2004 Snipe Southwestern Championship
May 29-30, Dallas, TX
On
Saturday morning the anemometer at the Corinthian Sailing Club was broken, so we
didn’t have a clear reading on wind speed.
The weather radio at 10:30 said 20 mph at Love Field, with gust to 25.
Not too bad for snipes, but a little on the heavy side. Ten boats were
registered, but four decided the wind was too much for their weight and/or
experience. Six went out for the
first race and one lost his main halyard just before the start and had to
retire. Wind stayed steady but
heavy for two races with five boats competing and finishes being very close with
positions changing on every leg, except for the one capsize that righted and
kept in the race. The heavy
conditions took their toll on one team who was too tired to continue and four
boats made it to the line for the third race.
With planning conditions prevailing on the off-wind legs of the third
race, the fleet lost another boat to capsize (and a bent mast).
And the wind continued to build and one of the three remaining boats lost
its mast puller just before the start of the fourth race and had to withdraw.
Now
there were only two boats left sailing for the final race of the day.
Spencer Williams and Shawn Patterson had a perfect start at committee
boat cutting off a barging Gene Soltero and Ben Setnick, who were forced into a
360 just before the gun went off. Willams/Patterson
covered Soltero/Setnick three-fourths of the weather leg in a fierce tacking
duel that found them virtually even at the weather mark, except on opposite
tacks. Soltero/Setnick, on
starboard, rounded first, set the barber hauler and immediately was up on a
screaming plane to the next mark, with Williams/Patterson close behind.
They both cleanly executed flying gybes around the second mark and were
still close at the leeward mark, planing with whisker poles flying.
Soltero/Setnick rounded cleanly, but Williams/Patterson had trouble in
the gusty conditions and hit the mark, having to take the 360-degree penalty.
That put them too far behind to catch up.
On
Sunday morning the wind was still gusting and whistling through the shrouds of
the boats in the davits. Whitecaps
everywhere convinced the regatta chairman and remaining competitors to pack up
their boats and call it a regatta. Final
results below:
|
Boat
# |
Skipper |
Crew |
|
First |
Second |
Third |
Fourth |
Total |
|
29777 |
Gene
Soltero |
Ben
Setnick |
Dallas |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
|
28361 |
Spencer
Williams |
Shawn
Patterson |
Austin |
3 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
|
26808 |
Andy
Towles |
Jane
Derrick |
Oklahoma
City |
2 |
2 |
2 |
dns/11 |
17 |
|
28369 |
Tim
Pletcher |
Russell
Jones |
Austin |
4 |
1 |
dnf/5 |
dnc/11 |
21 |
|
27905 |
Bill
Felder |
Ian
Felder |
Dallas |
5 |
4 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
31 |
|
29775 |
Gary
Derrick |
John
Ainsworth |
Oklahoma
City |
dns/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
44 |
|
27101 |
Dave
Lence |
Bill
Lence |
Ft.
Worth |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
44 |
|
25514 |
Jack
McGrael |
Ruby
Renteria |
Dallas |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
44 |
|
17789 |
Steve
Snyder |
Mary
Snyder |
Tulsa |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
44 |
|
25060 |
Charlie
Quade |
Quade
Kids |
Dallas |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
dnc/11 |
44 |