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1997 Brent Halsey Jr. Memorial RegattaREGATTA SETS SAIL IN DELTAVILLE RACES HIT THE BAYByline: Massie RitschDate: 08-28-1997 Edition: City Section: Area/State Memo: (ljb) COVER STORY Correction: ***CORRECTION PUBLISHED AUGUST 29, 1997 FOLLOWS*** The hospitality tent and dance at the Brent Halsey Jr. Memorial Regatta tomorrow are not open to the public. Incorrect information was included in a story yesterday. Just a little more than an hour east of Richmond, in Deltaville, is the Chesapeake Bay's fastest growing sailing race. You can go, but leave your blue blazer and ascot at home. The Brent Halsey Jr. Memorial Regatta is all about informal hospitality, its organizers say, making for a Labor Day weekend that landlubbers and swabs alike can enjoy. More than 70 sailboats - most of them with 10-person amateur crews - along with hundreds of spectators, will float the waters of the lower Bay and line the shores of Fishing Bay Yacht Club for two days of racing in the regatta's third annual running. The event memorializes Richmonder and avid sailor Brent Halsey Jr., who was killed at age 39 in October 1994 while working in Philadelphia. (His father, Brent Halsey Sr., will compete on his boat, "Stormking.") Though it may not be the America's Cup, the Halsey Regatta has quickly achieved popularity, increasing from 26 boats in 1995 to 72 boats last year. The success of the Halsey races is especially surprising, regatta chairman John Dodge said, because "most of these regattas take years to get on their feet." To a novice, sailing - or yachting, to use its more pretentious name - can be an intimidating world, a close-knit community full of expensive vessels and arcane terminology. Yet, in some ways, the sport should be particularly welcoming; sailing is one of the few competitive sports where men and women compete equally. No referees arbitrate sailing, so the fair running of a race relies on the competitors' sportsmanship and their adherence to right-of-way rules. The day of the race, the race committee announces the course, or Sailing Instructions, basing its plan on wind conditions and other factors including water and weather. Races can run either around buoys (floating markers that indicate turning points) or from point to point. A race may last as little as 10 minutes or - in the case of some point-to-point races - as long as several months. This weekend's three Halsey races - two on Saturday, one on Sunday - will be around buoys and should last about two hours, depending on the length of the course and the wind, Dodge said. (The Chesapeake Bay Racing Association requires courses to be at least six miles.) "If there's a lot of wind," Dodge explained, "[the race committee] might want us to stretch our legs a little." A race's winner is not necessarily the first boat over the finish line, though in some races, when all the boats are identical (known as "one- design"), that is the case. Other races are handicapped, with a boat's design determining how much time it owes to slower boats. Handicaps are given in seconds, so when a boat crosses the finish line, seconds may be added to its time. It's all very complicated, veteran sailors admit, but that shouldn't deter someone from getting involved in the sport. Being involved in sailing does not necessarily involve owning a boat. Skippers are constantly looking for crew members to help out during races. A crew campaigning for many wins may travel up and down the coast, from Key West to New England. For anyone who wants to be involved in sailing without great expense, Dodge said, "The best-case scenario for anybody is to crew. There isn't anything more valuable than a dependable crew member." Of course, before you take the helm or start rigging the sails, you need to learn the ropes, so to speak. In March, Fishing Bay Yacht Club runs a monthlong series of classes in Richmond, with weekends spent sailing in Deltaville. A week-long camp in June trains younger people on the water. In the Richmond area, there aren't many other opportunities to sail. Lakes, such as Swift Creek Reservoir in Chesterfield, are fine for small craft, but the wind can't match that of the bay or ocean. For those conditions, a trip east is necessary. "An hour and 15 minutes is not a bad sacrifice to get out on the water," Dodge said. It's a trip many Richmonders make every weekend in the spring and summer. Fishing Bay's 500-person membership is predominantly from this area. Though spectators can watch the Halsey Regatta from the shore, viewing is best from the water. Personal boats are welcome as long as they steer clear of the course. A spectator boat will be available. Either way, binoculars would be helpful. The weekend's activities are not confined to the water, however. Mount Gay Rum, one of the event's sponsors, will have a hospitality tent. A dinner on Saturday will feature America's Cup skipper Kevin Mahaney as master of ceremonies. Dancing will follow, with entertainment by reggae band Mama Jama. All activities will take place at the yacht club, located at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Though sailing can be an expensive sport, the Halsey Regatta tries to lighten the load by not charging an entrance fee, a rarity in a sport where registrations can reach several hundred dollars for a weekend. "That kind of separates us from the rest of the group," Dodge said. This weekend's regatta comes toward the end of the Chesapeake Bay sailing season, which began in mid-April and will end during the second week of October. July and August, with light air on the Bay during the day and storms in the evening, do not usually make for great racing. But the breeze picks up toward September. Dealing with sudden wind shifts and weather changes is what makes sailing exciting, Dodge said. "Mother Nature can creep up on you," he said. "You can go from first to last in a matter of seconds." The most exciting moments of a race, Dodge said, occur during the start and the mark rounding. At the start, an invisible line between the race committee's boat and a buoy, strategy is essential. "Everybody's fighting for a very small area," Dodge explained, "and that's where you can get contact." SAILS TALKSailing has a language all its own, so don't show up at the Halsey Regatta unprepared. Here's some lingo to make you seem like a veteran skipper.* Aft: Toward the stern, opposite of forward. * Bear away: To turn away from the wind (or to turn to leeward.) * Bow: The front of the boat. * Broach: A sudden, unplanned turning of a boat toward the wind, which occurs in strong winds. * Chop: Short, steep waves. * Head up: To turn the boat toward the wind (windward). * Heel: When the boat leans or tips to one side. * Hike: To lean over the side, usually to counteract the heeling forces. * Knot: Nautical mile (6,076 feet ) per hour. * Leeward: Downwind; away from the wind. * Port tack: Sailing with the wind coming over the left side of the boat. * Spinnaker: A big, colorful, parachute-like specialty sail used when sailing downwind. * Starboard tack: Sailing with the wind coming over the boat's right side. * Stern: The back end of the boat. * Tack: (1) The front, bottom corner of a sail. (2) The boat's heading in relation to the wind (that is, on starboard or port tack). (3) To change tacks by turning toward the wind, entering the no-sail zone from one side and exiting on the other. * Trim: (1) To pull in a rope or sail. (2) The set of the sails. (3) The bow-up or bow-down position of the boat when not moving. * Windward: Toward the wind; the side the wind blows upon. SOURCE: "Sailing for Dummies" (IDG Books, 1997) FYI If you go * For details on the Brent Halsey Jr. Memorial Regatta, call John Dodge at (804) 358-8508. Racing begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The second race on Saturday will begin at the conclusion of the morning race. Saturday's dinner is sold out, but spectators may visit the hospitality tent and attend the dance with music by Mama Jama for $15. Ragatta-watching, of course, is free of charge. For details on Fishing Bay's Richmond sailing classes, call Julie Karn at (804) 355-7940. More information on sailing and the Fishing Bay Yacht Club may be found online at http://members.tripod.com/FBYC |
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