Over the years I have done my best to provide timely coverage of our regattas and races. In the earlier days of the race reports, the story would generally be published online within a few days of the event. Now it seems I am doing good to squeak the reports in just before the next race. So with the next race not coming until late September I am curious as to why people are bugging me now about it. After all, it is only early August with well over a full month between now and it's "official" due date.! I know, I know, I know! Coverage of such newsworthy substance should be a bit swifter and anything that happened way back in April is so passé in the world of mass media. But quality reporting does take time and as Tim on Maniac so nicely said about our reporting here is that it is "lots better than other racing websites where they just say something like ‘Joe sailed pretty fast and beat Bob. 8 other boats also participated.'" And honestly, the pressure to get this published really has not been that intense and you ought to know by now that if you want anything in a hurry, sailing is probably not your thing. So without further adieu here is this year's fossilized race report.

To say that we were deserving of a regatta weekend complete with sunny skies, balmy temperatures, and fair winds would be a gross understatement. The conditions we experienced this weekend were OWED to us...  big time! Payback for enduring what mother nature tossed at us this past winter and early spring was now due. But even with the weather offered, this weekend, many of us chose not to collect. Perhaps we are growing complacent with balmy days and are starting to find only true sailing excitement in 30 knot winds on cold days!  For it was a fairly light turnout with only seven boats entered in this year's event.

And some of us were drifting back into our laid back cruising ways as we traded in the speedier J24, Ranger 23, and San Juan 24 for more comforts (meaning bigger coolers and ice boxes) on the Ericson 29, Ericson 27, and Catalina 27. I did mention at the skipper's meeting that there most likely would be spinnaker flying on Comfortably Numb  but also stated that there was a good chance the bimini would be providing comforting cockpit shade at the same time. But seeing as how I did not want to do anything so gauche as flying a chute and a bimini in such a serious regatta I decided to be proper about it and kept the bimini closed. In all actuality, thinking about it afterwards, tilting the bimini forward during a run WOULD provide a little more windage down low filling in that enormous gap between the boom and deck (forward visibility  is overrated anyway.) And little did I know at the time that keeping the bimini up would be a very minor breech of race etiquette compared to some of the other anomalies witnessed during this regatta!

Although it has been "threatened" in the past I think it was in Race 3 where we finally witnessed it occur. Partway during the downwind leg of that race I heard a very nonchalant voice crackle through the VHF radio that sounded like Chuck saying, "the brats are ready." Which elicited a very indifferent like response back from Mark on A Shot in the Dark, "burgers are still on the grill over here." Yes, these two boats, during the calm downwind ride in Race 3 had grilled out bratwurst and hamburgers. There is nothing in the rule books against this and who knows, maybe the heat off their respective grills was creating some type of wind effect. Well, based on their position on the course at the time, it wasn't as they trailed with spinnaker boats by a good length. But at least they all had full bellies!

And while we are on the subject (sort of) of VHF radio conversations, there was plenty of chatter on channel 72 this weekend. Since the battery has been dead in the marina's hand held for quite some time, I have been sailing in relative peace on the San Juan 24 for many races now. And I must say that the fleet is NOT making a strong case for me to remedy this situation with any type of quickness! Freya made some kind of "remark" about our spinnaker take down on Numb in the first race of which I did not honor with any type of reply, mainly because if I did, it would have most likely been a very serious FCC violation! Then came the parley during the intermission between Races 1 and 2 as to when to actually start Race 2. Honestly, I think there have been peace treaties amongst warring nations hammered out with less time and effort!  Despite all this, I am still going to lobby about having channel 72 reserved strictly for the Sale Creek racers.  This is because a group of (gasp!) power boaters making their way upstream were muscling in on our frequency at one point. Not intentionally, of course, but there was a comment regarding the "blow boats up ahead" that would not be considered P.C.and likely to impair sailboat/powerboat relations for years to come! (Truth be known, we like all boaters - sail and power - and we all generally get along fine. But that makes for dull reading and a little controversy in a race report adds a little spice!)

There is one observation we made during this regatta (which has nothing to do with the randomly placed picture of Juneau on A Shot in the Dark). We seem to have an obsession with racing to and around Hiwassee Island. Or at least wanting to. We have only performed this feat a couple of times in the past but I guess it has been a few years and I think we might be trying too hard to realize this goal. For it seems like just about ANY type of wind condition is now justifiable of sketching a course to the distant and treacherous waters surrounding the Island. "Light southerly winds? Hey, those are PERFECT conditions to sail to the Island!" For Race 3 we were expecting winds around 10 knots or so - not exactly ideal for a Hiwassee Island passage but not necessarily bad either.  Therefore, that's what we set out to do. And the ACTUAL wind conditions for Race 3? Well, as you read earlier, a couple of boats had the time to prepare a meal. (Be sure to check this website regularly for how to plan your next regatta meal!) Honestly, the wind was only light for the first half of the race and did pick up rather nicely at about the halfway mark. However, by that time we had already decided to shorten the race and abandon the Island idea. This decision was popular with the majority of the fleet (which means specifically the entire fleet except for one boat). The skipper of this minority boat, which happened to be well in the lead (you only get one guess as to his identity) immediately chimed in on 72 with his one word editorial comment, "wimps!" Be that as it may, even though we may shorten a race course, any skipper, in an effort not to be associated with any other wimps on the water, can certainly opt to sail the original endurance course AND at no additional penalty! That's an added bonus there!

Up until this point I admit that I have not been very detailed about the actual racing during this regatta - you know, tack by tack reporting, lead changes, exciting photo finishes - that kind of thing. Admittedly, the few months that have passed have taken a toll on my memory and since all three races of this year's River Raising Regatta were pretty similar, all I have to offer is:

Tim sailed pretty fast and beat James. Five other boats participated. That pretty much does sum it up! All these years I have been knocking myself out on these reports when the whole time I could have conveyed the message in two sentences. Seriously, it was an outstanding weekend for sailing - other than the winds being a little slow starting out each day, they filled in nicely. And as always, Tim and Lynn on Maniac did an outstanding job and swept all 3 races. James and Kristen on Carol Lynn also did a great job and took second in each race. After the first two races, it appeared that there was going to be a big battle for third between Freya and True Blue but as you know, 4th place BELONGS to Chuck. And because of this we were prepared to hand over third place to the Ranger 33. But with a strong race in Race 3 as a likely result of a well balanced meal (and the fact that Shawn was unable to race True Blue on Sunday), fourth place is now no longer officially known as finishing "Chuck". Yes, congratulations to Freya for the 3rd Place finish.

There was some good match racing going on amongst both Ericsons all throughout this regatta. Comfortably Numb and Sassafras were also in the mix and Sass is seen here making a move on Freya in Race 3 approaching the bridge.

Normally I would finish this report by writing something about how our racing season is coming to a close since the nicer and more reliable spring winds will soon be disappearing and will be replaced by hot, sticky, and humid. Not to say the summer months aren't good for sailing and when the wind isn't blowing, it is nice to jump in the water to swim around and cool off.. And as far as summer sailing is concerned, we have had some very nice, reliable winds this summer and with the exception of a few days the temperatures have been rather pleasant. But since it is already August, I have to say that our racing season is soon to begin and before we know it, we will be out there fighting the wintery elements in the Shackleton Series. But until then, keep the sunscreen out, the grills fired up, and have that VHF on Channel 72! See you all in the fall!

RACE 1 RESULTS

RACE 2 RESULTS

RACE 3 RESULTS

 RIVER RAISING REGATTA 2009 FINAL STANDINGS

Race report written by Eric Almlie ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Photos by James Drozdek and Kat and Eric Almlie.