Ethan Allen Regatta

The Malletts Bay Boat Club Ethan Allen Regatta has traditionaly been a classic “government mark” sort of race with leg points of sail dictated by wind direction instead of the race committee, but not this year! With the help of a GPS the race committee was able to set the marks and determine the course length before the race. The Ethan Allen Regatta is a pursuit race where the handicaps are figured in at the beginning and used to calculate head starts for the slower boats. The wind blew nicely at just under fifteen knots from the southwest. The race instructions limit boats to jib and mainsails only (no spinnakers). With moderate wind conditions skippers had to decide which headsail would be best. Most boats choose their large headsails. The triangle course, twice around, provided four reaching legs giving the boats that chose the larger genoa the advantage. However a large wind shift toward the end of the race added a third windward leg to the race (albeit a fetch). This helped even out the results between those who chose the genoas over the smaller jibs. Luckily for all involved, the rain held off until the race finished.
Many boats were lightly crewed so good upwind de-powering was important in maintaining good boat speed. In a pursuit race the goal is to pass those ahead while not getting passed by those behind. With two reaches per lap, the windward legs were the place to work the hardest. Janice Lange, sailing her Tanzer 22 “Windsong” with the help of two hot shot crew, was the scratch boat and started first. She had an excellent start and held off the fleet for quite awhile managing to finish third. Bob Newton’s Catalina 30 “Northwind II” finished in second place having lead the last two legs. “Northwind II” was passed in the last 100 yards by Ken Signorello’s J-24 “Results”.

1. Results...............Ken Signorello
2. Northwing.............Bob Newton
3. Windsong..............Janice Lange
4. Impulsive.............Micael Ray
5. Phantom...............Alan & Tamy Ouellette
6. Moosetaken Idenity....Marty Olsen
7. Espada................Dave Ellis
8. Victory...............Richard Villamil
9. C-Jam Blues...........Charly Dickerson
10. Toad's Wild Ride.....Marcy Milton & Jim Finch
11. Ninkasi..............Ed Hutchinson & Alexandra Thayer
12. Prime Time...........Jonathon Haas