Much Improved The Soling regatta on May 24 was a huge improvement, the day with sunshine and a decent wind that held all afternoon. The original plan was to have American Model Yacht scoring, but due to some boat swapping and mechanical issues, the decision was made to use our tried-and-true Back Bay Skipper scoring that takes into account all issues faced during a regatta. It also includes a scoring average rather than total points.
Fifteen skippers launched for this week’s regatta, and the fleet completed eleven races. Not unusual, Tim Wright took top honors, besting the second-place finisher, Mark Whitehead, by 2.5 points. Tim didn’t cross the finish line first in every race, however. Other winners included Rick Gates in Race 4, Denis Boisvert in Race 6, Anthony Quinn in Race 7, Tom Barstow in Race 8, and Mark Whitehead in Race 10.
Tom Barstow had a very strong showing, taking the third spot. Only .5 of a point back was Rick Gates in fourth, and .3 of a point behind that was Denis Boisvert finishing in fifth. Generally speaking, the fleet as a whole is extremely competitive with just tenths of a point separating the participants — a testament to just how good the skippers are, those catching just one little puff of wind making all the difference.