2004 Spring Thaw Invitational

Lake Norman Yacht Club, Mooresville, NC

April 24-25

Michos Wins Spring Thaw With A Woody

Spring is sprung and winter has thawed! The Spring Thaw at Lake Norman Yacht Club, North Carolina, is the best early option to sail without all of the foul weather gear and even get a tan.  For two consecutive years, Tom Grace, Paula Pacheco and LNYC hosted the Spring Thaw, rolling out the red carpet for Jet 14s and showing some southern hospitality.

 

The drive to North Carolina is only one day and Tom makes it easy on road-weary travelers by not starting the Saturday racing until noon. When the eight Jets attending began to rig Saturday there was a nice 15 knot wind blowing.  But by the time we launched the boats, the wind had gone down to five knots and we ended up paddling to the start line.  The wind never really came back so racing was abandoned for the day.  Afterwards, Chris Mac Murray entertained the fleet playing some bagpipes.

Sunday looked like a carbon copy of Saturday morning -- a steady eight plus knots and a morning haze.  This time the wind stayed and picked up a bit though there were still plenty of holes out there.  With all of the boats equal in the standings (i.e. no racing Saturday) it was a bit of mystery how the competitors would fare.  Tom Grace was just coming off winning the Midwinters at St. Petersburgh in January.  Chris Hennon had got his #1093 moving well, too.  Then there were reigning Spring Thaw champions Doug Brown and Sue Mallows sailing their brand new Jib Tech #1050.  Chris Mac Murray was also sailing his newer Jibe Tech #1145.  Perennial winner Marion Zaugg had never won the Spring Thaw and was hungry for a win to start the year.  Barry Saunders had just purchased newer sails for #962.

The Dark Horse of the regatta was Dave and Sue Michos in the old woodie #217.  They'd raced the Midwinters and finished third in their other boat #1136-- or so-so figuring they were early favorites.  But then they'd won the District III Championship Regatta in the restored woodie -- having never raced or even tuned up the boat before.  Could greased lightning strike twice?

 

The Race Committee set a one-lap windward/leeward course where a good start and hitting the first shift was a premium.  The Michos' #217 got both and lead at the first mark with Zaugg in #1132 a couple boat lengths behind.  However, the entire fleet was close at the mark.  #217 kept the lead on the leeward leg and the short windward leg to the finish.

Race Two and Three saw a nice shore shift on the right side but better pressure coming in from the left.  Zaugg got the good starts and tacked right shortly after in each race going on to win both races.  Michoses were shortly behind in each race, finishing second and showing great speed and pointing.  Michael and Laury Parramore were duking it out in their restored #544 against hosts Tom Grace and Paula Pacheco in  #717 for third and fourth places. 

After three races everything was going as  planned.  The wind had picked up a little and the Race Committee was making the most of  what had turned out to be a one-day regatta.  Tacking shortly after the start Marion Zaugg was hoping to put #217 and the Michoses away for good.  However, Marion missed his hiking strap and the boat ended up capsizing.  Chris Hennon in #1093 led at the mark with #217 and #544 shortly behind.  The boats rounded together at the leeward mark with #544 camped on #217.  The Michoses' height and speed ground down #544 and the boat finished with a sizable margin of victory at the finish.  For anyone inquiring on the tuning of #217, they can check out the class website message board under "Speed Zone."  Marion and Carol ended up bailing out #1132 during the race.

 

Race Five saw #217 in first place with a comfortable seven point lead.  They sailed conservatively and following #1132 around the race course.  The Parramores were shooting to overtake #1132 for second place.  Marion ended up winning what looked like the last race to secure a second place finish.  The Michoses got into a funk around the leeward mark, finishing fifth but still ahead of Marion by by three points.  But wait, the Race Committee tacked on a sixth race.  Marion's hopes surged and Michael Parramore had a shot at second place.

Race Six was raced among the regular Sunday fleets at LNYC.  The wind filled into 15 knots before the race then died back to 8-10 knots after the start.  Hennon, an M-Scow and the Michoses ended up near the pin.  The Michoses' #217 tacked and crossed the fleet.  However, the RC made the legs longer and made this race two times around.  The good start was not as crucial as Marion showed by tacking and getting to more pressure on the right.  However, when #217 and #1132 later engaged, the height/speed balance tipped to #217 which went on to win the regatta.

 

The Michoses are now undefeated in regattas racing #217.  The boat, while likely overweight, has been stiffened like a rock.  It has set Jet 14 records of sorts in the "Margin of Age Difference Department: 'Oldest Boat To Win a Regatta vs. Newest Boat."

So, if you have a Jet14 gathering dust in the garage, there's still hope. Barry Saunders will be offering another chance to sail in North Carolina's warmer weather in November.  Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

                                                                                Dave Michos, #217

Pictures

 

Race

Place

Sail

Skipper

Crew

1

2

3

4

5

6

Total

1

 217

D. Michos

S. Michos

1

2

2

1

5

1

12

2

1132

M. Zaugg

C. Van Kueren

2

1

1

DNF

1

2

16

3

544

M. Parramore

L. Parramore

4

3

5

2

2

3

19

4

717

T. Grace

P. Pacheco

5

5

3

6

6

4

29

5

1145

C. MacMurray

F. Bajowski

3

7

8

3

3

6

30

6

1093

C. Hennon/C. Clark

C. Hennon/C. Clark

7

4

6

7

4

5

33

7

1150

D. Brown

S. Mallows

6

6

4

4

7

DNS

36

8

962

B. Saunders

Send Your Name

8

8

7

5

8

7

 43

Results Posted 5/4/03

Send corrections to the webmaster