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Hobie 17 & Women’s 16 Continentals Presented by Hobie Fleet 204 By Mark Amico Over a year ago, fleet 204 {Syracuse, NY} began working toward the success of this year Hobie 17 & Women’s 16 Continentals. The members of 204 deserve a great deal of gratitude for their time and planning, enabling this years event to be successful. For the first time, both the Hobie 17 Continentals were combined with the 16 women's Continentals, and it worked perfectly. Sunday, September 14th, 70 degrees and sunny skies overhead, racers began arriving at Oneida Lake in central New York. By noon, the boat weighing station was cranking out boats with expert efficiency. Dave Witmer {the Weightmister} and his colleagues had things well in hand. No boat was getting through Dave and his team without being accurately weighted. No extras allowed on board, this included water in the hulls! {Got quite a few skippers on that one.} By 2 PM, the beach was buzzing with activity. Racers filing their rudders, checking hardware, while others tested their skills on Oneida Lake. Boat Works Ltd. {our local Hobie Dealer} was on hand with their parts trailer to help through the week. As the week went by, the Boat Works parts trailer became well used by each racer. Monday, September 15th, skies were again sunny, mid 70 temperatures, day one of the 17 Continentals. The day started with a seven AM continental breakfast. {What would you expect at a Continental?} Last minute racers continue pulling into the parking lot. By end of registration, the total was 58 boats! Excellent turnout! Skippers' meeting held promptly at 11. A new tradition was unveiled, the wearing of the yellow ribbon. As Paul Ulibarri explained, it was brought forth to add more incentive to competitors. The ribbon goes to the racer who is on top of the leader board in the regatta. Those blessed with wearing the yellow ribbon soon gave it a nickname, “The Albatross”. Being the first day of the event, the yellow ribbon was proudly awarded to Wayne Mooneyham {last years 17 Continentals champion}. When all the various formalities completed, it was time for racing. Winds hovered between five - eight knots; skippers able to identify and take advantage of the wind shifts did well. While the winds were less than what most wanted, it did provide for some excellent nail-biting head to head competition. By the end of the day, racers returned to shore scratching their heads for reasons each went the way they did. The official Welcome Reception was held at Arrowhead lodge. We welcomed old friends back, and met new friends. Dining, as well as dessert, hors d’oeuvres were promenade through the lodge by our attractive Fleet 204 ladies. Excellent job ladies! On this first night of racing, 204 members explain a custom our fleet describes as “BULLET SHOTS”! For those of you who haven’t enjoyed this 204 custom let's quickly, explain. One shot of liquor is given for each 1st place finish awarded that day. Tuesday, with cloudy skies overhead, temperatures in the 70’s greeted each racer. The skipper’s meeting saw the first changing of the ribbon occur. Wayne Mooneyham gladly gave the {so-called} honor to Andrew Efstathiou who was now the new regatta leader and he accepted his reward with good apprehension. While the 17’s started moving out to the course for the day, the ladies were beginning to make their presents know, and felt. Annie Nelson ran a warm-up clinic for the women. Back on the 17 course, crash boats were having an easy time of it. Winds remain low, resulting in excellent head to head racing. Wind shifts becoming increasingly more difficult to read. A lead, which appeared immense at “A” mark, could dwindle quickly by the time you reached the next mark. Paul Ulibarri and his team of race committee members performed flawlessly for the conditions at hand. Marks were moved and re-arranged to provide everyone with as fair and equal opportunity as possible. Over where the ladies were practicing, the sounds of friendly competitive racing drills were underway. The smell of fiberglass filled in the air as the practice racing began to resemble the chariot race scene in the movie Ben-Hur. The beach fiberglass crew of Pat Bessi, Jim Perkins, and Rico Quatrone were in for a late evening of repairs. The women dined at Nicole’s house {whose boat sported the name “Nic- Hole” the following morning}, the 17’s were found huddling at “B” mark for the evening.... That’s “B” for Borio’s, a favorite watering hole frequented by many 204 racers. Wednesday brought cloudy skies but more wind. Our Canadian crash boat team of Mike Walker and Dave Hopper measured 15 to 20 peaking at 24. Skippers meeting saw the ribbon passed on yet again. The new owner of the mighty Albatross is Wally Myers. Many were hoping the ribbon would slow Wally down... but Wally had other plans. For the women it was day one of the Women’s 16 Continentals. 17 boats registered, and these women were ready to race. Pat Bessi and his fiberglass crew worked well into the evening to make sure everyone was ready for the morning races. Well done Pat, Jim, & Rico, from those who needed your help, thank you. All 75 boats headed off the beach and out to Paul and the waiting committee boat. The seas were choppy, with puffs and shifts thrown in for fun. With the winds up, the racing was intense. The 17’s lead the way around the course, while the women jockeyed for position at the start line. Paul Ulibarri utilized overlapping race courses to keep excitement high. By the end of the day, everyone was ready to head for shore and in for a delicious meal. Wally broke the spell of the cursed ribbon, with four 1st! On the Women’s side, Annie Nelson led the way around the marks. It was still early, and everyone knew the regatta had two more intense days to go. In Syracuse, when you want a great barbecue there is only one place to go... The Dinosaur! But if you have over 100 people to feed, the only thing that could be better than going to the Dinosaur Restaurant, is having the Dinosaur come to you! Therefore, that’s what 204 did. By the middle of the week some people were worried are gaining weight! Tom Korzeniewski awarded prizes for the “old” regatta T-shirts, and there were quite a few. Some of the T-shirts were twenty years old! Maybe we’ll see our national T-shirt at another regatta in the year 2017! The bullet shots kept coming from the makeshift bar, with multiple race winner Wally Myers receiving four, while Annie Nelson was awarded two. Thursday and fog in the morning greeted those who enjoyed our daily continental breakfast. Barely a whisper of wind ruffled the sails that lined the beach. At the skippers, meeting Paul hoisted the postponement, hoping for the wind to arrive. The ribbon holders for the day were again Wally Myers, and our women’s leader Annie Nelson. Wally Myers and Alan Egusa graciously gave impromptu sailing tips for both the 16 and 17. By late in the afternoon, a slight breeze filled in, and Paul chose to send the Women out only. The women took to the water, while some 17 skippers huddled at “A” mark cheering on the women as they rounded. With the winds light, every error became magnified. On the down wind leg to the finish, it was down to three contenders with Sue Korz taking the bullet. Only a solitary bullet shot done today.... Bummer! Since everyone was high on energy, what could be better than having a “sumo wrestling” party at Valentine’s! Combatant included: Mimi “the red” Appel vs. Paul “gone fishing” Ulibarri Wally “the east coaster” Myers vs. Alan “the west coaster” Egusa. And many more... It’s Friday, the final day of both the 17 and the Women’s 16 Continentals. Forecast was for 10 to 20 out of the south, yet on the beach the wind was coming from the east.... Not a good sign. Mike Walker and Dave Hopper on crash boat #1 kept hearing the airport weather reports indicating winds out of the south steady at 10 to 20, but that was 5 miles away! Paul did an excellent job moving the course around to contend with the shifting winds. When racing did get off, the winds had shifted to the south, bringing puffs and holes. Its such a sinking feeling when you are inching along while another skipper just 20 yards away is flying by! Such was the case from time to time. After two races, the 17’s hit the beach, while the women focused on one more race. There is a tradition in the women's racing community that, the last race of the women's competition, it be done... let’s say without upper garments, if you know what I mean! Let it be written that again this fine tradition was up held... and expanded on by Deidre McHugh! For details, please see Deidre! Friday night, the awards ceremony was held at Sam’s Lakeside Restaurant just a stone throw from the regatta site. Well wishes were extended to each competitor as they were read off to the crowd gathered. The women received roses with each trophy. The top five Women were: For the 17’s the top five consisted of: With this years 17 & 16 Women’s Continentals completed. At the conclusion of the awards ceremony racers walked around wishing each other safe journeys home, and a promise to meet up again next year! Mark Amico, Fleet 204 Mark.Amico@crt.xerox.com Back to Features |