Short Tacks – October 2010

Time To Thank Your Crew Great news! Nominations for the 2010 Outstanding Crew Award, one the fleet’s perpetual trophies have been extended through October 15th. The trophy is awarded annually to that individual who has distinguished him or herself in a crewing capacity this season. Always a competitive process, the final decision is often based on the persuasiveness and articulateness of the nomination letter as subjectively determined by the fleet captain. Points are awarded for good spelling and grammar, and if the letter includes an embarrassing anecdote, even better. Send your nominations to Kim P. at kpandapas@comcast.net. Don’t be surprised if the winner’s nomination letter is shared with the fleet at the awards party. So write that letter today.

Tell MRA What’s on Your Mind The Marblehead Racing Association, the folks who bring us our summer sailing season, are interested in how they can make things even better. The reason we say “even better” is because Marblehead is one of the last venues nationally that offers one-design-fleet racing every weekend. We are tremendously lucky to have three clubs and three fully-staffed race committees to put on racing for us every single week. But regrettably, participation numbers are down, and have been trending down for a few years. MRA is working to do what it can to turn that around, and to that end, they want to hear from you. Should we do fewer days, more races per day, fewer races per day, are the races too long, are they too short, etc.? Also, how do you feel about fleets having to contribute RC volunteers over the course of the season? We use to do that, and it was helpful to the RCs who often find it difficult to staff their lines every week. So please think about it. The Rhodes Fleet is fortunate to have ample representation on MRA, including Kim Pandapas, Charlie Pendleton and Mike Lane. Please send along your comments and recommendations to any or all of those three.