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Tawas Bay, Michigan, U.S.A. * July 21-25, 1980 |
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Tawas, with its miles
of gentle beach on a peninsula curving out into Lake Huron, was an
ideal
setting for Wayfarer Worlds IV and for those who like to "get away from
it all". Take Geoff Hodshon for instance: He was not fazed at all when
his airline lost all his clothes. Before you knew it, there was Geoff
strolling
around Tawas looking like a real duck hunter - except for his sandals.
The weather was typical
of a Michigan summer: hot with a few violent thunderstorms resulting
from
the heat, plus a good cross-section to test all our sailing skills.
Perhaps
the most challenging moments came in race 3 where the winds off the
shore
were very shifty before they finally gave up the battle with the lake
breeze
that brought a 180° shift at the start of the run. Toronto’s Chris
Kofler and his wife, Carolyn, (see photos below) lulled
everyone
to sleep as they started the series with a nondescript 6-10-12 but then
got everything going beautifully and became the first non-UK World
Champions.
While the Koflers kept BUMBLE BEE moving in all conditions,
other
contenders either ran into foul trouble or looked too weak in some
conditions.
 ...  ... American sailmaker, Skip
Remter,
for example was fast only in the windy stuff while the reverse was true
of Uncle Al who dominated in the light to medium stuff only to fall to
11th and 15th in the heavier going. Alan Neville and Geoff Hodshon both
suffered for good sportsmanship: Alan retired (no 720 in those days!)
after
admitting to a very marginal pre-start foul that most would have argued
or denied. But the worst hit was Geoff who appeared to have clinched
the
World title with wins in races 5 and 6. Geoff very kindly agreed to
give
your Uncle Al room at the leeward mark when the latter came surfing in
on a two-metre wave at the last second. Shortly thereafter, Al and
Geoff
were two of four boats that collided during the rounding. Geoff went on
to beautifully win that race only to have the rookie Protest Committee
inexplicably absolve the boat on the extreme outside. Only Geoff did
not
complain as the rest of us cursed the Committee or shook our heads in
disbelief!
Nonetheless, it was a fine, enjoyable week with great, friendly competition and a wild finish as any one of about eight crews still had a chance at the title going into the final race. With everyone living more or less on site, these Worlds brought the best fellowship yet among the competitors. And not a word of complaint from the Brits or the Danes about borrowed boats that were undoubtedly far below the standard they were used to – they simply went out and made a very good best of it! Of note: A young crew named Peter Rahn sailed his first Worlds here with French-Canadian, André Laframboise. 15 years later, Peter would re-appear in Wayfarers with his 9-year-old son, Alex, as the youngest Worlds crew ever! Peter is now the Chairman of the Canadian Wayfarer Association. It is also interesting
to note that the majority of sailors who appear on the facing page
continue
to sail Wayfarers, including Farum’s Joel Bøgh and Jørgen
Vekslund and Calgary’s Derwyn and Nancy Hughes who have now driven the
8000 km round-trip to the Worlds three times!!! ...
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