Road
To The Cup – Week 4 – East Coasts Edition
6/17/24
What You Need To Know
- Twilight 1-4 will be Thursday evening.
- MRA 2-1 will be Saturday on Brimbles Line for a day of short-course racing.
- Fast Mermaid Pursuit Race will be Sunday June 23rd. More info below.
Last Week’s Racing
Just six boats made it out for what proved to be a perfect Twilight evening. Here is a summary from
Steve Uhl. “It was a beautiful evening with nice southerly. It piped up strongly just before 7, with high teen gusts that scared off a few Rhodes, as well as triggering the RC to not start the Townies. But the actual breeze moderated for the race
with six boats taking advantage of a long run to Children’s Island and a long beat back in beautiful conditions.
Dave Reynolds sailing with his son battled Team Lane (Mike & Kathleen) in a long tacking duel that Dave ultimately won, with
Walter Colsman taking third after banging the left corner by the lighthouse.”
So for the record, taking 1st was Team Reynolds. Finishing 2nd was
Team Lane and finishing 3rd was Walter Colsman. Honorable mentions to
Steve Uhl in 4th and Anne Marije Veenland in 5th. Thanks to
Bart Snow for filling in for the ailing Dave Graham, who we all wish a speedy recovery.
Congrats to all.
One final Twilight reminder – if you rig to sail and show up at the mouth of the harbor, that’s effectively ‘checking in’ and the RC will record your sail number. Should you subsequently choose to withdraw, as four boats did on Thursday
evening, the SIs require that you inform the RC, either by VHF or cell. Thanks.
So as you know, there was no MRA racing this weekend for Fleet 5. Instead, we sailed East Coasts.
Let’s start with a shoutout to Regatta Chair Mike Lane and his team, who did an outstanding job organizing and executing this event. In addition to Mike, the team included
Kathleen Lane (awards), Mark & Dave Rubin (sponsorships), Timmy Dittrich (social & sponsorships),
Steve Uhl (web, NOR/SIs & registration) and Mark Toso (RC). Thanks also to Chief Judge
Nancy Glover and her team, who I’m delighted to say had no business all weekend. A tip of the cap to all of them for a great job.
Welcome to the handful of out-of-towners who made the trek, including
Team Hebert from Hingham/Hull, including Ken & Barbara Wilson, and old friend
Angela Duplin Hickey from Winthrop. Welcome also to Stefan Thibodeaux and
Peter Sorlean. Stefan recently moved to Winthrop and is now doing most of his sailing there. Welcome back to former Pleon Commodore
Ashley Hoguet, sailing with her dad Ramsay Hoguet. Finally, a huge welcome back to
Charlie Pendleton & (my brother) Jim Raisides, who borrowed their old boat from
Timmy Dittrich for the weekend to come out to play. Words fail me in expressing the joy I feel seeing them back on our line.
So getting straight to the bottom line, congratulations to
Team Taylor, our new East Coast champs, who finished with just 13 net points over seven races. They put on a clinic. They sailed incredibly well both days, getting good starts, making smart decisions and executing flawless boat handling. A tip of the
cap to Nat and Jim for showing us how it’s done.
I’m not even a little shocked to say that, finishing 2nd was
Team Pendleton / Raisides who put up an impressive 17 net points, showing little if any rust after not sailing a Rhodes for 5-6 years. How impressive is that?
And finishing 3rd with 19 points was reigning Race Week champs,
Team Hooks / Pascal, who sailed an outstanding regatta, putting us all on notice that the road to the Spittoon goes through them. Well done.
Honorable mentions go to Team Shoreman / Reynolds in 4th with 26 points, and
Joe Fava, sailing with Dan Gabriel, in 5th with 29 points. Congratulations to all. Read on for a recap.
Day 1
The forecast called for a fresh, post frontal northwesterly in the morning, giving way to a more moderate north-northeasterly in the afternoon. Pressure was forecast in the 10-knot range with puffs up to 20 but diminishing later in the
day. The northwesterly part was spot on with all the usual shiftiness, as was the puffiness part, as the breeze was constantly up and down, requiring almost constant gear shifting. On balance, however, it was mostly up, requiring full hikes. But in contrast
to the forecast, the breeze never went northeast. Instead, a lefty with pressure lived along the upper left side of the track, possibly a land effect coming off the neck, but it paid richly to anyone willing to ignore the forecast.
Making sense of all this with ease was Team Taylor, who rolled a6-1-1-1 for a net 3 points to win the day handily and take a commanding regatta lead. Well done. Finishing 2nd was
Team Fava / Gabriel, with a 10-2-4-3 for 9 points. And taking 3rd was
Team Hooks / Pascal, with a line of 8-3-5-2 for 10 points. Honorable mentions go to
Team Shoreman / Reynolds in 4th with a 5-4-2- 12 for 11 points, and
Team Pendleton / Raisides in 5th with a 3-4-14 -5 for 12 points.
Day 2
The Sunday forecast was for moderate, sunny conditions, with pressure of about 10 knots trending right from NW early to NNE and eventually ENE. That proved to be pretty much spot on, though impacted by a ripping current that made rounding
the weather mark a little sporty. Seas also played a part, as starboard tack was an exercise in keeping the bow down, which I personally found a challenge. Right was generally the call all day, and with a slightly boat-biased line, the pileups at the boat
were epic. PRO Mark Toso and his team got in three great races and still had us sailing in by about 2:30.
All of this played to the strengths Team Pendleton / Raisides, who shook off the rust to win the day with a line of 1-1-3 for 5 points. Taking 2nd was
Team Hooks / Pascal, rounding back into form with a 6-2-1 for 9 points, and finishing 3rd was
Team Taylor with a 2-3-5 for 10 points. Honorable mentions to Team Shoreman / Reynolds in 4th with a 9-4-2 for 15 points, and
Team Uhl / Lane in 5th on a 3-way tiebreaker with Teams Fava and
Pandapas, putting up a line of 5-9-7 for 21 points.
Huge thanks to Bruce Durkee for taking two days of his life to photograph this event. Keep an eye on the CYC web site for the postings of those 100+ photos.
Phil Smith also was out on Sunday and took a bunch of shots that he is sharing with us. You find a link to those
here. Thanks again to the regatta committee, the RC, the competitors and all who played a part in making this event special.
So, in Cup competition, because the ECs are not included in Cup scoring, this week’s updated scores reflect only Thursday’s Twilight.
Team Uhl bumped the DNC Team P from the top spot by virtue of his Twilight appearance. The top 10 are listed below.
Week 5 racing will include Twilight 1-4 on Thursday night 6/20, first gun at 7PM. MRA 2-1 will be on Saturday 6/22 on the Brimbles Line and scheduled as a short course format. Also don’t forget that, while not part of our season scoring,
the Fast Mermaid Pursuit race will be Sunday June 23rd (more info below).
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
New MRA Policy – In response to our Week 3 racing in the 20+ northwesterly, MRA has issued a new policy that attempts to systematize the decision process with regard to line selection in heavier conditions.
“Based on feedback from the fleets, last night the MRA adopted the policy that if NOAA has issued a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) for the times we are racing, all racing will be conducted in the area between the harbor and Children’s Island as is approximately
indicated on the attached chart. This may mean that the racing areas of the lines overlap.”
Fast Mermaid Pursuit Race – The annual Fast Mermaid Pursuit race, a fund raiser in support of
Lindsay Smith’s continued rehab, will be held Sunday June 23rd. Both a worthy cause and a great time, the event is open to all one design classes. You’ll find Info & registration
here.
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 –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.
Sanctioned Event Eligibility – As you probably know, the class rules include eligibility language (Article XII – Regulations That Apply at Sanctioned Events) to protect our regional and national events from pros and
ringers parachuting in. While the intent of that language is appropriate, it sometimes results in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as it did to
Doug Morgan at East Coasts. In this case, we submitted a proposed NOR amendment to waive the language, but that proposal did not pass. To correct this going forward, we’re going to propose a rule change with revised eligibility language that embraces
the inclusive culture of our class. That process certainly won’t be done this season, but hopefully before next season. If you want to help, drop me an email at
kpandapas@comcast.net.
If You Spin, Send It In (aka Road to the Pie) – We heard of several infractions this week, starting with
Team P. who hit a weather mark in Race 4 on Day 1. We also heard from
Mark Rubin. “Race 2, day 1 of ECs. We fouled M. Hebert at start (didn’t keep clear) and did circle.”
Jim Gabriel wrote in about a few infractions. First he wrote on Saturday,
“Day 1 of ECs; I managed to hit a windward mark in race 1 and foul somebody (don’t recall who) at leeward mark in race 2. Spinning on both occasions was painful.” It always is. Then, he wrote on Sunday,
“Well race #2 was something for us today. I managed to get a terrible start, hit the windward mark (spinning) on the first top rounding, then hit the offset (spinning again) on the second top rounding. We were DEEP and deflated that race after those errors.”
We’ve all been there Jim, and thanks for leaving it on the course.
I know there were more spins but I haven’t gotten the emails yet. As things stand, it looks like
Team Gabriel has an inside track to the pie.
Boat For Sale – 1972 O’Day Rhodes 19 keelboat for sale. Well maintained. Chainplates, floatation and bottom recently refinished at Lewanda Marine. Hull #1727, raced in Marblehead in the 1980s and later enjoyed for day sailing.
Includes two sets of sails, one set of blades and a trailer. Currently in Essex Massachusetts. Asking $5,000. Please contact
Noel Johnson at 617-755-0976 or nwj40@comcast.net for more details and to view.
Mail Bag
Most of the mail this week was an outpouring of sympathy for me being down with Covid. Here’s an example from
Elise Nash. “Oh no – just saw your message. So sorry you are sick! Hope you start to feel better soon!” Of course, I don’t have Covid. That mistaken impression was due entirely to my posting
Dave Graham’s twilight email into WhatsApp without an intro. In that posting, he shares that he is battling Covid. That’s what I get for being in a hurry. In any event, we all wish David a speedy recovery.
Steve Uhl sent in the shot below taken on Day 1 of ECs, with the quip,
“I don’t have many of these.”
We also got a note from Pete Kaznoski with the photo below attached. I’m pretty sure skying my spin halyard would end my day. Obviously not the case for Class President
Mike Hebert.
Complaints Department
Got Gripes?Don’t be shy. Unload at
kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here.
-kp