2001 NAI Results
Boston Harbor, MA
That was the sign posted on the
door of the hospitality suite and the registration room at 11:00 AM the day
before the 2001 NAI in Boston. Unlike previous NAI’s, the contest committee
had developed both Primary and Alternate courses, just in case Mother Nature
felt like making life miserable. It was not to be.
The weather for the 2001 NAI was
magnificent. The course was a scenic ride through Boston Harbor, past all four
of its lighthouses including the country’s oldest: Boston Light. In order to
cruise past all four lighthouses, the course brought the contestants into
Massachusetts Bay, and open water.
The weather prediction was
almost on the mark too. The NOAA prediction of seas from 2-4 feet may have been
a little light as we left the friendly confines of all the harbor islands and
headed out to Minots Ledge lighthouse. Best guess was that there was occasional
5-footers … good ol’ rock n’ roll!
There were 14 contestants in the
2001 NAI this year. There were twelve from local associations throughout the
country, plus the defending 2000 NAI Champion Team Martha Miller & John
Molchan, and 2000 NACA National Champion S/C Tom Collins. All had spent Thursday
morning out on the measured mile course along Logan Airport, making grooves in
the water as they tried to determine the “right” speed for their boats. The
boats this year ranged from a 50-foot twin Diesel Sport fisherman to a 32-foot
single diesel custom Downeast pilothouse. Many boats had gas engines. The boats
had been generously outfitted with digital tachometers by Aetna Engineering and
were ready to go.
The weather was great, and the
boat traffic minimal as the contest started. Those boats starting the contest on
the later side, got a pleasant surprise as the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides)
was brought out into the harbor for display.
The course was not particularly
tricky as NAI’s go, but difficult nonetheless. A few long runs to buoys
seemingly in the middle of nowhere made the contest interesting for all. As the
bulk of the contest was complete, and contestants were coming down the “North
Channel” heading for the finish line, the reality of the beautiful boating day
hit them dead on. The harbor was full of boating traffic, from small powerboats,
to large sailboats, to large commercial vessels to the Massport Fireboat at the
finish line that had been arranged to herald the finish of the contest.
As the Awards dinner at the
Gazebo at the Best Western Adams Inn proceeded, S/C Ed Jepsen presented the
Gandelman Trophy to S/C Val Scott for her significant contributions to the sport
of predicted log racing.
The peel-off this year was done
by Co-Chairs Bob Fiorentino and S/C Joe LeBlanc. For about 15 minutes they ruled
the 8-foot white board built by fellow Co-Chairs NACA Rear Commodore Ed &
NCA Commodore Alyce Sullivan. NECA Commodore Trisha DeLauri & Scorer Lon
Compton did the scoring.
The contest seemed close as the
peel-off started. Doug Lindal of IPBA-GG won leg 1 and leg 2 went to S/C Tom
Collins. The killer leg was the 5th on the way back from the “B”
buoy to the start of the North Channel. Everyone was fast, with seconds of error
ranging from a high of 161, down to 6 seconds. This was the deciding leg, and it
was won by S/C Haluk Akol with an amazing 6 seconds of error.
After his great 6 second leg, it
was no surprise that the winner of this year’s NAI was S/C Haluk Akol
of PLRANC. Aboard Carl & Jean Johnson’s 34-foot twin gas Silverton
THUNDERER, he had a winning score of 0.897% without handicap … a great score
that included a zero second leg! This was Haluk’s second NAI victory, having
won the NAI in 1981.
Second place went to NACA National Champion S/C Tom
Collins aboard the 37-foot twin gas Egg Harbor LEGACY owned by Charlie &
Pat Hoffman. Tom had a score of 1.537%. Third place went to SDCA’s Dick
Devlin. Dick skippered S/C Jack & Win Gray’s 36-foot twin diesel
Gulfstar PHANTOM with a score of 1.835%. S/C Tom Collins was also awarded the
Brian Hastings award for being closest to his predicted finish time … 3
seconds off at the end of the 32 mile course! The entire set of final results
for the 2001 NAI is attached.
The 2001 Committee had a great time producing the event,
and all are grateful for the fine weather. We are particularly grateful to the
boat owners who made this event possible by allowing their boats to be used and
to the committee members who worked so tirelessly on this event.
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