2005 Comet Internationals -Deep Creek Lake, MD.
The 2005 CCYRA Internationals were contested on Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland,
on September 23, 24 and 25. The lake is nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, between
southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia, a half mile above sea level.
Thanks to the strict wastewater regulations of the MD DNR, the water is wonderfully
clean, and the lake is populated with between 200 and 300 Flying Scots. We were warmly
welcomed by the club members, who opened their wonderful facilities to us, and went out
of their way to make us feel at home. The surrounding countryside is beautiful rolling hills
and farmland, and Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater, is a mere 50 miles to
the north; a mandatory side trip.
Three teams from VSA were planning to compete, but Jerry Chapman and Nelson Laffey had
last minute conflicts, leaving Team Chara (Greg Polanik and Corina Iukovici) as our only entry.
Two other teams from our Territory (Leatherlips Yacht Club in Columbus, OH) made the trip:
Mark Hess & Anne Filbert, and Dick Harmon with our own Mark Wissner as crew.
Photos compliments of Mark Wissner, Corina Iukovici and committee boat person from Deep Creek Lake
The level of competition was extraordinary. At least five of the skippers had won the
Internationals several times, and there were many North American Champions. Only three
skippers were attending their first Internationals; most had been competing for decades,
and many grew up crewing in their fathers' boats. Talbott Ingram, for example, won his first
Internationals in 1967. Both Dick Harmon and Mark Hess have won the North Americans
and Internationals many times, and they typically dominate at our Territorial Championships.
In addition, the early Fall mountain weather provided challenging conditions. The winds
were strong and gusty and shifty, requiring a constant changing of gears and complete
concentration. Because the lake has many narrow dendritic branches, the courses were
tight, forcing the boats to tack often and to stay in close contact.
Our goal was to not finish last.
Luckily, the two other new skippers, with the occasional appearance of Howard Simmons from
Bermuda, gave us our own little mini regatta competing for the tail end of the fleet. I'm glad to
report that we did not embarrass ourselves or disgrace our club. Even on our worst races, we
were well up the last weather leg when the winner's horn was sounded. And we often provided
exciting match racing to entertain the leaders as they sailed back down to the next start.
Our best finish was eleventh out of fourteen boats. The highlight of the regatta occurred during
what was supposed to be the final race on Sunday morning. The wind was fairly light with random
puffs dropping in, the kind of conditions we see a lot of at VSA. We nailed the start, headed up
the course with the leaders, played the wind perfectly, and rounded the windward mark in fifth
place, close to the leader and far ahead of the next boat. Despite big holes and puffs that allowed
the back of the fleet to catch up, we held on. As we were sailing our last tack to the finish line,
in what would have been seventh or eighth place depending on the last shift, the Race Committee
abandoned the race. The PRO, a national level Race Official from Annapolis, decided that the wind
had shifted too much to make it a fair race. (His wife, Joni Palmer, who was also helping out on
the RC, had just returned from winning the US Sailing Women's Championship Adams Trophy)
As we sailed around waiting for the restart, we were disappointed, and we were tied for thirteenth
place with the blue boat from Corsica River Yacht Club. Our nemesis got a better start
("The blue boat tasks me"), and we trailed her around the course. She began covering us up the
final leg, so we started a tacking duel to the finish. When she failed to cover on one tack,
we dug in, squeezed up as much as we could, crossed her bow by inches on port tack at the next
crossing, and kept between her and the finish line to take twelfth. We achieved our goal of placing
thirteenth, one spot above last.
The other boats from our Territory faired much better. Hess/Filbert took fourth, and Harmon/Wissner
fifth. Perennial favorite Rudy Bailey (West End Sailboat Club, Bermuda), with Bermudian/Detroitian
Fred Bulford, placed third, and Talbott & Lee Ingram finished second. The winners were Peter &
John Schell, sailing a beautifully restored and upgraded wooden boat built in 1957.
As we headed home, we were happy to have beaten one boat, made new friends, picked up many
tips from the rock stars, and gained a lot of experience. It was a big change from sailing with the
familiar faces at our club, something all sailors should experience. Next year we'll beat two boats.
And in another fifteen or twenty years, we may be reporting from the other end of the fleet...
Greg Polanik & Corina Iukovici
3881
Chara