North American Championship

Background

About six years ago Ed Montano introduced myself and the Kenosha Yacht Club (KYC) to the Buccaneer Class.  Our club had previously been home to a vibrant Thistle Class in the 70s and 80s. Over the years many of the owners either moved or moved up to bigger boats that could accommodate racing and cruising.  As a result the dry dock at KYC had become home to empty boat cradles and a few odd dry sailers. My initial impression of Ed’s Buccaneer was that it was nice but it lacked a sprit pole and would probably not get much traction.

To my surprise, one boat quickly led to three, then five boats.  Ed continued to try to recruit me but I remained standoffish. One day Ed approached me with the idea of me buying his old boat with a partner.  Minimal commitment, low cost, help build the fleet. I finally agreed to the purchase and paid him for my 1/2 of the boat. A few days later Ed showed up with another Buccaneer and informed me that my boat partner had purchased it and now I was solo in my purchase.  I was not thrilled and neither was my wife as she had not agreed to the initial purchase.  

Finding myself the reluctant owner of a Buccaneer and having never sailed one, I figured I needed to at least take it sailing.  I hit the water solo in September of 2010. The wind was blowing ~ 10 mph. I only had an hour to get out but that’s all it took to fully change my mind the this boat.  It sailed beautifully, almost difficult since there was virtually no helm. I arrived back at the dock with a smile on my face that has remained to date.

In 2011 BNAC was hosted by our yacht club.  An opportunity presented itself to upgrade to a newer boat.  I jumped on it and was able to squeak out a 10th place. I thought this was respectable for someone relatively new to the class but having raced competitively for over 25 years.  While kids/family have kept my Buccaneer racing close to home, BNAC 2014 held 9,000 above sea level held a strong attraction. This was made stronger with Ed and Shannon’s commitment to attend.  Our fleet in Kenosha now exceeds 15 Buccaneers which typically have 4-6 participants for the beer can racing and 8-10 for larger events.

The prospect of sailing against 30+ in a beautiful location coupled with the possibility of reviving the old Thistle team or John Burhani or Jay Foght sealed the deal for BNAC 2014.

BNAC 2014

Preparation for BNAC 2014 began while the snow was still on the ground.  Brushing up on new race rules and reading Jim Daus’s notes were critical to the success we ultimately achieved on Lake Dillon.  I can’t stress enough the benefit of what Jim had written. If you’re new to the Buccaneer or just set in your ways with some habits that hold you back, you need to read his overview.  The area that helped us the most was on keeping the boat flat and shifting gears quickly. This was critical in Dillon. I worked the main hard. When a puff approached I immediately released the main, we hiked the boat hard, and sheeted the main back in.  This kept the boat flat and shot us forward vs. loading up, healing over, and staying slow. Fast begets fast. Slow begets slow. I also feathered up in the puffs to keep the boat flat. If you keep the boat moving its amazing how high you can point.  

We expected Lake Dillon to be a shifty place and somewhat puffy.  The term “somewhat” was a mistake. Having spent my life sailing in shifty locations we were well prepared for the frequent 15 – 30 degree shifts.  I not sure what can prepare you for a puff that appear from nowhere taking a steady 10 mph wind to 30 mph. As BNAC 2014 progressed, we found ourselves on constant alert. 

 

At one point the fleet was becalmed waiting for wind to start a race.  Sailors took the opportunity to relax, catch some rays and eat lunch. With no warning a ~ 10 mph puff appeared and knocked over 2 or 3 boats that just happened to be in the wrong position with their sails sheeted in.  That lesson ensured we always stayed alert when on the water but it didn’t prepare us for the micro/macro burst that hit on Thursday.

At the start of the regatta Jim Daus gave the fleet a stern briefing on what to do if a microburst hits.  Typically if one hits, it can blow 30 – 50 mph for 10-15 minutes, then dies down. Jim told everyone that if it hits, quickly drop your sails and raise your centerboard.  Dropping sails made sense but several folks thought it odd to raise your centerboard. That said, a 50 mph blow can tip over a Buccaneer with bare pole. So if you raise your centerboard, the boat will just slide sideways until the wind dies back down in a few minutes.  Try it, it really works.

Thursday was our third day of racing.  It was the second race of the day. The wind was blowing ~ 10-15 mph as we rounded the windward mark.  Point totals has Blind Squirrel in 1st place with Atrevida one point behind in second. Stella was only a few points to third with several other boats in close contention. 

We rounded the windward mark and set our spinnaker as did the others. One quarter of the way down the leg we saw a puff ~ 20+ arrive behind us and prepared to take off planning.  Then a 30+ puff took down a few boats behind. We considered dropping our chute but with our competition so close, we just hunkered down and crossed our fingers for a wild ride. Then the third puff hit which registered on the committee boat 41 mph

As we flew down the leg we were headed toward shore – rocky shore.  Some boats exceeded 15 mph on RaceQs. As shore approached, we had three options 1) head up and tip over 2) fall off and have an epic death roll 3) hit shore at 15 mph and explode to bits.  Option 1 seems the best so we headed up a few degrees and tipped over. The boat continued to move so fast that my crew Jay had to swim hard to catch the boat. Note, we were still dragging the spinnaker which eventually became a great sea anchor.

After righting the boat and capsizing again we were finally able to get the boat upright and sails down.  The spinnaker remained our sea anchor until we reached shore to wait for our eventual rescue. This microburst became a macroburst as the wind didn’t drop back below 20 mph for 90+ minutes.  At the end of the day about 1/3 of the fleet capsized. Three rescue squads arrived to ensure safety with a few treated for hypothermia. All of the Denver News channels were on site to report the day’s events.  Nothing like some potential tragedy to catch the headlines.

At the end we managed to squeak out a victory with our local nemesis Atrevida taking second by one point and Stella only two points back for third.  

As I mentioned, sailing that boat flat was huge in our success.  Some other things that helped include sailing up the middle (no flyers).  With shifty conditions, no two legs were the same. Looking at our RaceQs track, we rarely strayed to one side or the other.  While it paid off for some one one leg, it often punished on the next leg. We knew this from sailing on small midwest lakes.  

Clear air and boat speed were critical at the starts.  This mantra that I learned at a young age from one of my mentors, Jerry Ruffolo, ensured we had strong starts for most races.  We only won a few starts but we avoided being back of pack. This put us in a good position to be top of fleet at most windward marks. 

All in all, BNAC 2014 was a blast.  It was a well run event in a beautiful location with a fun and competitive fleet.  If you’re able to make BNAC 2015, I’d strongly recommend it as you’ll learn much while making memories that will last a lifetime.

Ciao!
John Weiss