The 2012 FSSA Cajun Country Championship was sailed on Saturday 24 November at Lake Arthur, Louisiana.  A cold front came through the night before and gave us ideal conditions for sailboat racing: dry, clear skies and a good breeze. The wind continued from 6 to 10 knots all day long.

The course was windward-leeward twice around with a leeward gate that had the same ends as the starting line and the finishing line.  That gate was a Cajun invention for our shorthanded and not-too-experienced Race Committee. It was prepared to shorten the course to once around but that was unnecessary.

All day the otherwise favorable wind did shift a lot, eventually about 80 degrees.  Consequently between races the RC appropriately moved the windward mark. The starting sequences were acceptable and there were no recalls. Most competitors were satisfied with the RC’s performance.

Most challenging were the wind shifts.  They were frequent and impressive. The shifts seemed especially consequential in the second race. Being on the wrong side of the course could be costly.

The regatta was only for Flying Scots. Eight entered: 3 from hosting Lake Arthur Yacht Club, 2 from nearby Lake Charles YC, 1 from Southern YC [New Orleans], 1 from Pontchartrain YC [Mandeville], and 1 from Bay-Waveland YC [Bay St. Louis, MS].  That was an above-average number of Scots for the Cajun Country Championship. Special thanks to those who drove more than an hour to get to Lake Arthur.

During the last 29 years the annual CCC has had up to 13 entries. That occurred at Cypremort YC on Vermilion Bay [Louisiana] in 1989 when Larry Taggart won the CCC.  The high quality of many competitors over the decades has been impressive.

The results for the 2012 CCC follow:

After the racing all enjoyed an excellent jambalaya prepared by LAYC member and volunteer Wendell  Schexnider. LAYC Commodore Tim Hebert presented awards to the top 3 skippers and crew.

Afterwards FSSA Fleet 153 held its annual meeting and elected officers for 2013.  Charlie Buller will serve as Fleet Captain and Al Rees as Secretary.