1997 Larchmont Regatta/New England Championships

Nixon/Rosemont Claim New Englands Title

Snipes converged on the beautiful Larchmont Yacht Club on the weekend of June
21-22 to compete for the New England Championship Perpetual Trophy.  The
Larchmont Yacht Club has been a gracious Snipe host for the last few years as
several Atlantic Coast Championships and a Western Hemisphere have been held
there.  This club is no stranger to big events and they like Snipes even
though we challenge their starting line management skills to the max.  The
Larchmont Race Committee is very grateful for the Snipe Class' z-flag rule
(several committee members have been heard to say "wow, when that z-flag goes
up, you guys behave...").

The turnout was a little low and the reason seems to be that some sailors are
not having the good sense to carefully check the regatta schedule before
scheduling their weddings and other somewhat important life events.  Even
though the numbers were low, as usual the quality of the fleet was very high
- miss a shift and half the fleet goes by (and there were plenty of shifts).

The weather forecast was ominous with high heat and humidity, however each
day there was a nice breeze of 5-10 knots turning into a nice seabreeze by
late afternoon.  Three medium length courses were held each day.  On
Saturday, Scott Nixon and Sam Rosemont dominated with a 2-1-1.  But behind
them there were five boats packed into just a few points, so there was still
a lot of dust to settle on Sunday.  John MacCrae and Melitta Hall were at the
front of this pack after a bullet in race one.  But right on their heels was
John ("I think I can cross") and Maggie Manderson, Long Islanders Pedro
"MonteSanto Cooler" Lorson/Susan Cushman, Bill "protest" Hall/Lelia King, and
Lee Griffith/Lorie Stout.  The Griffith/Stout team basically loved to push
the boat off the dock to obtain some sanity as they arrived with one 7 yr
old, 3 nine yr olds, and an 11 yr old but no pets.  I mean this shore crowd
can so befuddle these parents that they even pushed off the dock Sunday
morning with the daggerboard up on the dock.  Practicing without a rudder is
one thing, but Lorie and I quickly decided that there is not much to learn
sailing without the daggerboard, so we went back to pick it up.

After the racing, everyone retired to the awesome Larchmont clorinated
saltwater beach/lagoon/pool to cool off.  Then an excellent dinner was served
on the lawn of the club.  The balance of the evening was filled by some
simulated protest meetings to resolve some interesting issues from Saturday's
sailing and learn the new rules.  We are sure that the jury composed of Scott
"Da Judge" Nixon, Her Highness Samantha, and John "I got a scenario for ya"
MacCrae ruled appropriately in all cases and everyone learned something
except John Manderson who said he is going to continue sailing under the old
rules since he loves coming into the weather mark on port (wonder if John
ever sailed Lasers).  The result of the protest was that it was disallowed
but the witness, Lee Griffith, was disqualified on a ruling written up by Her
Highness.

Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday except hotter.  Nixon/Rosemont nailed
things down with a 2-1-5.  The Manderson's won the day and a solid second in
the regatta with a 3-2-1.  Below is the top ten, and the full results can be
found at http://www.yranet.com, then click on "yra of Long Island Sound",
then "Larchmont YC".

Nixon/Rosemont        2-1-1-2-1-5        11.25
Mandersons            7-2-2-3-2-1        16.75
MacCrae/King          1-5-4-5-4-3        21.75
Hall/King             3-4-7-4-3-2        23.0
Griffith/Stout        5-6-3-6-5-4        29.0
Lorson/Cushman        4-3-6-1-10-7       30.75
Lally/O'Brien         9-7-8-7-6-8        45.0
Mullane/Brooks        6-9-11-8-9-11      54.0

-Lee Griffith