Governors Cup at Indianapolis, Indiana
Mike Fahle
breaks Patrick Green’s 8 regatta winning streak and takes home
first place honors in the Governors Cup put on by Eagle Creek Sailing
Club in Indianapolis, September the 6 and 7 2008.
Mike Fahle takes first place overall
Patrick Green takes Second place overall while Dennis Butts takes Third
place overall
Although we have given it our all, Patrick Green has been the fastest
boat competing in our Hobie Wave class. Our series of Wave racing is
getting more and more competitive as well as attracted some new fun loving
sailors that also want to compete at high level. One such racer back
in the fold is Mike Fahle. Mike has an impressive set of credentials
that are highlighted by many 1st place finishes, National and otherwise.
Most notable are his Hobie 18 season championship wins, much more difficult
to accomplish than a single regatta win, for years 1995, 1997and 1998
in the Ohio Catamaran Racing Association (OCRA), the1st place finish
in the F28R Corsair Nationals and the 1st place finish in the Nacra 6.0
S.H.O.R.E. 64 spinnaker class.
A lesser-known fact is that he has been
the Vice President of the Hobie Wave Class since it’s formation
in 2000. When reading his “sailing
resume” most notable above the wins was his ability, in the face
of a growing fleet and increasing competition he was able to continue
to win consistently.
Look closely at this picture and see how Doug Waugh escapes disaster
“Starboard!”
As it goes with racing, one great sailor usually has his friends. Mike
invited Dennis Butts, a long time friend and the guy that taught Mike
how to sail, to the regatta and we fitted him with a brand new Wave.
As the gun went off we realized quickly that the years of experience
sailing in many boats paid off for Mike and Dennis as Steve Abbey, Mike,
Dennis and Patrick moved out ahead of the pack. Steve Abbey, with a fabulous
start, continued to put distance between him and the contenders, playing
the shifts.
He reported tacking no less that 7 times to the windward
mark. He was so far out in front that the best we could do is cover our
closest competitor. As you can see by the results below, Steve was first
to cross the line with a huge margin then Dennis followed by Mike. Although
we have much respect for Mike’s accomplishments in the last regatta
after a period of being away from Wave racing, Dennis truly showed us
all what experience means in sailing. As Dennis reports, his first time
on a Wave was for about ½ an
hour goofing around a few months ago.
As you can see by the race results below, the conditions played a big
part in the outcome of several series races. The conditions were tough
off the water as well, due to Steve Abbey taking his competitive nature
to the party that night. He decided to see if his Bose/Ipod system could
overshadow the Karaoke sound system that pounded through the campsite.
Each took it’s
toll on silence as the battle continued early into the next morning leaving
all that slept there that night a little less than rested. Steve I think
we will call it a tie.
Well if you’re a NASCAR fan you have probably noticed that as soon
as Jeff Gordon started winning consistently people actually started to
boo him and root for the underdog. Well if you’re that kind of
fan this was your race to watch. Patrick Green’s 8 regatta winning
streak was broken that day in September when Mike put it all together
to win the series of races and captured First Place overall.
Each of us continues to get better and challenge the leaders, putting
the leaders on notice ratcheting each other up the competitive ladder!
New sailors, experienced and/or not. Fun! Fun! Fun!
Invitation:
Bored with your fleet? Seeing your fleets numbers dwindling? Just want
to try something new but don’t want to get in over your head with
expenses? We would really like those in other classes of racing to try
this class. We have found the equipment to be affordable and most regattas
have boats for charter. There are a growing number of regattas to race
in, some may be in your area. If you’re at all interested, please
send your information to skip@inquisitiveeye.com and we will put you
on the Wave association’s mailing list for all of the upcoming
events. Although this class is competitive there are new sailors that
have just learned how to sail this summer and one finished 7th out of
9 boats in this regatta. We have room for all interested.
From left to right Mike, Carol, Skip, Patrick, Mark and Steve
Dennis Butts Getting Weight Forward
Mark Scarpelli Getting Weight Forward In Style
Keep on riding the Waves!!!
Race Results
1st Mike Fahle total 9= 3, 4, 1, 1
2nd Patrick Green 11= 5,1,2,3
3rd Dennis Butts 11= 2,2,5,2
4th Steve Abbey 17= 1,3,6,7
5th Paul Kaub 18= 6,5,3,4
6th Mark Scarpelli 19= 4,6,4,5
7th Matt Hall 28= 7,7,6,8
8th Doug Waugh 36= 9,10DNF, 10DNF, 7
9th Pete Hall 37= 8, 10DNF, 10DNF,
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