Our first regatta sailing in the full fleet after NACs. 24 boats were registered, 23 sailed, and we placed 5th, placing us in the winner’s circle! Our best race was 3rd, and we were knocking on 2nd at the finish line. We also passed a bunch of boats at the line in Race 1, keeping us in single digits.

Winds were on the light side, and indeed, on Day 1 the RC tried to hold a second race, which was abandoned when the Time Limit Expired on any boat reaching the windward mark in 30 minutes. That said, our start in that race was mid-fleet, but by the time the race had been abandoned there were only 3 boats between us and the windward mark. We’re starting to learn how to sail in the really light stuff.

We still made mistakes, but the mistakes are getting fewer and fewer and are starting to be more tactical rather than boat handling (although we still make a few of those too). Videos of the four completed races have been posted on our YouTube channel, and the abandoned race also has been posted. Here’s a link to the playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBtfV1bdnJYLyNfNbRHIXKU-4ntZIOc7j

Scores are below:

Ok, so here’s an analysis of mistakes we made:

1. Don’t tack right on another boat’s stern. Huge mistake requiring an immediate tack away. We did this at least twice, although one was immediately behind a boat on the starboard layline.
2. If there are two boats immediately lined up on the starboard layline don’t tack between them, duck them both. We fouled the trailing boat inside the Zone and had to do 2 circles, allowing about 6 boats to go by us. Had we ducked the second one, we would have only lost 1 place, not 7.
3. Watch Race 4’s video (https://youtu.be/qUpyk72WIc4?si=qPYwnnek5qe4IZ8B). In the first couple of minutes we get starting advice from Mark Johnson who won the regatta. Definitely helped us, as we then went on to beat Mark in Race 4. Thanks, Mark! 😎
4. Our starts overall still need substantial improvement, but this regatta saw us turn a corner somewhat. We’ll see if this holds for the next regatta.
5. As Race 1 concluded, the wind dropped. We came at the finish line from a long ways out on starboard. Right at the line the wind dropped to almost zero, and the waves hurt a bunch of boats. We passed at least 3 right at the line. Moral: keep racing right to the end, keep the boat moving even if headed. Moving is better than not.

Our next regatta is the Glow in the Dark Regatta at Clinton Lake, September 14 & 15. 40+ boats are expected. It’s also the Midwest District Championships. We’re hoping to see Dave Rink and Joel Blade (not from the Midwest district, but great sailors and mutual supporters of our efforts) at the Glow. We conclude our season in October back at Kentucky Lake at the Bourbon Fest Regatta October 5 & 6, 2024. Then Gadzooks! undergoes a spa treatment before we return to at least some of the Florida District regattas over the winter.