In the midst of pylon driving, construction equipment, fenced off areas and the challenges of rebuilding, OSYC hosted another enjoyable regatta. Following a festive July 4th party at the club and the city's fireworks on the beach, the racers showed up ready to sail from the ample beach.
A small but energetic crowd attended this year's addition of the Horn Island Hop. The fleet was composed of a mix of spinnaker and non-spinnaker boats. The Saturday race out to Horn Island began with moderate winds that quickly developed and clocked into a very fast broad reach allowing the spinnaker boats to make the 13 mile ride in less than 1 1/2 hours. Plenty of chicken and beer met the sailors who spent relaxing time in fellowship on the beautiful barrier Island.
It was time to put away the spinnakers on the race back. It was a pure beam reach with healthy wind and waves to add excitement to the journey. GPS tracks on the faster boats recorded boat speeds consistently in the 14 to 16kt range. Saturday night, the racers feasted on a variety of pastas and three separate homemade sauces sure to please the palate. After dinner and communing about the days events, we all called it a night, fat and happy.
Sunday marked the return of the 17 mile Dear Island course. Like a giant triangle, the day's sail was a challenge. The first leg was a light wind beat to weather through the casino channel. Rounding marker 12, the wind began to build for a fast reach out to marker 2. Next, the chutes came out (for those who were carrying) into what seemed to be a wild ride... then the wind took a nap, making for very light air downwind sailing. The more experienced sailors took advantage of this opportunity and turned the final race into an exciting affair. Nearing the finish, the unpredictable July winds shifted nearly 180 degrees making for a very interesting change of tactics to make the finish mark.
After more food and more beer, the racers called it a day and a great weekend of sailing was had by all.
Winners of the A Class were: 1st Prindle 16 Sq. Chris Land J.D. Boswell Jackson, MS 2nd NACRA 5.5 Ed Throop Ryan Waldrop GYC 3rd A CAT Kirt E. Simmons Grande Maumell Sailing Club,Little Rock
Winners of the Spinnaker Class were:
1st Javlin 18 HT Mark Ederer Steve Collins BYC 2nd Nacra 20 Kenneth Altman David Beall OSYC 3rd Hobie Tiger F-18 Kenny Boudreaux Nick Heinkel OSYC
The Overall Fleet Winner was: Prindle 16 Sq. Chris Land J.D. Boswell Jackson, MS
With construction well underway, hopefully next year's regattas will be a throw back to the days of old with full participation allowing the racers and members to enjoy our brand new building, pool and facilities.
