Challenging conditions, Sunfish Worlds Day 2

by Event Media on 5 Oct 2006 Charleston Harbor had the appearance of a mill pond when the international fleet of 98 sailors launched their boats today at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, but by race time shortly after 2:00 p.m., a steady 8 to 10-knot southeasterly breeze had materialized. After a brief postponement, the race committee managed to orchestrate two five-leg races as 1.9 knots of flood tide moved across the racecourse.

The first contest witnessed a tragic incident at the start. David Thompson, a 55-year-old racer from Bridgton, Maine, fell into the water just seconds after the starting gun, and floated face down. It’s still not clear whether Thompson suffered a heart attack, but his close friend and fellow Sunfish racer, Dave Stewart, said later that Thompson was taking medication for a number of ailments. Almost immediately, fellow competitor Andres Cano-Alva of Peru jumped off his Sunfish and into the water to assist, as did a volunteer from one of the nearby judges’ boats. Thompson was eventually transferred to a U.S Coast Guard boat and sped to shore where he was met by a team of paramedics and taken to East Cooper Hospital. Unfortunately, the medical professionals were unable to resuscitate him. A brief memorial was held for him that evening, and the competitors observed a moment of silence in his honor.

David Loring, the regatta leader who logged two first-place finishes on Day 1, got off to another strong start in today’s first race (Race 3), moving off the line a third of the way down from the crowded committee boat end. He worked out to an early lead, along with John Skrzypiec and Peter Stanton from the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the wind and tide almost fully aligned, the water on the racecourse was extremely flat, enabling the sailors to maximize boatspeed. The conditions were particularly well suited to the lighter weight sailors like Seth Siegler of Charleston, SC, (130 pounds), who managed to stay in the hunt and finish 9th.

Skrzypiec had small lead over Loring as the two rounded the first weather mark, chased some 20 seconds later by Stanton, Dan Norton, Jamie Ewing, and Steffano Cappeletti from Peru. As the two leaders vied for the top spot downwind, Loring briefly moved ahead. But by the time the fleet headed back upwind again, Loring had been displaced by Canadian sailor Martin Vezina. The Canadian went on to win that race, with Loring in second and Stanton third. Skrzypiec fell to eighth place. For Vezina, the victory is doubly sweet as this competition is also being used to determine who will represent Canada in the Pan American Games. Vezina’s closest competition in that respect is Oskar Johannson, who finished 11th in that race.

The day’s second race (Race No. 4) began in 10 knots of wind and slightly more chop, but over the course of the five legs the wind moderated considerably and the fleet struggled with off and on light winds in the 6 to 8-knot range. At times, particularly on the final beat to the finish, it seemed that the racers were crawling to windward, most of them hunched into the center of their boats.

Charlestonian Kenny Krawcheck led the fleet for most of that contest, but at the second weather mark, he couldn’t hold off Pensacola, Fla., racer Tommy Whitehurst. Krawcheck and Whitehurst battled for the lead all the way down the next leg to leeward, but Whitehurst truly had the jets and made it difficult for the heavier Krawcheck to keep pace. The Floridian went on to take the win by a 1 minute and 25 second margin, and Krawcheck faltered in the spotty breeze ultimately finishing sixth. Insult was piled upon injury when he later found out that he had been over the line early at the start, earning 101 points in the process.

Whitehurst was pleased with his performance, which put him in third place overall in the regatta, behind Loring and Stanton. 'I just needed to get off the line and get in front,' said Whitehurst immediately after the race. 'And then I knew that I had the speed to stay in front of all those guys. I was going well today, I like moderate winds like these.' Whitehurst, a computer systems manager, is a Sunfish veteran, having sailed his first race in 1964. Though he didn’t participate in Sunfish regattas for many years, he says that he got back into the class about five years ago, and now is very active. He finished third in the Sunfish North Americans in a 62-boat fleet this past June.

For regatta leader Loring, the final race was his biggest disappointment. Up until the final 200 yards of the second beat, he was comfortably in third place, but then a judges boat flagged him for an alleged violation of Rule 42 (kinetics) and he was forced to perform a 720. 'That was bad,' said Loring afterward, 'it ultimately cost me three places and I wound up seventh.' Though Loring filed a protest for redress against the judges, his protest was disallowed, and he had to settle for seventh. 'What’s bad,' he explained, 'is that if I get flagged again, that’s an automatic disqualification.' He still leads the regatta with a cumulative score of 10 points, with the nearest sailor (Peter Stanton) 18 points behind. The racing resumes tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.

After four races, with four more to sail, the standings are as follows:
1. David Loring, Charleston, SC 10 points
2. Peter Stanton, U.S. Virgin Islands 28 points
3. Tommy Whitehurst, Pensacola, FL 30 points
4. David Mendelblatt, Florid 41 points
5. Martin Willard 42 points
6. Juan Jose Delgado, Guatemala 42 points
7. Greg Gust, Texas 45 points
8. Hugulino Colmenares, Venezuela 53 points
9. Marin Vezina, Canada 64 points
10. Cor van Aanholt, Curacao 66 points

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