by John Davis

 

The V-32 Region 4 Championship Regatta was held in Des Moines, Iowa, at Gray’s Lake Park on August 18-20. This was the first effort for the relatively new Iowa Model Yacht Racing Club to host an AMYA sanctioned regatta, and members and guests were pleased with the results. Our Race Director was Laurie Fenimore, who was ably assisted by Line Judge, Curt Alber, and Scorer, Jane Alber. We followed AMYA/ISAF guidelines for publishing the Notice of Race and the Sailing Instructions, and all went well. We drew skippers from Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, and Ohio, and the “new blood” at the pond added spice to the racing.

 

One of the great things about hosting a regional or national regatta is gaining the experience and challenge of racing with a new group of competitors who invariably bring many new sailing and racing techniques to learn from. Our newest club member, Brian Larson, had only been racing a few weeks and had never competed in a regatta. He finished in tenth place, and said he was glad he competed because it was a great learning experience and a lot of fun.

 

We had 12 entries, with 10 who showed and competed in racing on Saturday and Sunday. We did not need to employ Heat Management racing, and were able to complete 25 races in a day and a half of actual racing, allowing for two throw-out scores. First place was scored as 0.75 points. We completed 18 Races on Saturday with steady winds out of the North at 5–10 knots. The morning was overcast with some light rain that cleared to a sunny afternoon. The seven races on Sunday morning were more difficult with a flukey and frustating wind out of the East at 0–5 knots, and lots of sun to heat things up.

 

Charlie Rhinehart dominated the regatta with nine first place finishes and generally low scores both days. Dan Fenimore captured seven first place finishes and even though Dave Haggart had only two firsts, he nearly always finished in the top three or four. Both skippers gave Charlie a good run at it for lowest score, and several other skippers captured firsts, but did not sail as consistently with low-score finishes.

 

V-32 Region 4 Championship Regatta Results:

        Skipper                       Sail #       State        Score

1      Charlie Rhinehart          5220          Iowa               51.95

2      Dan Fenimore              5237          Iowa                60.25

3      Dave Haggart               5615          Nebraska        75.5

4      John Davis                  1984          Iowa                98.25

5      Bill Inman                    5246          Iowa              117.75

6      Ralph Kanko                5340          Ohio              125.75

7      Paul Thompson           3960          Indiana           125.75

8      Randy Anderson         5208          Iowa               165.0

9      Gene Dunham             5206          Iowa               170.0

10   Brian Larson                 5641         Iowa                205.0