|
On July 23, members of the LHYC A-Cat Fleet attended the John Callahan Memorial Classic Boat Regatta at the Bay Head Yacht Club in Bay Head, NJ. These sailors race their single-handed high-tech catamarans against each other every weekend at the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club. But for the Callahan Classic eight of them teamed together on one boat to compete against others on 1920's-vintage "Barnegat A-Cats."
In this case, the boats being raced were "Catboats" instead of "Catamarans." There were 12 boats in all with names like "Spider," "Torch," and "Spy." The LHYC teamed up on "Vapor" and included Fred Steinbaum, Mike Gruber, Dean Lennox, Rob Gruber, Andy Burdett, Ken Heaton, Ralph Preiss and Jack Lennox. Also from LHYC, two husband-wife teams sailed in the M-16 Scow class. Scott and Joanne Callahan competed on one one boat while Chris and Donna Norman sailed another.
The day began over breakfast with an informative discussion by Lightning National and Flying Scot North American Champion sailor Allan Terhune Jr. Following Allan was Olympic Gold Medalist and America's Cup champion Buddy Melges, a captivating speaker with plenty of confidence in his ability to always sail faster than the competition. Next, the sailors took to the water along with other fleets of "classic" sailboats including Sanderlings, Sneakboxes, Sandpipers and M-16 Scows.
After three races, everyone returned to the Bay Head YC for awards and a post-race party. As the Callahan Foundation promotes sailing on Barnegat Bay, a donation was made to the Monmouth University sailing team. A special award went to Bob Post for his work on promoting interest in sailing the classic Sanderling class. Team LHYC voted Commodore Ken Heaton the team MVP, but he (and his cigar) somehow managed to avoid the customary jacket & tie dunking in the bay. Following a swim in the ocean, sleeping accommodations for the LHYC sailors were graciously provided on various BHYC members' yachts.
On Saturday, eight of the LHYC sailors launched their catamarans on the bayside beach at Lavallette YC and sailed a 5-race series in Barnegat Bay. With a strong westerly wind accompanied by temperatures in the mid-90's, it was another excellent day to be out on the water. And while there were 5 different race winners in the 5-race series, Scott Callahan finished in first overall followed by Dean Lennox and Andy "Kiwi" Burdett. Boats were then put back on the trailers and towed home to Lake Hopatcong in time for the Sunday fleet racing at LHYC.
|
