Local News - June 2003

Regatta starts off with a storm

Ready, set, sail

By JACOB RUDOLPH, Staff Writer

Severe thunderstorms glanced over Lake Norman Saturday, leaving wispy clouds, blue skies and swift wind gusts in their absences.

Not an hour after the inclement weather passed, more than 40 triangle sails dotted the horizon near the Lake Norman Yacht Club, preparing to run in the third annual Lake Norman Hospice Regatta.

The races were delayed 30 minutes because of the weather, but at 10:25 a.m. a shot was fired into the sky –– five minutes until the start.

A minute later another shot was fired, sending scores of triangles into a clump of anticipation near the starting line.

The wind was strong –– 30 mph gusts in the beginning –– and as the seconds ticked down, the racers jockeyed for a starting position with “fresh wind.”

Boats swarmed like bees around the starting buoy, as they dodged and sometimes collided with one another.

“Starboard!” the crew of one boat would shout, alerting another to its presence. The warning shouts could be heard again and again as the boats wove through themselves.

“Bang!” The starting gun sounded and the front line of boats, anticipating the start, leaned toward open waters and onto the two-mile course.

Boats raced in two divisions –– spinnaker and non-spinnaker. All were keelboats 20 feet and longer, except for the multi-hulled catamarans and one-design centerboards.

There were boats of all shapes and sizes, with sails of all widths and colors. The waters near the Marker D7 were inundated with a fleet of sailing vessels, displaying sometimes exuberant “sheets.”

On one of those vessels –– a 30-foot Pearson Flyer known as Raw Power –– was Skipper Sam Bender and his crew, Derrick Spurgeon, Ken Glasgow and Geoffrey Gartner, all of whom are from Charlotte.

It was Raw Power’s first regatta racing spinnaker class. The spinnaker is a foresail used when sailing downwind.

As Bender sat at the helm, his crew toggled from side to side, ducking and dodging each other as they raised and lowered sails.

“Prepare to tack,” Bender said, as his crew stood ready to facilitate the turning of the boat. “Tacking. Tacking.”

A flurry of activity ensued –– wenches were tightened, lines were loosened and ropes were secured –– which caused the boat to tip suddenly from one side to the next.

Everyone on the boat scrambled to the “high side” –– the only side that was not submerged in the water.

It was a fast race, Bender said, with winds shoving the boats through the championship course. The second race was a different story –– not a gust of wind until the end.

“Sailing is as unpredictable as the weather,” Bender said. “You might be out here busting it, or twiddling your thumbs.”

Saturday’s second race was so slow, officials shortened the course halfway through.

As the second race drew to a close, the wind picked up, allowing the back of the pack to catch up toward the end.

“This is typical of Lake Norman sailing,” Glasgow said of the second test. “Not a gust until the end of the race.”

Raw Power didn’t place in either race, but that didn’t seem to bother Bender, who calmly sat in the back of the boat after the races, guiding it back to the yacht club.

“This is our first spinnaker race, which is a completely different ball game,” Bender said. “It takes some getting used to.”

The nonchalantness in Bender’s voice was reminiscent of the attitudes of most of the sailors at the regatta.

The regatta was the ultimate show of sportsmanship. It wasn’t about winning, the sailors were there to have a good time –– to get in some sailing, have a beer or two and enjoy the day and each other.

And that’s exactly what everyone did.

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Staff Writer Jacob Rudolph can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jacobrudolph@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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