HYC Fall, Fleet 8 Championship for the "Hank Plank" Articles / Regatta Reports Posted by JesseFalsone on Nov 24, 2009 - 06:17 AM Nor'Easter be Damned! The fall 505 racing season came to an end last weekend in Hampton. The Nor’Easter that passed through just days before flooded many of the suburban low-lying areas of the city, but the regatta was never in doubt despite some power issues at the Hampton Yacht Club that kept us from our usual eggs, hash, and grits breakfast. High pressure in back of the front provided moderate conditions on Saturday and lighter winds but comfortable temperatures on Sunday. Six races were completed. Peter Alarie provided expert on-the-water coaching and video de-brief sessions after racing. This alone was worth the price of admission as Peter dispensed valuable information to everyone on their set-up, boathandling, tactics, and strategy. If you didn’t learn a lot, you weren’t paying attention. Racing on Saturday began with a rather long 6-leg windward-leeward course in about 15 knots of wind. Tyler and Geoff were able to get a lead and pull away from the fleet, with Chris and Jesse eventually passing boats to place second. The wind faded rapidly for the second race, and positions started to change on the course. Ted and ? Vann had a strong race going with Chris and Jesse and Tyler and Geoff. On the second lap, Chris and Jesse took a commanding lead downwind only to blow it by believing there was still one more lap left to sail. Tyler and Geoff, snickering to themselves no doubt, won a squeaker with Drew and Ramsay (definitely snickering) and Ted and Vann (lucky because they told us it was 6 legs) just behind. The last two races of the day provided moderate trapeze conditions upwind and sit running. A slightly embarrassed but mostly pissed Chris and Jesse went on to win both races while Tyler and Geoff faltered. Macy/Perry and Brendan/Chris found themselves OCS in the 4th race after sailing well to move back up the fleet. Mike Renda and new 505 sailor Keamia Rasa had a great race to finish second. Saturday evening festivities were hosted by the Moore’s. A catered dinner, bar tender, and video debrief were the highlights of the evening. There were little kids and babies everywhere, and none of them were named Falsone. A light westerly and strong ebb prevailed on Sunday. Much of the fleet wanted to gate late for current relief, but some didn’t count on the fact that a late pathfinder and a 1-minute gate would shut them out. Chris and Jess opted again for an early gate, favoring pressure over current. Katrin and Olav escaped the right side with great light air speed to momentarily challenge for the lead. Tyler and Geoff made the most of a downwind shift to pass boats and pull up to third. The final race had a large right hand shift that gave a sizeable lead to the pathfinder, Brendan and Chris, who lead through most of the race before being passed by Macy and Perry at the top of the last beat. Chris and Jesse choose to stay in the pressure and more advantageous current to pass Macy and Perry. Katrin and Olav followed suit to take another second and seal the top mixed team category. This is Chris Behm’s first Hank Plank victory, following on the heels of his ECCs win this past summer. Tyler and Geoff were second, and Ramsay and Drew were third. Regatta Notes from Tyler: Geoff Ewenson’s Canadian Finn friends Chris Cook and Dan Cunningham showed up on Thursday to test the buoyancy of their car in a Hampton driveway. Dr. Alarie (when you've sailed as well as he has you automatically get the PhD) put on a clinic Friday to those brave enough to risk the flooding, power outage, and debri in the road to show up at the club. SAT saw lighter shiftier winds out of the north. We sailed 4 races in the dying breeze before retiring to refuel. SUN saw even lighter winds which Chris and Jesse made the most of to seal the win. LIES, RUMORS, AND ABSOLUTE FACT Ramsay and The President skated on paying the entry fee until they secured a podium position and then after receiving their trophy, they withdrew from the races on SUN to avoid having to write this report. Tripp Behm (Chris' brother) called in sick on SUN to avoid spoiling his brother’s chances of winning. Aliens abducted Geoff early SUN morning and replaced him with a stupid robot. Just ask Mary. The skipper of the 2nd place boat is always bitter. Tack forward boats are faster. Keamia Rasa was the top Canadian. She beat Chris Cook and Dan Cunningham who showed up with the largest bottle of rum EVER! Katrin Deinhardt was the top woman. She won a Musto spray top. For those of you coming to the ECC's next year, get ready for a great event. I'll let you decide what's true and what's not. This article is from International 505 Class Association, American Section   http://www.usa505.org/ The URL for this story is:   http://www.usa505.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=352