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4 Days of Bliss – 2008 I-LYA Regatta
By Scott | August 7, 2008
This was my third time attending this race known as Bay Week and this time we had 9 Mistral Prodigy One Design kits racing. The I-LYA group was very happy to see us there because as like in windsurfing the attendance at many sail boat regatta events has declined over the last decade. In total counting windsurfers there was near 70 boats there. With 50 of them being crews of three or more there was a crowd of around 200 people at the Monday evening Captain Morgan rum party.
What I’ve noticed is the big boat sailing community easily relates to the Prodigy One Design class when they see a group of us. When they see us using the same hulls and sails that makes racing sense to them. The Prodigy hull basically has the shape of a small sail boat so it looks real cool to them. I think the Prodigy class really fits in well with small centerboard type sail craft on a race course. Below are some of Prodigy boards at our launch site on Middle Bass Island.
The Erie islands are a great place to be at anytime during the summer. The daily late afternoon Bay Week festivities keep you busy after the morning’s races. This year a really great local musician named Alex Bevin entertained us during the daily beer blasts. We stayed on Middle Bass Island at a place which has a great view of Put-In-Bay harbor. The picture below is of the National Memorial Perry’s Monument which celebrates Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie in 1812. Put-In-Bay harbor is just to the right of the monument. The land at the right is Gibraltar Island where Ohio State University has a research center.
T
he winds were good Monday, awesome Tuesday and races were canceled Wed as the winds were in the 2 to 5 mph range at 9:30am. The Prodigy class and Interlake class could have raced in that light air. Unfortunately I think they canceled because most of the Hobie Wave class were having difficulty getting out to the start area. I raced well but others were at the top of their game and raced better. I need to find the VMG angle quick off the start and adjust it quickly in the puffs. Usually by the time I get the right angle going the puff has ended. On day two I was close to the front pack several times and was doing real well on the upwinds but lost ground on the down wind legs.
The final results I believe were:
1 Dick Tillman
2 Rod Clevenger
3 Denny Brengartner
4 Chris Barry
5 Scott Haas
6 Joe Belhobeck
7 Frank Murry
8 Gary Smith
9 Don
Above some of the Prodigy group warms up in light air before the Wednesday morning racing was canceled. In the back ground on the right those specs are the sails of the big sail boats in the distance. This is a beautiful spot to race at because the course is nearly surrounded by islands. Below in the picture is Sugar Island to the left of and Middle Bass Island on the right of the committee boat. Some time in 2009 a renovated Middle Bass State Park with a new marina and campground is scheduled to open. We are hoping that happens in time for the 2009 Bay Week event. The campground should be a great spot to windsurf from.
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Topics: Hybrid Racing | 1 Comment »
August 8th, 2008 at 6:15 AM
Good summation!!!!