1998 Snipe Womens World Championships
Roy Yamaguchi Trophy
1998 Snipe Womens World Championships
Roy Yamaguchi Trophy
 |
with their second bullet of the day. |
 |
Ekaterina Skoudina/ Tatiana Lartseva |
In the end, Pam Kelly/Michele Bustamante of Coconut Grove, FL and Durham, NC squeaked out a win over Carol Newman-Cronin/Jerelyn Biehl to capture second with 29.75 points; The third spot went to Jennifer Lovell/Molly Alexander with 30 points. Newman-Cronin/Biehl discarded a 12th in race 6 to end up 4th while the great day of a 1,1,5 for Pline/Eldridge moved them up to 5th overall.
Stay tuned for additional reports and more pictures.
See the Final Results for complete details.
10/6/98
 |
of the fleet! |
During the race the breeze clocked right with better pressure so the boats that generally favored the right prevailed. The breeze ranged in speed from 5 to perhaps 10 knots max, but generally in the 5-8 knot range. Luckily this light air is occuring during the week, so the chop on the bay is not as brutal as it can be on a hot, sunny Sunday in August.
In second throughout the race was Jennifer Lovell from New Orleans sailing with her former College crew Annapolitan Molly Alexander. Kimie Isobe and Yoshimi Matsuura of Japan, kept up their light air consistency adding a third place to their tally. The two Russian Teams of Svetlana Maliouk/crew and Ekaterina Skoudina/Tatiana Lartseva were also consistent finishing 4 and 5.
The team of Ekaterina Skoudina/Tatiana Lartseva is looking solid with a 5,1,1,5 while several other competitors are really hoping for two races tomorrow so that a race can be discarded. The drop race will certainly benefit Isobe/Matsuura and Maliouk/crew while not affecting the local team of Lorie Stout and Liz Filter, who would remain in 3rd place overall.
After the breeze clocked around to about 120 by the end of the race, it lightened so much the RC raised the AP flag to await a more sailable breeze. Good for waterskiing (which we did on the spectator boat!) but not for sailing. About 3 pm the breeze filled back in from the north east and the second race was started. Alas, it was not to be as the race was abandoned about the time the first boat ghosted into the vicinity of the weather mark. The fleet was rounded up by the RC and spectator boats and towed in for some well deserved beers! As is always the case the 10-15 knot NE predicted breeze came in at about 5:30 during the second beer. Oh, well, we'll try again tomorrow.
10/5/98
One Word: CRAZY! The fleet left the dock at 10 am today, again under cloudy, drizzly skys and cool temperatures. On the sail out to the course it appeared that the breeze would build to above 10 knots. The first race started on time at 11:10 with a clean start for the windward/leeward course in 5-8 knots from the northeast. A slight ebb tide kept the fleet down from the line. The breeze was oscillating on the beat, but nothing radical.
As was the case in race 1 yesterday, Carol Newman-Cronin and Jerelyn Biehl arrived at the weather mark first. On the run they were caught just at the leeward mark by Kimie Isobe and Matsuura Yoshimi who rounded first.
Then things started to get CRAZY! A BIG hole developed in the left side, coupled with some new right breeze on the right essentially inverted the fleet as the leaders, Isobe, Newman-Cronin, Stout, Pline were stuck in the hole on the left.
At the second windward mark Barbara Giacometti and Chiara Calligaris lead followed by Jennifer Rousmaniere/Liz Brook and Carolyn Brown/Michelle Morphew.
More Crazyiness... The second run again jumbled the leaders a bit. At the leeward mark Ekaterina Skoudina/Tatiana Lartseva rounded first and managed to hold on to win the race. Lorie Stout of Annapolis went right and styled on the last beat to claim second, followed by Pam Kelly/Michele Bustamante in third. It was really difficult for anyone to hold onto the lead.
After a long postponement, the second race was started after the skys clouded and the wind filled again from the northeast about 5-8 knots. It was again mental torture. The easterly directions result in very tough sailing conditions on the Chesapeake Bay. Enough said.
On a personal note as a spectator, it was tough to watch... I really wish everyone could win!
At the Bill Buckles BLENDER PARTY following racing I asked a bunch of competitors for quotes about the tough sailing conditions in todays races. Most just declined comment, but Carol Newman-Cronin summed it up: "I'm just happy to be here!"
10/4/98
 |
off the wind. |
Surprise! The puffy, shifty North Easter came in with a vengence after the boats arrived on the course. After a short postponement and one general recall, the fleet was off on a double triangle course in about 15-18. Carol Newman-Cronin was punched out off the line. Carol and crew Jerelyn Biehl started in the middle of the line, where there was considerable line sag. After the first couple of tacks, it was clear that she had a commanding lead. As the fleet rounded the first weather mark, Bonnie Shope and Lisa Griffith followed in second with some distance to the third boat. There were lots of position changes on the first two reaches as the breeze was puffy and staying in the breeze really payed off. Lisa Pline and Sherry Eldridge moved from 10th to 4th with a great couple of reaches, followed closely by Lorie Stout and Liz Filter.
 |
on a plane. |
At the second weather mark, Carol and Jerelyn still lead by a significant amount, but Bonnie and Lisa managed to pass on the low road again staying in the best breeze. Pline/Eldridge moved into 3rd on the beat, but were passed by Stout/Filter. On the last beat Newman-Cronin/Biehl finally ground down Shope/Gfiffith. It was reported that both skippers exchanged words of encourangement during a particularly close crossing: Bonnie yelled: "Go Get 'em Carol!" and Carol yelled: "Go Bonnie!"
There were a few capsizes on both the beats and at the jibe mark as thebreeze built steadily into the upper teens, but all in all the competitors sailed very well despite their generally lighter than optimal crew weights.
The Masseues was very busy tonight, doing her best to "mend" the tired skippers and crews. All the competitors celebrated Lexi Pline's 1st birthday with cake and a Flute/Clarinet duet by Kuniko Yamada and Arai Mayuko.
Although the pictures are a sort of grainy, they show the action of the day.
10/3/98
All competitors had arrived, rigged, measured and were ready to go for the practice race, but the breeze didn't cooperate. Nonetheless, a practice race was started, and it was well, practice. The final competitor count is 31, with 10 countries represented. MOre Bios and pictures of competitors were added. The first and only race scheduled for Sunday starts at 13:15.
The ubiquitous Alden Bugly, the special friend of Annapolis One Design Sailing writes to his daily sailing e-mail group:
"There are 62 beautiful young woman from the the Bahamas, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the USA racing in the Snipe Women's World Championship right here in Annapolis through Wednesday 7 October."
I just want to gather all 62 of them into my arms, give them an enormous hug and assure them that they're all going to win and that everything's going to be OK, that the Franc, Lira, Yen, Kroner, Rouble, Krona, and Peso will stabilize, that there'll be be plenty of food and peace."
Take a look at at his set of great quality digital pictures.
10/2/98
Most of the competitors arrived today and progressed smoothly through the registration and measurement. Some of the competitors went sailing after registration and were treated to great fall sailing. Temperatures were in the low 70s with brisk, shifty NW breeze. The rest of the field will arrive tomorrow and get set for the practice race at 2 pm. I took lots of digital pictures today, but left my camera at the club... You'll see them tomorrow.
See the Annapolis Captial for some local publicity.
I don't think I have ever heard so many languages being spoken at SSA!
