Welcome to the Regatta Promotions Sailing Marketing Blog

The Race Committee for the Etchells Mid-Winters Regatta decided to twist things up on the race course for the final weekend of the Jaguar Series. They made an amendment to the sailing instructions to allow for windward gates at the top mark, initially, gates without offset marks. At the skippers meeting, the night before racing began, the sailors had a lot of anxieties about this change. Dave Perry, author of The Racing Rules of Sailing, got up to speak about possible situations that we would see the rules come into play with the choice of the two windward marks to sail around. With nearly 90 boats, the race committee’s hope was to relieve congestion at the single windward mark and allow for more movement of positions within the fleet. Paul Elvstrom, Olympic sailing great, had introduced the concept of windward gates in the late 1960’s. The race committee posted his article and assured us that they hadn’t reinvented the wheel.

One of the many fears that the racers had was that downwind boats wouldn’t be able to see the upwind boats that had right of way on starboard or leeward, let alone get out of the way in time. In one race, this played out as two boats smashed rigs, head to head, and one boat ended up with the short end of the stick, a broken mast. The RC adjusted and added in offset marks to the gates which helped to eliminate some of the pile-ups and sticky situations.

I commend the race committee for sticking their necks out there and trying something new. It made a lot more work for them trying to keep the courses square and longer hours in the jury room to iron out the protests. Hopefully we will see the windward gates again soon, not only in Etchells fleets but others as well. Stay tuned to hear our first hand experiences with strategy and tactical thinking with this new course.

After writing the last blog entry(see story about Hasket Hildreth), I started to think about the simpler times in sailing when we didn’t have a thousand digital outputs, computers, global positioning systems and everything else we now rely on to go sailing. Everyone has a “go to” device that they count on each time they go out to race. Vote now and lets see which of your instruments or data sets is the most important.

My “go to” instrument is True Wind Angle. For tactical reasons this is the most important piece of data that I rely on to make quick informed decisions that will make a huge difference in the race. True Wind Angle data makes every tactical decision on the race course quick and accurate, it tells you when there has been a wind shift of the course. The data can help at mark roundings, crossings, whether to change direction and at the start, all places where big gains can be made. However, most boats under 35 feet don’t have a sophisticated system that is able to output this data. Therefore the compass and pencil often have to suffice for keeping track of the wind and when all else fails “use the force Luke”.

Hasket Hildreth, a friend of mine and the Captain of Frances which sailed the waters of Casco Bay, Maine died this past week. His unique vision and life style pointed to simpler times when sailing vessels were actually “sailed” by people and not electronics, engines and technology. We will miss his presence on the trips around the bay which we had shared with him often. We wish his family and friends our deepest condolences.

Here is the obituary as printed by the Portland Press Herald.

Hasket Derby Hildreth, 48
FALMOUTH — Hasket Derby Hildreth died at his home in Falmouth on Feb. 27, 2008. He was the captain of Maine Sailing Adventures in Portland, and a shareholder and board member of Diversified Communications, also in Portland. He had a degree in engineering from the University of Maine at Orono and completed the program in boatbuilding at the Washington County Vocational Technical Institute in Eastport.

He designed the Frances D and the Frances, two steel sailing vessels of 55 to 60 feet in length, and built them with the help of Wallace Soule of Pownal and Megan Jones of Falmouth. He captained the Frances for three summers in Portland Harbor and Casco Bay, taking out charter parties for day sails and evening cruises with first mate Megan Jones. He also took many nonprofit groups on sails, such as Youth Alternatives, the Naval Sea Scouts, the Special Olympics of Maine, and several local junior yacht clubs.

The Frances is a familiar sight on the Portland waterfront and a sprightly sailor. Although built of steel, Frances’s design and rigging are traditional. Her classic lines are based on mid-1800s fishing schooners.

The vessels were both named for Hasket’s eldest daughter, Frances Derby Hildreth. Frances was a frequent crew member starting at age 11. One of his family’s most memorable sights was of Frances alone on deck and steering under full sail into Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island while Hasket worked on other things down below.

Hasket sailed his vessels all over the Gulf of Maine and down the east coast to Key West, Fla. He, Hasket DerbyHildreth was not simply a competent seaman; he had an uncanny ability to sail at night in fog with only a compass through difficult waters.

Hasket was complex and talented. His independent thinking was reflected in his innovative approach to boatbuilding and his commitment to a low-environmental- impact lifestyle. He was a musician, draftsman, and artist, who had a heart and sense of humor that matched the length and draft of his boat. Throughout his life, he forged many diverse and lasting friendships. He will be deeply missed by his friends and family.

He celebrated this past New Year’s Eve by producing a robust fireworks show (in Lake Charles, La.) for his two-year-old daughter, Addison, who was delighted by her father’s pyrotechnic creativity.

He is survived by his parents, Alison and Horace Hildreth; his brothers Daniel, Malcolm and Thomas; his daughter Frances and her mother Fawn Hildreth, and his daughter Addison and her mother Melanie Dees.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 3, at 3 p.m., at the Portland Company, 58 Fore St., in Portland. A reception will follow. Parking is available at Hamiliton Marine, 100 Fore St.

In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions may be made to:
SailMaine
58 Fore St.
Portland, Maine 04101