1998 Chico CATS Multihull Classic Regatta
Story
This is a story of a no-wind-situation...
I took my Trifoiler to the 1998 Chico CATS Multihull Classic Regatta, at Black Butte Lake, near Orland, CA. I wanted to see how the Trifoiler would do in an honest around-the-marks race, against some well-sailed beach cats and a variety of other kinds of multihulls.
Well, to make a boring story excruciating, here's the lowdown: Of the 5 races planned, only 3 were run, due to lack of wind. All the flags were blowing straight down. It was soooo dead, the only way the anemometer at the top of somebody's mast could turn was from the Earth, Lake, and Boat turning underneath it. (think about it!) However, we always got a few knots of wind immediately after the race committee canceled a race.
In the three races, I scored one DNF (did not finish) and two DNS (did not start). This was enough to propel me solidly to the top of "X-class", created for Trifoilers for this regatta. Yep, no other Trifoilers showed up. Here's a picture of the totally bitchin' trophy plaque they gave me. (92kb) (This is the least honestly I've ever won an award!)
Actually, I think they gave the DNF to me, because it took an hour for the trifoiler to drift across the starting line. Isn't the time-out 20 minutes? The other two races I couldn't even drift across the line.
Some of the big cats actually did move OK in the light air. There was a SuperCat 20 with a really tall mast that caught some of the higher gradient wind. Some of the Nacra 5.8s and 6.0s would get going occasionally, on their own apparent wind. But the trifoiler drifted less than the racing marks did!
Oh well, have to go back next year and really earn that trophy!!
Photos
OK, here's the best of the photos I took Most of the photos are of the Trifoiler getting towed because, well, that's most of what happened. Never got any real action shots of me paddling the damn boat out to the race course.
Unfortunately I never could convince the guy with the 60 horsepower outboard to tow the Trifoiler at speed.
Saturday (98/04/18):
race #1:
race #2 was cancelled.
what a great party Saturday night!
Wow! Chico CATS sure know how to roll out the red carpet and do it up RIGHT! A pinata for the kids, a nice dinner, two kegs of Butte Creek Brewry's finest wheat and red, raffle for the adults (no photos of that thank goodness!). My daughter Diana was happy to get a blue tootsie-pop (40kb). Almost makes up for the lack of wind. Oh well, perhaps that cold front will move south tomorrow...
Sunday (98/04/19):
We took my daughter out for a spin on our Hobie 16. She loves it!! There was actually some wind in the AM, before the races started.
race #1:
By the time we were done fooling around the business had started, so I had to hustle to rig the Trifoiler and paddle out to the race course again (23kb). I did not drift across the starting line before the other boats finished.
race #2:
Same deal. Bleah! (25kb)
race #3:
cancelled! Hooray! Getting towed in by Tom and Ann's F-27, to the tune of "Die Valkries" blasting on the cockpit speakers. (30kb)
Pack it up and drive home!
