2003-2004 InterClub Results, Day 1
November 23, 2003

Well it is finally here, the highlight of my week has returned, Sunday IC Frostbiting. And no, I don't think I need to get a life. IC sailing really is fun. Think about it, were else can you get to roll around in a bath tub with a person of the opposite sex (usually, I have a preference but don't care about anyone else's) in dry suits with enough layers underneath that you look like and move like a sumo wrestler and with hands and feet that quickly turn in to stiff stumps (from the cold not the rolling around) that prevent even the most simple acts of dexterity? Where can you sail six to ten races in less than two hours on a Sunday (for a total of about 90 races during the season), get lots of starts, lots of upwinds and downwinds, and lots of practice finishes? Where else can you sail all winter against people who normally sail other boats during the summer AND get a lot better than your normal summertime competitors because all of your summer competition is getting fat watching football. No where MAN. Only frostbiting ICs. I am totally stoked. This is the highlight of my week.

Now having said all that the first official races of the 2003 - 2004 season got off to a whimper. Temperatures in the 70s and sunny. I hate that because then I have to have an internal debate on what to wear. Much easier when it is cold. Standard drysuit with lots of fun fuzzy stuff underneath. Additionally the breeze forgot to make a strong entrance. No hard hiking only roll tacking (more on that later, just for you Jesse). The current however, was plenty strong.

In any event we did manage to get three races in, two if your name is Jesse and you spent a little too much time working on your IC (working on your IC is a oxymoron and, frankly, should not be tolerated unless clearly and obviously broken and preventing you from sailing. NO IC should have a bottom that shines more brightly than the mirror in my bathroom - and the mirror in my bathroom is dirty).

The breeze for the day probably maxed out at 3 knots, the current was probably rolling at 1 knot and was pushing everyone back off the starting line. This made for slow beats against the current and only slightly faster runs because of the light winds. It also looked like the breeze was better on the right side of the course. In two of the races John Guth went hard right and rounded in first and in second in those races. He didn't even do much of what I talk about (tack a lot) in the paragraphs below and he still beat us to the weather mark.

We also went right, just not as right as John. In fact we started at the RC boat and tacked almost right away. Then we tacked again because I had a twitch in my neck. We tacked once again because my crew had a CROOK in her neck (My crew was IC first timer Erika Seamon who is returning from the beautiful town of Chicago to the town where she learned to sail and who learned how to roll tack an IC very quickly). Then we noticed that Jesse was looking like he had a ache in his back so we tacked again. Then Alex tacked and we did not want him to feel lonely so we tacked. Then Kim opened a beer so we tacked again...

OK seriously, well actually, I think I was sort of serious about the tacking. But the truth is we just tried to keep the boat moving and we were tacking to miss the big waves, probably tacking more to avoid waves than for the wind. It did not seem dramatically obvious that the right was favored with a lot more breeze so it may have been current that was creating the advantage. Also, there were a bunch of Lasers out and they started before we did so it was a bit of dodgems for each race, particularly at the weather mark and on the downwind legs. Keeping what air you could find clear was really important.

There you have it. I guarantee it will not be warm and sunny or light wind again. That is boring and way to SUMMER. This is frostbiting my friends and it should be cold and windy because, Paul, I WANT TO HIKE LIKE A MOTHER (inside joke so sorry. See earlier race write up for a clue. Other option is buy Paul or myself a beer and we will tell the story).

See you on the line.

Wayne