Road To The Cup – Week 18 – Final Edition

 

Road To The Cup – Week 18 – Final Edition

Top-10 as of 9/30/17

 

There was no sailing again this weekend, this time courtesy of a plain old crappy day.  I loved the forecast, which called for, and I quote, “… widespread rain, embedded heavier downpours, and the threat of thunderstorms with the risk of graupel / small hail, even perhaps waterspouts.”  What, no swarms of locusts?  And what the hell is graupel?  Okay, I know it’s hail, but who uses that word?  When was the last time you used it in a sentence?  But I digress.  

 

At least two boats were ready to go, and we heard from both of them Saturday morning.  Can you guess who?  That’s right, Teams Frisch / Hourihan and Lane / Heffernan.  This cup stuff is serious business and neither of these very competitive teams were willing to concede.  Mike Lane let us know early how he felt about the forecast, writing simply, “Yeah, pretty shitty.  Sucks to see the season end with two weather cancellations.”  Peter Frisch weighed in just after they called it with this caption to the below photo showing N over A, “Seamus showed up to sail and as you can see, I’m craning my neck looking for others to sail with.”  

 

 

 

Anyway, that brings our 2017 season to an abrupt and unceremonious end.  Congratulations to our season champs Team Frisch / Hourihan, who have earned the privilege to hoist the 2017 cup at the awards soiree on November 4th.  Congratulations also to our runners up, Team Lane / Heffernan, who also had a spectacular year.  

 

The top 10 are listed below.  

 

 

Many thanks to the three clubs, to the dedicated volunteers of the MRA and to the scores of race committee folks who volunteered their time and experience so we could play.  

 

Finally, I may sign these RTTCs but as you know, getting them out every week is a team effort.  Huge thanks to John Casler (with assists from Steve Uhl & Bill Heffernan) for keeping us informed each week about Thursday nights.  Thanks to our Nationals Co-Chairs Nat Taylor & Matt Hooks for the regular updates.  Thanks to scorer Christina Pandapas, who also did the more important job of keeping me out of trouble with questions like, “Geez, are you sure you want to say that?”  And thanks to Fleet Secretary Jeff Shoreman who made sure these got out to you every Sunday.  I ask that they all accept a gracious and appreciative tip of my cap, and I urge you to thank them when you see them.

 

The next full newsletter will come out on Nov 1.  

 

Week 1 racing will include the first day of the two-day Spring Series on Saturday May 26th, 2018.  Have a great offseason.

 

Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt

 

MRA Awards Party  The MRA will host its annual awards party on the evening of Wednesday October 11th at 6:30 at the BYC.  Circle the date and please plan to come support this year’s R19 winner, Team Frisch/Hourihan, as well as series winners and the winners of the other fleets.

 

Award Nominations  Send in your nominations today for both the Outstanding Crew Award and the Hacker Award.  Send them to kpandapas@comcast.net.  The deadline is Sunday October 8th at 6PM (so we can get the engraving done before the banquet).  

 

Awards Banquet  The 2017 Feet 5 Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday evening November 4th at the home of Elise & Mike Nash.  Circle the date.  

 

Doyle Pre-Buy – Several folks have asked if we received Doyle’s 2018 pre-buy pricing yet.  Not yet, but stay tuned.  We’ll make sure you don’t miss it.  

 

Another Winter Storage Option – Seacoast Specialty Marine in Newburyport is offering indoor winter storage.  If you would like to reserve a spot, email info@seacoastspecialtymarine.com or call 978-255-2769.”

 

For Sale  The price has dropped again on 892, a boat that has won Race Week, East Coasts and Nationals.  Rick Smyers is now asking $9k.  You can reach him at ricksmyers@gmail.com.

 

For Sale  New, never used set (main + jib) of Doyle race sails for $1250 (almost 50% off).  2015 TackTick Micro Compass with mount for $275 (original $499).  Contact Peter at weisep@mit.edu

 

Donate Your Sails  The Nahant Sailing Program (NSP) has 6 Rhodes 19s that are used to teach kids and a twilight program for adults.  The majority of funding comes from an annual fund raiser by The Friends of Nahant Sailing.  The Rhodes sails need replacement, so if you have or are purchasing new sails, please consider donating your old ones to “The Friends of Nahant Sailing.”  Not only will it help the program grow, but the donation is tax deductible.  Please contact Bob Cusack at (781) 581-1159 or rjcusack@verizon.net if you are interested.

 

Mail Bag

We heard from Alex Felton, who commented on the idea of Fleet 5 buying a boat.  “We have a loaner R19 in Manchester that is owned by the yacht club. It is mainly used for day sailing. People sign up through yacht club web site.  It could be raced.  Hope this is helpful.”  

 

–kp (kpandapas@comcast.net)