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Go back to the Championship Index.New England Beetle Cat Boat Association
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See more photos. Above photographs by Emily L. Ferguson. Also see photos by Rob Bergh
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August 8, 2009: Beetle Cat sailors sailed in light (5-10 knot) winds on the first day of the 2009 New England Beetle Cat Boat Association (NEBCBA) annual Leo Telesmanick Championship Regatta on beautiful Pleasant Bay in Cape Cod.
Bright, sunny skies greeted sailors for the first race in light air from the North. Thirty boats made the starting line. Weekapaug YC skipper Bill Boll did not get off to a particularly good start and rounded the first windward mark in 8th place, but gradually worked his way up to round the last windward mark in 2nd. Boll caught Charlie York from Cataumet YC and Beetle Inc. on the downwind finish and just barely beat him by a few feet. Karen Renzulli from Wild Harbor YC was third.
For the second race, the winds picked up slightly and shifted so that it was difficult to make the starting line on starboard. There was extreme confusion at the start, which resulted in three recalls and host of angry sailors. Bill Boll eventually got an excellent start, led all the way, and finished first. Ted Dickson of the Chatham YC was second and Roy Terwilliger of the Chatham YC was third.
The winds continued to come from the North for the third race. Ted Dickson got off to an excellent start and there was no recall, so he rounded the first mark ahead and stayed in first the rest of the race. Junior sailor Lindsey Bergh from Chatham YC was second and Scott Bearse from Barnstable YC was third.
Local knowledge did not seem to be a deciding factor in the first three races on Saturday, recognizing wind shifts and tacking on them was the key to doing well.
August 9, 2009: On the second day of the Leo Telesmanick Championship Regatta, 30 boats once again were at the starting line. The first race of the day and the fourth in the two-day series began at 10:10 A.M. in moderate South West winds. Boats that went to either side of the course seemed to do better than those that stayed in middle and played the shifts as they had done the day before. The top three finishers were Karen Renzulli, Dave Bryant from Weekapaug YC, and Junior Katie Dickson from Chatham YC.
The wind picked up slightly for the second race on Sunday and the fifth race of the regatta. The lead changed several times during the race and many boats had trouble fetching the windward mark. Ery Largay of Wild Harbor YC eventually won the race, with Charlie York second and Junior Catherine O’Sullivan of Chatham YC third.
On the final race on Sunday and the last of the regatta, Junior Catherine O’Sullivan sailed a superb race and won, with Ted Dickson coming in second, and Natalie Coleman-Fuller of Chatham YC third, making it a sweep of the top three spots for home club Chatham.
Overall, the 2009 Leo Telesmanick Championship was a family affair with husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, and sisters sailing together. It was also a regatta in which women and juniors were the equal of the men and old salts.
The overall winner was a woman, Karen Renzulli, who was a close second in the 2008 Leo and probably would have won had she not had to come about and pick up her puppy that fell overboard in a race in which she was leading and eventually came in third. Karen’s remarks when she accepted her overall winner’s trophy were humble and incredibly gracious – a model for all sailors present.
The Chatham Yacht Club trophies were elegantly framed and charming original water colors by a local artist, and the gifts to participants were beautifully decorated sea shells.
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Overall Winners
Ancient Mariners
Old Salts
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Juniors
Men
Women
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Full results table. (PDF)
© 2009 New England Beetle Cat Boat Association, all rights reserved.
Questions? Comments?
Email NEBCBA at: sec@beetlecat.org