Road To The Cup – Week 2
Top 10 as of 6/5/22
Thursday’s Twilight was cancelled about midday due to a dreary forecast of cold, rain and fog. RO David Graham expressed concern in a morning email, and frankly seemed unexcited to run a race for just one fleet in those conditions. We polled several of the usual Twilight suspects, and only one was game to give it a go. Can you guess who? I’ll give you a hint – he sails Lasers, has been known to frostbite Tech Dinghies, and went out solo on Thursday night just for fun. Anyway, here is the official writeup, this week from Steve Uhl.
“June 2 was supposed to mark the start of twilights, but it was not to be. Dreary cold weather, light wind and occasional showers triggered a morning email survey – which yielded little enthusiasm. Since the Townies don’t start until next week, we spared the R/C braving the cold for potentially a no-show evening. Anyway – hopefully this is NOT the start of any trend. So game on for next Thursday. If you didn’t receive the email survey – and would like to – let us know so we can get you on the ‘twilight sub-group’ email list…”
Thanks Steve. I’ll underscore that last point. We try to spare people’s inboxes by using targeted distribution lists. If you’d like to be added to the Twilight list, let us know.
Out on the MRA line, just seven boats showed up for what proved to be the nicest sailing day in recent memory. Not sure where you all were but suffice it to say you missed a good one. The forecast predicted light and variable in the morning and 5-10 from the SSE in the afternoon. We saw every bit of the 10 in race 1 and it built from there to an honest 15 with gusts of 16-17. As the pressure increased, so too did the seas, and by race 3, surf was up. Tide came in all day but current wasn’t a factor.
Team Frisch / Hourihan found the conditions to their liking and had themselves a day, rolling a 1-1-3 for 5 points to win the day. What’s remarkable about those guys is they are super competitive in the light stuff, but also have the crew weight to hold the boat flat in pressure. Last week’s winner, young Wilson Kaznoski, was out in the motorboat watching and told me they were the flattest boat out there by a lot. They also don’t make many mistakes. So congrats to them. Finishing 2nd with a 2-2-4 for 8 points was Team Pandapas and taking 3rd was Team Cooke / Kaznoski (aka Pete & the Kid) with a 4-4-1 for 9 points (now with three bullets in five races). Honorable mentions go to Steve Uhl in 4th with a 5-3-2 for 10 points and Timmy Dittrich in 5th with a 7-7-7 for 21 points. Congratulations to all.
In addition to Evan Cooke making his season debut, we were excited to welcome Laser sailor Ledyard McFadden, who crewed with Steve Uhl. Rumor has it that Ledyard and his friend Ulf Westhoven are thinking about buying a boat together and joining us. How awesome is that? Just let us know how we can help.
One final note – a fresh breeze has a way of exposing hidden gear weaknesses, as it did on the way in when Timmy Dittrich’s rudder failed (I think it was an upper pintle). Incidents like this serve as a helpful reminder that we sail old boats and it’s a good idea to proactively replace old parts when they start to look suspect.
So, in Cup competition, as there was no Twilight this week, Cup results currently mirror MRA results. The top 10 are listed below.
Week 3 racing will include Twilight 1-2 on Thursday night and the 2-3 races of MRA Series 1-4 this Saturday.
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
Final Registration Reminder – If you haven’t registered yet, what on earth are you waiting for? You can register for Fleet 5 here, the Class Association here, and MRA here.
Last Chance to Register for East Coast Championships – The ECs will be hosted by the Manchester Yacht Club and held in Manchester June 10-12. That’s next week folks, so time to get on it. You’ll find the NOR here, the SIs here, and can register here.
First Fleet Party on June 18th – Circle the date. Fleet 5 will hold its first party of the season after sailing on Saturday June 18th. This will be at the home of Christina & Kim Pandapas. Keep your eye out for the invite.
Race Week – The centerpiece of our season, officially called the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series (formerly NOOD), will be held Thursday through Sunday, July 28-31, and that will be here before you know it. You must register separately for the event and can do that here. Your MRA registration fee covers the entry fee, so you don’t have to pay more, provided you register before July 7. I may not have this right, but after registering myself, it appears that they are planning to impose a $75 late fee for boats registering after July 7.
Race Week Party – While on the subject of Race Week, this year’s Race Week party will be on Thursday evening July 28th, generously hosted – again – by Jennifer & Steve Uhl at their home on Front Street. Circle the date!
If You Spin, Send It In
We had one spin this week. Congrats to Steve Uhl for immediately exonerating himself for a foul at the finish line of race 3, costing him a bullet. Never an easy call, but we celebrate his sportsmanship.
Twilight Email Distribution – The fleet maintains a list of Twilight regulars, which we use for race day communications about Twilights. If you’d like to be added to that list, contact me at kpandapas@comcast.net.
Fast Mermaid Pursuit Race – The BYC is running a pursuit race today (Sunday 6/5) in honor and support of Lindsay Smith. All proceeds, including registration and postrace silent auction, will go to support Lindsay as she continues her road back. Awesome cause, right? And shame on me for forgetting to push this last week. Thanks to BYC for sponsoring it and to PRO Peter Dragonas and his team for the days of hard work.
Crew Needed – Team Garuda needs a crew who knows his or her way around a foredeck. Contact Sarah Sheldon at mailto:sarahsheldon@comcast.net.
Mail Bag
Old friend Tom Daily wrote in this week looking for line suggestions for relacing his jib halyard. I get a bunch of these inquiries every season, so I thought it would be more efficient to get out in front of it. So here are a few line preferences.
- Jib Halyard – Endurabraid, 3/16 White w blue & red – 55 feet
- Main Halyard – Vectrus 12, 1/4 inch, yellow – 62 feet
- Spin Halyard – In 25 years, I’ve never settled on anything.
- Main Sheet – NE Ropes Regatta Lite (1/4 or 5/16) – length depends on your setup.
- Jib Sheets – Anything really – Yale has a bunch of options 3/16-1/4 – Assuming continuous, a reasonable length is 20 feet for 1:1 and 40 for 2:1.
- Spin Sheets – total personal preference. Don’t make them too thin. Some folks pay the big bucks for tapered. One suggestion is to make the starboard sheet longer so it will reach back to the helmsman on hoists. On 982, port is 48 feet and starboard is 52 feet.
Dave Rubin wrote in with some East Coast Registration issues. “Kim: I was trying to register for the East Coasts but the template on the registration kept coming up with your registration, instead of a clean one for me. I notified Regatta Management of the problem but I wanted you to be aware of it so there is no confusion.” Well that’s weird, right? Sorry about that. I’m not a tech guy so don’t know why that’s happening. Suggest you just go to the Regattaman site and search for East Coasts.
Finally, Jocelyn Cook, who most of you know has been working for the last couple of years to get Parkers back online, wrote in with this link to the Harbor Plan Working Group website, which she notes “lists an update from the May public meeting as well as the area that highlights differences from 2008 Harbor study and one currently under way.” The site also includes a survey which provides us all the opportunity to weigh in on harbor related issues.
–kp (kpandapas@comcast.net)