On July 27, with blowy winds and overcast skies, 14 sailors took to the waters on the third Sunday of the new series. With the race team away in Brockville, new faces appeared to challenge gusty winds and lots of chop. Tyler and Lindsay MacMillan (sailing together, Tyler trying to find some of the sailing magic of his youth and Lindsay showing admirable daughterly patience), Sam Nyhuus (having decided to forgo a basketball tournament in the States for the event – surely a sign that he has seen the light), Pete Nyhuus (sailing under the burgee of the New Edinburgh Sailing Club where he is teaching this Summer and seemingly having picked up a go fast strategy in Ottawa), Jacob Webster (showing up to sail with both a Blue Jay baseball game and an Argo football game on – exhibiting extraordinary dedication to the sport of sailing), Mich Agnew (who answered the bell when an additional sailor was needed to round out the fleet – she sailed with Dan Appleton) and Ken Nyhuus (fresh off the golf course where he completed an intimidating round to psych himself up for a tough afternoon of racing on the Lake) were all newcomers trying to put their mark on the series.
The racing that followed was a showcase of the talent of the younger sailors – Owen and Megan Thomas, Lindsay MacMillan and Jacob Webster in particular – who handled tough conditions with veteran like savvy and put in excellent performances.
The race committee got off 4 races and all boats switched skippers in every race. Ultimately, the team of Jamie Wisener and Pete Nyhuus proved too strong for the rest of the field, winning the day with 2 firsts and 2 seconds. Sam Nyhuus and Owen Thomas followed shortly behind with 2 firsts and 2 thirds. Jacob Webster and Hugh DesBrisay ended up with the third place ribbons, faring much better than either the Blue Jays or Argos on the day.
Hugh DesBrisay hung on to the now much sought after yellow leader`s jersey, but he is out of town for the next race, leaving his lead in huge jeopardy. With second place Megan Thomas away at camp, third place Owen Thomas will don the yellow leader`s shirt and he, along with Madge Barr, Adam Arscot, Ryan Callahan, Jamie Wisener, Andrew Read and Laura Norton, could snatch the lead after week 4 with good finishes in a big fleet.
The next Sunday of racing is scheduled for August 10 – down at club for 12:30 to claim boats and get rigged…We`ll match up anyone who is looking for a match. The challengers for the yellow jersey will require lots of other competitors. The more boats that sail, the better the opportunity for all to score big points. So come one, come all! We are now up to 36 competitors for the series and growing.
The latest standings are now on the Sunday Aft page of the website.