Moore 24 Roadmasters Series took 2015 tour to Hood River Yacht Club

by pressure-drop.us on 14 Aug 2015 The Moore 24 Roadmasters Series took their 2015 tour to the Hood River Yacht Club over the weekend with 16 boats in attendance. Of the 16 boats on the start line, eight ventured north from the Bay Area and four moseyed down from the Seattle area. Held in Hood River proper, the crews were delighted with the course selection and the variety of conditions that range from the classic gorge 'nuking' conditions on Saturday to a more tactical short course light air Sunday, ideal for those who had perhaps too much of a good thing the day and night before.

With winds in the mid 20's and gusts to 30, four races were held Saturday with three 'short' races up to the Hatchery Buoy, where the pinch in the river stacks the ever flowing ebb against the wind and forms the massive rollers that windsurfers and (more recently kite boarders) have sought for decades. Heading upwind and downriver, provides a real proving ground for all craft in those conditions, but when you crack off and head back up river and downwind, the ride is not for the timid or faint of heart.

'There's a lot going on' said Simon Winer sailing with Bart Hackworth, Ron Tostenson and Emily French on Gruntled 'In addition to the other boats, you have the barges, the windsurfers and the kite boarders to avoid. You want to get some relief from Wells Island on the south side, but the wind gets shifty and light, so there's a fine line to tread in those conditions. We managed to avoid snagging any kiters during the races, which can really slow down your boat speed'.

By late afternoon with three challenging 'shorts' the RC sent the fleet on the long course, westward to Mitchell Point and back to Hood River. It was on the return back, where the fleet was matching speed with an upriver barge when things got quite 'interesting'. Hood River local Morgan Larson, sailing on his steed, Bruzer found himself in great position to ride the barges bow wake, maximizing hull speed, cranking along at 10 knots or so, until it became clear they need to swap sides with the barge in order to clear a rapidly approaching mark.

Gybing and crossing the barges transom was relatively easy, even through the prop wash, until 'The keel bit on the other side, we spun out and spent a couple moments in a very undesirable position. Krista (Morgan's wife and bow person) didn't flinch and quickly eased the kite, the crew of Rowan Fennel and Erik Haugy got things sorted and they were quickly back on their way.

It's a testament to the Moore 24's purebred ability to handle such conditions, as the Gorge can dish out, and bounce back again and again without breaking things. 'We have seen a steady increase in Moore 24's rehabbed and moving to Hood River in recent years' noted Morgan. 'We are up to eight boats in the fleet now and the sailing crews are all very good, combined with the Seattle boats, we have some great one design racing now!'

The Moore 24's Road Masters Series is, as it sounds, a test of endurance, not only on the water but on the road as. For a keelboat, few boats put as many miles on their trailer as does the Moore fleet, and half of the battle is just showing up. A great example this year is Karl Robrock, the owner of Snafu.

Karl participated in the Coastal Cup back in early June, and then loaded up Snafu on the trailer and motored all night to get to the start of the Delta Ditch Run. In the process he missed the registration deadline but sailed the race anyways and finished in second place! Due to the lack of proper registration, the official Ditch Run documents do not show Snafu as a contestant. Yet there on the Road Masters listing, Snafu proud sits in second.

'We understood the length that Karl and crew went to complete the Ditch Run and keep his Road Masters standings alive' Simon says. 'So we made him and offer he could not refuse. If he brought a keg of beer to the next Road Masters event, his placement in the Ditch Run would stay'. Karl was true to his word, and for the contestant at the Hood River Regatta, the beer flowed Saturday Night!

After a hard days sailing and a thorough flushing of the system, the fleet arose Sunday morning to much less Gorge like conditions in Hood River, and for some it was probably for the better. Light winds which only got lighter ruled the day and tactics on three short courses gave some respite for the exhausted and dehydrated. The one boat RC played the dying winds to perfection, allowing the last gasps of breeze to be harvested before the plus was pulled on another memorable Roadmaster came to its conclusion. The 2015 Roadmaster Series has two addition legs to go, with the Moore 24 Nationals August 28-30 at the Richmond Yacht Club and concludes with SCYC Fall regatta in early October!

Series Standing - Seven races scored

Pos	Boat	Skipper	Yacht Club		1	2	3	4	5	6	7		Total	Pos
1	MORGAN LARSON	MORGAN LARSON	HRYC		2	1	1	1	1	1	2		9	1
2	Gruntled	Bart Hackworth	RYC		1	2	2	2	3	6	1		17	2
3	Banditos	John Kernot	RYC		4	4	3	5	5	4	6		31	3
4	moore wave*ohs	kurt Lahr	ryc		3	3	4	4	11	11	3		39	4
5	White Trash	Andrew Hamilton	RYC		6	7	5	7	2	5	12		44	5
6	More Uff Da	Ben Braden	Port Madison Yacht Club		8	6	6	9	4	2	11		46	6
7	Wet Spot	Mike O'Callaghan	StFYC		5	5	8	3	6	13	9		49	7
8	Electric Mayhem	Brian Petros	HRYC		11	10	14	6	7	7	4		59	8
9	Snafu	Karl Robrock	SCYC		10	14	11	11	10	8	8		72	9
10	Ragtime	Michael Radziejowski	SCYC		13	8	15	15	12	3	7		73T	10
11	Ray	Sarah and Geoff Raymoure	SYC		12	13	9	10	14	10	5		73T	11
12	Morjito	Douglas Archbald	HRYC		9	12	7	14	9	9	13		73T	12
13	Mooretician	Peter Schoen	TYC		7	11	12	8	8	12	16		74	13
14	Pura Vida	Julio Paredes	Hood River Yacht Club		15	9	13	12	16	15	10		90	14
15	Morphine	Kandace Glavick	STYC		14	15	10	13	13	14	14		93	15
16	Evermoore	Rhys Balmer	SYSCO TCYC		16	16	16	16	15	16	15		110	16