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Marshack
Wins Area H Alter Cup Qualifier
Complete results below
“You can’t win ‘em all!” might’ve been what Ken Marshack was saying as he
left the Skamokawa Vista Park on Sunday after winning the Area H Qualifier
for US SAILING’s Multihull Championship for the Alter Cup held June 11-12.
Marshack was in command going into Sunday after rattling off 4 straight
bullets on Saturday.
After winning the opening race on Sunday, Marshack took the pedal off the
gas and sailed conservatively the last two races. That strategy won him the
gold medal, but cost him straight bullets – eating a 2nd and
throwing a 3rd.
The real battle was for 2nd place where Dave Wilder, a top Hobie
17, and Peter Nelson/Laura Sullivan, a competitive Hobie 16 team, were tied
going into Sunday’s races. Wilder beat Nelson/Sullivan in the first race on
Sunday, but Nelson/Sullivan took the last two bullets and the silver medal.
Wilder finished with the bronze medal. Kelly Havig had moments of
brilliance, but couldn’t find the gas pedal in the chop on her 17 and
drifted to 4th. The daughter-dad team of Valerie and Bill Groesz
rounded out the fleet with some good sailing, but were out-muscled with
their older Hobie 16.
US SAILING-certified PRO, Jerry Valeske, performed remarkably. With lots of
chase boats but no one else on the water with experience, Valeske was left
with the daunting task of setting a start line, finish line, and leeward
mark in 3 knots of current and fluctuating breezes. He ran flawless
sequences the entire weekend, including Saturday when he manned the
committee boat solo!
The weekend started off with a little drama when Nelson filed a measurement
protest after the skipper’s meeting against Marshack’s A-cat. There is no
love lost between these two sailors either on or off the water. Nelson’s
protest was a desperate, but ultimately futile, attempt to negate Marshack’s
advantage with a favorable Portsmouth rating. US SAILING Judge Skip Nitchie
of Portland heard the protest, which was ultimately withdrawn. No other
protests were filed during the weekend.
The competitors were given the “full meal deal.” With sponsorship from
Murrays, Harken, Hobie Cat, and Morrelli & Melvin, the $30 entry fee was a
real bargain. In addition to 2 great days of racing, competitors received a
registration bag full of great stuff, plus a Sat. dinner of cioppino (a
seafood stew), all the beer/wine/pop they could drink all weekend and hot
dogs on Sunday at the awards ceremony.
The turnout was not indicative of the level of racing on the water or the
quality of the regatta overall. Area H plans to build the area qualifier
into a premier catamaran event for the Northwest, and 2006’s event was a
great springboard for that growth.
Peter Nelson
Area H Representative |
