Quannapowitt Yacht Club

Any lapse of concentration in a Laser regatta will throw racers up to their armpits in water trying to right their boats. So, it may seem silly to hold a regatta for these “wet” boats when the water is still cold enough to be painful, but most Laser sailors are willing to suffer for the satisfying speed a windy day can offer and a May regatta certainly offers the possibility of great winds, so the QYC May Madness Laser Regatta draws a crowd.

This year’s regatta delivered the goods and 17 Laser sailors basked in wind gusts in the mid to upper teens, great competitors and the unbeatable McCaffrey race committee. Deb Mason McCaffrey created this regatta and is still its principal driving force. She recruited her husband Mike to run the races, her son Eric races in the under 18 level (and placed an impressive 7th overall this year) and she manages to get all the pieces working while also helping out on the committee boat and baking some spectacular banana bread to award to the winners.
Atlantis Weathergear sweetened the winners’ victories a bit more with outstanding jackets and other gear. For two years, Atlantis has responded to QYC member Chris Hufstader’s request for support with a generous mix of prizes that has sent every racer home with a piece of gear.

From my position in the middle of the fleet I got to watch the leaders position themselves to take advantage of the subtle wind shifts and deftly cover each other. It was tempting to mimic the moves of someone ten boat lengths ahead, but this is lake sailing and they were often in a slightly veered or backed wind; their choice of tacks wasn’t what I should be doing yet. But the real challenge in this early season regatta was boat handling – some had it down, some struggled to recapture the smooth moves of last season.

Mike McCaffrey said that from his vantage point on the Kontiki, boat handling looked like the big difference between the leaders and the rest of us. I know that I made a few great tacks that fell apart when my Laser refused to cooperate. It apparently needs a bit more training to get it in shape.

The fun part of a larger fleet is the starting maneuvers and tactics. Boat handling quickly sorted who would poke their noses over the line within a second or two of the horn and who would struggle in the second tier with foul air and few open lanes. Right or left appeared less of an issue than tacking with the shifts and not getting caught sitting with early-season sail trim that didn’t change with the velocity and situation.

This year the visitors showed us our weaknesses, but October 11 brings the Last Blast Laser Regatta and an excellent opportunity for QYC Lasers to show our stuff. Come on back all of you who liked May sailing, October has some great potential for wild and windy days.