There was an unusual buzz surrounding the 2023 Bottoms Up regatta sailed at Lake Murray Yacht Club September 15-17, 2023. That was because 44 MC Scows registered. This was roughly double their usual attendance. The attendance zone was vastly expanded with top sailors coming in from as far away as Orlando, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.
To be sure, the Bottoms Up always has a healthy turnout because they have a huge local fleet that fielded 21 MC Scows from the home club. But 44? This was huge.
Perhaps the club’s decision to bring in multi-national champion and DPS sailmaker Bill Draheim to conduct a Friday clinic and race contributed. Maybe the word was out that the “Catawba Mafia” (LMSC’s nickname for us – not ours) was coming back to defend their 2022 win of the top three places. Whatever the reasons – the buzz was there.
Bill Draheim conducted a wonderful clinic and all the attendees took something back to work on. Bill is a down-to-earth natural teacher in addition to top sailor and he gives equal attention to everyone, no matter your experience. Thank-you, Bill.
A few sailors must not have liked the weekend forecast of light winds, but when the gun sounded Saturday morning for race one, there were 36 boats on the line. One could say the winds were light at 5-8 but that is not how scow sailors really describe it. These were the conditions in scow terms. 1. Heavy powerboat chop all across the lake. 2. Enough wind to move but the majority of sailing would be on the lee or low side. 3. Occasional puffs that offered brief moments of hiking. 4. We were always moving.
And in the end, the fleet size did not matter because the Catawba Mafia stood tall again. Yes, Bill Draheim won three of five races and took first. Everyone expected that. Buy CYC won the next three slots. Jan Havmoeller sailed 6-1-4-2-2 for second place. Fred Herr sailed a 3-2-6–3-6 for third place. And Dave Forrest sailed 2-14-9-1-5 for fourth. Ron Wright had a top three finish and was 15th overall. Tom Martin had a nice 8th place finish in race one and finished 22nd. Rob Gruber was a long way from the bottom with a very respectable 26th place.
So congratulations CYC. You are looking good!
(About the photo… We were in a very crowded room and, well, let’s just say there was ample unintended photobombing. What to do? Remove.bg to the rescue!!!! Oh well, I could have used an Alaskan glacier or the desert!!). L-R: Jan, Bill Draheim, Fred.
