By Joni Seifrick

Weather has always been a challenge when sailing in Dallas; and this year's Open House regatta was very challenging to say the least.  When a front comes in from the north bringing with it cool temperatures, rain, and wind we call it a Blue Norther, and that happened Friday prior to the regatta Saturday and Sunday.  White Rock Lake was dredged in 1999.  Tons of silt, stumps and assorted items were removed, but the lake still flooded after heavy rains Friday and knocked out the power to the club.  As often happens in conditions such as this, we gathered in the parking lot Saturday for registration, to watch the water recede, and to have lunch.

 After a quick clean up, we headed out to a 2:30 start and sailed one race in fluky wind on a debris-encrusted lake.  The second race was started but recalled several times despite the “I” flag.  The committee raised the dreaded "Z" flag for the third re-start and yet another general recall horn was sounded.  Just before the fourth restart, the wind died and races were abandoned for the day.

 The top competition was all there.  Among the sailing teams this weekend were Kelly Gough sailing with Dave Farrenta, Richard Wade sailing with Jennifer Judkins, Dave Mendelblatt sailing with Kai Kunnapus, and our very own representative sailing for the Flying Scot fleet in the Championship of Champions this year, Bill Draheim sailing with Jeff Perna.  We also were very excited to have many competitors traveling in from far reaches for the regatta.  John and Susie Damagala flew in from Kentucky, Mike Taber and Louis Rodencal traveled from Colorado, Chris and Julia Sulek from California, and Bob New returned to White Rock from Florida for the regatta.  Several dinosaurs from the past also made an appearance just to add a bit of nostalgia.  It was good to have Roland Foerster and Jack Seifrick Jr. back on the lake.

 Due to the flooding, the power was out at the club until late Sunday afternoon, but Greta and Michael Mittman and Susan Justus came to the rescue with a rented generator to keep the party going long into the night on Saturday. The band played and the refreshments were served all night long.  Dinner was served in the usual Open House fashion.  Special thanks go to Susan Justus, Tracy Aber, Red Dog Jones, Michael and Greta Mittman, Alane Capen, and Jennifer Judkins for their tireless efforts to make sure we were well fed and warm.  The candles and lanterns in the privy were a lovely, if unusually classy touch!

 Sunday morning the wind was puffy and mostly from the North.  Conditions once again proved to be challenging.  An amazing amount of water flowed over the spillway leaving the flood debris-line on the surrounding park grounds.  Two races were run on Sunday with the “Z” flag still up.  In the last race of the regatta, Kelly Gough was early at the start and was given a 20% penalty, handing the regatta win to Richard Wade and Jennifer Judkins.  Richard summed it up well in his acceptance comments at the awards ceremony when he mentioned how special the regatta has always been and how competitive the racing has become. 

 If you traveled to attend our regatta, thank you for coming.  If you are considering traveling to Texas next year, just give us a call and we will arrange lodging, a loaner boat, and a weekend full of fun you probably won't forget.