The Wylie Wabbit fleet headed inland on August 8 for their Wiver Wun to Wio Vista, part of their championship series and traveling series. First to finish were Aaron Sturm, Jim Malloy and Guillaume Canivet. It was Sturm's first race on the new-to-him Ghost Dog and Malloy's first Wiver Wun win in twenty-five years of trying. (Try saying Wiver Wun win three times fast - go ahead, we dare ya!)

“The winners had never won before,” said Wabbit Hutch Mother Treacy Malloy, “and after 25 years of Wiver Wuns, I'd say it was about damn time, Jim! Not sure how many of these Aaron  has sailed, but it's been a few.

 

“All boats and people arrived at Brannan Island in one piece. While it was not the fastest ‘cwuise’ in its long history (7 hours, 37 minutes for the first boat, with the last boat finishing just 21.5 minutes after that), we had ten boats and numerous on-shore participants.”

The favorite was Bill Erkelens (the younger), who took himself out early by going to Marin. Bill and Melinda won at Huntington Lake and the Monterey Nationals and have been National Champions at least five times, so their early demise was unanticipated.

The worst it ever got to was 10 knots, which was generally appreciated after last year's thermonuclear conditions. That stretch of the Sacramento River from the San Joaquin past Brannan Island to Rio Vista is usually nukin’ - windsurfers love it. This year, there was a hole at Brannan Island.

“The Park Rangers didn't bust us for anything this year,” said Treacy, “and the Sheriff's boat just laughed at those stuck either aground or in ‘The Hole’, instead of checking CF numbers. The finishing committee finished boats, sans loud whistle but with lots of gusto and shrieks, boats were pulled and packed up, and way too much food and drink were had - lots of laughter and one birthday celebration (for Aaron). Lots of great stories rounded out the evening.”

Results have not yet been posted at http://wyliewabbit.org, so here they are, including crew names where known:

1) 8415    Aaron Sturm, Jim Malloy, Guillaume Canivet

2) 19        Bill Erkelens, Zane Working, Sarah Deeds

3) 35        Erik Menzel

4) 8426    Kim Desenberg, Terry White, John Groen

5) 26        Colin Moore, Hilary Hansen, Rich Jarrett

6) 11        Tim Russell

7) 12        Ron Tostenson, Stan Morris

8) 24K     Simon Winer

9) 18        Marceline Therrien

10. 10)1968  Denise Palermo, Attila Plasch
    

Thanks to Treacy Malloy, Stan Morris and John Dukat for filling us in on the Wiver Wun.

A side note: The speech impediment best exemplified by Elmer Fudd and 

the Wabbit Fweet is called Rhotacism - how ironic and unfair for its sufferers!