August 1, 2009

Arriving at the CCYC clubhouse the skipper's meeting was underway and after listening to the PRO, I saw another old friend that had offered to go with us, but until this morning I was unsure if he would show. I knew right away it was going to be a crazy day. John Brown was back and I am sure with him and Andy at this meeting, I would guess the guys in Corpus noticed. Seeing both of those guys was great and Andy had brought a friend from the Corpus area and a member of the MORF. I thought we could NOT be more competitive from a crew perspective than any other time the boat has participated, and that was a great feeling.

The Navy Air Station Corpus Christi Regatta was being held for the 47th time. My first one was in 1975 and I have missed many over the years, but made several the last few years in a row with last year's being very hard to top. The spirit of the US Navy running the show and the consistenly high turnout of boats, still remains the best event in South Texas during the dog days of August. I believe there were more than 45 boats at the line with five classes all going from the front of downtown Corpus to NAS Corpus Christi. It was very windy and we should have put a reef in the main but at the start we could carry it all, but the wind picked up speed soon after our slightly late start.,,oops. The off wind leg was great getting a shot at hitting 8 knots again like the day before but it was the final leg that was close hulled racing with the "Red Boat" from Corpus. (Pictured is Red Boat owned by Mr. Davis from Corpus) To me that is what makes it all worth the trouble, even though they continued right by us with their crispy sails. We finished fifth in our class out of six boats so I would say we did not have the right combination after all, but it was one of the most fun and most windy races I have ever participated. As always the food, drink and awards party was great at the NAS Luau. The crowd was big and loud and we had a great time. But it was the air coniditioning at the hotel that was the winner for the day and that was the best ending to a crazy day on the water in Corpus Christi.

I can only say "Thank You" to, Andy, John and Brandt, I learned a lot. See you guys at the next one.. number 48.