In Caddyshack, Judge Smails asks Ty Webb (Chevy Chase’s golf pro character with a zen vibe) “What did you shoot today?” Ty answers, “Oh Judge, I don’t keep score.” And the Judge asks, “Well, how do you measure yourself with other golfers?” Ty said, “By height.” After the way the fleet got jumbled up during the first race Wednesday, there were some J/24 sailors wishing for another way of measuring. On day one, the pecking order was established, and it fell neatly in line with most expectations. The super polished and experienced teams were all in a row on top. Then came the first race of the second day in a slowly filling northerly of 3 to 7 knots. It was a difficult test for sure, but the first weather mark rounding was a goat rodeo of epic proportions that created a few winners and a bunch of big losers. When the scores were logged, several of the top teams would have loved a new measuring system, and height would be preferred over finishing places. The first-place finisher from race 1 put up an 11th. Second place from race 1 came in with a 28th, and 5th place filled in their scorecard with a 27th. Mike Ingham came away the cleanest and leads the regatta after three races with a 3rd, 9th and 2nd. Nobuyuki Imai is in second place with a 1st, 11th and 7th. Sailboat racing is a cerebral sport and getting behind your expectations for your own performance can be debilitating. Everyone knows what it feels like to have a bad race, and such a situation can lead to unfortunate decisions. Who doesn’t have that one boat in their mind that they just cannot imagine losing to? And when that boat crosses ahead, clear thinking can simply go out the window. Scott, Shelby and Ryan Milne have more opportunities to experience these emotions because they are all sailing in this event—on different boats! Scott is on Tremendous Slouch (71), Shelby on Hair of the Dog (54) and Ryan on Jester (70). In Milne folklore, we understand there is a reverse contest called the “Last Place Milne.” Imagine the household drudgery assigned to the award recipient. After day two of this regatta, Shelby Milne is currently the First Place Milne. She sails with Jakob Lichtenberg’s Hair of the Dog team, and they are standing in sixth place. When asked about the dynamics, Shelby, who was the recipient of the Seattle Yacht Club sailor of the year award in 2020, said, “This sailing on different boats has made the banter around the house very lively!” Scott Milne and his Tremendous Slouch team are only 11 points behind in 9th place after winning the second race Wednesday. When asked what he felt about winning the race, Scott said without hesitation, “We finally beat Ryan!” Ryan Milne and his Under 25 team had a top 10 finish in the day’s first race – finishing 7th in the race everyone else suffered through. Unfortunately, a 49th in the next race weighs heavily on his total. When asked how they thought son Ryan was doing, parents Shelby and Scott said, “Working with Ryan to get his J/24 Worlds program up and running has been one of the most fun sailing experiences we have ever had.” After a great comment like that, it is hard to know which Milne to root for. Event website/results: https://www.j24worldsseattle.org/home
International Class Association
