FBYC History....

Jere Dennison

Who was that masked man?

FBYC has hosted the Chesapeake Laser Masters Championship since 1981. It’s fair to say that this event has consistently attracted some of the best Laser Masters sailors regionally, nationally, and sometimes internationally. Masters are defined as those over 35 years of age with ascending age categories of Apprentice, Master, Grand Master, and Great Grand Master, and many are competitive even with the younger sailors in the Laser class. The top tier of these older competitors are good, obscenely good in spite of their age.

This year, the weather was dreadful: rainy, windy, and cold. Only the most fearless and devoted masochists will venture on the race course in these capsizable conditions. Your Historian, an ancient Laser sailor himself, sought refuge (as it was) on the RC boat on Saturday to watch the fun. And he was not disappointed.

Twenty-five Lasers entered the fray, including four previous champions of this event, one of whom was a five-time winner. Tough competition anyway you look at it. But it was not long after the first two races were concluded before it became apparent that a new challenger was going to blow away the field. I pondered facetiously if the trophy had already been engraved with his name prior to the starting gun for the first race. At the end of the six-race series which allowed one throw-out, the poor guy was forced to throw-out a first place. Yes, six straight bullets. Or were they silver bullets?

I was impressed as an observer from the RC boat when I noticed that our mystery sailor was rounding the leeward mark in one race while some of the tail-enders of the fleet had not even rounded the windward mark, about three-quarters of a mile behind. Friends, this is a fleet of boats that are just about as one-design as you can get with almost imperceptible speed differences between hulls. Whoa… this guy is really good.

I shan’t keep it a secret any longer. The winner was none other than John Bertrand, the winner of two consecutive Laser world championships in 1976 and 1977. Later, he won the Finn world championship followed by a Silver Medal in the Finn class in the 1984 Olympics. All together he has won five world sailing championships from Lasers to 80-foot ocean racers. The image of Bertrand at our Chesapeake Lasers Masters Championship included in this article was captured by Jon Deutsch.

Now a professional sailor based in Annapolis, he has sailed in the America’s Cup as Dennis Conner’s tactician, managed high-profile winning offshore campaigns, and is President of Bertrand Racing. His curriculum vita goes a long way to explaining his prowess in our Chesapeake Masters Championship except that, until 2009, he had not grasped a Laser tiller in 30 years!

After whipping himself into shape, he inaugurated his latest Laser campaign at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January where he finished a lamentable (for him) 10th place. This was followed by a 10th place finish at the Laser Masters Worlds in Nova Scotia over Labor Day and recent convincing wins at FBYC and the Crab Claw Regatta at SSA. In an interview with hometownannapolis.com, he said “I’m really enjoying myself. It’s a great way to stay in shape. The Masters scene is tremendous, very competitive. I want to go back to the Miami OCR and redeem myself.”

One wonders if he is in the process of reinvigorating his Olympic aspirations for 2012. As a Master (and nearly a Grand Master), it’s counterintuitive, but he’s not saying. But why not? I wouldn’t want to bet against him.

A Tale of Two Old Boats, Two Veteran Skippers

During the Annual Meeting this year, I was delighted to observe Wayland Rennie and his loyal and capable crew of Trilogy accept a couple of well-deserved perpetual trophies. This caused me to reflect on the long and distinguished racing history of Wayland and his still gorgeous Irwin 38.

I remember, hopefully correctly, when a brand new Trilogy first turned heads at FBYC on Opening Day, 1968, over 40 years ago. She was immediately hailed as the ‘Queen of the Fleet.’ Wayland, now an octogenarian, has been a regular and consistent participant in FBYC racing events ever since. In fact, it’s considered peculiar when she does not turn up on the starting line. Sure, there have probably been FBYC skippers in the past who have experienced yacht racing for more years than Wayland. But I don’t believe that any would break Wayland’s record for continuity with the very same boat.

Trilogy has been raced unflaggingly under three different racing rules: CCA, IOR, and PHRF. Probably her most difficult years were competing under IOR, but Wayland stuck with her. The long-term success of Wayland and his beloved Trilogy is irrefutable and, from the enthusiasm expressed by her crew, I think we can expect to see her record extended in the years to come.

By coincidence, one of my tablemates at the Annual Meeting was Phil Webb, a Flying Scot sailor with whom I crewed several times this past summer and fall. Few will realize that Phil and his Scot #3320 named Sea Gull may also possess a similar decade-spanning record on the one-design side of the club.

As an FBYC member, he purchased his Scot in 1979 some 30 years ago and even before a fleet existed here. Phil raced her consistently after fleet status was attained in the early ‘80’s and is proud of the fact that he has won silver in each and every year since. Again, this has got to be some kind of a record on the one-design side in the same boat, and it is also a record which is likely to be embellished in the future.

Yes, Virginia, there is mid-week racing in Deltaville

Some while ago, there were attempts to institute weekday races at FBYC, one a Friday evening series in MORC yachts and the other in Lasers, either on a Wednesday or a Thursday afternoon. These efforts were short-lived due primarily to the considerable time and distance issues faced by Richmond residents who were the potential competitors.

But now we have the ‘Race-evous,’ a Thursday evening race for craft ranging from 19’ Cape Dory Typhoon to an occasional showing of a 50’ Pearson ketch…even a catamaran. The races have been sponsored by the Wilton Creek Cruising Club for the past two years. The race course is generally a +/- 3.5 mile triangular shaped course starting at Green No. 15 (above Horse Point) extending down river to set marks and return to Green No. 15. The races start at 5 pm and are usually completed in about 1 hour followed by a social gathering at the Coves Clubhouse on Wilton Creek or a nearby residence where the winning boat customarily presents the rest of the fleet with a pizza, no silver is awarded. Detailed results based on PHRF are distributed by email as are notices about each upcoming race.

According to Stan Coloff, the prime mover of this event and a full-time resident on Wilton Creek, “My basic goal remains to provide a low-key racing venue whereby sailors can enjoy a few hours of casual racing during the week and introduce cruisers to racing in a non-threatening environment and give them a reason to get out on the water.”

“We are completing our 2nd year. Last year we had 17 races from mid-May to late October with 18 different boats participating. This year Thursday thunderstorms took a toll...We've had 11 races with a total of 21 different boats participating over the course of the season. Typical turn-out ranges from 5-8 boats.”

“I would like to have more boats participate in our Thursday evening racing. My only concern is to maintain the laid-back nature of our racing venue...friendly non- aggressive, no stringent application of rules, no protest committee etc. As this informal racing expands hopefully, I hope to recruit some help in running the races...particularly volunteer committee boat(s) that would rotate from week to week.”

2010 season will get underway late April or early May…so, if you are interested and have the time and inclination to participate in these “racing for non-racers” low impact’ racing events, contact Stan at stan@stan.coloff.name to request a spot on his distribution list.