Saturday, April 13
The Snipe District Four Championship is being held this year on Logan Martin Lake in the Talladega Forrest of North East Alabama. Despite a convincing forecast of thunderstorms both days, still 17 boats and crews showed up to compete and have FUN. Sam Yelverton and the Birmingham Sailing Club have worked hard to put this event on; and were up at the crack of dawn making breakfast for the fleet, and then had lunch ready before we went out for a 1230 start; outstanding.
The wind was light all morning, looking ominous that we might not get any races in, but 5kts filled in by noon and the fleet drifted out across the small lake for the first start. There is a slight current running North-to-South down the lake (man-made and the river flow is still present), which pushed against the fleet with the North wind, but still two boats were over early (and went back). The competition is fierce. Everyone went right, to the eastern shore and played the shifts up that side of the course, but the fleet rapidly spread out all over the lake. The holes and wind shifts were everywhere, and no one was immune. On the final windward leg the first black cloud came over the hill from the east and poured on the fleet, but it brought a refreshing 10-12kts of breeze that made all of us ignore the rain. There was a constant battle among the top three boats that changed with every shift, however Shawn Burke and Joyce Harvey were in front with the last shift, to take the first race.
The wind shifted to the North West for the second race which had everyone guessing; that is an unusual wind direction for this lake. On the first windward leg, right appeared favored again, but a 20 degree lefty, paid great benefits for a few who had worked left to get clean air. Bill Welch and Graham Killion led at every mark and won the race. Again the fleet was spread out due to the challenging lake conditions, with a few boats still on the last leeward leg when the first boat finished.
The last race again had a North Westerly wind but it was dying, and a menacing thunder cloud was looming over the entire eastern horizon. Watt Duffy and Kevin Funsch hit a hard right corner all alone, hoping that the cloud and the "new wind" would politely rush in just as they needed to tack on the far side of the lake. No such luck. They slowly came back on starboard tack rounding about sixth. As we headed for the leeward mark, the storm was building and ready looked angry. The wind held off until most of the fleet had rounded the leeward mark, and headed back to windward. The gust-front finally came in like gang-busters from the South East at 15-18kts, and the poles went out. The windward leg had turned into a screaming run up the lake. Not unexpectedly this shifted many positions and really fried some of the leaders that had been pulled left with an isolated shaft of dying northwesterly breeze. Michael Lenkeit and Tammy Gruen had rounded first at the windward and the leeward mark, but were one of those caught to the left. Somehow they were able to reach in from the left and hold onto first place as the race committee shorted the race at the second windward mark. And then it began to pour. The rain continued for several hours but did not dampen the party that was held at the club house. And we get to do it all over again tomorrow. - Bill Welch
Sunday, April 14
Another cloudy day in Alabama:
The morning came a little too early for the brave snipers who continued the party at Pier 59, closing the place at 2am, and then bringing the party back to the club lawn where they were camping. "No problem mate; all I need is some stiff coffee."
The rain held off today except for a few light sprinkles, and there was the promise of breeze as we left the club at 0930 for the final two races of the series. The wind was from the South with big holes and the typical shifts.
Again the RC called for a windward-leeward course, and the fleet got off a clean start even with the current behind the line. The right side seemed favored for the first part of the beat, however we all had to tack many times for the 20 degree shifts that frequently came through without any predicable pattern. A few braved the far right corner where a lift was promised near the shore. The fleet rounded the first mark fairly close together but the tricky conditions spread us out rapidly after that. Jibing with the shifts and for positioning kept the downwind leg interesting. The front of the fleet was extremely close with several different boats taking the lead, although Kevin Funsch and Watt Duffy proved their skill at reading the last shift and took race four.
The RC rushed down to start the last race since the sailing instructions promised no races to start after 1200. The wind was lighter than the first race, now only 6-8 kts, and still with many shifts and holes. The course was slightly shorter and the mark moved to the South East. Two boats were over early and both returned rapidly and the fleet immediately split up the entire width of the lake. Shawn Burke and Joyce Harvey rounded first, and maintained their lead through the entire race. The competition was very close, with the next six boats constantly overlapped and crossing each other every leg. This was great competition and great sailing.
It was typical of the Snipe class that there were a few 720's but no protests. There wasn't even any significant yelling on the course; we all had a great time, and fun spending the weekend sailing. The Snipe is unique it that it is so well suited to sailing on inland lakes and rivers, as well as the large bays and open coastal waters. The game is the same but also entirely different on a lake; if you have not sailed on a lake recently why not give it a try. It certainly will teach you to keep your head out of the boat and watch what is going on; you can not afford to miss a single shift or hit a hole in a lake.
Make you plans now to sail in the US Nationals in Pass Christian Mississippi July 1-5. The hotel space is filling up fast. This is a family friendly regatta, with baby sitters provided during all racing and the parties. The sailing will be on Mississippi Sound, a protected salt water bay east of New Orleans. YOU GOTTA REGATTA. - Bill Welch 29400
Photos
Kevin, Shawn, Watt and Mike.
A beauty...
The winner's circle.
| Pl | Sail # | Crew | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26743 | Shawn Burke & Joyce Harvey | 0.75 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0.75 | 12.5 |
| 2 | 29628 | Kevin Funsch & Watt Duffy | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0.75 | 2 | 13.75 |
| 3 | 28686 | Michael Lenkeit & Tammy Gruen | 8 | 2 | 0.75 | 2 | 3 | 15.75 |
| 4 | 29104 | Don Hackbarth & Clarke Remter | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 25 |
| 5 | 29114 | Peter Commette & Morgan Commette | 4 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 28 |
| 6 | 24442 | David Mulhausen & Jason Harris | 5 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 29 |
| 7 | 29200 | Woody Norwood & Julie Smither | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 29 |
| 8 | 29400 | Bill Welch & Graham Killion | 9 | 0.75 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 33.75 |
| 9 | 30000 | Gary Beck & Phyllis Langley | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 39 |
| 10 | 24994 | Clayton Dixon & Clay Burnup | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 50 |
| 11 | 28401 | Mike Neilson & Pauline Neilson | 11 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 58 |
| 12 | 25845 | Oren Williams & Sandra Williams | 12 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 61 |
| 13 | 12021 | Lee Bradley & Max Hardage | 13 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 65 |
| 14 | 26994 | Sam Yelverton & Paulette Yelverton | 15 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 66 |
| 15 | 24605 | Tom Henderson & Kate Henderson | 14 | 15 | 14 | 17\DNC | 17\DNC | 77 |
| 16 | 25071 | Clayton Bartlett & Andrew Phillips | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 80 |
| 17 | 23623 | Michael Papp & Richard May | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 81 |
