Now we wouldn't want to wish a capsize on anyone, but if it happens on Torch Lake you just might enjoy it! [I had to repeat this picture from the last Digital Reaches because it just says it all about what a beautiful body of water we are privileged to race on.]

The regatta co-chairs, Kevin Malone and Craig Hupp, have put forth a tremendous well organized effort to make this truly a National Championship event with representation from nearly every active fleet in the country and over 70 boats pre-registered. 

Our goal is to always have at least one boat from every active fleet and we almost have that. It is not too late - we still need an entry from the Delavan Lake Yacht Club and the Hopatcong Yacht Club.

Also, be sure to visit the National Championship website for all the information.

Every five years the ECESA Eastern championship regatta makes its way to Lake Hopatcong in Northwestern NJ, and for 2011 the LHYC E-Scow fleet wanted to make sure that this was one of the best regattas. Unlike the bays of the Jersey shore, inland winds in August can be frugal so the fleet spent the better part of a year trying to plan on any contingency and it paid off. With the regatta scheduled for Thursday- Saturday boats began to arrive at the club early on Wednesday to get a feel for the winds and shifts that they might be able to expect. In all, by the time the skippers meeting was held on Thursday morning, 33 boats had arrived and unlike the Easterns 5 years ago, we were treated to a few days of mid eighty's temperatures. We were also fortunate to have Bob Stevens acting as our PRO and with his hard work, over the course of the week we were able to get 6 of the 8 scheduled races in.

 

After a brief skippers meeting on Thursday August 4th, the harbor gun sounded and the 33 boats made their way out from the docks of LHYC. The breeze on Thursday was challenging for the race committee as it was an east breeze which is the narrowest part of Lake Hopatcong. The race committee set a course with approximately ¾ mile legs and determined that we would sail four legs. After 2 general recalls, the fleet got off the line and the regatta was on. As the fleet made it's way up the first beat, the breeze was up and down so it was essential to keep the boat in clean air and moving. At the end of the first race it was CH-6 Rick Turner taking the gun followed by T-067 Randy Hartranft in one of the Island Heights Sailing Foundation boats in second then BH-22 Bobby Koar and BH-8 Russ Lucas in fourth. The race committee determined that we would immediately go into a second race for the day and the breeze held for it. The strategy was the same, with the bulk of the fleet looking for a pin end start and trying to get to the left side of the course. It was another 4 leg race and at the end it was IH-44 Carl Horrocks taking the win followed by LA-88 Paul Magno, LE-2 Rich Ryon and BH-8 Russ Lucas respectively. The fleet headed back to the club for a break and lunch. After about an hour at the club, the boats made their way back out to the course but unfortunately the breeze began to cycle from every direction and then just died. After a brief postponement, the decision was made to abandon the rest of the day and head back to the club to prepare for the evening's festivities. After a few hour break, the competitors made their way back to the club for a Don Q rum happy hour and pig roast. It was a perfect evening on the lake and the talk was that with a questionable forecast for Saturday we needed to get as many races in on Friday to make sure this regatta became official.

 

Friday the competitors arrived at the club and were greeted with brilliant sunshine but a lack of breeze. The forecast was for a south breeze to fill in and as we approached the 9:30 scheduled harbor gun it was clear that a postponement was in order as the breeze was still unsettled. As the morning progressed, for once the breeze did as forecasted and shortly after noon the breeze had filled from the south at 6-8 or so from the south opening up the lake for some longer legs. The race committee did a great job of setting a good line and the legs were set at about a mile and a quarter. Winning race 3 was MA-4 Dick Wight who was working hard earlier in the week to get the boat ready for the regatta and it paid off. Dick was followed by BH-8 Russ Lucas, BH-22 Bobby Koar and MA-11 Peter Hurley. The fleet made its way back to the starting area for a fourth race, with some pressure off the committee as the regatta was now official. Again the fleet got off the line clean and for many the focus shifted from making the regatta official to getting in the 6 races required to be eligible for the drop. For anyone who has sailed on Lake Hopatcong, they understand that Hopatcong is the Indian name for "lake of many coves" and this leads to extreme shifts in direction and pressure. At the finish of race 4, Russ Lucas sailing on BH-8 continued an amazingly consistent regatta and won the race followed by T-067 Randy Hartranft, LE-73 Jeff Bonanni and SS-1 John Brown respectively. The fleet headed back to the club and shortly after the decision was made to call it a day as the feeling was to shoot for 2 quality races Saturday and not try to force another shorter race in on Friday. Friday night's banquet was exceptionally well attended with both competitors and LHYC members. After the beefsteak dinner and with the help of our many sponsor's our Friday night raffle was held with Russ Lucas winning the grand prize of a new north asymmetrical kite. Russ immediately proved to be a true class act and donated the kite to the Island Heights Sailing Foundation so that some of the younger generation will continue to sail these boats with top level equipment.

 

Although the forecast for Saturday did not look promising early in the week, when the competitors arrived at the club, they were pleasantly surprised with a returning south breeze with a little more pressure than Friday. With an earlier harbor gun scheduled, the fleet scrambled to get all the boats in the water and headed out to the course. Shortly after 9:30 the boats were off the line and were sailing a mirror course as we did Friday but extended to 5 legs. At the finish of race 5, Carl Horrocks on IH-44 took the win followed by Russ Lucas BH-8, John Brown SS-1 and Jeff Bonanni LE-73. As the boats crossed the finish line, there was some jubilation on BH-8 as we would only be attempting one more race which would also bring into play the throw out. With this, Russ Lucas and team were able to retire back to the club to watch the last race as the 2011 ECESA champion. The sixth and final race began shortly after and at the end, it was won by Bobby Koar BH-22, followed by John Brown SS-1, Peter Hurley MA-11 and Carl Horrocks IH-44. The boats made the short sail back to the club to pack up, have lunch and then attend the awards.

 

In the end, Russ Lucas's BH-8 team showed that being consistent on Hopatcong was possible recording a top 5 finish in every race they sailed. Bobby Koar, also from Bay Head was the only other boat to have only single digit finishes and secured second place. He was followed by Carl Horrocks IH-44, John Brown SS-1 and Jeff Bonanni LE-73 to round out the top 5. Shortly after 2 pm, the boats were on the road and all of the volunteers from LHYC were able to return home and get some rest.

 

 

Final Results-

 

1	BH-8	R. Lucas	4	4	2	1	2	34	47	34	13
2	BH-22	B. Koar	3	7	3	6	9	1	29	9	20
3	IH-44	C.Horrocks	17	1	12	5	1	4	40	17	23
4	SS-1	J.Brown	10	12	5	4	3	2	36	12	24
5	LE-73	J. Bonanni	8	13	7	3	4	6	41	13	28
6	MA-4	D. Wight	7	5	1	7	10	17	47	17	30
7	CH-6	R. Turner	1	15	8	11	7	7	49	15	34
8	T067	R. Hartranft	2	16	6	2	19	11	56	19	37
9	LE-2	R. Ryon	13	3	9	17	8	10	60	17	43
10	MA-11	P. Hurley	11	29	4	15	12	3	74	29	45
11	LA-99	D. Magno	6	6	10	10	17	16	65	17	48
12	LA-11	B. Nolden	5	10	23	8	21	5	72	23	49
13	LA-88	P. Magno	16	2	18	14	11	8	69	18	51
14	T-1	B. Warner	14	20	14	9	15	12	84	20	64
15	IH-17	P. Reynolds	34	19	11	13	5	18	100	34	66
16	BH-24	A. Goetting	20	9	17	12	13	19	90	20	70
17	BH-7	P. Mignon	12	11	29	18	20	22	112	29	83
18	HO-54	P. Flinn	19	25	19	21	16	9	109	25	84
19	IH-89	A. Bailey IV	18	8	13	27	26	30	122	30	92
20	HO-50	D. Johnson	15	21	25	19	18	21	119	25	94
21	HO-35	B. Feakins	26	23	15	23	23	14	124	26	98
22	SR-1	S. Van Winkle	22	30	21	24	6	25	128	29	99
23	BH-21	P. Koar	21	18	30	16	22	23	130	30	100
24	HO-53	C. Norman	9	24	16	29	27	27	132	29	103
25	LE-22	C. Fretz	24	22	26	20	14	24	130	26	104
26	KU-12	W. Hudson	23	17	31	22	31	13	137	31	106
27	IH-22	M. Feaster	29	14	28	32	25	15	143	32	111
28	HO-45	J. Flinn	25	26	24	28	24	28	155	28	127
29	HO-51	B. Heverly	27	28	20	26	32	29	162	32	130
30	CH-5	D. Turner	30	27	22	30	28	26	163	30	133
31	HO-32	G. Skinner	32	32	27	31	29	20	171	32	139
32	HO-1	P. Rand	28	33	32	25	30	34	182	34	148
33	HO-52	M. Blair	31	31	34	33	33	34	196	34	162

 

In the end, we could have never pulled off an event like this without all the volunteers at the club as well as our sponsor's including Don Q Rum, West Marine, Melges Performance Sailboats, North Sails, DRY UV, SailFast Apparel and Harken. The 2011 Easterns was a year in the planning and we are looking forward to 2016 with the hopes to hold a larger event. Congratulations to Russ Lucas and his BH-8 Shimmer team on a job well done.