1st Annual Hoosier Regatta and Race

2008-06-29T23:11:00.011-04:00

PDRacers from across the state assembled Saturday, June 28, at Lake Vista in Fishers, Indiana, for the First Annual Lake Vista Association Hoosier Regatta and Race. Six Puddle Duck Racers participated in the regatta, and five of the six were manned for the race along with one Snark.

Participants included:
Dave Gray, Fishers, sailing hull #143 Wild Duck
Kazuki Heiser, Muncie, with her sister, Miki, from Japan, sailing Dave’s hull # 100 Lame Duck
Tom Heiser, Muncie, sailing hull #223 Amakusa Duck
Daniel Mieth, Fishers, sailing hull # 241, Infinity
John Nystrom, Peru, sailing hull # 134, John Duck
David Pidgeon, Fishers, sailing the Snark
The rescue boat Hot Tub #20 was ably manned by Jessica Mieth and a guest of one of the Lake Vista residents.

Thunderstorms and high winds prevented the morning practice and on-lake regatta, but with Bob Mieth, President of the Lake Vista Association, manning the grill, participants and spectators enjoyed a lunch of burgers, brats, potato salad, cole slaw and soft drinks provided by the Lake Vista Association. During lunch, the storm front passed, and the sun broke through the clouds, as race participants hurried to their boats for some quick practice runs around the three-buoy course. Sunshine and winds from 15-25 mph would dominate the rest of the day. Getting out of the narrow channel, however, proved to be a challenge for most of the PDRacers. With the wind from the southwest blowing straight into the short, narrow, and shallow launch point, captains were challenged with launching, quickly lowering their boards and rudders, and tacking out of the channel in strong winds. The launch point quickly became chaotic, and more than one boat was quickly driven into the shoreline and had to be towed out of the channel by the rescue boat. Once boats reached the main body of the lake, however, sailing was a delight.

At 2:30, captains and crews gathered for the Captains’ Meeting prior to the race. Participants were cautioned by Dave Gray to wear their PFDs and avoid collisions at all costs on the potentially crowded course. By this time, many of the lake’s residents had emerged from their houses and set up lawn chairs to view the event, which was unlike anything they had seen before on this small 12-acre lake. One resident’s guests volunteered to man the rescue boat. Steve Kahl mounted a video camera on his kayak and reportedly took 55 minutes of video of the day’s events.Race participants gathered at the first buoy for two laps around the three-buoy course. At the signal, two boats caught a gust at the line and quickly made a turn downwind while the other four boats were caught off guard and had to endure a rare calm before making the turn downwind to the second buoy. The tack upwind to buoy three directly into the southwest breeze proved challenging, but the two leaders off the start were never challenged.

On the final lap, however, one of the two leaders caught his rudder in the line at buoy three, and Daniel Mieth, Fishers, sailing his brand new sprit boomed, leg o’ mutton Infinity, sailed home with the victory. Amazingly, Daniel had just put the finishing touches on his boat that morning. John Nystrom, Peru, placed an easy second with his lug-rigged John Duck, and in an exciting race for third, Tom Heiser’s, Muncie, lateen rigged PDR outpowered Dave Gray’s, Fishers, Wild Duck to the line. First-time sailors Kasuki Heiser, Muncie, and her sister, Miki, from Japan, finished fifth.

Event organizer Bob Mieth, speaking for the Lake Vista Association, and Dave Gray, speaking for sponsor PolySail International agreed that the event was so much fun for everyone that it bears repeating next year.
Daniel is waiting out the rain in his Puddle Duck Racer, Infinity.

Bob Mieth, President, Lake Vista Association, and Daniel preparing for the start of the race.

Off he goes . . . . Daniel is underway.

Daniel in First Place; John in Second Place; and Tom in Third Place.

Daniel Mieth, Dave Gray, John Nystrom, Tom Heiser, Kasuki Heiser, and Miki

For more pictures, visit our Flickr pictures . . .

Building a Puddle Duck Racer

2008-06-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

Dave Gray, Puddle Duck Racer enthusiast, helps 16-year-old Daniel Mieth build a PDRacer for the 1st Annual Lake Vista Association PDRacer Regatta. The PDRacer is the brainchild of David “Shorty” Routh who believes that sailing should be a sport that is “cheap, creative, and … fun on the water.” PDRacers are basically 4’ x 8’ box boats that share a common hull up to a height of ten inches. After that, the designs and sail plans are left to the imagination of the builders. Because the PDRacer is an inexpensive ($300-$400), easy-to-build sailboat with minimal class rules, the class is expanding rapidly among both novices and experienced boat builders worldwide. Constructing and sailing a PDRacer is a wonderful learning opportunity for a parent and child, students, scouts, retirees, or any individual or group that wants to experience the joy of building and sailing a nimble, stable small boat. Join the Hoosier Fleet and build a PD Racer! To join the Hoosier Fleet and/or build a PDRacer, call Dave Gray at 317-915-1454 or e-mail polysail@aol.com.