by Ken Pendleton, V Commodore

SV Nellie Juan

Eleven boats turned out for the Derby Regatta on Saturday, August 14^th.   With a good north wind blowing we started the race in handicap order, slow boats go first, fast boats went last. . . so (theoretically) all boats cross the finish line at the same time. . . no chance that happening this race.

Preparing for a start, all boats passed back and forth in a parade of beam reaches, waiting for their ‘time’ to cross the line. Big boats and small boats all crossed the start line going downwind to the windward mark, a short 1.7 miles away.  Meanwhile the silver salmon derby fisherman continued undisturbed around the periphery of the race. 

This short race, of approximately 40 minutes, provided ample time to do the race twice.  Jon and Linda Kumin’s boat Williwaw was a clear winner in BOTH races, however the rest of the fleet was close on his heels (or stern).

This was a great, easy race without spinnakers, and gave all boats a fair chance of showing their stuff, while having some fun.  At the potluck that evening, many skippers and their crew were happy to complain or crow over the final outcome of the day.

Thanks to the hard work of Bob Stinson, who organized and ran the race; and to Jon Kumin and Eric Paerels for assisting with PHRF ratings and other details.  This was a great club event. 

For several crew and skippers who participated in this event, the question was, “when can we have another event like this again”   ?

s/v Katmai

s/v Lootas