Wednesday, 24 June 2009 10:35 Last Updated on Sunday, 28 June 2009 07:29 Written by Joe Skotarzak

The Beulah c-scow fleet sent a strong contingent over to Pewaukee for the Nationals last weekend.  We were double digits strong in boats with a total of ten (even WITHOUT EITHER of the 88 or 99, I must have heard wrong when someone told me they were going…  Or maybe they’re just saving their strength for the WYA and the ILYA Championships later this summer…) yachts making the short trek.  Alas it was a bit of a long weekend for our heroes, as only one of the double digit head count finished in a single digit position!  The regatta started slow and stormy but we ended up getting some great racing in!  Two races Friday afternoon, the second of them into a very iffy and dying breeze.  The Beulah crew struggled to varying degrees, with only RYOT ending the day in single-digit land, sitting fourth.  Saturday morning the proverbial wheels began to come off RYOT while Marty and Ben began their charge up the chart with a 6-16.  Saturday afternoon we got another race in and the day ended with the top two B-boats a couple points apart in 10th and 11th.  Sunday dawned light winded and sunny and it was very unclear whether we’d get a race off or not.  A whole lot of flailing around and finally well past noon we were on our way.  Halfway up the first beat and what to our wondering eyes should appear?  A tiny red sleigh and eight tiny reindeer?  NO, silly readers!!  None other than George Kutch and papa crew, pounding off the north shore well out in front, looking like they were shot out of a cannon, hitting the port layline from about three quarters of a mile out!  They led the fleet all the way around and around and came home with the final bullet of the 2009 Nationals!!  What seemed like a lost weekend for team Beulah ended, quite literally, with the best bang of them all!  Will and Brad followed them closely behind in third place as the young bucks ruled the last day!  Marty and Ben finished 8th for the B-team’s lone trip to the podium.  Not our best showing by a long shot.  There was a whole lotta starting practice and a lotta huge windshifts, lotta moments feeling pretty smart when stepping into one and a lot more moments feeling really borderline glactically stupid.  All in all a fun weekend tho.

Joe Sko  

PS - The picture attached is the only one I took this weekend.  I say we call it “While filling in for Porter daughter the elder who was working in Ohio, Porter daughter the middle carries the heavy end of the RYOT buoy and expresses her disdain while Porter daughter the younger carries the light end and talks on the phone with the Porter matriarch and points out who got stuck with the wrong end of the buoy.”