49th Annual Fire on the Water Classic

Lincoln – Branched Oak Lake, June 25-26, 2016

(Photo courtesy of Dale Benham)

The 49th Annual Fire on the Water Classic sponsored by the Lincoln Snipe Fleet had 20 Snipes on the starting line for two days of outstanding racing. The fleet included 7 spouse teams and 1 team of fiancee and husband to be, as well as 4 parent-child teams, and 1 brother-sister junior team. Highly competitive sailors hailed from Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, and Kansas.

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On Saturday conditions were breezy with south-southwest winds ranging from 8-20 mph and three races were sailed. On Sunday morning racing continued with two races sailed in lighter winds from 4-8 mph. The conditions on both days were perfect for Snipe racing. The Race Committee PRO was Andrew Ozaki, and he and his crew set beautiful triangle courses in the breeze on Saturday and challenging windward-leeward courses in the lighter conditions on Sunday. In addition to the excellent sailing venue at Branched Oak Lake in Lincoln, sailors enjoyed the Lincoln Snipe Fleet’s legendary hospitality, including the prime rib-eye steak dinner on Saturday night and home-made desserts and sides and salads.

The regatta included a separate Marge Wells Junior Trophy series on Saturday afternoon in diminishing winds that featured a close fought match race with Guy Thomas and Avery Zieper finishing just ahead of Jordan Baum and Alex Baum.

In the championship series all five races counted and with four bullets out of five, Garth Fasano and Peggy Tautz (“the fiancee boat”) won the regatta and the trophy in spectacular fashion. Coming in second place Blaine McCleskey and his daughter Maggie showed their grit and speed in all conditions. And in third place District 2 Governor Steve Tautz and Jordan Baum worked hard in every race to keep up with the other Tautz on the water. Overall, the racing was very tight in the fleet, with all boats finishing within a few minutes of one another in each race.

The Lincoln fleet thanks all the sailors for coming to this regatta and for the great turnout of junior sailors. We are looking forward to the District Championships in Wichita in July and to the other races in the district fleet series.

Will Thomas
Fleet Captain
Lincoln Snipe Fleet #567

Final Results