Budd Cupp 2004 was an experience that was expensive: in wear and tear on my boats, in my time and lots of other volunteers time on the water, Sean called in all kinds of favors and good faith efforts from others, buying awards and rewards for committee workers and winners, and all that understanding and support from Jayne!!! My reward was a match racing regatta in home waters, sailed by my friends willing to try a different format and test their skill yet another way. I thought it went swimmingly.
There were many things done right and somethings not so good. We did manage to coordinate three committee boats and a crew boat and get off lots of races fairly smoothly over four days. Sean set good courses. Beth learned to hoist anchor. There was some good competitive racing. We actually had wind! And everybody, the racers, the RC crew, even the spectators, had a good time.
The most important not so good thing was my inability to communicate the need to prepare for the event. It became very oblivious the first night that the teams were not ready for the wind velocity nor the differences in these boats. Although I allotted a lot of time, a month, for the boats to be available I apparently failed to impress on the competitors the need for multiple practices and maneuvers in the new, to them, boats. And that the differences of match racing rules and tactics needed to be learned. Until you’ve been directly involved you would not know how important the start is, and how much attention you draw from the other boat when there is only one other boat! Etc., etc. ... In short I apparently failed to communicate the commitment of time and effort needed to be competitive in match racing.
Anyway, most of the participants and committee expressed the value of the event and want more. We all could get better at this game and match racing is a tremendous teacher. I hope this is only the first of a series. We might even consider hosting an Area H Prince of Wales event; this isn’t even sailed in Area H at this time!! Please feel free to make comment on the Members BB/ or letter to the editor/ or comments to the race chair, board members, or??
Clark McPherson, McSwoosh
Sean Trew and Dwayne Young took photos of the racing.
Last June, for the first time in 20 years, SSSS sponsored a match racing series, the Budd Cupp. Clark McPherson organized the event, loaning us his two 11 Meters. Three teams were organized: Teams Rosenbach, Visser and Connolly. They had some practice time in May. Everyone who raced had a good time. Everyone learned a lot. The racing was good and competitive. As it should be, the best was left for last.
The first three days of racing were a double round robin. Friday, the first night, had the most wind. So it helped to learn the boat quick. Team Visser had great crew work all regatta and it had allowed them to dominate in the heavy air. These are light boats that carry a lot of sail. They were a handful for only five crew when the wind was up. Which made for some wild sailing. Bob even tried water skiing behind his boat. The crew hauled him back aboard when they realized he hadn’t brought his skies. And they won that race.
A lot of people had trouble starting. The rules call for being in your assigned spot at four minutes before the start, then crossing the start line backwards, course side to pre start side, in the next two minutes. Fail in either of these and you draw a penalty. Named a Rosenbach by one team, in honor of their skipper, this was a common mistake of more than one team. It cost races.
We completed round robin Sunday without a clear winner. Team Rosenbach was out. Team Visser and Team Connolly were tied. So a sail off: it was down to one race. But the wind was dying. The last race was called when it was clear they would not make the time limit, with Team Connolly ahead. We were finished for the weekend.
Over a round of beers, it was decided to hold the Championship Race the next Friday night.
Team Connolly looked good at the start. They were ahead. Team Visser was close behind, but carrying a penalty for a “Rosenbach”. They split tacks several times on the first beat. But the skippers were looking for little gains and never got too far apart. They got to the first mark together with the white boat still ahead. Until she rounded and had to set the chute.
The blue boat got their’s up quickly. She went right by and had a good lead by the time Team Connolly had their chute working. But the blue boat still carried the penalty. And after getting things straightened out, the white boat had a good leg. Playing the south side seemed to pay and she was right on Team Visser’s heels at the leeward mark.
The white boat had a better rounding. She got a little shift and retook the lead at the start of the beat. This time Team Connolly was conservative with the lead, covering the whole leg. The blue boat came back at them hard, trying to force a penalty. She needed to nullified her penalty before the weather mark: to do the turn on a run involves setting and dousing the chute. She accomplished this on a controversial call. But Team Connolly was still ahead at the weather mark.
This time they got their chute up nicely. All they had to do was hold their lead all the way to the finish. They may even have extended it a little. After four days of hard competitive racing, we had a winner. Bob and Pat Connolly, Rod Tharp, Larry Kutz, and Eric Egge got Budd Cupp caps. Team Connolly will be the first team listed on the perpetual trophy, the Budd Cupp.
There were many things to do to make this all happen. Clark McPherson supplied the boats. Sean Trew ran the races, with Clark’s help. Dave Lackey, Kelly Coon, Joseph Donnette, John DeMeyer, Jim Phillips, and Steve Worcester moved the marks and/or were on the water judges.
Ed.