Everyone's a winner

The Original Windsurfer Summer Series #3 was on Saturday, August 11th and brought a few sailors up to Traverse City from Ohio. It was a great day to go sailing and we had a nice breeze.

Panoramic view of the regatta site. Thanks to Joel Scinchak and Brad Bickle for the photos.

The wind was puffing up to 13 knots from the north/nw/ne and quickly carried us around the course in about 20 minutes time. The windward part of the course was very"tactical" due to some drastic wind shifts close to shore and kept everyone on alert - one unfavorable tack could take you from being first to the windward mark to last - or worse, dump you directly into the water. And I know this to be true by my first-hand experience. But it did feel good to get wet!

Mark positioning himself for a good start.

We were having much fun sailing, so much so that we had several races before mid day.  With a long break for lunch —thanks to the Boathouse restaurant— we were re-fueled with some humongous sandwiches and ready for more sailing.  The sun came out, we peeled our wetsuits off and ended up having 9 races. The competition was tight and the outcome of each finish was different every race.

Gordon out front

Joel holding onto his lead...

After a good day on the water, some cold beverages and a BBQ hit the spot. And in the end everyone was a winner!

left to right: Joel Sminchak (light weight class); Gordon Bittle (heavy weight class); Mark Drotleff & Ted Schweitzer (medium weight class)

A Slow Summer Start

Much like a wonderful summer vacation that allows us to slow down and enjoy each moment, it's been a slow and somewhat relaxed start to the Summer Windsurfer Series.

The Original Windsurfer Regatta Series in June was cancelled and July got rained out. But a few of us did manage a nice long sail exploring the other side of the bay and sailing out to Tucker Point in a firm wind, tacking back and forth against the breeze, and then a long downwind back to shore.  It was a sporatic journey, I sailed without a harness and took every opportunity to hang off the booms and splash my body into the warm water; because there was a mild cold front blowing thru the water was warmer than the air so it felt great to do body dips or fall in and become completely submerged in the warm lake water! 

A few colorful sails on a grey day, a relaxed journey to a scenic shore, warm clear water and some companionship on the water, not a bad start to summer.