The following Write Up Was Barrowed From The Greater New Orleans Model Sailing Clubs Website

FRIDAY (05/28/04): Most of the 24 boats that sailed checked in today and all met the 12 checks used to measure class specifications. Two or three boats barely made the 4 pound 8 ounce minimum and a few had to add a little weight. Most boats weight in at 4 lbs. 8 oz. and the heaviest was 4 lbs. 14 oz. The top 5 boats averaged 4 lbs. 9 oz. The overall average was 4 lbs. 10 oz. A small practice course was set up and most put in some practice time, and some time meeting with old and new friends. Winds were generally from the Southwest and about 7 to 10 knots. Could this be a prediction of things to come?

SATURDAY: Steve Ramke of New Orleans Yacht Club was Race Director and started the racing promptly at 10:30 am on an offset triangular course with two 272 foot upwind legs and a total length of approximately 1350 feet (does not include tacking).  Winds were S-SW and again 7 to 10 knots with gust to around 15 knots. Sometime during or maybe just after the seeding race there was a very large swirl in the water very close to Lea’s boat, followed by a few  “What the heck was that?!” comments and someone said “What kind of fish do you have in here?!?”. It seems we had a surprise visit by an Alligator Gar. An adult alligator gar can reach lengths of up to eight feet and can weigh in excess of 302 pounds. It has a long and slender body which is covered in bony scales. It has a long snout which consists of two rows of sharp teeth. Though a lot remains to be known about this huge fish, their fondness of meat is well understood.  Floating like a piece of driftwood in the current, they charge unsuspecting fish, turtles, waterfowl and small mammals AND NOW Lea’s Victoria.  Their toothy jaws make escape nearly impossible.

Back to the regatta. The Heat Management system was used with 14 boats in the “B” heat, since 4 boats were promoted, 14 boats also sailed in “A” heat.  Lunch was moved to 1:00 pm and was catered by La Bella's restaurant. The menu was Chicken stuffed with Artichoke dressing and Peppercorn Cream Sauce, a tossed salad, and an assortment of cookies for dessert or just munching. Everyone really enjoyed the lunch.

Racing continued after lunch with winds continuing from the S-SW and 7 to 10 knots with gust to 12 or 15 knots and shifty at the far marks. Sixteen heats were completed for a total of one seeding race and seven races.

SUNDAY: Coffee, donuts then racing started promptly at 10 am. Winds were predominately from the South and about 8 to 10 knots over most of the course with gust to 15 and upwards. Winds were shifty near the far marks. The course was changed to a windward / leeward course with a close reaching start. The overall course length remained near 1350 feet (does not include tacking). Each heat required 2 minutes for the start, approximately 10 or 11 minutes for the boats to finish and then allowing a few minutes for scorekeeping, etc. it took about 15 minutes per heat. Steve Ramke keep things going at a good pace and we managed to get in another 12 heats or 6 races by the 3 pm cutoff.

There were only four or five protest in the regatta and all but two were handled on the water by the skipper at fault doing his 360-degree turn. One of those not solved on the water involved an overlap or no overlap condition at the four-length zone and the other was a Port-Starboard situation.

Cake was served and the well deserved trophies were awarded. Congratulations to A. J. Moritz (1^st), “Budman” Garcia (2^nd) and Mark Cooper (3^rd)

Finally to sum it all up and quoting one of our club members.

As in all events that bring new people with a common interest together, I felt a certain amount of apprehension, at the out set of the Region 5 regatta. Having sailed RC for only a year and being less familiar with the rules than I should, only increased the tension I felt as the long awaited day was finally upon us.     

This is not a miracle story where the novice comes in to finish a highly rated second or even third. No, as it should be, I finished in the high teens but with a new confidence and respect for the sport. Several solid friendships where made with a commitment to "keep in touch ".  

A higher degree of clarity was mine both in sailing, trimming and racing by the end of the weekend. Thanks to the quality of the competitors and between race assistance from everyone.

It extremely gratifying to see a well planned event all fit together at the final moment to become the race weekend that you hoped for. As a member of the Greater New Orleans Model Sailing Club I would like to thank our fellow regional clubs for their support and participation in the regatta as well as those whom with out their dedication and hard work the out come may not have been quite the success that it was.-----

Fair Winds
GNOMSC

2004 Region 5 Victoria Championship Results
			Race Number														Throw	Grand
SAIL #	SKIPPER	Ch #	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Total	Outs	Total	Rank
																12
05	Moritz, A.J. (Lee)	05	1	1	1	2	1	13	1	1	10	3	3	3	5	45	-23	22	1
60	Garcia, "Budman"	64	4	2	4	3	12	1	10	2	2	2	5	9	4	60	-22	38	2
50	Cooper, Mark	A6	6	6	2	1	2	7	6	10	5	9	7	2	6	69	-19	50	3
24	Seta, Ray	71	7	4	3	4	6	4	5	6	6	5	4	10	dsq	89	-35	54	4
01	Gregory, Eric	80	12	9	8	7	4	2	14	dnf	1	4	2	5	1	94	-39	55	5
26	Stephanz, Ron	A1	2	7	5	9	10	3	3	4	12	6	6	1	9	77	-22	55	6
53	Maclachlan, Gilbert	A4	3	10	6	11	7	5	2	13	4	8	12	4	3	88	-25	63	7
65	Hamilton, Hew	87	15	8	7	8	13	6	4	5	11	1	10	7	8	103	-28	75	8
241	Buchanan, Hank	72	10	13	9	10	9	9	11	3	3	7	1	11	10	106	-24	82	9
205	Rivera, Armando	89	11	11	16	5	5	10	7	8	7	12	dnf	12	7	136	-41	95	10
07	Thompson, Steven	82	9	5	10	12	11	12