Go (Left) For The Gold
Scene at the top mark: Marcel Sloane (far right) escapes downwind as the author (214542) rounds. Dudley Gaman photo.
By Tom Burden
The water was cold, because it was snowmelt, but that didn’t discourage the kids from the Tahoe Yacht Club Junior Program. As the air temperature was around 80 degrees at Scotts Flat Lake, the four teens capsized their ILCA Dinghies and went for a swim. The boats, floating high on their sides with mastheads on the surface, were lined up in a row with splashing, screaming kids frolicking below. It was great to see youngsters having a good time playing on a mountain lake, with no coach boat in sight.
The water was cold, because it was snowmelt, but that didn’t discourage the kids from the Tahoe Yacht Club Junior Program. As the air temperature was around 80 degrees at Scotts Flat Lake, the four teens capsized their ILCA Dinghies and went for a swim. The boats, floating high on their sides with mastheads on the surface, were lined up in a row with splashing, screaming kids frolicking below. It was great to see youngsters having a good time playing on a mountain lake, with no coach boat in sight.
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The water was high and the vegetation lush surrounding the 850-acre lake located at 3,100’ elevation, courtesy of our wet winter. The Laser/ILCA fleet included three local guys in 1970s-vintage boats, four Bay Area sailors and the four Juniors. We shared the regatta with five Thistles competing in their NCAL Districts, a Melges 15, an Ultimate 20 and a few Banshees.
Marcel Sloane of Benicia bulleted the first two races, as we raced in northwesterly prevailing breezes. The committee sent us almost the entire length of the lake, to a top mark near the left end of the dam. Conditions were typical Scotts Flat— flukey mountain lake sailing—with wind from three to 15 knots. The races were long too—averaging about 45 minutes. Marcel made the left side of the lake pay, finding pressure and a leftie shift at the top of the course to round in the lead in the first, single hot dog with downwind finish. A talented youth in 219451 finished second in a tight four-boat “A Fleet” with me third and David Wylie fourth. |
The winner gets the gold. Toshi Takayanagi
photo.
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The second race, with a short, boat-favored start line, was tightly packed, resulting in Marcel being OCS and returning to start. But he once more played the left side, worked his way through the fleet, rounded in the lead and extended on the downwind legs of the triangle course. David finished second with me in third, so Marcel was thoroughly in control.
This pattern continued in Race Three, but with a dramatic surprise ending. This time I was OCS, recovered on the right to nearly pass the whole fleet, but still rounded in the usual pecking order. Marcel found some extra oomph along the shore before the jibe mark but had David and 219451 on his tail. This group gradually forced each other above the rhumb line on the second reach. I tried to soak low in the puffs. About a hundred yards before the finish the lead group, playing games with each other, sailed into a hole. I reached up to the line from below, passing the others to steal the race, with former leader Sloane finishing third. 
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David Wylie finished third. Dudley Gaman photo.
So now Race Four assumed some potential importance, with myself and David both in striking distance. At the top mark though, it was Marcel two lengths ahead, with his two competitors both trying to sit on his wind. This didn’t work, as the deficit remained roughly the same until the finish.
And that was a wrap of the Go For The Gold regatta. See above link for photos and results. |