SBC* Classic Boat Rally

Daily Log

By Woody Norwood

 

The following account of the Rally was written each night and posted on the web site by Woody Norwood

 

5/3/07: The Practice Race

Buddy Sharpton, a Savannah resident in his Joel White 15 Foot Marsh Cat was first off the line with the staggered starts that are based on PHRF handicap ratings, and he held off the rest of the fleet to win the race despite becoming rounded on a shoal temporarily about ten minutes into the race. Woody Norwood, from Atlanta, was initially in close pursuit in his Herreshoff 12 1/2 until he, too, found the bottom at low tide. Chuck Carmichael, hailing from Hardyville, VA, closed on Norwood and passed him in his Cape Dory Typhoon, finishing a close second behind Sharpton. Norwood finished third. Farther back was John Martin in his Cape Dory Typhoon and his crew of three, all from the Atlanta area. Jerry Valka, in his brand new Marshall 18 Catboat, coming to the Lowcountry all the way from the Detroit area, was still getting used to the southern climate (88 degrees) and sea breeze of 8 to 10 knots as he finished last in the fleet today.

 

Two more boats arrived just a bit too late to participate in today's practice race but will be in the fleet tomorrow as these small classics sail the approximate 23 miles up the ICW to Hilton Head Island in winds expected to again be 8 to 10 kts from the East.

 

5/4/07: First Day, Savannah to Hilton Head Island

The fleet of seven classic boats departed the Savannah Yacht Club docks in the dewy 9 AM mist and motored to the starting line 3 miles up the Wilmington River just north of Thunderbolt Bridge and across from Bonaventure Cemetery which was made famous in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The breeze filled in from the east and grew steadily all morning to a wonderful 10 to 15 knots. The first race was 8.4 nautical miles, mostly East and north east, across the Savannah River and up Fields Cut.

 

First to finish was young Drew Corriveau, sailing with his maternal grandfather, but they had passed a navigational buoy on the wrong side and were disqualified. First place went to Chuck Carmichael, from Hardyville, VA, in a Cape Dory Typhoon. Right behind Carmichael was Hilton Head's local favorite, Burt Keenan, in his Haven 12 1/2. The others finished soon thereafter and began preparations for the second race. The wind had built to around 15 knots. Savannah resident Buddy Sharpton developed equipment problems and had to delay his start. Fourteen-year-old Drew Corriveau, sailing his grandfather's Marshall 18, was hit by a huge puff that nearly swamped the boat, causing him to drop out. In the second race, 8.7 nautical miles in length, Jerry Valka, from near Detroit, was the winner. Valka is new to tidal sailing, so he recruited Drew's grandfather, Andy Corriveau, who owns the Marshall 18 that Drew was sailing, to team up with him, and the two of them squeezed past Burt Keenan and John Rumsey in Keenan's Haven 12 1/2 at the end by 6 seconds. Everyone agreed that this was a great day of sailing, with arrival after 23 nautical miles at South Carolina Yacht Club on Hilton Head where the participants and their "shore crews" were treated to a champagne reception and seafood buffet dinner.  

 

 5/5/07: Second Day, Hilton Head to Beaufort

Local Captain of the Fleet, Bill Kingsbury, led the fleet through the unique lock system of Windmill Harbour (there are three on the U.S East Coast) to the start of the first race on Calibogue Sound at Hilton Head. It was near high tide as the fleet hoisted sails in a 5 knot building breeze from the east. Sailing up the coast line of Hilton Head Island, the fleet soon found open water in Port Royal Sound. Crossing the 5 mile Sound into the eye of the wind that had built to 8 knots, the fleet split. This who took the early port tack (Woody Norwood and Chuck Carmichael) got the advantage of the tidal current that had begun to flow southeast into the Atlantic and developed a strong lead, reaching the south end of Parris Island ahead of the pack. Turning up the Beaufort River, the leaders encountered the ebbing adverse tide and the rest of the fleet quickly closed ranks. Turning north up the river, those with spinnakers put up the big chutes as the lightening breeze turned to the south. Norwood, in his Herreshoff 12 1/2, with spinnaker flying, began to open up the lead again, with Andy Corriveau in his Marshall 18 in close pursuit. These two went neck and neck to the finish, with Norwood barely eking out the win by less than one foot after ten miles of racing. In the amazingly close contest, the last boat in the fleet was only 3 minutes behind the leader.

 

The second race was started soon after the finish of the first, but alas, the wind was gradually dying and the race was abandoned at 5 PM and the motors were cranked up for a new race to Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club where the fleet was met with a margarita reception in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.

The cumulative standings are very close. There is a three-way tie for first. The tie-breaker is who beat whom in the last race, putting Norwood, for the moment, in first, Carmichael in second, and Valka in third.

 

 5/6/07: Classic Boat Day in Beaufort

We were happy to see the wind developing early this morning. Under cloudy skies the fleet gathered on the docks at Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club early to do final polishing before the Concurs d'Elegance judging which began at 11 AM. During the judging, participants and club members took tours on Earl McMillan's 55-foort "Trumpy" yacht, designed by and built for Trumpy himself in 1955. The wind was expected to build to about 19 MPH from the north in the afternoon. Following the participants' meeting at noon, Jerry Valka elected to take a tour of Beaufort rather than sail. The rest of the fleet donned their heavy weather gear and departed for the start of a two-lap race to downtown Beaufort. As the wind increased to a stready 15 to 20 MPH, Mike Hanna and Buddy Sharpton retired early. Typhoons and the Herreshoff 12 1/2. Fighting a 2 knot tide going north to weather on the second lap, first around the windward mark was Chuck

 

Carmichael, followed by John Martin, both in Typhoons. Woody Norwood, in his H-12 1/2, rounded third, and that is the way the boats finished because the downwind leg was with the tide. Finishing behind Norwood was Roy Crocker in a double-reefed Marshall 22 catboat, and Jerry Wadley and a Cape Dory Typhoon.

Carmichael's win put him in first place for the series, followed by Norwood and Martin in the scores to date. At the awards dinner, featuring local favorite Frogmore Stew, recognition was given from the Concurs judging. "Most Bristol" went to Jerry Wadley in the restoration of his Cape Dory. "Most Authentic" was awarded for Norwood's Herreshoff 12 1/5, a design that has hardly changed from Cap'n Nat's vision of 1914, some 93 years ago.

 

Tomorrow's journey will be to Edisto Island in winds predicted to be 20 to 27 mph. This will be a 30 nautical mile test of human and equipment endurance.

 

5/7/07: Beaufort to Edisto Island

As predicted by the weather forecasters, white-capped water greeted the participants as they gathered at 10 AM for the daily briefing at Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club. The wind was 18 to 20 knots with gusts to 28 all day. Jerry Wadley and Mike Hannah decided to stay in the harbor. Jerry Valka decided to motor to the day's destination. That left four in the fleet to start the first race which was 8.2 nautical miles to "The Brickyards" with a favorable in-coming tide. All four boats sailed with reefs in their mainsails. It was a nip and tuck battle into the north wind all the way with the four boats finishing within seven minutes of each other. The winner was John Martin from Atlanta in his Cape Dory Typhoon, followed by Woody Norwood, also from Atlanta and Beaufort, in his Herreshoff 12 1/2. Third was Roy Crocker, a Beaufort resident, sailing double-reefed in his Marshall 22 catboat. Chuck Carmichael, the series leader going into the race, was fourth.

 

Following the finish of the race, the Crockers called it a day and departed for their home on Dataw Island. The remaining three sailed six miles down the Coosaw River, gulping sandwiches and cookies, to the start the second race. This 13 mile race started with a port tack reach in the lumpy Coosaw and, after several ICW "cuts" that connect the rivers, ended at the entrance to the South Edisto River. John Martin took a commanding lead near the entrance to Watts Cut, and Norwood and Carmichael duked it out for second and third, each running aground at different times pushing the limits of the narrow ICW channel. Carmichael finished 11 seconds ahead of Norwood to retain his lead in the series by one point. Martin is only one point behind Norwood, so it is beginning to look like a three way toss-up in the making with two days to go and more heavy weather predicted.

 

 5/8/07: The Balance of the sailing to Charleston cancelled due to Weather

The marine weather forecast is for two days of gale force winds from the north and northeast. The sailing has therefore been cancelled and the participants will be hauling out their boats out at a ramp neat Edisto Marina today and driving to Charleston. The Victory dinner in Charleston will be held as scheduled Wednesday night.

 

The top three racers in the journey, with only one point separating them, are:

1. Chuck Carmichael from Hardyville, VA, sailing a Cape Dory Typhoon

2. Woody Norwood, Atlanta, Herreshoff 12 1/2

3. John Martin, Atlanta, Cape Dory Typhoon

Full results will be posted tonight.

 

5/10/07: Tropical Storm Andrea

With three weeks to go before the opening of the hurricane season, the weather authorities have named the system that blew out the last two days of scheduled sailing in the Classic Boat Rally "Tropical Storm Andrea", packing winds of 45 MPH, and just sitting off the Georgia/South Carolina coast. Yesterday (Wednesday) squall lines brought driving rain in intermittent sheets, with winds steadily 25 with higher gusts, persuading all participants that it was a wise decision to cancel the sailing.

 

The Victory dinner at Carolina Yacht Club in the Magnolia Room made an exquisite end to the event. Special awards went to:

Frank Pontius, George Dewhirst, and Bill Tumlin for serving as Race Committee and Safety Crew for the fleet. The conduct of the racing was superb, and the fleet made every port safely. Everyone at the dinner signed special shirts for these men to express their thanks.  

Andy Corriveau for "Most Helpful". On the first day, Andy volunteered to sail with Jerry Valka rather than sail his own boat, "Kitty", as Jerry was reluctant to sail solo.  Although there were many acts of one participant helping another, this stood out as the single most unselfish act of the event.

Bill Hickman for Most Positive Attitude. Bill had been working on building a 19-foot schooner for over a year, pressing up to the last minute to have her ready for the Rally, but, alas, just did not quite make the deadline. He will be a participant next year.

 

Next year the event will be April 17 to 24 Savannah to Charleston. The limit will be 20 boats due to limits in the host yacht clubs and marinas. In the next several weeks there will be registration forms available on the web site.

 

Woody Norwood and his cousin Joe Norwood will be pioneering a possible extension starting Friday, May 11, with the objective of reaching Wrightsville Beach, NC (near Wilmington) next Wednesday, May 16 in Woody's Herreshoff 12 1/2. Woody plans to post progress reports each night on the journey. This journey is termed "CYC to CYC" as both the starting and finishing clubs are names "Carolina Yacht Club".