Page 15 - Flathead Beacon // 8.13.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS AUGUST 13, 2014 | 15 Lakeside Sailor is World
Three Rivers Bank is
REMODELING
to serve you best!
OUR IDAHO STREET BANK
IS OPEN WHILE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THE NORTH ENTRANCE WILL BE CLOSED BUT THE SOUTH ENTRANCE WILL BE OPEN. PARK IN FRONT OF THE BANK OR DIRECTLY BEHIND THE CREDIT UNION BUILDING TO THE WEST OF THE BANK.
IDAHO STREET BANK
233 E Idaho St. Kalispell, MT 59901 755-4271
MERIDIAN ROAD BANK
552 N Meridian Rd. Kalispell, MT 59901 755-5432
A Locally Owned, Independent Community Bank Since 1974
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com
John Eisenlohr takes first overall at international competition in Nevada
By MOLLY PRIDDY of the Beacon
Down in Nevada in the second week of July, on the arid surface of a high- altitude playa, sailors from all over the world waited on the wind and raced across the desert, with no water in sight.
Roughly 200 competitors from 15 countries and about 100 spectators gath- ered on the Smith Creek Playa, elevation 6,000 feet, where the FISLY-NALSA 14th Landsailing World Championships took place from July 12-19. (FISLY-NAL- SA stands for the International Land and Sandyachting Federation and North American Land Sailing Association.)
John Eisenlohr, 51, of Lakeside, was one such competitor, and now holds the title of world champion in the 5.6 mini class, during which he piloted a self- made land yacht that, according to the rules, must fit in a 5.6-meter continuous loop of rope.
The fuselage is attached to a sail and sits on top of wheels, and the pilots must steer the contraption through a course. Crashes are spectacular and common, Eisenlohr said.
Sailing is part of Eisenlohr's heri- tage, with weekend jaunts to the South- ern California deserts for landsailing when he was a kid and his father, Bill Eisenlohr, being a celebrated boat build- er.
In fact, there's hardly any surface that Eisenlohr can't or won't sail. In the winter, he trades the wheels on his land yacht for ice runners, and he glides across the frozen landscape in North- west Montana.
Last winter was a particularly good one for him, Eisenlohr said, because it got below zero multiple times, allowing for hard, fast ice.
“I haven't sailed on Flathead Lake on ice for years, and I got tons of time on the ice because the winter was good,” he said. “I logged over 300 miles on the ice.”
Since his business, Lakeside Cabine- try, allows for the space and tools needed to build his vessels, Eisenlohr spends the time fine-tuning his boats. The mini he raced in his award-winning competition was the same he used on the ice over the winter, and he learned its quirks enough to sail it effectively.
“I got to know it very well, and got re- ally comfortable in it,” he said.
That's important in the relatively new mini class, because they can get a little “squirrelly” in the wind due to their size. There are few rules about how to build a craft, and Eisenlohr designed
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: John Eisenlohr (left) and Will Eisenlohr after the award ceremony. John Eisen- lohr leading the pack during a race in Nevada. John Eisenlohr's boat up on two wheels as he navigates the course in Nevada. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Landsailing Champ
his with an enclosed fuselage, instead of the traditional open design.
“I figured I'd go the aerodynamic route and that seemed to have worked,” he said.
He's been racing as a landsailor since 1985, and even fell in with a likeminded crowd when he moved to Montana in 1995. It's not uncommon to see sailors taking on the ice at Canyon Ferry Lake near Helena in the winter, he said, or at Freezeout Lake.
Eisenlohr also races with his neph- ew, Will Eisenlohr, who placed third for the U.S. in his class and helped the U.S. earn a silver medal.
Before July's competition, the best Eisenlohr had placed in an internation- al event was sixth, and that was with a different class of boat. With his world- champion status, Eisenlohr received a few medals and the opportunity to call himself the champ for the next four years.
It wasn't an easy victory, with the wind playing hide and seek for a few of the racing days; even at 6,000 feet, the temperature still hovered in the 90s, Eisenlohr said, so waiting for the wind became a hot and dehydrating experi- ence.
Of the 40 sailors in his class, there were some who were faster, he said, but none exhibited the consistency in their heats. He continually placed in his rac- es, with fifth place being his worst, and eventually topped the second place fin- isher by five points.
Despite the rough conditions, Eisen- lohr said he had a wonderful time at the competition, and enjoyed watching his nephew compete.
And did he enjoy winning a world title after nearly 30 years of competing? “Oh heck yeah, I'm thrilled,” Eisen-
lohr said. “It's great.”
[email protected]
WITH HIS WORLD-CHAMPION STATUS, EISENLOHR RECEIVED A FEW MEDALS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO CALL HIMSELF THE
CHAMP FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
www.ThreeRiversBankMontana.com