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Lutz 2009
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MOJO WINS LUTZ REGATTA
The course on the lone race of today's event was windward/leeward, four legs, with the windward mark at a distance of 1.4 miles bearing 140°. Wind at the start was about 6 knots but increased to 10 knots on the final leg. On the first half of the first leg of the race, upwind, most of the boats of the fleet tacked to port and tested the mid-right to far-right side of the course. But the two boats that went to the left side of the course, Mojo and Excalibur, did better and rounded the first mark and ahead of the boats that went to the right. Vayu rounded that mark in the third position. At the leeward gate, Mojo approaching first, went to the right mark and headed left on the final beat. Vayu was next through the gate and went to the left one and headed right going upwind. Excalibur was third at the gate. At the final windward mark the rounding order of the top three was the same as at the first windward mark: Mojo and Excalibur, both of which had gone left again on the beat, and then Vayu, which had once again gone right on the beat, about two boat lengths behind.
Vayu gybed early on the final leg with Excalibur soon following. Mojo held on to the right for awhile but the left, going downwind, paid off and Excalibur and Mojo closed the gap with the leader, though not beating them but finishing one and six seconds behind respectively. The races of this year's Lutz Regatta, only one race as it turned out, counts for both of the season-long series: the LMSRF Best 40.7 on Lake Michigan and the Area III Buoy Boat of the Year. With both series now half over the mid-season standings in the LMSRF BOLM finds Turning Point and Vayu tied in 1st place with 43 points each but the tie breaker goes to Turning Point. Das Boot is in 3rd place with 49 points. In the AIII BOY Vayu is in 1st place with 10 points, Turning Point in 2nd with 11 points, and Collaboration in 3rd with 12 points. Dave Tarson, skipper of 2nd place Excalibur had these comments on the regatta: "We had determined before the start that we liked the left side and were fortunate to get a good start that allowed us to stay there. After the start it seemed that the wind was building as we went out so we decided to stay there when most of the fleet tacked over. The end of the leg was just trying to stay in clear air and out of the way of all the chutes coming back down the leg. "The last leg was pretty much about covering Vayu and than catching Mojo. We were fortunate to have been able to press down further than Mojo and with the angle of the finishing line almost catch them. "We are still a pretty new crew together, in a lot of new positions, and working on our sail handling, but this was certainly a boost for our moral." Excalibur's crew: Helm: David Tarson Tactics: Kent Troxel Bow: Karen Kinsey Mast: Gregor Hamilton Pit: Jeff Lundy Sewer: Niki Conforti Trimmers: Arvydas Laucius Keith Tarson Ed Krystolich Brian Mitton Main: Rodger Joseph We were also able to talk to Ed Krstolich, Excalibur's long-time tactician. Though he was trimming this day, Ed said he was conferring with Kent Troxel on tactics during the race. "There was definitely more pressure on the left. We saw the boats on the right sort of bobbing, so we stayed left. We really banged the left corner on the second upwind leg and it paid off. My daughter (Jeanne Ehrenberg) was tactician on Rhumb Runner and she wanted to go left but they overruled her". Next event: 101st Chicago to Mackinac Island race. Fourteen 40.7's will be there. Come for the start. Stay for the race! Final results Lutz Regatta:
Fleet standings have been updated and are at: 2009 Standings Photos of the 40.7 Fleet at the Lutz Regatta start at 40.7 Photos. Scroll down to "Lutz 2009" and click on any photo. Suggestion: use the full screen play option. More 2008 & 2009 fleet photos start with: 40.7 Photos Anyone can submit photos for publishing on the 40.7 websites. Email to cygnus(at)interaccess.com. |
(Saturday, July 11, 2009) After a three-hour delay waiting for wind, Mojo sailed to victory today at Jackson Park Yacht Club's Lutz Regatta. Mojo led the 40.7 fleet at all of the marks of the course and narrowly averted a last-second threat by Excalibur and Vayu who finished in 2nd and 3rd places respectively only 5 and 6 seconds behind. 