already on the schedule for October 3-4, so mark your calendars!

Results

Brian Kerrigan 42.6
Rob Hill 49
Don Ouimette 50
Jon Pelley 72
Fred Schneider 116
Bob Lombard 124
TW Johnson 124
Al Schober 145
Bill Dempsey 149
Brian Jobson 219

The group at the Fall Classic.

Hagerstown Regatta

October 19 by Jarl Wathne

The day dawned with a clear blue sky and a cold mist hovering on Hagerstown City Park Lake. Cumberland Valley MYC members were excited to host a brand new EC12 regatta at this 100 year old classic City Park Lake. It reminds me of my childhood family vacation memories getting glimpses of model sailboats at Central Park and Golden Gate Park. We had 15 skippers show up to compete in this event, traveling from PA, NJ, WV, MD, and even VT! Two are former National Champions and four were local club members. I even convinced my friend Doug Wotring to come play after a five year absence!
Two boats had issues with faulty or missing equipment. Both were rescued by Terry Lamb using his demo boat as a parts boat for a sail rig and transmitter-receiver loaners. Awesome!!
Racing started at 10AM with a light breeze from the south, which is the best direction for this lake. Single fleet racing all day long and the wind slowly built to 5-10mph and the southerly held. We lengthened the races from 1¼ laps to 2¼ laps to make it 2 long upwind legs as the wind picked up. The skippers shared the lake edge sidewalk with lots of fascinated spectators young and old. The first 4 races were all won by a different skipper and those 4 skippers would end up winning every race and being the 1-4th place at the end of the day. Jamey Betz made it two bullets in a row to complete the morning with a 4 pt lead over Dave Ramos.

After lunch, Jamey had a mechanical under deck issue that gave him a last place finish while Dave R began a run to the finish line with 3 -1st, a 2nd and 3 -3rds. Jamey also had 3-1sts after lunch but could not quite catch him despite the two throw-outs, losing by 1 pt. Scott Graf had an excellent regatta with two bullets and ended a solid 3rd place. 4th place trophy was won by a tiebreaker with Dave Branning’s win in the third race gaining him the last trophy over Harry Mote.

    There was close racing at all levels of the fleet as 10 of the positions were settled by one pt or less. My two scorekeepers Nicole Asplund and Penny Smith were flawless! EC12 Class Photographer Judy Bonanno and CVMYC website manager and photographer Helen Stevens were capturing the event. Thanks to my CVMYC members and also to City of Hagerstown for allowing us to host this amazing event! Let’s do it again next year. Maybe a two-day?

Final Results
1   Dave Ramos        21
2   Jamey Betz          22
3   Scott Graf            39
4   Dave Branning     46
5   Harry Mote          46
6   Doug Wotring      59
7   Dom Bonanno      60
8   Tim Stone             67
9   Roger Baldwin       74
10 Jerry Franko          82
11 Mike Cavanaugh    91
12 Scott Smith        92
13 Kelly Davis             110
14 Nick Krawczak        132
15 Troy Wallace          133

The group at the First ever Hagerstown Regatta.

Wisteria Cup

October 19-20 by Ricky Gerry

The typical sunny, warm, and windy Charleston checked out for the 2019 Wisteria cup. Tropical storm Nestor brought water, water, and more water with winds out of the east southeast from 0-5 mph, far less than the predicted 20+. Oh, and did I mention water? 13 skippers put on raincoats, placed radios in bags and began their battles for lake supremacy. The traditional long Charleston course was in play but shortened to one lap on Saturday due to lighter than forecasted winds and drenching conditions. Joe Walter took race one in his new Brewhouse boat, while current National Champion Peter Feldman set the standard following with back-to-back bullets. Chuck Millican grabbed race 4 before we took a short break. With the weather predictions going from bad to worse the skippers sat back out for two more races. Alan Perkins grabbed his first win and Chuck got his second in race 6. After a short consult with the doppler radar, and having half the fleet with drowned radios we called it a day, ate lunch and set off to hurry up and wait for dinner at the local restaurant and bar The Bohemian Bull. Just in case anyone is curious… yes it rained all through dinner too.
Sunday morning racing begin at 8:45 to make up for a less than stellar Saturday. With winds out of the southwest pushing the limits of A Rigs, the 2 ½ lap Charleston course was set and the brutal regiment began. In case anyone hasn’t been paying attention yes it rained on us Sunday too.
Alan and Peter proceeded to duel it out for 9 of the 12 available bullets. Once the dust settled and with Peter edging Alan out on the closest finish I have ever called, Alan took top honors of the day with 5 total firsts to Peters 4. Meanwhile Reichard Kahle snagged the only other win that Danny Thomas didn’t claim. Local racer Randy Singelyn took second in race 13 for his best ever regatta finish. The circuits notable female racer Liz Perkins placed third in her best race for the weekend. Another local, and current driving force for the Charleston club Henry Cerceo, also finished third on the last race Saturday for his top regatta finish. The Georgia contingent of Dave Linville, Jack Shepard, and Scott Vernon all had top five finishes, however, both Scott and Jack faced boat gremlins causing multiple DNF’s. Dave sailed consistently and never had a double-digit score.

     The prized Wisteria Cup went to Frank Ligon. It is the only prize worth anything. We all hope to see Frank back next year free of charge. Frank has been gaining knowledge and improving his sailing over the past few regattas. He held his own against a very competitive fleet consisting of three multiple time National Champions, and eight different multiple time regatta winners. Keep it up Frank!
     Beautiful handmade wooden trophies were awarded for the top 4 places. Chuck and Reichard were separated by one point just outside the trophies. Joe came forth with the best possible score of 63 (best number ever). Danny scratched and clawed to within 5 points of first to claim third. The battle of the weekend was settled by just two points with the lead changing after 2 throw out’s. Peter edged Alan out for the regatta victory 44 to 46.
     A special thanks goes to Bill Coates for making sure coffee and donuts were present, lunch arrived, and of course, for the beautiful trophies. Also thank you to RD Ricky Gerry who served as judge, jury, and executioner. A great deal of gratitude goes out to all the competitors for their Corinthian spirit and coming to sail.

The group at the Wisteria Cup.

Upcoming Events

November

Nov 9-10, Gator Regatta, The Villages FL

December

Dec 7-8, Holiday Regatta, Punta Gorda FL