1991 North American Championship - Chicago, Illinois, USA
Regatta Report
By Annie Wessex
For those on the terrace of Sheridan Shores Yacht Club, the daily sight of the forty boat fleet short-tacking its way up and down the narrow Wilmette Harbor channel to Lake Michigan was an exhilarating display of precision crew work, boat handling, and buoyant camaraderie. For those on the forty boats from twenty one fleets and five countries who were luffing, ducking, and hailing their way up and down the channel, the daily sight of the cheering crowds on the terrace must have brought to mind the ancient spectacle of Roman chariot races. And for Finlandia Vodka and J&B Scotch, proud sponsors of the regatta, the venue, the crowds, and the weather all combined to make this the yachting event of the season.
At a time of year more properly characterized by strong, steady northerners, or small, predictable shifts, the 41st annual North American Championships were run in what may 4h District veterans labeled some of the shiftiest conditions in recent memory. Said eventual regatta winner Joe Londrigan modestly, “It was a real vrap-shoot out there. Anybody could have walked away with all the marbles,” Indeed! And with the Olympics just around the corner, most of the top dogs were warily looking sizing each other up, for any weakness that might appear in their opponents’ programs.
Come Sunday morning, all bets were off, as Bob Van Wagnen and Chris Nielson snagged a huge backing shift shortly after the start of the first race. Rolling out of the left side like a runaway freight train, they executed a perfect port tack approach and bear away at the weather mark, then were out the door before the rest of the fleet knew what hit them. “I couldn’t believe my luck!” Van Wagnen later remarked. At the leeward pin, the rest of the fleet was still playing follow the leader, but Harry Melges and Fred Stritt, and Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel were closing fast.
As the breeze settled in, and the fleet settled down, the big boys went to work, picking off boats like ducks in a shooting gallery. Off the breeze, the jury boats were sorely tested as many skippers pushed hard to find the exact limitations of Rule 54. When it was all over, and the smoke had cleared, Ed Adams and Tom Olsen in the yellow boat from Newport had rung the bell and won the prize. Stacked up behind them were Melges and Stritt, Sandstrom and Bresnahan, Reynolds and Haenel.
Monday the breeze was up, and a slight shift just before the gun left the Committee boat slightly favored. Hot from yesterday’s second. Melges and Stritt came swooping down from behind the Committee boat in a 15 knot puff looking for an opening. It was a textbook maneuver, but Harry’s thrust was parried, as Melges not only fouled the boat immediately to leeward, but tore his main against the competitor’s spreader as well. Exhibiting the Corinthian spirit and respect for the rules, which makes the Star Class the premier one-design class in the world, Melges graciously withdrew.
Few who sail these high performance yachts are unfamiliar with the eerie whine of the wind in the rigging. For those on the right side of the course, it was not the whistle of the wind they heard, but the sound of a ten thousand hurt-hammer descending upon their hopes. The left side was solid all day, the anticipated afternoon veer never materialized, and those who went right were left holding their tillers while those on the left sailed by in greater velocity and more favorable wave action. At the finish line it was Joe Londrigan and Mark Busch, followed by Kimo Worthington and George Iverson, Reynolds and Haenel, Adams and Olsen.
Back at the beer truck, the crews could be seen carbo-loading, as they struggled to replace precious bodily fluids worked off during the race. And the skippers, masters of the two-handed sailor’s hand-jive, could be seen demonstrating how they had brilliantly maneuvered, or had been robbed.
It was heavy skies and heavier breezes Tuesday morning, as boats fought the rolling seas out to the starting area. Half an hour before the start, the adrenaline level was pegged as the sailors planned by the Committee boat in 18 knots of wind. But the promise of heavy air was an empty one: the cloud cover broke and the breeze began to die just minutes before the gun.
The countdown, the approach, then puff of smoke: bang, zoom, and then, for Olympic Silver Medalists Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel, “twang!” Immediately after they had won the favored pin end, their starboard lower shroud broke, the rig began to pump wildly, and they were forced to withdraw. Vince Brun and Gary Applebaum, hiking hard just to weather off the disabled yacht, seized the moment and popped ahead quickly, followed by Bill Buchan and Mark Brink.
The fleet quickly split, with Brun and Buchan heading left, while Worthington and John A. MacCausland with Tod Raynor lead the charge to the right. Halfway up the first beat, the breeze backed slightly, and Brun slammed onto port on top of the fleet. Suddenly the bottom dropped out for Brun, Buchan, and everyone else who had headed left. Unnoticed by all, the weather mark had drifted far to the right in the strong winds and rolling seas. The right side was now grossly favored, as some boats from the left were forced to broad reach across to the first pin. Around the weather end it was John A. MacCausland, followed by Worthington, Joe Londrigan, Bill Parks and Mike La Porte, and New Zealanders Rod Davis and Don Cowie.
The top boats continued to stretch out their lead throughout the first triangle as the breeze died. Up, then back down again in light airs and sloppy seas. Around the leeward pin, MacCausland opted to cover Worthington, who headed left. Third around were Londrigan and Busch, who worked that old magic for the second time as they play the shifts and the chop perfectly on the right side of the course. When MacCausland, who had led for the first five marks, went to cash in at the finish line, he found that the check had already been signed over to Joey Londrigan the boy from Wilmette harbor. MacCausland took second, Worthington third, and Davis grabbed the fourth.
Day four, 10-12 knots but dying, and 2 foot seas. In what was clearly the cheekiest opening gambit of the entire regatta, Rob Maine and Howard Ferguson successfully port tacked the entire fleet, steering yacht Mr. Boffo to the far right side of the course in search of thermals and lift from the shoreline. But Wright went left, and it was “Hasta-la-bye-bye” for the rest of the day. Local strongman Peter Wright and crew Greg Kook picked a peck of perfect puffs, hooked into a left shift, and never looked back.
Results
Place No. Skipper Crew Fleet Daily Places Pts.
1 7288 Joe Londrigan Mark Busch WH 10 1 1 2 8 dnc 33.0
2 7302 Ed Adams Tom Olsen NB 1 4 5 16 28 3 45.7
3 7310 Tony Rey Anson Stookey NB 16 16 24 5 1 1 54.0
4 7409 J.A. MacCauslandTodd Raynor CR 6 5 2 8 13 17 57.7
5 7525 Worthington Iverson WSFB 8 2 3 15 16 11 60.7
6 7478 Peter Wright Cook SLM 15 9 20 1 4 12 62.0
7 7604 Kelly Holowesko N 26 13 7 10 3 7 66.7
8 7468 Ron Sandstrom Jeff Bresnahan BH 3 10 12 7 11 9 66.7
9 7109 Vince Brun Gary Applebaum SDB 17 12 16 4 6 4 67.7
10 7545 Rod Davis Don Cowie ISOL 22 6 4 6 22 5 69.4
11 7515 Ross Adams Jeff Sobczak WH 21 14 8 13 17 2 79.0
12 7460 Mark Reynolds Hal Haenel SDB 4 3 dnf 12 32 6 81.4
13 7506 Howie Shiebler Patin NB 14 21 25 3 5 18 86.7
14 7469 Foss Miller Paul Jester PS 9 18 9 21 10 13 89.0
15 7260 Bill Buchan Jr Brink PS 5 11 pms 9 2 dsq 92.0
16 7607 Don Campbell Pat Dion EB 13 7 18 dnf 14 10 92.0
17 7410 Wilber Wilber CLE dnf 22 14 14 9 8 97.0
18 7464 John W. Allen Eric Beckwith WH 7 dnf 10 20 12 24 103.0
19 7498 Buddy Melges Stritt WH 2 dnf 15 19 24 22 107.0
20 7076 Alan Leibel Dag Nyhoff LOC 19 19 11 22 18 21 118.0
21 7434 William Parks Laport SLM 28 25 6 18 31 14 120.7
22 7462 Durward Knowles Chris Rogers N 11 15 28 30 7 30 121.0
23 7454 Rob Maine III Ferguson WH 20 23 23 11 21 16 121.0
24 7209 Kellerhouse Calder WH 23 24 22 29 15 19 133.0
25 7596 Eric Doyle Mike Dorgan MoB dnd 8 21 34 27 15 142.0
26 7306 Hyde Perce Chuck Nevel WH 12 17 29 25 30 dnf 143.0
27 7408 Bob Van Wagnen Carl Nielsen SLE 18 20 26 24 dnf 25 143.0
28 7371 Arentzen Dykman SLM 33 35 19 17 26 23 148.0
29 7265 Henson Byers MoB 27 27 33 27 20 20 151.0
30 7547 Jack Rickard Eadie WH 24 26 13 33 25 dnf 151.0
31 7533 Pat Londrigan Alm SLM 31 31 17 23 dnc 27 159.0
32 7293 John Foster Foster ISOL 32 30 27 32 19 31 169.0
33 7014 Graves Brodie EB 30 28 30 28 33 29 175.0
34 7428 Parker Butchko SLE 25 34 34 26 29 dnc 178.0
35 7314 Logan Farrar Bolles CD 29 32 32 38 23 dns 184.0
36 6804 Cruse Auer CLE 36 37 31 31 34 26 188.0
37 6718 Schaefer Halverson GLW 34 29 35 36 37 28 192.0
38 7185 O'Sullivan Perkins SLM 35 33 36 37 35 32 201.0
39 5681 Tate Alexander WH 37 36 dnf 35 36 33 207.0
40 6719 Fougere Crinion LOC 38 38 37 39 38 34 215.0
