Tim Wright Wins CanAm Challenge!
Experienced sailors from the U.S. and Canada gather in Stowe, Vermont every August for one of the major regattas of the season. The competition is intense and extremely close, with the top five for 2019 within nine points of each other. Our own Back Bay Skipper Tim Wright was overall winner in this year’s two-day fourteen-race event, a mere four points ahead of second-place finisher Don Ouimette.
Leading the fleet were: Tim Wright, U.S. Team, 36 points; Don Ouimette, U.S. Team, 40 points; Jim Goddard, Team Canada, 40 points; Bruce Nourjian, U.S. Team, 41 points; and Jack Ward, U.S. Team, 45 points. Once all totals were tallied, the U.S. team claimed victory.
US12 Guest is AMYA Director Don Ouimette
Tim Wright reports that the August 15 US12 sailing regatta had a special guest. Don Ouimette is the AMYA Region 1 Director and an outstanding sailor. He recently won the Region 1 US12 regatta hosted by Rick Gates in Nashua. He proved to be just as tough today. Although he wasn’t officially scored, unofficially, he won the day quite handily. Tim Wright and Bill Hagerup tried to give him a challenge, but he was tough to catch and won all but three of the eleven races, including the last six in a row! It was a treat to have him visit — and to demonstrate we have a way to go with the 12s!
Tim barely eked out a victory over Bill Hagerup. Bill was doing better as the day progressed, and had we any more races, Bill could easily have passed Tim in the scoring. Don McBride came in third with a couple of second- and third-place finishes.
Paul McBride was right behind. He had a string of thirds in the middle of the afternoon and finished just ahead of Jim Opie, who also did better as the racing continued. John McClun finished sixth, but had a first (by a mile) in the first race. He is borrowing Tim’s second boat that recently had some weight-reduction surgery. It seemed to be successful. Paul Wallace again showed his love of sailing and his determination. He finished seventh, but never gave up. After all, what could be better than doing something you love with a group of nice people on a sunny afternoon.
The Solings Dance
The sun was out and so were the skippers — twenty-two to be exact — for the August 20 nine-race regatta. The forecast predicted four-mph winds, but, luckily, they were a little stronger for the most part, although the usual dead spots creeped in now and then. The split-fleet start was used, with Master Class going out first, followed by the Sailor Class.
Our champion skipper Tim Wright, back from his impressive win at Stowe, jumped the start not once but twice. Of course, our scorekeepers, Ellen Koehler and B.B. Wright, won’t stand for those shenanigans, and he was called back for a restart. While the rest of us made smart-mouth comments, he returned to the starting line — and immediately caught up with the fleet!
Alex Hill joined us for the first time with his newly acquired boat, and spent the afternoon getting acquainted with this new sport. We hope he can join us often. Look for Alex’s #4068.
For the most part, the fleet was reasonably well-behaved, although we did have one five-man mast dance that took awhile to untangle. Weeds flourish in this hot weather, and a few floated to our side of the bay to grab rudders and keels, but it was manageable.
Out on the Water
The top of the Sailor Class seems to be holding steady with Don and Paul McBride leading the way. It’s a close race for the third spot, with Paul Wallace hanging on to the third spot for the season, but Diane Labella has sailed into third for the last two weeks and is creeping up. We are glad to see Al Stevens pulling into fourth and Jack Minahan taking fifth.
Tim Wright took top honors, with Rick Lalley and Tom Greig fighting it out for second and third. This week, Rick Lalley finished second with four race wins and holds second for the season at the moment. Don Cundy, always a strong contender, pulled into the fourth spot, followed by Rick Gates.
Join the fun
If you don’t want to build a boat, we’ll help you find a used one. Don’t want to sail? Just come and watch — we put on a great show every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 1:00 PM, weather permitting. Be sure to bring your camera.