Local
Knowledge
Viva Nash-Vegas
Lake
Percy Priest. If you don’t know where it is, I don’t blame you. I live
close and have been in the area many times but having never laid eyes
on it I never thought I would find myself driving down to Nashville,
TN for a regatta.
The 2008 Equalizer was a nice surprise, I was thinking it was going
to be a warm up for the upcoming S2 7.9 NA’s but I could not have been
more wrong. The strictly One Design event drew in four classes, J22,
S2 7.9, Catalina 22, and North Star 500. The J turnout was low, even
though this was the SE regionals, but the Catalina 22’s were very nice,
by far the cleanest and raciest looking bunch of catalina 22’s I have
ever seen, or imagined could be. The North Star 500s were an interesting
group, very dedicated to thier class of classic plastic era, S&S
designed 1/4 tonners. The S2 7.9 class used the event as a tune up,
bonus weekend of racing, beer drinking, and feeling out the competition
type of weekend.
The Equalizer was well run with a good atmosphere. The racing was great
on Saturday with up to four races depending on the class. Saturday’s
wind et everyone on thier toes with big puffs and huge shifts, 8-16
kts with 40 degree shifts. We were all tired and some of us soaked after
wipe outs, one of which pinned an S2 down to the clutches on the doghouse.
Sunday was perfect conditions… for waterskiing. We hung out and drank
all of our beer and some that wasn’t. We finally got in one race that
was a crapshoot for wind, staying out of the parking lots on the course
were the rule of the day. Then back to the rush that is trailer-sailing,
the pull out after the event.
All in all the 2008 Equalizer was well run and executed admirably.
I am ready to go back on wednesday for more boats, burgers, and beer.
Leaving everything in place and ready to go for next week and hoping
we do better this week, I find myself excited to go sailing on wednesday,
in Nashville of all places.
-ClimbnSail
