Sonar World Championship - Title down to the final races

by Andrea Watson on 5 Oct 2009
With completion of the sixth race of the Sonar World Championship on Saturday, the one throw-out came into play and moved Dave Franzel of Boston into the slimmest of leads over Jud Smith of Marblehead. The two were tied at 26 points, but Franzel’s first place in the third race gives him the lead on the tie break.

So it all came down to the final races scheduled for Sunday. The 57-boat fleet floated around in a typical Long Island Sound calm for nearly four hours before race committee chairman Mark Murphy was able to set a line and get the fleet away in a light south westerly.

The east – going ebb had begun and the weather leg was directly uptide. As the wind faded it was obvious that no boat was going to make it to the first mark before the 45-minute time limit. So the score was unchanged and Dave Franzel became the 2009 Sonar World Champion. Sailing with Franzel were Greg Anthony, Todd Cooper and Conor Hayes.

Saturday had been another day of unreliable winds on Long Island Sound (or is that an oxymoron?) and only one race of the scheduled three was completed. That race was started in a 10 – 14 knot southerly, which shifted to the left nearly 30 degrees on the opening leg. If you got to the left early you were in the hunt; if you chose the right it was a very long race.
Neither of the two series leaders was in the top 10, but Franzel finished 11th and Smith 18th. Smith dropped his 18th, and Franzel dropped his 17th from the previous race and this brought them to the tie on points.

Karl Ziegler of Rowayton, Ct. moved from fourth to third, replacing the host Noroton Yacht Club’s Peter Galloway, who was saddled with an OCS penalty.

The wind had dropped to near zero by the end of the race and the ever-patient race committee, along with the 57 competing boats sat for nearly an hour until the wind got back up to 8 knots and another start was called.

Between the one minute signal and the start the wind swung 45 degrees to the left and 10 minutes into the contest, with the port tack boats laying the weather mark, two signals sounded the end of the race.

After another long wait racing was cancelled for the day when radar showed a line of thunder squalls descending on the race area. It was a good call, as the 'squalls' produced plenty of thunder, lightning, very heavy rain and virtually no wind.

Final Scores – 2009 Sonar World Championship

Noroton YC
2009 Sonar Worlds
Oct. 1-4, 2009
Final Results for Regatta   Oct. 4, 2009
Series Summary

Pl	Sail #	Skipper	1	2	3	4	5	6	Tot
1	USA369	Dave Franzel	7	4	1	3	(17)	11	26
2	USA564	Jud Smith	2	3	4	15	2	(18)	26
3	USA411	Karl Ziegler	19	(22)	3	2	3	9	36
4	USA701	Peter Galloway	5	12	5	17	1	(39\ZFP)	40
5	USA619	Lee Morrison	10	(23)	21	11	6	2	50
6	USA506	Colin Gordon	4	(16)	14	5	14	15	52
7	USA728	Robert Wilber	6	9	11	18\ZFP	8	(50)	52
8	USA772	Scott Harrison	(26)	11	24	4	19	6	64
9	USA605	Bob Monro	8	8	12	14	(24\ZFP)	24	66
10	USA653	Bill Lynn	3	2	6	29	(42\ZFP)	32	72
11	USA360	Craig Sinclair	36	(42)	8	8	15	5	72
12	USA544	Rick Meyers	22	(41)	2	21	27	1	73
13	USA400	Alfred Constants	21	(24)	16	13	5	19	74
14	USA654	Luke Raymond	9	13	22\ZFP	1	(30\ZFP)	30	75
15	USA704	Jim Miller	13	(31)	13	28	20	3	77
16	USA787	Sam Altreuter	15	1	23	7	33	(47)	79
17	USA425	Erik Goethert	12	19	(22)	10	21	22	84
18	USA652	Rick Dominique	25	7	29	(50\ZFP)	10	14	85
19	USA1	Skip Shumway	1	32	27	12	(40\ZFP)	16	88
20	USA390	Alex Meleney	23	6	18	22	22	(51)	91
21	USA811	Kurt Winkelmann	33	20	15	20	4	(59\DSQ)	92
22	FRA739	Fabrice Levet	41	15	7	(49)	11	20	94
23	USA632	Jim Crane	18	28	17	24	(31)	8	95
24	USA503	Peter Wells	35	(43)	9	37	16	4	101
25	USA454	Ed Sweeney	16	29	20	(33)	13	23	101
26	USA674	Rick Doerr	11	5	37	37\ZFP	(59\ZFP)	12	102
27	USA547	Peter Frisch	20	27	30	(59\RAF)	7	21	105
28	USA570	Eric Johnson	17	(33)	26	32	9	25	109
29	USA733	Kevin Shehan	14	21	(42)	41	24	29	129
30	USA682	Michael McAllister	(34)	34	25	16	23	31	129
31	USA751	Scott Mogle	30	10	35	27	(42)	33	135
32	USA690	Larry Ehrhardt	24	36	19	19	(46\ZFP)	37	135
33	NOR421	Einar Haukeland	32	26	34	9	36	(39)	137
34	IRE694	John Twomey	27	30	38	(54\ZFP)	43	17	155
35	AUS1	Colin Harrison	(39)	17	28	39	35	36	155
36	CAN553	Paul Tingley	(48)	14	41	30	38	34	157
37	USA451	Sue Miller	28	25	33	18	(59\DNF)	59\DNC	163
38	GBR685	Ewan MacKay	38	35	32	(55\ZFP)	25	41	171
39	USA585	Bill Rothwell	31	18	(51\ZFP)	38\ZFP	47	49	183
40	USA646	Gary Coventry	(56)	50	36	34	39	26	185
41	USA487	Eric Kamisher	42	40	31	(52\ZFP)	29	43	185
42	USA418	Bruce McArthur	(55)	39	48	46	44	10	187
43	USA391	Martin Fossen	44	44	52	(53)	41	7	188
44	USA633	Bruce Kirby	(59\DNC)	59\DNC	45	23	32	38	197
45	USA573	Bahar Gidwani	(50)	46	49	44	26	35	200
46	USA616	John Schultz	(52)	38	40	50	40	42	210
47	USA546	Zach Shapiro	29	37	(59\DNC)	59\DSQ	48	40	213
48	USA669	K.C. Hart	40	45	(50)	35	45	48	213
49	USA712	Howard Vickery	43	47	44	43\SCP	37	(52)	214
50	USA777	Jen French	49	53	(59\DNF)	36	52	25\ZFP	215
51	USA446	Donald Holst	37	49	51	47	(59\DNC)	46	230
52	USA568	Bob Baskind	46	48	47	45	46	(59\DSQ)	232
53	USA753	Joseph Hoffman	45	(51)	46	48	49	45	233
54	USA756	David Orner	47	54	43	52	(55)	44	240
55	USA539	Michael Lucas	(57)	52	54	54	53	28	241
56	USA726	Michael Aignorn	51	(55)	55	51	51	53	261
57	USA650	Peter Bujosa	54	56	53	(59\*1)	54	55	272
58	USA706	Laurance Wagner	53	(57)	56	56	56	54	275

http://www.sonarworlds.org/