GREETINGS FROM THE PREZ
I don’t know about you, but March always sneaks up on me. One minute you’re skiing and watching the Superbowl, and the next the clocks are springing forward and it’s time to start digging into boat lists. Believe it or not, our first gun is in just 12 weeks. 12 weeks! So it’s time to get our acts together.
Huge thanks to Anne Marije Veenland & Bryan Lee for hosting the winter party again this year. Though I couldn’t be there, I understand it included a nice mix of folks who all had a great time. I understand also that the event featured our first Fleet 5 signature drink, created by Rosy Denton. How awesome is that? Thanks to Rosy for that, and to both Rich & Rosy for toting the bar.
Next up will be the spring meeting on April 23rd and spring clinic on May 8th. Both are previewed below, and we’ll provide more detail in the April newsletter. For now, please circle the dates. Also coming up is MRA’s Sail 25 Kickoff Party on Friday evening May 2nd at the CYC, and you surely won’t want to miss that.
Finally, as in years past, I’ve taken the liberty of pulling together a complete schedule of events that includes most everything you’ll need to know about the upcoming season. It’s still draft as we’ll continue to tweak it until the season starts.
That’s it for now. Get to work on those lists! First gun is in three months.
UPCOMING EVENTS
A draft 2025 calendar of events is below. It will remain draft until MRA finalizes its schedule, but for now should serve as a reasonable planning tool. Here are a few near-term events you should know about.
Spring Meeting – Wednesday April 23rd – This year’s spring meeting will be held on Wednesday April 23rd at the home of Christina & Kim Pandapas. We’ll discuss racing, scoring and social details of the upcoming season, and vote on a few things, while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, the fleet bar and each other’s company. We’ll also have a laptop to help you register, courtesy of Timmy Dittrich.
MRA Kick-off Party – Friday May 2nd The MRA will kick off the season with a party at CYC on Friday evening May 3rd . Details to follow.
Fleet 5 Spring Clinic – Thursday May 8th Fleet 5’s Spring Clinic will be at 7pm on Thursday May 8th at the CYC, and will feature a panel discussion of the new rules. Details below.
SHORT TACKS
Fleet 5 Spring Clinic – Thursday May 8th Fleet 5’s Spring Clinic will be on Thursday May 8th at 7pm at the CYC, and will feature a panel discussion of the new rules. Our panel this year will be a real treat and is among the more impressive we’ve ever assembled. Panelist will include former BC sailing team star, CYC team racing skipper and perennial club champion Will Bailey, EYC Sailing Dean and former MIT Sailing Master Franny Charles, and 2-time Olympian in the 49er, Tim Wadlow. They’ll discuss the new rules in the context of areas of the course: pre-start / start, upwind / weather mark, and downwind / leeward mark. You won’t want to miss this one.
As usual, admission is free and open to all. Cash bar will be available. Circle the date.
Fleet 5 On-the-Water Clinic – As we did last year, the fleet will again hold an on-the-water clinic, led by Joe Fava. Dates and details are still being worked out, so stay tuned.
2025 East Coasts in Boston Harbor– The East Coasts will be in Boston Harbor on June 21-22. The event will be hosted by Fleet 45 and the Cottage Park Yacht Club. We’ll let you know when the NOR is posted, and keep you updated on details as they are worked out.
2025 Nationals in Marblehead – This year’s Nationals is coming back to Marblehead on August 21-24. The event will be hosted by Fleet 5 and the Eastern Yacht Club. The event chair is Jeff Shoreman, who has provided this preliminary schedule.
Thursday, August 21st: Practice Race and Annual Meeting
Friday, August 22nd – Sunday, August 24th: Days 1-3 of Racing
Jeff wrote in with this quick update. “I am excited to announce that Bill & Darthea Collins have signed on as judges and that Jud Smith will be our PRO for the event. Jud will be running some MRA races for us to tune up.” How awesome is that? Bill & Dar Collins, you’ll recall, were judges at last year’s Race Week, and Bill also was outstanding as our 2024 nationals PRO. And securing 2-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith to serve as our PRO is simply terrific. How lucky are we?
Several people have stepped up to help out on this regatta, including Stefan Thibodeaux and Jim Taylor on measurement, Steve Uhl on Website and racing documents, Elise Nash on logo and swag, Mark & David Rubin on fund raising, Dave Reynolds on trophies, Tom Dailey on housing and Matt Hooks, Timmy Dietrich, Bill Colehower & Kim Pandapas pitching in where they can. If you’d like to join the team, contact Jeff at jshoreman@gmail.com.
We’ll keep you posted on details as they become available.
Class Rules Eligibility Proposal – Attentive class members may have noticed that a rule change proposal appeared in their inbox recently, and we encourage you to support it. Here’s the gist. Our class rules rightly seek to prevent pros with no prior association with our class from parachuting into and winning our sanctioned regattas (i.e. ECs and nationals). And the rules have done a pretty good job of that. However, on more than a few occasions, they’ve also snagged non pros who are just getting started with us, effectively prohibiting new recruits from sailing ECs or Nationals. This proposed amendment is intended to fix that by focusing the language on pros only, allowing us to continue to be the welcoming, friendly inclusive group we aspire to be. So please vote yes.
Helly Hansen – Sailing World Sets Regatta Schedule – The HH regatta schedule is set, and as usual, includes Race Week, which will be held July 24-27.
SCUTTLEBUTT
Hitting the Slopes – Members of Team Lane, Team Uhl and Team Pandapas spent a week in Sun Valley Idaho together last month. Pictured below is a shot of them outside the Seattle Ridge lodge on the only sunny day they had together, as it snowed the rest of the time. Accumulation over the week totaled more than three feet, challenging the group with miles of powder, deep crud and endless soft, fluffy bumps. No groomers were to be found. As you might expect, the relative skill and ability of the group in those conditions was not consistent across the group. Form, technique, endurance and grace were at their highest with the young lady in the maroon pants at the right in the picture below, and declined from right to left.
MAIL BAG
January’s newsletter generated a few gripes, most regarding the ‘GREETINGS FROM THE PREZ’ column. Let’s start with this from my brother Jim Raisides who called me out on my woefully incomplete list of women Fleet 5ers. “MY BROTHER KIM. Although I don’t usually like to call out my brother and favorite Rhodes 19er, I can’t help but point out how you forgot to mention two-time National Champion Elise Nash or multiple Race Week and Season Champion Christina Pandapas in your list of accomplished women sailors of Fleet 5. Ouch! I will chalk it up to the poetic license of not wanting to mention all the talent we are lucky to see out on the water on any given Saturday. Lucky Fleet.”
Guilty as charged. Yes, we have an embarrassment of riches, and how lucky are we?
Another gripe came in from Fleet Treasurer Dave Reynolds, who also took issue with lists.
“If it takes 30 years to join the ‘old timers’ club, is it possible you would be willing to share the official Fleet 5 definition of ‘younger?’ Notice I didn’t make that list either, and wondering if I failed for just one or both of the criteria you listed. And please file under Gripes, regardless of your answer :-).”
Finally, we got this from old friend Forbes Barber, who suggested the Hacker Award election was rigged.
“The fact that you can brag about your 30+ year history in the fleet, plow your boat into Bowditch ledge at 3 knots, then get the Fleet to give a hack award to ANYONE else (let alone such hard-working competitors as Joe Fava and Elise Nash) is a real testament to you Mr. Pandapas! Congrats on having them right where you want them. May nature be as fortuitous for you this ski season as it was that day in July!”
Thanks Forbes, and from the looks of it, Elise agrees with you.
As to the skiing hex you laid on me, all I can say is, see Sun Valley picture above. Of course, it’s maybe worth mentioning that later that day after an epic day of skiing, the gods paid me back by causing me to slip on the ice in the parking lot and break a rib, ending my ski season and handing Elise & Joe the payback you suggest they so richly deserve.
RACERS RESOURCE BOARD
Alcole Marine – Luke Andrews (978-500-1505) and Renato Qarri (781-470-4550) do high quality fiberglass repair, gelcoat & Awlgrip and boat detailing. Email alcole.marine@gmail.com.
Cape Cod Shipbuilding makes Zephyr extrusions and a full range of mast and boom hardware and fittings. Call Dick Landis at (508) 295-2240.
Chris Small – Full restorations and glass work- csmall9021@yahoo.com, (978) 500-9021.
Doyle Sails – Call (978) 740-5950 for new sails, sail repairs and all variety of canvas work, including boat covers, rudder bags and marine stitching.
Neal Lewanda – Repairs, fiberglass/gel coat, rudders, keel work, etc. – neal@lewandamarine.com, or call 978-525-2700
Sailor’s Tailor www.sailortailors.com for boat covers, rudder bags and marine stitching.
Seacoast Specialty Marine – Call Greg Dolan at 978-255-2769, click on seacoastspecialtymarine.com, or visit on Facebook @seacoastspecialtymarine.
Stuart Marine – Dave Whittier of Stuart Marine in Rockland Maine is the exclusive builder of Rhodes 19s. Call Dave at 207-594-5515 for pricing on new boats, used boats, repairs and parts.
The Trailer Shop – Located on 87 High St. in Danvers for any trailer repairs. Call Dan
Sullivan at (978) 750-6799
NEWSLETTER SCHEDULE
Fleet 5 newsletters are distributed on the 1st of January, March, April, May and November. The Road to the Cup mailings are distributed weekly starting one week before the season with the ‘Week 0’ edition, and continuing through the end of the season, typically on Sunday mornings, unless there is racing on Sunday, in which case Monday mornings.
COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT
Got Gripes? Don’t be shy. Unload at kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here.