1999 East Coast Championship Reports

October 31, 1999
Mark Hillman wins 1999 East Coast Championship!

Mark Hillman of Annapolis won the regatta with a 30 point margin over the next boat. He never once scored out of the top ten. The win was not only unusual for the lead he developed but also because Mark is truly a top level ametuer winning an event almost exclusively dominated by professionals. The fleet was by no means an easy one including Geoff Moore (current J24 North American Champion), Mark Mendelblatt (#1 ranked Laser sailor for the US sailing team) driving for Max Skelley, John Torgeson (#2 ranked Laser sailor) calling tacks for Tony Parker and many other famed J24 sailors.

October 30, 1999
Day Two sees very light wins and only one race!

Another beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and no wind either. Who says the East Coasts are always cold, windy and rainy? Lack of wind forced a three hour postponement, which the racers used to model their Halloween costumes, go fishing, swimming, or sleep off too much time spent at the beer truck last night. One costume contest participant missed having his picture posted on the web because he was below sleeping and could not be roused. But from what I hear about his(?) costume, he may have actually been hiding.

By noontime, a patchy southerly had begun to appear, but each time it looked like it was filling in at the starting area, it died at the weather mark. When it filled again, it would be from a different direction. By one, there was a breeze just steady enough for a race.

It was ugly from start to finish. Lots of shouting on the starting line, and lots of boats resisting being pushed over early, since they were starting under an "I" flag. All of the half dozen boats that were over early returned to start correctly, but that was just the beginning of the fun. The only way to go on the first leg was left, and many, many of the big names who did not go far enough left rounded the first mark buried deep in the fleet. By the first leeward mark, there was a thirty-way tie for fifteenth place, and all of them wanted to round the right-hand gate to get back to the left side again. There is a colorful expression for what I saw next, but I think I can be arrested for saying it on the web. A few, very few, saw the parking lot up ahead and decided the left-hand gate looked better. For Tim Ryan on Racer X, that decision paid off as he passed everyone who was parked at the other gate.

The race didn't get any better. By the last leg to a downwind finish, the breeze had begun to fade. By the time the 32nd boat finished, the boats were moving at geologic speed, and boat 32 was the last to finish within the time limit.

The day's only bright spot was Tom Sitzman, who was out for bear after yesterday's disappointment. Tom led the fleet around every mark, finishing just ahead of Susan Taylor, followed by Kirk Reynolds and Mark Hillman. Mark is in first place overall, going into the last day of racing.

October 29, 1999
Day One is in the Books on an atypical Chesapeake October Day!

Be careful what you wish for. For the past week, I have been wishing and hoping for warm, sunny weather for the East Coast Championship, and I got it. By Thursday night, it looked like the weekend was going to be warm, sunny - and windless. Friday started with boats motoring out to the starting area, because there was not enough wind to sail out. Out on the bay, though, there was a 4-5 knot southerly that slowly built through most of the day.

Immediately after the start of the first race, PRO Sandy Grosvenor radioed to the fleet: "The Race Committee is amazed to announce, 'All clear.'" A foul current had helped to keep boats away from the line. Many of the local boats favored the pin end at the start, and continued left after the start. The strategy paid off, and at the weather mark, it was a Fleet 8 sweep with Will Crump, Mark Hillman and Tony Parker in the top three spots. Fleet 8 swept the top four spots, if you count former Fleet 8 member Doug Clark. But local knowledge was apparently not the key to success, because while one of the top three told me that the left shift was typical for a southerly on the bay, another told me that it was very unusual. (Hmm . . . maybe that's why I have sailed here for eight years without feeling like I've acquired any local knowledge.) Those four never left the top four. The Eastern Shore side of the bay continued to pay for almost the entire race. Almost. At the second leeward mark, a right shift allowed Mark to pass Will, who rounded the right-hand gate. Doug took advantage of the shift on the last of four legs to change places with Tony. The final order was Mark, Will, Doug, Tony and John Wilsey.

From a spectator boat, the first race looked like it was choreographed for a movie of a sailboat race. No one over early, only two protests, and a beautiful blue sky for a backdrop. The second race was nowhere near as tidy. The foul current had moderated, and after one general recall, 20 boats were called over early. With an "I" flag and a 68 boat fleet, going back was painful for those who started in the middle of the line. Doug Clark was lucky enough to escape being sent back, and led the fleet around the first three marks, until Tom Sitzman caught him when the fleet split on the second downwind leg. Tim Healy followed close behind Doug for three legs until he was caught by Josh Kerst, who had worked his way up through the fleet. The final order was Doug, Josh, Tim and Mark Hillman.

Mimi Shea paid me to say that she enjoyed today's racing, and she very much enjoyed finishing ahead of several boats. Mike Castleberry paid me to say nothing about him at all. And CBIZ paid me to say that they are the seventh largest accounting firm in the country, and the title sponsor of this event.

Finishing in first place overall after the first day's racing, Doug Clark said that he was lucky not to have taken any major hits, but, "with no throw out races, the next two days are going to be challenging."