Light Winds plague the Detroit NOODS
We arrived at Cresent Sail Yacht Club at about 10:00 am on Thursday and proceeded to put the boat together where we realized that our spinnaker shiv in the mast was broken. We went on a search at the local stores and miraculously found the shiv. We barrowed a riveter and drill and quickly had the boat put together. Since there was no wind we went off and had lunch at a local Irish Pub. After lunch and a few beers, we went back to the boat and launched Goombay. The wind was light but we needed to practice. So we went out and used the channel markers as marks to test our rounding skills, sets and douses. Sylvie, Eric and I seemed like we had sailed together for years. Everything went very smoothly. We all went over to Bayview Yacht Club to register and have a couple of drinks. The a group of us went to Tommy's Oyster Bar for some good food and great stories. This was a sweet and sour moment for me as it was my birthday, but also the last place my father and I had dinner in Detroit before he passed away back in 2001.
Friday brought beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures but no wind. We got to the starting line pretty quickly with our 5hp motor, but to know avail, we were in postponement. During our floating time, we decided to make it a little more interesting. We rafted 4 U20's together, Wizz, Prize, Goombay Smash and Zipper, creating the first ever Ultimate 20 Quadmaran. At about 12:00, we were getting a little stir crazy, so a local powerboat came by and we called them over. They were nice enough to take Eric in and get our Goombay Smash fixin's. Quickly he returned and Goombay's were flowing on the U20 Quadmaran. During this time we had floated quite a distance from the race committee, so someone recommended that we make our way back. So we fired up the 5hp motor and motored back with all 4 U20's together side by side, as we weaved through the traffic all 4 boats in synch steering port and starboard. We we all got well lubricated, the race committee lowered the postponement and a race was afoot. Only 3 knots of wind, but the committee was determined to get a race going. Things were quite shifty and spotty. Eric Vigrass, Van Sheppard and Cody Hines topped the results for this race. We returned to Cresent Sail Yacht Club after the race and quickly headed over to Bayview for some dinner and the party. Once we got some food and drinks and drinks in us, one of Mark Dobie's crew came up with the great idea to have a race from Cresent Yacht Club to Bayview Yacht Club right then. So Mark and his crew and myself and Sylvie went back to Crescent YC and rigged the boats. We left the harbor and started our race. Mark tried going high and low but could not pass Goombay. Goombay extended a nice lead into the river where the winds lightened. As I looked back, Zipper was flying. That is when I realized they were using there engine to catch up. As we came into the river it was getting dark, so I put out my running lights. Zipper did not have any and noticed up river the police boat that was coming toward us. Mark looked a little nervous but the police boat was towing someone so they didn't bother us. Once back at Bayview, we found the party had moved a little where drinks were being mixed in a massive blender and a paint shaker. This got a few of the U20 sailors a little over served. We piled into a vehicle to go back to the hotel, but one of my crew didn't fit in so he said he would find a ride. We made it back to the hotel and about 2 hours later my crew was still not back... This was not good, so I gave him a call and he had found a ride but the person dropped him off about 4 miles from the hotel in the middle of a bad area of Detroit and he was lost and a little overserved. With the help of a map, I located where he was at and went a picked him up. Time to get some sleep.
Saturday brought beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures but no wind! This sounds familiar. Zipper and Goombay got a little board so we decided to start our own races around the committee boat and another marker. After about 4 windward-lewards the committee boat got the hint that there was enough wind to race. So we got 2 races in, both again very light and variable winds. The first race Eric Vigrass, Jim Pearson and Gregg Henning topped the list where the second race saw Jim Pearson, Eric Vigrass and Cody Hines finished in the top 3. I would tell you more about the racing but it was like going to Vegas and shooting Craps. Sometimes your lucky, sometimes your not. So back the club for food, drinks and RAIN! The rain drowned out the party and it was time to get some rest after the Friday night escapades.
Sunday brought Lightning Storms and no wind. At about 11:30 the race committee, abandoned racing for the day and that is how it ended.
Story by Gregg Henning, Goombay Smash
Final Results