2012 MM May Flowers Regatta 8 Skippers showed up for the 2012 MM May Flowers Regatta. Temps were in the 90's with winds as flukey and shifty as usual. Gary Spendlove did an excellent job as starter and scorer, many thanks! Graham Johnson is getting very hard to beat as he once again sailed a very consistent regatta! Great sailing Graham! Here are the top 6 skippers:  Full Results 2012 Seawind Spring Showers 2012 Micro Magic Spring Fling Micro Magic Spring Fling March 17, 2012 Once again the weatherman got it wrong. Fourteen skippers arrived prepared for winds from 15 to 20 with gusts to 35 only to see 0-4 with frequents directional swings for most of the day. Zephyrs were considered welcome gusts before the wind finally built to 8-10 for the last couple of races to allow for the full 12 race 2 throw out series. Graham Johnson edged Dennis Desprois on the third tie breaker to capture this annual event. Dennis sailed slightly more consistently but Graham got hot as the day wore on and the breeze began to fill finishing with three firsts in the final four races. Mike Eades, with one bullet, was in the hunt all day finishing a mere two points behind the leaders. Al Stiewing edged Harvey Mickelsen (two firsts) by two for fourth. Hap McGill with one first captured 6th. 2012 Seawind Winter Blast Eleven hardy souls braved the ravages of winter and the mid sixties temperatures to compete in the 1st 2012 SeaWind regatta of the West Valley RC Mariners in Litchfield Park, AZ. Partly cloudy skies and light, variable winds, which swirled around the compass all day, made for challenging sailing and plenty of close competition in the twelve race, 2 throw out, event. With velocity and directional changes all day, no lead was safe and no side of the course was favored for long. Last at the first mark was no problem, as you lead the fleet around the second mark. Got a nice lead on the final beat thirty yards from the finish as the wind dies, don’t look back; here comes the fleet 10 boats abeam with the wind from astern. Mike Eades edged Al Stiewing for 1st with three bullets and more consistent sailing. Talk about consistent sailing, Hal Birkey captured 3rd without the benefit of a first, the only one of the top nine without a bullet. And competitive sailing; fourth through eighth places were only separated by 6 points. Rob Shaw edged Ray Dagenais by two points. Ray slipped past Dennis Desprois on a tie-breaker and Chuck Goerke nosed out Rowland Stephens by one point. George Kramer, by virtue of his win of the last race captured ninth over Harvey Mickelsen.
2012 MM Frostbite Regatta By Mike Eades 12 Skippers were on hand for the first Regatta of 2012, the MM Frostbite in cool weather with the customary Arizona light variable winds. Nevertheless 12 races, 2 throwouts, were completed in good time. Graham Johnson sailed a very consistent series heading the field. Mike Eades and Peter Jennings were competitive until lunch time when their scores deteriorated? Dave Nydell started out at the back of the pack but made a late charge to almost catch Peter for 4th place. Hal Birkey continues to move up the table as he beat out the Sherry cousins who had their usual family battle with Steve taking honors this time with Harvey Mickelsen close behind. Nice to have Alan Metzger and Larry Riese out competing again? Many thanks to Chris Johnson who helped out with the scoring duties so that all could sail. 2011 SeaWind Region 5 CR by Al Stiewing The Valley of the Sun’s warm temperatures, blue skies, and light winds were replaced by a cold front which brought uncharacteristically cool temperatures, clouds and a moderate breeze for the December 17 & 18 championship hosted by the West Valley RC Mariners (AMYA Club #207). Held at Litchfield Park Lake, the 13 skippers were met with an 8 knot ESE breeze and the promise of perfect sailing conditions for the Seawind, even though the competitors had to wear long pants and jackets. Chuck Goerke jumped to an early lead with two bullets in the fresh breeze. The early promise of perfect condition began to fade as the breeze lightened and clocked south. Dave Nydell found the conditions to his liking winning four of the next five races to grab a lead he would never relinquish. Meanwhile, the Race Director, Al Stiewing, stood on the shore trying to figure out how to get a beat on an east-west lake with a dying southerly wind. Facing the North Pole and asking for an early holiday present, his request was answered as the wind suddenly filled from the west at 8-10 knots with gusts to 12, remaining there for the balance of the day. The course was changed from an Olympic course to windward/leeward with three beats and the game was on. Seven different skippers won a race during the final 11 races of the day. Dean Johnson struggled early, but found his way as the day progressed, finishing strong by winning three out of the final four races and ending the day in second on a tie breaker with a very consistent sailing Peter Jennings in third. Dave Nydell held a ten point lead and Chuck Goerke held fourth only two points behind Dean and Peter. Dennis Desprois, who showed a unique ability to snag falling leaves early on, found the westerly to his liking grabbing a first and finished strong to surge to fifth. Steve Sherry’s bullet in the eleventh race gave him sixth, one point ahead of George Kramer. Day two found a steady westerly breeze of 6-8 knots under gloomy clouds, and raw cool temperatures. The uniform of the day included gloves and multiple layer of clothing with the temperatures hovering around fifty degrees. As the morning progressed the breeze and clouds increased. Unfortunately the temperature decreased. Rob Shaw won the first race of the day run on the Olympic course. Rob had an interesting weekend with three bullets to offset a slow start and three DNS’ when he had to leave early Saturday. Harvey Mickelsen captured the second race, marking the eighth skipper to earn a bullet during the weekend. Chuck Goerke won the next two races to tighten the standings and keep the heat on. Peter Jennings responded to the challenge with his second win of the series. Dave Nydell won the next race, which turned out to be the last race as the rain began, for his seventh victory and the championship. The rain had the skippers scampering for cover under the only 10’x10’ shelter looking like penguins in a Disney film huddled together for mutual warmth as the temperature dropped into the mid forties with the rain. The Race Director, with the sound of distant thunder, decided enough was enough ending the day’s event after 7 races for a 25 race 4 throw-out series. The race for the podium was tight throughout the regatta as evidenced by the close grouping of the leaders. Dave Nydell held off the pack with a 14 point victory over Chuck Goerke who leapfrogged Dean and Peter for second. Peter Jennings, only three points behind, held onto third only three points ahead of Dean Johnson in fourth and Dennis Desprois captured fifth only four points behind Dean. The skippers enjoyed the rare treat of sailing in a breeze. More importantly everyone had a good time. Successful events like this do not happen without the hard work of all the people involved. In addition to the hard work of the race committee Steve Sherry, Dave Nydell, Chuck Goerke, the keeper of the equipment, and Al Stiewing we also thank all the members of the club who show up early and stay late to help with the setup and tear down each day. Summary Version Event: Region 5 Championship Class: SeaWind Date: December 17 & 18, 2011 Host Club: West Valley RC Mariners Location: Litchfield Park, AZ Entries: 13 Skippers Wind: Saturday variable 4-10, Sunday West 8-12 Scoring: Low Point Race Committee: Al Stiewing RD, Steve Sherry, Chuck Goerke, Dave Nydell
Micro Magic USA NCR 2011 by AL Stiewing and Mike Eades Larry Grant led a California sweep of the first three places in the third annual Micro Magic USA National Championship. The West Valley R/C Mariners hosted 23 competitors from as far away as Massachusetts in Litchfield Park, Arizona, November 19th and 20th Light variable winds limited the regatta to 13 races with 2 throwouts raced under the Odds/Evens system. On Saturday, Race Director Fred Rocha postponed the start of racing waiting for wind while the crash boat fought a valiant but futile effort to keep the course free of debris. In the light airs expected, pine needles and wet duck feathers have a major impact on the boat’s performance. Only two heats were completed before lunch. Light variable winds were the story of day one. Puffs and holes combined to create early fleet separation and more often than not one or more restarts on the course. Larry Grant probably had the best example of the conditions. Catching crud on his keel he struggled to get his boat back to shore and launched his boat firmly in last place. Catching a zephyr along the beach, he sailed past the whole fleet rounding the first mark in first place. While luck did play a role, at the end of the day, the very consistent scores by the top four places on the leader board reflected their skill and speed. The day concluded with only six races and one throwout. Larry Grant led Jeff Weiss and Robert Schumacher tied for second. Close behind, Dean Johnson from Mesa, AZ held fourth 1 point behind Jeff and Robert and only 1 point ahead of Graham Johnson from Chino Valley, AZ. Hap McGill, sailing 711, closed out the top six only 2 points behind Graham. Overall, thirteen boats were within 10 points of the leader. So in spite of the conditions the stage was set for a shootout on Sunday. Hap and Martha McGill graciously hosted a well attended Saturday night social at their home. Fred Rocha exchanged his race director duties to assume the roles of social director, sous chief, bartender, server and wine steward. Skippers and their spouses swapped stories about who had the most crud on their keel during the day and relived the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres followed by a caesar salad, lasagna, coffee and desert. A great time was had by all. Sunday morning found a light westerly breeze allowing racing to start on time. As the morning wore on the breeze fitfully built offering streaks of fresh breeze chop alongside areas of reflective calm. Staying in the breeze and in phase was critical to success. Peter Jennings particularly liked the conditions with three firsts in seven races to surge from 10th on day 1 to 5th for the championship. Veteran Harvey Mickelsen leaped from 16th to claim Peter’s vacated 10th place. Scoreboard watching was the order of the day as considerable shuffling of the order took place. In spite of the trying conditions, all the competitors had a good time. Super veteran Jay Barnes was unable to take part Saturday but on Sunday showed his class with a bullet and a second place finish. A special thanks to Race Director Fred Rocha, ably assisted by Scorer Kelly Martin, for a great job in trying conditions, to Hap and Martha McGill for opening their home and hosting the Saturday night social., to volunteer Pat Barnes, to the organizing committee, Regatta Director Mike Eades, Steve Sherry, Hap McGill, Chuck Goerke and Al Stiewing and, last but not least, to all the gang who helped setup and break camp each day.
Summary Version: Event: National Championship Class: Micro Magic Date: November 19-20, 2011 Location: Litchfield Park, Arizona Host Club: West Valley RC Mariners (WVRCM) Entries: 27 (4 were unable to compete) Weather: Light, variable winds, mid 70’s. Races completed: 13 (2 discards) Scoring System: Low point, Odds/Evens TWEAT program Regatta Committee and Valuable Assistants: Fred Rocha, Race Director, Kelly Martin, Scorer, Mike Eades, Regatta Director, Al Stiewing, Chuck Goerke, Hap McGill , Steve Sherry & Pat Barnes.
2011 Micro Magic National Championship (Top 15) November 19-20, 2011 Litchfield Park, Arizona Place Skipper Sail # Points 1. Larry Grant 72 22 2. Jeff Weiss 47 25 3. Robert Schumacher 21 27 4. Graham Johnson 200 36 5. Peter Jennings 190 38 6. Dean Johnson 51 39 7. Mike Eades 15 43 8. Al Stiewing 135 47 9. Dennis Desprois 06 50 10. Harvey Mickelsen 215 53 11. Jim Linville 390 54 12. Les Sherry 172 60 13. Hap McGill 711 64 14. Ron Thornhill 107 67 15. Dave Nydell 23 67
Seawind Regatta October 15, 2011 Litchfield Park Al Stiewing Race Director
A “Four Corners” high pressure system settled into the region providing warm temperatures, clear blue skies and unfortunately, very little wind. The start of racing was delayed as the mark boat, equipped with its new skimmer designed and built by Rowland Stevens, worked to clear the course of oranges, leaves and trash. In spite of the crews valiant efforts the water remained littered as the variable light breeze moved floating jetsam throughout the course all day long. While it seemed there was a decent breeze on land before racing, between races, and during lunch the race committee was unable to coordinate the racing with the wind resulting in the fleet only being able to squeeze in eight very painfully slow races with one throw out. Mike Eades won the event by mastering the slow going early with four straight bullets and holding off a mid-day charge from Dave Nydell whose two bullets and consistent sailing helped him garner second place. Hap McGill captured a first in the final race and third place hot on the heels of Dave. Hal Birkey sailed well all day to capture 4th one point ahead of Steve Sherry in a borrowed boat. Chuck Goerke struggled early as he worked on tuning after bending on new sails. He finished strong with two seconds proving hard work does pay dividends. Jim Ball’s strong performance in the middle races allowed him to hold off Rowland Steven’s late charge which just fell short when dead batteries forced him to withdraw from the last race. Pat Barnes, our only lady skipper this month, edged Dennis Poole who struggled early but finished strong with a bullet and third in the last two races. New class member Lee Wolfe struggled in the conditions but learned about the boat and tuning throughout the day as his fellow competitors worked with him on set up and rigging ideas. He left with a laundry list of ideas. As always, I good time was had by all as good fellowship overcame less than ideal sailing conditions. September 17, 2011 Litchfield Park, AZ Mike Eades Race Director The West Valley RC Mariners kicked off their 2011-2012 season with the Micro Magic Fall Classic under Uncharacteristically, the firsts where all captured by the top five in the event. However, the seconds
SeaWind Summer Regatta July 16, 2011 - Litchfield Park, AZ By Mike Eades The WVRCM SeaWind Summer Regatta almost was a non-starter but a flurry of late entries resulted in 11 skippers braving the forecast 107 degree temps. It proved to be a memorable event as Dennis Poole pulled off a fine victory (and the winners AMYA Black Chevrons) over two-time SeaWind Class National Champions, Mike Eades and Dennis Desprois! No one has worked harder over the past few years than Dennis P, striving to polish his setup and tuning, to make his boat competitive and learning positioning and tactics from defeats by asking the right questions. Many times he asked me "You made a huge gain on me at that leeward mark! How did you do that? What could I have done to stay ahead?" Today he put it all together with a very consistent series of races. Congratulations Dennis! Rob Shaw was doing very well but had to leave early or he would also have been a contender while Chuck Goerke and Harvey Mickelsen both sailed very well. The Regatta was also memorable for two lady skippers who braved the heat until it became too much for them. Pat Barnes and Steph Mickelsen battled it out with Pat edging Steph by 1 point. A fine way to end the season!
Micro Magic Region 5 Championship by Al Stiewing and Mike Eades When the yacht “America” won the 100 Guinea Cup on August 22, 1851, the Queen of England, unfazed, inquired who was second. An aide, after scanning the course, replied “Your highness there is no second!” That pretty much summed up the 18th and final race of the Region 5 championship for Jeff Weiss, from Woodbridge RC Sailing Club (AMYA #71), Irvine, CA as he sailed the final leg of the Olympic course alone completing a clean sweep for the day with seven consecutive bullets and 14 for the 18 race 3 throw out series. Jeff’s stellar outing was “spoiled” by a single second on the scoreboard.The West Valley RC Mariners hosted the Region 5 Championship for the second consecutive year on Stagg Lake in Litchfield Park the weekend of April 9 & 10th. An unusual low pressure system for spring in Arizona had the weatherman forecasting a 100% chance for rain all day Saturday with midday thunderstorms thrown in for good measure. But this is Arizona where it never rains on the golf course or the regatta site. By wearing our rain repelling gear, 17 skippers, sailing in the Odds Evens format, enjoyed a good sailing breeze under a cool cloudy sky without a drop of rain to be seen on the course while all around us rain, snow, and hail pounded the greater Phoenix area and closed the interstates in the northern highlands. A predominately fresh southern breeze created a reach dominated course, but also created wind shadows from the trees on the southern shore which created a challenging dead zone in the middle, a combination that kept the racing close throughout the day. At the lunch break, after six races, Jeff, Mike Eades and Al Stiewing were separated by only one point and Eric Rosenbaum, from the North Texas Model Yacht Club (AMYA #22), by 2 with 1 throw out and the fleet close on their transom. After the lunch break the breeze lightened and Jeff, combining fast with smarts, began a string of four consecutive bullets to begin separating himself from the fleet. Day one ended with Jeff leading Mike by 5, Al by 7 points, Eric by 10 and Peter Jennings 12 points behind rounded out the top five. The lighter conditions appealed to Harvey Mickelsen, who scored a first and two seconds, and Dave Nydell with two bullets and a third pulled themselves up in the standings. The day’s activities ended with a social at Al and Janis Stiewing’s for smoked brisket, ham and home made mac & cheese. The skippers were greeted Sunday by cool clear skies and no wind. Racing started in a swirling (variable would be too kind) zephyr. And so began Jeff’s clinic for the fleet with good starts, speed, avoiding tacking on velocity shifts and an ability to be where the wind filled in. Seven races – seven bullets capped by the horizon job in the 18th race sealed the regatta in short order. Mike Eades sailed well and pulled away from the pack for a solid second. The drama remained for the rest of the fleet. Al edged Eric on the final race for third. Dennis Desprois also enjoyed the challenging conditions to capture 5th just 2 points behind Eric. Dave Nydell, with three bullets, edged Peter Jennings, with two bullets, for 6th on a tie breaker. Harvey Mickelsen finished with two seconds for 8th. Chuck Goerke sailed well at times but struggled throughout the regatta trying to find consistency, still managing to climb from 12t h at the end of Saturday to 9th by the end of the regatta. George Kramer, Jack Kimball, Les Sherry, Dennis Poole, and Steve Sherry had their own private battle for tenth. George managed to capture 10th and Jack 11th with more consistent sailing over the weekend offsetting Dennis Poole’s (13) 1st place and both Les (12) and Steve’s (14) two seconds. Tom Ruttledge won the gamer award. Twice he had to withdraw for electrical problems ending his sailing early on Saturday but he returned on Sunday ready for another go and was rewarded with a third in the 16th race after a great start and a handsome lead which he held until the final leg yielding to the eventually winner when he was caught on the outside of a shift. The class continues to distinguish itself with good tight one design sailing and good times. Special thanks go to Kelly Martin, Race Director; Jerry Fletcher scorer, Dave Nydell and Steve Sherry Regatta Committee.
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