SCS 03 Report
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2003 St. Clair Solo Report
What Fall Sailing Can be Like
Well when it comes to fall sailing, conditions can range dramatically. Last year we had to shorten course due to very light winds after the start of the race and we drifted for hours before the wind filled in for a fast finish. This year was a different story with temperatures in the low 50s for several days prior to the race, many skippers decided to pass up the 44 mile Solo and entries fell to just 30 skippers. It is traditional for many of the boats to move to Crescent on Friday for the skippers meeting but 30 to 40 knot winds with higher gusts kept most boats in port, the 52 degree air didn't help either. Saturday morning found some of the Canadian fleet stuck in their marinas as the high winds had drained the southern portion of the lake. You just can't fit a 6 foot draft boat through a 3 foot deep marina exit no matter how bad you want to race. Sorry guys, we missed you out there. I know that those skippers were very disappointed that they were not out on the water to share the fun, none more so than our own co-race chair Dave Evans.
Two JAM, Four PHRF and one Multihull class answered the starting gun on a sunny and crisp Saturday morning with 15 to 20 knot winds out of the west. Spinnakers were set by some of the PHRF fleet but once they were farther out on the race course the increasing winds and gusty conditions caused most of them to replace the chute with a head sail. Those that did not douse the chute have the thanks from the rest of the fleet for providing the entertainment with accidental gybes and some great "dip the winches in the water" broaches. Winds continued to increase and the waves built presenting an exhilarating run to the Thames buoy in record time, but what goes down must now come up and a fifteen mile bash upwind to R28 really started to separate the boats. An odd wave pattern gave a stutter step action on one tack and a fast wave slicing ride on the other, luckily the later was the favored tack. It was a blast! Once at R 28 all you needed to do was dodge the freighters and then crack off the sheets and power reach up to the finish off the Clinton River. As expected the multihull class ate up the course and finished early, the monohulls also had all boats in before 6:30PM. With mostly sunny skies and plenty of wind the St. Clair Solo was a great ride and the perfect wrap up for the sailing season. Next stop was North Star Sail Club for dinner and awards.
Although the weather may change each year there is one certainty about the St. Clair Solo and that is the Big Al "all the steak you can eat" dinner. Once again Al Merrithew assisted by Jim Ratliff and a host of volunteers put on a great steak dinner, no one ever goes away from this hungry. There is more work to putting on this dinner than meets the eye and our thanks go to Al for doing it year after year.
Within two days after the race the temperatures were back into the high 60's with bright sunshine and excellent fall sailing conditions, may these conditions line up with the 2004 St. Clair Solo. It will be held on October 2nd, mark you calendars now!
Thanks again to all our volunteers and the best of luck to our skippers until the 2004 sailing season from:
Dave Evans & Dan Pavlat