Greetings From the Prez
November
already! Where does the time go?
Our season might be short, but we somehow manage to cram a lot in. And over the short season, this passion of ours tends to provoke the full range of emotions – nerves,
joy, elation, gut-wrenching disappointment, pride, jealousy, anger, resolve to do better – it’s all there. And that’s probably why we keep doing it, right? We love that. We accept the good with the bad, the mistakes with the brilliance, the w
ins with the losses, the tears with the joy – because we’re passionate about our sport. We’re addicted to the competition, the comradery, the ups, the downs and every emotion
the sport dredges out of us. We love all of it, and as the song goes, “If there’s a cure for this, I don’t want it.” So it’s a drag when it ends. The good news is that in just a few short months, we get to do it again.
Don’t even consider missing the Awards Banquet, which will be this Saturday night Nov 2nd at my house. It promises to be a great time and will feature the fleet
bar and your creative potluck contributions. More importantly, it’s your last chance to get together with Fleet 5 friends, to rehash the season and start looking forward to the next. And of course, we’ll celebrate this season’s winners, including the awarding
of our many perpetual trophies.
We’ll also select the winner of the 2024
Fleet 5 Hacker Award and celebrate that person who somehow manages to distinguish him or herself doing something funny, dumb or goofy. The wrinkle here is that I don’t pick the winner, you do. Of course, I have a couple of deserving recipients in mind,
but you should also think about who you might nominate and come prepared to throw them under the bus – the funnier, the better. As she has the last several years,
Elise Nash will officiate.
We plan to hold a short meeting after the awards to elect a new slate of officers for 2025. That proposed slate (below) is, for the most part, a redo of this year, as everyone
on the leadership has generously agreed to reup. New to the team, will be Rich & Rosie Denton, who have generously agreed to take on the fleet bar. They take over for
Anne Marije Veenland, who has led our party efforts and toted the bar for the past two years, so deserves a break. Many thanks to Anne Marije for her years of service and to Rich & Rosie for stepping up. Anyway, though largely a formality, please show
your appreciation and support for this team by showing up Saturday night.
On the recruiting front, a warm welcome to former Star sailor
Scott Rosen, who is purchasing 1942 and plans to join us next season. How awesome is that? We welcome him to the family and look forward to having him on our line. Scott, by the way, is looking for some practice sails, so if you have some decent old
sails collecting dust in your garage, give him a call (contact info in notices below).
Finally, I’d like to say, ‘Thank you!’ Fleet 5 doesn’t run itself. There are legions of people who contribute in a variety of ways, from fleet leadership to newsletter
contributors to party hosts, and I’d like to thank every one of them for another great year. There are too many to name here, but trust that I’ll let you know who they are on Saturday night. Hope to see you then.
Upcoming Events
Fleet 5 Awards Banquet on Saturday November 2nd
– Fleet 5’s 2024 Awards Banquet will be Saturday November 2nd at 6pm at the home of
Christina & Kim Pandapas. The event will be potluck and feature a fully stocked fleet bar. Bring your spouse, your crew, your crew’s spouse and anyone else who should be there. Show your fleet spirit while supporting this year’s winners. There also
will be a short business meeting after awards to elect next year’s slate of officers. Attendance is mandatory
. If you haven’t already, please RSVP to the evite.
Winter Party –
Date & location are still being worked out but will most likely be an early winter Saturday evening.
Short Tacks
Fleet Feedback – What did you like this year? What did you hate? What can we do
better? Any thoughts on the web site? Did you find WhatsApp helpful? How did you like the Spring Clinic? Any suggested topics for next year? Shall we try the Summer Clinic again? Were there enough parties? Did you like the locations? What’s on your
mind? Let’s hear from you. Email kpandapas@comcast.net.
MRA Feedback – MRA has sent out a survey looking for your comments on the season
and some of the changes they made, with this comment. “MRA is constantly trying to improve your racing experience. Based on year-end feedback we make changes for the next season.”
So please take five minutes and complete the survey, which you’ll find
here.
Doyle One Design Fleet Discount – Doyle One Design has issued its Fall Fleet Discounts.
Orders of six sails or more receive discounts of 15% by Nov 29 and 10% by Dec 31. Find a couple of friends and pull together an order. We sent you the paperwork a few weeks ago, but if you can’t find it feel free to contact
onedesign@doylesails.com.
New Rules Start in 2025 – The
2025-2028 RRS kick in January l and include a number of substantial
changes. You can get out front of this by registering
for Dave Dellenbaugh’s 4-part webinar. Details below.
2025 Nationals – As you may have heard, the 2025 Nationals will be here in Marblehead,
hosted by EYC. Regatta chair Jeff Shoreman has hit the ground running and planning is underway. There is no shortage of things to do, so if you’d like to pitch in, please contact Jeff at
jshoreman@gmail.com.
Race Week Video –
Priscilla Scollin from the Helly Hansen Regatta Series sent in this
Rhodes19
Video from Marblehead with a reminder to save the date for next year. The video features
Jim & Dan Gabriel and a lot of ‘action’ on a light air day.
Nationals 2024 Pictures & Videos – 2024 Nationals co-chairs
Tod Reidel and Dave Nelson have put up pictures and drone video of the event. You’ll find them
here.
Proposed 2025 Fleet 5 Slate
The fleet will hold a short business meeting after the awards presentation on November 2nd to nominate and elect the 2025 slate of below.
President Kim Pandapas
VP Elise Nash
Secretary Timmy Dittrich
Treasurer Dave Reynolds
Social Rich & Rosie Denton
Social Media Joe Fava
Scorer Kim Pandapas
Webmaster Nat Taylor
Measurer Stefan Thibodeaux & Jim Taylor
MRA Rep Joe Fava
2024 Season Results
Our 2024 season ended with a grand total of 414 possible points (i.e. DNCs for everything). Congratulations to
Team Lane / Heffernan who finished with just 130 of those, earning them the
Nick Nichols Trophy and bragging rights for the 2024 season championship. Finishing 2nd was
Team P., who put up 153 points, and taking 3rd was Team Uhl / Lane,
who finished with 195 points. Honorable mentions go to Team AMV in 4th with 270 points and
Team Fava / Nash in 5th with 277 points. The complete list is below. Congratulations to all.
Scuttlebutt
Yet Another Fleet 5 Commodore! – Fleet 5 seems to be having a commodore moment as
several members have accepted commodore positions. The current list includes outgoing EYC’s commodore
Peter Frisch, EYC rear commodore Larry Ehrhardt, and CYC incoming commodore
Karl Renney. To that list we now add national champ Steve Uhl who is the incoming Rear Commodore of CYC. We’re ever hopeful to soon add to the list CYC Vice Commodore
Doug Sabin to our rolls, as he keeps threatening to get a Rhodes. Congrats to all and thanks for your service.
Team Denton’s Haul Out – We happened to catch the end of the season for
You Sexy Thing, which is hauled and stored for the winter at Dion’s. The travel lift looks a little undersized for the task, don’t you think?
Bloxhams Commit to 2026
– I know, I know, and I don’t blame you for not buying it. Waiting for
Jeremy & Katie Bloxham’s return to our line has been a little like waiting for
Godot. But in their defense, there is a good reason for that. Persephone (pictured below) has kept them otherwise occupied. But this time it’s different. Their current plan is to take
Persephone south in the fall of 2025, enjoy cruising for the winter and then leave it there for the summer in advance of a more aggressive cruise that starts with the Panama Canal in the fall of 2026. That means, they’ll be boatless for the 2026 season,
leaving them no option but to move that beautifully restored and meticulously optimized R19 of theirs out of their driveway and back onto our line (a mere 26 years after winning nationals). Fingers crossed.
“My Boyfriend Sails”
– Finally, in case you missed it, this
Love Letter
appeared in the Globe a couple of weeks ago. “My boyfriend and I have been dating for one year. He’s kind, thoughtful, and we have a lot of fun. The problem is that he is away every weekend sailing. He sails competitively and has become much more involved
in this over the last six months. This is taking a toll on our relationship. I have expressed an interest in joining him and learning but he has not responded positively.” Sound familiar? She goes on, “Another issue is that a member of his sailing
team is his ex-girlfriend.”
Oh sister, where do I start? So many questions but let me get straight to the bottom line. The sailing ain’t going away. It will always be the third leg of your stool.
It’s not that he doesn’t love you. It’s just that he could no sooner give up sailing as gnaw off his own arm. I mean the guy loves it so much, he’s even willing to spend every weekend in a confined space with his ex – just so he can sail. Trust me – take
a hard line and the relationship will fail. And if it comes down to an ultimatum, I think we all know how that will go. So, love him for who he is, find it in your heart to be supportive, and maybe work out a few compromises. To liberally paraphrase a quote,
and with apologies to Kahlil Gibran, “If you love someone, let them go sailing. And if they don’t come back, hunt them down and kill them.”
Notices
Looking For 2025 Crewing Opportunity –
Karen Zieff is interested in getting involved with Fleet 5, and actively seeking a crewing opportunity. She has experience on J24s. Text 617-308-6580 or email
kzieff246@gmail.com.
Looking for Used Sails – New recruit
Scott Rosen is looking for “set of gently used sails” to round out his inventory as practice sails. Email Scott at
scottarosen@gmail.com, or call 617-285-8222.
UMass Needs Used Sails – UMass Dartmouth recently acquired a R19 which they are planning
to use as a teaching boat, so need some sails. Email Coach Pete Vancolen at
pvancolen@UMAssD.edu, or call 508-596 1495.
Mail Bag
We got a few emails mourning the end of the seasons RTTCs, all along the lines of this one from
Marine Regnault. “Thank you as always Kim! It is such a joy to read this email every Sunday! Can’t believe it is all over now.” Thanks Marine, and thanks to everyone who takes the time to read my weekly rantings.
Several People took a stab at
Rob Patterson’s one design challenge.
Alex Felton wrote in with this incorrect guess.
“Looks like a Hustler with a jib.” I guess I see that.
But two people got it right. First from was
Nat Taylor, who wrote, “That’s a Narrasketuck from Amityville, which is a fleet that I hear could give Fleet 5 and Hull a run for their money in terms of community.”
The second is from old friend
Ron Homa. “Although I haven’t sailed in a R19 in years and no longer qualify as a fleet 5er, I enjoy staying up to date on the fleet and was happily surprised to see a few photos of Tucks (short for Narrasketuck) featured in this edition. This is
another fleet I no longer belong to but did back in the 70’s and 80’s. Hard to mistake the shortened Star rig even with the obscured Pontiac Motors Indian Head sail insignia. 182 was
Glenn Schmidt’s boat, he pioneered the molds for the first glass versions of these previously wooden centerboard boats that were designed for the shallow bay on Long Islands’ south shore.”
Rob Paterson confirmed it was indeed a Tuck, adding, “Uses a cut down Star mast!!”
Mike Lane sent in this example of Google AI at work. Not ready for prime time just yet.
Finally, we heard from old friend
Ben Richardson, who sent in this generous inquiry. “Kim does the fleet bar take donations? We are gin drinkers but with pretty narrow interests, which doesn’t stop people from giving us random gins. In the interest of cleaning out the bar a bit
could we give them to fleet five rather than dumping down the drain?” Thanks Ben, but honestly, did you really have to ask?
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.
Kenny Harvey – Rigging
kenny@harveyrigging.com or (781) 631-6644
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.
* * *
Got Gripes?
Don’t be shy. Unload at
kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here.