Jonathan Gorbold congratulated by race director Keith Calkins at the finish. Joan Calkins was recording the finish order of the boats as they arrived back at CYC after the race.
Jonathan Gorbold finished in front of a field of 12 RC Laser skippers who sailed in a two-mile “offshore” race from the docks at the Canandaigua Yacht Club to Squaw Island and back.
Second place went to Gary Schmidt. He was first to round the Squaw Island mark after sailing a course close to shore on the first leg but he got in lighter air and shifty wind a little too far out in the lake near the finish to fend off Jonathan from passing on the inside.
Sharing a chase boat with Gary didn’t seem to hurt Bill Schmidt as he arrived back at the docks in close contest for third place.
After a shotgun start from the docks, this first annual event for the fleet required each skipper to jump in a chase boat and follow their RC Laser in some type of powered watercraft. Kayaks, canoes, pontoon boats and ski boats carried the racers, race committee and spectators.
Sailors agreed after the race that the appropriate strategy would have been to use the big “A” sail. Hugging the shore also seemed to pay off for everyone who took that route rather than heading out to the middle of the lake although the wind appeared to be a little stronger further from shore. The wakes and chop caused by powerboats out on the lake seemed to stall the air in the smaller “B” sails for the RC Lasers that went out as compared to the boats that stayed in close to the shore.
The wind direction was steady and blew from the south. The wind speed at the start was at the low end of the “B” rig and only Jack Bennett chose to sail with his “A” sail. Sail changes weren’t allowed during the race so Jack benefitted from the light air sail almost winning the race before he got lost somewhere in the mooring field as he approached the finish line.
Roger Baldwin (#99) and George Walter in the background navigate their RC Lasers towards Squaw Island on Canandaigua Lake.
Roger Baldwin and Harry Henkel drove up from the Oxford RC Laser Fleet in Maryland to participate. Harry picked up a copy of Stuart H. Walker’s book The Tactics of Small Boat Racing for persevering in the light winds and being the final finishing boat that didn’t drop out. Roger picked up a copy of Chapman’s Boating Etiquette as a prize for being the mid-fleet finisher.
Anne Lambert paddled Nelson Habecker (#54) in to shore after his RC Laser found the big hole with no wind in the lake within sight of the finish docks.
Awards were handed after a cookout for everyone at the waterfront pavilion where everyone walked away with something, including Keith Calkins, our Race Director –in his first duty overseeing a Radio Controlled race in which he did an exceptionally good job– all of the race participants and all of the chase boat drivers!
Plans are already in the works to hold the Second Annual RC Laser Squaw Island Race next year, at 2 p.m. on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend holiday!
