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Day 1: This year the HOLY GALE started on<br />
Saturday, with everybody arriving, setting up<br />
camp and getting familiar with the race course.<br />
The LLAMA DELI opened for lunch at noon,<br />
serving fresh fish tacos with all the toppings (I<br />
had three and boy were they good). The<br />
LLAMA DELI was open everyday for the rest of<br />
the event and alternated between fish, beef and<br />
chicken tacos. That evening, we held the<br />
mayor’s mixer, and the SASSANATOR received<br />
quite a workout as a special mix master<br />
was brought in to assist the Judge in the proper<br />
use of the apparatus.<br />
Day 2: On Sunday, after the fog cleared (in<br />
peoples heads) and a nice breakfast we held<br />
the pilots meeting. Everybody was in attendance<br />
and the first written set of racing rules for<br />
SASSASS and the HOLY GALE were distributed.<br />
Some new ideas were discussed, such<br />
as umpires at the marks to watch the roundings<br />
and a penalty point system for minor infractions<br />
against the rules (instead of disqualifying the<br />
yacht). Some of the benefits of umpires at the<br />
marks are 1. By having a vehicle near the mark<br />
it makes the mark easier to see. 2. The person<br />
at the mark can get some really good photos. 3.<br />
It seems that just knowing that someone is<br />
watching is enough to make everybody sail<br />
clean. As there were no penalty points handed<br />
out over the 30 races that were held. The racing<br />
got started when the wind came up around<br />
11:00. The Kids got in two quick windwardleeward<br />
races in winds of ten knots or so. Right<br />
after the Kids finished we started with the first<br />
round of racing. The racing consisted of fivemile<br />
triangle courses so everybody could get<br />
used to where the marks were. Each class was<br />
able to get in two races in winds of 7 to 10<br />
knots. The surface was in good shape over<br />
most of the course but a little rough on the right<br />
hand side. After the adults were done racing<br />
the Kids had two more races and then it was<br />
time for the salmon feed. The salmon feed organized<br />
by the Oliveri’s, Bassano’s and the Bogard’s<br />
was awesome as usual. Salmon cooked<br />
<strong>USA</strong><br />
to perfection with a rosemary butter whip<br />
(oolala). Sunday was also the first day of the<br />
paraphernalia kiosk. Mary B., Melanie and Dez<br />
were the shirt girls and sales were Hot Hot Hot!<br />
Hot is also the word for the conditions in the<br />
shirt sales trailer, thanks M, M and D. If you<br />
weren’t there you might still be able to buy<br />
some of the exceptional SASSASS merchandise<br />
at the next event.<br />
Day 3: The wind was blowing in the morning so<br />
we decided to have the Enduro at which time<br />
the wind promptly died. The wind came up<br />
again around 12:00 and we decided to start off<br />
with a couple of Kids races, to test the wind.<br />
The Kids were fun to watch when they race,<br />
they all stare at each other, so when one tacks<br />
all of them tack. It’s kinda like synchronized<br />
sailing. The wind was of the puffy variety so we<br />
decided to stay close to camp and have windward<br />
leeward courses for the adults instead of<br />
going on the Enduro. The wind in the afternoon<br />
piped up to 20+ knots and the racing was fast<br />
and furious. But the overall theme of the wind<br />
this year was, nice early in the morning and<br />
evening but a little puffy and unpredictable in<br />
the afternoon. The racing was close, in the Kids<br />
Class, Erik Smiley and Jared Becher were battling<br />
it out and in the Middle Class, Rod Eicholz<br />
in his Soup and Eric Graul in his DN were in a<br />
contest of heavy vs. light. The potluck followed<br />
at 7:00, everybody pitched in and made a great<br />
meal out of it. People ate and ate until they<br />
dozed off, listening to the late night serenade of<br />
MEL who had allot of help from a cast of others,<br />
including Tara Lynn.<br />
Day 4: This day started of like all the others,<br />
wind until 8:30 AM then nothing until 2:00. We<br />
were running out of race days so we tried running<br />
the Enduro again. Because of some<br />
“Mystery dunes” that have formed over parts of<br />
the Enduro racecourse it had to be shortened<br />
to 50 miles. We were hoping to run two 50mile<br />
races and find a combined champion. After<br />
ten miles of racing (from camp to the second<br />
exit and back) and numerous stops to wait<br />
for wind, we called off the race. Twenty minutes<br />
after the cancellation the wind picked back up<br />
and the big boats decided to go out for a sail.<br />
We sailed to Dead Dog Dunes and then over to<br />
the Calico’s and back a total of 25 miles on the<br />
round trip rhunb line. The trip back from the<br />
Calico’s (an upwind 8 mile leg in 15 knots of<br />
breeze) was really pleasant and one of the<br />
nicer sails of the week. While we were at-
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