Eric Kaiser Wins The 2010 Degnan Perpetual Trophy
Wednesday Evening Race Degnan Award Ceremony, St.Francis Yacht Club August 25, 2010
By: Brock de Lappe
Posted: August 30, 2010
2010 Wednesday Evening Race Degnan Award from Brock de Lappe on Vimeo.
The final race of the season pitted Eric Kaiser in the Folkboat class and Sean Svendsen in the Knarr class to determine the 2010 winner of the Degnan perpetual trophy. Lacking crew of my own, I jumped at the opportunity to crew for Eric. I was hoping to gain some insight as to the techniques that often found him at the front of the fleet. I was not disappointed, as I witnessed just how extensively the jib halyard tension and traveler were used to maintain boat speed through wind gusts and waves. The race was not without drama. During prestart tuning, the traveler car slammed hard against the stop which required emergency repairs. On the first downwind leg, Eric completely lost his tiller extension and had to fashion a rope loop to manage the remaining windward legs. Prior to our finish, we had seen that Sean Svendsen finished second to Terry Anderlini in Benino in the Knarr class. As a result, Eric had to win the race to win the Degnan. Shortly after rounding the final downwind mark, the Eric’s jib halyard broke. At that point, Eric was engaged in a tight cover of Mike Goebel in USA-109 very close behind. When Mike tacked away onto startboard, Eric tacked to cover, and Patrick was able to run forward and grab the end of the dangling halyard, pulling it taught until we finished. It was very close, but Eric held on for the win. At the post-race awards dinner, Svend Svendsen, for years the race chairman (PRO) for the Wednesday Evening races, served as master of ceremonies. Svend is the de facto Godfather of San Francisco Bay Folkboats and is clearly revered by all of the local Woodies community. Ron Young, the 2009 winner of the Degnan, provided colorful memories of George Degnan before presenting the award to Eric.
Congratulations Eric ! Folkboats Forever !