All About the 1999 regattas CHERRY BLOSSOM REGATTA: Canceled due to NATO meeting in Washington D.C. TUCKAHOE RIVER RACE: 1st Geoff Schneider, Hank Muma, Brian Taliaferro, Dave Kissling, Bill Schneider, Jim Ayres, Tom Jones - The conditions were very challenging this year (as usual) - there was good constant wind, but there were holes to avoid and occasionally a lot of trimming in whirlwinds as the wind circled around you. Both sides of the island seemed equal this year. Tom, Dave, and Hank took turns leading early on, but Geoff came from behind and worked out an horizon lead (at least, around the next bend in the river). GLENMAR REGATTA: 1st Hank Muma, Geoff Schneider, Bill Schneider, Tom Jones, Val Taliaferro, Carol Jones, Brian Taliaferro. The regatta was held in ghosting conditions (It seemed like 0 to 0.001 knots). The Toros actually had an advantage of the larger one design boats because their sails were more responsive to the slight wisps of wind and we finished in the middle of all the larger boats (Mopjacks, FY15's, 470's, etc.) Much of the Toro fleet was late to the starting area but did a fantastic job in catching up to the leaders (the Jones and Taliaferros were way back at the start, but finished just feet behind the Schneiders) CAMBRIDGE REGATTA (Atlantic Coast Championship): El toros sailed on the inside, short, course with Bytes, Penguins, and Optimists. Tom & Carol Jones came down from N.J., but no one made it from N.Y. The states of MD, VA, & N.J. were represented. The Saturday morning races saw 7 knot winds slowly shifting from south west to west. The currents were not a major factor this year. Geoff Schneider was over early for the first race and Bill Schneider won the start at the pin. Geoff worked his way back and by the final leeward turning mark was not quite clear ahead on the outside of Bill. However an Optimist was in the inside spot and Brian Taliaferro nabbed the inside at the last second to take the lead going to weather. Final was Brian, Geoff, Bill, etc. In the second race, Geoff jumped into the lead and stayed there. Finishing positions were Geoff, Brian, Bill, etc. We had just returned to the course for the afternoon races when the mark boat to weather radioed the committee boat to send everyone in quickly! The black cloud on the horizon was almost on us. We made it 2/3's back to the Cambridge Yacht Club when the first 20-30 knot gusts hit us. Fortunately, it was blowing us back to the docks - where we helped each other out of the water. It didn't take long for the rain to arrive and major waves began breaking over the docks. The next day, began overcast with 12-15 knot winds and 1 foot chop out of the North - wet rail-sitting weather. We were looking forward to a Brian-Geoff rematch, but Brian's mast had a crack in it from the previous day, so he switched to a spare wood mast, which snapped at the gooseneck in the middle of the first race. In the first race, Geoff and the fleet went right and Bill, after a bad start went left looking for a favorable shift which never materialized. In the meantime, Chishom McAvoy and Val Taliaferro read the conditions well and rounded second and third after Geoff and held that position to the finish. In the second Sunday race, the weather changed to big gusts with holes, Geoff went left and the wind shift didn't come through for him either so he played catch-up for the rest of the race, managing to move into second behind Bill. The winds moderated for the final race, and the fleet stayed close together, Bill on port had to duck Geoff on starboard on the finish line with Chishom seconds behind - and Val close after. We didn't get the entire scoring from the race committee - but, as far as we have the results: Geoff, Bill, Chishom, and Val - PLANTATION REGATTA: Bill & Sue Schneider, having been cruising on Nightingale (a Nightwind 35) in the vicinity of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay for the week following the Governor's Cup Race (4th & last place in PHRF B, one of only 33 boats to finish out of 172 starting) sailed up to host Bill Fry's home on St Indigo Creek as Hank Muma and Chishom MacAvoy arrived by land. The longest distance award should go to Cal Rogers who arrived by private plane from South Carolina to use one of Bill Fry's boats. The conditions were challenging, to say the least! The breeze was perfect for El toro sailing, 5 to 10 knots, except it hardly ever seemed to be where I was. The final race of the day was highlighted by Bill Schneider (me) doing a crash tack back onto starboard after the start and capsizing in a sudden puff onto the committee boat just in front of Chishom! Fortunately, we were only in 3 feet of water over an oyster bed so I could stand up to bail the boat. The racing was very close, with all competitors showing good boat speed. Geoff Schneider and Hank Muma -the youngest(not that young) and oldest (not that old)- on the water ended up in a tie that was broken in favor of Geoff. Final Standings: 1. Geoff Schneider, 2. Hank Muma, 3. Bill Fry, 4 Skip Fry, 5. Bill Schneider, 6. Chishom MacAvoy, 7. Cal Rogers, and 8. Amy Smith. WASHINGTON MARINA LEUKEMIA CUP: This regatta was well attended by El toros. Tom and Carol Jones drove down from New Jersey. Chisolm McAvoy now has a new Toyota to carry his toro so he won't miss any more regattas. El toros shared a race course with Penguins and Optimists. This year the small boat course was moved from the basin onto the Potomac, just south of the channel into the basin. This area presented many tactical opportunities. The regatta was held during maximum ebb, adding to the regular current flow down the Potomac. The starboard upwind side of the course was in shallower water with less current, but was lush with dense clumps of hydrilla. Some areas were so thick, it was impossible to tack. (Carol became stuck in one, couldn't turn around, and had to paddle with her centerboard out of it, sail about a mile around it to get back and missed a race start.) You had to constantly be checking the centerboard and rudder for weeds. There were constant wind shifts up to 90 degrees and the wind speed varied between nothing and almost-too-much-for-a-Toro, sometimes instantaneously. Having said that, I must modestly report that ye olde webmeister won the regatta, but I can attest that it actually had very little to do with tactical decisions. This just happened to be one of those rare days when occasionally taking a flyer away from the fleet paid off. Geoff was tied with me going into the third race, when he swamped his boat on the weather mark and could only get back to 5th after he bailed it out. Hank got caught by an unexpected gust between the 3rd and 4th races and went for a swim, thereby missing the 4th race. He was particularly worried about his new hearing aid, but it seemed to be working OK after it dried out. Val Taliaferro tried a new mast rake position and sailed his best race of the year, finishing with a solid 3, 4, 4, 2 for third place. Final results: 1. Bill Schneider 2. Geoff Schneider 3. Val Taliaferro - everyone else traded places and finished with about the same number of points.