07/17/15 CREW ARRIVES
AT PORT HURON…Mom uses a great driver named Chet Donikowski who agreed to
do the van driving for Nyanza…..first to Port Huron then back to Erie and then
to Mackinaw City to bring the crew home. Thanks Chet…. The crew who I will
identify next stopped at the Detroit Arport to pick up my Brother, Rick who
will be racing with us and then proceeded north to Port Huron.
Mackinaw Crew List…Captain Jim McBrier, Watch Captain James
T. McBrier, David D. McBrier (Bow), Watch Captain James Whistler from Buffalo,
Dick Robertson, Ross Eresco from Erie, Rick McBrier from Salt Lake and Sherry
Burger from Fort Lauderdale.
Watch List Starboard Watch Captain Whistler, Cap Jim, David McB
and Rick McB Port Watch Captain JT McB,
Robertson, Eresco, Burger
A few stayed on the boat Friday and the rest into a motel
for a good nights rest….dock time 0900.
07/18/15 RACE DAY…Bells
Port Huron-Mackinaw Race 225 boats
registered…….in the Shore Course in which we would race in class l there were
82 boats. The l class had 19 boats. A tough class and the joke of the day was
the Bayview YC allowed the Melges 24’s to race and they put them in our class.
This was nuts….Our race started at 12:50 and we motored out to the start always
going very close up the Canadian side to stay out of the 5 knot current coming
down under the bridge into the Sinclair River.
Nyanza started after a delay of 10 minutes in light wind
with a spinnaker and watched as storm started to move onto the race course.
About 2 hours after the while taking down the spinnaker we were hit with 40
knot winds and rain. Nyanza layed on her side and took water into the cockpit. We
lost quite a bit of time to what would be the winner in our class “Eliminator”
a a C&C35 MkII as she snuck up the shore. Very fast tricked out boat….at
the dock we saw many 1st place Mac Flags on this boat.
Started up the course with pretty steady waterline closehaul
and A sail racing. Waterline race for Nyanza. The melges 24 running fast that
us almost all the time. Second day we
started to reel in our three competitors. The C&C and the 2 melgeses.
Unfortunately before the wind came up off Presque Isle Sunday we hit a hole and
the three boats got away.
It would have been really ironic if the article would have
read “Hinckley 42 beats 2 Melges 24’s in the Port Huron Mac. Coming up to the
finish in the Strait the wind and waves picked up but it was too late and
Nyanza made a very impressive finish of fourth in class and fifth overall on
the shore course finishing at 02:23 Monday Morning……covering the 240 mike
course in 37 hours and 23 minutes averaging 6.44 knots. Like horseshoes 4ths
don’t count but we had a great race and without these spring melges that don’t
belong in our class we had a great 2nd to Eliminator.
As always….the island of Fudge and Horse shit continues to
be very popular…..great trophy party up at the Grand Hotel on Tuesday
afternoon. Wednesday Morning Nyanza headed to Mac City to be met by Chet for
our crews ride home. Thanks crew for a great Race. Captain Jim
