Road To The Cup – Week 4
6/15/25
What You Need To Know
- Twilight 1-4 will be Thursday evening.
- The first EYC pursuit race will be Friday evening 6/20.
- The East Coast Championships are this Saturday and Sunday in Winthrop. Details here
- The first day of MRA Series 2 will be this Saturday on the Brimbles line (unscored).
- Register for Race Week here.
Last Week’s Racing
Just four boats made it out for the Twilight race on Thursday night. Conditions, I suspect, played a part in the conservative turnout, as it was blowing in the 20s most of the day. The Townies, in fact, cancelled their race for precisely that reason. By gametime, however, conditions moderated, and it proved to be a perfect evening for racing. Here is a race wrap from Steve Uhl.
“Four boats came out for twilight including first appearances by Rob & Jen Ferro sailing John Casler’s 1775, and Team Lane including Mike, Kathleen & Sophie. We had a very gusty westerly all day, including a small craft warning, and that probably scared a few away, including the townies. But by 7pm, the wind moderated enough for a beautiful sail. Steve Uhl sailing with other son Thornton Uhl won the race to the Children’s Island nun and back, mostly due to the start, where others mis-timed the sequence and started late. Anyway, a beautiful evening for a nice sail and hope we’ll see some more out next week.”
So for the record, taking 1st was Steve Uhl, who with three bullets in the first three races, is running away with Series 1. Take a look at his Thursday night lead, accrued just sailing to Archers Rock and back.
Taking 2nd was Team Lane, and finishing 3rd was Team AMV. Honorable mention to Team Ferro, who was OCS in their 2025 debut. Congratulations to all.
Out on the MRA line, morning showers resulted in our 13th straight rainy Saturday. The rain moved out by around noon, giving way to a very un-summer-like 10-15 northeasterly with cloudy skies and temps around 60. It’s hard to believe that we’ve completed an entire MRA series and have yet to sail in 80-degree sunshine. The Chamber of Commerce must be asleep at the switch. Anyway, six hardy teams layered up and made the trek, including the 2025 debuts of Team Taylor and Marine Regnault, sailing with Stefan Thibodeaux. Welcome back. I couldn’t make it myself, so don’t have a lot of color to offer, other than to say that the RC got in three races and folks were in by around 4pm.
Taking 1st on the day was Team Taylor, hot right of the box (as usual), with a 2-1-1 for 4 points. No rust there. Finishing 2nd was national champ Team Uhl/Lane, who put up a 1-3-2 for 6 points, and taking 3rd was Mike Lanesailing this week with Yati Harsono filling in for Rene Heffernan, who was otherwise occupied at yet another wedding. They finished with a 3-2-3 for 8 points. Honorable mentions go to Team Gabriel in 4th with a 4-6-4 for 14 points, and Team AMV in 5th with a 5-4-6 for 15 points. Congratulations to all.
Believe it or not, that wraps up MRA Series 1, which seems like it started just yesterday. Taking 1st with 10 net points in seven races was Team Uhl / Lane. Well done. Finishing 2nd just 7 points back with 17 points was Team Lane / Heffernan, and taking 3rd with 21 points was Team Gabriel. Honorable mentions go to Team Taylor, who finished 4thwith 23 points after racing just one day, and taking 5th was Team Morgan / Rothwell with 26 points, also racing just one day. Congrats to all.
So, in Cup competition, Team Uhl continues to pad his lead, finishing effectively the first third of the season with a 15-point lead over his Tiki bar companion and teammate’s husband, Mike Lane. As an aside, Steve and Mike are virtual encyclopedias of all things Tiki, having both done exhaustive research. Steve, in fact, even has a Tiki bar in his yard, but I digress. So a Lane in each of the top two spots, with Jim & Dan Gabriel just 5 points back. Here is how things are shaping up.
Week 5 racing will include Twilight 1-4 on Thursday evening 6/19, East Coasts on Saturday and Sunday, 6/21 & 6/22 in Winthrop, and for those not going to Winthrop, the 4-5 races of MRA Series 2 Day 1 on Saturday 6/21, which is a short course day on the Brimbles line. We remind you that the fleet voted in the spring to support East Coasts by not to scoring MRA 2-1, either for the cup or MRA. So no scoring on Saturday.
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
Nationals Measuring – Fleet measurer Stefan Thibodeaux reminds us that all boats competing in Nationals will require a completed measurement certificate. 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 at sjthibodeaux@gmail.com to schedule a measurement.
If You Spin, Send It In – We finally got a spin. Steve Uhl wrote in, “Kim, I spun once today for port/starboard. Fouled Marine inadvertently (was avoiding one starboard tacker and didn’t notice the 2nd starboard tacker Marine until a bit too late). Race 2.” Thanks Steve for leaving it on the course. So in addition to winning MRA Series 1, leading Twilight Series 1 and leading Cup scoring, Steve also has an early lead on our sportsmanship award – the apple pie.
A reminder that if you spin, please send an email after racing to kpandapas@comcast.net with the subject line ‘Spins’ and let me know how many fouls you committed for which you exonerated yourself.
Boat Needed for Race Week – Clark Uhl plans to sail Race Week against his dad. If you have or know of a boat he could use, please contact him at clarkuhl555@gmail.com.
Center Consoles Needed for Nationals – The EYC RC needs a couple of center consoles to use for Nationals. If you’re willing to help, contact Cindy Smith at race.committee@easternyc.org.
Need Mast – Robert Davis wrote in looking for a mast. “Do you happen to know of a used R19 mast for sale? One of Provincetown fleet lost its mast a few days ago.” If you have an old mast taking up room in your garage, you can reach Robert at robert_davis@jaegerrealty.com, or call 646-286-3039.
Mail Bag
Just one update this week, an update from Anne Marije Veenland. “We missed you guys out there yesterday! Hope all is well.
Loki had the pleasure of having Wendy Erselius jumping on the boat last minute past Thursday evening for Twilight sailing. It was her first time on a Rhodes 19 and quite the action with the bigger puffs at the beginning of the evening. AMV messed up the start being over early and had to go back, but otherwise we had a blast. On Saturday ,Jim Revkinsailed with AMV on Loki and sailed without the chute, but could surprisingly keep up with the rest of the fleet downwind. Now AMV and Liza Clinton are getting ready for Block Island Race week, so Loki will not be sailing for a while.”
Have fun in Block Island. Under no circumstances go anywhere near Yellow Kittens, which I understand serves impressive adult beverages.
Complaints Department
Got Gripes? Don’t be shy. Unload at kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here. -kp