(Seattle, WA)- Yes, the first time the Pacific Northwest One-Design (POD) Regatta was run, and hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, it can safely be called a success! Just three months after the spark of an idea, over 60 boats came out for this inaugural event. None of this would be possible without the exceptional leadership of our Fleet Captain, Noj Henderson, a capable cadre of volunteers, and our great staff. A huge "shout out" goes to the co-chairs, Steve Sponar & Michele Henderson for taking care of the myriad of details necessary to pull off a regatta on short notice. Special thanks to Phil Nieman, who designed the brilliant POD logo from a couple of scraps of paper hastily drawn at the Boat Show.
Jenn Whitsett from the Seattle Aquarium and Carl Buchan started the weekend off with talks about orca whales and improving sailing success. Both talks were fantastic!
Massive thanks goes to Geoff Peas (this man deserved a medal and GOT ONE), who jumped in at 5 minutes before committee boat launch to serve as PRO on the south course. Our talented and fabulous race committee volunteers, Deb Prince, Joan Chandler, Jeanne McNeil, Joel Highet, Christine Bounds-Poulin, Bob Combie, Paul Carter, Stan & Joyce Buchart, Lorraine Carter, Frost Keaton, and Chuck Stevens were outstanding. Tim Adamson proved to be an exceptional addition to the volunteer staff, and served as a whaler driver. Our staff PRO, Charlie Rathkopf, and scorer Catherine Picha were great, as always.
Our volunteer bartenders included three Commodores! Thanks to Brian Watkins, Jerry Diercks, and Denny Vaughan, along with members Jeff Pullig, Howard Ferguson, and Sarah & Daniel Diaz. A thirsty crowd kept them very busy! Office staff Beth & Celeste handled last minute drama smoothly and efficiently, per usual, and Chef Jeromi rocked it with the tasty snacks.
We were fortunate to have the lovely and talented Jan Anderson and her Boat Boy Skip out to document the event – they are truly wonderful people – go support them with your event photo purchases! Click this link here
Without this stellar cast of characters, this event would not have been possible! THANK YOU, ALL!
On the sailing side of things, there was a nice turnout of J/105s and J/80s. Taking the J/105 class was Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO with a 1-2-2-1 score for 6 pts. Second was Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM with a 3-1-1-3 record for 8 pts. Then, in 3rd overall was David Cohen’s INCONCEIVABLE with a 2-3-3-2 for 10 pts.
The J/80s saw a runaway as their class leader, with Lek Dimarucot’s UNDERDOG (appropriately named, eh) scoring only four 1sts to win by a country mile. The race for the balance of the podium was not so easy; in fact, it was a bit of a dog fight the whole way with both boats earning virtually identical scores and points. By beating them the last race, Steve Moe’s CRAZY IVAN scored a 2-3-3-2 for 10 pts to grab 2nd. Losing that tie-break was Mike Poole’s JOLLY GREEN with the inverse scoreline of 3-2-2-3 for 10 pts, too! For more CYC PNW One-Design sailing information