As
easy as it can be to get drawn in to today’s current events, this
past weekend my dad and I found ourselves traveling in the opposite
direction. On Friday we disembarked from home at 5:00am, and with
boat in tow made the 10 hour journey up to Bobcaygeon, Ontario for
the 2017 M-Scow North American Championships. Pigeon Lake Yacht Club
hosted a wonderful and very competitive event featuring nine boats;
two of whom hailed from Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, and two from the
Midwest from Lake Harriet and White Bear Lake respectively. Upon
arrival we were greeted warmly by noted hosts Mike Burton Davies and
Fritz Mattern whose shared banter and wit puts most buddy cop movies
to shame. Club volunteers organized a delicious dinner at the
clubhouse overlooking Pigeon Lake, and after rigging our boats, Fritz
and his wife Stephanie gave us a tour of their lovely home, which
happened to be our berthing for the weekend. An important detail
worth noting: I enjoyed my first legal beer on Friday (but if anyone
asks it was my first ever beer also. Kind of bitter! Who knew).
Saturday
we arrived back the club for a refreshingly business-casual skippers
meeting, then got ready for the 10am start. Early weather reports
showed a chance of storms in the afternoon, so a motion to fit three
races in before lunch was made and quickly passed. PI 818 had issues with their jib halyard, and opted out of
first race to right the issue. We started off with a fairly short
course, so short in fact that the 2 windward-leeward legs were
completed by everyone in about 15 minutes. Dave Klein (BE-4) came out
on top in the scramble, followed very closely by Joe Schroeder
(LH-11), then Tom Welsch (LA-10). Early on the course saw winds of
12-18 kph. The conversion to imperial units remains a closely guarded
secret, but for a 420lb crew weight, neither of us sat on the high
side very much.
Race
2 had the house stacked against us. Not only was the locally popular
olympic course heading set (the bane of heavy crews), the pin had
drifted a fair bit below the committee boat, making a port start
impossible. A few people started over the line, but more arrived late
trying to maneuver the ensuing mess. Fun fact: In misinterpreting the
course set, a few boats (us included) sailed two triangles instead of
an olympic – just to be safe. Once again, Dave Klein (BE-4) nabbed
first, with Susan Kerr (BH-11) taking second, and Joe Schroeder
(LH-11) taking third.
We
rounded off the morning with 2 laps worth of windward-leeward. As the
fleet caught on that the right side of the course was favored, boats
started tacking off the start earlier and earlier. Even with races
twice as long, they went by blazing fast, and the close packed boats
stayed competitive through lunch time. This time around Joe Schroeder
(LH-11), a consistent top finisher took his first first place finish.
Fritz Mattern (15) took second, and Tom Welsch (LA-10) found third.
Once
docked, everyone enjoyed a light lunch catered by Subway. The
possibility of storms had lessened by that point, so everybody
resolved to fit 3 more races in the afternoon. Tom and I used the
break to make some necessary improvements to our rigging, and got
back out there for round 2.
The
story of the afternoon was undoubtedly Richard Wilms (PI-58) who
broke out of mid-fleet to take the fourth race in convincing fashion.
A great start gave him the lead, and he held onto it in spite of the
boats at his stern. Tom Welsch (LA-10) nipped at his heels the whole
race, but settled for second. Joe Schroeder (LH-11) fell in line at
third.
After
he was congratulated on his breakout summer success, it seems Rich
decided he wasn’t finished. The board had approved a sequel, and
this time he’d be telling an underdog story. Race five began with
Rich starting a below a good chunk of the fleet, but as the olympic
continues, he managed to erase the deficit, and sneak back into first
as soon as the first mark rounding. With that, we had another
contender to take the regatta on the scoreboard. Joe Schroeder
(LH-11) followed behind in second, with Tom Welsch (LA-10) not far
off in third.
Over
the course of the afternoon, everyone’s heeling gave way to hiking.
Dark clouds loomed over the lake, but with the exception of some
drizzle here and there, none broke. Race six was definitely one for
the heavier crews, and this fact was taken advantage of by Tom Welsch
(LA-10), who had been hovering around the top of the fleet all day. A
photo finish on opposite tacks and left Susan Kerr (BH-11) in second,
as Joe Schroeder (LH-11) ducked to take third. Good times were had
over pulled pork and chicken sandwiches once the boats were back on
trailers.
Sunday
contrasted starkly from the conditions prior. Wind was hard to find
out on the lake, to the point where no olympic courses were set, for
going that far left would be leaving any form of propulsion. A trend
observed on Saturday that strangers to the lake had to learn, was
that the wind liked to switch often, but more often than not switched
back. Reacting to a shift early was frequently detrimental in the
long run, and even more care had to be taken when scavenging for the
breeze on Sunday. In retrospect it shouldn’t have been surprisingto see native sailors flourishing in these conditions, but perhaps
less expected was the fact that this modest fleet would see yet
another race winner. Mike Burton Davies (PI-44), broke his mid-fleet
curse by masterfully navigating the shortened windward leeward to
take first in the seventh race. Just behind him was fellow Pigeon
Lake resident Fritz Mattern (15). Third place was clinched by Joe
Schroeder, who managed to beat a boat (us) on the last leg, from both
below and behind.
Guess
what. The last race was taken by Mike again. He ended up the third
competitor to take two races, and the fifth race winner overall. In
similar fashion, Mike came out in front early, and never lost his
groove. All the others could only give chase, and chase they did.
Supplemented by a one lap race, the final gauntlet was the most
competitive and exciting, with everyone finishing within a minute of
one another. Tom Welsch (LA-10) finished second, and Fritz Mattern
(15) third. Mercifully, the wind filled in for the sail back to the
dock.
Once
the final scores were tallied, and the necessary drops were made,
there was a tie for 1st. Joe Schroeder and Tom Welsch both
ended up with 14 points, and overall results were identical all the
way up to the seventh race. Joe Schroeder, having placed one point
higher than Tom on the first drop, won the 2017 North Americans M-Scow
Championships. Coming in at 3rd was Fritz Mattern, who made the podium despite being a part of the fleet minority that had not won a race! Like an onion, our competition has layers.
Bobcaygeon
is a place so pleasant and charming not even the bugs get on your
nerves. Everybody we met was hospitable and friendly, the food was
fantastic, and the locale was and continues to be nothing short of
idyllic. On top of all that, a competitive, well run regatta was held - with no race-abandoning storms! We look back on this weekend
fondly, and look forward to next year’s regatta, tentatively
planned for Lake Harriet, Minneapolis. Congrats again to Joe
Schroeder, and thank you to all who helped make this event possible.
Long live the M-Scow!
