Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Sept 25, 2005
Yacht Clubs of Long Beach Charity Regatta
T-Rex Wins in a Tie-Breaker!

T-Rex ventured out in her first buoy race regatta with Steve, Stevie and Paul Washburn teaming up with long time friend and sailing buddy (Uncle)Bruce Golison. Two races around the Long Beach Inner Harbor Marks were sailed on a sunny, absolutely beautiful fall Sunday afternoon. We scored a 2-1 to tie for first and win the tie breaker for a win in PHRF B. (A good year tie breaker wise as we are 2 for 2 in tie breakers- see below story on our Mini-Me adventures on the Gorge in Oregon this past summer). The Santana 30-30 we tied with was well sailed and handled well around the corners. Our corrected time difference was less than 30 seconds in the second race-- a fair test for our relative ratings.

Being our first regatta to go around the buoys presented challenges as we were sorting out and learning the boat around the corners on the fly. We have a definite list of re-rigging improvements to clean things up. Turns out that the S-20 set up is a well refined one that is transportable to T-Rex. Other challenges were several PHRF A boats sailing an entirely different course that were surprisingly amateurish on boat handling and tactics as far as course placement when our classes overlapped. Two boats in particular based on race results from past regattas that should have known better. Lesson learned for Dad Washburn. Also noteworthy for the day was how involved 8 year old Paul Washburn was-- Pointing out what the competition was doing and where it was, using all the correct sailing lingo, keeping Dad and Bruce totally up to date on our course positioning. Needless to say Dad was speechless and proud. Paul was also observant with lots of questions on sail trim; for instance, blowing Bruce and Dad away with the question on why the boat heeled less when the main traveler was eased out in the puffs. Putting that cause and effect together really was a stunner- OK-- I am proud of Paul! And of all my sons! Good times indeed. Stevie, as usual, was practicing his quiet, patient and efficient foredeck handling on an unfamiliar platform. He is a real pleasure to sail with. Dad Washburn is a blessed and lucky man. Of course Bruce was at his usual best; calmly handling the middle of the boat, coaching Stevie and calling perfect tactics all at the same time.

The B-25 design is an absolute delight to sail and race, a great platform to work on and nimble and quick on the course. Dad and Stevie are really looking forward to the DH Races that are on the 2006 calendar, as well as a couple of others: One we are really looking forward to with Bruce, Dad and Stevie on board is the Delta Ditch Run, a 60+ mile race up the Stockton River from San Francisco Bay. The Trans-Tahoe Race is the other one we are excited about.

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