August 04, 2004
Wednesday

Ketchikan, Alaska -This is the second article in a series of three which describe the Wednesday night sailboat races in Ketchikan, a tradition that has provided weekly entertainment to countless Ketchikan residents for over 20 years. If you missed the first article, go to the Sitnews archives for information on what actually is going on out there in the harbor with all of those sailboats going back and forth on Wednesday evenings. It is not nearly as random as it may seem; there are strategies, gambles, skill and some luck involved.

If you watch the races, or are generally interested in sailing, you probably know of at least one or two of the boats by name, but if not, it is nice to know something about each boat. You may want to cheer on your favorite, after all! Remember, it is not always the first boat to finish who wins, because each boat has a handicap. The lower the handicap number (rating), the faster the boat and the more time she has to give to slower boats. It sounds complicated, but it is not..it is meant to even the playing field and increase the competition, and it works.

There are 11 sailboats registered in the racing fleet currently. This can change as new boats come into the fleet or retire from the fleet. How do you know which boat is which? Well, watch them when they go downwind. This is after they make their first turn at a buoy or marker, usually. It means that they are putting up the spinnaker, that big, colorful sail that flies out in front of the boat like a big balloon. Knowing which spinnaker is which is a great way to identify your favorite boat and cheer her on!

So, in alphabetical order, here they are:

Acapella - a C&C 33 (33 feet long) owned and skippered by Barbara Bigelow. Acapella can be identified by a navy blue hull and a white spinnaker with 1 blue and 1 red stripe on it. Acapella has a handicap rating of 147.

Aeolus - a Pearson ten meter (33 feet long) owned and skippered by David Johnson. Aeolus can be identified by her red hull and a red spinnaker with several white and blue stripes. Aeolus has a handicap rating of 147.

Aleutian Tern - a Spirit 28 (28 feet long) owned and skippered by Kris Jensen. Aleutian Tern can be identified by a white hull and the multicolored gennaker (a fore sail) of dark blue, light blue, red, orange, gold and yellow vertical stripes. Aleutian Tern has a handicap rating of 195.

Blizzard - a Ross 26 (26 feet long) owned and skippered by George Shaffer. Blizzard can be identified by her white hull, an orange main sail and a blue and orange. Blizzard has a handicap rating of 156.

Boondoggle - a Fun 23 (23 feet long) owned and skippered by Kris Jensen. Boondoggle can be identified by her white hull, all white sails, open stern (rear of the boat) and a white spinnaker with a blue stripe. Boondoggle has a handicap rating of 186.

Kermit - a Santa Cruz 27 (27 feet long) owned and skippered by Sally Hansen. Kermit can be identified by her dark green hull with a pink and green spinnaker or white with green geometric design spinnaker. Kermit has a handicap rating of 147.

Moisture Missile - an Olson 30 (30 feet long) owned and skippered by Lyn Cothary. Moisture Missile can be identified by her red hull, a grey main sail and a white spinnaker with red and yellow patterns on it. Moisture Missile has a handicap rating of 105.

Possum Fargo - a Scampi 33 (33 feet long) owned and skippered by Dwight Lindemann. Possum Fargo can be identified by her light yellow hull, the skull and crossbones pirate flag she flies at the stern (rear) of the boat, and by her "bumble bee" spinnaker of yellow and black, or her pink and blue spinnaker. Possum Fargo has a handicap rating of 174.

Racy Lady - a Santa Cruz 27 (27 feet long) owned and skippered by Carrie Serwat. Racy Lady can be identified by her dark yellow hull and flies a black and yellow colored spinnaker. Racy Lady has a handicap rating of 147

Scoundrel - a J24 (24 feet long) owned and skippered by Lou Bartos. Scoundrel can be identified by her two-tone blue hull, her grey head sail (forward sail) and an all blue spinnaker. Scoundrel has a handicap rating of 168.

Spirit - a Soling (27 feet long) owned and skippered by Jim Dahl. Spirit can be identified by her all-white hull and deck, white main sail, white fore sail and by a light purple, tie-dyed spinnaker. Spirit has a handicap rating of 150.

Handicap ratings can change from year to year, and sometimes they do. When a boat comes into the fleet, the skipper is generally given a "soft" rating, meaning that he or she is given a small advantage during the first year, in an effort to learn how to handle the boat and become competent among the fleet. Often, after a year of racing, a "soft" handicap will be hardened up to a more difficult and competitive handicap rating. This encourages skippers and their crews to learn the boat well and become skilled at making it go as fast as possible. More on ratings in the next article.

Going fast and being competitive is not the only challenge in sailboat racing. Finding crew is often another major and ongoing challenge. The bigger the boat, the more crew is needed, up to 7 or 8 people sometimes, and many of these boats have a pool of people who crew part of the time but not every week. Some of the boats are always looking for crew, so if YOU are interested, contact KYC or a boat skipper (most are in the local phone book) to volunteer as crew. No experience is necessary and all crew will be specifically trained to be part of the team for any boat on which he/she is crew.

What can you expect if you join in the racing fleet and become a crew person? Lots of fun, for starters! In addition, you will learn nautical terminology, such as Judith Anglin's famous quote "Butt cleat! Butt cleat!" (translated as "get your rear end off of that line right now!") and all of the boats weekly mantra of "Hoist the chute!" (translated as "raise the spinnaker sail") or "dump it!" (translated as "bring the spinnaker down as fast as you can or we are in big trouble!"). You will also learn how to judge wind, water, currents, make your own boat go as fast as it can, and you may even develop an understanding of the mental skills used in racing a sailboat, such as focus, patience and strategizing every race. Hopefully you will not learn how well your personal flotation device works, but if you do, be sure you have it on at all times.

If you really, really like watching the racing, you are in luck, because the big hoopla is coming up very soon. This year, the annual regatta called KORC, which is a fundraiser for local charities, will be held from August 11 to August 15. There are about a dozen races scheduled during this regatta, with racing on Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, most of Saturday and most of Sunday. Exhausted sailors from last year will tell you that it is a very fast-paced, exhilarating 5 days, and a crash course in sailing for any novice wanting to get involved, as well as a great way, for the last 20+ years, to raise money for charity.

It is very likely that some boats need more crew, so if you want to experience the water in a unique way, contact a skipper and get started on learning to race a sailboat as crew now. In addition to making a phone call, another way to accomplish the goal of becoming crew is to visit Ketchikan Yacht Club for the Friday evening barbeque that his held from 4:30 - 7:30 every Friday evening at the club house in Thomas Basin. You can find skippers, club members and crew who can point you to a boat needing crew. Who knows..you may enjoy your new sport so much that you will get and race your own boat someday! Now there's an idea! See you on the water, matey

Related Article:

Wednesday Night Sailboat Racing, A Long Tradition in Ketchikan - Part 1
by Mary Lynne Dahl... July 27, 2004

Next article:

Racing rules and technical terms

 

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