"Wind Dancer" at the Bluenose - 2005
Pictures by Susanna Tellschow except as noted

Pat Dolan, Susanna Tellschow and Terry Kleiman sailed "Wind Dancer" in the 2005 Bluenose Regatta on Old Hickory Lake near Nashville, Tennessee. They left Lansing on Thursday, November 3rd around 5 pm, stayed overnight near Indianapolis, and went on to Nashville on the 4th.

Arriving shortly after noon on Friday, the travel cover was removed and "Wind Dancer" was rigged in time to be launched and participate in the Clinic run by Greg Fisher of North Sails. Greg gave on-water suggestions from a coach boat and took video which he later narrated with additional helpful comments on sail trim.

Saturday morning, thirty-five Lightnings were hoisted into the water, rigged and readied for racing.

There was plenty of wind as was evidenced by one boat capsizing on the way to the race course. It took some time to recover, but the crew managed in time for the first race. With such a visual example of how difficult it is to recover, caution seemed the watchword and the regatta was concluded without another capsize.

Old Hickory Lake is a serpentine shape caused by daming a river. This gives the Race Committee good flexibility to set a course by selecting the right part of the river. The Bluenose Race Committee does a great job.

Thirty-five boats on a starting line is exciting. And, with a line about a minute long, there was room for all the boats in the front row - but only if they are evenly spread. It was easy to be in the second, or even third, row - and that kind of start makes it very difficult to score well. "Wind Dancer" had great starts in most cases (including a number of general recalls). This enabled two top ten finishes and two more in the upper half of the fleet.

A hallmark of the Bluenose is the wonderful hospitality of the Hickory Island Yacht Club. Saturday evening's dinner included filet of beef wrapped in bacon, baked potato, salad and fabulous deserts.

Sunday found sailors back on the water for a 10 am start. After a general recall, boats powered up for a second try.

Working to windward, twenty degree shifts were common. Getting and staying in phase was important.

Wind Dancer's downwind legs were exceptional, picking up boats each time by gybing early to avoid current in the channel and keep clear air. In addition, staying in phase downwind paid off. In the last race of the regatta, Wind Dancer got off to a very good start and was among the leaders at the windward mark. Another good downwind leg left the crew in fifth position heading to the finish.

Early in the final leg, two more boats were picked up and Wind Dancer worked left as the second place boat went right. The leverage enabled Wind Dancer to close the gap, and was only a couple of boat lengths behind the second place boat. It was a great way to conclude the regatta and made the long trip home a lot easier. The crew was back in Lansing a little after 1 am Monday morning.