Sun 18 November 2007 00:52 GMT
In the bag for Ashby
Racing sadly canned on final day of A-Cat World Championship in Florida
Racing conditions for the last day of the 2007 Ronstan A-Cat World Championship turned out to be severe. The event that was building up to be a 'Clash of Champions' on the final day of racing has been decided by a blow out, the wind that is. Glenn Ashby, Lars Guck and Pete Melvin all had a shot at taking the title today in a heavy air event, but in the end the wind was too much. A frontal system passed over the Florida Keys last night and the breeze picked up to over 25 knots just after 0300EST. This strong breeze refused to abate throughout the morning. Buoy and land station reports were coming in at 22-29 knots, with gusts in the 30+ range for most of the morning.
The Organizing Authority requested a postponement at around 0900 and the PRO, Billy Richnow, flew the AP. The RC, International Jury and competitors closely monitored the wind strengths throughout the morning watching the winds with strong hopes of getting racing in today. Winds at water level continued in the 19-22 knot range with gusts to 28. There was also a fairly severe and square chop setting up with standard waves at 4 feet with frequent sets of three waves in the six foot range. In the end the decision was based upon keeping the racers and their boats safe. Even though this was a real blow to all of the competitors who had raced each other hard all week, keeping themselves in contention throughout the regatta, the OA made and outstanding call putting the safety of the sailors, their boats and all of the officials first and preventing the possible carnage that racing might have incurred.

Congratulations to Glenn Ashby, Lars Guck, Pete Melvin, Luc DuBois, Mitch Booth, Charlie Ogletree, Scotty Anderson, Murray Philpott, Andrew Landenberger, and Eugenio Calabria who were the Top 10 finishers in this event. Congratulations also to Carla Sheifer for her efforts on the course to rescue another competitor in Thursday’s racing.

Throughout the regatta, Glenn Ashby and Lars Guck had been on a back and forth battle with each taking the lead at different times during the regatta. Through seven races, the most they were separated was by two points and that is how the regatta ended. Glenn Ashby took to straight bullets during Thursday’s races with Lars Guck posting a 2nd & 3rd place in races 6 & 7.

The race day on Thursday came down to choosing the right side of the course and committing amidst a dying breeze that was filled with big holes. The corners of the course upwind & downwind seemed to work better than the middle, you had to have the courage to commit to one side or the other. Glenn showed some real speed on Thursday, but Luc DuBois on his new Schuerer Generation 5 was the fastest boat on the course today. Luc had been showing a great deal of speed all week, but tactically he was not as sharp as Lars Guck, Pete Melvin or Glenn Ashby have been all week.

Today could have been a real battle of 'skills and wills', each fighting for the championship. After four days of racing, Glenn would still have to sail both races to score the win.

In the lead up to this event in a highly competitive development class, much has been made of the differences in the boats, masts and rigs. The A-cat Worlds each year is a great event, but all of these new platforms, sails, masts and design differences added another dimension and more depth to the story. While some of the boats were the next version or iteration of a previous design, two or three stood out for their ingenuity or audacity.

Ben Hall’s boat & rig by far was the most intriguing and beguiling of the bunch. While others focused on the platform, rudders or dagger boards, Ben went after the 'engine' of the boat. Early in the year, Ben had a long conversation with C-class guru, A-cat sailor and man behind Vanguard sailboats, Steve Clark, about rigid wing sails. With this conversation behind him, he teamed up with a designer and developed his wing. Along with the wing, Ben also teamed with designer Peter Cogan, and built a new boat that is an evolution of the proven XJ platform.

The boat and wing were launched in early September, leaving the critical training and tuning time short for the Worlds. Ben put as much time on the water in Bristol as well as attending the Lake Hopatcong Fall Classic regatta in hopes of getting up to speed with his new wing. While it is clear that this wing or an evolution of it show great promise, he was not fully dialed in to it during this regatta. Ben and his rigid wing were blisteringly fast off the wind and downwind with it, sometimes passing 3-4 boats between the windward and offset marks (approximately 150m). Going to weather is where he seems to have difficulty getting it tuned and performing well.

The other radical departure in design was the LR2, designed by Richard Roake and built by John Lindahl. This platform features torpedo shaped bows with true wave-piercing characteristics and scimitar blades and daggerboards. This platform was sailed at the regatta by Randy Smyth, Ian Lindahl and Fred Smyth. Randy’s featured a boomless main that he designed for the regatta that featured a swept-up square-top that gave it more initial power, reduced the overall drag and had the ability to twist off easier at the top. In addition, he added a small sweeper to the base to straighten out the flow. There were 3 other new platforms at the regatta, the new Marström M5, the Tool & the Schuerer Generation 5 along with the time tested & proven platforms. The two that rose to the top were the Morreli & Melvin designed & built, Nacra A3 and the Ashby Sailcraft Geltek MKII featuring the latest generation of Glaser and Ashby Sails respectively.

Throughout this regatta, one looked for a break through in design and performance, but in the end it came down to proven winners, sailing on proven platforms with proven sails. Lars Guck, Pete Melvin and Pease Glaser were sailing on Morreli & Melvin Nacra A3s with the latest Glaser sails and Glenn Ashby on his Ashby Sailcraft-Geltek Flyer with Ashby sails.

One only has to take a look at the top 20 performers to see that it very closely mirrors those who are the top 20 in the class. These are by far the best, most competitive sailors from around the world in this class of catamarans.

The competition was close, tight and sometimes even contentious, but in the end Glenn showed his mastery and confidence when it counted the most, taking both of Thursday’s races to win the regatta by two points.

This regatta featured some fine performances and great sailing throughout the regatta by many sailors. One of the finest moments of the regatta came with Pease Glaser’s light air win on Wednesday and Lars Guck’s last minute tack to catch a fresh shift moving him from a 5th place finish to 2nd in the race.

Pete Melvin sailed a great regatta all week struggling only in the 6th race with a 9th place finish. Charlie Ogletree also had a strong 6th place finish coming off his remarkable come-back at the US Olympic trials. Fifth place went to Mitch Booth who sailed a consistent regatta with a 12th place TO.

The competition off the water was stiff too. It began with the All Texan Bash thrown by the Texas contingent on Saturday. This featured a full-on Texas BBQ with Shiner Beer, the New England and Annapolis came back with a dinner of Black Beans & Rice, Dry Rubbed Chicken and Rum Punch and on Thursday the Canadians responded with a Bar room style Deli with Molson Golden flowing freely. While all good sailors are swayed by rum and free flowing beer, the Texan Bash won the event, but a great time was enjoyed by all during each event.

This event truly was spectacular, well organised and had great attendance. Spectator boats moved up and down the course, keeping up with the fast paced action. So much has been said about the racers, but much thanks needs to go to the event organisers, the Organizing Authority, the RC and the International Jury who pulled this event together.

Full results:

Pos Bow/Sail Crew R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 Tot
1 03/ AUS 1 ASHBY, GLENN 1 3 1 2 [4] 1 1 9
2 42/ USA 250 GUCK, LARS 2 1 [3] 1 2 2 3 11
3 NONE/ USA 69 MELVIN, PETE [10] 2 2 3 3 9 4 23
4 24/ SUE 202 DU BOIS, LUC 13 5 5 6 [23] 6 2 37
5 09/ NED 250 BOOTH, MITCH 6 4 10 [12/RDG] 5 7 7 39
6 76/ USA 269 OGLETREE, CHARLIE 8 [15] 8 5 6 15 5 47
7 01/ AUS 2 ANDERSON, SCOTTY 5 5/RDG [35] 8 22 4 6 50
8 82/ NZL 232 PHILPOTT, MURRAY 7 4/RDG 14 [20] 18 13 17 73
9 57/ AUS 308 LANDENBERGER, ANDREW 12 17 12 7 [27] 16 9 73
10 14/ ITA 2 CALABRIA, EUGENIO 11 7 18 [33] 21 8 12 77
11 22/ USA 257 DANIEL, ROBBIE 21 [22] 16 12 7 10 11 77
12 53/ USA 110 KINDER, PHILIP 15 10 11 [27] 10 17 14 77
13 51/ NED 3 HOEKSTRA, SJOERD 3 12 [65] 41 14 3 10 83
14 23/ NZL 234 DRUMMOND, MIKE 17 16 17 9 [32] 12 25 96
15 04/ USA 232 ATKINS, CHAD 14 9 28 [40] 15 14 16 96
16 20/ USA 209 COPE, WOODY 24 19 [40] 21 9 11 18 102
17 37/ USA 280 GLASER, PEASE [44] 42 4 18 1 29 13 107
18 34/ USA 234 GAYNOR, ANDREW 23 [41] 7 17 39 18 15 119
19 18/ USA 258 COGAN, PETER 18 [37] 15 19 16 28 26 122
20 65/ SWE 1 MARSTROM, GORAN 22 28 [33] 15 11 25 22 123
21 92/ USA 259 SMYTH, RANDY [99/DNC] 32 21 13 12 30 21 129
22 05/ GER 12 BEIKE, DONALD 4 11 27 [56] 45 5 41 133
23 73/ AUS 918 MOON, BEN 25 18 29 16 37 [99/DNF] 8 133
24 83/ NED 1 SAARBERG, PIETER 20 34 20 [47] 8 37 20 139
25 32/ USA 226 ARENDS, TONY [42] 40 13 11 25 26 30 145
26 64/ USA 192 MARSHACK, KEN 40 [99/OCS] 23 14 24 23 29 153
27 81/ SWE 956 PERSSON, THOMAS 32 25 32 26 13 [99/DNF] 27 155
28 26/ USA 244 EDWARDS, BRUCE 19 24 34 31 [58] 33 24 165
29 93/ USA 198 STRUBLE, MATT 9 13 6 4 41 [99/DNF] 99/DNC 172
30 44/ USA 99 HALL, BEN 36 30 [50] 10 40 27 35 178
31 58/ USA 279 LAUNDERGAN, JEREMY 41 29 25 22 34 [46] 36 187
32 46/ USA 203 HAMLIN, HOWARD 37 36 22 28 28 38 [42] 189
33 47/ AUS 8 HARBOUR, GRAEME 16 20 [60] 39 59 21 39 194
34 19/ AUS 921 COLE, JAMES 45 38 24 [66] 30 34 33 204
35 72/ AUS 900 MERCER, WAYNE 28 14 54 [59] 56 22 32 206
36 62/ USA 9 LINDAHL, IAN 27 [99/DNC] 62 48 20 19 31 207
37 94/ ESP 2007 TODD, MICKY 34 33 [77] 62 55 20 19 223
38 06/ USA 134 BELLERMAN, MARK 49 27 38 36 26 [69/20%] 48 224
39 98/ USA 238 WEBBON, BOB 26 23 [71] 29 64 39 44 225
40 38/ USA 200 GODBEY, JAMES 29 45 30 54 [69] 32 37 227
41 02/ SWE 27 ANDERSSON, ERIK [99/DNC] 21 9 53 31 99/OCS 23 236
42 74/ USA 255 MOSS, BRET 46 [66] 48 38 17 53 38 240
43 50/ USA 230 HODGES, BOB 38 [54] 46/20% 49 19 36 53 241
44 36/ USA 240 GLASER, JAY 50 [99/DNC] 41 34 36 31 52 244
45 07/ USA 231 BIRD, RUSH 33 35 45 43 46 42 [54] 244
46 28/ USA 10 FARRAR, JONATHAN 48 48 42 24 [53] 41 46 249
47 69/ SUI 204 MELCHER, DIETER [60] 50 53 25 43 44 34 249
48 27/ USA 184 EGAN, MICHAEL 35 31 69 42 [86] 35 62 274
49 78/ USA 260 OTTENHEIMER, DAVI 39 43 49 35 51 [99/DSQ] 58 275
50 66/ ESP 42 MARTINEZ, MARIANO 31 26 83/20% 69 47 24 [99/DNF] 280
51 39/ USA 211 GORITSKI, DANNY 61 63 [74] 30 29 54 51 288
52 54/ NED 7 KLOK, HANS 54 46 51 [78] 63 43 40 297
53 86/ USA 253 SELLNAU, MARK [99/DNC] 99/DNC 46 44 42 40 28 299
54 21/ USA 172 CORDES, CHRIS [74] 69 44 37 35 69 47 301
55 33/ USA 23 CROMWELL, WARD 47 55 37 [68] 62 51 49 301
56 67/ USA 170 MAYO, CLIVE 69 49 36 23 [70] 67 60 304
57 99/ USA 241 WESTLAND, BILL 53 58 31 73 44 47 [99/DNF] 306
58 77/ USA 135 OLIVER, TRACY 55 59 58 50 33 62 [64] 317
59 55/ USA 150 KOLB, ANDREW 51 52 67 61 [75] 50 45 326
60 00/ ITA 85 AGOSTA, ANTONINO 67 57 55 46 [79] 56 50 331
61 41/ USA 205 GRUBER, MIKE [99/DNC] 61 70 32 65 45 59 332
62 29/ USA 123 ELLIOTT, SKIP 59 [99/OCS] 43 60 68 63 43 336
63 43/ USA 186 HAINES, HOWARD 62 [75] 57 64 38 58 66 345
64 63/ USA 147 LINDSAY, JENNIFER 64 65 39 65 52 [76] 70 355
65 68/ USA 236 McDONALD, MATT 56 [85] 67/20% 52 61 55 65 356
66 25/ CAN 29 EATON, FRED 80 68 39/20% 63 54 [99/DNF] 56 360
67 35/ USA 127 GILLESPIE, BILL 58 44 [89] 76 60 59 68 365
68 89/ ITA 7 SIRRI, STEFANO 43 51 [99/RAF] 70 71 60 71 366
69 79/ USA 169 PALIN, DENNIS [68] 64 66 55 67 57 57 366
70 17/ USA 222 CLARK, STEVE 30 47 [99/OCS] 58 88 48 99/DNF 370
71 96/ NED 8 VAN HILTEN, THEO 52 53 [83] 71 81 52 61 370
72 56/ USA 216 KRANTZ, MICHAEL 66 67 59 [83] 57 64 63 376
73 84/ USA 121 SCHIEFER, CARLA 77 [99/DNC] 52 45 48 80 75/RDG 377
74 11/ USA 193 BROWN, CHRIS 63 56 73 51 80 66 [99/DNF] 389
75 31/ ESP 6 FERNANDEZ, ANGEL 72 60 86 86 49 [99/DNF] 55 408
76 61/ USA 262 LEWIS, CAM [99/DNC] 39 72 75 87 61 75 409
77 40/ USA 212 GRICE, KEVIN 70 62 61 72 73 71 [99/DNF] 409
78 85/ USA 122 SCHIEFER, JOHN 57 72 68 74 50 [99/DNF] 99/DNC 420
79 80/ SWE 23 PAULSON, TOMAS 75 81 85 57 [89] 68 69 435
80 90/ USA 223 SKEELS, MARK 71 79 76 77 [93] 65 72 440
81 97/ CAN 30 VINCZE, JOHN 79 71 64 [89] 74 79 80 447
82 08/ USA 3065 BLOCK, PETER 65 78 75 79 77 75 [99/DNF] 449
83 15/ USA 196 CARLSON, DAVID [99/DNF] 70 76/20% 84 72 78 77 457
84 10/ USA 55 BOURGUIGNON, EDWARD 78 76 87 67 [90] 77 76 461
85 48/ USA 225 HEFELE, BERND 73 80 81 80 [85] 70 78 462
86 13/ USA 243 BURGER, PATRICK 76 74 88 85 83 74 [99/DNF] 480
87 87/ IRL 5 SHEEHAN, YVONNE [84] 82 80 81 78 84 79 484
88 16/ ITA 1029 CAVAGNERA, FELICE 81 84 [99/DNC] 90 91 72 67 485
89 12/ USA 268 BURDETT, ANDREW 82 [99/DNC] 82 82 92 81 73 492
90 88/ USA 185 SIMMONS, KIRT 83 77 98/20% 88 66 [99/DNF] 99/DNC 511
91 75/ USA 208 OBERMAN, CHARLES 85 83 90 91 [97] 83 81 513
92 91/ CAN 31 SMITH, FRED [99/DNC] 99/DNC 84 99/TLE 76 85 74 517
93 49/ USA 218 HEFELE, PETER [99/DNC] 99/DNC 79 87 82 73 99/DNF 519
94 30/ USA 2 FERBER, LARRY [99/TLE] 86 99/TLE,20% 99/TLE 95 82 82 543
95 59/ USA 201 LEONARD, JOE [99/DNC] 73 99/RAF 99/DNC 96 86 99/DNF 552
96 52/ USA 154 ISCO, GORDON [99/DNC] 99/DNC 99/TLE 99/DNC 84 99/DNF 99/DNC 579
97 95/ NED 86 VALENTE, JO [99/DNC] 99/DNC 99/DNC 99/DNC 94 99/DNF 99/DNC 589
98 60/ USA 160 LEVINE, STEVEN [99/TLE] 99/DNC 99/DNC 99/TLE 99/DNC 99/DNC 99/DNC 594

Thanks! Great racing takes a great Race Committee. Billy Richnow was the Principal Race Officer for the Worlds and he brought in a core crew of folks to staff the important positions on his RC. Billy and his crew have been working for over a year to bring make this event a success on the water. Betty Reeh was Billy’s right hand person on the Signal boat, assisted by Ann Apel. Leigh Ann Hawboldt commanded the Pin Boat and was also in charge of leeward roundings and finishes. Brian Hawboldt took care of the Weather end of the course. Every day of the event, the RC met with the OA to assign the pick-up crew of volunteers to staff all of the boats. Many were available for the entire week, and most required on the water and on the job training. Thanks to everyone who participated and gave of their time.

There was a group of International Judges here who made up the Jury for the Worlds. Thanks to Cor van Aanholt as the Chairman and International Judge from the Netherlands Antilles, Egil Wold an International Judge from Norway, Francisco Jauregui an International Judge from Mexico, Means Davis an International Judge from the USA, and Paul Ulibarri an International Judge from the USA. Theirs is frequently an underappreciated job and these gentlemen provided a World Class and valuable service to this event.

Finally, the drivers behind this event; Bob and Carol Webbon as well as John and Carla Schiefer were the group of folks who made this event possible. As the Organizing Authority and the core group of people who have been working for over a year to prepare, and working tirelessly and with little break for the past weeks to make this happen, these folks deserve thanks and appreciation from everyone. There is no way this event would have been possible without their efforts.