SPRING CLASSIC - 2000

By Sarah Woodall with an added paragraph by Garry Condon (guess which one)

THIRTY-NINE boats on the starting line for Spring Classic 2000! They came from many locations including Illinois, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Canada. Did they come to experience the variety of sailing conditions, the steep competition, the Saturday night party, or just maybe, to hear The Trailer Trash Band? We don’t know WHY they came…we’re just thrilled everyone showed up to help put a record number of boats on our lake!

Variety was the name of the game for this year’s regatta. Saturday morning started with cold rain and little to no wind. What wind there was shifty to say the least! The Three Amigos (Jon Anstrom, Joel Ridge, and Dave Hulton) worked tirelessly on resetting the windward leeward course so the participants had a perfect course to sail. Jack Elfman took the right shifts and won the only morning race.

After warming up on shore with lunch, we set out for a couple more races. The wind was similar to the morning but started to build in velocity. After a few recalls, we got a race off and Skip Dieball won the second race of the regatta.

It seemed as though someone threw a switch on the "wind box" because all of a sudden the wind picked up to 15-25 mph during the sequence of the third race. Spring sailing on Pymatuning Lake can be very exciting and this race was! While boats were roaring up and down the starting line the Three Amigos were hunkering down on the committee boat to keep from being blown overboard. The race finally got off and we headed for the windward mark. The waves blew up, the wind gusted and the brave set their chutes. But not everyone made it to the leeward mark. Seven boats were flattened by the wind and waves. Three others bailed the course. Not so many chutes went up on the second leeward run! Bill Faude and crew, however, kept it together to cross the finish line first.

Many war stories were told at the cocktail party Saturday evening over the hors d’oeuvre table, swimming stories to be exact. And they continued over mealtime. After dinner the beer flowed and the talk got louder. Then a hush fell over the crowd with the long awaited introduction of The Trailer Trash Band. Rob Ruhlman, John Dunne, Lenny Ciccone, Garry Condon, Jerry Balestrino, Bobbi Sundman, and The Tonguejacks, Vic and Greg Maras, played two sets and the crowd went wild! Between sets Matt Frymier pulled the winning raffle tickets for the many prizes (beer glasses, umbrellas, coolers, a hockey stick and more!) that were so generously donated by Tri-County Wholesale Distributer’s, Inc. And… who could forget all the Labatt’s beer!

Sunday morning brought a hint of nicer weather. Once on the water, though, we found the wind hadn’t died down much from the previous afternoon. Two boats were smacked down on the upwind leg by a huge puff. Eight boats chose not to even try. Although not as rough as the day before, the wind was still around 15-25. Jack Elfman took his second win of the regatta in the fourth race. The fifth and final race was very similar to the previous one but this time Sean Fidler took the gun.

Those that had the poor fortune of missing the ‘show’ Saturday night needn’t have worried. The Sunday ‘on the water rescue boat matinee’ scored top honors and was a first in Classic history! It opened with our usually adept team of Keith Custard and Gordon McCarty deftly maneuvering their respective small and large generously powered crafts through the entire recalled fleet in an attempt to herd us back for a restart. "Contact" occurred mid fleet in the head on format between the Big Whaler and the new inflatable launching Keith and crew into a memorable aerial duet with a refreshing full splash-down finale. We, the fleet, were then treated to, and at times threatened by, the fully throttled inflatable’s solo performance as it bounced, weaved and pirouetted crazily amongst us thoroughly entertained sailors. Exit stage…downwind eventually, with the ninety horse Whaler gaining in pursuit, a fearless Steve Hidell leaps heroically over foaming crest and foreboding trough to quell the panicking yet tender inflatable. A feat that later garnered him the ‘007’ award while Keith graciously, though moistly, accepted the ‘backpack boarding ladder’ hardware.

Skip Dieball, also gracious, accepted his first place trophy for Spring Classic 2000 with Sean Fidler 2^nd, Jack Elfman 3^rd, Bill Faude 4^th and Jeff Hagman 5^th. Congratulations go to PYC members David Werley, Jonette Werley and Greg Maras for the highest finish (11^th) in our fleet. It should be noted that each and everyone had something nice to say about our regatta, our fleet, and our club and we all appreciated the warm comments. Our members go all out to put this regatta on and to make it fun for everyone. Special thanks go to Garry and Linda Condon for running the show, the Three Amigos, and, of course, Tri-County Wholesale Distributer’s, Inc. and Labatt’s Beer!!