The District 6 Championships were held last weekend in Eugene Oregon on Fern Ridge Reservoir. Fern Ridge is lake sailing at its best. The wind comes from every direction, sometimes all at once, and sometimes not at all, at least where my boat was.
Nine boats showed to up match wits with the Fern Ridge wind gods. Some were successful and the rest of us were left humbled and scratching our heads. The winner was a perfect example of the saying, “old Star sailors never die, they just come back years later and still beat you.” Dave Lewis, who hasn’t sailed a Star in 20 some years, brought down a just purchased 7199 and his son, who had never been in a Star, and won the regatta easily. Except for one race the father son team was always in the right place at the right time, much too often to chalk it up to random luck. Way to go Dave!
Three races were held Saturday in winds averaging around 6 to 10 knots, with lots of shifts, puffs, and lulls. Two races were held on Sunday in winds of 12 to 15 knots with lots of shifts, auto tacks, wicked puffs and localized lulls that followed me around the race course. By end of racing Sunday I had concluded Fern Ridge required a much higher IQ than I possess. Here are the final results.
1. Dave Lewis, Kael Lewis: 1, 8, 1, 2, 3: 7
2. Dave Watt, Mike McMasters: DNC, 5, 2, 1, :2 10
3. Derek DeCouteau, Karl Schulmeister: 2, 4, 4, 5, 1: 11
4. Foss Miller, Stu Frost: 4, 1, 3, 4, 6: 12
5. Don Campbell, Tony Martin: 3, 2, 5, 3, 4: 12
6. Norm Smit, Laura Smit: 5, 3, 6, 7, 5: 19
7. Keith Dunla, Milo Clusonp: 6, 9, 8, 6, 7: 27
8. Leonard Frojen, Charles Frojen: 7, 6, 7, 8, 8: 28
9. Bill Brosius, Ken Frojen: 8, 7, 9, 9, 9: 32
Eugene is always a relaxed and fun place to sail. The water is warm and the weather is hot and the atmosphere is laid back. This year the regatta was definitely a family affair. The winner was a father/son team. Norm Smit won the 7000 and under division sailing with his 13 year old daughter. Leonard Frojen was sailing with his 15 year old grandson. Bill Brosius borrowed Leonard’s son, Ken, for a crew and sailed 2362, a wooden star Bill had beautifully restored.
Leonard Frojen and Keith Dunlap and respective wives did the usual great job of organizing the regatta, the steak dinner BBQ, the Sunday lunch and making the trophies. A big thank you to them and the Eugene Yacht Club for putting on a great district regatta.
Next years District Championship will be in Olympia. Bill Brosius has promised around 30 Stars out for that one.
Congratulations to Dave Lewis and son; District 6 Champions for 2008.
Good sailing to everyone for the rest of the summer.
Foss Miller, District 6 Secretary