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Matt Struble got an unusual DNF after sailing through the start/finish line. A couple of F18 sailors (Cochran and Liston) spent the weekend watching after injuries sidelined them. Saturday came in a bit more behaved, with lighter breezes and flatter water. Most sailors hit the beach on Saturday with a big smile on their faces, regardless of how they did in the race. It was just great sailing weather. More boat damage occurred, with a bent spinnaker pole on an F18 and a t-boned A-boat just to name a few. The Cathouse was doing a brisk business all week long (after coming in from Race Committee), replacing everything from battens to rudder pins. My F18 was sitting on the beach fully rigged (but not sailed due to an injury), and I finally decided to put it on the trailer after several sailors were seen looking lovingly at several boat parts. My boom did end up on another boat after they bent theirs (at least two booms bent over the weekend). The Saturday night party was standard Catfight quality, complete with a DJ on the beach, a pig roast and beach babes dancing on the picnic tables. Ah, life is good.
Sunday filled on with more breeze and waves. It looked relatively flat from the beach, but wild eyed sailors returning to the beach indicated otherwise. Two more races were held for a total of nine for the regatta.
Special thanks to all the CRAM volunteers that spend a lot of time all year to make this regatta a success. It’s a ton of work!
-- Story by Roger Cochran
-- Photos by Mark Biggers
This article is an from the official Performance Catamaran newsletter, reprinted with permission. For detailed results download the full newsletter from the Performance Catamaran Downloads Section.
Reporting: Catfight IV Rocks Lake Michigan, multi class catamaran sailboat regatta.
Seventy five catamaran sailboats attended the Catfight IV catamaran regatta on the shores of Lake Michigan. Cat Sailors arriving on Thursday saw big wind during the day . This was a precursor of things to come. As usual, the beach organization was spot on. We arrived late Thursday to find most sailors already set up and catamarans lining the beach. The regatta had started without us!
Friday morning was a beehive of activity, with boats being rigged, skippers meeting, etc. Sailors were here from Texas, Minnesota, Canada, New York, and many other states. The forecast was 10 steady out of the north. In typical style, the wind for the day built into the twenties and clocked from the north 270 degrees to the west. So much for the weatherman. As the wind (and waves) built, the boat carnage began. Take seventy five boats on the same course, add spinnakers, mix well and you get some interesting boat crossings. Several boats were damaged and many teams came in for safety’s sake due to the large waves. The Race Committee got in four races after completely resetting the course at least once and several mark changes. Many boats did not watch the course numbers on the committee boat and sailed the wrong course. All of these factors resulted in many DNFs and DNSs on Friday. Matt Struble got an unusual DNF after sailing through the start/finish line. A couple of F18 sailors (Cochran and Liston) spent the weekend watching after injuries sidelined them. Saturday came in a bit more behaved, with lighter breezes and flatter water. Most sailors hit the beach on Saturday with a big smile on their faces, regardless of how they did in the race. It was just great sailing weather. More boat damage occurred, with a bent spinnaker pole on an F18 and a t-boned A-boat just to name a few. The Cathouse was doing a brisk business all week long (after coming in from Race Committee), replacing everything from battens to rudder pins. My F18 was sitting on the beach fully rigged (but not sailed due to an injury), and I finally decided to put it on the trailer after several sailors were seen looking lovingly at several boat parts. My boom did end up on another boat after they bent theirs (at least two booms bent over the weekend). The Saturday night party was standard Catfight quality, complete with a DJ on the beach, a pig roast and beach babes dancing on the picnic tables. Ah, life is good.
Sunday filled on with more breeze and waves. It looked relatively flat from the beach, but wild eyed sailors returning to the beach indicated otherwise. Two more races were held for a total of nine for the regatta.
Special thanks to all the CRAM volunteers that spend a lot of time all year to make this regatta a success. It’s a ton of work!
-- Story by Roger Cochran
-- Photos by Mark Biggers
This article is an from the official Performance Catamaran newsletter, reprinted with permission. For detailed results download the full newsletter from the Performance Catamaran Downloads Section.
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