Puget Sound Spring Regatta- F18 Pacific Northwest

Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle

April 13-14, 2013

Just a week after the Tulip Regatta, the F18’s reconvened in Seattle for PSSR, the Puget Sound Spring Regatta, hosted by the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle April 13-14.  CYC Seattle runs more races annually than any other club in the country (look it up), including lake racing on Lake Washington, Puget Sound Racing, and Whidbey Island Race Week, as well as weeknight beer can racing during the summer.  They litterally keep the Seattle racing community going, and deserve a big thanks for all their hard work.  PSSR represents CYC’s yearly buoy racing kickoff, with two separate weekends, one dedicated to small boats and one large boats.  In recent years, PSSR small boat participation has dwindled, with the exception of lasers and F18’s, and of course the J24’s, who choose the small boat weekend so they aren’t run over by the larger boats the following weekend.

Saturday brought big breeze and cold weather.  There was a distinct chill in the air as boats rigged up in the parking lot, and no one was mentioning the forecast 20-25, keeping a straight face and acting as though big breeze this early in the season was no big deal.  I mean, come on, we’d all just gotten back from Worlds only 6 months prior right!  Well, the cold got to some, and the breeze got to most.  Oh, did I mention this was also the start of the annual Blakely Rock Benefit, in which about 100 keelboats were participating?  In the same starting area?  Team Storm with guest helm Peter Nelson were first on the water in their Hobie Wildcat.  Next out was JoyRide, followed by Shrek 3, Nauti Gear, Rum Line, and Altec.  Between the wind and the myriad keelboats on the water, it was nearly impossible to find the committee boat.  Most teams did a bit of sailing before the eventual first start, and while not sailing tried to keep warm as the RC get things set and ready to race, which took nearly an hour.  The first race started in about 20 with gusts higher.  Teams battled the cold and wind to the top mark, where the real fun began.  F18 down, F18 down, one after another.  Some broken boats, some broken bodies, and some simply freezing crews.  By the time the first boat approached the leeward gate, it was evident the marks had come loose and were drifting quickly northward.  The RC boat was chasing after them with their broken mark boat on station at the start finish line.  With some boats headed to the beach with damage, everyone decided this was a good day to be on shore, and the fleet packed it in.  Unfortunate, but with 20 knots plus, an unknown amount of time until another race was started, and <50 degree air and water temps, no one felt like being out there any longer.  No races scored.

Sunday dawned anew with lighter air and no additional boats on the course to confuse the competitors.  All the F18’s had fixed their boats and bodies from the day before, and hoped for some some breeze, but not too much.  The CYC RC is no stranger to light air racing, this being Seattle, and they got off no less than seven races for the day.  Also in true Seattle fashion, the fleet was postponed for a short period in the middle of the day while the wind switched from South to North.  Un-daunted the RC re-set the marks and continued on.  The light air and chop had the fleet mixing it up, but ultimately Team Storm took the top spot, with Shrek3 and Rum Line in second and third respectively.

Results:

Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Entries: 6, Scoring system: Appendix A