Colonial Cup

Annapolis, June 14-15, 2014. Results and report by Eric Reinke. Ernesto Rodriguez wins the Colonial Cup. Eric Reinke is the 2014 District 1 Champion.

SCIRA USA (photo courtesy of Dan Phelps – Spin Sheet)

Saturday was a chamber of commerce day on the Chesapeake Bay! A cold front mercifully pressed through on Friday night and we woke to bright blue skies, temperatures in the 70s, and NW winds 12 – 16 kts with some higher puffs later in the day. RC Chairmen Steve Podlich led the fleet far into the bay to avoid the power boat traffic that invariably accompanies such a beautiful day. Steve and his team started the first race on time which surprised a few who had elected to leave the harbor a little too late.

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We sailed the entire day with an extended and strong ebb current running due to the significant rain that had drenched the area the previous week. Northwesterlies in Annapolis are typically very shifty and today was no different. What was a surprise was the size and shape of the wave which made driving very hard. There were a number of very light weight teams sailing the Colonial Cup this year: junior teams, women teams, and other light weight combinations. It was great to see so many new teams out for the regatta. It makes me feel very good about the future of the Snipe Class in the USA. The combination of the moderate winds and waves put a premium in being able to depower the boat enough that you could put the bow down to get through the waves while still keeping the boat as flat as possible and moving. Today was not a day to try to feather into the wind as the waves would stop you. We were continually tightening the rig all day and had the traveler down and jib leads eased outboard most of the day.

Surprising no one, Ernesto and Eddie easily took the win in the first two races. Several boats were not aware how strongly the ebb current was running which caused many to over stand the leeward mark as they ended the leg reaching hard against the current. The third race was a surprise as the shifts were getting bigger and with a tight pack converging on the weather mark, Ernesto and Eddie capsized trying to tack at the mark, which provided another challenge for the other five boats approaching the mark. Eric and Sandy came out the cleanest and took advantage of the shifts to take the win. For the fourth race the RC decided to let the fleet demonstrate their reaching skills with an “O” course and Ernesto and Eddie went wire to wire.

Regatta Chairman Chris Ryan had arranged a great Saturday evening and as we pulled boats from the water it was very encouraging to see the more experienced sailors helping to tune the boats of the less experienced teams that had sailed in ahead of the fleet. Everybody was very tired from hiking but there were smiles all around. After way too many trips through the taco bar some teams went home to bed and others decided to support the local Annapolis economy – Thank You!

Sunday morning did not look encouraging when we got to the club but with the RC getting underway we left the dock for the slow drift to the course in a dying northerly. After a postponement the wind settled in enough to get two short races off in 4 – 6 kt from the SE. Mercifully the current was not ripping as much as Saturday. The lighter conditions allowed some of the smaller teams to show off their skills but Ernesto and Eddie still prevailed in both races. It was a pleasant reach into SSA where and the sun was out as we packed boats and talked about the next regatta.

Congratulations to Ernesto and Eddie, Peter and Julia and Hal and Amy. But more importantly thanks to all the sailors that came to Annapolis to go sailing … 9 out of 21 boat traveled from out of town for this event. Thank You!