GREETINGS FROM THE PREZ
Another season is behind us, which always goes by quickly. Turning the page is a natural part of New England life, one of the reasons many choose to live here, enjoying the change of seasons.
Before fully moving on:
- Make Your Spring Lists Now: Fall is the best time to write down everything while it’s fresh, before the mind gets cluttered with holidays and playoff football. A key benefit is having all winter to decide on amazing new gear, like which low-stretch, light-weight line to use to replace your main halyard.
- Awards Banquet: The season-ending awards banquet is coming up on Saturday night, November 8th, at the Prez’s house. Attendees are encouraged to show up for fun, the Rich & Rosy-enhanced fleet bar, and potluck contributions. It’s a chance to get together with Fleet 5 friends, rehash the season, and look forward to the next.
- The celebration will include awarding perpetual trophies to this season’s winners.
- The winner of the 2025 Fleet 5 Hacker Award will be selected, which celebrates a person who distinguishes themselves doing something funny, dumb, or goofy. The nominees and winner are picked by attendees, so come prepared to throw someone under the bus with your ideas.
- Elise Nash, the reigning ‘hacker’ along with skipper Joe Fava for the “bat incident,” will officiate the awards ceremony.
2026 Fleet Team Election
The event will end with a short business meeting to elect next year’s team. The proposed slate (listed below) includes several bedrock volunteers, plus a couple of new recruits:
- Jeff Shoreman will join as VP, replacing Elise Nash. Jeff previously chaired Nationals and is described as being up to any challenge.
- Jim Gabriel will generously take on the Fleet Secretary role, replacing Timmy Dittrich, who is thanked for his years of service.
Please show your appreciation and support for this slate by showing up Saturday night. The evite should be in your inbox, so please RSVP.
Thank You
Fleet 5 doesn’t run itself. Thanks are extended to legions of people who contribute, including newsletter contributors, party hosts, and regatta organizers, in addition to the leadership team. Hope to see you on Saturday night.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Fleet 5 Awards Banquet
- Date & Time: Saturday evening, November 8th, at 6:30 pm.
- Location: Home of Christina & Kim Pandapas.
- Details: The event will be a potluck and feature a fully stocked fleet bar. Bring your spouse, crew, crew’s spouse, and anyone else. A short business meeting to elect the next slate of officers will follow the awards. Attendance is mandatory; please RSVP to the evite.
- Winter Party
- Date & Location: Still being worked out, but most likely a Saturday evening in late January.
SHORT TACKS
- Fleet Feedback: Email your thoughts to kpandapas@comcast.net on:
- What you liked/hated this year and what can be done better.
- The web site, WhatsApp, Spring Clinic, and suggested topics/ideas for next year (e.g., Summer Clinic, parties, locations).
- 2026 East Coast Championships: Headed back to Padanaram, hosted by the New Bedford Yacht Club next June $27^{th}-28^{th}$. Circle the dates.
- 2026 Nationals: Will be hosted by the Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club from Wednesday through Friday, August 19th – 21st. Circle those dates.
- 2026 Newport Regatta: The Rhodes have been offered a start on July 11-12 in Narragansett Bay, organized by Sail Newport. Circle the dates and stay tuned for more info.
- Leftover Nationals Swag: Regatta Chair Jeff Shoreman still has a few hats and hoodies from Nationals.
PROPOSED 2026 FLEET 5 SLATE
The fleet will hold a short business meeting after the awards presentation on November 8th to nominate and elect the 2026 slate listed below:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Fleet Captain | Kim Pandapas |
| VP | Jeff Shoreman |
| Secretary | Jim Gabriel |
| Treasurer | Dave Reynolds |
| Social | Rich & Rosie Denton |
| Scorer | Kim Pandapas |
| Webmaster | Nat Taylor |
| Measurer | Stefan Thibodeaux & Jim Taylor |
2025 SEASON RESULTS
The 2025 season ended with a grand total of 443 possible points (DNCs for everything).
Congratulations to Team Lane / Heffernan who finished with 146 points, earning them the Nick Nichols season championship trophy for the second straight year.
| Rank | Team | Sail # | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Team Lane | 2623 | 146.00 |
| 2nd | Team Pandapas | 982 | 197.00 |
| 3rd | Team Taylor | 1926 | 204.00 |
| 4th | Team Uhl/Lane | 2585 | 218.00 |
| 5th | Team Cooke / Kaznoski | 2648 | 218.00 |
| 6th | Team Gabriel | 1137 | 224.00 |
| 7th | Larry Ehrhardt | 2435 | 228.00 |
| 8th | Shoreman/Reynolds | 722 | 229.00 |
| 9th | Debbie Noble / Adam Roberts | 1782 | 230.00 |
| 10th | Doug Morgan & Bill Rothwell | 1210 | 291.00 |
| 11th | Team Fava/Nash | 2485 | 296.00 |
| 12th | Bill & Susan Colehower | 1341 | 300.00 |
| 13th | Stefan Thibodeaux/Jack Field | 1790 | 317.00 |
| 14th | Team Dittrich | 1217 | 329.00 |
| 15th | Team Rubin | 2495 | 330.00 |
| 16th | Anne Marije Veenland | 2651 | 338.00 |
| 17th | Team Hoguet | 1228 | 340.00 |
| 18th | Team Denton | 2003 | 352.00 |
| 19th | Sarah Sheldon / Ann Sousa | 1398 | 365.00 |
| 20th | Team Regnault/Thibodeaux | 1316 | 372.00 |
| 21st | Team Martini | 1466 | 377.00 |
| 22nd | Eric Thornton | 1819 | 402.00 |
| 23rd | Frank McNamara | 1939 | 420.00 |
| 24th | Team Hooks/Pascal | 1683 | 430.00 |
| 25th | John Casler | 1775 | 433.00 |
| 26th | Jay Wager | 1219 | 434.00 |
| 27th | Team Colsman | 2561 | 443.00 |
| 28th | Tim McCaffrey | 1925 | 443.00 |
| 29th | Chris Remeka | 1680 | 443.00 |
| 30th | Ianchulev | 1645 | 443.00 |
| 31st | Conway & Alex Felton | 1299 | 443.00 |
| 32nd | Rob Ferro | 243 | 443.00 |
NOTICES
- Doyle One Design Fleet Discount:
- Orders received by November 29th will be discounted 15%.
- Orders received by December 31st will be discounted 10%.
- Contact onedesign@doylesails.com for the order form.
MAIL BAG
The editorial on declining participation generated emails from Tom Dailey and Jim Taylor.
- Tom Dailey stressed the responsibility of fleet leadership to get boats on the line and sought the Prez’s “prescriptions for the sport.” The Prez agreed and stated this would be front and center for the leadership team this winter.
- Jim Taylor shared concerns about MRA and Fleet 5 numbers being down dramatically and offered two thoughts:
- Nick Nichols Award Scoring: The award is supposed to reward participation across a full season. He suggests counting a boat’s place by day instead of by race (still including Race Week) to push less participatory teams down the list and give recognition to boats that show up regularly.
- MRA/Fleet 5 Participation: A primary reason for low numbers is the boring “two sausages only” racing, which is too focused on scores/trophies rather than fun. This W/L racing puts a huge premium on good sail handling, spitting out those who lack it and making them less inclined to give up a Saturday afternoon. Taylor asserts that the back third of the fleet determines a fleet’s success/viability and needs reasons other than trophies to show up.
- Twilight Turnout Evidence: The strong Twilight turnout is offered as evidence because its racing is less skill-dependent, has navigational challenges instead of W/L sausages, includes amusing randomness from the mooring field, and offers a social opportunity after the race. It’s a chance to enjoy pleasant time on the water with a boat race added for interest.
The Prez invites anyone else with thoughts to email kpandapas@comcast.net.
RACERS RESOURCE BOARD
- Alcole Marine: Fiberglass repair, gelcoat & Awlgrip, and boat detailing. Luke Andrews (978-500-1505) and Renato Qarri (781-470-4550), 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: New sails, sail repairs, and all variety of canvas work, including boat covers, rudder bags, and marine stitching. Call (978) 740-5950.
- Neal Lewanda: Repairs, fiberglass/gel coat, rudders, keel work, etc. neal@lewandamarine.com, or call 978-525-2700.
- Sailor’s Tailor: Boat covers, rudder bags, and marine stitching. www.sailortailors.com.
- Seacoast Specialty Marine: Call Greg Dolan at 978-255-2769, seacoastspecialtymarine.com, or visit on Facebook @seacoastspecialtymarine.
- Stuart Marine: Dave Whittier 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: Trailer repairs. Located on 87 High St. in Danvers. Call Dan Sullivan at (978) 750-6799.
NEWSLETTER SCHEDULE
- Fleet 5 Newsletters: Distributed on the 1st of January, March, April, May, and November.
- Road to the Cup mailings: Distributed weekly, starting one week before the season with the ‘Week 0’ edition, and continuing through the end of the season. Typically sent on Sunday mornings, or Monday mornings if there is racing on Sunday.
COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT
Got gripes? Unload at kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here.