Racing Sheet

BY DOUG HANSEN

PSSC Highlights

On October 10th and 11th, Seattle’s Shilshole Bay Marina welcomed boats and sailors for what felt like the first time in months since COVID hit. The congregation gathered for two days of short course competition to wrap up summer racing at Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, and they intended to celebrate in style. The 2020 Puget Sound Sailing Championships, commonly known as PSSC, is usually a summer highlight for many racers after months of weeknight and weekend racing that allow teams to get fully polished up and dialed in. This summer brought many challenges with the cancellations of so many favorite regattas, and PSSC was one of the few full-fledged regattas hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club left standing. Normally split into two weekends, one for dinghies and one for keel boats, this year’s event was truncated into one single weekend with over 109 boats spread across a dozen fleets. Fleets were split between two courses, one reserved for dinghies just off the breakwater and one designated for keelboats further to the north. Eighty-five dinghies tip the scales and represent one of the best attended small boat regattas in recent memory. A large contingent of the fleet was made up of the ever-expanding RS Aero group, as well as a solid turnout for the Laser Radial fleet. Additionally, a huge number of junior sailors, including race teams from neighboring clubs, took to the water on Corinthian Yacht Clubs club fleet of Vanguard 15s, Optimists, and Lasers. To the north, one design keel boat fleets comprised of Melges 24, J24, J80, J105, and a scattering of 30- to 40-foot boats rounded out the regatta racing PHRF handicap. A chaotic wind forecast was in the cards for this event, with strong offshore flow that came in throughout the weekend. The winds on Saturday brought a 20-knot northerly and a 20-knot southerly, making it anyone’s guess what would happen on a racecourse that sat firmly in the middle of the convergence zone. Adding to the drama, Corinthian Yacht Club’s derelict mark set boat, had a center console completely break away from the deck while motoring to set the course, which resulted in the boat capsizing. Fortunately, the driver was carrying a knife and was able to cut himself away from the lines entangling him underwater when the boat capsized. Despite spending 20 minutes in the water, everyone involved came away with their lives. It was a challenging day on the water for all parties with shifting breeze making for tough tactical calls and crowded start lines. Midway through the day, the wind filled suddenly from the north, resulting in an abandonment of a race while the race committee reset the course. While the rain somehow stayed away on Saturday, Sunday was not so lucky as blustery conditions and heavy rain squalls hammered the race course throughout the day. At the end of the day, it would be local hero Dalton Bergan taking home the win in the 22 boat RS Aero fleet, while Sammy Farkas took home the win in the Lasar Radial fleet. On the keel boat scoreboard, John Aitchison and the crew of Moose Unknown came out on top of the 11 boats in the J105 fleet. Richard Demmler and crew of Tastes Like Chicken took the win in the J80s, and the J24 winner was Jakob Lichtenberg with his team on Hair of the Dog. For the full results, visit the Corinthian Yacht Club website at cycseattle.org.