Mid Continent Regatta 2010 by Todd Wake

Opening day for Lightning Sailors in the Midwest is marked by the Mid-Continent Regatta hosted by the Carlyle Sailing Association. The weather can be hit or miss but good times are guaranteed. We arrived at CSA Friday afternoon with an entourage as usual. Kristine and I were joined by our sons Doug and Ben, Kristine’s mom and step dad. They had met CSA members at other regattas and want to find out what the club and the little town of Carlyle are all about.  We spent the afternoon setting up the boat and greeting the other competitors as they trickled in. As a bonus the CSA waived the entry fee for out of town boats as a thank you to all who loaned their boats at the Champion of Champions regatta last fall.

The thing that struck me most about this regatta was the number of kids sailing or hanging out at the club. Pete and Kim Orlebeke sailed very well with their 12 year old son Cole doing middle while little sister Cali played onshore. Rick Bernstein, his son Jacob and Rob Zerban sailed together. Teenagers Alina Moriarty and Allison Lacker watched over a whole group of kids roaming the grounds while their parents sailed and or enjoyed a drink after racing. Our son Ben was having so much fun that he got a little teary when we had to go home.  This certainly is a good indicator for the future of the class to have so many kids involved. Making regattas “Family Friendly” is a great way to maintain and build participation. 

Saturday morning featured grey skies, intermittent rain and lots of ugliness on the radar. PRO Ted Beier did a great job of squeezing in three races between storm cells. We sailed two races before a lunch break (conveniently timed to let a squall pass) and one race after lunch. Race one was sailed in moderate winds that became very unstable near the windward mark. Trying to adjust to the shifts and pressure changes was a challenge in the first race of the year. Tobi Moriarty, sailing with her husband Dan, and Jen Aljets, was the quickest to adapt to the conditions and won the first race. Another highlight was James Chapin taking an unexpected plunge off the side of Matt Burridge’s boat. Race two was a little windier but uneventful in comparison to the first. We won with Tobi second to leaving us tied going into the lunch break.

After a lunch break and a squall we headed out for race three. The wind had freshened since the morning we all had the feeling that it would continue to build. Matt Burridge nailed the start at the boat. We started a few boat lengths below him and it was a drag race to the port tack layline. He held us off the whole leg and rounded the windward mark a couple boat lengths ahead. We were able to jibe inside of Matt due to Kristine’s and Nick Beckman’s excellent crew work. Catching a big puff and right shift first allowed us to slip by Matt.  On the final run we were able to extend our lead as the wind started to howl. Steve Weeber who had been sailing an excellent regatta got caught be a puff/shift and executed a spectacular wipe out. As the rescue crew went into action the wind continued to build and the RC decided to send us in for the day.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the clubhouse hatching the storms on radar and out the window while enjoying appetizers and drinks. Saturday night everyone went to the Legion Bar and Restaurant for a great dinner. If you have never been to Carlyle it’s worth the trip just to experience the Legion. Dinner and drinks for seven cost me $80 and three of us had delicious 12 ounce ribeyes. On Sunday morning a competitor was heard saying “I looked up and the isobars are so close together they are blocking the sun.” With too much wind to sail the regatta was called and all the local sailors helped the traveling teams pack up their boats so we could get an early start on the trip home. The trophies were some of the best ever, Tervis Tumblers! We can’t wait to go back again next year.

				CARLYLE SAILING ASSOCIATION						
			   	   Lightning Fleet 266						
					  2010						
				 Mid Continent Regatta						
		3 Races in series.   0 Races needed to qualify.  3 Races scored.						
			14 Boats registered 14 Boats participated in races						
							
Sail	Skipper							Date		Place	Score
#	"Crew, Crew"					4/24	4/24	4/24		
							
15390	Todd Wake					2	1	1	1	4
	"Kristine Wake, Nicholas Beckman"		^	^	^		
15364	Tobi Moriarty					1	2	6	2	9
	"Dan Moriarty, Jenifer Aljets"			^	^	^		
14834	Matt Burridge					3	4	2	3	9
	"Paul Hansen, James Chapin"			^	^	^		
15158	Peter Orlebeke					5	3	4	4	12
	"Kim Orlebeke, Cole Orlebeke"			^	^	^		
14901	Ian Schillebeeckx				6	5	3	5	14
	"Roselyne Schillebeeckx, Mark Schill"ebeeckx	^	^	^		
15045	Scott Zerban					10	7	5	6	22
	"Carson Menges, Courtney Menges"		^	^	^		
15317	Steve Weeber					4	6	DNF	7	25
	"Donna Weeber, Stan Cummins"			^	^	^		
14766	Ian Moriarty					11	8	7	8	26
	"Edd Burke, Caleb Leonard"			^	^	^		
15308	Bill Killebrew					8	10	9	9	27
	"Mike Osborne, Kathy Osborne"			^	^	^		
15202	Bill Buckles					7	11	11	10	29
	"Greg Florian, Colin Florian"			^	^	^		
14614	John Folwell					9	12	10	11	31
	"Mark Paoli, Joe Bartman"			^	^	^		
14798	Rick Bernstein					DNF	9	8	12	32
	"Rob Zerban, Jacob Bernstein"			^	^	^		
14009	John Sepanski					12	13	DNC	13	40
	"Erica Sepanski, Andrea Sepanski"		^	^	^		
14705	Michael Reed					DNF	DNF	DNC	14	45
	"Susan Reed, Kevin Gunn"			^	^	^		
							
Number	of boats						
	in each race					14	14	12		
							
Explaination:  DNF - Did Not Finish    DNC - Did Not Come to Start     DSQ - Disqualified       ^ - Race counted