It is sometimes a way of remembering different races in different years by linking it with something else significant that has happened in our own life or others. It is truly regrettable that the 2001 version of the Lower Huron Solo Challenge will always be linked with the horrific events that have occurred in our good neighbors' country. My sincerest, heartfelt condolences to our good American Friends and others affected by this most terrible crime.

The Lower Huron Solo Challenge according to the Friday weather reports had the makings of fast reaching conditions and tough upwind beating. I arrived at the Sarnia Yacht Club Friday evening for the final registration of competitors and the skippers meeting. There was discussion of the weather which was forecast to have winds from the South to Southwest at 20 to 25 knots and gusts to 35 knots. Most of the discussion was as to what sail combination that was to be used and what class to enter. Some skippers opted to enter the jib and main class because they reasoned that there would not be an opportunity to fly a spinnaker in the high winds. There were skippers that were just interested in renewing old rivalries and those also that were furthering their education in short handed sailing. I know each time I go sailing shorthanded sailing it is a further learning experience about myself, my boat and the elements.

Saturday morning dawned with the meteorologists putting a check mark in the correct column of their forecasting score sheet. As the race committee left the harbor we were hailed on the VHF radio by some competitors that decided not to risk equipment failure in the high winds. After we set the starting line I watched Scott McNeil on a Henderson 30 and Eric Vigrass on a SR33 each of which are high sail area to displacement boats testing the compass courses that would have to be sailed. These light displacement boats were flying on the reaches but when they turned upwind they were quite overpowered and could possibly be in over their head. Both Scott and Eric called me on the VHF and with disappointment very evident in their voices informed me that they would not be able to compete.

The Jib and Main class was the first start. Jean Chorestecki, the principal race officer for SYC/PHYC, asked me when I might cancel the challenge. I relayed to her there were people out there that would be upset if I cancelled even with Storm warnings but Gale warnings would most likely keep us in the harbor. Charles Harris sailing Sly Fox was first to cross the starting line followed shortly thereafter by Erik Mortensen sailing Barracuda and Tom Hughes sailing Split Decision.

Division "B" was about to start when we noticed a competitor whose shiny kevlar mainsail was split from the luff to the leech between the first and second reef points. John and Jean Chorestecki both commented that there was another boat that would unfortunately not be able to start. I said "Hell, that's Captain Calamity Phil Rubright; that's not going to stop him. It is just another minor inconvenience." As Phil passed close to the start boat he asked us if we had a spare mainsail and on hearing we did not he said, "oh well I think it will last to the first mark". I commented that Phil was one of the best sailors I have ever met and after all this was the Lower Huron Challenge.

With Phil who was sailing Novation in the "B" division were Jim Bennett on Kiara, Steve Stoll (first timer) on Bayonet and Harold Beaton on On Beat. The previous evening Harold was offered 50 bucks by Phil if he didn't start the race. Harold didn't bite. Phil should have mentioned that it was $50 in US funds.

The "A" division was comprised of Cheryl Cameron sailing C Spray, Bob Van Eck sailing Tango and Dave Evans sailing Ratso.

Before their start I had lost sight of Ratso. I was looking to the south which was below the starting and also into the wind. It would have been a spinnaker start if the wind wasn't blowing 20 to 25 knots. Dave and Ratso were nowhere to be seen. I panned the horizon in a 360-degree arc. No Dave, no Ratso anywhere! Well, I thought, he must have had a gear failure and had to put back into port to make repairs. The gun for the "A" division went off on time and Cheryl and Bob started with no problems evident except they had no Ratso with them. A few minutes had passed and we were about to hoist the anchor of the committee boat when out of the mist on the course side of the starting line comes this pug nosed boat. I said "That's Ratso. What the hell is Dave doing down there?" We put up the individual recall flag and tried to inform Dave by VHF that he was on course side early. He did not reply but you knew he knew there had been a foul up because he was beating hard back to the starting line. Dave rounded the buoy end of the line and finally started. I'm sure he used that end of the line so he wouldn't have to talk to us.

Everybody had finally had been accounted for so we pulled up the anchor and went back to the SYC to await the return of the Hardy Souls. I knew you were all curious where I would use that term. None of my stories are complete without me using that one.

Thanks again to John and Jean Chorestecki for volunteering their time and boat Ce Me Now to again start our event. By the way, Jean's granddaughter is Katie Pettibone who is about to compete in the Volvo Ocean Race, which is more commonly referred to as the Whitbread.

I returned to the race committee shack at noon to check the progress of the fleet and heard from Ratso that the lead boats were about to round the Kettle Point Buoy. I went home to cut the grass and then returned to the race shack to await the first boats of the fleet. Several people started to arrive to offer their assistance. Field glasses were trained on the horizon, scanning back and forth trying to pick up a boat. The first boat to appear was C Spray tacking in from the Northwest. I would have thought that the fleet would have short tacked the Canadian shore to avoid the waves and get some wind shelter from the shore. But then again Cheryl's boat does draw 8 feet and she has to shift ballast every time she tacks. Cheryl and C Spray were first to finish.

Bob Van Eck was next to finish and was congratulated by his wife Helen. Helen's arm was getting tired waiting for Bob. She had been throwing training dummies into the surf for their dog to fetch.

As each boat finished Jack Whyatt was inputting the times into the computer. That was a lot easier and lot less stressful than trying to handbomb the results with pencil and paper.

All of the boats were accounted for before 6pm. The awards and barbecue were scheduled to start at 8pm. I informed as many people as I could that we would try to start early. It had to be a tough day on the water with the high winds and this would allow tired bodies to get to bed a little earlier.

Just as the competitors and guests arrived at the SYC clubhouse a violent thunderstorm with torrents of rain passed through. If you remember it already had been blowing 20 to 35 knots throughout the challenge. I said a little prayer of thanks and poured myself that rum I had promised myself when I knew everybody had finished safely. I made it a double.

The BBQ was fired up, the bar was fired up and the post race analysis began in earnest. Phil Rubright was explaining the advantages of reefing your mainsail in the middle. Dave Evans was trying to explain his starting manoeuvre and also stating that this was the best Lower Huron Challenge ever. Dave likes big wind! Bob Van Eck was looking for something to fix. Jack Whyatt was trying not to give away the results. Erik Mortensen was telling jokes. Steve Stoll was all grins for finishing his first Challenge. Jim Bennett was trying to keep the family happy and at the same time had a sly grin on his face. Charles Harris was very quiet. The strain and fatigue were showing in his eyes but a smile was also evident. Tom Hughes was happy that he had completed another Challenge and had learned more about himself and his boat. Harold Beaton was cutting the watermelon and looking after the BBQ. He was also trying to sneak a few words in with everyone about his experiences of the day. Ed Schultz who withdrew from the race was also pleased with his performance. It was the first time he had ever singlehanded his boat and he came close to completing the challenge. He recognized that he was too tired to continue in the high winds and made a prudent decision to withdraw. Cheryl Cameron had a previous engagement and could not attend the BBQ.

The awards were handed out. You can check the results on the GLSS website.

The draw was held for the free one year subscription to OCEAN NAVIGATOR. Ron Picard was the winner of the draw. Thank you to Dale Gagner of Navigator Publishing for providing the gift and all the free copies of Ocean Navigator, Ocean Voyager and American Yacht Review that were provided to all of the competitors.

I found a couple things interesting bout this year's Challenge. In the overall corrected results Bob Van Eck was first on a J-40, Jim Bennett was second on an Oday 27 and Eric Mortensen was third on a C&C 39. A small boat sandwiched between two big fat boats. The second thing was I asked if anybody had checked their knot log to see how far they had actually sailed. Tom Hughes had sailed 60 N. miles in a little over 8 and 1/4 hours on a Catalina 34. That's moving pretty fast considering it was a beat for half the race in strong winds.

Many thanks to Helen Van Eck and Maggie Evans for all the help they provided in the kitchen. Also thanks to all of the other people who pitched in to make the event a success.

CHIMO
Mark S. Gutteridge