2007 Region One Footy Championship, USA

Scott, Paul, and Jim start the race.

I got up at 5:30am and I knew we were in trouble. The wind was blowing. The wind never blows that early in the morning on August 26 in New Hampshire. Typically, it blows about 2mph around 9:00am, maybe gets to 5mph by noon. And today was the Footy Region One Championship!

Everyone knows Footys can't sail in heavy wind, right? Well, that turned out to be true…but only to a point. Of ten boats entered, only 5 actually raced, and only three made it to the finish. Not because Footys can't handle wind. The problem was that skippers (myself included) weren't prepared.

Most of us assumed light winds would be the order of the day, so we came with our big rigs. When we encountered 10-15mph winds, our rigs overpowered the boats and tacking became impossible. Since Footys are a new class, and we haven't had a lot of regattas yet, most of us haven't built and tested multiple rigs. So we became spectators to what turned out to be a small, but impressive display of Footy capabilities.

Scott Spacie brought two beautifully prepared boats based on Dennis Deprois's American Footy hull. One was conventionally rigged, the other sporting a Una rig. He chose to sail the Una rig, and loaned the other boat to Jim Linville whose boat suffered equipment failure. The father and son team of Byron and Paul McKitrick sailed their own designs. Byron's boat developed electrical problems and dropped out, but Paul's Una-rigged boat stayed on. My Cutlass performed admirably in one race when the wind let up a bit, but couldn't handle the heavy stuff with its big rig.

Jim, Scott, and Paul race for the mark.

Despite high wind and heavy seas, Jim and Scott sailed head-to-head all day. Though Scott says the Una rig is faster in normal conditions, the conventional rig on his other boat seemed to have the advantage in the heavy stuff. Jim Linville edged out Scott Spacie to become the first Region One Footy Champion. Scott finished second, with Paul in third.

Jim was pleased to accept the first-place trophy, but showed his good sportsmanship by giving Scott the Champion chevrons, saying they should go with the boat. Paul seemed a bit reluctant to accept a third-place trophy in a race where only three boats made it to the end, but I pointed out that he had rightfully beaten seven other boats. He deserved the trophy.

Congratulations to Jim, Scott, and Paul for what turned out to be a small surviving field but a great race. They really showed what Footys are capable of doing in conditions that would challenge any class. I can't wait till next year…but I'll have more rigs!