April 24, 2013

Encinal Yacht Club hosted the third edition of the Spring Dash for the Open 5.70 fleet on Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21. Seven of the fifteen local boats participated. The warm and sunny weather had crews sailing in T-shirts and shorts. Sunscreen was applied liberally. Winds peaked at about 17 knots on Saturday, with occasional-20 knot gusts.

The race committee set up a short windward-leeward course. The racing was tight with roundings and spinnaker sets and douses crucial to success. The last race of Saturday was a fierce spinnaker battle down the Estuary with a finish at the Encinal YC in Alameda. Each boat in the fleet scored at least one first or second over the eight race series with one throw-out. Despite the tight racing, there were no formal protests, although a few beers were bought at the bar post-race.

After four races on Saturday, Team Boracic (Michael and Tyler Gough) and Team Frolic (Marc Finot, Rathnait Long and Sebastien de Halleux) were tied for first with six points each; the team of Cathy Moyer, Kathy Conte and Charlie Watt had eight points; Jennifer and Dave Peckham with crew Garrett Griffin had nine points.

Sunday was warmer, with lighter winds delaying the start and resulting in a very interesting first windward rounding – a big ebb and a big windshift caused all the boats to break out spinnakers to get around the mark. The winds filled in all the way to around 10 knots. Michael Gough, sailing with his son Tyler, lit up the scoreboard, taking three bullets and a second to win the regatta. Marc Finot and Cathy Moyer battled for second with Moyer’s team prevailing. Finot’s team finished third.

Michael and Tyler Gough on Boracic finished first. ©2013 Marc Finot

Michael Gough, skipper of the winning Boracic commented, “the people in this fleet are what makes it so damn special. The boat is a great Bay boat, the organization is well oiled, and the racing is a blast – but I just feel lucky to have spent the weekend with such awesome people!” His is a sentiment widely shared.

The come-back team of the weekend was Petit Bateau. New owners Sandra and Matt Siddens and Jean-Pierre Prefot sailing in only their second regatta were trailing at 16 points on Saturday. On Sunday, they took three seconds and a fifth to move up to fourth place, just one point out of third. It’s going to get more crowded at the top now that Petit Bateau is getting its groove.

Jean-Philippe Prefot and Sandra and Matt Siddens on Petit Bateau, USA290, finished fourth. ©2013 Chris Golian

Great thanks to the race committee, led by EYC Commodore Michael Andrews and Vice Commodore Susan Jacquelin. They kept the course square and the starts rolling fast enough to get in eight races. They also towed the boats to the course, and, most appreciated, cheered each boat as it crossed the finish line.

- Kathy Conte, Boudicca

Trophies waiting to be filled. ©2013 Marc Finot