2009 North American Trapseat Championships a great success

by Mike Strahle on 28 Nov 2009 2009 North American Trapseat Championship - HavaMega Hobie Cat Regatta, Lake Havasu City, AZ

In 1985, I invented Trapseat's, an adaptive seat that accommodates the disabled sailor who happens to want to sail a Hobie 16 Catamaran. I did not invent Trapseat's out of the goodness of my heart, I invented them because I had broken my neck snow skiing which left me as a quadriplegic. Hence, I was a quadriplegic with a Hobie 16 that simply wanted to go sailing.

Trapseat's worked, and I was able to set up comfortably, and, could even steer the boat. In fact, three weeks after I returned from rehabilitation I raced my Hobie 16 in the 1985 Whiskeytown Regatta. And there you have it, how Trapseat’s were conceived (see more about Trapseat sailing in the Hobie Hotline magazine online pp. 24-25 at: http://www.hobiecat.com/hobieclass/eHCA_Hotline05-06_2009.pdf . Now, anyone can also do a Google search on the word and read about how disabled people from around the world have been enjoying sailing [and especially racing] due to the invention of Trapseat's.

Trapseat’s have also became a World Sailing Class for disabled sailors starting with the first national sailing championship for disabled sailors on the West Coast, the 1988 San Diego Classic. This is where I met John Ross-Duggan for the first time, who was not only a quadriplegic, he had also won the Hobie 16 National’s in 1977, prior to breaking his neck in a car crash during med school.

John squeaked out a win in the first Regatta by one quarter of a point over my crew and I, and we have met several times since, always fighting it out at some Regatta.

In 1997, ISAF sanctioned the first Trapseat World Championships, in Sydney, Australia, which is now part of Hobie Cat history. John and my brother Carl Strahle won that title, with myself and Carl's son Christopher taking silver. In 2002, ISAF and IFDS sanctioned a Trapseat World Championship in British Columbia, Canada. I don't mind touting about the fact that my brother and I were able to take the title over John that year. In 2005, Canadian Hobie 16 sailor Danny McCloy became the third disabled sailor to hold a Trapseat World Championship title. We will see if Danny can defend his title, as I hear there is a Trapseat World Championship returning to British Columbia in 2011. Let's hope that comes to fruition, but for now, the Trapseat Class is alive at Lake Havasu City making yet another milestone. That is, for the first time, the North American Hobie Class Association hosted a North American Sailing Championship for the Trapseat Class/disabled sailors. Thus, the 2009 North American Trapseat Championships have been completed, and below, is the rest of the story. Thankfully, Dr. Johnny came out to play.

The Trapseat Sailors attending the North American Trapseat championships, in Lake Havasu City, AZ. expected to experience a week of chilly early November sailing in a brisk wind, but were instead treated to fabulous mid-80s for the entire week. Unfortunately though, there was no wind! So, as we arrived on a Saturday, for example, we did not sail until Wednesday. There was just enough wind to test out the tune of the boat though, but not really enough to start a North American Championship. The common phrase was, 'if we get a race in, you better make it count because it may be the last and only race.' Sadly, it looked like that was going to be the case. With Friday looming, which was the final day of the Championship’s, everyone looked to finally see the wind on Thursday. That morning looked to be great, with a few scattered clouds, and a breeze! Unfortunately, the sun came out, and the wind went away. Thus, everyone enjoyed another beautiful sparkling sunny day on Lake Havasu [in the bar!]. By noon, people started going to the famous Naked Turtle Bar and ordering bloody Mary's.

I decided to go over and see how John Ross-Duggan was doing with his boat tuning, as his boat was parked just around the corner from our suite. We stayed at the Nautical Inn, so most people had their boat parked out behind their beach suite…sweeeet ? Yes, sounds nice and it was! Another day to work on my tan in paradise I guess, as time neared to around two o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, John and I spotted wind filling in over the water. Just as everyone thought the day was over and headed to the bar for a nice afternoon lunch, It Was On! The race committee blasted the horn, and the AP flag was dropped. That means, everyone get on the water pronto! I headed back to my boat and got ready for racing. I [from California] sailed with my nephew Christopher, and John [from Hawaii] was sailing with my brother Carl. On the third Trapseat boat, Joe Guay [from Rhode Island] sailed with Robert (Roboat) Lackey. The wind picked up to around 10 knots which was perfect for Trapseat Class racing.

On the start, John and Carl took the lead followed closely by Joe Guay and Roboat. Christopher and I ended up ducking the fleet on a port tack and headed to the right side of the course. It was a risky move which did not pay off. On the other side of the course, Joe and Roboat sailed strong and ended up in the lead at the first mark. John and Carl were ahead of us just prior to the mark, but we got a lift on the right side and rounded just behind Joe and Roboat in second place. We rounded the mark tight and started digging deep down wind. Joe and Roboat took a higher line sailing well down wind, but we sailed faster and took the lead at the Leeward gates. We still had to sail all the way back up wind though, and then, all the way back down wind to the finish. So, there was plenty of time for the other boats to catch up. The wind kept blowing and even increased slightly throughout the rest of the day.

That was good for us, as we were able to keep the lead by the next Windward mark. Joe and Roboat rounded second and were desperately trying to hold off John and Carl, who were right on their tail. At the finish, Christopher and I crossed first and attentively watched the race between Joe and John for second. Joe and Roboat still had a lead over John and Carl with only a couple of hundred yards to go to the finish. Suddenly, John yelled, 'starboard' and jibed his boat hitting Joe. Joe was surprised, and ended up doing a penalty turn because he was on a port tack. The aggressive maneuver gave John and Carl the lead, and they sailed through the finish in second place. Joe and Roboat ended up in third place after sailing an excellent race, especially due to the fact that they had never raced together before, and, their boat was a 1972 Hobie 16 with original sails. Cheers to their efforts.

As the wind kept blowing, the racing kept going. It was getting late in the afternoon, with about 12 knots of wind when the second race started. With a bang, and some more aggressive maneuvering before the start, the gun went off. Chris and I kept trying to sail below John and Carl before the gun which pushed them down the starting line early. Just before the start, we turned up to the line giving us a jump over John. With a slight lead, Chris and I ended up Windward on a starboard tack, just above John and Carl. Sadly, Joe and Roboat got confused and missed the start. That is, Donna DeMarest was waiting to trade boats with Joe so she could get a race in. But the time was limited and there was not enough time to make the switch. Back on the water though, Chris and I were desperately trying to hold off John and Carl. John and Carl tacked off to port below us, so we responded and tacked to cover. But John and Carl footed off to get more boat speed and sailed out in front of us. From there, it was a drag race to see who could point at a higher angle into the wind with more boat speed. I took advantage of having a higher line and was able to sail over the top of John and Carl though, which gave us the lead as we stole his wind. In response, John and Carl immediately tacked to get out of our bad air. Back on our boat, Chris yelled, 'they tacked!' Without hesitation, I immediately tacked back on top of them. Unfortunately, that left John and Carl stalled with no speed. That turned out to be a great move, that gave us not only the lead, but we won the race in the end as well. By then, the time was almost 5:30 p.m. so we headed back to the room for a great dinner [and drinks] with all the sailors (thanks Roxie).

Friday the 13th was the final day of the Regatta, and we all hoped to get off four races or more. Donna DeMarest [from Connecticut] and Roboat, Joe and Christopher, and John and Carl were up for the first heat as we had three boats in a round robin competition. The plan was, for them to go out and race two races, then, come in and I would take over leaving John and Carl sitting out for the last two races. All we needed was wind! That morning looked promising, similar to Thursday morning with overcast clouds and a slight breeze over the water. It was a busy morning as all the racers geared up and headed out on the water by 10 o'clock sharp! There was a little bit of a breeze and it looked beautiful as all colorful Hobie Cats on the sparkling crystal clear Lake Havasu water headed out to the start. It [the start] was about a mile from the resort. I was sitting outside on shore, but was very interested in trying to watch the races. Unfortunately, it was too far for me to see, and it was after two o'clock by the time they returned. While on the water though, it turned out to be quite a day. The wind kept coming up and going down, switching to the left, switching to the right, and so on. The race committee kept changing the course, and switching their position while all the colorful Hobie Cats followed them around. It looked like a huge Claude Monet painting with the reflection on the water. Regatta at Lake Havasu, if you will.

Finally, they [the race committee] set a course and started a race. With the wind still oscillating slightly to the left and the right, the Trapseat Class finally got off to a good start. John and Carl took the lead, but had Donna DeMarest and Roboat right on their tail. Joe and Chris sailed to the opposite side of the course after a slow start hoping for a wind shift. John and Carl were sailing fast and pointing high, but they could not shake Donna and Roboat on the old boat. At one point, Roboat reported that they had John and Carl pinned, where they ultimately had to tack and go below Donna and Roboat. Carl seemed to have a slightly different story, although it was similar. While the two boats did maneuver about in close quarters all the way to the windward mark though, Joe and Chris came sailing in to just cross in front of John and Carl on a port tack just before the mark. John and Carl were able to fetch the mark though, while Joe and Chris still had to tack. Thus, John and Carl rounded the mark the first. Meanwhile, Donna and Roboat desperately tried to hold onto second place, but Joe and Chris rounded just in front of them at the mark. The wind kept dropping off too, and some [especially Donna] say the race committee should have shortened the course. Even worse, the wind got spotty and extremely shifty for the second part of the race. All of the boats struggled to get around the course, and it turned out to be a grueling day to say the least. On a day like that, the only people having fun, are the ones in front, which happened to be John and Carl.

They held on and got through the light shifty wind to take a first-place over Joe and Chris, with Donna and Roboat in a disappointing third after tasting the lead earlier in the race. With one race under their belt, the race committee postponed until they could figure out where the wind was going to come from. Back on shore, I was imbroglio to what was going on, but it was another spectacular sunny day and I was working on my tan hoping for the best. I could see the boats slowly meandering around all afternoon thinking they were drifting around for a nice long slow race.

Unfortunately though, the wind kept switching directions, coming up, going away and so on. Finally, I noticed the boats slowly getting bigger as they were coming back in, or attempting to, that is. The race committee had canceled the racing for the day with only one race under their belt, which was better than none. Ultimately, the best racing turned out to be the Thursday night blow during the entire Regatta. Seven spectacular sun filled days at Lake Havasu, and only three races. The problem now was, how to score the Trapseat sailors, as Donna only got one race in? In the end, everyone had to throw out all the races except for their first race, ironically, which was what we were talking about before all the racing started. That is, 'you'd better make your first race count, because it might be the only one that counts!' Alas, that's how it turned out and results went like this: Mike and Chris Strahle first; John Ross-Duggan and Carl Strahle second; Donna DeMarest and Roboat Lackey third; tied with Joe Guay in third. Unfortunately, Mike Wood from England had planned to attend but was unable, as was Miles Moore from Idaho and a few other Trapseat teams as well. Too bad, but maybe we’ll see you all next year.

So, the first North American Trapseat Champions turned out to be myself and nephew Christopher as crew. The competition was stiff, and I congratulate all the other Trapseat sailors as well.
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See results at: http://www.hcana.hobieclass.com/ under HavaMega results in the Trapseat Class. The Trapseat Class continues to make history as it gets perpetuated into the future. Our thanks have to go out to the North American Hobie Class Association for hosting such a great event and including disabled sailors into their worldwide gestalt of sailing. Hobie Alter invented Hobie Cats 41 years ago, and now, the Trapseat Class will enter into its 25th year in 2010. The next Trapseat Regatta will be on Whiskeytown Lake near Redding, California, May 22-26, 2010. It will be hosted by the Redding Yacht Club and boats will be provided. Disabled sailors, and especially the Wondered Warriors Project [who we met in Lake Havasu during their soldier ride on Veterans Day] are invited to come, take a sailing seminar prior to racing, and get back into battle in the Trapseat Class. In fact, we thank the Wounded Warrior Project who provided flags for all of the 160 Hobie cats sailing in the Regatta, in honor of Veteran’s Day. People can go on youtube under the name, 'Havamega' and see videos of the Regatta, many of which have little flags provided by the Wounded Warrior Project, thank you! In closing, disabled people interested in Trapseat sailing can contact me at the address/or phone number below, and I hope to see lots more disabled sailors on the water. Trapseat sailing has opened lots of opportunities for disabled sailors during the last 24 years, and because there are over 110,000 Hobie 16’s around the world, there's bound to be one in your area. So go sailing!

For those who would like to just take a nice vacation in warm weather at a place that accommodates disabled sailors/people, the Redding Yacht Club (www.reddingyachtclub.org),on Whiskeytown Lake is the place for you. In fact, Whiskeytown Lake is one of the most accessible National Recreation Parks in the entire world, with accessible fishing platforms, custom accessible wading pools on beaches, access to sailing, accessible trails, accessible campgrounds, accessible bathrooms, and more. Thus, I and Superintendent Jim Milestone of the Whiskeytown National Park Service (www.nps.gov/whis) cordially invite all disabled to come and check out Whiskeytown Lake, one of the truly most accessible recreation areas in the world. In fact, nearby Redding California may be one of the most attractive places for the disabled to live, as even the Community College ( www.shastacollege.edu ) and local university (www.cuschico.edu) have taken the lead and installed the most accessible bathrooms that I, as a quadriplegic, have ever seen. So, come and visit true sunny Northern California, and until the next Trapseat event, I say cheers to all involved, and cheers to those who endeavor to persevere.

Story by Mike R. Strahle - 2009 North American Trapseat Champion