After the previous week’s disappointment, all were looking forward to a great race for the second week of the season.  The forecast four days out suggested very light winds.  Sunday morning. wind speeds of 2-1/2 to 4 mph were predicted for the start. With that intensity of wind, three hardy boats committed to drifting for 90 minutes (Jim, Mark, and Tim and Erik).   Three others were out of town, one was looking forward to a family celebration of Father’s Day and one had participated in drift races in the past and just couldn’t bring themselves to sail yet another drift race.   We won’t name names.

As no one had volunteered to be Race Captain, Mark suggested those three truly tough boats call their own start.  Jim Kinsler, in an act of selflessness, kindly volunteered to sail across the start line at exactly 12 noon to signal the start of the race.  Mark, paddling desperately from the far eastern end of the lake, crossed about 10 minutes later.  Tim and Erik, sailing “Zombies Can’t Swim” for their first time ever in a Hobie Cat, crossed the line at 12:18 (a credible start for a pair of newbies who hadn’t rigged a Hobie before).  At the starting line there was a hint of wind and all were looking sharp as they crossed it.  Unfortunately, the wind didn’t hold, so for much of the race, they weren’t even drifting, rather they were becalmed on glassy-smooth water, especially near the racecourse buoys.  Jim made good use of his position, maintaining his lead around buoys 1 and 2, with Mark in hot pursuit.  In the long run to Buoy 4, Jim took the traditional route north of the Island while Mark threw the dice and sailed to the south.  Tim and Erik, well to the rear because of glassy-smooth water when they arrived at Buoy 2, followed Jim on the traditional route.  Mark’s gamble paid off in that he caught Jim as they drifted through the dead-calm waters on the east end of the lake and held the lead until the race was called at 1:30 pm (as he rounded Buoy 3).  Jim suffered an equipment malfunction while rounding Buoy 4, dropping well back from Mark.  Then he ran into dead-calm waters as he approached Buoy 5, not able to drift around at the end of the race (Jim went on to finish the course with a time of 3:15.).  Tim and Erik maintained their third-place position right up until the race was called, ending about halfway between the island and Buoy 4.  So, the standings at the end of the race were Mark first, Jim second, and Tim and Erik third.