Fourteen boats were on the line for the first race of the 2016 Lotawana No Frills Regatta. Saturday saw winds from SSE at a12-15 mph and temperatures in the low 80’s guaranteeing a beautiful day of sailing. With a judge shortage, the fleet planted a dummy judge’s boat in the middle of the leg for a start/finish line and MO-4 ran the horns..
Jim Martin, Scott Griffiths, and Spencer Brackman separated from the fleet early with Jim getting the first win of the season. The second race saw Spencer Brackman and Charley Farley starting to show superior early season form with a first place finish. They completed the afternoon session with a 2-1 finish to take a commanding lead into Sunday.
The Sunday forecast was for lots of wind and they got that right. With nine boats sitting on the sidelines we had plenty of judges for the last race. Starting in 22+ mph south winds, most of the five boats were near the starting line for the 10:00am race. Scott Griffiths had 600 pounds of mature beef on board and jackstays tuned to a high C. Brackman, Frasier, and Robison, separated from JMO Byrne and Griffiths and had a close three way race around the course. The final windward leg had some knock down puffs. 1000 yard from the finish, one hit the leader, and sent the Frashier family swimming. Robison was able to hold on for one more tack to get the win. No discussion was needed that there would be no more racing for the day. Photo ops at the MYC finished out a fun weekend to kick off the 2016 season.