GBCA Rib Regatta

[Bee]

But that ain't gonna happen.

[DwightB]

Awesome photos, John & Scott!!

Wow....that looks like a Triple E ticket ride! Amazing...

[pete]

Add me to the list of "I wish I was there to see that" list!

Great job everybody that volunteered. This was not something we are accustom to doing. So it presented new challenges, judging from the photos it was hugely successfully. Way to go Chris Dees that looked tough (something like the one armed paper hanger)!
Awesome pictures I think the Lacys should pitch (sell) their photos to the Texas City chamber of commerce.
I hope we can do this again.
Cheers !

[Christopher]

It was an interesting and challenging event.  Water depths of mostly ankle to knee deep, with some deeper places out on the edge.  We couldn't get a boat into the starting/viewing area to set marks or act as RC Signal.  So, we adjusted and made use of a pair of jet skis to set marks and act as start line.  Even the jet skis could not get near to shore, so lots of walking in shallow water was involved.

In 20 knots of breeze, these guys were flying!  It took us almost 2 hours to set up the courses, and the first race of 3 miles was done in less than 10 minutes.  It was interesting to watch as the competitors tried to figure out and position themselves in the 3 minute starting sequence for the first race, yet none were OCS.  Than, all came screaming past the start like a blur at the starting horn.  They all came back with smiles and excitement of the challenge.  For the second and third race, they had it figured out and again pulled off great starts with speed and none OCS.

Identifying the competitors was also a challenge.  Even though we had provided them with tyvek number tags, between their speed, the water and the wind, it was difficult to spot all the numbers to identify the finishers.  As Gerhard said, it was a combination of calling out the suit or pants color and/or the kite color, then going back and talking with the finishers or looking through the pictures afterwards.  Hence, the lateness of all the results.  Thanks to the Lacy brothers for the pictures.

Results: Linky

Thanks to: Jody for setting this up, Mike for cooking, Gerhard & Kevin on the distant markset boat, John and Josh who also risked the shollow conditions to help set marks, Mary, Chris, Kelley, Scott, John and everyone else for helping on the shore crew, and to all the those who came out to watch and cheer.  I especially want to thank the competitors for their patience, letting us use their jet ski and for teaching me a couple of the nuances about kite boards.  Next time, we know how to run a better event.  I hope there is a next time!  That was so COOL!