The Premier Multihull Event on Lake Erie!!!!   PCYC Green Island Race and Multihull Rendezvous - Sunday, September 3, 2006
 
PCYC Puts Out the Welcome Mat for Offshore Multihulls and Beach Cats!
 
Port Clinton Yacht Club knocked themselves out once again for their 46th Annual Green Island Race which was held on Sunday in conjunction with the Labor Day Weekend Holiday. They opened up their grounds, their pool, their picnic area, their club and their bar to all the racers. They put on one breakfast and two cookouts.  Race organizers have always welcomed the Offshore Multihulls.  For the second year in a row,  this great event was also open to the Beach Cats!  
 
The Beach Cats Joined in the fun! 
 
Principle Race Officer and Multihull sailor, Doug Young, ran a two-day regatta for the Beach Cats.  On Saturday, the Race Committee ran a series of Buoy Races for the Beach Cats just off Port Clinton’s City Beach.  Mystere 4.3 sailor, Mike Fahle reports that "a small but game group of cat sailors had gathered in spite of the harsh forecast of winds building to 30 knots and waves building 7 – 10 feet!"  With the approach of the nor' easterly gale, the 3 race series quickly turned to survival mode as winds steadily built from 13 knots to 22.   7 boats started, but only 4 boats were left standing by the end of the third race. Several capsizes occurred; some on the same boat - 3 times!
 
On Sunday, the Beach Cats joined the Monohulls and the Offshore Multihulls to participate in the 17.5 nm, Green Island Race with the first start at 9:20am.  The Beach Cats had 10-15 knots breeze for their race.  Mike Teets showed up for the race on his NACRA I-17R Uni Rig. He took a fast start at the pin end and never looked back!  Mike reports that he was on the trapeze, airborne on about every 4th wave, pumping the sheet on each wave, trying to keep the windward hull just above the water. Mike flew his chute on the downwind leg from Green Island to Starve Island Reef Light. Mike tried to go out on the wire for the beam reach to the finish, but his trapeze was set to low.  After about 10 teabags, Mike decided to stay on the hull.  His average speed for this leg was 14.5 mph.
 
You can read more personal accounts of the Beach Cat race action on the OCRA website at:
 http://www.sailocra.com/   or if you want to see what the course looks like via GPS, see the Green Island Race tracks at:  http://www.sailocra.com/2006/GreenIslandTracks.htm

 
The Offshore Multihulls Turn Out in Numbers for the Green Island Race!
 
The Multihullers could not resist this kind of hospitality which guaranteed us a good fleet of Offshore Multihulls.  With 10 boats registered for the Green Island Race at PCYC, the Multihulls were the largest fleet registered in the 68 boat fleet. 
 
Unfortunately, Saturday's nor' easterly gale on Lake Erie culled the boats which could not make the difficult boat delivery. One of the contenders for the Gary Hall Series Flag, Richard Gracely, could not make the boat delivery from Monroe, MI in his 25 foot Elan 7.7 trimaran, Runaway in the severe conditions. His crew, Kirsten Ambrose was terrified at the prospect.  So they donated their entry fee to the junior Sailing Program, which is a real class act!
 
Brian Thorpe and wife Diane did make the boat delivery from Monroe to Port Clinton in their Native Newick 38, Alacrity.  Brian reefed for a nor' easter which was hitting 45 knots by Saturday afternoon. 
 
Harold Alber single-handed his STL30, Battlecat from SSC early Sunday morning, arriving at PCYC just in time for the race, but without any crew.  With a 2,1,1 series, Harold was the First Place contender for the Gary Hall Series.
 
When Jim and I arrived at PCYC that morning, our faithful crew, Kim and Lisa Smith were already busy rigging Big Storm for the race.  We found Marvin Lampi's stock F-28, Tri-mendous  on the wall after an tremendously fast Funday race, as was Patrick Quinn's C-31 UC, Trippple Trouble and Frank Andrew's Formula F-27, One for the Road.  
 
At the 1 hour gun, Team Kerberos was seen to be leaving the PCYC parking lot with their F-28R in tow.  They had barely 1 hour 40 minutes to rig, launch, and sail out to the starting area......that's cutting it too close for me!  Meanwhile, Rick White arrived from PIB by Jet Express and was looking for his ride, Moxie.  Team Moxie had launched their F-31R up river and was waiting for the bridge to open. The crew for the Formula 40 Trimaran, Running with Scissors, arrived at PCYC by rubber boat.  They would rendezvous with the Big Red Boat before the start. 
 
Off the Dock!
 
The Beach Cats had the first start at 9:20AM.  We didn't leave the dock until 9:28am, so they were long gone in the 10-15 knot breeze, which greeted us at the starting area.  The green flag displayed by the RC boat indicated that the marks would be left to starboard.... Green Island would be the first mark of the 17.5 nm course. 
 
Onboard Big Storm, it was time to put up the sails and shake all the cob webs out for our first race of the season.  We quickly determined that we would not need a screecher for the one-sided beat to Green Island in a northwest breeze. We had about an hour to mill about before our start and determined that the pin end of the line was heavily favored.  We watched as fleet after fleet started on port tack, at the port tack end of the line without any starboard challengers.  Would the Multihull start be that simple?  Our crew, Kim Smith posed the question....what if just one boat starts on starboard, on a short line with 8 wide-bodied multihulls on the line.....Would we want to be the port tack boat on the pin end then?
 
Kim needn't have worried.  At 5 minutes to the start, the Multihull fleet was scattered across the bay.  Running with Scissors was on the east end of the bay.  Gary Hall's Moxie was hanging out near the shore.  At 3 minutes to the start, the fleet was still hanging back from the line.  Meanwhile, we had run the line a few times and were setting up for a port end start.  At 1 minute to go, we were sailing for the line. At 16 seconds to go, we turned on the gas.  According to our watches, we were still a second or so back of the line,  but we didn't hear the gun go off and the Multihull fleet was about 1 minute back of the line.  Did we screw up?  Were we a minute early or were they a minute late?  The white fleet flag was down and no there was no individual recall flag on display.  And there was Moxie starting at the pin end 5-10 seconds behind us....not Rick White's typical perfect start.  And then there was the rest of the fleet, including Kerberos.  According to the skipper on Running with Scissors, Kevin Cody, they had a good reason for hanging back. Kevin said that the 40 foot trimaran accelerates so quickly, he was afraid of running down the smaller boats in the Multihull fleet. Okay, I'll buy that excuse!
 
Within 10 minutes of the start, the F-31R, Moxie, was to weather of Big Storm and abeam, as well they should be.....they are the faster boat.  The Newick Native 38, Alacrity  broke out ahead of the fleet, about 7 boat lengths behind us. 13 minutes after the start, the Big Red Boat was also passing us to weather.  17 minutes into the race, I spied trouble on Scissors as the head ripped out of their brand new mainsail and they ground to a stop!  Alacrity was making a move to weather and the F-28R, Kerberos was gaining to leeward.  We ran neck and neck with the Newick 38 for a while and they would have passed us except for the actions of Trippple Trouble.   Patrick Quinn drove the C-31UC over the top of Alacrity, giving them a shot of dirty air as they passed.  That allowed us to pull ahead of Alacrity again, but this small triumph was short lived.  The breeze piped up as we approached Green Island.  That's when the Kim Tom's F-28R, Kerberos took flight, quite literally, as they flew at least two of their three hulls!
 
Gary Hall's F-31R, Moxie was the first Multihull around  the Green Island mark, followed by Kerberos and Alacrity.  Big Storm was the 4th around.  At this point, we thought we were winning the race.  On board Big Storm, our crew, Kim Smith was hauling up the chute for a perfect launch when the unthinkable happened...... the halyard got jammed under the top batten which was protruding through the luff of our jib, our jib!  Who'd of thunk?  We tried bringing the "whomper" down to the deck, but it slipped down in front of the ama and soon the whole chute was in the water.  We let the tack go and we dragged the whole, wet mess back on the trampoline.  It took us about 6 minutes to sort out the mess and re-run the tack line to the end of the bowsprit, all while under sail....very tricky!   We actually got the chute launched before we ran into South Bass Island, then pulled off the perfect jibe......
 
Our comeback race was in a shambles. We totally lost track of the Multihull fleet, so on the second leg from Green Island to Starve Island Reef Light, we concentrated on catching the light blue and white chute flown by Alacrity ahead.  Weren't we surprised to find the C-31UC, Trippple Trouble behind us after our gybe for R"2"?  What disaster befell the Mighty Quinn on his downwind leg?  We were not able to catch Alacrity on the short downwind leg, but we did manage to round inside of Trippple Trouble.  Alacrity carried their big genoa for the starboard tack beat to the finish.  This was the ideal point of sail for the Newick 38, with their larger sail area and deep dagger board.  If we could carry our screecher, we might be able to catch them.  It was a real struggle to get the screecher launched from the low side of the boat as it got hung up on the jib, but it was worth the effort.  We picked up 2 knots boat speed and we were cruising just below the rhumbline at 9.9 knots.  This allowed us to keep up, but we couldn't pass them and we owed them about 3 minutes on corrected time.  On the other hand, it appeared that we had the C-31UC, Trippple Trouble, which was running abeam and to weather of us on the rhumbline under jib and main alone.   They owed us time. 
 
Meanwhile, the F-31R, Moxie had passed all the monohulls that had started before her, except  some of the Tartan Tens who had a 45 minute head start.  Gary Hall's Moxie crossed the line at 12:42 PM.  Patrick Quinn's Trippple Trouble was the second  Multihull to cross the line at 13:03:56.  Brian Thorpe's Alacrity was third across the line at 13:04:21.  Big Storm finished at 13:05:02.  We had no idea that Kim Tom's  F-28R, Kerberos was behind us.  They finished at 13:12:49.  Frank Andrews F-27F finished at 13:24:51.  We were surprised to find Marvin Lampi's F-28, Tri-mendous tied up on the wall with their boom and mainsail on the deck.  What was that all about?
 
Annual Multihull Picnic at PCYC
 
Bob Vasil was as good as his word.   He couldn't stay for the picnic, but he left me a whole stack of buns on the picnic table, ready for brats.  I started  the charcoal.  Kim Smith brought out a pitcher of Bloody Marys and Gary Hall brought a cooler  of beer and Jerry Ervin brought us a selection of fine wines.  Alcohol greased the wheels as we  shared tales of glory and whoa.
 
Marvin Lampi and crew soon returned with a brand new halyard.  They broke down early in the race and now were seeking a light weight body to hoist to the top of the mast.  They found a willing body in Kristen Attard, Hobie 18 sailor and 4th place finisher in the 2002 US Sailing Youth Multihull Championship.  It was a short season for Team Running with Scissors with the destruction of their brand new mainsail.  There was nothing left to do but drink!  
 
Second around the first mark, weren't we surprised when Team Kerberos tied up on PCYC dock after we did. Apparently  they also had problems with their chute.  Moxie did not have their typical good start.  In fact the entire Multihull fleet was late to the line.  Kristen and Steve Attard had a good excuse for starting 45 minutes late in the catamaran fleet......they dropped the mast on their Hobie 18 just before the start and still managed a 4th place finish!
 
BR Gill, a monohull sailor from Toledo, must have thanked me a dozen times for hooking me up with  Frank Andrews for a ride on an F-27.  A multihull sailor at heart, Gill got his experience on Hobie 16s.
 
Rick White Sailing Seminar for 2007
 
Rick White announced that he will be holding a second Sailing Seminar for Offshore Multihulls on Lake Erie to be held on the weekend following the Mills Race 2007.  We will use the same format as last year, with arrival on Thursday PM, June 14, and on-the-water drills on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 15-17, 2007.  The multihull fleet could certainly use some work on our starts!  So mark your calendars! 
 
PCYC Green Island Race Trophy Presentation - Beach Cats and Offshore Multihulls
 
The Beach Cats had a 4-race series which included 3 buoy races on Saturday and the Green Island Race on Sunday.  This was the one regatta where having a little extra weight was an advantage.  Jamie Diamond single-handed his Mystere 4.3 with spinnaker to win all 4 races in the High Portsmouth Fleet.  Steve and Kristen Attard  threw out their 4th place finish in the Green Island Race to win First Place in the Medium Portsmouth Fleet. 
 
Mike Teets did not compete in the buoy racing  on Saturday, but he ran away with the Green Island Flag on his NACRA Inter-17R.  Mike also won the Mike's Hard Lemonade Flag for the Multihull with Best Elapsed Time at 1hr, 55 min's, 40 sec's.  Mike finished 8 minutes ahead of the Second Place boat on corrected time.  Charlie Buchert grabbed Second on his Hobie 16 with a corrected time of 2:53:40.  Jamie Diamond  grabbed third.  Jamie Diamond was also awarded the Overall Flag for the Portsmouth Series.   Way to Be!
 
You find  more complete race results at the OCRA Website:   http://www.sailocra.com/   
 
In the Offshore Multihulls, Team Alacrity, with skipper Brian Thorpe, wife Diane, and crew members, Kirsten Ambrose and Richard Gracely won the First Place Flag and Beer Mug with a corrected time of 2:10:8 and they passed the Coast Guard Inspection! They came from behind to beat Gary Hall's F-31R, Moxie by a mere 33 seconds!  Moxie was awarded the Second Place flag for a corrected time of 2:11:21.5.  Moxie was also awarded the Mike's Hard Lemonade Flag for First to Finish Multihull. 
 
Correcting out at 2:14:12.2 on board Big Storm, we were surprised and gratified to Place Third for our first race of the season.  There was much celebrating in the Multihull Camp!  The women folk had their photos taken with the flags appropriately displayed.  
 
Then we moved the party across the bridge to Kokomos for a taste of the Caribbean Jerk and more eating, drinking and singing.  What fun!