Road To The Cup – Week 6

Road To The Cup – Week 6

Top-10 as of 7/1/18

Three teams made the trek to New Bedford to compete in our East Coasts Championships, including Dave Nelson, Team Frisch/Hourihan and Jocelyn Cook.  That’s a more modest turnout than in years past, but sometimes life gets in the way.  Speaking for myself, I’m really sorry Team P. had to miss it.  We hear that the NBYC put on a nice regatta, so a huge tip of the cap to them for stepping up.  Anyway, congratulations to our 2018 East Coast Champ Dave Nelson, who from the look of it, put on a clinic.  Over three days and 12 races, Dave put up a 1-2-2-4-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-1 for 15 total points.  I’ll make it easy for you – eight bullets. He finished 1st in 8 of the 12 races for a .666 batting average and threw out a 4.  Holy moly – that’s dominance we haven’t seen since Jud Smith threw out a 2 in the Rockport Nationals.  So congratulations Dave, and we’re glad to have you back.  Local Ike Babbitt took 2nd, putting up a 3-1-OCS-1-2-2-2-4-2-3-1-3 for 24 points.  And taking 3rd was Team Frisch/Hourihan, who rolled a 2-4-1-2-3-3-5-3-3-2-2-2 for 27 points.  Honorable mention goes to Team Cook for hitting an away-game in their very first season.  For the record, they earned an 8th.  You can check out the complete scores here.

It was pretty quiet this week on the beer-can circuit.  Just one boat showed up for our inaugural Sunday morning race.  In fact, not just one boat, but just one sailor. John Casler was in the booth and sent in this.  “One Rhodes, single handing (I could not see the skipper/crew) did this Sunday morning's start and was rewarded with a pleasant sail in very light air.”  Thanks John.  Well, the one man was Stefan Thibodeaux, sailing David Rose, who sent in this brief though concise report, “I did the Sunday morning race.  I was the only one. The weather was perfect for single handing the boat.”  A man of few words.  Hopefully Stefan will provide a touch more color next week.

On Thursday night, several boats found themselves all dressed up with no place to go as the unstable airmass resulted in a continuing threat of thunderstorms.  Again from John Casler, “After a miserable weather day, a brief couple hour break in the rain was forecast.  When those of us showed up to race, the conditions were actually pretty nice, but the cancellation flags were flying, so we did our part at the bar.”  Well better safe than sorry, and certainly worse places than the CYC porch.  Congratulations to all who attempted.

Out on the MRA line, 16 boats made it out for our best turnout of the season to kick off Series 2.  Making their season debuts were Rick & Jess Berliner, Debbie & Chris Noble and Dave Nelson.  Making a rare appearance were the ‘dads,’ Team Shoreman/Reynolds who somehow secured simultaneous hall passes.  Also notable was the rare absence of Team Frisch/Hourihan, which could very well be the first Saturday race they’ve missed in 3-4 years, aside from the excused absence for East Coasts.  Seeing the green Gunboat heading out for the Lambert Cup on Friday night suggested Seamus wouldn’t be there.  But a full DNC is, to quote Winston Churchill, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”  

Conditions were forecast to be light, and that’s just what we got.  Several of us sailed out to a rope-a-dope easterly that gave us confidence in a sea-breeze day.  But that easterly shut off by the time we reached the committee boat, and stayed off for quite a while.  PRO Susie Schneider fired off two and we drifted around, waiting for breeze and for the rest of the fleet to show up.  A light and decidedly fickle southeasterly eventually filled in, which was enough to get things started.  We got off two races, both from 155, though we had a course change on the second lap of R1 on a big lefty, that came back by the start of R2.  The final run of R2 was an adventure as the easterly finally gave up the ghost, leaving boats stuck with the positioning decisions they had made and all hoping the breeze would start back up from a direction that didn’t hurt them.  It eventually filled from the west, turning the run into a starboard tack beat, favoring anyone who positioned themselves on the right side of the track. All and all, another whacky weather day.

The day belonged to Team Shoreman/Reynolds, who parachuted in to put up a 1-4 for 5 points.  Absolutely no rust on those guys. Taking 2nd was Team Felton, who rolled a 2-4 for 6 points, and finishing 3rd was Dave Nelson with a 5-2 for 7 points.  Honorable mentions go to Team Lane/Heffernan who took 4th on a tiebreaker with a 1-9 for 10 points, and Team Taylor in 5th with a 3-7, also for 10 points.  Congratulations to all.

So, in Cup competition, lots of movement.  The absent Team Frisch/Hourihan drops a couple of spots, granting a little undeserved breathing room to Team Pandapas, who didn’t wrap themselves in glory this week.  The biggest move is Team Shoreman/Reynolds breaking into the top 10 despite racing just two days this season.  That’s both a tribute to them as well as an indication of how few races we’ve sailed this season due to conditions.  The top 10 are listed below.

Week 7 racing will include Twilight 1-5 on Thursday night – the final race of Twilight Series 1, the 2-3 races of MRA Series 2-2 this Saturday and the David J. Smith Regatta on Sunday (keep an eye on a fleet email for more info).  Also on Sunday is the informal (unscored) CYC Cooke Town Class Sunday Series on Sunday.  Also this reminder – if you plan to sail Sundays, please keep in mind that Fleet 5 members are essentially invited and unscored guests at the Cooke Sunday Series, so let’s all do our best to stay out of their way.

Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt

Friday Night Fights Round Two – Four teams made it out for the second of three scheduled match-racing events on Friday evening, which you may recall was sunny and 85 degrees – a perfect night to be on the water.  Several fleet members participated, including Joe Fava, Evan Cooke, Beanie Eisner, Rob Ferro, Kim & Christina Pandapas (sailing on different boats) and Ken Adam serving as PRO.  Unfortunately, the light southeasterly got lighter and lighter until finally shutting off.  Ken managed to get off one flight (two races) before pulling the plug. The 3rd event of this series will be this Friday night July 6.  For more info, contact Joe Fava at joseph.c.fava@gmail.com or call 617-880-9807.

David J Smith Regatta on Sunday July 8 – Every year, the MRA selects a fleet to compete in the annual David J. Smith regatta, named for Jud Smiths’ dad.  This year is Fleet 5’s turn.  The plan is to make it a clinic but that’s not entirely nailed down yet.  Keep an eye on your fleet email this week for more info.

Sportsmanship Update – We heard of two mark-hit spins this week, which isn’t even a little surprising given the light air and ripping current.  The first from Team Berliner – “We did a turn.  Grazed the stupid pink mark.  The Marj.”  The second was from Jeff Shoreman, who wrote, “Dave [Nelson] did a spin for hitting the windward mark in race 2.” Awesome sportsmanship and a tip-of-the-cap to both.  Team MoMo witnessed a no-room foul at the leeward mark, shortly followed by the P-word, but observed no spins.  That doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, and we hope they did – we just didn’t see them. But this begs the reminder, especially as we near the most competitive part of our season, that spinning saves everyone the trouble of going to the room.  So our spin competition is a four-way tie between Team Rubin, Team Cormier/Dalton, Team Berliner, Dave Nelson each with one.  Remember, if you spin, send it in.  

MRA Feedback – The MRA will hold its mid-season Fleet Reps meeting on Tuesday July 10th.  They hold this meeting every year looking for sailor feedback on how the season is going, as well as any areas of concern for the balance of the season and for NOOD.  Please send any comments to Jim Taylor (jtyd@shore.net) or Kim Pandapas (kpandapas@comcast.net).

Race Week Registration –A reminder that your MRA registration fee covers the entry fee but you still have to register.  Click these links to register and download the NOR.  

Race Week Party – This year’s Race Week party will be on Thursday evening July 26th, and again will be generously hosted by Jennifer & Steve Uhl at their home on Front Street.  Dave Reynolds will supply the bar.

Fleet Measurement – Fleet Measurer Peter Sorlien plans another measurement on July 15.  If your measurement certificate is not current, contact Peter at psorlien@gmail.com.

Nationals in New Orleans – This year’s Nationals will be in New Orleans on October 3-7, hosted by our friends at Southern Yacht Club.  If you’ve never been, take it from us that the Southern guys know how to throw a party (they’ve had lots of experience).  So this definitely is worth the trek. You can get more info and download the NOR here.

For Sale – #1856 Stuart.  Ribs replaced and keel repaired 2007.  Running rigging/gooseneck casting replaced 2015.  New boat cover 2009. Trailer good enough for getting boat to the water!  Not rigged for racing, sailed recreationally only. Asking $2300. Will consider serious offer.  Call John Foster at 781-631-6569

Mail Bag

Old friend Chris Schreiber sent in this, “Awesome job on the RTTC's.  You have a future as a writer (of some sort!)”  

Chris also wanted to let us know that he was going to have to miss RW this year.  “Really wanted to come play with you all some more, great comp and great company.”  And following up, “So I'm putting this squarely on Jim [Taylor], that Drew is leaning right on me to sail with him for Camden Classics.  Something to do with a new rudder and keel that some irresponsible designer talked him into?  In any case, this is my destiny for the weekend of the 26th.” Well that’s a bummer, but we understand.

Elise Nash felt the need to defend her honor and that of her co-conspirators with respect to the charges of stalking at the Chicago Americas Cup trials, writing, “And re the stalking, we weren't that bad, and honestly, they probably liked it! haha 🙂 Except maybe for Tucker, who did seem genuinely shocked when we popped up on stage.”  

–kp (kpandapas@comcast.net)