*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
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://myfleet.org/pipermail/sfv15/attachments/20161024/e60444c0/attachment.html>
