Hancock Regatta

The Hancock Yacht Club always put on a great regatta, even though the weather is in "other" hands. With a well-deserved reputation of either "No Wind", "lots of wind", "too much wind", &/or "booming Thunderstorms", sometimes all in the "same" day, or at least the same weekend, this year was no exception to say the least, with "all" the above!

On Saturday, after following the R/C boat 12 miles up the river, (seemed like 12 miles), the anxious racers cut their engines and prepared to battle it out on the Neuse. With winds clocked at -.5, (that's 1/2 knot less than nothing!) floating in place, or drifting with the current was the order. After a number of delays for the wind to come up, the R/C bravely started the San Juan 21 class with winds gusting up to "1/2 knot" before dropping back to the "less than nothing" again. Taking the early lead, Jeff Thomas crossed the start line on port tack 18 minutes after the start horn had sounded and proceeded to an overall "two" boat lengths past the start line before slowly drifting back with the current well below the start line. Then came the "hard" racing, as just getting the boat to hold its position in the current was the major goal. "Do I see a small bow wake?" Perhaps we're moving? Perhaps not! After one hour or more of struggling, and with the start line getting further and further away, the R/C committee finally put an end to the suffering by sounding the "abandon" horn and sending all racers back to the docks. What took'em so long! Engines came to life and bows pointed to Hancock creek with throttles wide open as the engine induced wind sure felt good on some "sweltering" sailors.

At the dock, a forecast of "T-1" until 17:15 surely meant no more racing for the day. (That's Marine talk for approaching thunderstorms until 5:15 PM) Nothing to do but enjoy the shade with some refreshment and wait for the BBQ and entertainment at 18:00 (6:00 PM). Tomorrow is another day!

Sunday promised to be a better day and it sure was. With a steady southeast breeze the boats jumped off the start line and tackled the first leg. The San Juan class crossed tacks the whole first leg, while the non-spinnaker boats led by Doug Phelps, gave hard chase, with the spinnaker class ascertaining itself on the second and third legs. It's quite a sight to look back and see all those spinnakers nipping at your stern as they roared on by. Charles Douthit led the way with Cotton Picker as the second mark rounding was "crowded" to say the least. A hard reach to the third mark and then try to pick the lifting tack back to windward. A great day for racing! At the last mark rounding, a threatening black cloud and thunderstorm chased all boats back to the finish line and encouraged them to head for home ASAP. Rounding the last mark, Bill Miller took a tumble in the water (without life vest) and in the ensuing rescue cut a hand badly while one of his crew took the boom hard across the face. The Hancock rescue boat responded promptly and escorted Bill back to the dock where a waiting rescue squad prepared bill for a trip to get that hand stitched up. As Bill tells it, Never, ever go forward in a blow without a life vest!!!!! And forget that "plastic" hanging ladder! This skipper almost drowned by the time it was found, hung over the side, and promptly broke at the first step! The crew finally pulled him back on board, exhausted and hurt. This should tell us all to be more careful on the water, and "permanently" mount a metal ladder on the stern, ready for any emergencies. Fortunately, Bill is going to be all right with the only real damage being "a little hurt pride".

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