First 40.7

TSUNAMI WINS KACZMAREK REGATTA

EXCALIBUR TAKES 2^ND

LIGHT AIR PREVAILS AGAIN

(Chicago, Sunday, August 26, 2007) In yet another regatta held mostly in winds of 5 knots or less, Tsunami and Excalibur, the two historical 40.7 champions of light air racing, once again proved their ability to compete successfully in thin air by finishing in 1^st and 2^nd place respectively among the nine Beneteau 40.7’s competing in the Herb Kaczmarek Regatta held today on Lake Michigan off Chicago’s shore. The Regatta, consisted of two races, and was hosted by the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club at Montrose Harbor, Chicago.

The first race began at 11:40 AM after a short postponement. Skies were perfectly clear, the wind was east-northeast at about 4 knots with one foot chop on the water. Direction to the first mark was 40° at a distance of 1.5 miles with four legs.

It was Vayu, skippered by Ron Buzil, leading at the first windward mark and all rest of the way to the finish line. Following Vayu at the first mark, in order, were other section leaders La Tempete, Turning Point, and Tsunami. On the first downwind leg Turning Point, skippered by Bill Bartz with tactician Dave Hardy, gave Vayu a run for their money but at the end of the leg it was still Vayu in the lead, a lead which increased on the 2^nd upwind leg and extended further on the final, downwind leg. Having passed Turning Point, the 2^nd place boat was La Tempete, skippered by Tom Weber,

With the wind veering, the direction to the windward mark for the second race was 150°, also four legs at a distance of 1.5 miles for a total race distance of 5.6 miles. The 40.7’s started this race at 2:25 PM in about 5 knots of wind.

Early on the first beat most of the section tacked to port and headed to the right. Digging in strong in that direction was La Tempete, Tsunami and Vayu. These three boats approached the first windward mark on the starboard layline in that order but Excalibur, with skipper Dave Tarson and tactician Ed Krstolch came in on the port layline, and was able to squeeze in just ahead of Vayu and round in 3^rd place. On the ensuing downwind leg, Vayu, now with a case of the slows and falling behind Excalibur, was jumped and passed by Bob Vickery’s Collaboration. Tsunami, skippered by Don Hayes with tactician Tory Enerson, took the lead by passing La Tempete on the lower part of the leg. Vayu continued to fall behind as Clem Boltz’ Cancan, Gary Powell’s Mojo, and Turning Point passed them on the way to the leeward mark which she rounded in 8^th place, ahead of only Jay Muller’s Das Boot. Steve Zorn, Vayu’s spinnaker trimmer described the feeling aboard Vayu: “It felt as if we were towing a piano.”

With the wind now backing, a change of course to 140° was called for the final beat to windward. The wind was now close to 80° and the leg turned into a lopsided reach from leeward to windward marks. Three boats, Excalibur, Turning Point, and Vayu, took a chance on the left side of the course and purposely overstood the port layline in an attempt to grasp clear air and a continued favorable shift. This move didn’t pay off for Vayu, as she fell behind Das Boot and rounded the windward mark in last place.In the end it was Tsunami who got the gun, followed by Excalibur for whom the left side did pay off, and then Cancan in 3^rd place.

This was Excalibur’s best finish in an Area III buoy regatta since she finished in 1^st place at the single race 2005 Sheldon Clark Regatta.

This was the second Area III buoy event won by Tsunami this year, having won the Mayor Daley Regatta on July 7^th. This appears to be Tsunami’s year as Don Hayes and his crew have also won the 5-race Columbia Colors Regatta in June, and the 4-race Verve Cup Regatta last weekend as well as taking 2^nd place in the 5-race NOOD Regatta in June. Tsunami is leading the 40.7 section in both season-long series for buoy racing – the LMSRF Best 40.7 on Lake Michigan (considered the premier series each year for the 40.7 fleet) and the Area III Buoy Boat of the Year.

This year’s Kaczmarek Regatta counts only toward the Area III buoy series but not for the LMSRF BOLM series. The final Area III buoy event of the 2007 season, the Frank Heyes Regatta on September 9^th, counts for both season buoy series so look forward to some hotly contested racing in two weeks.

Upcoming.

Next weekend, Friday Aug. 31^st to Monday Sept. 3^rd, the annual Tristate Regatta. Flags will be awarded to the top three overall 40.7’s. All 40.7’s should try and raft together. Meet Saturday afternoon on the beach for volleyball and other fun.

Commodore's Cup Regatta, Sunday Sept. 9th (counts for LMSRF BOLM & Area III BOY)

Sheldon Clarke Regatta, Sunday Sept. 15th (doesn't count for any series, but 40.7's will have there own start.

Late October or early November: 40.7 Fleet party preceded by the fall skippers’ meeting, exact date to be determined. As in the past three years, this will be at the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club at Montrose Harbor.November ??:

CYA Annual Yachting Ball, Nov. 10th. This is always a fun time for the crews of all of our boats to get together in a dressed up atmosphere. If you need information on this event, ask your skipper or contact CYA.

Updated standings for the 40.7 Fleet are at: 40.7 Standings

Photos of the fleet at this week’s regatta are at: 40.7 Kaczmarek Photos