January
Our Frostbite regatta was a big success on paper. We had 22 entries, up from 10 last year. Unfortunately a big blast of cold air stranded many boats in their slips, and only 13 boats made it to the course. They all looked pretty cold after it was all over. With wind anywhere from 15 to 22 knots, the boats were sent on double windward leeward courses with 1.5 mile legs. In the first race OBE was first in fleet and then retired due to vang problems (or possibly a crew mutiny if the skipper insisted on sailing the second race). In the second race Roy Newberry won fleet on Paladin.
Our annual meeting for the membership was held at the end of January, and as the Club is doing well, we had very little business to transact other than the announcement of perpetual award winners and new officers and board members, and statements of the 'State of the Club', given by the new Commodore and Treasurer. For brief recap of the meeting follow this link: Annual Meeting.
February
The Icicle Series didn't live up to it's name this year as the weather was generally pleasant for all of the races. Consequently, all of the races were well attended, depite a couple of low water days.
Bill Beatty on Rope Yarn Sunday wrapped up the series with a solid first place in the non-spinnaker class, followed by Island Time in second. The spinnaker class was crowded at the top with Cayuse and Lightwave tied for first with 11 points, followed by OBE and As-If tied with 9 points. We'll add some tie breaking rules for the next series. See our results page for full details on the standings. Trophies for the Icicle Series will be presented at either the first or second TGIF series social.
March
The GBCA/HYC Spring Series was held on March 25th and 26th. The weather was great for sailing, and we had a fine turnout with 34 boats signed up. Saturday's races were held with winds ranging from 12kts and built to around 15kts for the third race. GBCA held a big party for the racers at the GBCA clubhouse following the races. Mike Seich was on hand to serve up his famous BBQ, and there was plenty of rum and beer available to wash it down with. Sunday we got off two more races in a 15 knot breeze to complete the series. Thanks to Farley Fontenot and James Liston of HYC for their help in the regatta and also to Jorja Lewis for helping on the mark set boat. Check out the results page to see who did what.
This year the regatta was held on only one weekend, with more races each day than in the past. Another new feature for the Series was the use of two windward marks set at different distances from the start to allow course leg lengths to be tailored to the capabilities of slower and faster boats. We've heard a number of positive comments about this format so far.
April
April was packed with sailing events, none of them put on by GBCA. We used that time instead to prepare for the Regata de Amigos to be run at the end of May. This was a big effort, and many thanks to Don Kugle of GBCA and Gary Anderson from LYC, and all of the people on the Veracruz planning committee for their time and hard work.
May
Planning for the Regata de Amigos was wrapped up and the race got underway on May 26. The first boat to finish the Regata de Amigos for the year 2000 was Andy Green's multihull Bird. Bird crossed the finish line at 7:38 Tuesday morning, winning their class and first multihull to finish honors. Bird reported spending a fair amount of time parked in a hole, nothing unusual for this race.
The first monohull to finish was Lee Demerest's Allegro. After handicapping, Allegro finished first in class and first in the PHRF fleet, and was winner of the Carrington Cup. Kekelee II picked up honors as winner of the Cruising fleet.
The Navigators Award for the year 2000 running of the Regata de Amigos went to the Navigator of Sooner, who missed his ETA by only 33 minutes and 22 seconds.
Detailed scoring for the race can be found under the race results link. Additional commentary can be found here.
June
The summer TGIF series, now held exclusively on Saturdays, started on June 10, and has had a really good turnout. The two series races held in June were held in breezy conditions that enabled most of the fleet to finish before dark. Results and additional commentary can be found here.
Jim and Allison Orchid, Event Chairpersons for this year's Leukemia Cup at HYC, have asked us to post this note of thanks to all sailors who participated and helped make the event a success.
Thank you for your generous support during the 2000 Leukemia Cup Regatta. This year's event was an overwhelming success. With your help, we raised $130,000.00!
The monies raised help in our fight cure all forms of leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, while improving the quality of life for the patients and their families. Twenty years ago, there was no effective treatment for leukemia. Today over 80% of children afflicted with the most common form of leukemia are cured. We are making progress, but the fight is not over.
The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter supports over 2,000 patients in the patient aid program, funds research and educates the public about these diseases. Our goal is to eliminate these diseases for mankind. Your support has put us a little closer to the goal.
July
Congratulations to our shorthanded racers that sweated out the Singlehanded and Mixed Doubles regattas on a wickedly hot mid-July weekend. See the results here.
August
The third and final TORC race of the year was run on the weekend of August 26. Despite some early misgivings about not having any wind, everyone easily made it around the course within the time limit. Even so, it's a sure bet that sea-sickness wasn't much of a problem in this race. See results here.
Congratulations to the women who came out to compete in our Women's Regatta. They had to deal with a day of unstable weather that included huge random windshifts, an intense little rainstorm, and some monster holes. See the results here.
This year's TGIF series wound up this month with the usual big turnout for the last race on August 19. Series winners this year were Island Time with a commanding lead in the non-spinnaker class, and Yaa-Hoo edging out the competition in the spinnaker class. Forty boats scored at least 1 point during the series, so there was plenty of competition in both classes.
September
Fall racing on Galveston Bay started off with a bang in September with the Compass Bank Regatta. This year's event drew nearly 50 boats to the competition. Five races were run for most classes, and with wind the going from light in the morning to strong enough to blow away marks by the afternoon, everyone had a fair shot at doing well. Many thanks to Compass Bank for their continuing support for this regatta. See results here.
Lakewood Yacht Club hosted the second big event of the fall season, Sailing World's Galveston Bay NOOD regatta. There were 135 boats registered for the NOOD regatta this year, with the J/22, J/80, and Etchells classes bringing in large numbers of competitors. To go with the great turnout, there was good wind all three days. See results here.
October
October was stacked with big races this year. LYC's annual Harvest Moon regatta drew a big crowd of boats to Port Aransas, and every one of them had to have felt like they had won the sailors lottery. Cool dry air, a great big full moon and a moderate breeze on the beam encouraged many people to do without sleep so they wouldn't miss any of it. The race started on Thursday rather than Friday, and motoring allowances were eliminated as well. Opinion was mixed about the extra day but the elimination of motoring was widely viewed as a good thing. Linda Woodward took pictures and posted them on the web.
For the one-design sailors, the annual Beasley Cup J/24 regatta hosted by HYC and J/24 Fleet 5 is not to be missed. Jimmy Tichenor & Co. did a great job of getting five good races in between rainstorms; good enough to get a standing ovation from the racers at the award ceremony. We hope he comes back next year. The race committee took pictures as well as OCSs, and has them posted on the web.
October's racing finished up with the GBCA/HYC combined Fall Series. Like the Spring Series, the Fall Series was squeezed into a single weekend and five races were run. The wind showed up and left the rain and cold at home, so the only thing to complain about was the chop. We had a good turnout for the regatta with right at 40 boats entering. See results here.
November
The Houston stop of the 2000 J/22 Circuit, hosted by HYC on November 11 & 12, drew 28 boats to a cool and breezy Galveston Bay. The undisputed regatta leader was Olympic medalist Paul Foerster from Garland Texas, who moved out to an early lead in every race. Proof, if you needed it, that a lot of competitive sailing can make you a better sailor.
HYC closed the Galveston Bay racing season with the Turkey Day regatta on November 18 & 19. Saturday's racing was blown out by untenable conditions left in the wake of a strong cold front, so the top turkey awards were decided by a single race on Sunday. Sunday turned out to be a little brisk, but the wind was fine, and shifty.