One Design Sailboat Racing: Calling All Champions
The 2010 Championship of Champions provided an excellent test of skill for twenty invited teams—with gale force winds as the biggest challenge.
For one design sailors, class loyalty is everything. At multi-class events Snipe sailors can be heard extolling the virtues of their boat to Thistle sailors, who in turn try to convince the Lightning devotees they should go chine-free for a change. How then to prove who is really the top dog in one design?
The Ideal 18's provided for this year's Championship of Champions were a handful in strong breeze, even for national champions. Allen Clark / PhotoBoat.com
Since 1976, US Sailing has brought together the winners of different national one design championships for the ultimate annual regatta. This might come as a surprise, since the Championship of Champions (or "C of C's") has operated well below the national radar for most of its thirty-plus years. But now that regatta chair and head cheerleader Drew Dougherty is in charge, that's likely to change. Drew hails from Little Rock, Arkansas, and he’s the first to admit that his accent is a bit “southern.” His enthusiasm for the event and for all things one design made every competitor feel like a winner before we even left the dock. After reminding us that we were all national champions, he then quickly pointed out the real point of the event: to prove that "you all put your foulweather gear on one leg at a time." With a gale in the forecast, it was a timely warning. Even better, all of Drew's pre-regatta planning paid off. Host Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT ran a fantastic event on and off the water. Meals were superb, housing was provided in the beautiful homes of nearby members, and the race management (under the leadership of Principal Race Officer Jeff Johnson) was top notch. In fact the only one who fell down on the job was the weather planner—a northerly gale dominated two of the three race days.
Luke Lawrence found a way to droop hike even without straps, clearing the view for 505 and Snipe champion Augie Diaz. Allen Clark / PhotoBoat.com
The C of C’s is sailed in supplied boats, and this year's class was the Ideal 18. Never sailed one? Neither had I, and neither had my husband/crew until the regatta practice day. In fact only a few of the 40 competitors had ever set foot in the boat before, so most of us had a lot to learn. Laser designer Bruce Kirby designed this small cousin of the Sonar as an easy to sail club boat, and its best feature is that it takes about five minutes to rig. Its worst feature, unfortunately for this event, is big breeze. At a very round 1200 pounds, the boat becomes a bobble-head doll even in small waves. Downwind it's a battle to keep the short hull under the sails since it will change direction at will. And once the breeze bumps up above 20 knots, Ideal 18’s do indeed capsize. One unlucky team even had to up-periscope and be towed back to the dock, after filling up the bow with a large dollop of Long Island Sound.
A powerful nor'easter provided gale force winds for much of the 2010 C of C's. Photo courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Then again, I don’t know of any boat less than 20 feet long that would've been able to deliver what we were asking—short course racing in more than 25 knots of breeze just isn't very realistic. These boats took their punishment surprisingly well, and the only scars were a few bent spinnaker poles and some ripped sails. I’m sure that IHYC Sailing Master John Bainton will have all the boats back in tip top form before the next event. For those of us used to tweaking sails and rig to match breeze and crew weight, there just wasn’t much that could be done to alter the fully-battened main, roller-furling jib, and small spinnaker. Halyards went up and down, and sheets went in and out. That was about all we had to play with.
With 20 national champions, the racing was always tight. Seven different teams won one of ten races. Allen Clark / PhotoBoat.com
But that simplicity made for a great regatta. Low-performance boats removed the advantages enjoyed by those who specialize in a particular class. The secret to success at this event was to ignore the equipment and concentrate on the racing—just as it should be when sailors from a variety of backgrounds are brought together. The list of previous winners for the C of C’s includes both rock stars and weekend warriors, an appropriate mix to highlight the diversity and strength of one design sailing. This year Mercury 18 National Champion Chris Raab and his crew, Finn sailor Robert Kinney, posted no score worse than fifth to win the event by a whopping 12 points. Some of Raab/Kinney’s advantage was due to out-ballasting the rest of the fleet, but seven different teams won races—including Team Cronin, and we were the lightest team by about 50 pounds. Raab/Kinney impressed us all with their consistency, and they have definitely earned their trip to Bitter End Yacht Club’s Pro/Am Regatta.
Even the 275 pound Robert Kinney couldn't keep winning skipper Chris Raab from falling down occasionally. Allen Clark / PhotoBoat.com
There are many reasons teams win championships: better equipment, more practice time, luck. The C of C’s takes away the technical edge, distilling one design sailing down to its purest essence. Thanks to Drew for breathing new life into this great event, and long live the Championship of Champions.
