Road To The Cup – Week 9 – Race Week Preview Edition
7/20/25
What You Need To Know
- It’s Race Week. You’ll find everything you need here.
- There is no Twilight or MRA racing this week.
- Our traditional Race Week party will be hosted by Jennifer & Steve Uhl this Thursday evening, July 24th. Please RSVP through the evite.
- Register for Nationals here.
Last Week’s Racing
Four teams showed up for the first race of Twilight Series 2 on a sporty evening featuring a fresh southwesterly. Steve Uhl provides this summary.
“Beautiful day, but very sporty mid-teens southwesterly conditions with gusts in the high teens, which made single handing not an option, while keeping another boat or two ashore. We had a nice run out to Grays Rock, with everyone arriving at same time since we were all at hull speed. It was full butts on the rail for the beat back in. Clark Uhl & Adeline Sutton sailing Woodstock with dad on the rail, edged out Mike & Kathleen Lane, followed by 1775 and1219.”
Thanks Steve. So the beat goes on for Team Uhl, though this time with Clark driving. Anyone around the junior sailing over the last ten years will remember Clark as practically unbeatable. And so it was again. We understand that on that long beat in, Clark was lethally effective in the tacking duel with Team Lane, who apparently discovered what so many junior, high school and college sailors learned during Clark’s years of dominance. Anyway, for the record, taking 1st was Team Uhl, finishing 2nd was Team Lane and taking 3rd was John Casler with honorable mentions to Jay Wager in 4th. Congrats to all.
Out on the MRA line, the Chamber of Commerce outdid themselves, serving up a sun drenched, high 70s, low humidity kind of postcard summer day. The southeasterly started light, forcing a short postponement, but eventually built in nicely to 140-150 in the 10-12 knot range. This was what I used to call a Bill Heffernan day, because he was so ungodly fast in those conditions.
Twelve teams made it out, which while nice, was frankly a disappointing turnout for the final tune-up before Race Week. I mean honestly, if you don’t enjoy sailing on a day like this, then maybe it’s time to take up golf. Sure, I get the ‘keeping your powder dry’ thing, especially with a 4-day hall pass coming. But still, everyone needs a race or two to get their act together, and that probably shouldn’t during a regatta. But I digress. Anyway, we got in just two races, due primarily to the early AP. We probably could have gotten in one more, but it was close to 4pm, and with a nod to the CYC Commodore’s Ball attendees, PRO Jim McCulley sent us in
So for the record, finishing 1st. on a 3-way tiebreaker was Team Lane / Heffernan with a 4-2 for 6 points. Finishing 2ndwas Team P. who rolled a 2-4, also for 6 points. And taking third was Team Shoreman / Reynolds, who put up a 3-3, again, for 6 points. Honorable mentions go to Team Gabriel in 4th with an 8-1 for 9 points, and Ann Sousa, sailing with Joan Thayer, who finished with a 1-9 for 10 points. Ann and Joan sailed lights-out all day, and in fact had a bullet going in Race 2 as well. Not sure what happened there, but congrats and a tip of the cap to them for a very well-sailed day. Well done and congratulations to all.
So, in Cup competition, Teams Lane & Uhl continue to duke it out at the top going into Race Week. Of course, Race Week always has a way of shuffling the deck so we’ll have to see what next week brings.
This week’s racing will the four days of Race Week, Thursday through Sunday. An important reminder that, in contrast to MRA, first gun will be an hour earlier each day at noon.
Race Week Preview
“Well, here we go again. It’s Marblehead Race Week, aka the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta, or as I often call it, the big kahuna. Race Week remains the centerpiece of our season, and our toughest, most competitive contest. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, soaring highs, gut-wrenching lows, tattered emotions laid bare, dreams trampled – it’s all there. Race Week is our Everest, and the Spittoon our holy grail.
So why is RW so tough? For starters, it’s four straight days, which is both physically and mentally exhausting. Most of us can win a race, or occasionally the day. But winning RW requires consistently strong performance sustained over four days.
Second, Fleet 5 is deeper than you think. It’s easy to lose sight of how deep we are because not everyone is out every Saturday. This year particularly, as we’ve barely seen half the fleet, with different teams trickling out to the line from week to week like an old man with a prostate problem.
Finally, everyone brings their A-game. Sure, we all sail hard all the time, but Race Week is different. The game faces come out early. Every start is contested, and if you don’t have boat speed, forget about it. No port crossing generosity in this one. Push it and you’ll hear the P-word. Weather marks are bloody and merciless, and don’t expect an inch if you approach in the zone on port. Leeward roundings are worse, with someone always there to pick your pocket. You get the idea. Eat or be eaten. This is the big one. We all want it, we all fight for it, and no one concedes an inch.
I get asked every year to provide rankings – effectively to offer my take on how the regatta will play out and who will prevail. Well, why on earth would I do that? Everyone’s good and what often separates 1st from 5th or 6th from 10th is one bad race, a second-row start, a bad leg, crappy hoist or even a bad tack. That stuff can and does happen to all of us, and who can predict who it will happen to this week? So why would I attempt to rank one team over another? To quote my friend Jud Smith, “that’s a loser.” So, I’m not going to talk about all those hotshot teams like Uhl, Roberts, Lane, Fava, Taylor, Hooks, Cooke/Kaz, Reynolds/Shoreman, etc. My guess is that every one of them will wind up in the top 10, but I sure as hell won’t try to predict the order. I know who I think deserves it most, and who I’d love to see win it, but I’m going to keep that bit of information to myself. If you’d like to come up with your own ranking, you’ll find the lineup here.
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
Need Boat for Race Week – Walter Colsman’s yacht is still in the shop. If you have a boat you’re not using for race week and are willing to charter it to him, reach out at wcolsman@gmail.com.
Nationals Update – In case you missed last week’s edition of RTTC, here is a reprint of Nationals Regatta Chair Jeff Shoreman’s update.
“The countdown to the 2025 Nationals is on! As a reminder the regatta is being hosted by EYC and Fleet 5 on August 22nd to 24th.
“We currently have 14 boats registered. We are 26 short of our goal. We hope everyone will be able to sail. If you haven’t done so already, please go online and register today! Getting boats registered is a huge help to the organizing committee and it only takes a minute. By registering early, you will also avoid repeated emails, texts, and nags from the event chair (aka me).
“We also need volunteers to: 1) help greet, launch, and pull out of town boats on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday; 2) help with registration on Thursday and Friday; 3) sell raffle tickets during the events. If you are interested in volunteering, please send me an email and we will add you to the list. It is going to be a fantastic event! Any questions – please send them my way at jshoreman@gmail.com!!
Nationals Measuring –If you don’t have a certificate, or if your certificate is out of date because you made alterations to the boat since the last time you were measured, please email Stefan Thibodeaux at sjthibodeaux@gmail.com to schedule a measurement.
If You Spin, Send It In – We heard of no spins this week so the count remains unchanged.
A reminder that if you spin, please let me know at kpandapas@comcast.net with the subject line ‘Spins.’
Mail Bag
Frank McNamara sent this in. “Hi Kim, thanks for your kind words. It’s always great fun racing in Fleet 5 and seeing old friends. I’m afraid it’s J/70’s for Race Week. BUT, I’m really looking forward to the Rhodes Nationals in August. I have crew all lined up, and I promise to register soon!”
Dana Church wrote in with this appeal. “In the 1970s & 80s I spent countless hours sailing #1939 out of CYC. I’ve lived in England for 40 years now. Returning to MHead for a 50th high school reunion on 2nd August. We are staying at the CYC. One thing I’d really like to do is hire/borrow a R19 for a 1-2 days, and/or get a ride in a Sat/Sun/mid-week race. I’m still racing performance dinghies competitively, finished our Supernova single-hander Nat Champs last week, alongside the 505s. The previous 15 years have been in a Merlin Rocket: https://www.merlinrocket.co.uk/. If you know of anyone who may loan or hire their R19, it would make my trip. Failing that, myself and partner would be available anytime for crewing during our brief 10-day visit. We’ll be in town 30 July – 9 August.”
You can reach Dana at danaearlechurch@gmail.com.
Finally, in response to our Hacker Award update, Elise Nash wrote in with this. “Tessa seems to think the bat story taking the Hacker Award was bogus too. I’m off the crutches and hoping to be cleared to drive this week. If that’s the case, I can come grab the trophy, though no guarantee my kids will be any more gentle with it than Tessa.”
Complaints Department
Got Gripes? Don’t be shy. Unload at kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here. -kp