Wednesday, December 21, 2011

6,000 Flying Scots!

Deep Creek, MD — The 6,000th Flying Scot has been built and will be on display at Chicago’s Strictly Sail boat show January 26-29 at the Navy Pier. After the show it will be delivered to its new owner, Dan Koules, who requested the number and ordered the boat more than two years ago. Koules sails out of Sheridan Shores Yacht Club in Wilmette, Illinois, where Flying Scots are the most active fleet in club racing.
“The Flying Scot is a beautiful, all-purpose boat with lovely traditional lines that is obviously very well made,” says Koules.
Koules, who had been looking to buy a new Flying Scot, thought it would be a thrill to own such a milestone boat. He started sailing for something to do with his nephews, Charlie, now 16, and Christian, now 14. Koules loves racing his current Flying Scot , #5567, with his nephews. He says they take turns at the helm.
“Buying the Scot is a nice opportunity to get out and race with them,” he says. “The Flying Scot also has a very strong class association, which I like.”
Flying Scots are a strict one-design class, with all boats being pulled from a single master mold. The Flying Scot was designed in 1957 by Gordon K. (Sandy) Douglass, who wanted to design a boat that was roomy, comfortable and stable and could be used for both racing and cruising. The Flying Scot was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 1998.
Harry Carpenter, the current builder, has been building Flying Scots since 1978 and owned the company with his wife, Karen, since 1991. Today the Flying Scot is a leading one-design class in the United States. While many small boat builders have folded their tents, Flying Scot, Inc. has continued to grow.
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Editor’s Note: To reach Harry Carpenter call 301-334-4848 or harry@flyingscot.com

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Gator Bowl 2011

The unavoidable occurred; we are about packed and ready to leave home and... creepy neighbor (CN) appears seemingly out of nowhere. He is lurking at and around his house under construction right next to ours. Fortunately, we are about to roll so we shoosh him away and head out. The bright side is he wanted to discuss the type of fence that will soon separate his place from ours. My advice; the taller the better to which I get the tilted head puzzled look similar to what you get from the dog. It turns out the cool neighbor on the other side of CN is moving; partly due to CN. Cool neighbor got wind of CN's possible plans of not having a fence at all! Cool neighbor took matters in his own hands and.. OUT!

We are thinking of moving too, but that is a blog topic for another time.

We recently finished a Kay Scarpetta novel by Patricia Cornwell. She has a number of books in the series, the main character is a coroner in and around Richmond VA. The coroner part is pretty interesting but we are both in agreement that her writing style is just too tedious so we are happy to be done with that. For our trip to Jax we are starting a David Baldacci novel, Deliver us from Evil. We shall see. For me, the jury is out on him too, but I am keeping an open mind. I was in the mood for a Thorn book, Robert W. Hall, but our inventory is lacking.

We arrive at the Rudder Club about 2:30 after an uneventful trip. Uneventful is good when considering we are in a new/used RV.

Here we have RV row. We are at right, the Lintons center, and at left we have the John and John/designer/condo/mobile including the much sought-after faux granite countertops.

We intentionally arrived after them for the;

preferred waterfront view...except for the pesky suv's, forest of pines, ratty dock and interstate highway bridge. But hey!

It has become a mini-tradition to gather at Trent's on Friday night for dinner. Trent's is a little dive not far from the club but the beer is cheap and you can eat the food with few ramifications. I think our headcount was 22 which really makes us popular with the hostess/pissed off door cop-ette. Having no real seating choices we settled in on the outdoor patio, outdoor patio in Jax. in Dec. is a lot like the word "brisk". They have one of those gas heaters that went a long way toward keeping us comfortable, until the gas ran out. The staff seemed a little iffy on the refueling process but we had Andy Hayward in the crowd so, no problem.

Come Saturday morning, it was obvious we were going to see a nice turnout of Scot-ticians, 25 to be exact, very cool. There were also a few Snipes and Lasers, this would probably be a good intro to the video that was posted on Youtube so; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZDKiHVl1V8 Pretty cool but my advice is, don't blink.

We did three races in about 12 to 15 that was steady from the NE. Pretty sure this was the most steady I have seen at the RC. Oh yeah, there was a mess of General recalls. A strong ebb current opposing the solid breeze and you get the idea. It was a really great day of sailing with much starting practice so all is good.

Donna and Jon always do a great job with the food and this year they brought in some Cuban chow that was up to their high standard. They got on everyone's good side by handing out free beer, so there you go.

We are expecting a little warmer weather and more sun on Sunday but it seems the breeze may be a little iffy. We wake up to...
Fog...WTF

The warning signal was scheduled for 9:55, so at about 9:50, in about 1.8 knots of breeze the RC decided to bang out the first general recall of the day. Did I mention the current is flowing north against the zephyr of a breeze from the north. Hmmm. The RC strategy worked perfectly and killed enough time for the wind do build to about 4 to 5 so we try again. Blah, blah, blah, racing, racing, racing. It was a good race when it was all said and done, especially for Paul Abdullah (Thistle class champion). He managed a huge comeback to grab a bullet and widen his slight lead from Saturday. Those in hot pursuit were John Aras, Jeff Linton and Jim Egan.

The fifth and final race started out ok, but quickly landed on my personal top ten list of most frustrating races of all time. This also earned the "sailing sucks" tag on this blog post, there are more of those if you care. During the second beat the breeze was fading fast but the current was going strong, an ok combo for a shortened finish at the weather mark but not ok for a leeward finish against the flow. Nuff said.

Hearty congratulations to Paul Abdullah and his crew Alex who bested the previously mentioned group of stars! Results should be up soon on the Rudder Club website.

We FL-ians are always grateful for the company of the Northerners who come to play, the Privateer YC sent three; Rob Fowler, Bill Humphreys and Ed Craig. Ryan Malmgren jetted in from WI, while his able crew, Tom Lawton, drove the boat down from the Carolinas. I like that deal! John and John did the MD and VA rep and of course Charlie and Nancy Fowler dropped in for communion on their way south to the Keys. Despite their best efforts Wally remains a Gator!

Still chasing the Linton's, we are used to it!

Out.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta - Sarasota

Our blogging is sadly out of date, but we have an excellent excuse. The little pc netbook is just about officially dead, so we don't even bring it with us any longer. Even when it was working, it was so finicky a short tempered person like me just wanted to smash it into little pieces, so the karma was all wrong anyhow.

We recently got a nice new Mac desktop (our first apple product) so that is where the blogging will take place for the foreseeable future. I must say the wireless keyboard is sweet especially considering that I was originally a little dubious. It looks funky. Maybe an iPad will be next, which means daily updates again...

Speaking of making purchases, we just made a big one...an RV! Yes, an iPad would be the perfect companion to the RV. We are now officially members of the gas guzzling, lane hogging, traffic slowing, money spending, etc. club. I am also pretty sure I will be routinely traveling with a turn signal on for extended periods of time (the clicking sound is faint)while having no intentions of turning. This is nearly a requirement for FL residency so we might blend right in with the masses. Sarasota was the maiden voyage, it doesn't get much better than that.


I was pleasantly surprised with how it drove and the power it had. It is built on a Ford chassis and has the V-10 engine, so towing a boat or car is no problem. The naming process is underway and the two leading possibilities are: 1- Pig Rig, 2- Bob. The first should be obvious, the second is from the movie "RV" with Robin Williams. It's funny.


Here is our waterfront spot at the club with Amy verifying rear clearance

We arrived Friday late afternoon and it was already chilly. Of course, we had a front passing thru right on schedule. This means wind from the NW which clocks right for the next few days and weakens, usually.... Think midwinters. Oddly, the forecast for Saturday was mid teens and Sunday was to be more windy, a little bass ackwards.

We did three races Saturday in this;
Scores were close, Mark Taylor held a lead over Jim Egan and four of us were tied for third.

By Sunday am, the forecast now called for a little less breeze, especially early so we confidently selected the new sails and were off. The first of two races was sailed in choppy whitecaps, here is the picture of that;
The second race was another story, the breeze picked up in the sequence and spiked from there. I think there were five capsizes and quite a few folks saying, "Let's get the hell out of here!" As we arrived at the first leeward mark an S flag was flying. A good number of boats decided that was the finish while a few of us undecideds thought this could mean a weather finish. So up we went again just to be sure. Part way up we can see there is no way the mark boat could get there for a finish since they were in rescue mode. The committee boat remained on station, maybe that meant a downwind finish. "What the hell? We've come this far" say us. As we go through what could be a finish line I notice the folks on the RC boat seem fairly disinterested in us. Not a good sign.

Turns out the race was shortened to two legs so we got in a little extra practice in breeze which was fun. The part about flogging the crap out of a new main was a little less fun. Learning a little later that we were OCS was the exact polar opposite of fun.

Mark Taylor with Lisa Hayward crewing sailed a great regatta for the win. Here is a link to the full results; www.sarasotasailingsquadron.org/

The Sarasota District regatta has been held in November every year and will know be known as the Jeff Penfield Memorial Regatta. Jeff clearly left a mark on many of us and we really admire and miss him. Katharine Penfield was in attendance and closed out the awards presentation with a story about Jeff's desire to create a Leadership Award. It turns out he worked with his family in the last few weeks and/or months of his life to come up with the award criteria. He wanted it to be "For the recognition of respected leaders and active role models for new sailors in the Flying Scot Florida District. Suggested criteria; -Exhibit qualities of leadership in the Flying Scot class. -Promote fleet growth in the Florida District. -Act as a positive role model. -Sail actively in the Florida District." There is a perpetual trophy along with a keeper for the recipients, and the recipient is charged with selecting the next winner. Katherine continued that Jeff had selected the first recipient and when she announced it was Kim and I, we were shocked. I was pretty well speechless and the huge lump in my throat didn't help. Neither did looking at Kim, who was about to lose it.
The throat lump is back. We are as honored as we can be and want to thank the wonderful Penfield family.

Monday, October 3, 2011

FL District Championship, Miami 2011

The creepy neighbor is stalking the contractors building his new house right next to ours. We try to dodge him as much as possible but with the project in full swing it is getting more difficult. He startled Kim early in the morning “So, what do you think?” Says CN nodding towards the concrete slab and mass of cement blocks. This seems to be his new favorite line, a real conversation starter, especially with the ladies. Later the car and boat are loaded and ready, we are happy to see he must have left for the day. We are pulling out with the boat in tow and gasp, he comes around the corner in his car, pauses for a chat and we hit the gas..... Off to Miami!

We are headed for Naples for the night which leaves an easy drive into Miami Saturday am. The last time we raced we forgot the spinnaker pole (not recommended) so we are hoping not to pull off another bonehead move like that. I’m pretty sure we’re good.

Sadly we are driving while the Rays are playing game one of the playoffs in Texas. Would have much preferred the TV to radio but so far the Rays are hot and off to an early lead so no complaints. During one of the radio breaks there is a news flash; today is the last chance to have sex with an animal! Oh crap, I didn’t know! Yes the FL legislator saw the need to pass a law against it and it takes affect at midnight. Seems the folks in the panhandle are the culprits and are ruining it for the rest of us.

The trip to Coconut Grove Sailing Club is smooth and we quickly see quite a few Scots. We were hoping for a good number of boats this year but I found about two last minute cancellations so we weren't sure how it would go. We get rigged quickly and “Oh shit the mast is bent” oh well, to late to deal with it now. While trailering and looking in the rear view mirror it appeared bent but I figured it was distortion or illusion or whatever. No idea how it happened but it is not too bad.

Light breeze for Saturday’s first race, maybe 5 to 7 or so, and from the Northwest. To which the locals say; “it never does that”. By the end of the first beat we are relieved to see that the bent mast is no issue, we have boat speed. When the pack made it back down to the leeward mark the wind went to about 1, when it wasn’t 0. RC tried a shortened finish at the weather mark but few made it and the race was abandoned.

Back at the very hot and still club we had the bright idea to hang at the Marriott pool, where Jim and Richard are staying. Yes, Jim Egan and Richard E. are back! Another group of travelers including Ron, Barry, John D. Terry, Mark and Dawn were staying at a nearby condo, they had the pool idea too. Upon meeting up at Flanagan’s for dinner we learned that there pool was hot so they retired to the cool a/c in the condo and watched porn. Hmmm...... We have no pictures of that!

Sunday morning is nice and somewhat cool. The weather forecast was for the first cold front of the season to dip down into FL and it felt good. We found a nice 8 knot northerly at the club and the early dark clouds seemed to be dissipating. A promising day. As we head out the Dinner Key Channel we notice some bumps way out toward the east and southeast. Interesting for a light-ish breeze we think. The plan is for a 10:30 start and 3 races to try to make up for Saturday. The course is about set and at 10:20 we have a 50 degree righty and whitecaps. “Crap!” say the lightweights. After a short postponement the course is reset (and bumpy) and we are underway and hiking. After two good W/L four leggers the pack is tight. Jim and Mark are tied with 5 points while Ron, John and I are tied with 7 points. The third race was shortened to two legs, with a mile beat. Jim jumped out to the right and grabbed a bullet and the regatta! Congratulations to Jim and Richard! Mark and Dawn finished second and John and Terry were third. Good job to all.

Here is a summary of the scores; 1-Jim 6 pts, 2-Mark 9, 3-John 13, 4-Bob McElwain 13, 5-Ron 14, 6-Dave 15, 7-Tom McNally 19, 8-Vladimir Stroleny 21, 9-Larry Ames 28, 10- Bud Price 30, 11-Larry Whipple 33, 12-Henry Bernstein 33, 13- Ryan Alexander 39, 14-Henry Picco 44.

Mark your calendar for our next district championship regatta in Sarasota Nov. 5-6. It will be great to see the big crowd in Sarasota.

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Great Time for a New Flying Scot !!

The Adams Cup is about a month away which means a dozen or so new Flying Scots will be ready for the regatta and their new owners. As of now, there are a couple boats available so if you are itching this could be good chance to save big. Here is the official word;

Flying Scot, Inc. is pleased to provide eleven new Flying Scots to the 2011 Adams Cup finals at Lake Norman Yacht Club near Charlotte, NC. These boats will not have been sailed prior to the event and could be picked up after the event in October 2011. Ordering one of these boats now with a deposit makes it possible for you to get into a new Flying Scot at a great price. Place your order early to pick your colors and save on accessories. Boats will be assigned on a first come first served basis. These boats are race rigged and are complete with anchor, paddle and compass. They are also complete with main, jib and spinnaker sails, galvanized trailer and tie-down rig. Delivery to other areas may be available at an additional cost. Details of how these boats will be rigged are as follows: Flying Scot complete Mad main, jib and spinnaker – AirX spinnaker - white with two color stripes Galvanized trailer and tie-down Mast hinge Jib sheet cleated on seat with Harken auto ratchet 2:1 jib sheet rig 360 swivel cleat for centerboard Ronstan X-10 fixed h-o stick Mainsheet – 5/16 polypro - rigged 3:1 with Harken Carbo blocks Spinnaker rig and spinnaker pole Two rings on mast for pole Spinnaker halyard led aft with take-up reel Spinnaker guy hooks on deck with cleats at chainplates Spinnaker sheets – ¼” Ultra-lite - internal system with self-ratchet cheek blocks under seat Spinnaker turtles on forward seat corners Outhaul – 6:1 internal wire Cunningham system led aft to console Vang – 12:1 cascade purchase led aft to console cleat Pole lift – 2:1 - led through deck to console cleat Pole downhaul – shock cord through deck Mast head fly Break-away rudder blade hold down pin Ritchie compass and mount Safety equipment - anchor & line, paddle, cushion, whistle, bucket & chamois Price complete $19,826.00 Less Adams 2011 discount – 15% - 2,973.90 $16,852.10 Class measurement certificates for hull and sails 85.00 Freight to Lake Norman Yacht Club, Mooresville, NC 200.00 Total price delivered $17,137.10 Deposit of approximately 50% ($8,600.00) due with the order and balance due on delivery following the 2011 Adams finals October 10, 2011. Order early and save! Order by September 1, 2011 and get the first $100 in accessories free. Prices are subject to change without notice. Freight is approximate and subject to change with rising fuel prices.

Looks like a lot of cool stuff for only 17+, plus it is already in NC for easy pick up or ready for the Fall 48. Operators are standing by......

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The wrap-up

Monday, August 15

Last night, around 10:00, we decided to stop in Brunswick, GA. Hilton Head will have to wait for another trip when we’ve planned ahead a little better. The Golden Isles area is nice and if you don’t mind driving a bit, there are quite a few food choices at Exit 38. We noticed more fast food options closer to hotels and the highway at Exit 36A. Dave is also pleased with the results of the highway improvement work that has been going on seemingly forever in this area.

Today’s destination is our backup Walt (Disney) reservation in Orlando. On this trip, we decided to take an extra day of recovery/vacation—woo hoo!! We thought we might be exploring Hilton Head or Savannah today...maybe next time. Walt’s places are always dependably comfortable, and it will be a relaxing day for us. The Yacht/Beach Club has an excellent pool area and that’s where we plan to spend most of our time.

By 12:30 we’re beering and lunching by the pool, as planned, forgetting about the afternoon gym workout—oops. The pool has a neat current that pushes you around different areas and there is a fun slide! Even fun for adults!

Dinner at Big River Grill and Brewing Co. (you all KNOW the key word in the name of the restaurant for us!) Nachos for dinner, we haven’t had them in a while, yum! Post dinner fireworks at Epcot were actually viewed from the bridge on the Epcot side of the lake behind the Beach Club. Thought we might have been able to see them from the balcony of our room, but the view was obscured.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A little sleeping in, an am gym workout and poolside recovery set us up for a nice departure. Walt has some excellent workout areas, the one at Old Key West is a bit small, and under-equipped, but the others have fulfilled our expectations. By 10:30 we were packed up and out before the 11:00 checkout time.

We were definitely looking forward to seeing the girls. We missed them a lot. Carol seems to like them, she takes great care of them, and all 4 dogs get along well. Home by 2:00 and it’s nice to be home. Puppies had a bath, and we spent the afternoon catching up on the “homework” and laundry

Another great trip 

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fishing Bay Annual regatta part 2

August 14, 2011
Sunday

Again, today, we were the first ready to launch! Even before the tractor guys were ready for us! When does this happen? Who ARE these Thinels, really? We made a smooth transition to the leeward side of the dock, and waited. And waited, and waited, for the RC to decide where to set the course. The wind kept building and the radar showed thunderstorms coming.
While we were on the ramp side of the street, John A. / John W. and Johnny K. / Joey B. used the hoist on the other side of the street where calmer waters prevailed. A shroud started failing as the Johns hit a wave on their way out to the course, and with little time to spare, in true Team Mad Sails fashion, Dave came through with a spare shroud that ended up working, John and John speedily replaced it at the dock and off they went. Good thing, too, they had a race/regatta to win! The Magic House Team Mad Sails worked excellent juju for first and second today. Johnny K. and Joey B. kept it tight with Mr Hubbard and son as the lead traded places throughout the race among the 3 boats.
Good work to all who raced today.
Forgot to mention that the 2nd race yesterday was thrown out. Bummer for JK and JB as they won it! Also, there was this crazy haze in the air yesterday, and even though we didn’t hear about it on the radio or TV (it was a fairly media-free weekend…nice!) we heard from some locals that the Great Dismal Swamp was afire! With the wind from the south, it sent gray air our way. It was very interesting, and quite unexpected when you licked your lips, you tasted soot!
Today, we had excellent timing, we left after saying good-byes between 12 and 12:30, and around 6:30 a cell of storms crossed I95 just before we arrived in that area of SC.
We were about 150 mi north of Savannah, and the clouds were still dark to our left, but a beautifully bright rainbow was shining through.
I will also say that as I write this on the supremely inferior notebook keyboard that has this annoying curse of the jumping cursor, I miss the clean typing of the desktop at the Wake’s where I was able to enter information without being concerned that my words might be jumbled due to the erratic behavior of the crazy keyboard. Miss you guys, and thanks again for a wonderful stay at the Estate, aka Magic House! It was great spending time with John and Sharon, John and Caroline, and John and Joe (hee hee, that sounds funny). Good times!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Fishing Bay YC Annual Regatta

August 11, Thursday, 2011

Yesterday, Dave noticed the van needed attention and took it to the Honda dealer. UGH..Serpentine belt, another belt and the belt tensioner needed replacing/fixing. At least they weren't busy and things were fixed that day. Seriously, since we were planning to leave Thursday. The guys mentioned the brake pad thickness and replacement needed, Dave called BS on that and said no, thank you.
Thursday, am: Boat loaded, cages and dogs, supplies and luggage in tow, as we're making a stop in Orlando to drop the pups at the dogsitter. They love to ride in the van. Carol (dogsitter) has a lovely Golden Retriever, Lucy, and a small white dog...Maya maybe? The girls have stayed with Carol a few times and she was recommended to us through the kind folks at HoundHaven. She volunteers there. Lucy loves to lean into you and hold hands. Small white dog...doesn't like much.
Leaving Tampa, an accident in the opposite direction stops traffic for several miles. We were pretty thankful that we weren't heading West.

Noon-
Successful dog droppage. Lucy looks cute with her summer 'do. Little white dog, Mia (I was close) also with a close-cropped do, happy in the warm weather.

Interestingly, the paper mentioned the Persied meteor shower this weekend. May be a late night Fri or Sat to observe. A full moon is also scheduled. Wondering the significance (when you're driving many miles, you get to thinking about many things), might be fun to see some fireworks in the night sky.

For this trip we are reading the "Burning Wire" by some guy named Deaver.
It is amazing how quickly time goes by when you're fascinated by the law enforcement and forensics teams solving crimes of a perpetrator who is motivated to kill using the electric grid flowing through NYC. At 3:00 pm I was thinking how long it took for the clock to advance to 3:20. Then the action in the book started taking off and it was 7:00pm before I knew it.
Dave had a conference call, we had to stop for gas and got a Frosty and Fries to go...irresistable.

Decided on Exit 121 in NC as our destination for the evening. There were several hotels, and we grbbed coupons from the Visitor's Center, to score the best non-priceline deal. Fairfield did the bait and switch but Country Inn and Suites came through with the 64.99 thing so we were happy. several good experiences with them in the recent past so that is a heads up for travelers.


Friday August 12.
Excellent stay at the Country Inn and Suites in Wilson, NC. Met some friendly folks in town for a family reunion.
9:00 am Fueled up and ready to go! Mapquest says about than 3.5 hours-Fun!


John Wake routinely checks our progress, "Are you there, yet?" (Paying homage to Hans) Nice to have a homing beacon guiding us in.
We're on the home stretch, Hwy 33 to Deltavile. The corn is so dry, very sad. All the houses are red brick or white. A new observation: we didn't recall Crepe Myrtles growing so large here on our last trip. Soy beans are looking good, not nearly as dry as the corn. I thought I may have been exaggerating during blog posts on our first trip up (NACs '07) but, really, there is a lot of corn!
The Wakes have generously offered us a place to stay, as well. We are super fortunate to be so close to the club. Sweet setup, excellent home. Definitely a HUGE staircase up from the Dockside (aka Taj Mahal) Inn.
12:00 noon! Beer me! We're in!
The Wake's house was built on the land that has been in the Wake family for generations. Family settled here from England and Dad was born on this site. The present house was built in '92. I noticed a town named Wake on the map and John said it was named for his grandfather's cousin. There's a post office there, and on a reunion, a picture was taken of the family in the building. He said it was a good thing the family wasn't any bigger! They wouldn't have fit!

Saturday, August 13, 2010

First day of racing. Who ever knew the Thinels to be the first folks out of the house, to the boat, in the water and on the end of the dock on a day of racing. Crazy talk, right there, but it was true.
John and Sharon have been excellent hosts. Food, lodging, friendship, a nice run this am, without deer, though. At the club, the wind was light when we splashed the boat, but I was dismayed to feel the wind increase as we waited to for the Skipper's meeting.
We feel that we live in the Magic House! John Wake and John Aras were first in the first race, John Kreidler and Joe Brake were 2nd and we were third. sweet! While we waited, and waited, and waited for the race committee to set the course and start the 2nd race, the sea breeze increased and Dave and I were concerned about how this next race would go. I don't know the exact results, but John K and Joe B were first, John A and Wake were third and we were also in the single digits to finish. I'm tickled. Afterall there were several capsizes and breeze is not out thing so, all good.The race committee finished us for the day, but we had some discussion on our boat about being ready for the next race. I was concerned about being able to jibe downwind, but we hung to make sure the day was finished.
phew.
Back to the house, into the pool and John K made some serious margeritas. Love this place. An hour till dinner back at the club...we'll see how it all washed out. Later...

Friday, July 22, 2011

New Flying Scots - ON SALE

Flying Scot, Inc. is pleased to provide eleven new Flying Scots to the 2011 Adams Cup finals at Lake Norman Yacht Club near Charlotte, NC. These boats will not have been sailed prior to the event and could be picked up after the event in October 2011. Ordering one of these boats now with a deposit makes it possible for you to get into a new Flying Scot at a great price. Place your order early to pick your colors and save on accessories. Boats will be assigned on a first come first served basis. These boats are race rigged and are complete with anchor, paddle and compass. They are also complete with main, jib and spinnaker sails, galvanized trailer and tie-down rig.
Delivery to other areas may be available at an additional cost. Details of how these boats will be rigged are as follows:
Flying Scot complete
Mad main, jib and spinnaker – AirX spinnaker - white with two color stripes
Galvanized trailer and tie-down
Mast hinge
Jib sheet cleated on seat with Harken auto ratchet
2:1 jib sheet rig
360 swivel cleat for centerboard
Ronstan X-10 fixed h-o stick
Mainsheet – 5/16 polypro - rigged 3:1 with Harken Carbo blocks
Spinnaker rig and spinnaker pole
Two rings on mast for pole
Spinnaker halyard led aft with take-up reel
Spinnaker guy hooks on deck with cleats at chainplates
Spinnaker sheets – ¼” Ultra-lite - internal system with self-ratchet cheek blocks under seat
Spinnaker turtles on forward seat corners
Outhaul – 6:1 internal wire
Cunningham system led aft to console
Vang – 12:1 cascade purchase led aft to console cleat
Pole lift – 2:1 - led through deck to console cleat
Pole downhaul – shock cord through deck
Mast head fly
Break-away rudder blade hold down pin
Ritchie compass and mount
Safety equipment - anchor & line, paddle, cushion, whistle, bucket & chamois
Price complete $19,826.00
Less Adams 2011 discount – 15% - 2,973.90
$16,852.10
Class measurement certificates for hull and sails 85.00
Freight to Lake Norman Yacht Club, Mooresville, NC 200.00
Total price delivered $17,137.10
Deposit of approximately 50% ($8,600.00) due with the order and balance due on delivery following the 2011 Adams finals October 10, 2011.
Order early and save!
Order by August 1, 2011 and get up to $300 in free accessories. Order by September 1, 2011 and get the first $100 in accessories free.
Prices are subject to change without notice. Freight is approximate and subject to change with rising fuel prices.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

NAC Series Day 3 Final

Final race of the series in the Chamber of Commerce conditions we had been expecting on Long Island Sound: warm, lovely, 6 knots of breeze, sunshine. We got the old boat revved up and brought a little game to the day.

One general recall, and then one five-legged race in which the leaders switched positions back and forth between Al and Katie, Andrew and Jackson (an especially Southern team), with the Goughs, us, and Team Morgan nipping at their heels.

Al and Katie won the race, followed by the Goughs, and then photo finish put Andrew ahead of us (by about one foot, according to the RC), giving him the championship over Al and Katie by a single point. Tight racing up top! For the regatta, the Goughs finished third, John Aras and John Wake (skipper John is a master, btw – AND he dated Dave Perry’s sister. Cool the stuff you learn in the parking lot) we shook into fifth place, and stable-mates Team Pletsch finished sixth. Way to represent, Florida.

As always, the awards ceremony is quite a spectacle: the class has folks sign for every perpetual trophy, and there are a LOT of perpetual trophies. Al and Katie got a beautiful silver teapot trophy among the loot, which might have been for top family with female aboard? Anyway, it was a big vanload of prizes, expertly expedited by John Cooke, one of the best MCs in the biz.

Wonderful regatta. Sorry it’s over. Jeff was offering flyfishing lessons early this morning -- (ten and two Ryan! ten and two!), so the week is complete (fishing at least once every seven days). We’ve packed up the various bits and bobs (extra mast for Mark and Dean and Judy – check. Bow-bag for Ed – check. Bikes – check. Lawn furniture – check. Small dog – trick question. She’s always packed and ready), and flirted with the idea of trading the Mighty Majestic in on a less seasoned model from Harry Carpenter. We said our au reviors, had a last cocktail hour with Donny Brennan and Josh Goldman and Andrew and Jackson. We are hopeful that Andrew and Jackson will have a pleasant adventure in Manhattan and that we won't get the call for bail should any such call be needed.

Tomorrow the less scenic route home down the big highway---maybe. We’ll see what mood strikes us and the GPS gal Beatrice.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

NAC Series Day 2

Seems as if no matter where in the world we go, the hosts of any given sailboat race declaim loudly, “It’s NEVER like this here!” At Cedar Point YC – no one even begins to suggest that Long Island Sound won’t throw everything and anything at us. It’s always like that here…

Flying Scot Championship Racing Day 2

In the overall Winnebago adventure clock, this is Day 9.

So today, after the sailing predictions suggested that either there would be a fading Northerly dying and backing into a sea-breeze, or that the sea-breeze would kill the remaining cold front wind, or that it wasn’t nearly as windy off shore as on it. Bull. It was windy all day long.

Windy so that we even had some nice downwind runs today. And we had some holes going upwind. And there were streaks of shifted wind that could open passing lanes for people brave and lucky enough to give them a shot.

The results? Oh, I can explain. We had a rotten first race, and were lucky to end up with only 19 points. A giant cone of confusion must have settled over our mast overnight. Maybe it was the revenge of the lobster Jeff ate. Perhaps we just got, as Steve Davis says, Beflustercated. In any case, we came off the line at the pin-end in traffic and watched in noisy frustration as the right side of the course – the place we just couldn’t get to – had a big old lift in breeze. See yuh! We might have been in the 30s around the top mark. Blah blah blah, broken gooseneck track (BANG! Followed by a chorus of “oh crap, what was that??”) blah blah blah no passing lanes, no pressure, blah blah blah, deleted expletive, finishing downwind in 19th.

Luckily, Mr. Linton is no stranger to fixing problems on a boat without much equipment. That piece of fuzzy line we’d been using to tie up the main at the dock? Perfect for lashing the boom gooseneck to what was left of the track that holds it onto the mast. We watched it dubiously as we got ready for the second start. Then of course we forgot about it. This is racing. Go until it breaks, right?

Second race, we started at the pin, and despite a few moments where it looked questionable, made a one-tack beat of it, bee-lining for the dark sign of breeze along the shore. We rounded the top mark in WHOOHOO fourth place, and then hung on throughout the five legs to finish in fourth.

Andrew Eagan led the whole way, but our own Team Pletsch of Sarasota finished in second that race, edging out Al and Katie at the finish line by the power of starboard tack. Mighty black boat ahoy!

There was some carnage: I saw a couple of trailer-wheels-over-toes (ouch! No blood), plenty of bumps and oopsies at the dock, which is only natural given the ratio of Scot to dock divided by Junior Sailing boat. Watery carnage: at one point I looked upwind to see what looked like bookends in the water way off in the distance: a matched pair of flipped Scots. According to my Challenger-fleet mole, the two bookended boats turned out to be Mark and Maria Brenner, and Sandy and Keith Eustis – and then Sandy got a hand squished between mast and powerboat during retrieval. No hospital visit, so we are hopeful it’s a minor squish. Got a glimpse of it, and ouch: there is blue bruise on his palm AND on top of the hand.

He doesn't need this. Brian Hayes is calling the class upstairs for the annual meeting. I claimed this time to explore the wonders of Blender Bob’s contraption. As I mentioned earlier, this started life as a Thistle. ("Best use of a Thistle EVER," says Capt Winnebago) Powered by a gas two-stroke ("Sounds like your lawn man is bringing you a pina colada," John Aras), that runs half a dozen industrial-strength blenders. RPM control is like on a motorbike: throttle grip action!






On the other side of the contraption is a music center and my all-time-favorite technical device name, the BU 350 by American DJ, which is, of course, an automated bubble blower. It can even blow technicolor bubbles, which leaves my favorite clown joke WIDE open. (Ask me!)

Of course, hanging from a yardarm (All boats should have at least one, right?) is, of course, the piece de resistance: a disco ball. Just add liquid refreshment and you have yourself every excuse for excess and party!


One more race tomorrow -- if the wind doesn't completely crap out, which is what we have been promised. We are expecting it to blow 20.

NAC Series Day 1

Math question: with two sailboat races with five legs each, what are the chances that each of the six upwind legs saw puffy conditions up to 15 knots, while the downwind legs each took place in 3 knots? Yeah, that’s just odd...

The Real Racing Begins: Flying Scot North American Championships Day 1

(Day 8 of our adventure)

More strange NW conditions, with the breeze both spotty and shifty. We finished with a 4 and a 7th, which puts us 8 points out of the top, Andrew Eagan (of the fleet Eagan clan of New Orleans) is up there, as is Katie and Al Terhune, John and John, the Goughs and Josh Goldman. Most everyone had to battle back to their spot: we got to the first windward mark in about 30th, having gambled on the wrong puff, but then, managed to sail like Buffalo Girls (‘round the outside, ‘round the outside) to pinch off a pack or two before the fans turned back on for the upwind leg.

The boat seems to be going well: we adjusted the shroud tension up, and then down, though because the wind is so uppy-downy, it’s a gamble.

Ira Cohen took himself home before racing yesterday – a medical problem, which meant that Paul Abdullah had to retrace his Odyssey. With luck, Paul won’t have seventeen stops on the flight back home to Jax. Who knew there was a Delta local flight that takes on passengers in both LaGuardia and JFK!

Kris Smith’s boat took a mighty thunking pre-race, though I think everybody bounced back safe and still floating. Race organizer and man-about-town John Cooke lost a spin halyard in the second race, but managed to hold position not so badly going downwind with jib and main.

Two races today and the banquet tonight.

I write this on Thursday morning: two races plus the lobster/chicken dinner on Sprite Island took me out of the writing game yesterday.

Monday, July 11, 2011

2011 NAC Qualifying

Damn, Amy's updates were piling up on me a little. I'll try to do better. Zero excuses.

Today, Monday, (Day 6) started with the sunshine and heat as promised. 80 Flying Scots to hoist into the water. Ten o'clock harbor start, a cast of thousands of volunteers. No problem. But wait -- there is no plan that can't "gang aftly," as the phrase goes. In the case of this morning's start: just add 60 junior sailors. HOLD the PHONE, everybody. There is only so much dock space, and since it was a millpond –– but MILLpond -- on Long Island Sound, the Scots waited for the pram kids to be hauled off to their corner of the water.

Seriously: small, duckweek-covered millpond flat. Skating rink flat. So flat that the haze in the distance obscured any horizon and it looked like a big sheet of whitish poster paper. So flat –– well, I've seen pancakes with more waves. Nice news was that the boat traffic was way down. Must be some poor saps have to go to work this week. That must suck.

Isn't gloating just so unbecoming and vulgar?

On shore postponement lasted until noon and a little. Our first shift: waiting until nearly everyone was in the water before we put the Mighty Majestic into line.

We sailed out to the racecourse in under five knots, making note of the current at every opportunity. I got about an hour of quality helm time (I never drive, but today I needed a little horizon-therapy, until the ginger brew kicked in. Go figure. Flat as all that, and still my sandwich wants to make a reappearance.) The wind faded, streaked, faded some more, and the race committee showed patience and restraint while waiting for the conditions to improve.

The hand-held radio proved entertaining: I am not sure which chase-boat was doing the reporting, but at one point, the report for the race officer went like this: "We are seeing a lot of current out here. It's –– the current is bodacious out here." Later, same voice reports in: "The wind is looking pretty dank over here."

There was a near-heat-stroke moment, but Brian Hayes (on a powerboat) saved the day with a ball-cap full of ice and some cold bottles of water for the sufferer.

Sure enough, the wind eventually piped back up to around five and then a touch more for the first race. The tide was setting downwind, so the starting line was fairly easy to cross on time. The course was W-L-W-L, with a gate and an offset mark. Five minute sequences. We started in the second flight, split sides with John Aras/John Wake, and they put the boots to it: a hundred yard lead that never shortened up much. We finished happy with a second place. Trying to sail conservatively (no over-earlies, and do some smart course-management so that nobody gets too far out of touch), but more often than not choosing the wrong sides, we were delighted with the boatspeed and point. A fairly loose rig and the beautiful new jib felt great upwind. Going downwind, we felt pretty good too.

We were in the first flight for the second race. The RC set us a W-L-W-L-W course, and the wind shifted right during the starting sequence -- enough that it was a challenge to get over the line on starboard. But again. patience prevailed, and the RC blew off that start and reset the line. We'd expected a right shift all afternoon, as the sea-breeze seems to come in at around 240, but the wind built ––maybe 8? We were hiking –– and shifted around a bit both ways, though by the second upwind leg, the RC had moved the windward mark to the right.

Andrew Eagan proved untouchable in our flight, pulling a solid horizon job on the gang. We finished with another deuce, and went to shore happy. Plus Brian Hayes was handing out beers just after the finish, and you know that's bound to put a smile on anyone's face.

On shore, the Dave Perry seminar is happening as I type. The little dog needed some attention, and once back in the Winnie, I found it really really hard to step back outside and take the bike back to the YC. It's less than a quarter mile, but by golly, I think I am done for the night. Time to recharge.

Tomorrow's forecast is for thunderstorms. The race organizers re-scheduled the clam bake on Sprite Island from tomorrow to Wednesday. We'll be using the older jib for tomorrow's one race. Aim for a top-twenty finish and and sail right into the Championship fleet...and then start all over again, like Markie Taylor says.

2011 NAC Prep

Day 4, Saturday, July 9, Flying Scot North American Championships: Measurement

Cedar Point YC is just buzzing with activity. Flying Scots arriving, getting unhitched from their cars, and then whisked away by the excellent big team of volunteers in lime green shirts as the drivers and co-pilots tumble out of the cars, full of stories about the drive. (Overheard: There is NOTHING like taking a trailer on the cross-Bronx Expressway first thing in the morning!) Today, our road-trip turned into a regatta.

Here's how it goes –– Since the Flying Scot is a one-design class, the boats come from the factory resembling one another pretty closely. Then, as this skipper decides to replace that part, or relocated that cleat, or run those lines a different way, or make that bit smoother or flatter or whatever, the boats diverge. And at official regattas like this one, the class has to make sure that the boats all measure back into the class standard. Has a boat gotten too light? Has the centerboard changed shape? Are the sails the right size?

There are a couple of measurement stations set up at Cedar Point, including one for the sails and one for the hull, and then a team of folks going boat to boat. Reminiscent of the Lightning Worlds in Ecuador, when the yacht club employees wore yellow shirts marked "marinera," the lime green tees for the regatta staff are hugely distinctive. They are helping step masts, checking measurements, offering cold drinks, and generally making folks feel welcome.

So far, aside from the usual small kerfluffle about the fatness of the centerboard (there's always some controversy about how the measurement team decides to measure it: calipers? jig? measuring tape?), which will result in somebody having to take a grinder to a board to slim it down. Same as ever, it looks like quite a few centerboards need to go the Red Door Slim-down Spa. There are lots and lots of helping hands, which makes the whole process speed along.

The weather is great: sunny, breezy, and warm, and it's good to see so many familiar faces. Cameron is growing curly hair on her cute little bean.

File under "Crew, Motley"

Here's the short story on Kelly Gough's adventures: yesterday, within 45 minutes of the club, Kelly was gliding up I-95 on the absolute home stretch of his 1800-mile solo odyssey from Texas. In the left lane when Bang! the axel on the trailer breaks. He brings the rig to a halt in the scant left emergency lane-ette, assesses the situation, and then manages to unload the boat so that he can jack up the trailer and get the axel off the ground and have the whole thing cranked onto a tow truck that is supposed to be arriving sometime soon. 18-wheelers blowing by at top speed. Road dirt everywhere. Kelly's life flashing before his eyes. He's under the boat when a particularly powerful gust of air from a passing truck lifts the boat and trailer and sets it back down 6 inches to the side. Kelly admitted to screaming like a girl, scrambling out from under it, and then having to nerve himself back up to finish the job. Yes, he thought about leaving it on the side of the road. Yes, he said he never wants to drive on 95 again. Yes, the tow truck hauled it all back to Jersey, where a crack team of welders put it all back together in an hour and a half better than before, for a couple of Benjamins. You gotta hand that to Jersey -- they got hustle! Kelly's potential adventures are still going: while hoisting the boat on the lift, some quick-thinking observer noticed that his lifting bridle (the wire or rope thingie used to raise the boat from its trailer) was unravelling. Mercifully, they got the boat back down before gravity applied herself. (Overheard: Holy Crap, THAT would have sucked.) Knock wood that Kelly has taken all the close calls for everyone already this week.


Sunday July 10, 2011 Day 5

Flying Scot North American Championships:

Conditions on Long Island Sound are nearly identical today to the warm, humid weather we left in Tampa: wind at around 7 knots, plenty of big chop from powerboats, and a strong tidal pull under the bright sunshine.

The Women’s and Junior’s North American Championships are going on as I type. Meant to sail the Women’s with Monica Trejo, but it turns out that the skipper must be a boat-owner. I am categorically not prepared to drive, though –– bless her good heart –– Monica was willing to crew for me.

Instead, Mr. Linton decided to splash the boat, try out the new Gus sails from Bill Draheim, and check out conditions around the racecourse. We were sad not to see Hans Noordenhaus, though several folks sported orange in honor of our Netherlander friend. Amy Miller’s toenails, for instance, are safety orange, though regrettably, I didn’t catch it on film.

We sailed out the harbor and directly into the reef area at the top end of the Womens-Juniors racecourse. Nice race committee (Thanks Nelson!) chased us down to tell us we were okay for now –– but when the tide dropped, the rocks under our boat would be about out of the water. We rolled right into a tack and got the heck out of there. That’s some critical local knowledge.

The new jib looks nice and crisp, so we rolled it back up to save it for later in the week. The new spinnaker looks equally fresh and lovely. We felt a little off the pace: plenty of point but not much punch, as the phrase goes. Our head-stay was fairly tight, so the skipper decided to loosen the rig. Since the process involves removing a pin to disconnect one of the shrouds, and then replacing that pin while the mast wavers around (not quite as hazardous as changing a tire on the fly, but sort of similar), I was relieved when he opted to make the change on shore.

We sailed with John Aras and John Wake from Fishing Bay and with John Kredler from North Carolina (we hit a patch of Johns, evidently) for about an hour or so and came back around 3 pm. From what we can see, the tide is going to play, and there will be a lot of competitive boats on the field.

Given how bumpy the water is (though one might hope it’s Sunday traffic as much as anything), I’m glad to have laid in a supply of ginger brew. For years, I have felt yurpy as we start sailing. I blamed it on the migraines, the pbj, the weather, or my own bad attitude. But during the sail back from Honduras with Jeff’s papa (what an adventure THAT was), I realized what I was feeling was eerily like sea-sickness. Totally like sea-sickness. Really, just like sea-sickness. Oh. Wow. Duh.

The answer: powdered ginger brew from the Asian market mixed with Gatorade. Sip, sip, sip, and no more yurping.

I am a terrible reporter of the racing news, sad to say. I don’t know how many races they got off, or how it shook out; I can only report that Melanie Dunham took the top spot among the Women's NAs. I think the Flying Scot website should have results for Womens and Youths posted shortly.

Opening ceremonies were yummy: lots of homemade appetizers, vast stores of beer, soda, water, and the best use of a Thistle yet: six blenders, a bubble maker, a disco ball, a head into which one pours ice, a stereo, all built into an old Thistle on a trailer. It even has a license plate. I hope to capture the glory by camera later in the week.

Qualifying races start tomorrow. There are four divisions (a, b, c, d). Each will face off to determine which boats will sail in the Championship fleet or the Challenger fleet on Wednesday. The class also reserves the right to boot a normally high-performing boat into the division they think it deserves, which is kind of an interesting twist on the idea of a qualifying series.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

2011 NAC, Getting There

The 2011 NAC is being hosted in Westport CT, which lies on Long Island Sound. We aren't going this year but our friends Amy and Jeff Linton are so we will be posting Amy's account of the adventure. In case you don't know, Amy is a writer, the kind that earns a living from it. So you will want to check in here frequently to get the scoop.

One note; Amy has including some pics that do not cut and paste very well. "Cut and Paste" is the preferred lazy persons way of stealing, oops, I mean sharing, others peoples work. I'll try to pop some pics in but.... Maybe I'll will include some of my own pics, they will have nothing to do with the story but it might be fun.

This first post will be about the trip from Tampa, Florida to Westport, CT. The Lintons travel right; a Winnabago, about 25 feet, Scot in tow with a dog inherited from Amy's mom. So here goes;

Flying Scot NAC’s

Chapter One: Preparation is 9/10ths of the Law

The Winnie being gassed up, packed to the gills, festooned with bicycles and trailing a stout, well-wrapped Flying Scot, we set off a little after 7 pm on Wednesday, July 6.

We’ve been doing this for a while. Probably 300 road-trips towing a small boat. Even more for Captain Winnebago, who has, after all, been heading out for regattas for thirty-some years.

Nevertheless, there’s always a bit of mad scramble. This time, we almost-but-not-quite-forgot the hand-held radio. About two days from now, I will declare, THAT is what I forgot. We live in hope that it’s not too critical an item. Once, in the Bahamas, I neglected to pack toothbrushes. The nearest store was on Staniel Key, an hour or so away by outboard. The store was rumored be open for business a couple of hours some days a week, so we made the trip. On Staniel, which is all blinding bright rock and skittering lizards and the occasional lush plant, I was delighted to walk into that cool, dark store and pay $5 US per toothbrush.

Even knowing better, I once forgot to pack any fleece for him when he was sailing the Pan Am Trials in Rochester NY in August. For heaven’s sake, the man freezes at 70 degrees. It’s Lake Ontario, a body of water I swam from April to November all through my childhood. It’s always going to be too cold for him. Poor thing. Cold front came through, and in photos he has the expression of one of the survivors of the Endurance expedition.



And why didn’t he pack his own dang gear? Divide and conquer, that’s what we have learned after 300 or more trips: I handle the on-shore logistics, the luggage, the clothing choices; he prepares the boat and the car, does the lion’s share of driving, and never complains.

This time, we are driving to Westport CT, to the Cedar Point Yacht Club where we and somewhere around 70 or so Flying Scots will compete for the North American Championship on a little bit of Long Island Sound.

Captain Winnebago tells me that if it’s going to be really windy, stormy, cold, nasty on the Sound –– then by golly, we are heading to Maine. This is an empty promise. But it works on my imagination anyway. I want to sail, yet I am soothed and charmed by the idea of just haring off into Maine. Us, cozy in our boxy little cottage on wheels, heading into the North woods. Blueberries. Bar Harbor. Ahhh. Alas. Never gonna happen this trip.

We have a new addition to the on-board gang. Aside from the Captain and his trusty snactition (me), and the charming small dog, we have a new GPS. Old Alice did great for years but like so many of us, she got a little forgetful and tired. She seemed on the verge of going Mayhem on us http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=140261009364622

The new gal –– Beatrice, Berniece? we aren't sure yet -– has an uncertain accent. Not quite our preferred British English. As Leslie Fisher says, a British accent goes a long way to making an insult bearable. (Imagine Julie Andrews telling you to go piss up a rope.)

The new GPS gal talks a lot more than Alice. She announces that the exit will be to the left. She tells us the name of the road we’ll be taking. She also, in a shirty sort of way, asks us to return to the marked route. What?? We are pulling into the Starck, FL Super Wal-Mart for the night. “Return to marked route,” she repeats, sarcasm evident in her flat tone.

“Keep your pants on,” Captain Winnebago tells the machine, “it’s time to tuck in for the night.”

Chapter Two

On the Road Again, Naturally.

Saw a pair of bluebirds at the Welcome Center in Georgia: bright, cheerful scraps of denim blue and rust that ––inevitably ––made me think, oh look! Blue birds of happiness!

It’s refreshing, going along I-95, to see LIFE wildlife. Some years ago, my sister and I made the run from Florida to Clayton, NY towing a U-Haul. The trip was one long Ab-X workout: we found everything hilarious. My sister (Sarah Ellen Smith Artist...http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarah-Ellen-Smith-Artist/176965461051) does a great line in journals; for that trip we kept a road-kill diary, thick with descriptions of road-jerky, possible possums, skunk strips. Outside Wilkes-Barre, PA, something larger than the run-of-the-mill butterfly and dragonfly thunked on the windshield. I looked up, startled. “Tinkerbell,” my sister said matter-of-factly, pointing to the smear.

The Captain and I are trying not to keep track, but these trips have their deathly highlights. This one started with a big black pig that went to dirt along the road to Ruskin, with a flight of black vultures like dirty angels gathered to sing him home. A mysterious soft thump might have been a bat at dusk last night hitting the side of the Winnie. While I was typing, Captain Winnebago spotted a rare family grouping of armadillo road-kill. Usually they seem to find their way solo to their ends.

On Thursday, July 7, we split tacks with I-95. Since our top speed is around 65, we figure it’s worth an extra hour or two to take a calmer, longer route North. This way, we avoid Washington and then we miss the majority of Jersey. Last time we took the Parkway (or was it the Turnpike?), the road was so bumpy and rutted that we scraped the skeg of the Lightning. Nice –– and had to pay for the privilege of jouncing along that road.

Instead, we are swinging past Charlotte –– ooh! I say, I saw that same amusement park from the air last week –– and following 81 for a while. We’ll hang a right at some point to get to the Atlantic. But for now, it’s this friendly-seeming highway along the hills. If I-95 is the preferred corridor of serial killers (drive it solo in an unreliable sedan once or twice and you’ll agree), Route 81 is a stomping ground for amateur highway-drivers. Folks who talk to you at rest-areas. People who stay right unless passing. People who point at the hills, the cows, the vistas, as they zip along the pavement. This particular route number seems like home to me, even down here in tobacco barn country.

The Winnie is chugging up the hills with a will so far. The gas bill is staggering, and the new GPS gal, Berniece, has the unsettling ability to tell us the dollar amount it costs to get to a waypoint. Yoiks. Jeff listened to Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersson while I wrote. We had snacks. Lilly slept and neglected to eat her breakfast until dinnertime.

Berniece did a fantastic job of finding us a berth for the night: Buchanan, Virginia is near the Jefferson National Forest. The Middle Creek Campground is a mere six miles from the highway, along a lovely twisty road. Ahh. Electric hookup. Fishing pond. Wild berry brambles, lightning bugs and bats, and nearly perfect rural silence.

FSNACs Day 3: Lots and lots of driving.

We saw our first woodchucks today. I know –– woodchucks? But it’s not a species we see in Florida. In fact, the first time Captain Winnebago saw one, years back, he was theatrically astonished: “Look, a little furry creature! Bucked up on its hind legs!” Can he possibly be serious?

So many state lines today, July 8. We listened to podcasts of the excellent radio program called Radiolab (http://www.radiolab.org/) and watched as the skies darkened with storms over Maryland. And stayed dark all the rest of the day.

We got five or so CDs into Grave Surprise by Charlene Harris. She wrote the Sookie Stackhouse books, but this is a darker, more suspenseful mystery series.

As we drove through our narrative and atmospheric haze, a flattened galaxy of red giants appeared through the distance: brake-lights. Eschewing our normal Stoic approach to traffic, we bailed immediately. The GPS gal, Berniece, had to have her voice dialed down to zero (“Make a U-Turn. Turn left. Turn right! Ahhh”). In revenge she kept moving our estimated time of arrival one hour out. At one point we were fifty minutes from our destination, but alas, the brake lights appeared and we had to wait it out. Then it was an hour, an hour, an hour from the current time. We were in…the twilight zone.

Still, I write this from the driveway of Josh Goldman’s house. We arrived unscathed, if a little tired of the aggressive drivers (“Bitches!” the Captain was moved to exclaim over and over with no regard to gender). Great to see John Cook’s smiling face at the Cedar Point YC. Excellent to crack an icy chiller and walk the little dog in the misty rain.

Measurement starts tomorrow at 9. We hear the Goughs broke an axel on the Jersey Turnpike. In the left lane. Nightmare! But only four hours worth of delay, which, all things considered, is not bad. And they didn’t get shot. We look forward to hearing about that.


.

Friday, July 8, 2011

NAC Tune-up in Tampa

The Lintons will soon be at the NAC in Long Island Sound so we rescheduled fleet racing to help get them ready. That may seem silly or unecessary to some but they have been busy sailing other boats so it was time to reconnect with the Scot.

The day was July 3 and as you would expect it was HOT in steamy Tampa. We do a mid afternoon start to give a the sea breeze a chance to develop, but it was a little late in arriving. It wasn't exactly a drifter but it was close, the puffs may have been 5 or 6 knots and the lulls were next to nothing.

Tom Taylor was good enough to RC for us and he kicked it off with a few practice starts. Then we did some 4 leg W/L races with the Lintons enjoying some bullets.

Note the smokestacks in the background...


What's this? A new boat for us.


A puff would be really nice right about now.

After 3 races the gang of about 10 Scots along with a 420 and Windmill had had enough, it was pool time. While putting the boats away the term "Africa hot" was discussed and while Paul agreed he quickly added that Africa has less humidity.

So it was off to the pool with a short detour at the outdoor Tiki bar. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

After an hour or so of sipping cocktails in the pool a few of us decided on a format change. For the August gathering we will convene in the pool at 3 pm. that way we can carefully consider whether we remain there or go sailing. Yeah right!

Good luck Amy and Jeff!

Monday, May 23, 2011

The End of the World Fleet Race, Tampa Edition

Nice turnout Fleet 168, 12 Scots and a 420! We had most of the regular customers present, (in no particular order). Al Thompson and Chris Torro #504, Dawn Naramore and Matt Dalton, Dan Kresge #2262, Dave Clement and Ed Ruark # 2925, Mark and Lilly Taylor and Sean Torro #2007, Dave and Kim Thinel #3998, Dave Bell and Susan Cintron #4156, Jeff and Amy Linton #4925, Paul Silvernail and Leslie Fisher #5026.

A Big welcome (or welcome back) to Tom Mcnally and Dave Thompson, #5179, Calvin Reed and daughter (sorry!) # 2069, and Steve Lewis and Mike Bogatin #3020 and Tom and Tracey Single #234.

Our lone 420 was the dynamice duo of Stu and Drew Taylor.

The early arrivers saw their reflections in the bay around noon but based on our weather prediction by Paulie Silvernail (and a light Southwesterly) the fleet shoved off around 1430. It didn't look very promising at first but it started to show sea breeze rather quickly and soon it was game on! We got off a couple pre planned practice races

before Calvins starboard clevis pin vanished. The RC gathered him up (with the help of Dave Clement) and it was back to some full races.

Race one saw 10k and probably increased a bit, this was just what DC and ER ordered and the Weapon was unleased! followed by Jeff and Amy and Tom and Dave. Race two was similar but with Big Al grabbing third. Race two was notable for Tom and Tracey zooming into the windward mark with gusto and ending on their side! # 234 was kept mast tip up by Tracey until RC provided a mast lift. The final race saw Thompson and Torro putting the lumber down followed by the Lintons and Tom and Dave.

All in all a nice day for breezey boat handiling! Have to give props to Mark and Lilly Taylor and Sean for sailing nicely out of their range! Thanks to Randy Luzier for the RC help, would have stunk without you bud!

Post race eats and frolicking poolside was good stuff, lets make this a regular deal, Yes?

Business:

We are way behind on Dues: $ 20. now, dammit.

Next Practice: June 11th, 1500.

Andyman

Monday, May 9, 2011

Great 48, 2011, Lake Norman YC

Friday, May 6, 2011 Dunedin to LNYC

9:15 Breezy morning in Dunedin, just noticing the weather as we drive north. The winds are mostly southeast. There is a front moving in from the Gulf with a line of heavy rain. We are not able to stay ahead of it so we drive in rain for most of the ride in FL. As we head north the weather improves and when we reach SC it is mostly blue skies.

We have Jeff Penfield's FS5318 DAMFINO in tow. Regular readers will remember that Jeff passed a few months ago and the family wanted to move the boat to the summer home in Canada. We formed a plan where we would bring the boat fron Sarasota FL to LNYC. Linda Danilek (Jeffs daughter) would be meeting us at LNYC and would tackle the rest of the journey up north. This will serve to remind me to do a trailer bearing/hub replacement post on this blog in the near future.

Note to self: pay attention to gas prices. On our last few trips up this way we have seen low gas prices in SC. As we drive through GA we are getting a little low but trying to stretch it to make SC. As it becomes obvious that stretching is going to be risky I take an exit where the gas stations are close to the exit. Gasp! They are both charging $4.09 for regular. Bastards are in cahoots! These guys must be learning from OPEC. Where is Obama's gas gouging szar? I swear every other exit was 3 something a gallon. I decide to get only get a few gallons, just out of principle. Once in SC I take a promising exit and to find.... several stations at $3.69. Nice! A small moral victory.

6:40 pm. Finished the first of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy, a supposed best seller. Insert big eye roll here. Its called "The girl with the dragon tattoo" It was one of those slow developing books that was tough to get hooked on, so I guess being trapped in the van for hours was the best way to stick with it. Serial killer tale set in Europe during the mid 1900's, always miserably cold, a bunch of characters you want to see die, the ones that die you wish would live, etc. We finished the thing as we reached the outer circle of highway surrounding Charlotte. So, at least the timing was good.

7:20 pm Anyone hear the cracking open of the first beer? The sun is still fairly high in the sky, and it’s slow-going along Brawley School Rd. – still. Will they ever finish this road project?

Saturday, May 7
Ahh, the late start, a lovely idea for a regatta. We spent the morning saying goodbye to Linda and Roger Danilek, making sure they were A-OK for their trip to Vermont. They had decided not to sail so they could get back home so Roger would not miss school. The car was packed, Damfino in tow. They wanted to make sure we were set with a boat for the weekend, and offered Damfino as the back up boat if the borrowed boat wasn’t available. Fortunately, Bill Ross set us up with a beauty, and we became acquainted with our ride for the weekend. You never know what you’ll get with a borrowed boat, but we ended up with John Slater’s FS4865 so we were in good shape. Thanks to John and Bill for helping us out.

We missed the 11:00 Skipper’s meeting, some bottom scrubbing was in order, but caught up over lunch at noon. Racing was scheduled to start at 1:00, (so civilized!). The RC wisely waited through a bit of a postponement for consistent breeze. Two races were completed in light-ish breeze, then more wind came with some clouds, keeping us on our toes and switching gears.

So far, the top group consists of John and John (Aras and Wake) who are leading by one over Team Dieball (4 pts, and 5 pts). Then with 19 points is Steve Shaw on a borrowed Texas boat with a story (that I couldn’t stick closely enough to hear). Then with 20 points are Harry, Sandy Eustis, Us and Ben Williams. Fun! All three races had close upwind finishes and several places were decided during a last header/lift puff at the finish line. Very exciting! Close enough that we had to wait for the results to be posted to see how they scored us. I think most were surprised to see such soild breeze develop after what looked like a possible drifter.

At registration, we were provided with kilts (wraparound-skirt pieces of plaid material that had been specially cut and held up with twine) and were told to wear them this evening for their strict, “NO KILT, NO SERVICE” policy for the weekend! It was fun and games after racing with a modified Highland Games competition on land with Bocci ball toss, Boom Throwing, and a Barrel toss. Prizes to those who threw the farthest (I think, we were busy testing the local craft brew on tap in the kegerator- someone had to make sure it was safe!). Excellent theme for the Flying Scot sailors and fans. Participants were further entertained by a local bagpiper who played for the happy hour and “Gaming” crowd. Dinner was BBQ pork and sides, we caught up with friends, but, as always, not enough time to talk chat before it was time to rest up for the early morning tomorrow.

Sunday, May 8

Early start for Sunday morning – 9:30 warning signal. Surprisingly, there was breeze on the lake when we arrived to LNYC. The weather folks mentioned 2 kts in town when we checked the TV before leaving the hotel.

It was a cool morning, and, as we’re used to in St. Pete, as the sun rises as well as the temperature, the wind diminishes. Sailing out to the course in a nice southeasterly has us thinking "how long will this last?" By the time the warning signal sounded, it had already lightened considerably. Up the course, it was looking like a serious drifter. In the last minute of the starting sequence, we were on starboard, headed toward the pin, coincidentally; we were also headed toward the club. Very tempting; we chose the club. We had little speed, but we were pointing in the right direction. The race committee signaled another 5 leg race, as they had done Saturday. In the end the race was shortened to 2 legs. Downwind became upwind and it ended with a beat to the finish, for some, a reach for others, and a run for the rest. Local father/son team Chuck and Mark Gise won the only race of the day, Ben Williams and Deb Aronson were 2nd and Harry Carpenter and Adam Keene were 3rd. J&J (5th) ended up in a tie with Dieball (4th) for the regatta. We left before the final results were posted so a link will be added after they are posted at LNYC.

We were able to leave the club around noon. Kim decided to pick up another paperback for the ride home, something light, maybe funny.... Walmart was out of light and funny so, you guessed it, another serial killer. This one takes place in a nice summer camp, USA, rather than cold depressing Europe, so much more fun! Ugh. It is "The Woods" by Harlan Coben in case you care.

About the genre, I guess it is not too surprising as there are probably more serial killer books than anything else, except maybe self-help. The self-help are good for those who read too many serial killer books. Hmmm, could this be a conspiracy in the publishing business... maybe even a vast conspiracy. Anyway, we enjoyed clear sailing all the way home; 9 hours 45 minutes.

Good times, great weather, wonderful Scotters! Thanks, LNYC for a great weekend.

Oh crap, bodies in the woods!

Update; Linda and Roger are safely home with Damfino in Vermont.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Tampa Fleet Racing Kick-off

It has been a long time since we fleet raced, and our group was pretty lean; 4 Scots and a 420. Early on it looked a little dicey for a lack of wind. It was looking like a little southerly was trying to fill in but it was really patchy. Around 2 pm it started to fill in so we all lauched and went out. Here is a shot of the wind;



During the second race it tailed off which is clearly visible on the graph. This was the lull before the pressure (seabreeze) filled in from the right. We sailed two more races in perfect conditions but by then, it was about 5 pm, so we called it a day.

It was a great day but sadly, the most excitement came from the haul-out on the hoist. Mark was in mid hoist with, gasp, a borrowed boat when the boat crashed to the ground. The forward half was over the ground/bulkhead while the aft half was still over water. The boat seemed to pause for a second or two after impact but the stern dropped into the water and with a sickening sound it scraped its way backwards until the bow fell back into the water. The mast was torqued pretty good...



This definently qualifies as one of those "sailing sucks" moments.





The boat bottom looks amazingly good, far better than the concrete bulkhead that has some chunks missing. Go figure!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

It's good to be heavy

Sometimes. Today was one of those days. If you read or heard about the Flying Scot Midwinters you probably know that a passing front blew out the last two days of the regatta. It's been about two weeks since then and, of course, the weather has been perfect. We have had the itch to sail so when we heard the SSS gang was going out Sunday, we decided to join them. How could we resist the awesome weather and beautiful sea breeze that has been running 8 to 12 most days? Wait, what's this forecast for a breezy southerly!?

As we are crossing the Sunshine Skyway and looking at solid heavy whitecaps from the south, we consider a U-turn at the south rest area. A moment or two of discussion and we decide to keep going.

We arrive at the club and it is breezy but not crazy. A few boats still want to go out while some decide to bag it. Then we hear that John Domagala was planning to singlehand and he asked if we would team up. That was an easy one, so we get his boat ready and left ours attached to the van, in travel mode. Fred Strammer wisely grabbed a third, so they were good to go. Jim Egan was unfazed knowing Richard is the best hiking crew on the planet. Ron teamed up with Chuck Tanner, another fan of breeze so they were good. Don and Ted tried it out but not having the mass was tough, so they retired.

Here is the wind shot for the day;



This was only the second time I have sailed a Scot heavy, over 500lbs heavy. Kim and I did sail once with another crew about her size so we may have been 410 ish which was nice until the breeze laid down. No lay down today though, the direction stayed steady, and it held up until we got back to the club. Sweet! We had a good time of it and won the day. Nothing like horsepower on the rail.

Much as I love Sarasota Bay, I don't think we will do more trips there during spring break. I was close to homicidal on both the trip down and the return trip home. Traffic was heavy, but worse than that is the number of usually Ontario tagged cars that are 20 below the speed limit and totally oblivious. UGH!!

BTW, Lainie Pardey took a bunch of photos of the Midwinters which are now running on the FSSA homepage.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

2011 Midwinters Wrap-up, Photos

Some of you regulars may have noticed that the daily blog posts were a little light on content. My laptop has the extremely annoying, random curser thing, that makes me want to bounce it off the wall. If you are not familiar with this the curser randomly repositions itself as you type so the letters may be right where you want them or in the middle of a sentence three lines up, or anywhere else on the screen. This is not a productivity booster! I'm home now on the desktop so we are back in business.

Back to the regatta... We had a really good time aside from me obtaining the new nickname of "keg boy". Seems that a word like technician (or similar)could have been worked into it somehow w/o too much difficulty. But no!

We rented a house for the week that seemed to be the perfect fit, lots of bedrooms and bathrooms and seemingly good for about 10 people. So about two weeks ago I did a "drive by" since I was in Sarasota for a midwinter planning meeting. Uh oh...



A quick double check of the address to be sure I had the right place, not really looking to impressive from the road, now is it? Could there really be 5 bedrooms in there? I decide to snap a photo and email it to Harry since he had made the arrangements. Email reply from Harry; "Hope it's bigger than it looks". As it turns out the house was perfect, the rooms were big and there were lots of them, we actually could have had more people in on the deal but who knew?

So we did not get to race on Thursday and Friday since the breeze was "on". That kinda sucked but what can you do? Sailing sucks sometimes as you can plainly see;


On the bright side Lainie Pardey took a bunch of photos on Wednesday, so I am including a few here;











Lainie was also pin boat as well as photographer extraordinaire!! To see more of her pictures go to FSSA.com, they are on the homepage.

It seemed the 63 boat gang liked the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and Sarasota Bay aside from a little more breeze then would have been ideal. The 2012 Midwinters will be held at the Southern YC in New Orleans before returning to Sarasota again in 2013.

Keg boy out.

Friday, March 11, 2011

2011 Midwinters - Friday


The wind graph tells the story.

Racing was abandoned about 10am so the results from Wednesday are final. Congratulations to Andrew Eagan who became the 2011 Midwinter Champion. Kudos to Ron Kiss who prevailed over the 21 boat Challenger Division.

Full results

Thursday, March 10, 2011

2011 Midwinters - Thursday

Waking up to heavy rain and very thankfull to be in the house and not tent camping at the club.

Racing cancelled for Thursday, here is a shot of the conditions;


Start time is being moved up to 11am on Friday.



The FSSA website has not been updated due to some technical issues. To see results go the Midwinters event website

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

2011 Midwinters - Wednesday

The quote of the day: From Larry Taggert when asked how he was doing at the breakfest table he replied "Pretty good, until I saw the whitecaps in the neighbors pool"

Not the last whitecaps he would see on Wednesday. It was a great day but a little more breeze than would be ideal. Here is a shot;



The championship division division sailed 3 races while the challenger div. did 2. Results are posted on the event website

The rental house is great and working out really well, plenty of room for all 10 of us. St. Armands Circle is only a 2 minute walk so visiting the Daiquiri Deck is becoming a habit.

There is a front (rain) coming through which will mean a NW wind is likely for Thursday. Some forecasts are predicting big breeze so stay tuned.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

2011 Midwinters - Tuesday

It was a great day to race Flying Scots in Sarasota FL. We had a lot of sunshine, warm temps, and a fair amount of breeze. Actually, the breeziest part of the day was when we were leaving the dock. In one of those “it doesn’t usually do this” deals we had a brisk southeasterly which made leaving the dock a hassle.




We did the first race before the wind lightened up then went sea breeze. There was a little wait for the shift then we got another race in a light sea breeze.

Scores are not yet posted and possibly pending a protest or two.

Breeze on for Wednesday!

PS we think we had a 20 and 12 ish.

2011 Flying Scot Midwinters, Monday

The 2011 Midwinters is nearly upon us. Registration and measuring was open Sunday and Monday, by the end of the day Sunday we had about 35 boats checked in. There were only a few centerboards that needed some "massaging" so measurement was fairly painless.

Monday was the first day of official functions, that means meetings. The executive committee met first at 9 am then the board of governors went at 11am. Happily the govs. meeting was the shortest I have ever attended and we heard the same about the first meeting so all is good. Some of you may recall the class was losing money a couple years back but through cost cutting measures we are back in the black.

A practice race was scheduled for 2pm and about 35 boats participated. The weather was really nice, sunny and pleasent with a seabreeze pushing little whitecaps. Since nobody ever really wants to win the practice race I won't mention the winner by name. For Tuesday the split will be about 40 in the Championship and 25 in the Challenger division, so the split worked out well.

Kim and I had volunteered to handle the welcome party so we were hoping not to mess it up too badly. We served heavy horse doovers so with many of the fleet pitching in a dish or two the Kitchen was looking well stocked. We started setting out platters of chow and the frenzy was on. It seemed that by the time the next dish was set out the previous was wiped clean. Oh oh... More platters for them! After a little while we began to get the upper hand, maybe we were tiring them out. John Domagala took the stage for a few annoucements and to hand out prizes from Schurr Sail one of our sponsers. Thank you Schurr sails!

Ron Pletsch also had a tribute to our recently departed Jeff Penfield. It is a shame Jeff couldn't be with us to sail the first midwinters at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron.

The crowd thinned fairly quickly after dessert, there was a cool breeze that had a few of them looking chilly. We were happy to have the first day go well and hope for more the rest of the week.

I want to thank everyone from the Sarasota fleet for pitching in with food and labor at the Welcome Party!

The forecast for Tuesday is nice, sunny warm and a healthy sea breeze.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Florida District Championship - Tampa

Friday Evening, March 4, 2011

The beginning of the Midwinter Extravaganza!!
I worked Friday, and Dave had taken the dogs to our friends for safe-keeping during our trip. Beau called Dave within seconds of leaving the house to say that Lexi had already started her vacation by lounging in the hot tub---Have a great week, guys, thank you!!

As some people are traveling straight to Sarasota, we’re off to Davis Island YC for the last Florida State District Race/Midwinter Warm-up. Talk was to prepare for wind on Saturday. Folks were looking for extra weight, and thinking that gaining those holiday pounds wasn’t so bad after all. Jeff and Harry spoke to the gathering crowd and Leslie had done a great job organizing and registering over 30 boats!

It was decided, after the reserve was met and a fierce bidding war, I would sail with Mike and Amy from Fishing Bay!! Yay! Dave headed down to Sarasota to help out for the weekend.

Sat. March 5

It’s supposed to be windy, and it certainly started out so. It was good to be 3 up. The first 2 races went well, and we were pleased. As it became lighter, and, in Davis Island style, more shifty, it became more difficult, but I think I can speak for my team and say we were happy with the day. Hope it goes well for them Sunday, they are on their own and the weather / wind predictions are all over the road.
After racing, Leslie and Pat (Mark’s crew) met us at the dock with a drink cart – fun! Folks enjoyed oysters, beers, and sailing talk by the boats (excellent regatta planning) then snack, showers, and a nice appy/happy hour upstairs. Lest we forget to mention- prizes, prizes, prizes!! Paul had a category for everything, and everybody wins!! (Most importantly, you must be present to win…some missed out!!) Excellent showing of Hawaiian shirt genius – the Flying Scot crowd does fashion and style, too! Leslie and Paul and all those involved in the event did a great job. More fantastic stuff for the winners tomorrow. Mark headed up a round table discussion for the DI version of Top Gun, and the crew of the top 5 boats were interrogated by a tough crowd (not really). Good work, Crew!!

Members of the Washington Street House (our rental for the week) packed it up and caravanned to Sarasota. Harry picked a winner! Super house, super location! A block to St. Armand’s Circle and a few more steps to the beach! I thought I would go walking and window shopping this am, but turned west on John Ringling Blvd. instead, hearing the call of the waves, and lo and ahold (how my sister, Beth, says it, therefore, so do we) Lido Beach beckoned. I half expected to see John Wake out there, too, but the sun was too high in the sky for him. He would have been out there at dark:30.

Sunday, There was some breeze for the 10 am start but also a little left over weather from the front that came through during the night. After a short delay the race started and the breeze picked up. Robby Brown was sitting on first place after the 4 races on Saturday and he picked up where he left off with another top five finish. The breeze had built enough the most seemed to be sufficiently “warmed-up” and headed toward the club after finishing the first race. The RC had the same idea so a five race regatta was in the books. Robby enjoyed a commanding win and was followed by Marshall Pardey, John Aras. The DIYC site is down as I write this so I don’t have the results to post just yet.

We have a new Florida District Champion; Jeff and Amy Linton!!!! They did 4 of the district regattas and won two of them to assume a commanding position. The solid finish at DIYC rounded out an excellent season and secured first place. Marshall Pardey made a strong showing this year as well and came in second.

I will add to this when I have the results and post the final district standings as soon as I can. Congrats to all the sailors!!!!