Report by Clarke Newman

In 2006, the ILCA Texas Districts consisted of five boats from White Rock Lake in Dallas competing on White Rock Lake.  Basically, it was fleet racing.  In 2010, we had sixteen teams from eight clubs representing four ILCA Districts.

The 2010 Texas Districts was the first stop on the second annual Southwestern Circuit.  Because of scheduling conflict, and the desire to host the regatta in Houston to help support the growth of the new fleet at Houston Yacht Club, we moved the date from June to late April.  Apparently, we were the first District Championship of 2010.

The weekend started on Friday with a long-awaited Lightning Lab.  Skip Dieball came down, and put on a great clinic that was attended by six boats.  The weather didn’t cooperate, as it rained all morning long.  We were finally able to get our boats rigged and tuned by around two, and we headed out to the water. Skip filmed a good bit of work upwind and down with some simulated starts and races.

Afterwards, we had video debriefing and then we all ate dinner at Houston Yacht Club.

Friday night, a cold front pushed through with more rain, and Saturday dawned clear, cooler, and with a stiff northern breeze.  It seemed evident that we would be hiking a lot.  As we headed out to the race course the wind died from the eighteen to twenty we had earlier down to around eight miles per hour in about a ten minute span.  Those of us sailing up and down getting our medians started to worry that we might not get any racing in.

We were wrong.

About one minute before the start, the breeze began to build again, and by the time we were half way up the first beat, it was windier that before, with gust above twenty-five.  There were moments when we were completely depowered with mains bladed out, traveler’s full to leeward, maximum backstay, jibs eased, and we were still feathering to stay in control.  The wind started to go left, and the boats that started in the lower third of the line were able to tack over and lay the mark fairly quickly.

Skip was first at the mark, followed closely by us, Larry Frost, and Cal Herman from New Orleans.  We all set chutes around the offset mark, and broad reached down the second leg like we had been shot out of a cannon.  What fun.  We were able to surf up so that we were overlapped with Skip.

Skip was to windward and had room at the mark.  There was a gust at the mark that we all agreed was the highest wind velocity of the day. We were outside, and we were able to round tighter inside, but had a knot in the spinnaker halyard that prevented a complete take down, and the chute blew out of boat in the gust and took us over.  I hadn’t capsized a Lightning in twenty-five years.  So, the experience was foreign and unwelcome.  The fleet rounded inside of us, and from there, well, I have to take people’s word for what happened.  Our pole end broke off during the first run, so, we decided to go on in and repair that.

Ian Edwards went over on the second run, and that delayed the second race a bit.  The finishing positions in the top five of the first race were Skip Dieball, Larry Frost, Cal Herman, Aroldo de Rienzo, and Tommy Meric.

The second race was much the same. A couple of boats were over early, but not enough for a general recall.  Again, Skip got out on the fleet, and was able to stay there.  We were second for most of the race.  On the last beat, Cal Herman, Larry Frost, and I were all within a couple of boat lengths, and in the three-way tacking duel; we managed to lose both of them.  Cal finished a boat length ahead in second, and Larry and I finished overlapped, for third and fourth.  However, Larry was not scored as he was OCS and didn’t know it.  Larry was not happy to say the least.  We were scored third, Bob Bernhardt was fourth, and Tommy was again fifth.

The third race was much more of the same, except that Skip rounded the first windward mark in fourth. The breeze went right for the first time in the day, and Skip and gybe set around the offset.  Skip was able to get inside of me and we were able to get inside of Aroldo.  Tommy had rounded in front, and lead most of the way.

Aroldo chose the right gate while Tommy, Skip, and I went around the left gate.  With the wind slightly right up the second beat, I was able to get by Aroldo.  Larry, who was in fifth, did a great job of getting the right side early and then left late, and caught both of us. Skip was able to slip past Tommy, and the positions held until the finish.  So, Skip was first, Tommy was second, Larry was third, we were fourth, and Aroldo was fifth.

Saturday night was a welcome dinner of good ole’ Texas Barbeque partly sponsored by Dieball Sailing.  A really good time was had by all.  Houston Yacht Club was having its opening weekend festivities at the club also.  So, there was a lot of activity.  We were all tired, but enjoyed the company and the conversation.

Sunday morning came with much the same weather, only a little bit warmer.  Larry got a great start and sailed really well to finish the race with the greatest margin of victory of the regatta.  Arolodo rounded second, we rounded third with Skip on our heels.  Again, he gybed before we did and was able to get past us.  Aroldo went for the right gate while everyone else went left, and he slipped back to fourth.  Otherwise things were pretty static for the rest of the race.  Larry was first by a bunch, Skip was second, we were third, Aroldo was fourth, and Bob Bernhardt was fifth.

So far, all of the courses had been one mile, windward-leeward’s of five legs.  PRO Jack Yost decided the last race would be six legs to give us a downwind finish.  The same cast of characters got away left.  Larry rounded first, followed by Aroldo, Tommy Meric, us and then Skip, who had to go back because he was OCS. 

Larry and Aroldo broke left Tommy and I rounded overlapped.  So, I tacked to clear my air, and barely crossed Skip. Tommy did a really good job of going fast and staying in phase and worked out to first.  Larry was second, Aroldo was third, Skip was fourth, and after my worst leg of the regatta, we were fifth.

Skip was able to get past Aroldo on the run, and we rounded the second leeward mark with Tommy in first, followed by Larry, Skip Aroldo, and us.  Up the third beat, Larry worked left again, while Tommy and Skip, Aroldo and I worked up the middle.  Tommy got a little right of the group, and it proved costly, as the wind went left in the last part of the beat. 

Skip was able to slip by Larry into first.  Tommy rounded third, Aroldo fourth, and we were fifth.  A whole lot of jockeying went on down the final run, but the positions held until the end.

The final results had Skip and his all girl crew of his wife Laurie and Kirsten Medwid finishing first, Tommy Meric was second, Larry Frost was third, Aroldo de Rienzo was fourth, and Bob Bernhardt was fifth.  The capsize hurt us dearly without a throwout, and we ended up tied for sixth.

Since this regatta was an open District Championship, the other matter was who would be District Champion.  Aroldo and the two Pablo’s were the top finishing Texas boat, followed by us, and John Womble.  For the first time in the fifty-seven year history of the Neiman-Marcus Trophy, it was awarded to someone from another nation.  We love having Aroldo and his crew at Rush Creek.  They are great guys, and we hope to keep them around.

Lindy Edwards made the great trophies for the top Texas crews.  I think that everyone who attended this regatta would agree that we had courses just like at the NA’s, lots of close competition, even more close fellowship, and a great time was had by all.

Last year, I said that the Districts felt like a real regatta for the first time in a long time.  This year, the regatta seemed like it belonged among other important regattas in the class.  We hope we can continue to build on this effort in the future.