Konza Sailor, June 2004, page 4

After many aborted attempts, the 2004 race season finally got under way on Monday, May 31. With the prospect of moderate to heavy winds from the west, five keel boats and Ken Conrow in his trusted Laser set out to find the mark adjacent to Blue River Hills six miles to the north. Keel boats in the race were: Randy Zelenka and crew, Valerie and Ryan, in their Antrim 27; Bart Bartholomew in his Clipper 26 with crew, Bill and Deb Schapaugh; Carl Hinrichs and Tom Manney in Carl's Catalina 22; Chris Ross in his Laguna 22 with crew Sean and Tracie Kalic; and, Ned and Barbara Gatewood in their Com-Pac 19.

Bart Bartholomew led the pack on the northern leg until Randy Zelenka and crew shot by him and rounded the mark. Ken Conrow overtook Bart on the southern leg and the rest followed in order: Ross, Hinrichs and Gate

wood. The boats continued in that order around the mark at the entrance to Spillway marina. On the last leg, back to the starting line, Bart chose to sail along the eastern side of the lake while the other boats chose to sail closer to the western side of the lake. The boats crossed the finish line in order: Zelenka, Conrow, Hinrichs, Ross, Bartholomew and Gatewood.

There was tenseness in the air as the captains and crews waited for Race Director Randy Zelenka to adjust the elapsed times based on handicaps to determine the actual standings for the race. The final order was: Ross, Hinrichs, Conrow, Bartholomew, Gatewood and Zelenka.

Now with the first race under our belts, let's get out and make each of the remaining races equally as exciting.