Patrick Green Sails To A Third Straight Victory

by Skip Kaub

Patrick Green Racing For Black Cat Racing, Put-In-Bay Ohio Takes First Place

On September 25-27 Nor’Banks Sailing in Duck, NC (on the Outer Banks) organized the
Atlantic Coast Wave Championships.
This year was completely different than last year’s race. Instead of being low to no wind, we
sailed in a strong 25 plus wind with gusts approaching 30. The skies and temperature were also
quite different than the prior year. Instead of the weather last year, which was warm and dry, we
found ourselves sailing the first day in rain and overcast skies.

Jack Woehrle, 100 Finds Success As A New Member Among The Growing Ranks of Wave Sailors

Fortunately, the water and air were somewhat warm as several sailors found themselves soaked
from up righting their boats due to the strong winds and the gusts that left carnage in every
direction. After the third race of the day there was a decision made to pack it in. We had two
more days of racing to go and the boats were showing the wear and tear. By the end of the day
at least 3 boats dismasted due to standing rigging breaks. At least three boats had rudder damage
and at least three boats-those of Rick White, Mike Fahle and Steve Abbey- suffered damage to
their sails. Reggie Poplin had a unique problem as his mast hopped off the mast base. Later he
explained that his side shrouds had stretched so much over the years that there was too much
slack in the rig allowing the dismasting.
I am pretty sure that at least 7, maybe more, of the fifteen sailors either pitch poled or flipped
their boats the first day. Having sailed the Wave for two years now without upsetting the boat
yours truly found myself in the water five times total. After upsetting the boats, some of us were
separated from our boats, finding ourselves swimming hard to catch up with a boat that was
being blown away from us. Call me Mark Spitz.
.
Steve Abbey, no stranger to pushing the envelope resulting in a soaking, gave his "crash" course
in up righting the boat to those interested during the lunch break. His instruction and advice
proved helpful so I thought I would share this now. Steve said, “While righting a Wave, all you
need to do is stand on the lower hull's bow and grab the front crossbar. When you do this, the
Wave's mast spins into the wind. Using the wind to help you, simply lean back holding the
crossbar and it comes up easily.” Steve claims that he has this choreographed in such way that he
can hop on the tramp as the boat is on it's way down finding himself back in race position.
It was interesting to see how the sailors that were forced to sail with replacement sails sailed
differently with their replacement sails. Some footing off, some pointing higher, each doing a
great job of working the sails, finding their velocity made good (VMG) for each setup.

Weighing In The Waves With Surprising Results

Saturday, we were seeking to make the best of a postponement. Jack Woehrle a fellow Wave
racer and Technical Director of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), had a scale
system that he donated to the cause of weighing each boat for the skippers that were interested,
to see if there was an appreciable difference in boat weights from boat to boat and model year to
model year. Surprising to some and predicted by others, each of the boats weighed came in
within 8 or so pounds, most within a smaller difference. This put to rest some of the speculation
that the older boats were some how lighter than the newer ones.

Calvert Sails Brings the Color Back To Wave Sailing

By the end of the second day we all had to make a decision. Do we go on Sunday or not?
Sunday's forecast showed 90% chance of rain. After the discussion it was decided to go the
"house" that several of the Wave sailors rented for the event and have a party, hand out awards
and call it a regatta. It did rain cats and dogs on Sunday and it proved to be the right call.
The competition was stiff as usual and when it was all said and done there were only 7 points
separating places 2nd to 5th.

Ray Matusak: Second Steve Abbey: Third

Skip Kaub: Fourth Stan Woodruff: Fifth

The "Girls"

What a cool thing to see these gals race. They all worked for Nor’Banks as instructors this last
summer. You have to wonder if there is a Mary Wells or Betty Bliss in the group. Think of the
possibilities. Each was competitive and each won our respect at the starting line. We typically
see sailors, new to the Wave Class, a bit intimidated as the line is typically crowded and hectic
leaving most more than willing to stay behind in the clear. Jon Britt, curator of Nor' Banks and
race promoter, commented that he has not seen many fleets pack so closely to the line. With this
being said, these gals were aggressively driving in and holding their position on the line in spite
of the strong wind and the close quarters. Great job girls!! Of these gals, Megan Shelton had the
best finish, 5th in the 8th race and Sierre Manno placed 12th overall. They say they cannot wait
to come back next year and race more to get ready for next year. Who Can blame them. Great
duty.

Most Honorable Mention

A Special thanks;
Several family members and friends have come along for the ride to be close and support their
favorite sailors. It really makes a difference to the sailors as they get a travel companion to talk
to on the long drives to the regattas and someone to commiserate with or brag to after the races
of the day are over. As the Wave class has grown, we have seen these companions get more
involved in the races themselves. In this regatta Bill Shelton, Megan's father hopped on the
committee boat and helped to raise and lower flags, take pictures and verify over earlys and
finishing line calls. Carol Fahle, worked her tail off assisting sailors with the CatTrax and other
needs as we came in and out of the water. For those arriving at the ramp with sore shoulders and
some with banged up pride after receiving a beating on the water, saw Carol’s smile and
willingness to help a welcome sight. From the Wave sailors we thank you so much! Others to
thank would include Chuck Lycett and Hayden Poulin who helped with the race committee!
In summary this was an awesome test of our bodies, minds and equipment and although banged
up and bruised we all were in agreement that we had a great time. Would we do it again?
Absolutely!

1 Patrick Green - 11 1 1 3X 1 1 1 1= 9
2 Ray Matuszak - 24 4 4 X 3 3 2 4 3 =23
3 Steve Abbey 6 2 2 2 5x 3 4 =24
4 Skip Kaub x 8 7 4 2 4 2 2 =29
5 Stan Woodruff - 6 7x 1 1 6 3 6 6= 30
6 Rick White - 21 2 6 4 6 4 8x 5 =35
7 Jack Woehrle 3 3 6 8x 6 7 7= 40
8 Reggie Poplin - 28 5x 5 9 7 5 12 8= 51
9 Mike Fahle - 1 8 5 9 5 8x 15 15= 65
10 Mark Scarpelli - 23 x 14 8 7 10 9 8 10 =66
11 Sierre Manno 10 9 10 10x 10 9 9=67
12 Sharon Woodruff-51 11 11 x 12 11 11 11 11 =78
13 Megan Shelton 13 12 12 13x 13 5 12 =80
14 Megan Binkley 12 10 x 11 13 12 13 13 =84
15 Jim Harris X 14 dns dns dns dns dns dns dns