Those of us who sailed this year's Chicago to Mac Race suffered through light winds, first on the nose and later from dead astern, making this a very slow race. A large number of boats dropped out of the race, and many were still not through Gray's Rife by mid-day Wednesday. Many boats were short on water, food and patience by the end of the race. It is good that we have short memories and will be back next year hoping for a fast down-wind run to the island.

Although the race was slow, there was one of the most spectacular displays of the Northern Lights that many of us have seen. Not only did we see showers of dancing, shimmering lights of many colors, but also whirling spirals and horizontal streams of light filled the sky for hours. And despite the pronouncements to the contrary by the "UPpers" on my boat, the Northern Lights were seen over the Lower Peninsula of Michigan as well as the Upper Peninsula.

Now for a few comments on Sportsmanship and the Rules. One of the basic principles of sail boat racing is that "competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty or retire." When you are sitting in dead calm with no headway in the middle of the night with several other boats, and one boat "motors" through the fleet at five knots while charging their batteries, one can't help but wonder if their motor is engaged. I saw a boat whose Americap Certificate was based on the declaration that their LPG was 100%, while they were racing in violation of that certificate with a 155% foresail. Other boats claimed no asymmetrical spinnakers on their Americap Certificate, but flow their asymmetrical spinnakers in the race in violation of their Certificate and accepted a flag for their performance.

This is not an issue with the Americap rating system. Similar violations occur with other rating systems as well. The issue is both the knowledge and compliance with the rules of racing. To make the racing rules work, every sailor must know and voluntarily abide by the rules and must also help enforce them. Dave Perry (in Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing) states, "The heart of what makes our sport so fulfilling is the principle that we have a competitor-enforced rules system, that is, we have the responsibility to follow the rules on our own, to self-penalize ourselves when we break a rule, and to protest when we believe another boat has broken a rule." Most of us would rather be in the bar than the protest room after a race. However, we have the responsibility to both follow and enforce the rules. I think the responsibility to know and follow the rules resides with all members of the crew, not only the skipper.

The current 2001-2004 racing rules will expire at the end of this year. They will be replaced by the new Racing Rules of Sailing on January 1, 2005. Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation (LMSRF) will be offering rules seminars around Lake Michigan before the start of next years racing season. All sailors should attend these seminars so they will be well versed in the new rules. This will help them fulfill their obligation to follow and enforce the rules. If you are interested in the LMSRF Rules Seminar please contact the LMSRF office.

The team consisted of John Harford on bow, David Cunningham at the mast, Patrick Haywood in the pit, Chris Lefferdink and Dennis Boyd headsail/spinnaker trim, Wally O'Sullivan on main and Aaron Housten helm.

A practice day was scheduled for Thursday with racing to take place Fri-Sun. We arrived at LBYC on Thu. morning to draw for boats and review the schedule for the rest of the event. After the boat drawing we were free to go out and practice. Later that afternoon a practice race was scheduled.

On Friday the schedule called for two inshore buoy races. The course for the first race was announced as 4 laps W/L, a real gut-buster! We had a decent start in this race and rounded the first mark mid-fleet. From there we slowly began grinding boats down and had brought ourselves up to 2nd by the start of the final run. The race would have ended that way had the Navy team not had a gear failure which caused them to lose their spinnaker for about 1 minute. We were able to pass and won the race. Race 2 was to be 3 laps W/L. Our performance in this race was unfortunately not so good. An early foul and the resultant 720 penalty put us pretty far behind. We were only able to recover to 6th place.

Saturday was to be the long distance offshore race. 4 possible courses were announced of varying lengths. Once on the water we learned that we would be sailing a 22 mile course consisting of 5 marks. We had a really bad start, which was fortunate as we were forced to tack early. The first leg was a long port tack beat and getting right early became the deciding factor. We rounded every mark in 1st place including the finish. A little drama ensued as we were scored OCS but we were successful in our request for redress and we were reinstated to 1st.

The final day was to again be two inshore buoy races. The wind speed during the first race was very light ranging from 3-5 kts. The course was announced as 3 laps W/L. We got a very good start but could not find clear air or a good lane during the first two legs. On leg 3 we began to catch up and we were doing well on leg 4 when the RC decided to shorten course and finish at the end of that leg. Our comeback was quashed and we finished 7th. Fortunately the wind came up between races and we sailed the final race of the series in good breeze. We got another good start and with superior heavy-air boat speed all regatta we led wire to wire.

In the end the overall scores put us 4 points out of 1st place and 4 points ahead of 3rd.

Justin Hood and his LMSRF team, sailing for Spring Lake Yacht Club and Lake Michigan, successfully defended the Richardson Trophy in the 65th running of this YRUGL Great Lakes match racing championship series October 9 – 10, 2004, hosted for Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation by the Racine Yacht Club in Racine, Wisconsin.

The Yacht Racing Union of the Great Lakes rotates the hosting of the Richardson Trophy Regatta annually between its 6 member lake racing associations, and this year it was Lake Michigan’s turn. The regatta committee of the Racine Yacht Club showed what terrific event organization and a great venue its membership is capable of providing.

Six teams, each chosen by sail-off qualifier to represent Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, the Detroit Regional Yachting Association, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario respectively competed in (4) matched S2 7.9 Meter boats (same boat used in Sarnia, Ontario last year) just off the Racine Harbor entrance. Lake Michigan was defending the Richardson Trophy, since Sarah Buckley of Sheridan Shore Yacht Club and her team won the trophy sailing for LMSRF last year, the first win for Lake Michigan in the annual Richardson series since 1967.

The competition in YRUGL’s Richardson series has historically been rather fierce between the Lakes. After last year’s Richardson, Marc Hollerbach, YRUGL’s VP for DRYA and a two-time Richardson winner, made the observation that the level of competition has recently been on the rise. This year that trend continued. The 2004 Richardson teams competing in Racine included three North American one-design class champions, two 2004 US Sailing Prince of Wales Bowl match racing championship finalists, a past POW regatta champion, and a team whose crew competed in the 2001 and 2003 Canada’s Cup Match Racing Challenge.

Saturday morning, after an early skipper’s meeting which included a greeting by RYC Commodore Charles Gagnon and the boat draw, the regatta fleet that included the competitors, six RC and support boats, umpires’ boats, and a number of spectator boats headed out to the race course. There they encountered nearly perfect match racing conditions, with a fairly steady 12 to 16 knot breeze offshore from the west northwest off Racine’s North Beach. Once the equipment failure on an RC boat was resolved, racing got underway with 0.3 mile windward-leeward courses. By early Saturday afternoon the competitors were settled in and focused on their pre-start maneuvers, engaging each other around any nearby handy boat or obstruction. One of the matches displayed a cat-and-mouse chase that circled the RC signal boat 4 times. With only several notable exceptions, the team that won the pre-start won the match.

The RC had two round robin stages to run Saturday and Sunday, including 16 flights with 30 matches. As the afternoon wore on Saturday the wind steadily decreased to 6 – 10 knots later in the afternoon. Chief Race Officer Dick Schweers of the Chicago Yacht Club was able to complete the first round robin stage and got a completion on the first flight of the second round robin before sending the fleet back to the harbor to tie up before dark.

Chief Umpire Cliff Black led the de-briefing with umpires, using white-board chalk talks that discussed the issues and calls of the day, with especially active participation and contribution by skippers and crew alike, particularly by Nathan Hollerbach of the DRYA team. Chief Umpire Black was utilizing this event as a training vehicle to develop Midwest-based certified match race umpire candidates. Then it was time for the Saturday evening barbecue and blow-out, with a good time had by all. Not very many regatta participants got to bed on time.

The entire regatta fleet returned to Lake Michigan early Sunday morning to take up where things left off. However the 2 – 4 knot easterly wind accompanied by a subsiding short, confused 1-2 foot chop from the east was too light for match racing, never sustaining 5 knots or above for more than several minutes at a time. At about 11 AM the Race Committee hopefully watched the sky as fluffy clouds started to develop inshore, signaling the possibility that an onshore thermal was setting up, only to see those clouds disappear. After the competitors had been waiting out on the water three hours for wind and action, racing had to be abandoned and the regatta was scored based on the round robin that was completed Saturday.

RYC Regatta Chairman and Rear Commodore Mark Rode awarded nice embroidered sailing gear bags to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place team skippers and to the winning team’s entire crew. In addition, the 2004 Richardson Trophy Regatta Champion Justin Hood received a 15 x 12 inch richly varnished rosewood keeper trophy plaque, featuring a sectional rendition of the Richardson Trophy with engraved plate, along with the Richardson Trophy itself, a handsome Tiffany-crafted silver canoe cup.

YRUGL President Scott Spaeth addressed the awards ceremony’s assembly and spoke of his vision in the not-too-distant future for a consortium of substantial sponsorship support for YRUGL and its Great-Lakes based competitive sailing programs, which could provide for the Richardson to be sailed in YRUGL-owned boats. Then in accordance with a long-standing YRUGL tradition, the Richardson Trophy was filled with Stingers by the new 2004 Richardson champion, and all those present were obligated to help with emptying the cup before it was put away in its case.

During much of 2004, the Richardson Trophy along with its base and carrying case underwent a much-needed $2400 restoration, managed by LMSRF Executive Secretary Don Glasell and YRUGL Treasurer Glenn McCarthy. The restored Cup looks terrific indeed, and the base now has enough space for winners’ plates through the 2016 Regatta.

In 2005 The Richardson Trophy Regatta will be hosted by DRYA, and Lake Michigan will again be defending the Cup.

2004 Ranking after tie-breakers to break ties for both 2nd and 3rd places:
1 Lake Michigan, Justin Hood, sailing for LMSRF and Spring Lake Yacht Club.
2 Lake Ontario, Kevin Doyle, sailing for LYRA and Youngstown Yacht Club.
3 Lake St. Claire, Chris van Tol, sailing for DRYA and Bayview Yacht Club.
4 Lake Huron, Tyson Connolly, sailing for LHYA and Port Huron Yacht Club.
5 Lake Superior, Lars Hansen, sailing for LSYA and Wayzata Yacht Club.
6 Lake Erie, Kevin Thomas sailing for I-LYA and Bayview Yacht Club.

2004 Winning Team LMSRF:
Justin Hood, skipper
Ed Furry
Tac Boston
Mike Hill
Gary Waldron

For further information click here.

Pictures courtsey of Ron Weiss.

Learn to Sail... Fast!

LMSRF Area III has the most racing activity on Lake Michigan. We serve the needs of all sailors around the Lake and look to help with all reasonable requests. A few years ago, we learned that the parent organization (LMSRF) and its five subsidiaries (Area I, Area II, Area III, Area IV and Area V) were all publishing separate yearbooks. Everyone agreed there would be efficiencies if all were brought together in one book, and that the advertiser base would look more strongly at reaching the entire lake-wide racing community in a single publication. The good news is that it has worked. In the case of Area III, their budget has been relieved of at least $2,000 a year (with 256 LMSRF Area III members, that becomes a savings of more than $7.80 per Area III member annually).

The next thing that occurred is that an Area III yacht club wanted to use the Americap II rule. Clearly infrastructure was needed to get it accomplished with measurers needed around the entire lake. So LMSRF made a grant in the amount of $2,700 to get 24 measurers from all corners of the lake certified (2-WI, 2-IN, 3-MI, 17-IL). That mission was accomplished.

More recently, the software program LMSRF Area III used for race management which includes everything from accounting, to data information on you and your boat, to scoring and publishing results to the web reached the end of its useful life (it wasn't Y2K compliant and didn't publish to the web). LMSRF supported its subsidiary LMSRF Area III to the tune of $6,000 to pay for a replacement program and this year voted to provide an additional $600 more for maintenance and upgrades to this program.

LMSRF is the equivalent of the wiring, plumbing, framing, cable, phone wire and all stuff hidden in the walls of your house. Without LMSRF, life would be Amish. If you know of another service that LMSRF may be able to assist you with, please contact your Area Vice President found in your yearbook.