by Will Gorgen - Regatta Coordinator

The 2003 Fairwind Region 4 Championship Regatta was held on August 2nd in Ann Arbor, MI. 8 boats participated in the event including three from Edina Minnesota, four from Ann Arbor Michigan, and one guest skipper from South Carolina. Registration - originally scheduled for Friday evening - was postponed until Saturday morning due to rain. Saturday morning brought beautiful summer conditions. All the boats were weighed in before the scheduled skippers meeting. Co-race directors Russ Bergendahl and Dick Hein passed out a few corrections to the SIs and described the course for the day. Some frequency adjustments were made and the fleet was ready to race.

A 2 lap windward leeward course was set along the eastern shore of the pond. Racing started on time in a light breeze from the southeast. A break was taken after the first 5 races to accommodate a course change. The standings at that point gave a taste of the competitiveness of the fleet. Tony Johnson was in the lead, one point ahead of Will Gorgen (with a throw out they were tied). Jeff Weaver was in third two points ahead of Fred Ferris in fourth who was 3 points ahead of Terry Mackey in fifth.

The course was reset, to accommodate a wind shift to the south. The wind shift brought a stronger breeze. Three more races were held before the lunch. Will Gorgen suffered 2 bad races due to weed problems while Tony rattled off an impressive 1-1-2. This gave Tony a healthy lead of 13 points. Fred and Jeff were tied for third a mere 2 points behind Will.

Lunch consisted of party subs from a local sub shop. Pond-side discussion focused on sail shape and trim as the top sailors unveiled some of their secrets.

After Lunch, the course was changed again to accommodate a further clocking of the wind. Three windward marks were set allowing the race committee to choose a windward mark most aligned with the wind direction at the start of each race.

After Lunch it was Tony's turn for some bad luck as weed problems caused him to finish 6th in races 9, 11 and 15. Terry found some extra speed to win races 10 and 15 and finish in the top 3 in all 7 of the afternoon races. Fred also sailed well in the afternoon to win 3 of the races with his "used sails bought on eBay" (Fred informed everyone that his not-as-used-as-last-years-sails came with a used boat as well....). Leroy Payne also found some better speed for the afternoon turning in three third place finishes.

While the race committee was tallying the final scores, a fun race was held where the competitors swapped boats. Numbers were drawn from a hat to determine which sailor would sail which boat. Terry Mackey won the race sailing Leroy Payne's boat. For his effort, he received a new gambling die shaped antenna ball.

At the end of the day, the 3 throwouts became an important factor. The final standings before throwouts showed the top 4 finishers were separated by only 8 points with Tony Johnson and Will Gorgen tied for first at 45 points. After throwouts, Will won the regatta by 2 points. Terry Mackey finished third, 5 points behind Tony and Fred Ferris was fourth only 2 points behind Terry.

RESULTS:
The top four received a commemorative coffee mug, and the top three got AMYA red chevrons.

Weeds turned out to be a big factor on the day. None of the competitors were immune to snags. Several race leaders were passed on the final leg of the race when they were slowed by weeds. As unfortunate as this situation was, it seemed to affect all competitors equally. The only boats that had a slight advantage were boats with light colored paint on their keels as the skippers of these boats could more easily spot the offending weeds.

On the technology front, Will Gorgen was sporting a new boom vang system. This vang - inspired by Lester Gilbert (UK IOM sailor) - allows the mainsail twist to increase as the sails are eased on the reach but tightens the leach when the sail is eased out the rest of the way on the run. Five of the boats used aftermarket sails by 3 sailmakers; Carr Sails (Will), Inland Sails (Jeff and Chuck), Walrus Sails (Tony and Terry). The remaining three boats used stock sails.

Region 4 Championship Pictures

2003 Fairwind Region 4 Results

Fairwind Fleet Page