2009 Season Summary

Text by Clark Chapin

This year, the 56th of sailboat racing on Portage Lake, marked several hallmarks for Portage Yacht Club, but the overall story unfolded one day at a time.

In the Flying Scots, Fritz Wagner repeated as the Gold Series Champion, but Suzanne Moore and Andrew Davis also notched victories in the 27 races that were completed. A total of five Scots were registered.  In the Interlakes, seven of the twelve boats registered won a race or more. A late-season string of three consecutive aces allowed Bill O’Donnel to pull ahead of Clark Chapin for the title.

Silver Series

The Tuesday Night Series for singlehanded boats had three classes: Laser, Sunfish, and MC Scow. The racing most weeks featured two or more short races on short courses so the action was fast and furious, especially at the mark roundings. The Sunfish and MC Scows were more lightly attended, but every registrant won a race.  In the end, Raeburn Howland won the Sunfish and Jack Coleman was victorious in the MC Scows.

The Thursday Night Series for Interlakes and Flying Scots featured the largest fleets (15 registered Interlakes and 10 Flying Scots) and the most convivial after-race dinners. Many of the races were see-saw battles which gave rise to lots of colorful discussions on shore. In the Flying Scots, Brian Hawkins managed to edge out Forest Rogers by a mere 1.28 points after sixteen races. In the Interlakes, Clark and Bill Chapin were fast all season long to take overall victory.

2009 marked the first time since 1983 that Portage Lake was the site of racing that was part of a US SAILING Championship event. The 2009 Men’s Sailing Championship was a ladder event with the winners from eleven different geographic areas earning the right to compete for the Clifford Mallory Trophy at Bay-Waveland Yacht Club in Bay St. Louis, MS. The semifinals for Area E, including the eastern Great Lakes, Kentucky, and West Virginia, were held at Portage Lake on June 25-26 in Flying Scots. Although the two entries received were from Andrew Davis and Brian Hawkins of the host club, the two teams put up a close-fought struggle for the right to represent PYC at the Finals. The fourth and final race featured both boats being caught over the line at the starting signal, a broken halyard, three lead changes, and a finish margin of inches. Brian and Suzy Hawkins with Todd Moore went on to represent Area E at the Finals in September, their first sailing experience on saltwater.

Rebel National Championship

Although not part of our racing schedule, the Rebel Class held their 2009 National Championship at Portage Yacht Club during the week of July 12-16, as they had in 2005.  The Rebel Junior National Championship was also part of the event. The racing was close with Elliott Hilsinger and Tony Rinehart holding off John and Gage Hudak for the championship.

Scowfish Regatta

Ten MC Scows and eight Sunfish participated in the Scowfish Regatta. The weather was cool and rainy all weekend, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the competitors. A total of seven races were sailed over two days. Dan Norton of Devil’s Lake dominated the Sunfish with nothing but first place finishes. In the MC Scows, Chris and Julie Craig, between them, won all but one race, but Chris crossed the line first more often and won the event with Julie in third place behind Allan Walborn. The top-finishing local boat was Jack Coleman in sixth place.

Hot-to-Trot Interlake Regatta

For the first time, the Hot-to-Trot was a single-day regatta held on the Saturday August 29. A total of 20 boats participated from as far away as Traverse City, MI and Indianapolis, IN. The forecast was for winds in the 10-20 mph range and as Interlakers know, 10 mph is one thing and 20 mph is quite another! During registration, people willing to crew were at a premium. Jeremy Bronheim, visiting from Washington, DC was shanghaied onto Kirsten Petro's boat despite minimal sailing experience. By the time the fleet headed out for the Noon start, puffs in the teens were evident.
The racing was close, but in the end two-time National Champion Scott Savage and his wife Lynn won both races that were sailed. On shore, Carole Moody and Felicia Cathey organized a pot luck dinner with pulled pork sandwiches to warm everyone up. Everyone had stories to tell.

Commodore’s Cup

Only two races were held in this year’s event on Sunday September 5, and Labor Day September 6, owing to scarce winds. In the Interlake Fleet, Jack Coleman and Ann Taylor sailed a consistent series and won their first-ever Interlake regatta to the delight of the other competitors.

In the Flying Scots, Fritz Wagner and Kirsten Petro each won a race and tied on points, but the tie-breaker went to Fritz.

Hot Scot Regatta

Bright skies and light winds prevailed on Saturday September 18, at the Hot Scot Regatta although the wind picked up a bit on Sunday September 19. The sunshine provided a fitting close to the racing season for multihanded boats at Portage Lake.

A total of five races were sailed over two days and Brian Hawkins’s victory in the last race allowed him to edge Forest Rogers by a mere 0.25 points. Jim and Marie Davis were third, Fritz Wagner was fourth, and the family team of Bill, John, and Olivia Pfund from Gull Lake rounded out the top five.

No Sweat Laser Regatta

The season’s last event was the No Sweat regatta for Lasers on Saturday September 25. The weather conditions were partly cloudy and temperatures about 70 °F made for comfortable conditions, but not too much wind arrived, despite wind in nearby locations. Michigan Laser hotshots Tom LaBelle and Mike Moody traded scores in the two races that were completed but LaBelle’s ace in the second and final race allowed him to win on the tiebreaker.