After I rolled out of bed, I followed my usual routine. Start the coffeepot, have a glass of juice and next look out the front window at the trees. The big elm across the street was barely moving. It looked as if some decisions by the race committee would have to be made at the starting line of the Lower Huron Challenge.

Seventeen skippers had entered the challenge in three classes. As I got to the Sarnia Yacht Club the first person I saw was Bill Dembek. Bill and his crew had not got into the harbor until 4 A.M. from Tobermory. Bill informed me that it was unlikely that he would compete as he was very tired and he wasn't sure he could wake up the crew so he could go sailing. It is always best to know when not to compete rather than risk injury.

On the way to the starting line my concentration was on the wind or actually the lack thereof. All of the veteran entrants were at the starting line ready to go. The first time entrants not familiar on how long it took to get to the line were a bit tardy. A quiet little chat with Jean Chorestecki, the principal race officer, was held and a postponement was hoisted to allow the wind to settle in. This also afforded the tardy souls to get to the line. We are a kind, informal lot.

I canvassed some of our senior members as to the possibility of having to run a short course. Everyone quoted their wind readings, which I thought were borderline, but one comment made by Bob Van Eck struck home. Bob said "It is better to sail a shortened course and have everyone finish than having people drop out." As the warning gun for the first class was fired, I was still wanting to sail to Kettle Point. Then I relented and called the race committee on the VHF to call the short course. A short postponement was called to get into the proper sequence again. Remember that last line.

I now had to think about sailing. What was the favored side of the line? Hoist the kite bareheaded or use the headsail and cause some havoc at the starting line for my competitors? I thought it would be less complicated to get into a good position and start bareheaded.

Oh, a gun, start my countdown timer! I had a look at the jib and main class. Three boats had started with one boat holding back. Eric Mortensen on Barracuda had decided to not start on the preparatory signal. How anti-social of him! After the start gun was fired the race committee informed the three skippers, who were overly keen, that they had to start properly. Boats were seen turning back to the line as my class prepared to start.

I started to raise the spinnaker about 20 seconds before the gun in order to hit the line with speed. Only one problem .I got a bloody wrap in the blinking thing. My crew had packed the chute and I hadn't taken the time to repack it with elastic band stoppers, which is my normal practice when sailing solo. And no headsail up which makes it doubly important to band the chute. After no luck in clearing the chute I hoisted the foresail and lowered the chute to repack it. Not to worry, lots of time left to catch up to the group. It consisted of Harold Beaton sailing On Beat, Jan Stolk sailing Turbulent, Jim Bennett sailing Kiara and Peter Nix sailing Nixe.

A quick look back to see the "A" division boats closing in fast. The slowest boat in the A division had a rating of 78 per mile compared to B division at 240 per mile. I again hoisted the 3/4 oz. chute and then noticed that the boats ahead were assuming various headings to keep their sails full and drawing. I decided to peel the heavy, "how could 3/4 oz. seem heavy," for my old 1/2 oz. chute.

The wind picked up a little bit and all the boats closed in on the first mark of the course. Foresails were raised and the spinnakers were doused for what was almost a beat to the short course mark to be set at Blue Point. Mike and Jan Turgeon from the yacht club had volunteered to set the temporary mark. Jan and Mike took time after inflating and setting the mark for a warm, morning swim. The fleet was spread out and moving forward nicely but not breaking any speed records.

Gutsea was moving well but I decided to withdraw to remove the mark after the last boat rounded. As I motored to the mark I saw that Cheryl Cameron had rounded the mark and was heading to the finish 12 miles away. Next to round was Tango followed by Cracker Jack and Station Wagon. I took a position to leeward of the mark and went for a swim. Yes, I had my harness on and was also attached to the boat.

I hauled up the temporary mark after watching all the boats make their rounding in varying styles and proficiency. I had another quick dip in the lake and started the iron main. I was trying to beat some of the boats in to give the finish line committee a helping hand. The wind had picked up nicely and I would only get in faster than some of the boats only because they would have to do some tacking to finish. It was a glorious day. Many pleasure boats out sailing and people swimming. I saw a lot of people I knew who gave me a puzzled look. That was because I didn't have my sails up and I was going hell bent for leather towards the yacht club. You would of thought I was out of ice for the eight year old Bacardi that I've taken a liking to since the finish of the Mac Solo Challenge.

While I was monitoring the VHF radio I heard C Spray and Tango had finished. Now it was time to pay attention and dock the boat. I scurried up to the race shack and saw some familiar faces.Wayne Gould, Dorothy Hurley, Cheryl's friend Barb, and someone that looked like he was miscast in a Peter Fonda motorcycle movie. That person was Dave "Easy Rider" Evans wearing leathers in 85-degree temperatures. Paint yourself a mental picture of that sight.

Boats were finishing in a fair wind, which was on the nose at 10 to 15 knots. The last boat finished before 6:00 P.M. Bob Van Eck showed up and we did the results by the pencil and paper method. Multiplying and dividing without the aid of electronic equipment. I was relieved to see that our results matched the computer-generated results that Blair Arden published on the web site.

After quick shower it was time to go to Harold's BBQ and recount the days activities. The usual post race procedure unfolded. People with broad grins and bright eyes recounted the day's activities on the water. The broadest grins were on the people that had completed their first solo challenge. Burgers and sausages were grilled, liquids replenished and Harold's ever popular watermelon was eaten. The overall opinion was that the shortened course still provided a good test of skill and endurance for both the experienced single-handed sailors and the neophytes.

The awards were handed out complete with the good-natured banter that accompanies all such ceremonies.

Many thanks to all that contributed their time to seeing the Challenge to another successful conclusion.

We had 17 boats entered, 15 started and 14 finished the challenge. All five rookies completed the challenge.

 

Race Chairman
Mark Gutteridge