(Seattle, WA)- The morning dawned with rather spectacular scenery on
Puget Sound for the second of three races in the Center Sound Series
hosted by Corinthian YC Seattle. The Scachet Head Race was a
challenging one for many, chilly temperatures, black torn-cotton
low-flying storm clouds scudding across the horizon, sunny patches of
water to keep you temporarily warm, with winds howling in the 20-25 kts
plus range for most of the day. Comprised of all the “big boats” on Puget Sound, Class 9 saw John McPhail’s beautiful J/160 JAM again sail a solid race to post a 3-4 for the series and hold onto third position. Tom Huseby’s J/145 DOUBLE TAKE has been consistent; posting double-5’s to be tied for 5th in class.
Nearly
half the Class 7 fleet did not start over the weekend. Nevertheless,
the brand new J/122E JOYRIDE sailed to yet another 4th place to hang
onto 3rd place for the series. Andy Mack’s J/122 GRACE is sitting in
8th after two races.The usual class leaders in Class 6 are J/109s. However, both boats took DNFs for various reasons to drop them in the standings. On a day that J/109s would have “rocked the casbah”, they instead went home licking their wounds. Jerry Woodfield’s SHADA started the first race (Blakely Rock) in 2nd place and Stu Burnell’s TANTIVY was 3rd. Now after DNF’s they sitting just 3 points out of second place; a strong statistical probability one, or both, of them will land on the podium after the last race.
Six of the top ten in Class 5 are all J/sailors. Leading the charge for now is the quartet of J/35s. Reveling in the blustery conditions, Don & George Leighton’s TAHLEQUAH is 4th overall. Karl Haflinger’s SHEARWATER is 5th, Tyson Varosyan’s SOLUTION is 6th and Sven Ellingsen’s BERGEN VIKING is sitting in 7th. Just behind in 8th (counting a DNC) is Bob Ross’ J/88 BON-BINI and in 10th place is the classic J/36 MONKEYBONES skippered by the team of Jason Andrews & Shawn Dougherty.
Class
4 is the one-design J/105 fleet. The fleet was tight until the
spinnakers had to get set and a few boats exposed whether or not they
got their bottom cleaned for the weekend’s racing! Winning the day and
hanging onto first by virtue of a tiebreaker is Erik Kristen &
Kathryn Meyer’s MORE JUBILEE. In second is Jim Geros’ LAST TANGO, also
with three points. Third place counting two 3rd places is David Cohen
& Lance Rummel’s INCONCEIVABLE. They are followed by Robert
Blaylock’s USAWI in 4th and Jerry Diercks’ DELIRIUM in 5th.As they have been doing for years, the top dog in Class 3 is Pat Denney’s J/29 HERE & NOW, winning on the day but only winning based on a tiebreaker with a Ross 930.
After two races in the series, Mike Poole’s J/80 JOLLY GREEN posted a 6th over the weekend to hang onto second place in Class 2. However, Geoff Wolf & Adrien Felon’s J/133 CONRAD J went racing up the ladder, winning class and vaulting in 4th place. Derek Storm & Cindy Gosset’s J/30 OUTLAW passed on the day but hang onto 5th place.
Next race in the Center Sound Series will be the infamous Three Tree Point Race next weekend on March 26th. The entire fleet was treated to a Chalk Talk by hometown Olympic Gold Medallist Carl Buchan on Friday, March 11. Apparently, some sailors took his sage advice well, why some others plainly forgot! Good luck next time to all. Sailing photo credits- Jan Anderson For more Center Sound Series/ Scachet Head Race sailing information
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