Road to the Cup – Week 3 – 2016

We’re saddened to learn of the passing of Dru Slattery’s mom.  Our thoughts are with Dru and her family during this difficult time.

 

The RC fired off three on Thursday night, in deference to the 25 knot northwesterly (with puffs to 30).  I’m sure the Twilight regulars were pretty pissed off about that, right?  I mean how could you not want to do a port tack start on a short line littered with moored boats in gusts to 30?  Particularly upset had to be Katie & Jeremy Bloxham, whose brand new boat sits moored at the mouth directly in the line of fire.  I’m sure they would have loved the spectacle of starters using their shiny new baby as a pick.

 

Just kidding, of course, or maybe projecting is more accurate. I’ve noticed that my fondness for heavy air, though positively correlated to the weight of my crew, is inversely correlated to my age (anyone want to try to express that in an equation?).  Had I been there, I’d certainly have been wringing my hands with everyone else, pretending to want to race while procrastinating going out to rig and silently willing the RC to do the sensible thing.  Okay, so I’m a weenie – there, I said it.  But at least I admit it.

 

Also on the subject of Twilights, you’ll recall that Steve Uhl and John Casler were lobbying for clarifying language to the SIs to ensure boats didn’t try to round the same mark in opposite directions.  Thanks to the efforts of Judy Adam, Maura Power and David Graham, those SIs have been amended.  Twilight Sailing Instruction item # 10.0 has been changed so the last sentence reads, “In the case of reciprocal headings, the String Rule shall apply.”  I’m not smart enough to know if that solves the problem, but a few folks seem to think it will.  Stay Tuned.

 

Out on the MRA line, just 11 boats showed up to duke it out in relatively unpleasant conditions.  The forecast was 5-10 out of the south with sun giving way to clouds in the late afternoon.  They got all of that right except the part about the sun, which didn’t make an appearance all day, and the threat of rain was constant.  The wind was shifty with massive oscillations between 175 and the low 200s, and the pressure was up and down depending on which cloud you were under.

 

The RC had its hands full dealing with the changing conditions, so we only got in two.  Finishing 1st for the day on a tiebreaker was Dave Nelson, who finished with a 3-1 for four points.  Dave seems to be in mid-season form and picking up right where he left off last year.  Well done.  Finishing 2nd was Team Pendleton / Raisides (with Jim driving), who put up a 2-2, also for 4 points.  And taking 3rd was Team Frisch / Hourihan who rolled a 1-5 for 6 points.  Honorable mention goes to Mike Lane who took 4th with a 5-4 for 9 points.  Congratulations to all.

 

So in Cup competition, there was a little reshuffling of the deck among the same 10 teams, with Pendleton / Raisides jumping out to an impressive early lead.

 

 

Week 4 racing will include the Twilight race on Thursday night and East Coasts in Rockport Friday through Sunday.  For those not going to east coasts, the 2-3 races of MRA Series 1, Day 3 will be held as usual out on Tinkers Line.

 

If you’ve waited until the last minute, you can still register for East Coasts at EC Registration.  Also don’t forget to let Jim Whipple know in advance if you plan to use your bye.

 

NOOD Registration is open.  As you know, your MRA fees cover Race Week, but you still need to register directly with NOOD and can do that here.

 

Mail Bag

Not a lot of mail this week.  A few people enjoyed the variety in last week’s RTTC, the most expressive of which was lobbed in by Jim Raisides, who wrote, “A family controversy about floorboards, rules debate, an article from 1982 and a Nixon reference.  Amazing.”

 

Rick & Jessica Berliner wrote in to let us know that not everyone drifting around in the fog last week was waiting for the RC to fire off three.  “For the early season we have a schedule conflict that keeps us from getting out there in time for the start.  But Saturday we decided to take a little cruise later in the afternoon, around 2:30.  Our fog protocol was in full effect:  We had up on deck two instruments that continuously generated loud audible (somewhat irregular) signals.”

 

 

Well, if that doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will.

 

Finally, alert fleet members on the MRA line Saturday may have notice that three of our most prominent regulars were missing.  Christina Pandapas, Renee Heffernan and Elise Nash took the day off for a girls’ weekend in Chicago, purportedly to watch the America’s Cup trials.  Watch out Chicago, right?  All indications suggest they are having fun and possibly even watching a race or two.  But as you can see from the photos below, we now know the real reason for the trip – stalking.  That’s right, our ladies have been stalking what they refer to as the “trifecta of hot AC skippers.”  As of Sunday morning, no one had taken out a restraining order yet, but they still had a day to go.

Stalking Jimmy Spithill

Stalking Dean Barker

 

Stalking Sir Ben Ainsley

 

Due to East Coasts, next week’s Road To The Cup will go out a day late on Monday (or Tuesday at the latest).