2007 Chili Bowl Regatta

Edgewater Yacht Club, Cleveland OH

October 6

Greetings Jetters:

On behalf of Fleet 60 and the Edgewater Yacht Club, I want to thank all the participating Jet-14 competitors for making the 2007 Chili Bowl one of the best ever.  Sailors from seven clubs participated from as far away as Rochester , New York .   In addition to all the longtime Jet-14 sailors, Greg VanPelt, with crew Chuck Conners, sailed in his first ever Jet-14 Regatta.   Wes Blazer from the Sandusky Sailing Club, with crew Ryan Kyle, sailed his new boat to a fourth place finish.    Bev Keeler returned to the Jet-14 scene as crew for Jim Hermetet.    Brad Balmert also sailed in his first ever Jet14 race (I believe) and won the doggon thing to boot!!  And, everyone was please to once again see Scott Sanders’ brother, Jeff, back aboard Kiwi Magic.   Thanks also to Marion Zaugg for bringing a boat up from Mansfield and making it available to Brad Balmert and Dan McKelway.   And thanks to Dave Michos for putting out the brunch, Jim Hermetet for the post race suds, and John Gemperline for supplying and cooking up the dogs.  

I also want to thank our excellent PRO, Joe Volter and our Race Committee, Ginia Volter, Brian McSweeny, Connie Aguero , and Cathy Rakovan.  These guys did a great job getting three races off in trying conditions.    I know the competitors especially appreciated the ice cold water tossed out between races… a nice touch.  

By all accounts it was a great event.   The storied heavy Autumn winds along the South Shore of Lake Erie failed to materialize.   Conditions were more reminiscent of the fourth of July than early October.   The minimum three races were sailed in breeze of mostly less than 5 knots.   But who can complain after getting a few hours of summer sun and temperatures of 88 degrees?  

Race one offered the most wind of the day, a patchy 5 knot affair.   John and Mike Gemperline shot off the line and lead for a time before getting run down by Dave and Sue Michos .   Brad Balmert and Dan McKelway sailed their first of three consistent races with a third.    The second race started as a drifter with a heavily favored pin end.    Boat-end starters were overheard praying for the time limit, but it was not to be.   John and Mike took the win with Brad and Dan moving into second overall with a second and Wes Blazer (Ryan Kyle, crew) showed off his new boat’s (#530) light air prowess to take third.  Going into the final race it was coming down to a two boat race.    The fleet converged on the windward mark like cows coming home, but without the pageantry.   On the run, the strategic thinkers put their powers of observation to work and jibed early.   As it turned out, there was a bit more pressure out on the lake than in-shore and certainly cleaner air to be found in avoiding the starboard tack parade.  At the finish all the sailors on the boat-end beat all the sailors on the pin end.   Interestingly, the top four boats overall all made the same, correct, downwind call.   How is that for “getting your head out of the boat” which often does separate the top third from the rest of the fleet.   Brad Balmert and Dan McKelway got the ace and put a boat between them and the Gemperlines to get a first place tie and the regatta win on the tie breaker.  

The namesake Chili cook-off had four strong entries.    Judging by the amount of chili consumed, I’d say all flavors were a big hit.   In the final judging, for the second consecutive year, it was Bev Keeler ’s vegetarian medley that took the blue ribbon and won Bev the title of Chili King.   The other contestants, Greg VanPelt, Karen Hugon, and Cliff Peshek put forth a good effort in defeat.   I’d say Bev has a dynasty going. 

Results Posted 10/15/2007

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