Stuart Sinclair Regatta Report - Jon Henderson

The Stuart Sinclair Regatta is THE BEST REGATTA OF THE YEAR

I look forward to this regatta every year for many reasons.  First of all Stuart Sinclair leaves a legacy of Awesome!  R.I.P. good friend.

Arriving in Port Townsend late on Friday night we were welcomed by our wonderful hosts in Port Townsend.  Mats Elf and I were treated to a freshly baked cake and ukelele (thank you Juniper) at "Chez Dunlap".

Saturday morning we were greeted with beautiful weather and a nice 5-10 knot breeze.  Mats and I continued to work on the final details of the new mast at the Wooden Boat Facility at Point Hudson and just barely made the first race.  Great day of tight racing.  Our Canadian friends Brian and Evan won race two.

Six races were accomplished by a fantastic volunteer race committee with eleven boats of every vintage and experience.  Really good to have the new faces in the fleet.  Welcome to Bob Conrad and his son Chris.  Another new member of our fleet is opti sailor Alex Hubbard sailing with his dad Chris.   After racing that evening, the Port Townsend fleet treated everyone to a delicious lasagna feast, and a race de-briefing emceed by 505 fleet stalwart Paul Von Grey.  I think everyone gained some knowledge.   Many of us also made a point to support the local Port Townsend economy with late night techno dancing at Sirens, as it was Prom night at the sailing center.

Sunday was again spectacular weather with very challenging racing conditions for the final 3 races.  Very fun sailing with lots of lead changes and mixed results.  Simon Miles and Sean Rankins won race eight with a personal puff, and the last race of the regatta was won by less than a foot!  With such great conditions out by Point Hudson, the fleet went on to practice a couple of rabbit starts that are unique to the international level of racing in the 505 class.

Results are located at :  http://pths.dyndns.org/505/

Big Thanks to the Port Townsend Sailing Association, and everyone who attended this epic event.  Ten boats, nine races, awesome people.  Can't wait to do it again!

I look forward to seeing everyone at the next couple of upcoming events:

June 28-29:  Gorge regatta (Cascade Locks)
July 5-7:  Pacific Coast Championship (Kitsalano YC)