VX One Winter Series at Pensacola Yacht Club

VX One Winter Series at Pensacola Yacht Club - Regatta 1

by Talbot Wilson/Pensacola YC 13 Dec 2021 15:05 PST 1-12 December 2021

Trevor Parekh's #123 [315], ‘Bro Safari' and Hayden Bennett's # 269, ‘Double the Fun' from Newport RI, were both OCS, both over early on the start, pushing hard for positions right at the pin end of the line. They both had to dip the line to restart © Talbot Wilson

Winning the first regatta of Pensacola Yacht Club's 2021-22 VX One Winter Series came down to the eighth and final race on Sunday.

Tied for first after seven races, Canadian helmsman Alex Heinzemann and owner Trevor Parekh's #123 [315], 'Bro Safari' and Hayden Bennett's # 269, 'Double the Fun' from Newport RI, were both OCS, both over early on the start, pushing hard for positions right at the pin end of the line. They both had to dip the line to restart.

The two engaged in a tight match throughout the four-leg race in a shifty 8-10 Knot northerly. Coming around the last windward mark and past the offset, Bennett held onto a slight lead. Bennett chose to gybe over to the left and sailed out into the middle of Pensacola Bay. Heinzemann kept to the right choosing not to follow his competition.

Paul Murphy's Old Man's 5-0-5 #310 leads a bevy of VX One's around the weather mark in the VX One Winter Series #1 in Pensacola. - photo © Talbot Wilson

The North wind had been very shifty all day, moving between 000º and 015º with variations in pressure across the course. Going East had apparently paid off for Bennett earlier in the day. This time it didn't.

At the finish, the top two came together on opposite gybes about 75 yards from the line. 'Double the Fun' was running fast down the left lay line on starboard while 'Bro Safari' was on the right flying in on port. 'Bro Safari' was able to gybe ahead and nipped 'Double the Fun' by about one boat length, putting #313, 'Another Bad Idea', between them in the process.

Heinzemann finished that final race of the regatta in second, Bennett in forth. 'Bro Safari' scored 4-2-4-1-5-2-[6]-2- for 20 points. Hayden Bennett's 'Double The Fun' scored 5-1-[8]-3-1-1-7-4- for 22 points.

Third Place went to #276, 'Counterproductive', sailed by VX One class president Chris Alexander, Ricky Welch and Addy Altese sailing out of Gulfport Yacht Club, with a score of 12-3-1-2-3-[15]-9-8- for 38 points. Fourth was #196, 'Merica"' with Paul Kleinschrodt, Mallory Edwards and Karl Kleinschrodt from Buccaneer YC in Mobile AL with scores of 3-7-2-9-7-3-12-[14]- for 43T points. #275 sailed by Ben France and Jeff Eiber of Edgewater YC was tied with 'Merica"' with scores of 6-8-3-[25]-4-9-3-10- but came in fifth on the tiebreaker.

'Bro Safari' was able to gybe ahead and nipped 'Double the Fun' by about one boat length, putting #313, 'Another Bad Idea', between them in the process. - photo © Talbot Wilson

Parekh commented after the prize-giving. He was asked about the last race and didn't realize that he and 'Double the Fun' were both over early. But he commented that behind by only a few boat lengths at the final weather mark. Parekh said Bennett looked good off the gybe but he probably should have maintained a loose cover.

Heinzemann commented, "We were asking ourselves why he was going left. It worked for him earlier in the day... if you were lucky enough to find a puff to go across. Actually he was able to get across, but not able to get back onto starboard tack."

"We focused really hard on the shifts in that last race." Parekh added. "Obviously, we were in last place off the start. We had to work the shifts." That hard work paid off with a win in Winter Series #1.

Complete results for Winter Series #1 are posted on Regatta Network here

Mark roundings in the VX One Winter Series #1 in Pensacola were congested and quick and VXciting. - photo © Talbot Wilson

Alexander, Bennett and Parekh all spoke at the prize-giving about the excellent racing on Pensacola Bay and the hospitality of the Pensacola YC.

Parekh said, "We'll be so happy to come back for the next two stages of the Winter Series. The race committee was fabulous. Those marks [MarkSetBots] are incredible. We didn't even have time to have a sandwich between races as course adjustments were made. Thank you. We are so happy to be here."

PRO Hal Smith commented on how polite the VX One racers were... "The race committee had more 'Thank You' calls as racers crossed the line than we've ever had."

On Saturday, Day 1 of the regatta, 35 entries had sailed five hard races. Winds were 8-12 with gusts to 18 knots from the south. 'Bro Safari' came out on top for the day and continued to take the final after eight good races.

On Saturday Parekh also had high praise for sailing in Pensacola. Commenting on the conditions Saturday he said, "Oh my god, what a fabulous day... 8-12 knots... a warm 75º Fahrenheit. Gorgeous day, flat water, five races of perfect length, no issues with the start lines or the course, those little robo marks [MarkSetBots] were great. We're very, very happy in Pensacola."

Pensacola YC PRO Hal Smith was pleased with how the robo marks performed. Streamline Marine and MarkSetBot's helped bring this innovation to Pensacola. In his role as Pensacola YC Fleet Captain for 2022, Smith is considering leasing a set of bots for the club's big 2022 events... the next two VX One Winter Series Regattas in January and February will continue to use the bots.

Smith said, "We'd like to have a set of bots for the GYA Offshore Challenge Cup in June, the West Florida Open Challenge Regatta Halloween weekend and the Bushwhacker Cup for the 2022 Melges 24 National Championship in November and circling back to the next Winter series in December a year from now."

All VX One's are invited to Pensacola for the next stage of the VX One Winter Series scheduled for January 15-17. It's a three-day regatta over the MLK weekend. That will also be the VX One Midwinter Championship. The third and final event of the 2021-22 Winter series will be February 19-20... That's President's Day weekend.