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2004 RACING RESULTS : |
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Cherry Blossom 2004 May 1st Another gusty day in the Tidal Basin! Jacie Swenson assisted Steve in the committee boat, generously giving someone else the opportunity to win this year. We were pleased to see some old time (in experience, not age, of course!) Toro sailors this year for the first time in many years. Bob Causin drove up from his retirement home in North Carolina. He added to his fond memories of Tidal Basin sailing with an accidental swim in the cold water (it was gusty). Jacie and Steve did a great job of rescuing him with the committee boat. The racing was close at times. Bill actually beat son Geoff in the last race due to a favorable wind shift while Geoff was covering the rest of the fleet, but Geoff won the other races. The occasional gust from a (possibly) presidential helicopter passing low overhead presented additional opportunities for a favorable lift. We even had entertainment for a while when a band from a Connecticut high school performed on the Jefferson Memorial steps. All in all, another memorable Tidal Basin Regatta followed by a late lunch at a nearby restaurant as arranged by Jim Ayres. Many thanks to Val Taliaferro for making the regatta arrangements and getting the proper permits. Results: 1. Geoff Schneider, 2. Bill Schneider, 3. Brian Taliaferro, 4. Hank Muma, 5. Dave Littleton, 6. Chisolm McAvoy, 7. Val Taliaferro, 8. Bob Causin, 9. Kyle Swenson, and 10. Robbie Fooks.
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Tuckahoe Spring Regatta, June 7th Canceled due to bad weather. |
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The Rogers Regatta on the Corsica River, June 29th Chris Rogers provided some great weather and got 4 races off for us at the Corsica River Yacht Club beach just off Emory Creek on the Corsica River. The winds kept us guessing with a good assortment of speeds but never left us drifting and kept us very alert trimming all the time. We had some good rail-sitting puffs at times too - Tom and Carol had a reef in their sails to handle it but it slowed them up for the lighter air. Many different people spent some time in the lead. Val, Hank, Brian, and especially Reed Rogers, who was sailing a borrowed boat and finished back in the first race but had it figured out by the last two races where she spent most of them in the lead. However, consistency dictated the final results. Although Geoff didn't spend all the time in the lead, he managed to sneak into the lead at the end of the races for an uncontested first place. Bill Schneider was second, although he never won a race and rarely was second. Hank Muma was a close third and Reed Rogers was forth. Final results: 1. Geoff Schneider, 2. Bill Schneider, 3. Hank Muma, 4. Reed Rogers, 5. Brian Taliaferro, 6. David Littleton, 7. Chisolm McAvoy, 8. Val Taliferro, 9. Alex Rogers, 10. Carol Jones, 11. Tom Jones. . |
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Cambridge Annual Regatta, July 17-18th Weather or not to race, that was the question. The toro fleet arrived bright and early on a bright Saturday morning. We were the first boats to register. However, no wind. The "big boat" fleet delayed crossing the Choptank to their race site but our fleet, Penguins, Lasers, us, & Opti's, hit the water and found a light breeze, - but the breeze couldn't decide which direction it wanted to come from. It finally filled in and we did get two races during the morning before lunch. The breeze built during the second race after lunch to the point where the downwind leg in irregular chop and waves was a challenging ballancing act to keep the toros upright. Brian Talliferro proved to be the best at this. At this point, with the wind appearing to be further increasing, everyone but Brian and Hank elected to sail in and skip the next race. Unfortunately for them, since they both managed to survive the two lap race (the others were one lap), the confusion over the starting time (they were at the favored far end of the line and the wind was too strong to hear the race committee) led the race committee to throw that race out. On Sunday morning, the race committee elected to cancel the second day of racing due to the nearby morning thunderstorms. Final standings: 1. Bill Schneider, 2. Hank Muma, 3. Brian Taliaferro, 4. Chisolm McAvoy, 5. David Littleton, 6. Carol Jones, 7. Val Taliaferro, and 8. Tom Jones. |
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Plantation Regatta, August 14th We had some reservations about the weather because the regatta was squeezed between Hurricanes Bonnie and Charlie in a record-breaking hurricane year. We didn't get the hurricane strength winds, quite the contrary. We had rain and light to even lighter air. Fortunately we were damper than our enthusiasm, and we got the races off. The only one consistantly guessing where the wind would be was Bill Fry. The final standings were: 1. Bill Fry, 2. Hank Muma, 3. Bill Schneider , 4. Geoff Schneider, 5. Brian Taliaferro, 6. David Littleton, 7. Chisholm McAvoy, and 8. Val Taliaferro. |
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Leukemia Cup Regatta, September 11th We had the magic number of 5 boats present, fortunately. The Schneiders and Taliaferro's had to miss the regatta unexpectedly due to a conflict with their larger boats. The race committee got 5 races off in excellent sunny weather. We were fortunate to be in a lull between Hurricanes Gaston, Hermine at the end of August and Ivan the week after the Leukemia Cup. Finishing places: 1. Hank Muma 2. David Littleton, 3. Chisolm McAvoy, 4. Carol Jones, and 5. Tom Jones. |
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Tuckahoe Fall Regatta, October 2nd A passing storm in the morning had us all worried but the rains held off during the actual upriver race. We had a fun range of winds with occasional holes and gusts but generally consistant to keep us moving (if we were in the right spot). We were heading down wind up the river and up wind down the river! It turned out that experience paid off, since the two newcomers to the Tuckahoe river headed for the wrong side of what looked like it could have been an island, but wasn't. Karl and Dave were making good time in that direction, enough so that Hank and, I believe Brian, also went that way. However, they were mostly well behind when they got the word that they were heading toward a dead-end creek. Bill lead to the first bend where Tom and Val went wider and found more wind to pass him. However, by the turning mark, he worked back to an inside over Tom and stayed ahead while covering the others for the downriver trip. One way to look at the results would be that the Schneider family tied the Taliaferro family or another way would be that the Jones family did better than everybody else because Carol Jones got to the finish line first since she was the committee boat! Tom & Carol were great hosts and we can't wait until next year for another Tuckahoe race/river excursion. As usual, those of us who drove up met for some really good food at the Dairy place next to Cowtown, no less, e.g. Philly cheesesteaks and lots of ice cream of course - it only happens once or twice a year so it doesn't count as part of your diet. 1. Bill Schneider, 2. Val Taliaferro, 3. Tom Jones, 4. Brian Taliaferro, 5. Karl Schneider, 6. Chisolm McAvoy, 7. Hank Muma, and 8. David Littleton |
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(calculated for those who got enough (5) races in): 1. Bill Schneider, 2. Hank Muma, 3. Brian Taliaferro, 4. Dave Littleton, 5. Chisolm McAvoy, and 6. Val Taliaferro. |
