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Totally Dinghy Regatta |
2021 September 11
by Tom Burden
September 11th, 2021 was a day of mourning and remembrance, the 20th anniversary of the American national tragedy of 9/11. As we remembered the first responders, those who were lost and the “Let’s Roll!” heroes who brought down Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, a hearty band of El Toro sailors ventured out into Potrero Reach for the Totally Dinghy Regatta.
Richmond Yacht Club stages this perennial event for centerboard boats under 20’ in length, and this version brought out 68 boats. The RS Aero class made a big splash with a fleet of 11 boats on the water. There was also an excellent group of 15 ILCA 7’s, aka Lasers, ten ILCA 6’s, aka Radials, and seven Thistles plus the other assorted Open Fleet boats.
In the Toro Fleet, conditions were at the extreme edge of the El Toro envelope. The first race started at noon, late for the Totally Dinghy Regatta. When we got out to the course, it was already blowing 15 knots, and gusting up to 17. For the second race it nuked up further averaging 17 and gusting over 20. It’s no surprise how the results turned out with a tie between Fred Paxton and Tom Burden, the two big guys who specialize in heavy weather sailing.
The first race was a one-lap hot dog. Tom Burden and Chris Sullivan were the only two competitors who understood the current situation, with a big flood in the middle of the channel. These two went right on every weather leg, and it always paid. In race one, Tom got a great start, crossed Fred Paxton and Buzz Blackett, the two leaders of the boats that had gone left, and held on to win, with Fred in second place.
The second race got off to a first lap that was later abandoned because the weather mark shifted location. Chris Sullivan was in the lead and was very disappointed to see the checkered flag. The restart of the race saw Buzz Blackett and Fred Paxton get a great start and achieve an insurmountable lead against the rest of the fleet. Tom Burden was trying to claw back in third place while Fred and Buzz dueled downwind with each other.
At the end of the second lap, Fred and Buzz were way ahead, with Buzz in the lead as they came to the bottom mark. Buzz blew the gybe and filled his boat with water while Fred made a rough rounding but successfully escaped to win the race. Tom finished second to tie Fred and lose the regatta on a tiebreaker.
Tom Tillotson sailed a consistent pair of races for a third place score, with Chris Straub in fourth. By the end of the second race the boats were rounding up into irons, luffing sails were making a deafening roar, and the waves were big enough that sailors were scooping out Clorox bottles full of water. The group informally voted with their tillers to end the regatta by pointing their boats back to safe harbor. And that was the end of the El Toro fleet's Totally Dinghy Regatta on 9/11, twenty years later.
Richmond Yacht Club stages this perennial event for centerboard boats under 20’ in length, and this version brought out 68 boats. The RS Aero class made a big splash with a fleet of 11 boats on the water. There was also an excellent group of 15 ILCA 7’s, aka Lasers, ten ILCA 6’s, aka Radials, and seven Thistles plus the other assorted Open Fleet boats.
In the Toro Fleet, conditions were at the extreme edge of the El Toro envelope. The first race started at noon, late for the Totally Dinghy Regatta. When we got out to the course, it was already blowing 15 knots, and gusting up to 17. For the second race it nuked up further averaging 17 and gusting over 20. It’s no surprise how the results turned out with a tie between Fred Paxton and Tom Burden, the two big guys who specialize in heavy weather sailing.
The first race was a one-lap hot dog. Tom Burden and Chris Sullivan were the only two competitors who understood the current situation, with a big flood in the middle of the channel. These two went right on every weather leg, and it always paid. In race one, Tom got a great start, crossed Fred Paxton and Buzz Blackett, the two leaders of the boats that had gone left, and held on to win, with Fred in second place.
The second race got off to a first lap that was later abandoned because the weather mark shifted location. Chris Sullivan was in the lead and was very disappointed to see the checkered flag. The restart of the race saw Buzz Blackett and Fred Paxton get a great start and achieve an insurmountable lead against the rest of the fleet. Tom Burden was trying to claw back in third place while Fred and Buzz dueled downwind with each other.
At the end of the second lap, Fred and Buzz were way ahead, with Buzz in the lead as they came to the bottom mark. Buzz blew the gybe and filled his boat with water while Fred made a rough rounding but successfully escaped to win the race. Tom finished second to tie Fred and lose the regatta on a tiebreaker.
Tom Tillotson sailed a consistent pair of races for a third place score, with Chris Straub in fourth. By the end of the second race the boats were rounding up into irons, luffing sails were making a deafening roar, and the waves were big enough that sailors were scooping out Clorox bottles full of water. The group informally voted with their tillers to end the regatta by pointing their boats back to safe harbor. And that was the end of the El Toro fleet's Totally Dinghy Regatta on 9/11, twenty years later.