Reports submitted by Ace Reporter Donna Jean Wotton

We had an excellent practice race today with about 35 boats on the
water.  Winds were 10-16 mph from the Southeast with substantial
gusting.  The race went off on time with one start.  John MacCausland
Jr. from New Jersey had the best start and held it through the entire
course (two windward/leeward legs, 2.5 miles each) to finish first.  He
was followed by Mark Reynolds (San Diego Yacht Club) and Ross Adams
(Wilamette Harbor).  Good time had by all.  So far we have had three
days of good wind and the sailors are very encouraged by the prospect of
more tomorrow for the first official race.

Top local sailors in the practice race were Rick Dhein (7th), Hank Rowan
(12) and Peter Marshall (16).

Very exciting and an armada of spectator boats out to watch some fast
and exciting sailing.
                                            # # #

Day One - Races #1 and #2

We had a great first day of racing.  Wild, strong, gusty west wind
"corker".  All the ocean sailors that thought they were going to be
drifting around a little lake got their money's worth today with black
gusts shifting up to 80% without warning.  Two broken masts (both boats
will be back on the water tomorrow - each only missed one race which
will be their throw out), two "knockdowns" with keels in the air, and
lots of hairy mark roundings.  Some fabulous jibe mark excitement with
sailors screaming for room, thundering jibes, and rudders out of the
water.

Mark Reynolds gave us all a lesson in handling the shifts with two first
places (1/2 leg on the 2nd place boat in the first race).  And a lesson
for crew's from his crew Magnus who pops in and out of that mini-hike
position like a shot and tacks without notice. John MacCausland hung in
there with two 2nd places and consistency was the name of the game for
the rest of the fleet.  Most of the top 10 boats in the standings are
consistently in the top 10 (including Rick Dhein from NLGYC currently
6th place with a 9th and 10th).

Anyway, world class racing. 
                                             # # #

Day Two - Races #3 and #4       (Tuesday, September 29)

A magnificently clear crisp fall day on Lake George allowed for fabulous
photo opportunities, if not a perfect star sailing breeze, with a
seasonal steady South wind 12-15 mph.  After one general recall, and a 3
mile long windward leg (the course was a windward-leeward, twice
around), the fleet rounded very tight on the windward mark the first
time around.  Some gutsy port tack approaches weaving through the
oncoming fleet made for an exciting rounding, and the mark took a little
beating from several boats on the inside.  True to the competitive
spirit here, the penalty 360s were done skillfully - almost in stride-
with hardly a boatlength lost in some cases.

The first leeward leg stretched the fleet somewhat and Mark Reynolds
(San Diego) and Peter Bromby (Bermuda) changed position on almost every
leg of the rest of the race.  Ultimately it was Bromby on the final run
who was victorious.  However, the most excitement at the finish was in
the rest of the fleet, when 10 boats in places 12-21 crossed the finish
line all together and the scoring teams at both ends of the line were
consulted to finalize the placements.

To paraphrase Cub Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks, "Let's race two!"    

With such beautiful wind, the race committee was not about to send the
fleet in at the end of the first race.  A second race started 30 minutes
after the first one finished, and with a freshening breeze, they sailed
another beauty - this time finishing to weather (two windward-leewards,
with a final beat to the finish).  This time the fleet spread out a bit
more, but Bromby and Reynolds fought it out again.   They split tacks the
last time up, and Bromby came out on top again by 100 feet.

At the end of the day Reynolds still leads the regatta by 4 boats, but
Bromby is coming on strong.  Don't count out John MacCausland (Cooper
River, NJ) who had two third places today.  After two second places in
races 1 & 2, he is tied with Bromby for second.

Rick Dhein still leads the Lake George contingent in 7th place overall,
with 10th and 9th places in today's races.

Now that we're ahead of schedule on races, Wednesday will have only one
race instead of the scheduled two.
                                            # # #

Day Three - Race #5   (September 30, 1998)
It's all over but the shouting!

Mark Reynolds capped off an impressive North American series today with
another first place finish, bringing his total to three firsts and two
seconds.  With one throw-out race, no other competitors can catch him
and it is likely that he will be a spectator tomorrow as the remaining
contenders battle for second place.

An easterly wind this morning delayed the start of the fifth race as the
fleet bobbed around for 3 hours waiting for the wind to shift to the
south and settle in.  When it finally did, it came in strong and gave us
another fine race.  Jock Kohlhas (Biscayne Bay, FL) led the first time
up the #3 course (two windward-leewards, plus the final beat), but was
caught at the leeward mark by Reynolds and Ross Adams (Willamette
Harbor, IL) with Adams rounding first.  Adams stretched the lead on the
next two legs, but had to settle for second place when he sailed too
deep into the west shore on the final beat and Reynolds easily walked
away with the win.

Once again the strong winds took their toll on the fleet, with two
broken forestays (Page from Southern Lake George and Wotton from Lake
George), one broken main sheet (Atkinson from Sunapee, NH) and one
broken mast (Dave Watt from Puget Sound, WA).

After five races, Mark Reynolds has won, Peter Brophy (Bermuda) and John
MacCausland (Cooper River, NJ) are tied for second.  Local favorite Rick
Dhein slipped to 10th place.  We're expecting heavy air again tomorrow
and possible thunderstorms for the finale as MacCausland and Brophy
battle it out.
                                            # # #

Day Four - Race #6 and Grand Finale

Our reports of great wind in the past few days pale in comparison to our
Grand Finale today.  The statistics speak for themselves.

6 broken masts
2 sheered off booms
3 completely swamped boats (one boat with their bow underwater, sailed
it home on only the jib and bailed it dry by the time he got in the
harbor!)
2 men overboard
1 exploded mainsail
10 or more busted vangs, shrouds, etc.
and lots and lots of breaches, broaches, knockdowns, spills & thrills
AND NO INJURIES!!!!!

THIRTY SEVEN BOATS started in a gusty west wind at about 18-20 knots.
It continued to build until a front came over the western hill blasting
in excess of 30 knots just as they rounded the weather mark the second
time.  As boats peeled off to leeward, the shifting winds hit the fleet
full force with boats "auto-jibing", breaching, broaching, and bedlam
ensued.  As fast as we could get a patrol boat to one demasted boat,
another stick would explode. 

Most of the "survivors" temporarily abandoned the race for about 20
minutes, trying just to keep their boats in tact.  Some even sailed into
the islands to wait it out.  When the dust settled TWENTY boats finished
the race, led by John MacCausland and his crew Phil Trinter (Cooper
River, NJ). Rob Maine and Ross Adams, both of Willamette Harbor, IL
hung on for 2nd and 3rd place.  Local favorite Rick Dhein finished
11th.  Hank Rowan and Steve Rottier also finished.

Top five final places were:
#1 Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahn, San Diego
#2 John MacCausland and Phil Trinter, Cooper River, NJ
#3 Peter Bromby and Lee White, Bermuda
#4 Rob Maine and Andrew Higgs, Willamette Harbor, IL
#5 Ross Adams and Chuck Nevel, Willamette Harbor, IL

Congratulation to Rick Dhein and Keith Gardner of the home club for a
10th place overall finish.

Masters Champions
#1 Rick Burgess and Gary Schneld, Greenwood Lake, NJ (18th overall)
#2 Dave Cook and Paul Skarin, Sunapee, NH (20th overall)
#3 Hank Rowan and Glen Suplee, NLGYC (21st overall)

Congratulations to all the sailors!

Special thanks to:
- Bruce, Toby and Art Hatfield for a beautifully run regatta
- the race committee for an excellent job on the water
- Lake George for being perfect this week
- and to the entire membership of NLGYC for their hard work and team
spirit in showing the Star Class how a little club in Upstate NY, can
produce a world class regatta!
                                            # # #

Post-mortem:
So many sailors commented that this was the most exciting and best
managed regatta they had ever been to - even the world circuit sailors.
They loved our informal friendly style, couldn't believe that we did it
with all volunteers, and thought Lake George was stunningly beautiful.

Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl made very gracious acceptance
speeches and acknowledged the efforts of the NLGYC membership. Magnus
joked that he had never sailed on a body of water that he could actually
drink.  I think every NLGYC member was approached and congratulated.
And we were all very, very proud to call NLGYC our home club.

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[Editor's Note:  And special thanks to our intrepid race reporter
and event promoter extraordinaire, Donna J. Wotton.]