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WindyCup Recap 2009 By Stephen Gent

If you weren’t at the lake for the WindyCup, you missed out. It was an ideal weekend and fantastic way to finish out the year. The Annual Meeting and Oktoberfest went very well. The food was absolutely delicious. I’d like to thank the KB Cruising Fleet for putting it on.
We had a qualifying series on Saturday where the top 4 went on to Sunday to match race in J-22’s. This was a high score series. Each win got you a point. There was no penalty for a loss.
Saturday brought on a chilly morning, a cool afternoon but good breeze. We saw mid 50’s in temperature, random sunshine, and about 8-12 mph of wind out of the North. 9 racers of a wide variety of classes came out for the qualifying portion of the WindyCup. We had 5 MC’s, one Thistle, one Catalina 22, one Sunfish, and a Merit 25. We ran 3 W2’s races, lasting about 40-50 minutes. The wind was very shifty which lead to very close races as we had a different winner in different kinds of boat in each race.
Drew Ziegler had a strong first race, staying ahead of the Merit and Thistle on the upwind legs. He won our first race. Gil Greenwood in his sunfish won the second race, staying in the hunt and letting his handicap help him out. In the third race, Roger Kerr was finally able to break out from pack and use his boat speed to his advantage. Roger had a big win in the last race.
At the end, the scores were very close. Kenny had the upper hand, winning overall with 2nds in each race. Danny and Drew continued theirfather-son rivalry tying for second^{with 11 points but Drew won the tie-breaker with his 1st place finish in the first race. Gil Greenwood wasn’t too far behind with 13 points.
Sunday brought a great deal of anticipation with bigger breeze and warmer weather. Temperatures around 65 degrees with the wind had shifted directions on us. We were looking at 10-15 mph out the Southeast, gusting up to 18. Needless to say, the volunteer J-22 crews wore themselves out. We got 5 races; all W2’s again, each lasting between 21-26 minutes.
Race 1
The event started off with the Father-Son rivalry with Danny vs. Drew. The start was split with Drew starting at the boat and Danny starting at the pin. Both boats headed out to the left side of course to get the big left shift. Danny was the first tack and Drew held on a little before tacking to cover. Drew was first at the top mark with Danny close behind. Danny sailed low to stay on the inside and managed to gain enough to have the lead at the bottom mark. Danny played shifts in the middle while Drew went left. Danny was to keep his lead the second time around was about 30 seconds ahead of Drew at the windward mark. Danny stayed in the pressure on the downwind and went to win the first race.
Race 2
Things got more intense with Kenny vs. Gil. Kenny was very aggressive in the pre-start maneuvers. Gil was able to break free and Gil got a close port start lead over Kenny. Both boats played the shift going to the left side of course. Kenny got a small lead over Gil at the first windward mark. Things stayed the same going to the bottom mark but Gil did a nice job of cutting Kenny’s lead down. Kenny tacked away immediately after rounding the leeward mark and tacked back to cover as Gil went around the mark. Again, both boats head out to the left side and Kenny kept a strong cover on Gil. Still no change the second time around. Kenny rounds the windward in front of Gil and extends his lead. Kenny went on the win the second race.
Race 3
This may have been the race of the year. Kenny and Drew were matched up for the third race and things were tense for start. Kenny and Drew battled through the whole pre-start sequence. Kenny started at the pin and Drew started at the boat. They both went for the left side where they got a big left shift, tacked and headed back across the course. They both got a right shift which took them to the first mark. Kenny had the lead but Drew was only a few boat lengths behind. Drew was the first to gybe and he headed out to the right side of the course to stay inside of Kenny. Kenny followed suit and gybed over. Kenny kept a narrow lead over Drew going around the bottom mark. Kenny tacked early after a great "dummy" tack by Drew and headed out left while Drew went to the right. Kenny tacks back to cover and keep the pressure on Drew. A very nice tacking duel was in the making going upwind the second time around. Both boats played shifts in the middle of the course. Kenny was able to keep his leading going around the windward mark but Drew was still barking on his heels. Kenny gybed early in a puff and Drew didn’t hesitate to follow. Both boats sailed off to the right side keeping the pressure on each other. Drew was the first to gybe away heading to the finish and Kenny wasted no time to cover. Kenny began a luffing match all the way to finish. In a true photo finish, Drew was able to squeeze out a very small (like less than a foot) victory over Kenny.
Race 4
Danny vs. Gil. Both boats were early to the line and it forced Gil to try for another port start. Danny was able to close out Gil at the pin and Danny tacked on top of Gil. Both boats headed off to the right side of the course this time. Gil was the first to tack away and Danny kept the right longer before he tacked to cover. Both boats played the shifts in the middle of the course. Danny has a moderate lead going around the top mark. Both boats gybe after rounding and head off to the right side of the course where there is more pressure. No change at the bottom mark. Gil was able to reduce some of Danny’s lead and kept the pressure on. Danny goes out to the left while Gil goes right. Gil eventually comes back out to the left side and both boats play the left shifts. Danny keeps his lead the second time around and was able to gain back on Gil. Danny gybed and headed to the right. Gil stayed to the left, riding a big puff he had going around the windward. Danny and Gil both gybe back for the finish. Danny gets his second victory of the day.
Race 5
This one was for all the marbles. Kenny vs. Danny. Kenny needed a win to tie up the series and Danny needed a first to win the series. Both boats were extremely competitive in the pre-start. Both boats forced each other over early and they had to re-start. Danny tacks away early and head out to the right. Kenny tacks to cover. Danny comes back on starboard at Kenny with a narrow lead and Kenny leebows Danny. This forces Danny to tack back and get out Kenny’s bad air. It was the same way all the up the first windward leg. Kenny has a very narrow lead at the windward. Danny was able to get the chute up quickly and gybed away. Kenny goes a little farther out to the left before he comes back at Danny. Danny gets some good wind on the right causing Kenny to heat up a little to make his attack. Danny was able to stay clear of Kenny and the roles reverse at the leeward mark. Danny has a two length lead over Kenny and both boats head off to the right. Kenny tacks away to separate from Danny and Danny stays out to the right a little longer before he comes back to cover. Both boats head out to the left looking for that big left shift. They both get the shift and ride it to the mark. Danny was still ahead by only 15 seconds. Kenny had some problems getting his chute up and Danny starts pulling away. Kenny finally gets the spinnaker going and is right back on the war path but it wasn’t enough. Danny goes on to win his third race and clinch his WindyCup victory.
Race 6
Gil vs. Drew. Gil graciously concedes the race to Drew because it wouldn’t have affected the outcome of the regatta and because the crews were wearing down. Drew gets an unofficial win and takes second place.
Congratulations Danny for your 2nd WindyCup win.
I would like to give out a lot of thanks to the people that made this possible. A big thanks to Skeeter Chilton and Ken Madewell for letting us to use their boats for this event. A HUGE thanks to Ken Madewell, Ian Jones, Roger Adams, and Matt Dailey for crewing the J-22’s. I can’t describe how hard those four worked the whole day with only a few short breaks. I definitely need to thank my trusty race committee. Day one was Rod Sherwin, Victor and Amanda Wandres, and Ian Jones. And to man who cannot receive enough thanks, Jack Stewart, who manned the Ski Barge by himself all day Sunday. I had a lot of help on Sunday from the guys on the boat with me between races. Thank you to all the racers who came out and raced this weekend. You all made it a very exciting weekend.}

MC NATIONALS - September 16-19, 2009

What a huge success the Nationals were. Congratulations to Greg Gust, 2009 MC National Champion. Windycrest received many compliments over the course of the week. Regatta management was smooth both on and off the water. PRO Gil Greenwood ran seven long, excellent races without a hitch. (Only 2 general recalls.). JoAnn Chandler kept the herd of 51 racers from 16 stares well fed along with the RC and the support staff surrounding the regatta. We had a fun burger dinner on Wednesday, awesome BBQ on Thursday, and an excellent buffet banquet dinner at the Hampton Hotel on Friday. The races kept everyone beat down but we still managed to party with all our MC friends every chance we got.

The weather was great. We had overcast skies early in the week until it cleared up by Saturday. The rain we did get was at night, never spoiling the regatta. Wind was always from the north, ranging from 5 to 18mph. Temperatures were 65 to 85, nobody was ever hot or cold.

Conditions for the racing were:
Thurs AM- Race 1 - North 10 to 15 mph, Race 2 - North 12 to 18 mph; Thurs PM- Race 3 - North 12 to 15 mph
Friday AM- Race 4 - North 9 to 13 mph, Friday PM- Race 5 - North 12 to 15 mph, Race 6 - North 12 to 15 mph
Sat AM- Race 7 - North 5 to 8 mph

Full Results Here

Thanks go out to the many Windycrest members who made the regatta possible: PRO Gil Greenwood and the Race Committee-Marty and Harriet Ottenheimer, Bill Bond, Steve Snider, Skeeter Chilton, Terry Rainey, Gary Sander; Judge: Steve Elliott; Registration: Sherry Stinson, Elaine Rainey, Skeeter Chilton; Scoring- Skeeter Chilton; Food-  JoAnn Chandler, Tracy Lang, KBRF, Julie Ziegler, Joan King; Banquet- Kenny Baggett, Marsha Baker, Julie Ziegler, Richard Ferguson, Chris Gill, Joan King, Door Prizes: Melges Boatworks, West Marine; Spectator Boats- Harvey Baker, Steve Horn; Launch and Retreival- Steve Snider, Britt Williams, Ken Madewell, Fleet 32 guys; Measurement- John Kerr & Roger Adams; Vessels- Jack Stewart.

Plus all the generous members who opened their homes to visiting sailors: Ray & Mary Adams, Harvey and Marsha Baker, Skeeter Chilton, Mike and Maggie Choquette, Terry and Pam Dannar, Grant and Ramona Gerondale, Alan and Sharon Kelso, Charlie & Nancy Keithline, Mike and Tracy Lang, Rick and Jan Martin, Marisha Moore, Steve and Mary Snider, Rex and Allene Donley, Ken Madewell, Danny and Julie Ziegler.

 CSSA Junior Championship Regatta
  Notice Of Race is Right Here!

Great Plains Opti Regatta
23 boats sailed in the USODA regatta held at Windycrest June 20 & 21. Lisa Weatherholt did a stellar job as Regatta Chairman. The event was well run both on and off the water with PRO Skeeter Chilton and your Commodore, JoAnn Chandler helping Lisa put it all together. Beautiful weather for the regatta always helps too. Good Job to everyone who helped with the event.
The results are here.

THISTLE MAD REGATTA
On June 13 & 14 Windycrest hosted the Mid America Districts for the Thistle Class. 12 boats participated, 9 from out of state. Saturday we had perfect wind and weather for 3 races, NNE wind 6 to 12 with mainly 7 to 9. Sunday we got in one race after a thunderstorm came through early in the morning. Tim Fitzgerald and crew from up in KC won the regatta. They did a great job of playing the shifts and roll tacking the boat. They looked pretty snappy out there. The key for the whole weekend was staying in phase with the wind shifts. If you did, you moved up in the fleet, if you didn't you were quickly shuffled back.
Fred Morgan did a great job as Regatta Chairman, and not only that, sailed a good regatta too. He had a lot of help from all the Thistlers: Steve, Chip, Skeeter, Stephen, Erin, & Randy just to name a few. Thanks to the MC Fleet 32 for providing the RC all weekend. Another successful regatta at Windycrest!
 

2009 CSSA SPRING OPEN REGATTA
The rain finally let up long enough for the regatta to happen. 22 boats participated with a nice contingent of out of town boats. On Saturday three races were sailed in 15 to 20 mph winds under a dissipating overcast sky. Sunday was perfect with a 10 mph breeze, dropping to 6 mph by the end of the last race in sunny conditions. Congratulations to all the Windycrest winners: Roger Kerr (SJ-21), Drew Ziegler (MC Scow), Britt Williams (S-20) and Mark Lobo (C-22).

SPRING OPEN REGATTA
NOTICE OF RACE

OSSC
The Oklahoma State Sailing Club will be holding its Bedlam Spring Regatta on Saturday, March 21st.  The event will be held in Stillwater, OK on Lake Carl Blackwell.  Windycrest junior sailors are invited to attend and compete.  Racing will be in our fleet of Club 420s in a collegiate format.  Our boats are identical to the ones used by Windycrest, but they do not have spinnakers or trapezes.  Only those sailors experienced and capable enough to skipper our boats will do so.  All others may crew.  Possible teams also include OU, Texas, UNT, SMU, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas A&M. 
 
This is a one-day event with no registration fees.  Lunch will be provided free of charge also.  Racing will likely last from 10:30AM to 4:30PM depending on conditions and the number of participants. 
 
Please contact me for more information.  Feel free to just come out for the day and see our facilities. 
 
Michael Gent
(918) 693-2529  

The new rules are here.
ISAF Case Book for 2009-2012 Rules
Here are some 18's ripping it on You-Tube

Well, we definitely had extreme ends as far as wind goes for the Windycup regatta. Saturday saw winds ranging from 5mph-0mph. Sunday we had winds in the low-mid 20’s for the first race and high teens in the second.

^{I would like to thank Skeeter Chilton for being the PRO and the rest of the RC crew for volunteering their time…..Jim & Sherry Stinson, Ken Madewell, Steve Elliott, Steve Snider, Jo Ann Chandler, & Dean Cowley. We had four skippers competing from the five different fleets represented throughout the year. Myself for the MC Scows, Stephen Gent for the Thistles, Roger Kerr for the Keelboat Handicap, and Gil Greenwood for the Sunfish fleet. We drew lots for the boats we would be sailing for the day and headed out on the water.}

Race 1 : Sunfish-Kenny, Merit 25-Stephen, MC-Gil, Thistle-Roger. The sunfish was the first boat across the line by several seconds, but it took about 20 seconds for the other three boats to sail over top of me. Gil seemed to jump out quickly as the MC is very quick to accelerate with slight increases in wind pressure. He was quickly followed by the Thistle and Merit. The three top boats worked their way to the right side of the course as it seemed that is where the new little puffs of wind were coming from. I sailed on starboard tack as much as possible as the sail is fuller on this tack. About 100 yards from the windward mark I got a nice 20 degree lift and made up quite a bit of ground. Sailing downwind the Merit and Thistle began to pull away from the MC. The Merit and Thistle were able to get around the leeward mark and stay in the small patches of air. The MC and Sunfish on the other hand sat & sat & sat! I finally got some air way to the left side of the course. Gil in the MC took the other side, but the wind just wouldn’t come to him. Stephen and the Merit took 1st, I took 2nd on the Sunfish, Roger 3rd, and Gil 4th.

Race 2: Stephen-Sunfish, Gil-Thistle, Roger-MC, Kenny-Merit. After going in for lunch, the wind looked like it had filled some and the group decided to give it another go. The committee boat end was quite favored and the three larger boats were fighting for it. I was to leeward of Roger and Gil, but couldn’t quite shut the door on Roger. Roger accelerated very well and tacked right in front of us at the start. Roger and I sailed out to the left side of the course. Gil and Stephen headed to the right. Roger was sailing the MC very well and then was forced to tack 3/4 of the way up the leg due to the Merit, which was on starboard. Unfortunately for Roger, the leeward bilge board was still up and he slid to leeward for 15-20 seconds. Now did he not only lose quite a bit of ground, he had bad air from the Merit. We were able to stay in decent air all the way around the course on the Merit until we were about 300 yards from the finish. Then, the wind died across the lake. After10-12 agonizing minutes, we finally drifted across the line. Gil on the Thistle was not far behind. The wind finally began to fill at the windward mark and Roger began making up a lot of ground quickly. He crossed the line just 9 seconds too late from beating the Thistle. Order of finish: 1st Kenny/Merit, 2nd Gil, Thistle, 3rd Roger/MC, 4th Stephen/Sunfish. Skeeter decided we had suffered through enough for the day and sent us in with a good forecast that there would be wind on Sunday. So, at the end of 2 races Kenny had 3pts, Stephen-6pts, Roger-6pts, Gil-6pts.

Race 3: Sunday brought the wind! The regatta rules stipulated that if the wind was above 13mph sustained that owners will sail their own boats. Stephen and I didn’t feel very good about our chances as the wind was blowing 18-20 with higher gusts. Luckily, Roger Adams volunteered to crew on the Thistle and Steve Snider on the MC. We all rounded the windward mark fairly close together with the Roger on the Merit leading the pack. I rounded 2nd with Stephen in the Thistle right behind. It didn’t take long at all and the Thistle went flying by Roger and I with loud yells coming from the crew and white spray all over the place. Stephen rounded the leeward mark 1st with Roger right on his heels. Steve and I were sailing way by the lee hoping we wouldn’t have to gybe. About two boat lengths from the mark the bow dug into a wave, the stern came out of the water, and the boat spun around. We re-grouped, chicken gybed and got around the mark. Steve and I sailed a good windward leg making up a lot of ground on the Merit. The Thistle ended up retiring half way up the leg as they began swamping and the boat did not have bailers. (well, the crew tried, but they had a huge challenge to bale and hike at the same time!) I ended up correcting 1st, Roger, 2nd, Gil 3rd, and Stephen 4th.

RACE 4: Going into the final race, I had 4 points, Roger-8 points, Gil-9 points, Stephen-11 points. Skeeter wanted us to have some more excitement so she gave us a reaching leg for this race. Unfortunately, by the time everyone rounded the windward mark the wind was around 14mph for both reaches…figures. During this race there were shafts of wind going down both sides of the course and you really had to dig into them before you tacked or you would quickly sail back out of them. I did not do a good job of this at all and Roger sailed away and Gil was not far behind me during the race. Roger ended up winning the race by 9 seconds over Gil. I ended up 3rd.

I was lucky enough to take home the Windy Cup this year! A huge thank-you to Steve Snider for crewing and not minding going on a wet ride!) Roger finished 2nd, Gil 3rd, and Stephen 4th. The crew on the Merit took home prizes for being the top crew for the regatta. Another big thank-you to Skeeter and all the RC Crew who enabled us to go and sail the regatta! Can’t wait for next year! We’ll see what Stephen has for us!

MC SCOW SOUTHWEST CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA
MC Scow Fleet 32 hosted the 2008 Southwest Championship on September 27-28, 2008. The regatta was plagued by light air and was only able to complete one race, but we did enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Congratulations  go to Harvey Baker for the win, with Kenny Baggett and Jim Lange finishing 2nd and 3rd. Thanks to everyone who helped with the regatta: Darline, Skeeter, and Steve plus the rest of the RC crew; Marsha for the Friday night party, Sally for registration, Marion & Joan for lunch, Bill and Bob for dinner, and Sherry for the Sam's runs. I know that there are helpers I missed here, and even if you did a little job easily overlooked, thank you. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Danny Ziegler, Regatta Chairman

SUNFISH MASTERS
Steve Snider and Gil Greenwood sailed in the Sunfish Masters Regatta at the Fairhope Yacht Club in Fairhope, Alabama, on September 27-28, 2008. Steve was looking forward to the event. He has sailed lots of places but never on Mobile Bay. They did seven races. Gil finished 6th in the Masters Division and 16th overall while Steve finished 7th in the Grand Master Division and 22nd overall.

Equinox Regatta Report
Well we had a very good Sunday morning after a very painful Saturday afternoon. IV McNamara won the only race completed Saturday in winds of 0 to 3. We finished a dismay third behind a great looking boat from Norman sailed by  Eric Green. It is great to see a eager crew of young people on the water. Sunday saw winds of 3 to 5 from every direction. It was on of those days of 50 degree shifts during the first two races with very close competition between the three Santana 20, who had to start with four San Juan 21's But the third and last race of the day saw a ridiculous shift at the leeward mark and a beat ...... under spinnaker. One hundred and eighty degree shift IV and Mr. Green both fell in holes allowing us to win the last race as well as the first two of the day-. The folks at Tsi La Gi yacht club did a great job of hosting the event as they always do. We just wish more of us could have sailed in this great event.Hope to see everybody at OCBC next month.
Britt Williams - Sailing Fayest

Sunfish Racing At Windycrest
The fleet generated 3 boats racing on 9/14/08 when winds from Hurricane Ike were a steady 15 to 20 with frequent gusts up to 30mph.

MC Scow
Southwest Championship Regatta
September 27 & 28, 2008
Join Windycrest's MC Fleet 32 for the annual MCSW regatta. Expect another great sailing weekend! On-line NOR and Registration is all right here.

2008 Intergalactic MC Championship is coming up on September 13-14 at the Arlington Yacht Club. Notice of Race is here. These guys always throw a good regatta. Plan to attend.

2008 Thistle Nationals - Chip and Erin Stratton, along with Bruce Zurbuchen sailed in the National Regatta held at the Pensacola Yacht Club in Florida. They finished 20th in the President's fleet. It is great to see that Windycrest has been well represented at at various events this summer.

Santana 20 Nationals
Britt Williams and IV McNamara made the trip up to the Eugene Yacht Club.  Read the regatta report and check out the nice photos. Santana 20 Regatta Report and Results

2008 MC Nationals - Pewaukee Yacht Club, Waukasha, WI - Long time Windycrest member Justin Adams finished 2nd at the MC Nationals this July. Cam McNeil from White Lake Yacht Club in Michigan was the overall winner of the 69 boats entered. Danny Ziegler from Windycrest finished 19th. The regatta was contested in 7 races over 3 days. Every race enjoyed an 8 to 12 mph breeze with 80 degree, partly cloudy skies. Hope to have a longer report later, but for now, congratulations Justin! Results