June

In this issue:

1. Kers on the Moseley Classic which he ran (includes results, also at
www.sfetchells.org )
2. The view from 1168 re the Mosely Classic
3. Was that a great party or what?

********************************************************
1. Kers on the Moseley Classic which he ran (includes results, also at
www.sfetchells.org )

Board members and crew,

We had a wonderful regatta on Saturday 06/01 including a post regatta party
ten minutes off the race course at the Olympic Skier Jonny Moseley's house.
The wind was brisk, but the water was flat. The four short courses were
sailed by 11 boats.

Tallying the scores resulted in a first place tie between Jeff Moseley (USA
1091) and Peter Vessella (USA 1168). Jeff, hosting the keg, won the tie
breaker. John Sutak (USA 901), after winning Race 3, pulled in a third
place while Vern Neff and Myron Erickson (USA 667) sailed to fourth for the
day.

13e449.jpg

The races were run by Kers Clausen (USA 977) and new member Mark Sloane
(USA 966). Bob Branstad and daughter Jenny provided the race committee boat
and joined us for three races. The race committee boat then shrunk to a
whaler provided by Jeff Moseley. The wind shifted during the day from South
to the West creating a Weather Mark constantly on the move.

This was a major event for Fleet 12. This is a regatta where the entire
fleet was able to socialize after sailing instead of splitting up to
individual hardstands. Eight boats tied up to Jonny's dock for the
gathering. We had Barbequed Oysters, beer, hamburgers of all sorts, and
even Dark and Stormys. This was the first time for a planned annual event
which will eventually be run out of Tiburon YC. Jeff presented a perpetual
trophy on behalf of his Grandfather, Tim Moseley, who owned and actively
sailed the big beautiful cutter "Orient." Keeper trophies (signed Jonny
Moseley tee shirts) were handed out to the top boats in attendance.

Results are as follows:

Etchells Fleet 12 - T.I. Moseley
Classic
June 1, 2002

#1 #2 #3 #4 Total
Moseley 1091 1 1 4 2 8
Vessella 1168 2 2 3 1 8
Sutak 901 5 5 1 4 15
Neff, Erickson 667 6 3 6 3 18
Morss 1169 3 6 2 12 23
Mellen/Holder 367 9 4 9 5 27
Van Der Vorst 529 8 9 5 6 28
Carrick 776 4 7 7 12 30
Oller 528 7 8 12 12 39
Nehmo 1145 11 10 12 7 40
Hoffman 94 10 12 8 12 42

I hope everyone enjoyed this event. The next event is sponsored by SFYC. We
will send them a mailing list and you should get entry forms from them.

Kers

********************************************************
2. The view from 1168 re the Moseley Classic

It's always interesting to race in a new sailing area, and Saturday was no
different. As the wind clocked around, and Kers did his best to move the
weather mark with it, we tried to be constantly aware that 1) there were
oscillating shifts upwind with LOTS of leverage to be gained, and 2) the
general progressive shift was right which meant that early gybes were the rule.

In Brickyard Cove, everyone got hugely suited up for a big blow, not really
knowing that the conditions off Paradise are usually warmer than the slot.
So we stripped all the way to the course, and then, after a short wait, it
blew hard there.

The first race was the worst from an upwind/downwind perspective with a
major shift just after the start. Gybe sets were the order of the day, but
no one in the fleet seemed ready for that. The first weather mark was chaos
with most people going the wrong way on starboard, yelling at the boats
trying to gybe and go the right way. The boats who got though cleanly (aka
early) got launched here. At the leeward mark we did a leeward douse to set
up for a gybe set on the second lap, and that made all the difference in
this shift parade. Result: 2

The second race we were over early, then went right on the beat for clear
air. We played a couple shifts, one of which made us about 10 boat lengths
in about 30 seconds. We rounded 2nd after starting last, and followed Jeff
Mosely all the way around the course to finish 2.

The wind was starting to pipe up for the third race and there was more
emphasis on boat handling than tactics. Our race was hurt by one wave which
Doug Morss/1169 caught and we didn't. This allowed him to break an overlap
and squirt out in front of us. Although we got back near him after both
boats gybed, he beat us by 3 feet for second place after John Sutak/901.
Result: 3

Going into the last race we knew to win the regatta, we had to not only
beat Moseley, but put a boat between us. Peter won the start, we got away
from the line well, and we led the race wire to wire, which was a pretty
good plan to accomplish our goal. We even had Sutak between us and Moseley
until the last run. It got a little lighter, and John, who has been fast
all year, suddenly decided not to cover Jeff on the last leg of the
regatta, despite all our cheering for him. Result: Bullet, but 2nd overall.

As Kers said, the guy who brought the beer wins the tiebreaker, and for
Jeff, third time was a charm. He has been second in both of the previous
two regattas, both times tied on points for first, both times losing the
tiebreaker. This time he won, and won the perpetual trophy with his
grandfather's name on it. It doesn't get any better than that!

Was that a great racing area, and a great race day, or what?

********************************************************

3. Was that a great party or what?

Many thanks to Jonny Moseley ( www.jonnymoseley.com ) for hosting us, and
for Jeff Moseley, who organized it including the BBQ oysters. Those
attending know I took a special interest in the "Pride of Johnson's Farm".

Here's a couple of pictures from the party. More pictures will be posted at
www.sfetchells.org those will be at higher resolutions, too.

13e449.jpg

13e476.jpg

********************************************************
OK that's all for now. Delete this email, and go back to your life.
The next Etchells Brouhaha is Scheduled for June 22-23, the SFYC Founders
Cup. Get on your bad sail boat and ride!

About Fleet 12 | Membership | Classifieds | Contact Us | Newsletter Sign-up

Copyright ©2004 Etchells San Francisco