Road
To The Cup – Week 0
2024 Preview –
5/19/24
What You Need To Know
- Time To Register – Registration is open for everything so get it done. Details and links below.
- MRA Opening Day – Saturday May 25th MRA kicks off the 2024 season on Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26. Racing is scheduled for the South Line, and first gun
is at 1PM. - Twilight Opening Day – Thursday May 30th The first Twilight of 2024 will be Thursday evening May 30th. First gun is 7PM. Keep an eye on the
CYC web site for the SIs. - First Party – Saturday June 15th Our first party will be part of the East Coast Championships and open to all registered skippers, crew and their guests.
Welcome Back
Welcome to year 14 of RTTC. Although Fleet 5 has been around for decades, RTTC was introduced 14 years ago to provide a weekly snapshot of our racing, scores, upcoming events, and anything else that might brighten your day. Think of it
as part racing recap, part newsletter and part gossip column. We gather racing information from first-hand accounts and score sheets, but rely heavily on you for news, scuttlebutt, and gossip, so don’t be shy. If you have a funny picture, a bit of dirt,
a news event or even something legit like a birth announcement, just lob it in and we’ll do the rest.
RTTC is distributed by email every Sunday morning, unless there is racing on Sunday, in which case, Monday morning. If you don’t get it, check your spam (even my copy sometimes winds up there). If you want out, just let me know and we’ll
take you off the list. And if you know someone who might want in, let me know and we’ll add them.
Before we get down to business, I’d like to give a well-deserved shout-out to our spring clinic organizer
Dave Reynolds who did all the heavy lifting in creating a fun and informative event. Thanks also to panelists
Larry Ehrhardt, Joe Fava and Christina Pandapas for their time and insights, and for sharing a few of their tricks. And while I’m at it, thanks also to
Jud Smith and the fine folks of MRA for all the creative work they did this offseason.
Cup Scoring Overview
Next Saturday kicks off our annual battle for the Nick Nichols Trophy, aka ‘The Cup.’ Below is a quick overview of the Cup, a little history, and a review of what scores will be included.
The Nick Nichols Season Championship Trophy is named in memory of long-time Townie and Rhodes skipper
Nathan ‘Nick’ Nichols. It is among our most coveted prizes because, it’s not just about winning a day or a series, but about sustaining a competitive campaign over the entire season. To win the Cup, you have to sail just about every week and turn in
consistently solid results. You don’t have to win every race, but you do have to show up and be competitive. We’ll use this soapbox each week to document the journey, with race day recaps and top ten Cup rankings.
Don’t confuse Cup scoring with MRA scoring. MRA will crown a champion based on the aggregated results of the three MRA series. By contrast, Cup scoring includes the aggregated results of virtually everything. Our 2024 scored racing will
include the following:
- MRA Series 1, 2 & 3
- Twilight Series 1 & 2
- Race Week
- Fall Series
You’ll find all those dates on the calendar below, as well as on the
MRA schedule.
Also this reminder about scoring issues resolved at the spring meeting:
- There will be no MRA start for R19s on Saturday June 15th, which is the first day of East Coasts.
- There will be no MRA start for R19s on Saturday July 13th (Series 2 – Day 4), which is the day of our summer clinic.
- We will not score MRA Series 3 – Day 3 on Saturday August 24th, because it conflicts with nationals. We are supporting the national regatta and its organizers by eliminating
the scoring penalty of multiple DNCs. MRA will hold a start for Fleet 5 members who don’t go to nationals, but any racing that day will not be scored, either for MRA or for the Cup.
Twilights
There will be 11 scored Twilight Thursdays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We’re splitting those 11 evenings into series of six and five, as follows.
Series 1 – May 30, June 6, June 13, June 20, June 27, July 11,
Series 2 – July 18, August 8, August 15, August 22, August 29
Note that there will be no Twilight racing on Thursday July 25th (Race Week) or Thursday August 1st (Town Class Nationals).
Also this reminder that first guns is 7pm until Race Week and at 6pm after. Hopefully, you’ll find the Twilight SIs and chart showing the marks at the
CYC web site. You also should be able to pick up the hard copy at the CYC front desk.
Well, there it is. I’m ready, as is your entire RTTC team, which includes Twilight reporters
John Casler & Steve Uhl, contributing photographersm, including newly minted grandpa
Bruce Durkee, and of course, my life editor Christina Pandapas. They’re all here and ready to go. Let the games begin.
So, in Cup competition, we’re all tied up.
Week 1 racing will include the first two days MRA Series 1 on Saturday May 25th and Sunday May 26th. First gun is at 1pm.
Don’t forget that Twilights start Week 2 on Thursday May 30th. PRO
David Graham has suggested he will run a few practice starts to help everyone get out the cobwebs, followed by a short race. Keep your radios on.
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
Time To Register – If you haven’t registered yet, what are you waiting for? Registrations are open for the fleet, class and MRA. You can register for the fleet & class
here and for MRA
here.
East Coast Registrations – The East Coasts will be here in Marblehead on June 15 & 16. You can register and download the NOR
here. If you have any questions, please contact
Mike Lane at lanmik@gmail.com.
East Coasts Charters Needed – Folks from out of town are looking for boats for the East Coasts. If you’re not planning to sail, you might consider making your boat available for charter. Contact
Mike Lane at lanmik@gmail.com.
Race Week Registration – The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta, will be Thursday through Sunday, July 25-28. Your MRA fee covers the entry fee, so you don’t have to pay an additional fee, but you do have to register, which
you can do here.
Nationals Registration – As you know, Nationals will be held this August 22-25 in Hingham Bay, sponsored by Fleet 46 and the Hingham and Hull Yacht Clubs. Register and pick up the NOR
here.
Rhodes Getting a Start at the Ted – This year’s Ted Hood Regatta, traditionally a big boat event, is opening up to include starts for Etchells, IODs and Rhodes 19s, subject to a minimum of five boats. The regatta will be
held Friday through Sunday, August 16-18, though the Rhodes and other one designs are expected to race just Saturday and Sunday. What a fantastic opportunity to get your mojo going for Nationals the following week. The NOR should be released shortly. The
event organizers are working to gauge interest, so if you are considering sailing this event, please let me know at
kpandapas@comcast.net.
If You Spin, Send It In – As in year’s past, to promote fair sailing, sportsmanship and keeping it on the racecourse, we’re continuing ‘If you spin, send it in.’ So, if you spin, please send an email after racing to
kpandapas@comcast.net with the subject line
‘Spins’ and let me know how many fouls you committed for which you exonerated yourself. I’ll tally them up, give an appropriately laudatory sportsmanship shout-out, and also keep you apprised of the season totals. The season winner with the most spins
will be appropriately recognized at the awards party this fall.
Marblehead Clean Regattas – Marblehead Clean Regattas is an initiative undertaken by all of Marblehead sailing to operate collectively as a ‘Clean Regatta.’ You’ll find MRA’s commitment statement
here. Fleet 5 is committed to supporting this, as noted in our commitment statement.
“Fleet 5 is committed to providing environmental stewardship. All regattas that are hosted by Fleet 5 will execute, to the greatest extent possible, all best practices as defined by Sailors for the Sea in its Clean Regattas program.
All our competitors should plan to promote and adopt a “leave no trace” approach throughout our events and during the sailing season, both at sea and on shore. All competitors and support personnel, including vendors, are asked to cooperate by reducing waste,
avoiding use of single-use plastics (such as bottled water), and preventing toxins from entering marine habitats.”
You’ll find more information and a listing of
best practices here.
CYC Wins Jackson Cup – Several Fleet 5ers competed in the 25th annual Jackson Cup, BYC’s highly regarded invitational team racing event. Sailing for EYC were
Peter Frisch, Larry Ehrhardt and Liza Clinton, and for CYC
Timmy Dittrich, Karl Renney, Pete Kaznoski and Christina Pandapas. The win was CYC’s second in this event.
Fleet 5 Hits the MRA Kickoff Party – Fleet 5 made an impressive showing at MRA’s kickoff party on May 3rd. Here is a shot of just a few of them. Thanks to MRA and CYC for a nice time.
Seamus Speaks Up – In case you missed it, our very own
Seamus Hourihan has been speaking out about Marblehead politics, commenting on a range of municipal issues from overrides to school committee budgets. Of course, he’d better watch out as thoughtful contributions to the public discourse often lead to
unintended consequences, such as being written in on ballots. Gosh, I wonder if Fleet 5 should …, oh, never mind.
Mast For Sale – Rhodes 19 race ready mast for sale. It is a straight tube, still stiff with some good life in it. Rigged to race with all internal halyards, no cut outs above the deck, and built for speed. The mast about
10-12 years old, and all the halyards except topping lift were replaced about 4 years ago. Always stored inside during the off season. It is currently in Winthrop, MA. Price $2400. For info contact
Daniel Vannoni (daniel.vannoni@gmail.com” target=”_blank”>daniel.vannoni@gmail.com)
Old Sails Wanted – New owner Chris Brady in New Hampshire is looking for old sails to buy, and potentially other gear. Reach him at
ghullfen@gmail.com.
Mail Bag
Joe Fava sent this in. “Kim. Great newsletter. Any chance we’ll get an ‘odds to win race week’ feature in a future newsletter or RTTC?”
Of course we’ll preview Race Week, and maybe even mention a few teams who are sailing well. But it’s unlikely we’d proclaim an odds-on boat to beat, as that can sometimes be the kiss of death. But you never know, we could. So if you’d like to ensure
that you’re not listed as a front runner in our RW preview, make your checks payable to Fleet 5’s
‘Don’t Put The Hex On Me.’
Tom Dailey sent in this clarification about WhatsApp.
“Kim, thanks very much for this comprehensive newsletter. One clarification – to use WhatsApp, one does not need to download the application to a smart phone; the URL can be accessed from a phone or computer. So anybody who received your email with the
chat link can join the chat without downloading the app. Hopefully that helps the luddites among us stay involved. See you on the water!”
Tom added, “PS how do you like the chat pic? Start of the last race of 2022 Nationals… do I recall correctly that
Matt Hooks might have been OCS?”
I don’t remember what I had for breakfast, let alone if Matt was over early two years ago, but I think you mean the 2021 Nationals, because 2022 was in Chicago and is etched in my memory as yet another painful edition of
Team P. coming up bridesmaids. Anyway, Matt looks pretty pinned in this shot so not sure how he could have been OCS. In fact, it looks like
Team Taylor (1926) has everybody pinned.
Not 100% sure if this is the same start, but if so, it was taken earlier and might help untangle this.
Taken a few seconds after the gun, Team P. appears to have a nose out over
Team Hooks / Pascal. And because Team P. is never over early, how could
Hooks be? Just saying. And I recall that right paid. This is the race when 2 or 3 of the left group of boats tacked out a little early, hit the starboard layline, and rounded ahead with the group that went right. The ones who then jibe set and stayed
left downwind smoked everyone who didn’t.
Complaints Department
Got Gripes?Don’t be shy. Unload at
kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here.
-kp
