THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408180230
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
EVEN THOUGH CALLING it the International Mobjack Championships is kind of a misnomer, competitors in the one-design sailboat division don't care.
Mobjacks are sailed only in the Chesapeake Bay, so all the ``international'' competitors come from a close-knit community.
No matter to Trey Smith of Virginia Beach - the defending national champion in the class who will attempt to retain his title this weekend at the 35th annual regatta off Willoughby Spit in Norfolk.
``I plan on keeping the title,'' said Smith, a 33-year-old Cox High graduate. ``This is our big championship and it doesn't matter that the boat is only sailed around here. Anybody, anywhere could sail it if they wanted to.''
This weekend, approximately 30 vessels from Virginia Beach, Mobjack Bay, Gloucester and several points in between will battle to take Smith's title away. Of the competitors, about 10 are hard-core sailors from this area.
Virginia Beach sailors have done extremely well in this event - Smith winning one title, Mark Arnold taking three and Rudy Hagenkoetter bringing home the first in 1976. Arnold's titles came in 1984, 1987 and 1991 - although the 1984 cup is still under protest.
``It can go on for years and years,'' said Arnold, a 35-year-old Princess Anne graduate. ``But I'm thinking about this year and taking my title back.''
Smith and Arnold are actually friends, growing up sailing Sunfish boats together in the Broad Bay Sailing Association.
They got some of their start in the Mobjack class when they went to a regatta in North Carolina.
When there weren't enough Sunfish class boats to hold competition in that division, the two were introduced to Mobjacks by Bob Stein of Rockville, Md. - the boat's main, if not only, builder.
``We were going to be sailing two to a boat, so all four of us got in one Mobjack and went at it,'' Arnold said. ``We did pretty well even though there wasn't a spinnaker. We saw by that, that it is a great boat for the family, because four people can fit in it very comfortably.
``It's also a good racing boat.''
Arnold began racing Mobjacks soon after that day, but Smith didn't get into the class until 1989, when his brother-in-law Allen Carson approached him about sailing and buying a boat.
So the two bought a Mobjack from Stein and the rest is history. Carson is Smith's crew member in every race and the two are more than ready for this weekend.
Arnold is also ready, with his brother-in-law coming from Australia to crew.
The two teams are very different in their approach to racing - Smith liking calm breezes, and Arnold liking strong winds.
``Strategy comes into play much more in light winds,'' Smith said. ``When the wind dies down, you have to gamble more - play your hunches. You have to keep the boat moving, because it's the worst feeling in the world to try something, have the wind die, and watch the competitors sail by.
``Nothing worse.''
But Smith is prepared for such a problem. He carries half a paddle - it used to be his father's - in the boat with him for just such emergencies.
Arnold, on the other hand, likes it to really blow. When it does, his crew member can get out on the trapeze wire - a device that enables him to stand on the edge of the boat to balance it, while the skipper gets the maximum wind in his sails.
``Bring it on,'' he smiled. ``I love it when it's screaming.''
Both sailors are in charge of helping organize the regatta and activities surrounding it, while Jack Huenerberg is the race committee chairman.
``It's going to be a good weekend,'' Smith said. ``We're holding the race on our own waters, and it will be fun winning the thing for the second year in a row.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Trey Smith, the defending national champion in the Mobjack class,
will attempt to retain his title this weekend at the 35th annual
regatta.
Mark Arnold
Three-time champion
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: the official championship regatta for Mobjack class boats
WHERE: held on a triangular course off Willoughby Spit in
Norfolk. The course has been set so that one entire race totals
6.2-7.2 nautical miles.
WHEN: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will be two races on
Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. The person who earns the
most points from finishes in the five races is declared champion.
KIND OF BOAT: The Mobjack is an open sailboat with one mast,
using a mainsail, jib and spinnaker. It is classified as a
one-design, meaning that every boat in the class has to meet certain
specifications for length, weight, and dimensions for sails.
OTHER INFORMATION: Trey Smith is the defending champion, using
his option to bring the event to his home waters. Three-time
champion Mark Arnold is also of Virginia Beach. One other Southside
resident - Rudy Hagenkoetter of Virginia Beach - has also won a
championship.
by CNB