Team Dorade competed in the two-day Robert H. Tiedemann Classics Regatta on the last weekend in June and finished on the podium behind two well-sailed competitors in a strong 9-boat fleet. Out in front was the vintage 12-Metre Onawa, skippered by Mark Watson; the beautiful 1928 design sailed the first two races impeccably and then finished the third race in a dead heat with Dorade on corrected time. Ken Colburn's New York 40 Marilee improved in every race during the regatta, winning the last one and finishing second overall.
Sailing master Kevin Miller assessed the competition afterwards, saying, "Onawa seems unbeatable in moderate conditions, we could never come close to them, but they made a few mistakes in the last race which allowed us to be in contention. Marilee continues to sail very well, and they seem to be getting a bit more performance out of the boat, especially upwind. "
"We had a shocker in the Saturday around the island race," Kevin added. "We had a great race going as we were ahead of Marilee boat-for-boat by about two minutes, but then wrapped the spinnaker around the headstay." It took a long time to clear and, according to Kevin, "is the first time we’ve had a wrap like this in all the miles we’ve sailed."
If skipper Matt Brooks was frustrated by the miscue, he didn't let on when contacted for comment, saying, "We are getting back in the groove after two years!"
Kevin adds, "We learned a lot and ended the event on a high note. It was pretty cool that the top three boats in the last race were separated by just 9 seconds on corrected time."