November Newsletter
November 24, 2019
2019 Awards Party;
First up, we again owe a HUGE Thank You! to Wendy and Peter and Frisch for hosting our 2019 Awards Party! Wendy’s white table cloth dinner seating was very civilized and much appreciated, and (no doubt with memories of last year’s party in mind!) helped generate a very healthy turnout. As always, there was gold at the end of our ‘pot luck’ rainbow; it is a mystery how a ‘just right’ mix of appetizers, entrees, and deserts always seems to appear, but it does. Special thanks are also due to our Social Chair Larry Ehrhardt for stocking and delivering the Fleet Bar (he may now know more than he cares to about our drinking habits), and to Jeff Shoreman, who made sure that I didn’t screw up our impressively complex trophy order. And thanks also to Eclipse, who kept it all straight and delivered what we asked for when we asked for it.
Not everyone who was slated to receive an award was on hand to pick it up, however, which has resulted in the restocking of the Fleet 5 ‘Shelf of Shame’. Some notes WRT the Shelf:
– One especially noteworthy addition was glassware inscribed for Team Felton whose 2010 date easily topped Eric Thronton’s previous delinquency record wrt an award left on the Shelf since 2013.
– The Hallawell Family Trophy didn’t quite make it to the Shelf because Larry (away for a wedding) and Allen Ehrhardt’s accepted it the next day when retrieving the Fleet Bar. Father and son deserved it, BTW, for some great sailing together and for Larry’s nice Newsletter article touting family sailing.
– Another important perpetual (Most Improved) went to Mike (college reunion) Lane, who earned it by improving his 2019 MRA, MRW and RTTC scores the most relative to 2018. Congrats to Mike and Renee Heffernan for their moves up the various leaderboards, including up to 4th in the RTTC.
Dave Nelson’s previous Shelf inventory was offloaded to him in person at RW this year, but he earned a new spot with an impressive and incredibly close 2nd to Matt Hooks and Rob Pascal at RW 2019.
Speaking of Matt and Rob, the Pascal family’s babysitter meter apparently ran out before he could pick up their RW awards, which include the base for the Spittoon, now suitably engraved. NB that Rob’s early exit almost certainly ducked a Hacker’s Award nomination for sailing (astonishingly well!) in RW four short days after the birth of his child. Perhaps the mother’s name should have been on their RW awards?
Nat (previous commitment) Taylor was presumably away making a play for marital hall passes next summer, and so was not on hand to pick up a RW 3rd and a ‘Nick Nichols’ RTTC overall first. His crew accepted in his stead, to avoid overloading the Shelf.
Mike and Renee, Pete Kaznoski & Evan Cooke, and Walter Colsman all now own space on the Shelf, and are encouraged to drop by 8 Wyman Road to pick up their swag, where it is on display next to the Fleet’s Felton Lumber Inventory.
Finally, the curator of the Shelf (and the Felton Collection) owes an apology to David Rubin (3rd, Labor Day Regatta) and to Team Pandapas (MRA Season 3rd) for forgetting to bring their MRA trophies to the Fleet 5 party. Of course, since they weren’t there to accept them at the MRA event, they did earn their spots on the Shelf in any case.
(MORE BELOW)
For others not able to attend the Awards Party, a summary follows:
Twilight Series Awards: Team Martini, Team Colsman, Steve Uhl, Team Sheldon/Sousa, and John Casler all took home tankards for their efforts.
Charlie Barr Trophy: The Twilight overall season went to Martha and David Martini, who might be the most important team in our entire fleet. Participation is critical to our continued strength, and they own that commitment like no other.
Fleet #5 Marblehead Race Week: As above, Dave Nelson (2nd) and Team Taylor (3rd).
Marblehead Fleet #5 Race Week Trophy (AKA “the Spittoon”, as above to Matt Hooks and Rob Pascal, 1st.
Rookie of The Year; Stefan Thibideaux, recognized for taking the tiller in Fleet 5 events for the first time, and for injecting his refreshing energy and commitment to all that we do.
Hallawell Family Trophy: As above, to the Ehrhardt family.
Most Improved Award; as above, to Mike, ably assisted by Renee.
Richie Santos Trophy; For our annual ‘best crew’ trophy, Matt Hooks nominated Rob Pascal, who was stellar in RW, and David Rubin nominated Stefan for service above and beyond, but the nod went to #1926’s nomination of Yati Harsono. She was stellar at Nationals (w/one day of practice/familiarity), especially on the last day when #1926 had to make bare headed sail changes (only one halyard!) in the last three races. She also had a great season sailing with Bill Heffernan, and is always eager to sail anytime, anywhere, with anyone.
Nick Nichols Trophy; Best Overall, or the whole enchilada as Kim calls it. It is named in memory of long-time Rhodes skipper Nathan ‘Nick’ Nichols, and goes to the boat with the lowest overall point total in all Fleet 5 events, including all MRA series, Twilight series, Race Week, and Labor Day. As above, to Team Taylor
President’s Trophy: Awarded each year to a person or persons who make the most outstanding contribution to the fleet,at the sole discretion of the president. Lots of people deserve this award, such as Kim (for his RTTC), Jeff (the source of most of our communications, sometimes via the Indian sub continent), Steve Uhl (for his long service and great RW party), and Elise (always eager to pitch in, and keep us all in line). But all these people have won it before. One person has worked similarly long and hard but not been recognized, has been part of a long serving leadership group, has gotten out on our race course as often has he can, and has made getting kids (the future of Fleet 5) involved a priority. More broadly, he has quietly worked harder than anyone to advance sailing in Marblehead, and all of this work ultimately benefits Fleet 5. The 2019 President’s Trophy goes to Joe Fava! Thank you, Joe, for all that you do and for the way that you do it.
Hacker’s Award: The deserving winner was Stefan, for shinnying up the mast of #2495 at sea to retrieve a lost halyard. There were alternative facts presented (a jib halyard was impressive enough, but a main halyard retrieval would have been all world), and be assured that they did make the start. Left unsaid during the nomination process was who lost the halyard in the first place. Other nominations included one for David Rubin for ‘helping’ with the halyard retrieval by just holding onto a lobster pot, and to Rob (as above) for helping out with the new four day old baby by sailing four days of RW. The Hack-o-meter was ably operated by Beanie Eisner.
Start planning now for 2020!
Winter Party; It will be at Kim and Christina’s new place next to Chandler Hovey park, on a date still to be confirmed, pending contractor and football playoff schedules. Plan on late January or early February.
East Coast Regatta; Hosted by Manchester Yacht Club, (June 5-7 dates to be officially confirmed)
Nationals; Hosted here by CYC, August 26-29, with a Wednesday practice race. Kim Pandapas has generously agreed to serve as our Regatta Chair (in all his spare time?!), and Elise will be Vice Chair. They will take on the organizational lead, but will be depending on all of us to pitch in as needed. Early volunteers include Renee, David Rubin, Steve Uhl, and Tom Daley. Please add your names to this list as soon as you can.