2000 Pewaukee Finn Midwest Championships
August 5-6
Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Last year was the first year for the Pewaukee Finn Regatta. It was a tremendous success and at the US Trials a number of Finnsters committed to attending.
Fifteen boats showed up at Shannon's Pub which was the Regatta HQ for the weekend (what better place than a bar for a regatta site!). Shannon's is right next to the Pewaukee Yacht Club, which was hosting an E Scow event on Saturday. E's are fun boats to watch, and we got a kick out of sailing on a course set up just west of their's.
There were 5 races scheduled for Saturday, but because of the storms that blew through, we only managed to get 3 in. The first race was sailed in a nice 7-10 knot Southerly. Just like any "pond" the shifts and pressure were variable, but if you were in phase, you made out big. I was totally in phase in the first race and won by over 300 yards! Boatspeed was great and I made few mistakes.
The second race was sailed in similar conditions, and after a bad start I rounded the top mark in 10th. I passed a few boats downwind, but made big gains on the 2nd beat. I rounded the 2nd top mark in 4th and ground down two more to finish 2nd to Darrell Peck (Gresham, OR). I was really psyched with my speed and ability to wiggle my way up the beats.
After a long lunch break, the RC sent us out in a building Southeasterly. Storms were hitting in Milwaukee and they thought we could get a couple more races in before they hit Pewaukee. I was a little nervous for the lack of a safety focus, but went out and had a lot of fun in the breeze. In the 3rd race, it had picked up to a puffy 15-20. I managed to get a good start and lead the fleet to the right after a quick tack to port at the start. I rounded the top mark right behind Darrell Peck and in the process of getting the controls worked out (vang on and inhauler off), a puff hit me and I violently wiped out (hard!). Pewaukee Lake is deep, so getting the mast stuck in the mud isn't a concern, so I rolled the boat 360 degrees and got rolling without much of a problem....but now in 10th. I passed some more boats on the run and beat and finished right on Eric Wilson's heels for 6th. This would prove to be a painful score, but I was psyched that I was able to recover.
Race 4 was started as the breeze died. On the 1st run, the wind completely shut down and the rain came down hard. Most boats were able to get around the leeward mark and were heading upwind when a huge lightning strike hit very close to the lake. Race abandoned and we were done for the day. With a 1,2,6, I was tied with Mike Milner from Canada for 2nd. Darrell Peck had a nice 2,1,2 for a lead.
Sunday was very pleasant, but light. We went to the east end of the lake for 3 more races. The first was a good one for me as I went from 6th to 3rd on the last run. Mike Milner won the race and Darrell was 5th. I was in a solid 3rd with a few more races to go.
Race 5 was another great one for me. I was hanging 2nd most of the way and managed to get by Darrell on the 2nd beat and extend for a nice victory. Darrell was 2nd and Mike finished 9th. Now I was in 2nd only a few points out.
Race 6 was similar, but this time, the leaders were defined off the start. Mike Milner had a great pin end start and the fleet flopped to port right away. I was in the middle 1/3 of the line and to leeward of both Darrell and Mike set up for the next phase (right). It didn't come and I was 5th around the mark. I got past a few boats due to a downwind dual and looked good up the last beat to the finish. Again playing right middle, I got a nice righty and had Darrell where I wanted him, but he threw in a nice leebow and forced me back right (which I wanted), but got a little lefty and stuck it to me up the beat. I quickly became nervous about points as a lot of boats went left and looked good, but I got some good pressure on the right and finished 4th.
Final scores:
Darrell Peck 15 points
Skip Dieball 17 points
Mike Milner 20 points
Darrell is very good in the Finn. He's won the US Nationals three times and finished 3rd at the Trials in San Francisco. Mike Milner has been sailing Finns for a long time and has done very well at the International Level (5th at the 1990 Worlds & 1991 Canadian National Champ). Finishing as well as I did and mixing it up with them was very fun.
There aren't many Finn Regattas left this year, but I am planning on a training weekend in Annapolis in October. Selling the Lemeux Finn and buying a Devoti with a new Willets mast will be key! Worlds in 2001 are in Marblehead, Mass.