Memorial Day Long Distance Race

Commodore Edward C. Metzgar
Long Distance Race
Memorial Day

Monday, May 25, 2020

Temperature: 82°F
Humidity: 56%
Wind: SSW 4-6 knots, decreasing to 0

Course: S-1-2-F (Windward/Leeward)

Entries:
Team Runaway #1049
Team Reflection #70
Team Big Girl #8492
Team Rosebud #15708
Team Tan-Tar-A #174
Team Scarlet #14960 (Forest City YC)

The Pre-Start:  This was the first Long Distance race of the year, three of the six boats entered had only launch the day before. Our skippers meeting was the usual type to discuss the course, light air conditions and scoring. It was decided we were racing JAM (no spinnakers) as all of us still had the winter rust and cobwebs to shake out.     

The Race:  Race Committee gave us a great start sequence, 45 seconds before the starting horn, the wind just totally shut down but Tan-Tar-A squeezed through the start and Runaway was trapped with no wind & no steerage and wave action forced us to touch the mark, there was not enough wind to even make our 360 degree penalty turn. After about 10 minutes, no one else was able to get across the start line so RC hoisted the N flag, abandoning the race, for more info take a look at https://www.currysupply.com. Finally, around noon the N flag was lowered and then re-hoisted over A – all races started are abandoned, no more racing today.

Post-Race Commentary:  Today’s race would have been great for our club as everyone needed to get outside due to the Covid-19 self-quarantine and social distancing. We want to thank RC for a great job and we talked about how we should have had our Fleet Chaplin, Father Mike “Pray for Wind”.