High Performance/Low Cost Sails for
Small Sailboats
The PDRacer World Championship at Allatoona Lake 2009: One Racer’s Perspective
For me, the 2009 PDRacer
World Championship Race at
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Campsite #9 at the gravel pad and the CRV to the blacktop to satisfy
park rules. |
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The Z-PDR emerges from
the workshop late in September ‘09 |
Late in the spring, I had
started building a new boat to try to entice my son into racing with me at Allatoona.
I knew this PDRacer had to be special to pull him
away for a weekend from his wife and one-year old daughter, and the Z-PDR, I
think, lived up to those expectations. He also knew how important this event
was for me, and I think that played a part in his decision to fly up to Atlanta
on Friday evening so that he could participate in the events on Saturday and
Sunday at nearby Allatoona Lake, a 16,000 acre reservoir north of the city.
Our time on the water prior
to the Worlds was limited to two brief outings for Ryan aboard the Z-PDR. I
thought I would have time to work the bugs out of my boat Wild Duck on the Friday before the race, so I ignored her entirely.
We briefly tested the Z with its 58 sq. ft. windsurfing-type sail about ten
days prior to the Worlds. A second trial three days before departure was a
small disaster. I placed the snotter for the slightly larger 65 sq. ft. leg o’
mutton sail too high on the mast, and the sail became uncontrollable in strong
winds. The result was a broken boom and a hole in the bottom that needed repair
on the day before I was to pack up and drive to
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Ryan
test sails the Z on the Intercoastal Waterway. A second test with a different
sail was a small disaster. |
Loading and carrying two uniquely
shaped PDRs on Ryan’s Harbor Freight trailer proved more of a challenge than
expected. Consequently, I left Port St. Lucie for the 650-mile drive to
Allatoona some four hours later than I hoped. Worries about the trailer’s tires
and bearings as well as the security of the boats’ tie downs also plagued me as
I stopped intermittently to check the load on the back of the CRV. By the time
I arrived and finally located the campground, it was 2:30 a.m. and the gate was
locked. I spent the next few hours sleeping fitfully in the passenger seat of
the packed car in a small parking area just down the road from the gate.
Although I was tired, my
spirits improved as I drove through the gates just after they opened at 7:00
a.m. Friday morning. I missed my campsite on the first pass through but noticed
two red OZ boats sitting on the ground just outside two large square tents near
the apex of the campground loop. I was a little apprehensive when I didn’t see any other PDRs on this first trip through the
grounds. Finally, locating my assigned spot, I began setting up camp.
Visitors began arriving
immediately. Our camping neighbors were Ken and Jean, I learned, enjoying an
end-of season vacation in a large RV. Jackie Monies, who wandered up from the
vicinity of the red OZ boats, was the next to arrive and introduce herself. I
knew Jackie already from interactions with the group and from surveys and emails we exchanged. Mike, her husband, was a customer, so I
recognized his name as well. Jackie wasted no time in clarifying that she and
her daughter Michelle, the Little General, expected to feed every ducker, every
meal, and then promptly escorted me down to their campsite for a hearty bacon,
egg, and biscuit breakfast. I was overwhelmed by their generosity. Meanwhile,
Mike and his son-in-law Brandon were desperately trying to construct two OZ
sails from the two racing PDR/PolySail Kits he had ordered from me a few weeks
before.
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The Monies prepare a gourmet
spread while 2009 PDR Champion-To-Be Shawn Payment prepares to get stuffed. |
Others continued to arrive as
the day wore on. Dale, a
Ryan’s Friday evening flight
was delayed, so we arrived back at the campgrounds about 10:30 p.m. to find the
gates locked once again. However, since I had already pitched our tents with
our sleeping bags inside, we were able to park the vehicle outside and walk
into the campgrounds just as rain began to fall. I was elated that Ryan was in
camp and immediately fell asleep. Ryan, on the other hand, didn’t
fare so well. He reported sleeping only intermittently, kept awake by his old
man’s snores in the next tent and by apprehensions about the race the next day.
Saturday arrived too soon,
overcast and punctuated by periods of drizzle and showers. After another
deliciously filling Monies’ breakfast of butter pancakes and syrup, we
trailered our boats over to a launch point that Shawn Payment and Paul Helbert
had scoped out on a point of land across from the beach. Because of earlier
flooding, many of the potential launch sites had been closed, including the
park ramp; so while it wasn’t ideal because of the many submerged rocks and
small trees, the site was large enough to support multiple launchings and had
the added benefit of a day-use parking lot for participants and spectators.
After unloading the boats and doing some preliminary rigging, we took a few
minutes to meet the Sea Scouts who were assisting with the event.
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Race competitors gather at the point to rig for the
race. |
Soon, other boats began
filtering into the parking area as the luminaries began to arrive. Shorty
Routh, the man who established the PDR class and basic rules, was piloting Bill
Giles’ hull #2. John Wright, a two-time
At about 9:00 the South Winds
Sailing Club began setting the marks and taking their stations. Soon
thereafter, the captains gathered for final instructions, a look at the
assembled trophies, and some final banter before launching their boats. The
start was to come on a long blast of the horn at precisely 9:35. Twelve PDRs started the first race with a thirteenth that arrived
late joining the flock later.
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Ryan and Dave pose for the Sea Scout photographer
before the big races. |
Contestants look over the trophies for the winners.
All PDR participants win trophies. |
Competitors get final instructions from race
officials from the South Winds Sailing Club–Don’t hit another boat was the mantra! Was I there? |
Under sail for the first time
in nearly two years, the biplane-rigged Wild
Duck felt solid and fast on a broad reach out from behind the point—until I
tried to turn back to the starting line, that is. She stalled and flatly
refused to turn! I backed her through
irons and got her moving fast on a port tack toward the line, but now I was
worried. Her former leeboard was now on the Z, and I had mounted the new,
larger leeboard more forward in the hopes of gaining better handling from Wild Duck’s twin leg o’ muttons. I had
also replaced #143’s warped long, narrow rudder blade with a shorter, fatter
blade that had once graced my very first boat, a Bolger Cartopper. With my
muffed turn placing me well back of the line, I found myself a good 50 yards
back of the pack when the horn sounded the start. With the speed and momentum I
was carrying to the line, though, I felt I would soon catch the leaders.
However, as I tried to turn at the start buoy, Wild Duck again went dead in the water and refused to turn through
the wind to a new starboard tack. Eventually, I wrestled her out of irons, and
once again, I felt myself flying upwind on a close reach. Suddenly, I heard and
felt a sickening crunch. I peered beneath the foot of my sails to find Tim
Cleary’s Mary E. impaled on the port
corner of my boat creating a two-inch square hole near the gunwale of Tim’s
boat. My boat appeared to be undamaged, and, after apologizing to Tim, I
dutifully did my two 360 degree turns and sailed on, now well behind the pack
who were already around the upwind buoy and headed toward me.
I continued to experience
serious problems in turning through and around the buoys at the start and at
the upwind mark throughout the remaining races. These moments in irons would often
be followed by great bursts of speed as the 104 sq. ft. of sail filled on runs
and reaches. Ryan, on the other hand, seemed to maintain or improve his start
position in both of the first two-lap races. He was third in the first race,
and fourth in the second. I cost him a better finish by asking him to launch me
from a difficult anchorage at the beginning of race three. I was far back from
the point, and by the time he reached and launched the Z-PDR up near the tip of
the point, the starting horn had already sounded. Since the third race was only
one lap, he was unable to recover and catch the leaders in the final race. I
felt very guilty about costing him a potentially higher finishing position than
his fourth place finish.
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Wild Duck reaching
on the second leg. The Z-PDR is in the background chasing Bloody Splinter |
Rounding the mark for leg 2 |
Wild Duck wing on wing on a run |
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Ryan pulls up on the leaders in Race 2 |
The Z-PDR shows her speed and scoots downwind ahead
of several other boats. |
Coming ashore at the point
was not always easy. |
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All photos in this section courtesy of Ruth Leber of the South Winds Sailing
Club |
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Netzer and Idit Kolan, the son and daughter-in-law of Gil Kolan, a ducker from
While I was disappointed with
my own tenth-place performance, I was pleased with Ryan’s success. A fourth
place finish after only about eight outings on sailboats in the past 15 years must be admired. Later, on the long trip back
Below are the race by race results along with the final results according
to race organizer, Tim Cleary.
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Race 1 (2 Laps) Top Five Finishers |
Race 2 (2 Laps) Top Five Finishers |
Race 3 (1 Lap) Top Five Finishers |
Final results of the 09 World
Championship for the 13 PD Racers that were in the race: |
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1.
Shawn Payment 2.
Paul Helbert 3.
Ryan Gray 4.
Marc Blazer 5.
Mike Monies. |
1.
Kenny Giles 2.
Marc Blazer 3.
Michael Storer 4.
Ryan Gray 5.
Shawn Payment. |
1.
Shawn Payment 2.
Shorty Routh 3.
Michael Storer 4.
Ken Giles 5.
Marc Blazer. |
1st Place-Shawn
Payment in hull #301 "Yowza" |
After making a change to the
leeboard’s position, I regained some measure of self-respect with a first in
the afternoon Poker Run. With the stalls on the turns gone, Wild Duck was again fast and
maneuverable, and by augmenting her speed in tight places with oars, my 20’
trailing line and plastic float were only crossed once by other pirates while I
was able to collect several cards from others, including one from Ryan. Crossing
the trailing line was akin to boarding another vessel in the Pirate Race. Each
time a pirate ship “boarded” another ship, the pirate could collect one card as
bootie. Eventually I collected at least a dozen cards, and that was enough to
produce four queens for the winning hand.
After a long day of sailing,
we pulled our camp chairs from the back of the CRV and settled in to await the
South Winds Sailing Club’s potluck and rehash the races with Shawn Payment and
others. As the club members wandered in with their contributions, our trailer
became the serving table for another great meal. I filled a plate to the brim
with brats and homemade sauerkraut, German potato salad, rye bread and homemade
butter. Later, I feasted on an apple strudel dessert that was incredible. One
beer on top of that meal and I was about to slide out of my chair and nap on
the concrete. I was done for the day, but I can’t say enough about the club’s
enthusiasm and support for our PDR activities. They had every detail covered, and
their kindness and generosity were beyond measure. I would be remiss if I didn’t
mention the contributions of some of those club members. First was Gary Holcomb
who is the adult leader of Ship 100. He very willingly took over both the race
clinic and running the Worlds race with the help of some great sea scouts. Ruth
Leber, in her pontoon boat, ferried people around to
get those videos and took most of the photos that appear on the SWSC website.
Andy Kohler coordinated the food and meeting on Saturday night where we ended
up have 15 members of our sailing club in attendance. He also kept an eagle eye
on the weather mark from his homebuilt dingy. Finally, Scot Widmier
coordinated the 2009 Worlds for the club with duckers Tim Cleary and Bill Giles
to help make the event a success.
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Potluck on the trailer. Other tables held desserts
and beer. Photo courtesy of a South Winds Sailing Club member. |
We wondered if anyone would
show up for the Small Jury Rigged Sail Race on Sunday morning. By the 9:00 a.m.
scheduled starting time, Ryan and I were the only ones at the point except for the
South Wind support group. Gradually, however, duckers began wandering in and we
cajoled them into forming teams for the event. John Wright and Tim Cleary
teamed up, as did Mike Monies and Brandon. Then, Shawn Payment and Shorty Routh
combined for the fourth team. By 10:00 a.m., we had assembled four teams and
collected about $70 for support of Shorty’s PDR website. Teams had 20 minutes
to assemble and rig their sails from kits that consisted only of a 7’ x 10’
tarp, 20 zip ties, and 150’ of 2” wide 3-M vinyl tape. At the end of the 20
minutes, each team had to launch, ready or not. Each team then had to sail out
around a buoy and return to shore. When all teams had made landfall, teams
switched captains and crew, and again headed for the buoy and back to shore.
The “race” was hampered by a
lack of wind that failed to fill the three sprit-type sails and one
Bermuda-type sail. Even though the buoy was moved shoreward by about half the
original placement, the first place team of Shorty and Shawn took nearly 30
minutes to finish. Race officials reported that there was some skullduggery
involved, but the other participants were so busy sculling themselves that they
failed to notice. A slight breeze on the second leg and a great deal more
bending of the rules allowed the second race to go much faster. A huge water
fight erupted just before the finish between John and Tim’s boat, Shawn and
Shorty’s boat, and a kid in an inflatable kayak. (I learned later that the kid
was David Chamness’ son Michael.) Ultimately, the
race was decided when Shorty “fell” overboard between his opponents’ boat and
the shoreline, and was able to prevent Tim and John from landing first. While
Shawn and Shorty could have been disqualified for not landing as a team, the
judges determined that there was so much cheating involved, it was impossible
to determine who did not cheat, so the order of finish stood. Winners were
Shawn and Shorty, followed by Tim and John, Dave and Ryan, and John and Brandon
who were probably the most cheat-free team. For prizes, PolySail International
awarded the winners two small sails consisting of a 34 sq. ft. lug, and a 28
sq. ft. leg o’ mutton.
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Small Jury Rigged Sails Race gets underway |
Shawn Payment and Shorty Routh received small
PolySails for winning |
Race participants from left:
Ryan Gray, Dave Gray, Brandon, Mike Monies, The Kid (Michael Chamness), Shorty Routh, Shawn Payment, Tim Cleary, and
John Wright |
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All photos in this section courtesy Scott Widmier and Shawn Payment |
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What a weekend! For camaraderie,
food, excitement, and PDR racing, Allatoona 2009 will live in my memory for all
my remaining days as the Big Kahuna of Big Moments
PolySail International
Email polysail@polysail.com or call Dave Gray at 317 385-3444
PolySails–Sold on the Web since 1996. Customers in all 50 states and around the globe.
This page updated on 10/19/2009
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