1994 - ncesa

Alex Smigelski, collegiate All American, collegiate Sailor of the
Year; Mallory Champion and 1994 Laser Masters North
American Champion, finished fourth.
makings of your more classic southerly where it pays to go
right and get the gradient southwesterly wind shift on top of
the sea breeze. This race was owned by Alex Smigelski who
went right early and roared away upwind. The rest of the
race was close with a tight knit pack rapidly exchanging
positions. On subsequent windward legs it seemed the
biggest gains were made by those who traveled east
Because it was early in the day, there were still some of
those southeasterly shifts on the east side of the course and
some people moved up through the fleet dramatically. Jack
Lampman was second, followed by a consistent Erik
Johnson, with Had Brick and Peter Rochelle getting quicker.
Race 4 was held in your classic afternoon southerly sea
breeze. ·while the wind was solid, it was certainly very manageable.
However, there was enough air to cause some capsizes
and institute some exciting rides on the runs. Had Blick
got a great start and took advantage of a little shift to the left
to move out to a big lead over the bulk of the fleet that went
light early. Alex Smigelski, who found this big wind to his liking,
soon got himself into second place and went charging
after Had Brick. Charge as he may, Alex never got closer
than within a few boat lengths of Had and they finished
one/two, far outdistancing the fleet. Dick Wight was third,
with Erik Johnson fourth and George Welch fifth.
Mter two days, Erik's consistency gave him a commanding
lead with fourteen points. He and crew Clay and Reed
Johnson (on separate days), Bill Warner and Allan Terhune,
Jr., were optimistic. Alex's great day jumped him up to second
with 233/4. Dick Wight slid into third with 25, while
Had Brick moved up to fourth with 253/4. Runnie Colle and
Dave Magno fell off the pace with 273/4 and 30 points
respectively.
The last day of the regatta had the prediction of storms.
There was no doubt that they would be coming and you just
knew it would be windy based on the two days before.
Because of the weather and the lack of rescue boats, the
Race Committee made the decision to sail either the
Wanamaker or Seaside Course and not chance going all the
way down to Cedar Creek. When the boats went out for the
race, the wind was from the western quadrant and it seemed
THE REPORTER
6
dryer, almost as if the front had already passed. But before
the Committee could really set a line, the wind shifted back
to the south and the sea breeze took hold.
Race 5 started in a fresh southerly and Had Brick jumped
to a lead. Unfortunately for him, at the completion of the first
lap an auxiliary sailboat hooked the leeward offset and
dragged it farther from the normal mark. Some boats still
went around the offset and some just tacked around the regular
mark. So with protest flags flying in the fleet, the Race
Committee made the wise decision to abandon the race
rather than deal with a slew ofYMPs.
The actual Race 5 turned out to be a totally different
story. Erik] ohnson won this race for his only regatta first,
but it was a timely victory which enabled him to realistically
outdistance the fleet. He was followed closely by a hard
charging Runnie Colle and Alex Smigelski for second and
third. Cliff Campbell was fourth and Had Brick fifth.
Going into the last race Erik was sailing for a reasonable
double digit figure to clinch the victory. This seemed very
likely considering all his races were top five's. The wind continued
to build as the storms approached. Certainly Race 6
was going to be an exciting affair. Dick Wight finally got the
first leg he was looking for so that he could use his excellent
downwind speed to capitalize on his first mark lead. With the
wind really howling, the race almost turned into a shambles
as the capsizes and damages mounted. Wisely, the Committee
shortened the race to finish at the end of the second beat and
ahead of the rapidly approaching thunderstorms. Dick Wight
won this race, as Erik Johnson, sailing conservatively and
avoiding capsizes and breakdowns, registered a regatta clinching
tenth. Jack Lampman and Peter Rochelle enjoyed the wind
to finish second and third. Cliff Campbell was fourth with his
"I" flag and Rick Turner was fifth.
Erik Johnson's 243/4 points easily outdistanced Runnie
Colle's 353/4 as Colle rallied to best his son-in-law, Dick
Wight, on tie breaks. Alex Smigelski dropped to fourth with
383/4 as a last race capsize tacked on twelve damaging
points. Jack Lampman's 43 points closed out the top five with
solid last four race finishes of 2 - 6 - 6 - 2.
It must have been a full moon.