By: Chris Staiger
Photo by Jennifer Golison
The San Diego Argonauts continued their 45-year triennial tradition by opening Race Week XV with the AMYA 2024 Dragonflite95 National Championship Regatta August 1st – 4th. 42 Skippers, including 3 past DF95 National Champions, from 9 different states competed.
Thursday afternoon began with check-in and practice-racing. Technical Committee members Jess Atkinson and Steve Ross performed check-in and measurement. Skippers were treated to Hot Dogs courtesy of Bob Williams who grilled hot dogs all week for all the Race Week classes!
Friday morning saw the remaining skippers and boats checked-in. Gil Jansky provided coffee and donuts and distributed Gift-Bags containing logo hats, coffee mugs, mini tape measures, stickers (and Cuda Scissors courtesy of Chuck LeMahieu!)
PRO Chris Staiger set 8 marks: an inside leeward Gate, a Starting Line, a Finish Line and two windward marks. The course, which was used for every race in the regatta, consisted of: Start, two windward marks to port, inside leeward Gate, two windward marks to port, inside leeward Gate, Finish. The HMS with 3 Fleets and 4-Boat Promotion/Relegation was utilized, resulting in 17 Boat Heats throughout the event. Finishes and Scoring were recorded by Steve Delva.
Following the Skippers Meeting, competitors were greeted by perfect sailing conditions: mild temperatures and sunny skies with 8 – 10 knots of wind straight down the racecourse with only minor left-right shifts. Friday’s competition was tight, but past Champion, Peter Feldman, dominated by winning 6 straight heats and accumulating only 5 Points for the day (throwing out a First Place!) Local skipper Chris Davidson and past Champion Mark Golison were 2nd and 3rd with past Champion Dennis Rogers close behind in 4th. Daily Sandwiches were provided by Commodore Emeritus Mark Hallberg. Chips, Ice, beverages as well as complete daily pond-side facilities setup and take-down were provided by Site-Manager, Bill Bridge. Friday afternoon Bob again grilled Hot Dogs.
Saturday morning, the perfect conditions continued: Coffee, donuts and 8 – 10 knots straight down the pond! Dan Shier took video play-by-play when he wasn’t racing. Len Bose discovered how powerful the Upgraded DF95 Sail Winch can be: After a sheeting snag, his winch sheared the turning block completely out of the cockpit wall and proceeded to saw a slot in his deck between the cockpit and the hatch! Thanks to Corinthian Award winner Gary Winton, Len was able to continue racing using Gary’s spare hull!
By the end of Saturday, Peter was still in command, but Mark had narrowed the gap as he leapfrogged Chris into 2nd by managing just 15 Points for the day compared to Peter’s 21 and Chris’s 47. Meanwhile, Jess Atkinson scrambled up the leaderboard into 4th. After Day Two the Top-5 were: Peter, Mark, Chris, Jess and Barr Batzer. Following Saturday’s racing, Skippers were treated to an on-site dinner from local favorite Phil’s BBQ, served by Pat and Jan Nevitt and Henry Johnson, and a Prize Drawing was held.
Sunday morning continued the perfect conditions: More coffee, donuts, sandwiches, chips, Gatorade and Hot Dogs! (…and more mild temperatures under sunny skies with 8 – 10 knots straight down the racecourse!) Interestingly, the final day produced no changes in the Top-5
positions but the remainder of the Top-10 changed significantly. Local brothers Dennis and Jon Rogers battled into 6th and 7th Place respectively, just 2 points apart (Rematch, anyone?) Larry Grant, Jim Sears and Keith Ives rounded out the Top-10.
Special thanks to Race Week XV Chairman Gil Jansky who made the impossible seem easy, and to Protest Committee members Steve Ross, Pat Nevitt and Argonauts Commodore Tom Warren (who also manned the rescue boat!)
Photos by Jennifer Golison:
The Winners:
RESULTS: