RS Aeros at the Frigid Digit Regatta, Seattle, USA
by Derek Bottles 23 Feb 2017 07:21 GMT
11-12 February 2017
RS Aeros at the Frigid Digit Regatta in Seattle © Doug Stumberger
Seattle's Frigid Digit regatta started as the major midwinter Laser event back 1974. This year the event featured Lasers, Optis and RS Aeros hosted by the Seattle Laser Fleet, Corinthian YC and West Coast Sailing.
Fourteen Aeros signed up. It was sunny both days and not too cold which allowed for 11 races averaging 30-40 min each. Day one was super light and shifty and on day two winds allowed for some hiking in 8 to 10 knots. With only one drop allowed the pressure was on everyone to keep their scores low.
The RS Aeros have certainly taken root in Seattle. The fleet has drawn in many top sailors and the sailing talent runs deep. In the RS Aero line up was no less than a gold medallist & world champ, 1 or 2 world champions and two or so North American Champions! I think we all pushed each other to get more and more performance out of the boats as each day progressed.
Carl Buchan managed the narrow win over Jay Renehan by taking the final race. Third in the 13 boat fleet was the mightily-bearded Dan Falk current North American RS Aero 9 Champion. Just behind Dan was of Derek Bottles, who had recently placed third in the Aero Midwinters in Florida. Libby McKee is back on the water in her new Aero, and was fourth after the first day but had to miss day two.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 2019 | Carl Buchan | CYC | 4 | ‑5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 2nd | 1976 | Jay Renehan | SYC | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| 3rd | 1384 | Dan Falk | CYC | 2 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | ‑9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 47 |
| 4th | 1872 | Derek Bottles | CYC/SYC | ‑7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 50 |
| 5th | 1127 | Todd Willsie | CYC | ‑12 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 58 |
| 6th | 1644 | Eric Becker | CYC | 6 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ‑10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 58 |
| 7th | 1380 | John Renehan | SYC | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 67 |
| 8th | 1726 | Jacques Garrigues | CYC | ‑13 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 74 |
| 9th | 2082 | Libby Johnson McKee | CYC/SYC | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | ‑13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 77 |
| 10th | 1481 | Dan Herron | | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | ‑11 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 83 |
| 11th | 1643 | Nate Creitz | CYC | 8 | ‑12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 97 |
| 12th | 1515 | Paul Lisagor | CYC | 10 | 11 | 12 | ‑13 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 106 |
| 13th | 1969 | Jack Holbrook | CYC/SYC | 11 | ‑13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 109 |
| 14th | 1514 | Andy Mack | SYC | 14 | ‑15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 139 |
Next up for the Seattle RS Aeros is the Seattle Frostbiting on Sundays March 5 & 19 and an RS Aero demo day on Saturday March 18.
Full details of each are on the North American Event Page here.