Commodore's Cup '05 Windsurfing Race

By Thursday afternoon, the weather could not be any more perfect. The sun was out under a few small clouds in an otherwise clear blue sky. The air temperature was a light cool with very little humidity. I could not wait to get out of class and run down to the lake.

When I got out to Hoofers, Joe was coming in from a lesson and I took over his board and sail. He had out a large 7.2m sail and a Prodigy. I had never taken out a Prodigy board before and as I started out, Joe suggested I sail toward the hospital where I could see upon the water surface a steady gust of wind. I liked the stability of this board and the large sail gave me a lot of power. Right around Picnic Point, the Prodigy board started to plane. I sheeted in on the sail and began to take off.

The feeling was exhilarating. Unlike some of the other boards, I really enjoyed the level of control I had on the plane. I carved in and out of the wind's path while crossing from one end of the lake to the other. When my arms began to fatigue I headed back in to see a fleet of windsurfers leaving shore. They must be the racing crew coming out for tonight's windsurfing race. I flew back in to get a drink of water before returning to the race area.

Prior to our turn, we sat around on the water to watch the Techs race. Kat, a skilled Tech racer, was going to represent our team. I cheered her on as she came in to take third overall. Shortly after, it was our turn to go. All of us uphauled the sails and took off on our boards around the triangular water course. On one leg, I had a good lead, beating out Eli until another boarder (a non-racer) sailed into my race path and took me down. With a fall and a late uphaul I lost the lead. By the end of the race, I had been out on the water for over four hours. Once in, all of us windsurfers helped each other in putting the equipment away in a shared spirit of camaraderie.

At dinner, my team, the Fantastic 420's, had teamed up with the Disco Techs for tonight's themed party. Some of us served dinner while others were raising a tent for some late night disco dancing. Later, a limbo pole was brought out and the Superheroes and the Disco Dudes took the ever lowering challenge. A point was eventually made that by shedding clothes, the limbo dance could be made easier. Nakedness ensued.

By the time I got down to my boxers, David and Julie stopped by to join the party. Near the end of the night, a decision was made to go night sailing. Mike, the J-boat Fleet Captain, carted us in a motor boat to Tony's boat which was already sailing out on the lake. When all of us boarded, we soon discovered that the ship's cabin was taking in water due to the excessive weight of the overcrowded deck. On that note, some people decided to go home while Mike, Vice-Commodore Jessica and I boarded the keel boat Spray. Though none of us had a skipper rating for this ship, we quickly figured out how to rig and set sail. Eventually, we came alongside the other boat to anchor together out in the lake. When all the commotion came down, a few people were lightly talking while others, like myself, laid out under the stars. Following all the crazy partying was a never more peaceful night below a clear sky. Before shutting my sleepy eyes, I looked up to catch five shooting stars flare in the twilight. The night could not have hardly ended any better.

Commodore's Cup '05
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Activity: 3 | Energy: 2 | Friends: 3



The Fantastic 420's Team Roster

Brian...
Carolina... Storm
Erik... Invisible man?? Aqua man??
Fei... Quailman
Karyn...
Kathy... Silver Surfer
Kat... Pink Panther
Kostas...
Luke... Spider-man
Michelle... Red Mambo
Patrick... The Thing??
Rachel...
Roz... Wonder Woman