Greeting from the Prez – June 2004

I applaud all of you who have been out racing this season. The weather has been beautiful and the racing great. For the rest of you — I hope to see you out soon. On Saturday, July 3rd, Fleet 5 will be having a steak cookout at Jane & John Casler’s home at 199 Washington Street. I hope you’ll all make it. A flyer about the party is enclosed.

We’re several weeks into the season sailing from the new “Midway” line. All in all, I think the race committees have done a pretty good job in running good racing. However, this is all an experiment and we have the opportunity to provide feedback via our MRA Fleet Rep Kim Pandapas. So feel free to give him your comments. Most importantly, keep in mind that our ability to influence race management is directly proportional to the number of boats we have on the starting line. This year, so far, our numbers have been underwhelming. So the biggest contribution you can make is….get out there!

Take a look at the “guest column” this issue by Al Clapp. I invite (plead) for you to submit ideas and articles for future editions, Al has blazed the trail!

Many of you will have received a mailing from Sailing World NOOD for Marblehead Race Week. If you are registered for MRA, then you do not need to pay any additional fee. You do, however, still need to register. You can do it by mail or online. Since it costs nothing, please register even if you are in doubt about your participation.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of racing model CR-914 remote controlled sailboats at Redd’s Pond. It’s great fun, but even more it reinforced some lessons applicable to Rhodes racing, as fellow R19er Marcel Nyffenegger would surely attest. It is a great learning experience to see how things unfold in a 5-minute race on Redd’s pond. With the model boats, the keys to success (at least as far as I have determined so far) are:

1. Always keep the boat moving. Never pinch or stop the boat.

   Slamming the rudder hard is the equivalent to putting on the

   brake. Keep the helm balanced downwind.

2. Get a decent start. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but don’t

   start in the back. And most importantly, start with some

   momentum.

3. Don’t sail on a headed tack. Granted, the shifts are

   exaggerated on Redd’s Pond, but the lesson is still valid.

4. Don’t give up. There is always the chance to come back

   and beat at least a few boats.