2007 ILYA Championship, August 11-13, Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh, WI

The Inland 20 ILYA Championship regatta was held in Oshkosh, WI on Lake Winnebago Aug. 11-13. 20 boats sailed the event with sailors traveling from all over the Midwest to the East Coast. Conditions ranged from breezy with large waves to light wind with no waves. All six scheduled races were completed with local sailor Aaron Lynn and crew Keith Rosenbaum taking the regatta. Kyle Metzloff and wife Liz were second and class builder John Hayashi with Anita Bersie were third.
 

Aaron and Keith screaming into the finish of Race 1.  RJ Bangs photo.

Registration started Friday afternoon and the sailors were greeted by the Oshkosh Yacht Club with free beer. The racing started with a W2 Saturday morning with a steady Southeast wind 10-15 mph. The wind had been up all morning bringing up the waves. On the first beat the key was keeping the rig fully powered and driving the waves. The wind built throughout the race and it was gusting into the 20’s with large waves by the second beat.

The last windward mark saw George Winter round first with Aaron Lynn right behind. Close after were Kyle Metsloff and John Hayashi. Those four boats set spinnakers and went blasting off downwind. Aaron was the first to gybe and got around cleanly sailing high and blasting into the finish on full plane to take race 1. George and John H. both capsized on the last run allowing Kyle to take second and Jack Boatman to come from behind for third. With the capsized boats out on the lake, the RC sent the fleet in after the first race for a break. After lunch, the wind was 14-20 mph and the fleet was about to head back out when an approaching afternoon squall kept them on shore.

Day 2 started with beautiful West winds 10-15 and flat water. By the start of the second race the wind was down to 5-10 mph still from the west. The course was a W2 with off-shore winds providing puffs and shifts and the key to this race was staying in the pressure while working the shifts. Race 2 was won by guest skipper John Porter with crew Miles Clark. Second was Aaron and third was John H.

By race 3 the wind was getting light and had clocked right to the Northwest. This race was a W 2 ½ and saw John Hayashi shooting out to a large lead followed by George. Aaron got into third by sailing off to the right on the second downwind and finding more pressure to get around the large pack going down the middle.

John H. and George lead the pack in Race 3.  RJ Bangs photo.

At the last leeward gate, the wind died allowing John H. and George to get way ahead toward to finish and the rest of the fleet to catch Aaron in the battle for third.

The final beat saw John H. stay in the pressure to win the race easily while George found an ugly hole up near the finish. There was a lot of passing back and forth but the end George hung on just crossing Aaron on port right at the finish for second. Aaron was third and a large pack of boats finished in a clump just afterward in an exciting close race. The fleet headed in for lunch.

After lunch it was back out for race 4 with light air and hot sun. The wind had now gone further right and was generally Easterly but was unsettled. The RC postponed for a long time waiting for the wind to stabilize. Finally, the wind seamed to settle in at an ESE direction. The RC set up a course in the light air and started the sequence. Just prior to the start, new wind filled in from the right. The boats that tacked into the apparent header were rewarded with a large lead by getting into the new pressure first with a huge lead at the windward mark.

This group was lead by Grant Frautschi who tacked onto port right at the start, sailed to the pressure, then tacked back to fetch the mark. Steve Yost was just behind Grant and Aaron was right after Steve. The RC moved the course after the first mark to reflect the new Southeast wind. The first downwind these three boats were out in front in clear air. The order was the same at the leeward gate and still close. Grant and Steve took the right gate (looking upwind) and Aaron took the left. The left side paid off the next upwind and when the lead boats come together Aaron was out front. Aaron benefited from some nice pressure while setting the chute for the last downwind and shot out to a nice lead and continued on for the win.

The light wind on the final run brought the rest of the fleet back in the race and second went to John P. followed by Kyle. Sunday evening the party was at the Legion on the Lake with a Door County fish boil and a live band.

The final day of the regatta started with a medium East wind around 10 mph and some waves. The course was a W2 and Grant was again the leader at the first windward mark with Aaron right behind. On the run, Grant continued out to the left side while Aaron jibed into some pressure working down the middle. At the leeward mark, Aaron had a nice lead with Steve Yost and Grant chasing.

 Aaron found a hole just after rounding and Grant, Steve, and John H. all caught up. It was close racing all the way up to the mark with Aaron and Grant virtually tied for the lead up near the windward mark. Aaron was on port hoping to cross to get to the starboard layline and it was looking to be a close crossing. Just then, a set of powerboat waves hit Grant to slow him just enough for Aaron to cross. Aaron lead around the mark and covered downwind to take race 5 and the regatta. Grant held on for second and John H. came in third.

The sixth and final race was a light SE wind W2. This was tough sailing that required a lot of patience to keep the boat moving. The big story of this race was team Marquart, dad Jeff sailing with sons Evan and Spencer doing a fantastic job with what little breeze there was to stay near the front the whole race and win it at the end. Way to go guys. The enthusiasm from their boat could be heard all around the area.

Team Marquardt were the winners of Race 6.  RJ Bangs photo.

With the regatta in the books, it was time to pack up the boats and hand out the historic ILYA trophies.

Team 4 Hiking collect some hardware for Race 6.  RJ Bangs photo.

Those that didn’t attend missed a great regatta with great parties and all sailing conditions Lake Winnebago has to offer. Best of luck to all at Nationals and hope to see everyone again soon.

 

2006
MYCers Clark & Green Take 2006 ILYA Championship

I-20s completed their 2006 ILYA Championships today. Emily Green and Miles Clark held on to the lead with a third place finish today. Stefan Schmidt was the sixth race winner in a light, shifty day on Geneva. Green and Clark amassed 12 points in the 6- race series. Green won the Championship on Green Lake in 2004. Miles was spinnaker man on White Magic who placed third in the A One Design earlier in the week.

 

2006 ILYA CLASS I-20 CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

• 1 -- Green, E. Mendota 12 points
• 2 -- Hayashi Green 19
• 3 --Catlin Neenah 20
• 4 -- Yost Mendota 29
• 5 -- Lynn Oshkosh 39
• 6 -- Winter Fond du Lac 44
• 7 -- Holz Minnetonka 45
• 8 --Marquardt Bear Lake 48
• 9 -- Schmidt Mendota 49
• 10 - Bolles Wauwasee 61
• 11 --Stimpson Mendota 69
• 12 --Frautschi Mendota 72
• 13 --Wenning Mendota 73

2005 ILYA CLASS I-20 CHAMPIONSHIP