Thin Margins in Bennett and McConnell Cups

Saturday July 3 saw the running of the annual Norman Bennett Cup for monohulls and the McConnell Cup for Sunfish. In the Bennett Cup, Roger Anderson, an RBSA veteran of monohull racing, tied with Justin Harler, who was sailing his first RBSA event. The Sunfish event was won by RBSA Commodore Jim Knab, but just by a whisker over Bob Barrere. Here’s how Sunfish Fleet Captain Rob Lackey explained that contest (after Jim Knab crossed the line for the bullet):

“It was a very close race for second place in race 1. Approaching the line on starboard, John had right-of-way over me on port tack. But despite me ducking behind John’s stern to avoid a penalty, the wind had shifted enough to favor port tack, so I crossed the finish line first, very close to the committee boat. So, Rob finished second, and John third in race 1.”

It was so close the Race Committee originally wrote in Barrere as second place, but changed it when Lackey sneaked by. How does that amount to a squeaker? Had Barrere finished second in Race 1, his bullet in Race 2 would have would have tied Knab’s overall points. Under Racing Rules of Sailing, a series tie does not stand: the win goes to the top finisher in the final race. In this case: Barrere.

Thundershowers after the second race put an early end to the event.  In the monohull event, scoring was based on Portsmouth ratings with Flying Scots rated at 89.6 and the Inland 20 Scow rated at 83.4.  Variable wind made it impossible to factor the Beaumonth Scale.  For more on scoring boats, visit this URL.

The McConnell Cup

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