2023 Fall Regatta
Michigan Sailing Club, Dexter, Michigan
October 8, 2023
Autumn roared into the Michigan mitten the weekend of this year’s Michigan Sailing Club Fall Sunfish Regatta. Sunday morning wore temperatures in the mid-30s that rose to the upper 40s. Winds were NW 13-20 with gusts to 30 and very shifty on Baseline Lake. Skies were partly sunny. Disappointingly a few competitors had to skip due to various illnesses or the fleet would have been quite bigger. We hope they all recover well. The skippers meeting at 1130 spelled out clearly what competitors should expect: a Modified Olympic course which was sailed for all four races. The blustery, shifty conditions gave the sailors challenges, capsizes (at least 5), hitting marks (at least two), equipment failures (at least two), and exhaustion causing some to sit out after the third race. Most enjoyed a bowl of chili or some stuffed cabbage with snacks after returning to shore. Past World Champion Derrick Fries made handling the conditions look easy as he easily swept all four races. The next spots had a little bit of back and forth for Stu Pettitt, Casey Jones, Rasvan Adam and Gail Turluck.—Gail Turluck
Special thanks to Debora G. for taking these awesome photos!
