Road To The Cup – Week 7
7/6/25
What You Need To Know
- MRA Series 2 day 4 will be this Saturday.
- Race Week starts in two weeks. Register here.
Last Week’s Racing
There was no Twilight racing on Thursday due to the holiday, but here’s another look at the standings with one race left in Twilight Series 1.
Out on the MRA line, conditions were pretty good, with southeast 5-10 that built to 8-12, medium lump under partly sunny skies. In a nod to possible lower turnout on the holiday weekend, MRA consolidated the fleets onto the South Line. Five fleets came out, including nine Rhodes, nine Etchells, four IODs and three Vipers. One lonely J70 made it out, but had no one to play with so headed back in. That was a surprising show of apathy considering they have their Corinthian Worlds here in September, but I digress. Anyway, PRO Rick Hamill with Dan Himes and the CYC RC did a great job of keeping things moving, getting in three races for each fleet (though our third race was a W2).
The first race was 0.8 but Rick shortened the next two to 0.6. That of course, resulted in the occasional fleet interactions, but it was manageable. The most notable of those was in race 2, when the Rhodes were finishing as the IODs were rounding. Both fleets consolidated at the leeward mark at the same time, chutes up, some on port, some on starboard. No fiberglass was harmed, but there were moments. And for just a bit more drama, the Rhodes crossed the finish (chutes up) directly into a gaggle of starboard tack Etchells all vying for a boat start in the final minute of their sequence. You get the picture.
As mentioned, nine teams made it out and sailed the first race, but we lost one in the second race and three more in the third. Teams included the usual suspects, though again absent Steve Uhl, who was leading going into the day.
So for the record, finishing 1st on the day was Team Lane / Heffernan, who put up an impressive 1-2-1 for 4 points. They had great boat speed all day, kept the boat driving through the lump and were flawless at the corners. Well done. Taking 2nd with a 2-3-2 for 7 points was Team Pandapas, who uncharacteristically was racing in just their second day of the season. And finishing 3rd on a tiebreaker in their 2025 debut was Team Cooke / Kaznoski, with a 6-1-DNS for 13 points. Honorable mentions go to Team Rubin in 4th with a 4-5-4, also for 13 points, and Team Denton in 5th with a 7-4-3 for 14 points. Congratulations to all.
So, in Cup competition, Steve Uhl’s luck finally wore out as he dropped into 2nd after taking three DNCs. Taking his place in 1st is Team Lane / Heffernan. The top 10 are below.
Week 8 racing will include the final race of twilight Series 1 on Thursday 7/10, and the 4-5 races of MRA Series 2 Day 4 on Saturday 7/12, which is expected to be a short course day on Brimbles Line.
Other News, Notices & Miscellaneous Scuttlebutt
Crew Available – We got this last week from David Graham regarding available crew.
“Sophia Domeyko is a Junior Sailing instructor, with the CYC team this year. She also has Rhodes-19 experience as an instructor in the Boston area. I would appreciate it if you might find Sophia a “berth” on one of our Rhodes, preferable on the Twilight races, during our 2025 race series. She is a very enthusiastic sailor and would make a excellent crew!”
If you’d like to contact Sophia, email David Graham at dwg@shore.net.
Nationals Measuring –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 Thibodeaux at sjthibodeaux@gmail.com to schedule a measurement.
Nationals Charter Boats Needed – The nationals regatta committee is looking for a few boats available for charter (see next item). If for some reason you plan not to sail Nationals and would be willing to offer it for charter, contact Jeff Shoreman at jshoreman@gmail.com.
Need Charter Boat – Liz Johnson from the Rhodes 19 Fleet 12, Chicago Corinthian Yacht Club, wrote in inquiring about a boat to charter/borrow/sail for the Nationals competition. She borrowed Rhodeo from Joe ONeil last summer in Hull, and just chartered a boat for the ECCs in Cottage Park. If your boat is available, Liz can be reached at babeand4boys@gmail.com” style=”color:rgb(149,79,114);margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer”>babeand4boys@gmail.com.
If You Spin, Send It In – No spins this week, so the tally remains unchanged. We did, however, get an email about spins from a fleet alum Justin Scott (see mail bag below).
A reminder that if you spin, please send me an email to kpandapas@comcast.net with the subject line ‘Spins’ and let me know how many fouls you committed for which you exonerated yourself.
Mail Bag
Old friend Jeremy Bloxham wrote in to offer the use of his center console for nationals. “As always, you’re very welcome to use Pantalaimon as a judge boat for the Rhodes 19 Nationals. I’ll leave it with a full tank (it’s above deck) and no need to re-fuel it afterwards (but if someone does, please don’t try putting fuel in the built-in tank!).” Thanks Jeremy!!
Looking For Boat – We got this from Fleet alum Dana Church. “Hello R19 Fleet #5. In the 1970s & 80s I spent countless hours sailing #1939 out of CYC. I’ve lived in England for 40 years now. Returning to MHead for a 50th high school reunion on 2nd August. I’ll be in town 30 July – 9 August. One thing I’d really like to do is hire/borrow a R19 for a 1-2 days and/or get a ride in a Sat/Sun/mid-week race. I’m still racing performance dinghies competitively, finished our Supernova single-hander Nat Champs last week, alongside the 505s. The previous 15 years have been in a Merlin Rocket: https://www.merlinrocket.co.uk/ If you know of anyone who may loan or hire their R19 it would make my trip. Failing that, myself and partner would be available anytime for crewing during our brief 10-day visit.”
Old friend Justin Scott, wrote in to tell us about his spins last week in the Viper
“I am not sure if it counts because we were in a Viper not a Rhodes 19. However in Friday evening racing at Noroton YC, the team in “Shaken Not Steered”, bow# 007, achieved the dubious distinction of no less than three spins in one evening.
“The first occurred when despite a cushion of a 20 BL lead, the former Rhodes 19 helm on Shaken delivered the Windward mark a solid thwack. After spinning we were still in the lead but lined ourselves up nicely to hit the offset. Dizzy from spinning, we lost the lead. The third foul was a breach of rule 15 on the start line. This rule prevents late lunges to leeward during the start sequence. I believe this rule should be observed by more boats and enforced by more judges. So when in our case, we lunged and the Windward boat attempted to keep clear and made contact, we self-enforced!
“Coincidentally I was around 32 when I first started racing Rhodes 19s. In that very first race I was involved in a Rule 15 incident at the start with Kim and Christina Pandapas. I cannot remember who was Windward and who was Leeward, but despite neither of us spinning and disagreeing to this day of who was at fault, it was the start of half a lifetime of a wonderful friendship. So for the record, thank you to K and C for all you do for the R19 class and the sport of sailing in general.”
Thanks for the update Justin, and for leaving it on the course. And for what it’s worth, I remember the incident like it was yesterday. We were leeward at prestart and politely asked you to head up, to which you replied, equally politely, that you needed room and opportunity. When we headed down to provide you that opportunity, you headed down with us, forcing us to ask again, perhaps less politely, and to which you again responded room and opportunity. As I recall, nothing polite was uttered thereafter, and yes, neither of us left it on the course that day. But as you mentioned, the incident led to a shared cocktail that evening where we both did a lot of talking with our hands. The rest, of course, is history.
Complaints Department
Got Gripes? Don’t be shy. Unload at kpandapas@comcast.net. The buck stops here. -kp