On Sunday, December 21, though, the weather was wonderful – sunny skies, temperatures in the 70s and a steady 10 MPH breeze. It was the kind of weather I once heard someone call a “$200 day” – since snowbirds will pay that much to enjoy that kind of weather in December. Of course, I heard that a long time ago. At today’s prices, Sunday was more like a $500 day.
Even so, if Sunday was a $500 day, Fleet 150 did only $1,500 worth of racing because only three Scots sailed: Ray Laguna and Dean Grimes on 5770, Randy Boekema and Joe Lobato on 5697, and Rich and Tina O’Brien with me on 5810. (This was just Rich and Tina’s second time racing and they did a great job. I can’t wait to see how well they do after a few more times on the boat!)
Those who missed Sunday missed a great day of sailing. Our starts were combined with the C Scows so we had a busy starting line. And, our three boats were fairly even in speed (at least on Sunday), so we had some great fun. Each race ended up with the same result – Ray and Dean on 5770 in first, Rich, Tina and me on 5810 in second, and Randy and Joe on 5697 in third – but each race was a bit different. In the first race, Rich and Tina and I led the whole way until Ray and Dean split with us on the final beat to the finish and won by about a boat length. Arrrgh! In the second race, Ray and Dean stretched out a pretty good lead and won comfortably, but Randy and Joe on 5697 and Rich, Tina and I on 5810 had a great time battling over second place. We on 5810 managed to stay between Randy and Joe and the finish line on the final beat and held on for second, but it was close, and a blast getting there.
Here are a couple of pictures Francois Simon took from the chase boat.
This is Randy and Joe on 5697 in the first race:
Here are Ray and Dean on 5770 and Rich, Tina and me on 5810, also in the first race (I like this one because Rich, Tina and I were in front – barely, but at least for a while):
Our next club racing will be the weekend of January 3 and 4. I hope everyone can get out and race. We don’t want to squander these $500 days!
Finally, everyone has probably seen Chuck Smith’s announcement that he is stepping down from his longstanding role as Fleet Captain for Fleet 150, and that I’ll be assuming that position (perhaps an inauspicious choice of words) on January 1. A heartfelt thanks to Chuck for the hard work he’s done over many years for Fleet 150. He has been instrumental in building both our Fleet and our Florida District.
More personally, I want to thank Chuck for providing me with such a warm welcome when I e mailed him several years ago for information about the fleet, the club and the Flying Scot. Even though I had little experience, Chuck made me feel like I could easily become a part of our group, and he made a special effort to introduce me to others in the club and in the fleet, including Ray Laguna, Randy Boekema and Don Browning. Because of Chuck’s hospitality it was obvious this was a group I wanted to be part of. Thanks, Chuck.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! We’ll see you in January.
George
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