| Vol 2 - Issue 7 | May/June 1998 |
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The Cachuma Challenge A Competitor's View By Bill Mattson Racing season is finally here! Our first regatta this year was the Cachuma Challenge at Lake Cachuma in Southern California. This lake is along the San Marcos Pass (Rt. 154) a few miles north of Santa Barbara. |
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We arrived at the entrance gate around 9:00am on Saturday, May 16th. There was a large
banner proclaiming a fishing derby competition. Fishing and sailing competitions on the same
lake. This is going to be interesting.
We were instructed to drive through the gate, park, then come back to complete the registration for camping, etc. I waited with the other sailors to get registered, when the ranger said, “One of you guys came through here |
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with ‘97 tags on the boat.”. I glanced out to my boat and confirmed
that it was me.
“Uh... That would be me. Is that a problem?” “I won’t let you on the water without current tags.” |
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I quickly started walking back to the car. Okay, I got the tags in the mail, and put them in one of
the trucks. Was it the truck I was driving today, or the one sitting in the driveway over an hour
away. I got lucky and had the right truck. I put the tags on, and breathed a sigh of relief. Like I
want to get up at 6am, load up the boat and a ton of camping gear, tow it all 60 miles, then sit on
a beach.
After a bit of searching, we found the Hobie crowd in an overflow area on a small peninsula. We found a spot, said our hellos, and started getting the boat rigged. The skipper’s meeting started pretty much “on time” as Hobie sailor time goes. Unfortunately, we would have no fellow “C” fleet 16s to compete against, so we were sort of “bumped up” to the B fleet. “There’s a fishing derby on the lake. The rangers have instructed the fisherman that we have the right of way.” |
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Imagine your a fisherman. You are trolling, and suddenly find yourself in the middle of a bunch
of various sized catamarans, flying hulls in different directions. They are all around you, and they
are all in a big hurry. I’m not sure how right of way rules would be much of an issue, other than
meaning that you don’t get the money back for the lure that you loose to someone’s
daggerboards.
As the skipper’s meeting broke up, an announcement was made regarding a wine tasting tour for non-sailors. I remember seeing information on the regatta flyer regarding this. What a great idea. This group was prepared to show everyone a good time, sailing or not! |
| The level of Lake Cachuma was quite high this year due to the heavy rains. The water level pretty much covered the entire beach that is usually used for launching, so we sort of had 5 lbs of groceries in a 2 lb. bag with all the boats on the point of the peninsula. Also, we had a single file line to get to the area. Things were a bit crowded as our bows straddled a Hobie 20 stern as we rigged the jib. But the cramped |
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conditions were no match for the good mannered Hobie
crowd, and everything remained frustration free. I guess my son felt that things were going too
well, so he rolled his side of the beach wheels through some dog crap, then got it on his gloves
when removing the wheels, then on himself, then on the boat, etc.
“I don’t care if it’s a drinking reservoir. Rinse that crap off the boat.” |
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We always seem to practice in heavy wind, and we always seem to rig the boat for heavy wind.
The wind was disappointingly light on our way out. We were out of our league with the “B”
fleeters, and out of our element with the light wind. Oh well.... we’ll have fun anyway.
The wind increased somewhat as the racing started, but remained relatively light. Once around the course, it was obvious that the wind shifts were going to play a major role here. There would usually be stronger wind at the middle of the lake, but at times, more favorable wind direction near the sides. Everybody was all over the lake trying to feel things out. |
| The final race of the day started in much better conditions, as the wind began to come up to the 18-20 kt range that this event is usually known for. Now we were in our element and doing much better. On the first rounding, we were on our way to C mark in pretty good position. I don’t know what place we were in, but we had most of the 16s behind us. (Something new on this weekend!). We jibed for C mark when it happened. A bit too much mainsheet tension as the traveler “tried” to come across. I still remember being in denial as the boat was already on it’s side and I was still fighting to uncleat the main and save the situation. |
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| Unfortunately, we were rather close to the rocky shore, and the boat was being pushed downwind pretty quick. We had to rush like hell to get the boat into the righting position, and were quite worn out by the time the mast started coming up. We were off balance, however, and partially sank the sterns, bringing the boat down onto the other side. The second time, we were tired, and made a half-assed |
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attempt at getting the boat into position. We paid dearly as the boat went into a run when righted, and then jibed while we were dragged underneath the tramp. In a new and
different experience, I actually had the Hawaiian righting line system grab me by the neck. I’m
under the boat being dragged half underwater like a marlin, and I can’t reach the rudders to get
things under control. Can’t breath too well, either. (Mental note at the time: Get that knife you’ve
been thinking about getting.) My crew was able to grab the rudders and get the boat
weathercocked.
The RC called it a day after this race, and there were a few sailors who really wanted to run another race, given the good conditions. Once back at the beach, we got ourselves cleaned up, and joined the usual regatta night festivities. I don’t remember if I have ever seen that much margarita in one place. I’m talking white caps rolling over the top! Later, Steve Murray and crew (of Murray’s Marine) were serving one really great dinner! Barbecued tri-tip and chicken was the main course, along with salad, cole slaw, beans, baked potatoes, bread, etc. The helpings were generous, to say the least. Steve told me to come back for more if I was still hungry. He said this while he piled some tri-tip on my plate, along with a piece of chicken that looked about as big as a Hobie 18 daggerboard. Everybody had plenty to eat. It was a great dinner after a fun and hard day of racing. On the second day, Frank showed up to take some pictures from a chase boat. This day was pretty much like the first, with the wind coming up a bit for the last race. One of my proud moments was beating a particular A fleeter to C mark. Again, this was done primarily by playing the wind shifts, which made it anybody’s race at times. Two can play this game, however. The A fleeter took a starboard tack after the mark, and I went to port. I found the dead air, and the A fleeter came across the finish far ahead. He was not in our fleet, of course, but it would have been fun to beat him. The trophies presented were attractive sections of rock (sandstone?), with white markings of sailing icons and a brass plate signifying the rank. Also presented was a perpetual trophy of this event, the “Dump Award”. This is a handsome, glossy 8x10 photo of a dog crap pile, and was presented to Tom Materna and crew who capsized the most times. Thank God we only went over once. The race results: |
| 20A | ||||||||||
| Pos | Sail # | Skipper/Crew | R#1 | R#2 | R#3 | R#4 | R#5 | R#6 | Throw | Final |
| 1 | 111 | STEVE LEO | 0.75 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 3.75 |
| 2 | 575 | DAVE SPARKUHL | 5.00 | 6.00 | 0.75 | 3.00 | 4.00 | 3.00 | 6.00 | 15.75 |
| 3 | 6831 | CHUCK BROWN | 4.00 | 7.00 | 5.00 | 4.00 | 2.00 | 7.00 | 7.00 | 22.00 |
| 4 | 11 | DAVID CROCKER | 6.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 6.00 | 12.00 | 4.00 | 12.00 | 22.00 |
| 5 | 608 | STEVE MYTER | DNC | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 16.00 | 23.00 |
| 6 | 638 | ROBERT PELOQUIN | 7.00 | 4.00 | 7.00 | 8.00 | 3.00 | DNC | 16.00 | 29.00 |
| 7 | 680 | LYLE LUNDBERG | 8.00 | 5.00 | DNF | 7.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 14.00 | 30.00 |
| 8 | 502 | JEFF NEWSOME | 2.00 | 9.00 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 6.00 | 10.00 | 34.00 |
| 9 | 602 | ROGER JENKINS | 10.00 | 10.00 | 9.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | DNF | 10.00 | 39.00 |
| 10 | 826 | JOHN BALDRY | 9.00 | 12.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 11.00 | 9.00 | 12.00 | 49.00 |
| 11 | 691 | DOUG SKIDMORE | 3.00 | 8.00 | 6.00 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 16.00 | 49.00 |
| 12 | 27 | TOM DELONG | 11.00 | 13.00 | DNC | 12.00 | 9.00 | 5.00 | 16.00 | 50.00 |
| 13 | 700 | BILL MYTER | 13.00 | 15.00 | 13.00 | 11.00 | 6.00 | DNC | 16.00 | 58.00 |
| 14 | 648 | PETER NOCOLAZZO | 12.00 | 11.00 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 13.00 | DNC | 16.00 | 61.00 |
| 15 | 416 | RON BISHOW | 14.00 | 14.00 | 11.00 | DNC | DNC | DNC | 16.00 | 71.00 |
| 18A | ||||||||||
| Pos | Sail # | Skipper/Crew | R#1 | R#2 | R#3 | R#4 | R#5 | R#6 | Throw | Final |
| 1 | 7642 | GREG CLAYGAUGH | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 3.75 |
| 2 | 10515 | STEVE MURRAY | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 0.75 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 | 8.75 |
| 17A | ||||||||||
| Pos | Sail # | Skipper/Crew | R#1 | R#2 | R#3 | R#4 | R#5 | R#6 | Throw | Final |
| 1 | 82 | DAVID KOONS | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 0.75 | 3.75 |
| 2 | 1597 | GORDAN GARCIA | 2.00 | 2.00 | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 3.00 | 13.00 |
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My thanks to Tim Olsen and the whole regatta crew for putting on a fun and exciting event. I look
forward to attending the same event next year. Hope to see you there!
Bill Mattson mattson@earthlink.net My apologies to those not named in the photos, as time did not permit me the required research. If you know anyone pictured in this article, send me an email and I will get their names into captions. Back to Features |