Turkey
Day Regatta
November 21-22, 2009
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club
by John Long
Eight Santa Barbara sailors went to Alamitos Bay to participate
in the Turkey Regatta November 21 and 22. This was the second
regatta out of four that comprise the Ulman / Frost Series.
There were 40 Laser Radial competitors traveling from San Diego
to San Francisco to compete in this event the weekend just prior
to Thanksgiving Day.
The forecast was for plenty of wind. The first day started with
a fair amount of wind, choppy seas and rain. Yes rain. The first
race was challenging with sufficient wind to plow through the
chop left over from the storm that had just blown through. The
first race went well enough. Race committee then decided to
send the fleet on a twice around for the second race. Evidently
they thought that the wind was building, when actually it was
shutting down almost completely. Shortly after the start the
winds backed off to a 3-4 knot unpredictable wind direction
with lots of chop left over from the storm. The race seemed
to last forever. Congratulations to all that endured that long
and grueling race. With little daylight left the last and final
race of the day was a “quick” windward-leeward race
that still wasn’t all that quick. With very little wind
this also proved to be a test of the competitors patience.
Saturday night Alamitos Bay Yacht Club provided a delicious
Thanksgiving style dinner complete with turkey, stuffing,
mashed potatoes, yams, cranberries, and desserts that were
well received by all of the competitors that had spent the
long and difficult day on the water.
Sunday started with extremely light wind. It was a gorgeous
day with not a cloud in the sky, and no rain as well. Coach
Duncan Shea was able to get all of the Santa Barbara competitors
outside to the start early enough to run a short practice
before the first warning. By the first warning conditions
had improved from light to moderate. The seas were calm with
a large ground swell. The sailing conditions were more typical,
with winds building from the west in the afternoon. By the
third and final race of the day sailors saw a steady 12+ knots
of wind, an excellent way to finish the regatta.
Awards were presented Sunday evening. Santa Barbara’s
top three finishers were Sky Adams, Hanna Vincent and Stephen
Long. The next regatta will take place in San Diego at Mission
Bay Yacht Club. The fourth and final regatta will take place
in Santa Barbara and will be run as part of the Cinco de May
Regatta. Awards for the series will be awarded after sailing
on that weekend.
I would like to give a special thanks to Scott Deardorff,
the Ulman / Frost Series Chairman, for all of his efforts
and hard work. I would also like to thank Coach Duncan Shea
for all of his support, coaching and towing (on and off the
water). This event would not have been nearly as well attended
or enjoyed without both of your contributions.
Photos
Results
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