MAGELLAN RACE - 2017
WINNER
Greg Shafer
CREW
David Moran
Willow
THE MAGELLAN REGATTA
By Marty Hill
Sailing on Deep Creek Lake
Many people believe there is more to life than just what we see. Some of us were reminded of that in sailing this weekend.
The last race of the season each year is the Magellan. This race was first conceived by Harry Filemyr who was trying to establish a chapter of the “Flat Earth Society”. I suppose that Harry really believed that the earth was round but this race was around our “known world” i.e. Deep Creek Lake. Thus the eponym, Magellan, named after the first sailor to sail around the world. So the race was around all 9 marks associated with zones rather than the usual windward/leeward course that has become the norm here.
Soon, both yacht clubs on the lake will be pulling in docks and storing their equipment for the winter, so the Magellan is one last chance to get out on the lake with friends and sail. The starting order is also different, handicapped in a way, with the less-experienced, Challenger Division sailors starting first, followed in five-minute intervals by the Masters and intermediate Silver and, finally, the Championship Gold Division.
By long-standing tradition, the winner of the Magellan serves as Principal Race Officer for the Magellan next year and, as if this weren’t enough, also serves lunch to the Magellan sailors after the race. Given these requirements, it is perhaps not surprising that some of our fastest sailors seem to perform a little more slowly in a Magellan, but it’s all good-natured fun and for many sailors here on the lake, the Magellan is one of their favorite races.
This year we had very light and variable winds for the Magellan, coming generally out of the south at 2 – 5 MPH. Rain was in the forecast but held off, as last year’s winner and this year’s PRO Ray Gauthier set up a start/finish line just off the docks at the Turkey Neck yacht club, with a first zone mark to windward (South) toward Hickory Ridge.
Watching from the Turkey Neck club was very entertaining, as the fleet worked its way upwind toward Hickory Ridge, rounded the mark, and then came back downwind toward Holy Cross under spinnakers. The second zone was up toward Bull Run, out of sight of the club, and we watched the whole fleet enter Bull Run, seemingly never to return. After several minutes and just about the time we were deciding to send a couple of power boats to see if they needed a tow, the first of the fleet reappeared. What really happened, of course, is that the predominantly south wind was shadowed in Bull Run, making sailing there particularly challenging.
Joan & Lee Coraor, who would eventually win the Magellan, reported on their experience in Bull Run, “We started in Gold and managed to overlap the rest of the fleet at the second mark, inside the cove at Bull Run. The wind died on the left side of the cove where most of the fleet was, and we went right, pulling ahead. From there until the end of the race, we kept a nice lead and crossed the finish line first, although Ray Gauthier with crew David Tuel were slowly gaining on us.”
Because of the light winds, Gauthier decided to shorten the course at the zone mark off the Deerhaven yacht club, and all racers proceeded directly from there to the finish.
This year’s Magellan awards ceremony was particularly meaningful. David Bertsch, an avid Deep Creek Lake sailor and long-time resident of Deer Park, passed away in October last year. David’s favorite race of the year was the Magellan, and he won the race in 2008. This year, in David’s memory, his wife Judy donated a new perpetual trophy to recognize Magellan winners. Reports Joan Coraor, “I commented after the race that if I never win another Magellan, it won’t matter because winning this one was so meaningful. We bought Dave Bertsch's boat from Judy in mid-July and. since the new perpetual trophy is in his memory, it seemed very special and fitting to win the Magellan in Dave’s old boat. When we went up to receive the trophy, we brought Judy up with us to share a tearful, but very meaningful moment. This was also an especially happy day for us, because our son and granddaughter raced the Magellan for the first time.” Sometimes, there really is more to life than just what we see.
Thanks to race safety patrols Roger Titus, Tom Craven, and Fred Sharer. Thanks also to Rob Gerlach and David Klueter, who helped with the extra work of setting marks for a zone race. Special thanks to Ray Gauthier and wife Joni Palmer, who worked so hard to organize and coordinate the Magellan this year, including lunch and fun trophies to all competitors, and to Sarah Buffington for the awesome homemade cookies and brownies.
When the lake freezes this year, be on the lookout for our growing ice boat fleet!
Results: (skipper/crew)
By Marty Hill
Sailing on Deep Creek Lake
Many people believe there is more to life than just what we see. Some of us were reminded of that in sailing this weekend.
The last race of the season each year is the Magellan. This race was first conceived by Harry Filemyr who was trying to establish a chapter of the “Flat Earth Society”. I suppose that Harry really believed that the earth was round but this race was around our “known world” i.e. Deep Creek Lake. Thus the eponym, Magellan, named after the first sailor to sail around the world. So the race was around all 9 marks associated with zones rather than the usual windward/leeward course that has become the norm here.
Soon, both yacht clubs on the lake will be pulling in docks and storing their equipment for the winter, so the Magellan is one last chance to get out on the lake with friends and sail. The starting order is also different, handicapped in a way, with the less-experienced, Challenger Division sailors starting first, followed in five-minute intervals by the Masters and intermediate Silver and, finally, the Championship Gold Division.
By long-standing tradition, the winner of the Magellan serves as Principal Race Officer for the Magellan next year and, as if this weren’t enough, also serves lunch to the Magellan sailors after the race. Given these requirements, it is perhaps not surprising that some of our fastest sailors seem to perform a little more slowly in a Magellan, but it’s all good-natured fun and for many sailors here on the lake, the Magellan is one of their favorite races.
This year we had very light and variable winds for the Magellan, coming generally out of the south at 2 – 5 MPH. Rain was in the forecast but held off, as last year’s winner and this year’s PRO Ray Gauthier set up a start/finish line just off the docks at the Turkey Neck yacht club, with a first zone mark to windward (South) toward Hickory Ridge.
Watching from the Turkey Neck club was very entertaining, as the fleet worked its way upwind toward Hickory Ridge, rounded the mark, and then came back downwind toward Holy Cross under spinnakers. The second zone was up toward Bull Run, out of sight of the club, and we watched the whole fleet enter Bull Run, seemingly never to return. After several minutes and just about the time we were deciding to send a couple of power boats to see if they needed a tow, the first of the fleet reappeared. What really happened, of course, is that the predominantly south wind was shadowed in Bull Run, making sailing there particularly challenging.
Joan & Lee Coraor, who would eventually win the Magellan, reported on their experience in Bull Run, “We started in Gold and managed to overlap the rest of the fleet at the second mark, inside the cove at Bull Run. The wind died on the left side of the cove where most of the fleet was, and we went right, pulling ahead. From there until the end of the race, we kept a nice lead and crossed the finish line first, although Ray Gauthier with crew David Tuel were slowly gaining on us.”
Because of the light winds, Gauthier decided to shorten the course at the zone mark off the Deerhaven yacht club, and all racers proceeded directly from there to the finish.
This year’s Magellan awards ceremony was particularly meaningful. David Bertsch, an avid Deep Creek Lake sailor and long-time resident of Deer Park, passed away in October last year. David’s favorite race of the year was the Magellan, and he won the race in 2008. This year, in David’s memory, his wife Judy donated a new perpetual trophy to recognize Magellan winners. Reports Joan Coraor, “I commented after the race that if I never win another Magellan, it won’t matter because winning this one was so meaningful. We bought Dave Bertsch's boat from Judy in mid-July and. since the new perpetual trophy is in his memory, it seemed very special and fitting to win the Magellan in Dave’s old boat. When we went up to receive the trophy, we brought Judy up with us to share a tearful, but very meaningful moment. This was also an especially happy day for us, because our son and granddaughter raced the Magellan for the first time.” Sometimes, there really is more to life than just what we see.
Thanks to race safety patrols Roger Titus, Tom Craven, and Fred Sharer. Thanks also to Rob Gerlach and David Klueter, who helped with the extra work of setting marks for a zone race. Special thanks to Ray Gauthier and wife Joni Palmer, who worked so hard to organize and coordinate the Magellan this year, including lunch and fun trophies to all competitors, and to Sarah Buffington for the awesome homemade cookies and brownies.
When the lake freezes this year, be on the lookout for our growing ice boat fleet!
Results: (skipper/crew)
- Greg Shafer/David Moran/Willow
- Ned Holloway/crew
- Joni Palmer (no crew)