Airwaves Club 420 Midwinters Report

The US Sailing Center at Martin County hosted another great Club 420 Midwinters this past weekend. Though originally scheduled as a three-day regatta over the holiday weekend, a regrettable lack of wind limited the sailing to only Saturday, February 13^th and Valentine’s Day. Sailors from as far as San Diego to as nearby as locals from the St. Petersburg area came together for what became an intensely competitive (and very cold!) regatta.

The first day of racing began with a lot of wind, but, for those of us who came to Florida for the warmth, a little cold at a high of 55° F. The determined sailors just bundled up, donning wetsuits, drysuits, and warm hats, and getting ready for big breeze. Racing was postponed until 11:30 due to a recorded gust at the end of the dock of 36 knots! Despite the delay, the race committee set up quickly and efficiently and got off four races in about as many hours. Breeze remained out of the North for the day and, though blowing straight down the river, chop remained surprisingly limited. The wind continued to die all day, finishing out the last race around 8 knots. The race committee switched up the course a little, setting up a triangle for the heavy air and changing to a windward-leeward course as the breeze tapered off. Declan Whitmyer and Ian Storck took the lead after these races with two bullets and a total of 10 points closely followed by Jordan Factor and Matt Wefer with 11 points.

Valentine’s Day dawned a little warmer and a little less breezy. Conditions remained very similar to the previous day but with less wind magnitude.  The course was set up closer to shore so we began to see more wind on the left, but more favorable shifts off the land on the right though the left remained more reliable. Though no one knew it then, the results from Day 2 remained the final standings. Declan and Ian extended their lead and finished the regatta with 23 total points and a 16 point lead. Kieran Chung and Ryan Davidson of Newport Harbor Yacht Club overtook Jordan and Matt, though the pair remained in third overall.

The third day was the warmest by far and, when we arrived at the venue, the wind seemed much better than forecasted. The racers got out on the water quickly and the first start began promptly at 10:00 am. However, the steady 8 knots slowly died until, just as the first flight was about to finish, the race was abandoned. Due to a rule in the sailing instructions, a complete round robin of 3 races had to be completed in order for any of those races to count, so no further races were attempted that day, for they wouldn’t have counted anyway. Though slightly disappointed to not race on the warmest day so far, the sailors (at least the ones from Annapolis!) were pleased to make their flights home.

To see full results, visit the Club 420 Association website at: http://www.club420.org/results/10ULc420%20final%20results%20html.htm

See Pegshot and Tom Widmeier for video from the regatta: http://www.pegshot.com/p/7c5437ag0

Thank you to David Hein for covering the regatta! To see his full collection of pictures, visit: http://pix.daveheinphotography.com/Boats/2010-420-Midwinters-at-USSCMC/11250118_NfN3F#789107572_ksjKH