Report by Neil Woodside

On Tuesday, September 14^th, the RYC racing fleet held their last contests of the season, with 5 Etchells in the one-design fleet and 6 in the PHRF fleet participating. Making a nice change from earlier races in a season dominated by light air conditions, the racers enjoyed a breeze which ranged from 5 to 10 knots and held on until sundown. The PHRF boats completed two races, while the Etchells got in four.

The club has run a weekday race series since 1997. In current format, races are held in Rockland harbor starting at 5:00PM each Tuesday from early June through mid-September. Originally a mixed fleet program sailed under PHRF handicaps, the series now includes a small but active Etchells group, with separate starts on the same course. RYC racing is run for the club membership, but non-members are welcome to participate on a trial basis, in a limited number of races. For information, contact Doug Pope at 596-7293 or doug@popesails.com.

As has often been the case in the RYC fleet, competition was close and the series was up for grabs right to the end. Racers had to compete on nine of the fourteen race days to qualify for season scoring and were allowed four throw-outs beyond that level. Scoring was a low-point system, with 1 point for 1^st, two for 2^nd, and so on. Boatswere scored as DNS for any races they missed, adding an incentive to sail in asmany races as possible. Many RYC member boats, such as Al Hodsdon's Sabre 362 SEA JAB came out for races on occasion but were not in contention for season scoring. In the end, five competitors in the PHRF fleet and four in the Etchells fleet were ranked for year-end trophies.

In the Etchells group, Fred Boursier of South Thomaston raced for his first RYC season and placed fourth, with 106 points. Next was David Jones of Camden sailing his E-22, Elvis Tuna to a 3^rd place finish with 90 points. Second went to Elliot Lowe of Owls Head, sailing with crew Knight Coolidge and Jim Paine to a total of 53 points. First place, in a season decided only on the last race day, was taken by Jeff Dinse of Thomaston on his E-22 Totalitarian Regime, with 50 points.

In the PHRF group, after holding a decisive lead through the early weeks of the season, EXTRA BEAT, a J-35 sailed by Ken and Susan Priest of China, ME was kept off the course by scheduling conflicts, and did not make enough races to be scored for the season. In the group scored for season standings, Dave Hoy's Catalina 27, Wyanoke, came in 5^th with 78 points. Tied at 78 points but coming in ahead on the basis of the number of first and second place finishes in individual races, Gary Cran of Owls Head sailed his Tartan 3500 Black Bear to 4^th. Jim Cuthbertson of Thomaston, competing with his J-24 Rumpleteazer took 3^rd with 54 points. Doug Pope of Warren and his steady crew of family and friends sailed Doug's Tartan 10 Walkabout to 2^nd place, totaling 40 points. Neil Woodside's Pearson Vanguard, Undine, the only boat in the PHRF fleet to make every race, came in 1^st, with 35 points. As in the Etchells races, most of the season placing was not decided until the last two race days.

In addition to the weekly series, the RYC racing program includes the Solstice Race, a one-day race held on Penobscot Bay in June and the Rockland Bayside Race, a two-day regatta run on a course between Rockland and the Northport Yacht Club's home in Bayside. RYC racing results may be seen at the club's website: www.rocklandyc.org.

The race was a great event. SW winds 20 - 25 + sent us surfing to Rockland in record time with everyone exceeding previous to boat speeds. We hit 9.4K at one point. Doug Pope reported 12+K. Doug won the double handed division with son Colin as crew. We came in second thanks to wrapping our spinnaker. Neil Woodside came in third in the fully crewed division. We all enjoyed the hospitality of the folks at Glouester, and reciprocated in Rockland. David and Anne Hoy worked heroically to get the scoring done as we kept calling in additional times, corrections and revisions.

Congratulation to all the captains and crews and I'm really glad they represent the RYC.

Report by Marshall Cary and Dave Hoy

Celerity, a Farr Northstar 727, a Northport Yacht Club entry, skippered by Emerson Smith, took first place honors on corrected time in the Rockland - Northport Regatta that saw sixteen boats start off the Northport Yacht Club dock at Bayside on Saturday, July 10th. Celerity was third to finish at the Rockland Light House behind Ken Priest's Extra Beat, a Rockland Yacht Club entry that finished first in elapsed time of 4:48:46 but slipped to fifth on corrected time and. Doug Pope's Walkabout, also a Rockland Yacht Club entry crossed the finish line eight minutes later and captured second place on corrected time. Velero, a Ranger 26 from Northport was third on corrected time.

The Rockland-Northport Regatta is an annual two-day event sponsored by the Northport Yacht Club and the Rockland Yacht Club. The first leg in even numbered years begins in Bayside and finishes at Rockland; the second leg is the following day in reverse from Rockland to Bayside. Odd numbered years the course begins at Rockland with a race back the following day from Bayside. The Regatta results are combined with the Around Isleboro Race in September to determine the annual awarding of the Penobscot Bay Cup to the winning yacht club.

On Saturday, the boats started in a NE breeze of 10 with all of the boats breaking out spinnakers immediately. It appeared that the day was going to be a romp with the larger boats stretching out as they coasted down the Bay. Within an hour the fleet stumbled into dying winds and dead air with only slight breezes wafting over the water, shifting to the West and finally to the SW. Five hours later found the boats tacking back and forth against an eight to ten knot breeze to finish as the winds picked up out of the Southwest. The winner, Celerity, had difficulty making the finish line, unable to hold her tack to make the mark she stalled and was forced to lay off, getting under way again and finally crossing.

Fifteen boats started off the Rockland breakwater lighthouse at 11:00 am on Sunday in light northerly winds. By 12:30 most of the fleet was no further than off Glen Cove when the wind died.completely. Gold Rush, Adventure, Black Bear, Undine, Valero, Apogee, and Sea Tao were grouped together dead in the water there and beginning to drift backward in the ebbing tide. Extra Beat, Sea Jab, Secret Water and Walkabout were stalled near the middle of the bay. Apogee elected to turn on engine and drop. The boats jockeyed to find what little wind there was until, finally, a breeze came up from the southwest. Almost immediately spinnakers popped open all across the bay. The boats converged at the southern entrance to Gilkey Harbor keeping Seven Hundred Acre Island to port.

By this time the winds had picked up. Crews struggled to control their "kites" in shifting conditions made worse by the wakes of powerboats in the narrow channel. to clear the lighthouse and ferry dock. Several boats came close to broaching from pinching under spinnaker in the stronger gusts. Leaving the harbor, the fleet headed back out into the bay aiming for the point at Northport with Gold Rush and Valero leading the second wave of boats following Extra Beat and Walkabout. The finish of the race between the dock at the Northport Yacht Club and an orange pin for the four to five hour race brought cheers from the crowd on shore and a horn blast for each of the boats as they crossed.

In the Sunday race Extra Beat was first across the line on elapsed time of 3:40:13. Walkabout was second on crossing eleven minutes later, followed six minutes by Sea Jab, a Sabre 362 and then, Gold Rush, a Santana 35 eleven minutes later. From then on the fleet bunched up in an exciting finish with Velero a minute later, then a minute and half by Adventure, a Sabre 30. Undine, a Pearson Vanguard crossed forty-three seconds behind Adventure; Black Bear, a Tartan 3500 then crossed a minute later followed by Sea Tao, another Ranger 26 within fourteen seconds, followed by Celertiy forty-two seconds later. Quick Step, an F-25 trimaran was a minute behind Celerity. Secret Water, an Allied Seabreeze 35 crossed eighteen seconds later. Irish Lady, another trimaran and Alibi, a Pearson 30 followed by fourteen minutes and nine minutes to end the day.

The Rockland Yacht Club Summer Series in Rockland Harbor got off to a generally foggy and somewhat rainy start this season with unreliable winds.. Last Tuesday, July 6th, the two races that were held in Rockland Harbor were windward-leeward in overcast skies beginning with little or no wind. Initially, in the start of the first race the boats were barely able to make the line and from then on it was a drift-along. Gradually, the winds picked up. The Etchells, being the lighter boats moved out gracefully while some of the larger cruising class boats had difficulty keeping steerage way through the motor boat wakes that

Elliott Lowe in his Etchell took two firsts and Jeff and Patti Dinse in Totalatarian Regime came in with two seconds. Fred Bousier in his Etchell locked up a solid third in both races and Dave Jones in Elvis Tuna secured fourth place in both races. The Paul Fagan/Nick Bower team in Bunny took a fifth in both races,

In the cruising class division Ken Priest' Extra Beat, a J-35 won the second race and came in fourth in the first race. Undine, a Pearson Vanguard captained by Neil Woodside, managed to capture first in the first race and a third in the second race. Rumpleteaser, a J-24 owned by Jim Cuthbertson took a second in the first race and a second in the second race. Gary Cran in Black Bear, a Tartan 3500 was third in the first race and fourth in the second race. Wyanoke, owned by Dave Hoy trailed both races to come in fifth. A South Shore 23 skippered by Atlantic Challenge also participated.

The Tuesday night series continues until September 15. It is open for one evening's race series to anyone without membership. For additional information call Dave Jones at 236-7048 or Patti Dinse at 354-6200.

On Tuesday, June 29th the fleet of five Etchells in the one design class and seven cruising class sailboats in the PHRF class assembled in Rockland Harbor for 'round-the-buoys races in light and somewhat shifting southerlies. It was a pleasant night for sailing with a course laid out across the harbor. There were two windward-leeward races for the cruising class yachts and three for the Etchells. The starts for both classes were exciting in the light air where boats assembled close, all striving to be first across on starboard tack. From there the boats strung out tacking to reach the windward mark. The downwind leg brought out spinnakers in the Etchells and a couple of the PHRF boats floated spinnakers. The rest ran wing' n wing to the leeward mark; and, then a short beat back to the finish.

Elliott Lowe clearly took honors for the evening in the Etchells with a low score of 3.5 for the three race series. Fred Bousier had a score of 8.75; Dave Jones was 9; Peter Conover was 10 and the Dinse's scored 13 for the night.

In the cruising class yachts, on correct time, Ken Priest's Extra Beat, a J-35 won both races; Doug Pope in Walkabout, a Tartan-10 was second in both races; Gary Cran in Black Bear, a Sabre 3500 took a third in the first race, slipped to 6th in the second race; Jim Cuthbertson in his J-24, Rumpleteaser, took a third and a fourth. Neil Woodside in Undine, a Pearson Vanguard did not finish in the first race and placed third in the second race. Wyanoke, a Catalina 27, owned by Dave Hoy was fourth in the first race and 5th in the second race. A guest South Coast 23 crewed by Atlantic Challange also participated.

The twilight race series is every Tuesday night starting about 5:00 pm in Rockland Harbor. The Race Committee Boat, Ducktrap, owned and managed by Jack Callaghan is on post somewhere in the harbor and flys a blue committee boat flag. It is manned by three or four dedicated members who remain on site until all boats have completed the course. For information please call Dave Jones at 236-7048 or Patti Dinse at 354-6200.

Rockland Yacht Club' Solstice Race, a sponsored benefit race this year for the Area Interfaith Outreach for the Rockland Food Pantry, found thirteen cruising class yachts and sometimes one designs, at the start shortly after 11am off the Rockland Breakwater, Saturday, June 19th. Weather was marginal with fog and very light SSW breeze for a downwind start covering a shortened course in West Penobscot Bay. Bunched at the start most boats tried to pop spinnakers soon after only to find the wind heading the fleet and within fifteen minutes the fleet was dropping spinnakers. The fleet found it tough going in the light air, fog and drizzle that only picked up and cleared somewhat on the last leg about four hours later. In the second leg most boats went to spinnaker for the short run to the center mark which also saw heavier rain making an uncomfortable ride in dying and shifting breezes in the return to the first mark. Back to the center mark, again provided more opportunity for spinnakers in rain and shifting winds. The final leg back to the start with improving winds and some clearing provided an opportunity for some of the lagging boats to catch up.

This first off shore race of the season saw the testing of equipment and crews with the usual casualties of lost halyards, dumped spinnakers dragging in the water, double rounding of marks from disorientation in the fog and chasing unreliable winds. A raft party at the conclusion off Broad Cove sponsored by the Cruising Division was an opportunity to compare stories.