2008 National Championships

Sandusky Sailing Club, Sandusky OH

Aug 13-16

Nationals 2008: Dog Day Afternoon

In many ways a new boat is like a puppy. Its owner likes what he or she has just acquired, but is not quite sure what it will be like when it grows up. And like a puppy, a new boat is a man’s best friend. So when my good friend and super crew Ben Stock and I took our new pup (#1151) west to Sandusky, OH for this year’s Nationals, there were many questions, especially ‘could it run with the big dogs?’ ( and with some llamas mixed in).

For those who have never been, Sandusky Sailing Club is one of the best one design facilities east of the Mississippi. Spacious grounds, 4 hoists, superb Race Committee,….a great place to sail!

Sailing got underway with the Women and Juniors in a light to medium and shifty SW breeze. Iron Mike Gemperline and Bridget Ireland showed their respective fleets who the leader of the pack was as both teams took fleet honors by a wide margin.

A bonus for this year’s regatta was that SSC has Wednesday night racing for its fleets, and they offered the Jets a separate start to use as a practice race for the Nationals. The pup went out to play and got slapped around by the Big Dogs.

Nationals, Day 1

After an early morning thunderstorm and tons of rain, the fleet went out under clearing skies and a beautiful north wind of 10-15 knots. Another puppy (#1135, recently acquired by Bryan and Tiffany Parker) barked loudly, showing good boatspeed and tactics, and beating the Big Dogs at their game with all top 3 finishes for the day. Mike Gemperline, with father John crewing (#665) displayed his impressive abilities by posting a 5,4 in the first 2 races. Sean and Kerrie DeFusco (#1105) again showed their ever consistent style finishing all races in the top 6. After 4 races and a variety of courses, and many boats vying for the top spots, we realized the puppies could run.

Nationals, Day 2

Another great sailing day: winds starting at 10-15 knots from the NE, decreasing to 5 knots by the end of racing. The committee opted to sail close to SSC in more protected waters as a small-craft-advisory was in effect for Lake Erie. Several boats started to get on-track including Dave and Sue Michos (#217) and Hank Bossinault and Tommy Irwin (#1133). Both teams led or challenged for the lead in several races, and moved up big in the standings. Another team, Nate Ireland and Seth Parker (#1134) continued to sail well, and established themselves as the clear pack leader of the llamas. Our conclusion after Day 2: the puppies could hunt.

Nationals, Day 3

With 2 races left to be sailed, and a throwout in play, there were still many opportunities to improve. Again, the fleet went out to a 10-15 knot NE breeze, but this continued to diminish to under 5 knots by the end. The 2  puppies continued their pack leading tendencies (although 1151 got lost from the pack for a time during Race 9), and Team Parker ended up with an impressive score of all races in the top 3. Not bad for sailing their first Nationals! There was a real dog fight for the next 3 spots.  On the strength of their winning the first race of the day, Team Bossinault/Irwin edged out Team DeFusco overall on a tie-breaker. Hot on their heals was King Llama (Ireland/Parker), who also showed great consistency with only one double-digit finish. Todd Lochner and Maria Mahoney (#1032) improved throughout the regatta, and pulled out a 6^th overall. Team Michos recovered from a slow Day 1, finishing 7^th, while Eric Johnson and  Cathy Cotell (#1146)

almost won the last race, finishing 2^nd, and this vaulted them to 8^th overall.  Marion Zaugg and wife Carol (#1132) put together some top 5 finishes, and ended up 9^th. Team Gemperline finished the  regatta with some strong finishes rounding out the top 10.

We thank Dave and Sue Michos, and the other Buckeyes who helped , for yet again another fine Nationals, and also SSC for their excellent RC work (with Ken Legler—thanks again Ken!), hospitality and other efforts during the event.

When it was over, Ben and I  had only one thing to say: good dog, good dog.

Brent Barbehenn (#1151)

Special Awards:

Best 1st Nationals: Bryan/Tiffany Parker
Top Husband/Wife: Bryan/Tiffany Parker
Mason-Dixon Line: Todd Lochner
Highest Junior Helmsman: Mike Gemperline
Most Improved: Eric Johnson/Cathy Cotell
Persistance award: Bob Rosenbaum
Youngest sailor: Tommy Irvin
Travelers Series: Dave Michos (1), Bridget Ireland (2)

R.C.Chair: Ken Legler
Jury Chair: Jim Keane
18 Aug, '08, 20:44
St. Pete Scorer

R.C.Chair: Ken Legler
Jury Chair: Jim Keane
18 Aug, '08, 20:45
St. Pete Scorer

R.C.Chair: Ken Legler
Jury Chair: Jim Keane
18 Aug, '08, 20:45
St. Pete Scorer

Jet 14 Class
2008 Jet 14 Women's National Championship
August 13, 2008
All Boats
Series Summary

Pl	Sail	Crew	Subgroup	Tot	1	2	3
1	94	Barb Joudrey & Sue Michos		5	2	2	1
2	1147	Bridget Ireland & Carol Zaugg		11	5	4	2
3	1134	Lauren Beck & Alyssa Singer		12	4	5	3
4	884	Karen Hugon & Ann Roessner		20	7	6	6

2008 Jet 14 Junior National Championships
August 13, 2008
All Boats
Series Summary

Results Posted 8/19/08

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