the dust has settled...a victor has been chosen!

Adam Rothschild ads.rothschild at gmail.com
Wed Nov 9 19:43:25 EST 2016

Thanks, Steve! Group photos:
https://goo.gl/photos/EMRpd1gpqfDH74GE7

Sorry, no time to filter, so there are lots. Choose your own!

Adam


On Mon, Oct 24, 2016 at 7:25 PM Steve Kleha <skleha at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:*
>
>
> *Vanguard 15 Champion Emerges on Stormy NorCal Weekend*
>
> Inverness, CA -- As the Vanguard 15 fleet descended on Inverness Yacht
> Club for the 2016 Fleet Championships, the weather decided to commemorate
> the event with a late fall, early winter storm.  Day 1 saw fierce winds and
> rain batter the fleet without mercy.
>
> This was some of the most challenging sailing I've done," said competitor
> Cole Hatton.  "If the 20 knot plus puffs weren't hell on your quads, then
> it was the unrelenting competition that would steal your lane or hose you
> off the start.  I've seen some crazy stuff in my life, having been to
> Burning Man several years in a row, but this event is up there."
>
> The race committee set an ambitious agenda for the event:  sail
> college-style, short-course, windward-leeward races, once or twice around,
> until the local shallow tides made sailing impossible or until the steely
> resolve of the fleet was broken.   In this regard, the race committee was
> largely successful.  Tight starts with all boat bows on the line, 20 knot
> puffs, radical shifts and off-the wind planing characterized all the races
> of the day.  Around race 5, however, the stress started to emerge.  Citing
> the extreme conditions, new comers Robert and Caitlin decided to hang up
> the hiking pants and call it a day.  It was a prudent call.  The light
> weight crew of Al and Ethan Sargent took to the docks for the final two
> races of the day in order to preserve strength for day two.  Matt and Maddy
> started the last race of the day with every intention of winning, but it
> was not to be.  The sheer force of the wind combined with a full hike
> caused the windward shroud to shear near the hounds.  The mast came
> crashing down with the sound of thunder.  Dismasted, the crew looked over
> at the Race Committee with weary eyes and shredded rigging in hand.
>
> "Our work is done here," said PRO Amanda Kleha, "any more of this and
> we'll be breaking spirits instead of boats!"  After eight races, the day
> was done.  And at the end of day 1, Matt and Avery/Maddy led the regatta
> followed closely by Sam and Danielle.  Previous champ Sally and Adam
> rounded out the top three.  Citing fatigue and extreme exhaustion, Cole and
> his crew Yuri would have to retire after the first day and seek therapeutic
> assistance at a local hot spring.  They would later recover from the
> exhaustion.
>
> The fleet was blessed at the end of the day with the generosity of the
> Inverness Yacht Club:  were it not for club's gas grill, we would never
> have gotten the briquettes lit and much needed sustenance would not have
> made it into the bellies of worn out sailors.  The delectable treats from
> the grill in combination with some high quality beer made for a raucous
> time at IYC.  Several tall tales were told, each one seemingly more
> fantastical than the previous.  Assistant PRO Steve Kleha was overheard
> relating an implausible yarn about a troubled Pacific crossing complete
> with gear failure and diaper rash.  A spiritual Bear Grylls Award goes to
> all those who camped at Olema that first night in the rain.  At least they
> had the keg to keep them company.
>
> If day 1 of the regatta could be compared to taking sip of water from a
> firehose, then day 2 was an extended game of online, multi-player chess
> played with a blindfold.  Combine the light following winds of a storm with
> the generally fickle nature of Inverness wind with a strong flood tide and
> you've got conditions that will befuddle even the best sailors.  Each
> participant saw highs and lows, recording finishes in the front and the
> back of the fleet.  A confused Matt and Nicholas Sessions scoured their
> boat, looking for a leak when none was discovered.  Emilio and Maria sought
> to preserve their sanity and sailed in for the last race of the day.  The
> twilight zone conditions even had several sailors report that two
> individuals on the race committee boat had mutated into an oversized banana
> slug and praying mantis.  (These reports were unconfirmed.)
>
> All the weirdness considered, the regatta came down to the final race, as
> it seems to every year.  After 16 races, second place team Sally and Adam
> was within 4 points of leaders Matt and Nicholas.  These two boats have
> been perennial favorites in the Vanguard 15 fleet, both with past Fleet
> Championships to their credit.  This year it was Matt and
> Nicholas/Avery/Maddy's turn to take the trophy.  Sally and Adam took second
> followed by Sam and Danielle taking third.  (Full results of the regatta
> can be found here
> <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q9UHZL5e9scJOoepgyEIwoNcOxhsUuNYVGYwQE-VEi4/edit?usp=sharing>.)
>  Special recognition went out to Robert and Caitlin, and the two received
> the "most improved" award, having battled tough conditions both days.  The
> two were smiles all around and are a wonderful addition to the fleet.  A
> final word of caution:  junior sailors Ben Foox, Nicholas Sessions and
> Ethan Sargent look poised to challenge for the podium in the years to
> come.  Everyone should keep up the hard training.
>
> In a fitting conclusion to the regatta, the weather saw fit to provide
> sailors with a double rainbow.  Tired sailors took a break from packing
> their boats to gaze on the rainbows.  In a quiet moment, one competitor
> could be heard to say, "what does it all mean?"  The boats packed up, the
> keg running dry, the 2016 Vanguard 15 Fleet Championship came to a solemn
> end.
>
> A special thanks to Inverness Yacht Club for hosting the event year after
> year.  The coziness of the club and the warmth of its members is unrivalled
> in the Bay Area.  Sam Wheeler coordinated travel to and from the regatta
> with the generous aid of triple boat trailers from the Golden Gate Yacht
> Club and the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation (PYSF).  Travis Lund and
> the Treasure Island Sailing Center is home to the fleet and tolerated the
> pell mell of boat loading before and after the event.  Finally, Principal
> Race Officer Amanda Kleha sacrificed a weekend and ran a solid 17 race
> regatta.
>
>
> *Contact:*
> Steve Kleha
> skleha at gmail.com
> 650-248-3849
>
>
>
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