7:30 comes around early, but here I was as promised delivering breakfast tacos for the setup crew before sunrise at beautiful Woodlawn Lake in San Antonio.
There is always far more involved in hosting a regatta than most people realize. Boats had to be launched, buoys placed, flags raised, tents deployed, patio furniture moved, race equipment transferred to the floating barge, and the club arranged to receive our guests — all before most sailors had even arrived. Fortunately, a dedicated team of local members and visiting competitors made quick work of setup before gathering around to devour breakfast tacos and coffee.
The weather was absolutely magnificent for mid-May in South Texas. Cool by local standards, overcast skies shielded us from the harsh sun, while a glorious steady 15–17 mph breeze from the SE to SSE stretched cleanly across the lake, giving us a fantastic windward-leeward racecourse. Ten boats battled it out on Day 2 of the Region 5 Micro Magic Championship on gorgeous Woodlawn Lake.
This was definitely a C-rig day, and it was amazing watching these tiny Micro Magics absolutely streak downwind under full control despite the heavy breeze. These boats may only be 21 inches long, but in the right conditions they sail with remarkable speed and precision.
Lunch featured grilled hamburgers and hot dogs prepared on the club grill by volunteer Rick Phillips. Green beans, cream corn, and all the fixings carried over from the previous day’s excellent barbecue provided by Pirooz Asgari of the Charcoal Grill Restaurant.
A special hats off goes to Sylvia and Denise from our race committee team, who took over food service duties both days ensuring every sailor was served first before they sat down themselves. They were truly among the hardest-working volunteers at this event.
Meanwhile, our chase boat team of Joe Roddy and Jeff Beck kept the rescue boat manned and ready for action at a moment’s notice. With today’s stronger winds, they had plenty of opportunities to get out on the water performing rescues and clearing debris to keep racing moving smoothly.
Teardown at the end of the day went quickly thanks to both our local team and competitors jumping in to help. By the time Commodore Ray Seta was ready for the trophy presentation, nearly everything had already been packed away.
Final results saw Ron Stephanz of Florida take first place with 42 points after 28 total races. Greg Norris of Colorado finished second with 57 points, followed by Woodlawn’s own Commodore Ray Seta in third with 66 points.
For much of the afternoon, Greg and Ray remained tied in points, creating an exciting battle for second place right down to the closing races. Another close contest developed between Mark Cooper and William Ramlo for fourth and fifth. Those close battles became some of the day’s best entertainment as competitors traded positions repeatedly while fighting just as hard against each other as against the fleet overall.
Our “Special Finisher Award,” presented to the sailor who completed every race while carrying the highest counted score, was awarded this year to local sailor John Rodriguez. I was especially impressed with John’s improvement from Day 1 to Day 2. As a newer sailor, it is not easy to jump directly into a regatta — especially while learning an unfamiliar boat class — yet John performed wonderfully and earned the respect of everyone there. I was very pleased we could recognize him during the awards presentation.
Tonight’s dinner gathering was held at the Alamo Cafe. I was unfortunately unable to attend, but I know it was a treat for everyone involved. One thing I particularly remember about the restaurant is its remarkable artificial sky ceiling, which gradually shifts from daylight into nighttime lighting and creates the feeling of dining outdoors in an old Mexican village.
Final scores are posted below.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who traveled, competed, volunteered, and helped make this event happen. This little regatta turned out to be something truly special. We could not have asked for better sailing conditions, better camaraderie, or a finer group of competitors.
Now we turn our attention toward the upcoming Region 5 Championship RC Laser Regatta, which will be held right here at Woodlawn Lake in just three weeks. If we get weather anything like this weekend, it promises to be another outstanding event. Registration is now open on the AMYA website.
Hope to see you there.
— Eric Gregory
