CMRC Spring Invitational - Lowery dominates the survival conditions

by Dobbs Davis on 1 Jun 2015 There's one wind direction that makes Lake Michigan look like the North Atlantic and that's the 20-28 knots northerly that smoked the fleet of nine teams at this weekend's CMRC Grade Three Spring Invitational. This combined with seas building to 10 feet and temperatures in the 40's truncated the intended format to only four completed flights of racing, with final results determined in a rarely-used percentage-based scoring system.

'It wasn't just the breeze, it was the sea state as well,' said Mike Rehe, CMRC staffer who was helping manage the race course. 'That's when it isn't match racing anymore. The boats can't get close and it changes the game.'

Within these four flights, the only undefeated team was led by local-based Steven Lowery, who won all three of his sailed matches to claim overall victory. This gives Lowery the title of Lake Michigan Match Race Champion, and qualifies him to compete in the YRUGL Richardson Trophy Regatta in October at Sheboygan YC.

'After coming up just short for the past six years at the CMRC with more second place finishes than I can remember,' said Lowery, 'it’s good for our team to come away with our first win here. Not exactly the way we would have liked to win with the partial round, but looking forward to the rest of the season here in Chicago.'

The runner-up in the shortened event was Chicago-based Peter Holz, who raced four matches and earned a three - one score, with his only loss being to Lowery. CMRC's Don Wilson, the highest-ranked seed in the event, also amassed a three - one score, but by losing to Holz he lost the tie-break and had to settle for third.

In this pivotal match for second it was Holz and his young crew who first took a piece out of Wilson on the first beat of the breezy match, dishing out a penalty as the boats were awash with waves. Then on the first run Wilson surfed to a large lead only to lose his bowman over the side. Despite a quick recovery, the team's spinnaker was sucked over the side at the leeward mark. Holz's team used the opportunity to pass as Wilson's tactician, World Match Race Tour skipper Keith Swinton, finally pulled the water logged spinnaker out from beneath the hull.

The next lap saw Wilson surge past Holz again, but with an outstanding penalty to perform before the finish, Wilson tried but fouled Holz for a second time and handed the 22-year old the important win.

Holz said of the event 'Crazy weather, wet and wild four races, but great to come away with the Qualifying spot.' Holz's result earned an invitation to the US Match Racing Championship, hosted by Oakcliff Sailing in October, as well as an invitation to the Richardson Trophy.

Final Results:

1. Steven Lowery
2. Peter Holz
3. Don Wilson
4. David Niemann
5. Leif Sigmond
6. Jack Barton
7. Jack Thompson
8. Ryan Seago
8. Evan Jahn

Round Robin 1											W	%
Don Wilson					0	1			1	1	3	75%
Steven Lowery					1		1	1			3	100%
David Niemann							1	1		0	2	67%
Peter Holz		1	0			1				1	3	75%
Jack Thompson		0			0			1	0		1	25%
Ryan Seago			0	0					0		0	0%
Evan Jahn			0	0		0					0	0%
Jack Barton		0				1	1			0	2	50%
Leif Sigmond		0		1	0				1		2	50%