Fleet Champs #1

It was one of those grand and glorious Mission Bay days that tends to make itself known only during Women's regattas.... Fourteen Snipes enjoyed 10-13 knots for all five races of the very first Fleet Championship series last Saturday April 19. Stan Betts insisted on each and every sailor getting their money's worth. We were on the water racing from noon until 4:57 pm ( I checked my watch) with a brief 20 minute break. I don't know about you but it's Monday night and every muscle in my body is STILL SORE.

The dynamic duo of Dave Tillson and Jon Fretwell showed everyone that their Nationals campaign is a force to be reckoned with. Dave and Jon posted two first place finishes for the day and were always in the hunt for the lead. George Walker and Carol Merriman were close behind and also in contention for every race - great to see George with speed and going in the right direction. (George - this is meant to be a compliment. I had speed but often times I was going in the wrong direction.) Brian Janney and Megan Magill kept the boat very flat and lookin' good upwind. Ken Redler convinced Eric Wilcox to get back into a Snipe and after a few rusty tacks Eric looked like his old Championship self. Scott Hart was very glad that his sister Jennifer declined a chance to crew with Dad - Scott and Doug also posted some great consistent results for the day.

One of the more dramatic moments involved a raft up at the leeward mark in Race #4 with Ken Redler, Bob Bowden and Steve Stewart all tied up and heading to some unknown frat party on Riviera Drive... I thought Spring Break was over with. Nonetheless, they finally freed themselves and managed to catch up to the fleet with some respectable finishes. Only Snooley knows the truth about that fateful mark rounding, but we learned something useful. We've got to figure out a way to modify the Three Minute Justice system to properly handle things like Redress or Protesting the Race Committee - i.e. altercations that involve only one boat. If you have any suggestions, contact TFC.

You're probably wondering about the throw-out situation for the Championship series. Remember that we added the Districts for a combined total of five race days - and 20 or 21 races depending upon how many races are held for Districts at SDYC.

Tom Fisher and I came up with the following throwout scheme:
20-21 races: 4 throwouts
15-19 races: 3 throwouts
13-14 races: 2 throwouts
11-12 races: 1 throwout
10 races or less: 0 throwouts

-- TFC

Results

Place	#	Skipper	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	29112	Dave Tillson	John Fretwell	5	1	2	4	1	13
2	29811	George Walker	Carol Merriman	2	5	4	1	4	16
3	29957	Brian Janney	Megan Magill	4	6	6	2	3	21
4	29315	Ken Redler	Eric Wilcox	6	3	3	5	5	22
5	29314	Doug Hart	Scott Hart	3	4	5	5	6	23
6	28955	CB Krebs	Eric Krebs	7	2	1	6	8	24
7	29108	Steve Stewart	Melanie Roberts	1	9	9	7	2	28
8	28679	Jerome Fournier	Julie Calvert	8	8	10	9	9	44
9	29013	Don Bedford	Teresa O’Dea	9	15	7	3	15	49
10	21366	Bob Bowden	Joanne O’Dea	10	7	8	10	15	50
11	28464	Brian Vanderspek	Caleb Paine	11	11	11	11	7	51
12	28687	Aine McLean	Megan Pluth	13	10	12	12	15	62
13	28467	Brian Carter	Diana Carter	15	12	13	15	15	70
14	28858	Jeremy Parker	Betsy Kelly	12	13	15	15	15	70