Five boats of the Rendezvous Yacht Club competed in the final Wednesday night racing event for 2008.
Quinn McCarthy’s boat, The Surprise, finished first in a two-lap race with a two-knot wind that softened just long enough to call the race a little early.
The race began as the RYC committee operations boat raised a five minute flag at the starting point to indicate that the sailboats needed to navigate near, but not past, the starting point marker. This required a skipper’s precision and responsive crews as the boats navigated within a few feet of each other for the best position and the most wind.
Sailors range in experience from a few years to a lifetime. A timer, speedometer and distance indicator aid the skipper in making turn and tacking decisions. A global position system is present, but more useful for the longer races.
The skipper steers and navigates as the linesmen handles the jibing and tacking. The boom swivels as the crew winches lines to shift the sail from one side to the other. There are many other duties that occur, from raising and lowering the keel, to adjusting other sails and relaying positions of the other boats and markers to the skipper.
There is an urgency and immediacy to the commands and actions.
McCarthy has sailed since he was a boy. His new boat is among the fastest in the fleet, says Lisa Jenkins, the boat linesman, noting that RYC boats span the spectrum from cruising to racing style craft.
Because all sailboats are not created equal, the club uses the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet method established by the U.S. Sailing Association. It allows for a seconds-per-mile handicap on distance scoring to be subtracted from the finish time of a given yacht, based on its manufacturers schematics, the type of sails and other equipment.
The skipper and crew will still have to give a good performance to meet up to the maximum specifications of the boat, however, but it allows for the bulkier cruisers to compete fairly with the sleek racing boats.
Wednesday’s event concluded with a monthly board meeting at the Sand Bar in the LaPlace Rendezvous in Fort Frances, where the sailors discussed current issues and membership efforts over a few beverages. The club has a current fleet of about 13 Canadian and U.S. sailboats.
“We need new blood,” said Colin Hewitt, commodore of the RYC. “We have lost five boats in the past two years.”
Members will meet Sept. 13 for the Pumpkin Cup race from LaPlace Rendezvous to Island View Lodge. The race starts at 10 a.m. and marks the final Saturday racing event of the season.
The official end of the sailing season is the Commodore's Ball on Oct. 25. The club will distribute trophies and awards, and provide an annual race summary and slide show from the 2008 sailing season.
The RYC offers a two-day new crew course each June at LaPlace Rendezvous to teach basic sailing skills to new sailors. The class helps develop safe and competent sailors that can then act as crew.
“Anyone who wants to learn to sail is welcome,” said Hewitt.
The class covers boating safety and rules, required equipment, sail trim and maneuvering, map and buoy navigation systems on Rainy Lake, knot craft, boat orientation terms, identification and racing rules.
The American Rainy Lake Yacht Club and the Canadian Rendezvous Yacht Club merged in 1993 to form the nonprofit Rendezvous Yacht Club, a club that promotes sailing, good seamanship, safety and good sportsmanship among sailors on Rainy Lake. Regular races and cruises are held on Rainy Lake, which members consider a sailing paradise.
Annual races include Sandpoint Island, Leo Noonan Memorial Cup, Mermaid Rock, Kettle Falls, Wells Fargo Fall Classic, Rainy Lake Marine Classic and the Pumpkin Cup. The major RYC race event of the year is the Kettle Falls Regatta, a 25 mile course from Island View to the mouth of the Kettle River.
The Wednesday Night Racing Series will begin again in May 2009.
Find out more about the RYC online at www.rycweb.org.
