Lavallette Yacht Club
It was a hot and windy day for the first annual A-Class Catamaran Jersey Shore Regatta, which was held at Lavallette Yacht Club on on Saturday, July 24th. Eight sailors from Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club made the trip 'down the shore' to sail in Barnegat Bay, known for its wind and open waters. Sailors started off their day with a made-to-order hot breakfast at the yacht club. Not only did they get to eat in air conditioned comfort, but they had the unusual opportunity to have a generous meal at a modest price; no meal cost more than $3.00. Peter Block was so busy enjoying his giant cheese omelet (he was in omelet heaven) that Angela Burdette had to come to his rescue with napkins in hand to wipe his chin.
After breakfast, the sailors rigged their boats keeping an eye on the scorching west wind, which kept building as the morning wore on, with white caps appearing around 10:30 a.m. The skippers meeting was held at 11:30 a.m. and was run by the Race Committee Chairperson, Winfield Dougherty of Bay Head Yacht Club, who persuaded his brother Ted to set the marks and run the crash boat. Win reported that the wind speed was about 21 knots when he arrived on the committee boat, Cats Whiskers, and it was decided that Dean Lennox, the Fleet Captain, would determine if the races should be postponed once the sailors were out on the water. Since everyone was still trying to digest their breakfasts, lunch was postponed until after the races and the launching began.
The committee boat left the dock around noon with Win at the helm, Joanne Callahan who was keeping score, Amanda Burdette who was snapping photos for posterity, Amanda's boyfriend, TJ, who was busy being anchor boy, flag boy and trying to absorb it all, and Angela Burdette who was keeping an eye on Amanda and TJ.
The first of 5 races started at 12:30 after the race committee got the 'thumbs up' from Dean, and the courses were set for windward/leeward finish to windward. This was definitely anyone's regatta since 5 different sailors managed to capture first place in each of the races. Dean Lennox won the first race with relative ease, making sailing an A-Class Catamaran seem effortless. Fred Steinbaum sailed across the finish line first in the second race with a huge grin on his face. Andy (Kiwi) Burdette stormed the finish line first in the third race with a picture perfect finish, hanging out on the trapeze, with only half a hull kissing the water. Jack and Dean Lennox fought for first place in the fourth race, but youth won out over experience, and Jack won the spot. Scott Callahan did a horizon job on the fleet in the fifth and final race and sailed over the finish line first, with cries of "It's about time!" by some members of the Race Committee.
Some notable moments in the race included Fred Steinbaum going over in the downwind leg of the last race, and being pleasantly surprised when he found himself standing in waist deep water; poor Peter Block not being able to get a decent bottle of water from the Committee Boat as two attempts to refresh him landed in the water after bouncing off his life vest; and Jack Lennox proclaiming this was the best regatta he ever attended and asking, "Can we do this again next week?"
Back on the beach at Lavallette Yacht Club, the sailors packed up and then headed into the club for a late lunch and awards. After feasting on Jersey Mike's Subs (what else would we eat at the Jersey Shore Regatta?), Joanne Callahan and Win Dougherty awarded prizes to the winners:
3rd place – Andy (Kiwi) Burdette
2nd place – Dean Lennox
1st place – Scott Callahan
A special award was given out to the sailor who came in dead last and that dubious honor went to Jack Lennox.
For those A-Class Catamaran sailors who passed up this event, you missed a great day of sailing, good food, camaraderie, and the chance to race with some of the best sailors in the fleet. Next year, it would be great if we could get 100% participation from the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club fleet and from other A-Class Catamaran sailors on the East Coast.
Written by Scott Callahan
NOTE: This particular regatta was designed and setup to be an exploratory regatta in an attempt to find a good location for the Lake Hopatcong yacht Club to co-host a July Regatta in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Region. Do to the success and beautiful conditions for sailing this year we will likely send out a NOR to the A-Class fleets next year and make it a full 2 day event.
