2007 Spring Thaw

26 Sailors got a jump on summer by sailing in the 80+ degree temperatures of North Carolina.    On the drive down, emerging from the first tunnel on I-77, the temperature jumped to a remarkable 78 degrees.   For the next two and a half days it was shorts and T shirts.   The early arrivals on Saturday were greeted by the Carolina Sailing Club and Barry Saunders.  As usual, these guys put on a great event.   With 13 boats the Jet-14's were the largest fleet of the weekend, but there were a bunch of Flying Scotts and Lightnings.   6 boats from Ohio made the drive.  On the water there were frequent chants of "O-H,  I-O", and again when Ohio State made the final 4 on Saturday afternoon. 

The third race was particularly interesting, with Tom Grace and Paula Pacheco getting the win.   On the run, Tom went right and slowly passed the entire fleet which went for some early breeze on the left.  Tom took advantage of a little more pressure and moved into first around the leeward mark.  Tom held onto first up the beat for the victory and a third for the event.  Well done Tom.  The Peshek and Adelman ride didn't have such good fortune.   From a high-water-mark position of second at the last mark, the jib tensioner parted with a bang at the beginning of the beat to the finish.  We could have easily quit, but we were in second place, doggon it!    Heidi took charge and jury rigged the jib halyard and we tried to hold onto a top three finish.   It wasn't to be as 6 boats passed the limping 1131 on the beat.   Rats.   No matter, we had a great time and, mostly thanks to Heidi, we had the boat going pretty good, especially down wind.     

 James McKenna and crew, Jim Hickman sailed very consistently to take fourth.   These guys seemed to find enough wind to consistently pass boats and manage each race very well, which was no small task considering the variable breeze.  Bridget Ireland seemed thrilled with her new boat, #1147 which was a surprise present from Nate (who probably got some brownie points for that one, well done old man!)    That is one way to put a smile on your spouse's face, buy them a race ready, competitive Jet-14!   It must have been fun for her to beat out Nate and National Champion crew, Ben Stock for 6th place. 

The drive is only about 9 hours at a normal pace, which allowed the EYC folks the opportunity to leave at about 3:30 PM and be home by midnight.  Lake Jordan is a sizable man-made lake close to Chapel Hill, NC.  The Chapel Hill area is very nice, clean, and up beat with a large college population.  There are some great vistas on the drive through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina,  especially around the Mount Airy, NC area.  If you take Friday off for the drive down, the whole thing makes for a pleasant weekend.   If there is a non-Jetter in the family, it would make a nice vacation with many antique dealers and furniture companies in the area.    The venue is on the schedule again for the Chapel Thrill, November 3 - 4. 

The Saunders, along with some great Carolina Sailing Club volunteers, put on a Chili pot luck on Saturday afternoon that was great.   They also thought to bring a portable TV where all the OSU Jet-14 crowd huddled to watch Ohio State earn a spot in the NCAA final four.    Thanks to Barry, Susan, and the Carolina Sailing Club for putting on a great event!