Down Bay Draws Record Numbers
By Clay Johnson, Colie Sails
A record 41 Melges 15s attended the 2024 Down Bay Regatta August 10-11 at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club in Beach Haven, NJ. The weather this year was the big factor as the remnants of Tropical Storm Debbie passed by our area before the weekend.
On Friday, sailors were invited to an informal clinic day. It was intended that we would help with rigging, have a fleet debrief, and then go sailing for a few hours in an organized practice. But Friday saw winds in excess of 30 knots and it quickly became obvious that the clinic would have to move inside to a group chalk talk. All wasn't lost though as about 30+ people joined us at the main clubhouse for a 1.5 hour briefing on the Melges 15s. Topics included tuning, techniques, boat-handling, and even capsize recovery. It was really well worth it, and this kind of a briefing speaks to the openness of the class and how friendly everyone is!
On Saturday, the storm had passed but we were left with very light and challenging conditions. The Melges 15 fleet was in the middle of the Bay, sometimes racing in a light westerly while also getting teased by a sea breeze out of the south. Sometimes both at the same time!
In the first race, Brian and Allison Simkins jumped out to a nice lead and were able to hold off late charges by Luke Arnone/Cameron Giblin and Sara Morgan Waters/Kate O'Donell. The second race was a bit wacky with the westerly and the southerly fighting each other. Boats took many different routes to the leeward mark with some going really high to try to get into the southerly, while others choosing the low side of the course to stay in the westerly as long as possible. The RC ended up shortening this race to a W3 in hopes of getting another score in the books and allow for a third race of the day. Emily Haig/Jimmy Muller progressed through the fleet to take the gun over Ron and Bonnie Steele. We were able to get one more race in on the last day in a little bit more of a stable westerly breeze. Luke Arnone and Cameron Giblin were at the front the whole time, followed by Mike Ehnot and Matt Priebe. Emily and Jimmy hung in for third. Day one ended with three light air, tricky races. Luke/Cameron and Emily/Jimmy were leading the way with three consistent scores. Dana Haig dragged her father John Haig around the course with some consistent scores to also stay in the hunt. And Mike Ehnot put together a good day to be in the mix too. Many other sailors had some higher scores and were hoping for a throwout to get back in the mix.
The real reason everyone comes to the Down Bay is for the party, and this year did not disappoint. Dinner, drinks, and dancing made for a fun night. Thanks to Andrew Mackessey and Stokes Carriagan, the 2024 Down Bay co-chairs, for organizing such a great party!
Day two arrived with glass on the water and a light forecast. Sometimes when it's glassy out, it's almost better because it allows for some breeze to build out of the correct direction. After a short postponement, the RC sent us out for an 11:15 start in a light SW breeze. Boats had a great start near the pin and flopped to port for most of the beat. Luke Arnone jumped out to an early lead, followed by Scott "Scooter" Barbano and, wife, Liz. Bobby and Maggie Koar were in the mix most of the day, and the father-son duo of Alan and Spencer Kriegstein were a rocket downwind. The breeze lightened up as the race went on, and Emily and Jimmy systematically picked off boat after boat to move to the front. They were winning at the last weather mark, but Luke and Cameron reclaimed their lead on the last downwind to take the race.
The next race was a little more questionable as after the start the breeze died completely and filled from the left, leaving everyone on the right hung out to dry. The Haig sisters took advantage of their speed and good fortune of being on the left to go 1-2. Luke could only manage a comeback to 8th, leaving Luke and Emily tied heading into the last race.
The last race started in what looked to be a building seabreeze. We sailed the first beat in the southerly before the breeze got a little weird on the downwind and totally shut off after that. A fleet inversion, followed by competing breezes and pleas from the participants to "put us out of our misery and abandon the race" ultimately led to the RC abandoning the race and sending the fleet in.
All in all, it was a tough event with the weather. We're all sailors and know that you can't control the weather, but with 41 boats all gathered at one location and eager to race, it was a bummer that the conditions were so trying. That said, the cream always rises to the top, and Emily/Jimmy, Luke/Cameron, and Dana/John were clearly the three best boats this weekend and sure enough they finished 1-2-3. It was pretty cool to see so many different pairs playing at the front throughout the weekend too. The fleet is getting more competitive with each event.
Thank you to the Race Committee for giving us their best in the difficult conditions. And thank you to Little Egg and all of the volunteers for doing their best to make the regatta happen. We appreciate the efforts!