Bay Shore Invitational Race Results
May 22, 2018
1. Full Circle - Harry Manko
2. Pandemonium - Gary Sebouhian
3. Aleboat - Eric Winberry
4. Jolly Mon - Dennis Ahern
5. Did Not Finish - Pelagic - Frank Gagliardi
Course #2
As Yogi Berra would have said "It's deja vu all over again." One year ago we started the 2017 Tuesday Night Bay Shore Invitational Races with identical predicted weather conditions. The forecast for the first race of the 2018 season called for rain and almost no wind, but we were once again surprised by more favorable conditions. A light southeast wind kept the sails full for the entire race, and there was almost no rain to speak of. Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions this spring have prevented many owners from finishing their "To Do" lists and launching their boats. From what I've been hearing in the boatyard, some of you are getting closer to splashing and racing. Can't wait to see you all out there again.
There were five boats racing tonight. Lady in Red is still a work in progress, but I was fortunate enough to be crew aboard Gary Sebouhian's boat, Pandemonium. Course #2 was the selected course for the evening. (start at buoy #1, #3 starboard, #10 starboard and finished at #1). The light southeast wind was 5-7 knots, just enough to keep us out of trouble when the inevitable rigging foul happened. We unanimously agreed never to admit that they were actually errors caused by the crew. A long winter away from sailing will definitely make you look really bad. I can't tell how many times I was reminded by the skipper to reposition the traveler as I reciprocated with "DON'T PINCH" with a big grin on my face.
Eric Winberry's Aleboat II and Pandemonium stayed on the north side of the first upwind leg while they traded places a few times. There were a few very close crossing and ducking situations between these two boats that kept the excitement level high and the crews on both boats busy. Harry Manko's Full Circle, Dennis Ahern's Jolly Mon and Frank Gagliardi's Pelagic favored the south side of the first beat. It appeared that they had more wind evidenced by the fact that Full Circle was the first boat to the windward mark. The second place boat, Pandemonium, gained steadily on Full Circle on the next two legs but wasn't able to make up the separation to be a true threat.
It was an unexpectedly fun evening and hopefully we'll see more boats out racing next week. If you happen to hear any weather reports calling for rain and no wind for next week, IGNORE THEM; they're probably going to be wrong AGAIN.
Ted Drossos - s/v Lady in Red 11047
Gary Sebouhian - s/v Pandemonium 2224
