 | Vanguard 15 West Coast Fleet 53 |
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| 2021 Fleet Champs at Inverness Yacht Club | October 2 - 3 |
| Story |
| It has been over 20 years that the Inverness Yacht Club has hosted the Vanguard 15 Fleet 53 Championships, with the first recorded event in 2000. After skipping a year 2020 because of COVID related concerns, the fleet was back for a weekend in October 2021 for another all-star event. Eleven boats competed in the contest to determine a fleet champion.
The conditions did not disappoint. At around 11:00 o'clock on Saturday morning a north westerly arrived on the stretch of Tomales Bay, just outside the club. The breeze was light at first, both crew and skipper sitting on the rail, but it increased as the day went on. Principal Race Officer Ian McClelland fired off the first four races for the day, and after a short break, another four races for a total of eight on the day. IYC club member Shawn Kelly noted breeze in excess of 20 knots in the early afternoon. Most boats were at full hike for the better part of the day. Skipper Cameron Barclift with crew Eliza White -- also an IYC member -- had their hands full. A lighter crew, the two were at full hike for the entire day. "The ebb added to the difficulty upwind. The short chop that it created meant that we had to keep the bow down in order to keep the speed up. Our legs were torched by race six." The race committee ran mostly windward - leeward courses for the day, which meant that the boats behind had a chance to catch up to the leaders downwind. Skipper Michael Rivlin and crew Sam Gebb took advantage of this and caught boats on the downwind. The two managed to improve their results with each passing race, taking a few bullets at the end of the day. The day provided more drama than just big breeze. Skipper Ty Ingram and Crew Tiffany Xi lost a clevis pin holding their shroud in place. They tacked over and the mast came crashing down; thankfully no one was hurt. At the conclusion of the day, the fleet pulled the boats out and settled in for a grill dinner on the deck adjacent to. the club. The breeze started to fade, and the sun approached the horizon. Eliza's ribs, Mike's burgers, Sam G.'s salad, Tiffany's side and Zach's cold beers made for a wonderful dinner at sunset. At the conclusion of the day, the top four boats were within 15 points, setting up a spectacular finish. Sunday was similar to Saturday: the breeze picked up a little later in the day, around 11:30 and increased until mid afternoon. The wind strength did not reach Saturday's strength, but all the crews were hiking. The Race Committee ran the usual windward -- leewards, but threw in a few triangles as well. In the breeze, the Vanguard 15 is light, nimble and fun on the reach, getting up to planing speeds. At the dock, Cameron and Eliza managed to break a mast step -- a never-seen-before failure for the fleet. Neil Roberts, bowing out for the afternoon, generously loaned them his boat to complete the event. Dan Altreuter and Neha Bazaj had the base of their mast break but managed to catch that failure and retire gracefully without the mast falling. The competition was tight. For nearly all races of the regatta, the separation between first and fifth was about five boatlengths. That is, the first five boats were typically lined up bow-to-stern at the windward mark. Any mistake on the first beat would send a team back to sixth place. Adding to the competition was an amazing amount of eelgrass. Skipper / crew combinations were clearing the centerboard/ and rudder multiple times on any given leg. Skipper Sam Wheeler and Crew Danielle Ryan experimented with methods to prevent the collection of eelgrass: keeping the centerboard out of the water and the rudder all the way up. No technique was 100% successful, and many a crew suffered upwind when a kelp forest attached itself to the boat. Clumps of kelp meant a slow boat and losing a few boats. According to folks who had done the regatta multiple years, it was the highest amount of eelgrass that the fleet had ever raced in. The competition stayed close through the final race. Skipper Steve Kleha and crew Claire Pratt went to greath lengths to keep second place Sam and Danielle behind them. Unbeknownst to both teams, Skipper Ty and replacement crew Sam Reynolds made an outstanding charge on Sunday. When the last of 15 races was complete, the top three were within 15 points: Ty / Tiffany / Sam R. taking third in the event, Sam W. and Danielle finishing in second, and Steve and Claire on top. Boats were de-rigged and beers were cracked open on the deck of Inverness Yacht Club at around 5pm on Sunday. Stories were told about boats breaking down, who caught the largest amount of eelgrass, why one race was abandoned, how hard the wind had blown, and -- wow -- it really is shallow here. The fleet was tired, you could tell, and the event was a resounding success. Enough thanks cannot be given to the Inverness Yacht Club for consistently hosting this event for over twenty years. It has become a tradition with the fleet, with many a story and tradition emanating from the event. Shawn Kelly hosted the fleet and was on hand at all times and was an invaluable resource. Additional thanks to the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation for loaning the three boat trailers to bring 6 out of the 11 boats to Inverness. Without PYSF, this event is simply not possible. Principal Race Officer Ian McClellend manages to run an outstanding regatta with no markset support. It is simply amazing how he does everything all by himself. Many thanks! And finally to the volunteers that make the event possible. Eliza made some outstanding ribs and opened her home up to sailors on Friday night. Mike Deady made the main on Saturday night with help from Tiffany and Sam G.. Zach Shapiro brought the beer, which is a critical component of the event. Cameron towed a triple boat trailer. And Steve and Mike organized the whole regatta. The fleet is already looking forward to next year! Scores in brackets beginning with "t" indicated throwouts. Photos available here. |
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