Sailors weather storm to compete in Camellia Cup

Competitors in the 43rd annual Camellia Cup got a different experience than they bargained for on Saturday and Sunday. Amidst heavy rains and strong winds, 38 sailors went undeterred, though, as they battled the weather and each other on Folsom Lake.Wade Hough of Palermo claimed the Camellia Cup after winning the nine-boat Open Centerboard division with his Raven sailboat. The award, given to the best sailor in the entire regatta after tallying scores from two days of competition in a possible total of five races, was presented to an excited Hough, who said, "This goes to prove that every dog has his day."It was the first time a Raven won the Camellia Cup and marks a comeback for the boats, as another Raven run by Naim Shah of Sacramento took second in the class. George Koch of Carmichael took third in his Lido 14.There were eight total classes in the regatta, which was put on by the Folsom Lake Yacht Club. Folsom's Don Brown won the Open Keel division with his Capri 25, beating three other competitors in his division.Sacramento's Terry Cobb won the seven-boat Catalina 22 division; Mike Gillum of Loomis won the seven-boat Thistle division, Lance Purdy of Pine Grove placed first in the four-boat Santana 20 division, Charles Witcher of Sacramento claimed the four-boat Megabyte division, Scott Hefty of Carmichael came in first in the two-boat cruiser division and Jerry Grant of Grass Valley ran unopposed to claim the Multihull division.Folsom Lake Yacht Club Commodore Mark Erdrich took second place in the Santana 20 class for the second straight year, but enjoyed being able to compete in an event he worked hard to put together."It can almost be compared to a chess match on the water," Erdrich said about competing in the regatta. "There's a lot of strategy involved and it takes skill to make the boat actually move. Between the two of them, it gets very fun and very challenging at times."The regatta saw 21 fewer boats participate this year due its month-late launch after Folsom Lake had a low water level in April. The event's delay and weather conditions went hand-in-hand in lowering attendance, but not spirits of those who participated."We usually sail rain or no rain," Erdrich said. "This was the weekend for the race and we're there to race. The race was rescheduled because there was no water in the lake at that point. Between our event and other events, there was a conflict. The weather took a few more people away.""We did OK with everything considered," he added. "As far as I know, everyone had a good time. We've had races with not enough wind or too much. Windwise, it was great. We could have done without the rain, though."