RIISA 2008

 

What a difference a couple of years makes!  In 2006, West Coasters Brad Nieuwstad, Andy Casey, and Charles Heimler got a rude, cold, windy, and rainy New England welcome in Barrington, Rhode Island.  (Okay, it wasn't so bad: in ’06 Andy C. was smiling for both non-sailing and sailing reasons, and Brad enjoyed the boons of his first semi-pro racing experience, courtesy of Charles' enticements.)  In sharp contrast, 2008 was all sunblock and Corinthian spirit, as five, and then six evenly matched Finnsters battled each other as well as some pretty baffling and capricious Narragansett Bay shifts.  It says something when everyone takes a turn at the head of the fleet as well as at the tail end of the lunch line.  Both days featured flattish water with just a hint of slop, and some current swirling around courtesy of the ebbing Warren River.  This was tight racing with multiple overlaps at the marks, and fleet order turning upside down quicker than a ’49-er in a medal race.

Aging Finn vet Derek Mess ended up edging out aging '80s Finn legend and '00s Finnbuilder Andy Pimental for top honors.  Rising youth star Ian Cook claimed third ahead of the aging Dave Powlison.  The ageless Chuck Rudinsky took 5th (how often does 2nd last bag two bullets?), ahead of Sunday-only rookie Josh "Junior" Revkin, who forgot that he’s still in high school and schooled some of the oldsters.  Geez, there's a three decade gap in our demographics: did no one have kids for a while there?

Hats off to the Barrington Yacht Club for its customary outstanding race management on the water and a great shoreside performance in the food & bev department.  Once again, RIISA proved itself as one of the staples on the New England dinghy racing circuit.  Results from the RIISA website at: http://www.riisa.org/index_files/Page950.htm

 

1. Derek Mess        1     1          4          (5)        2          2          4          1          4          19

2. Andy Pimental    4     2          3          2          1          4          (5)        4          2          22

3. Ian Cook            (5)    3          5          3          4          1          3          2          3          24

4. Dave Powlison   3       4          2          4          3          3          1          5          (6)        25

5. Chuck Rudinsky 2      5          1          1          5          5          (6)        3          5          27

6. Josh Revkin        -      -           -           -           -           -           2          6          1          44