Carolina Sailing Club Newsletter
May 2004
Officers:
Commodore: John Norton
Vice Commodore: Joleen Rasmussen
Rear Commodore: Roy Rysdon
Secretary / Treasurer: David Brown
CommodoreÕs Comments
Besides being Commodore of the
Club I am also the treasurer of the Carolina Sailing Club Foundation.
It's difficult to fulfill all the responsibilities of both jobs but I enjoy
them both. As we got through the year the foundation and the club will
try to formulate a plan so that we can all reap the benefits of the two
organizations and decrease the amount of work. If you have non-profit
experience and would be willing to help us with the plan please contact me at
this e-mail address: jnorton@moneymailer.com.
Both the club and foundation are
doing very well. We just had a great day of sailing at Jordan Lake with
over 20 boats sailing. This weekend will be the Kerr event and although I
missed the first Kerr weekend due to a conflicting Thistle Class regatta, I'm
looking forward to sailing on Kerr Lake once again.
The foundation recently purchased
a BRAND NEW vanguard optimist. This was possible due to generous
donations and Layline's willingness to sell us a boat at cost. Thanks to
Dave Batchelor and the people at Layline for making this possible. The
new boat should be here soon.
John
Thanks to the Tanzers for a great set of
socials and breakfasts at our April Kerr weekend! The Isotopes have got
the social responsibilities at our next Kerr weekend May 15 &16. The
Junior fleet (Optis) and parents will be joining us. We continue to have
our monthly socials the Friday before our Jordan Saturday each month at Out of
the Park Sports Bar. Come on out to our next social June 11th at 6:30pm.
Preparations are being made to
have breakfasts and socials at our special Regattas, the Governors Cup in June
and the Oriental Sailing Social in July. John McLaughlin and I spent time
with Grace Evans and the Oriental Merchants last weekend. The venue this
year will be great for new motel rooms, good restaurants, and we will have a
large area next to the ramps for parking boats Friday and Saturday nights with
sticks up.
Alan
Backus
Social
Chair
Beginner Opti Lessons @ Lake Crabtree
The
week of May 2 at Lake Crabtree in Wake County saw a great bunch
of beginning junior sailors learn to single hand the Opti
sailboat. A stiff breeze on the first day of instruction,
Sunday, made single handed
sailing difficult for most of the juniors. Unexpected gybes with swinging booms
made an impression on a number of kids, teaching them to pay attention to wind
direction. After the on-the-water instruction
ended
instructors Thomas McElroy and Tom Hudgens patiently explained why things
happened the way they did, a scene repeated at the end of every
day of sailing. After a day off due to heavy
weather,
the intrepid group met for three more great days of sailing.
Many of the kids paired up with a
sailing buddy and all met new friends. They learned how to reach and run,
tack, gybe, round a mark, make a landing, and right a capsized boat.
Conditions on the last day were almost perfect. It was a great sight to
the parents to see their kids sailing the Opti's so well by the
end of the week. Obviously, there is much more for our junior sailors to learn
and experience, as for us all, and the 2004 Junior events will help do just
that.
Congraulations Alican, Sarah,
Ellen, Julia, Evan, Abby, Haley, Agigail, Jesse and Haley! And thanks, too, to
Thomas, Tom, Amy, and all the parents. We'll all look forward to the next
big event - the Junior Sailing Campout - at Kerr Lake on May 15-16.
FAMILY
CAMPING AT PRESBYTERIAN POINT-SITE IS RESERVED FOR OUR USE
Bring a
tent and save the drive.
ANY SAILORS (especially
really cool Isotopes!) that would like to
join us for camping are
more than welcome.
Sailing and camping are
just really fun together.
It is a lot easier to rig
your boat if you are already at the lake.
The junior sailors are fun
to hang with.
The junior sailor parents
are excellent candidates to join your fleet.
Saturday
After the CSC Social, sail
(or drive) over to Henderson point for a
hotdog and beans dinner.
9:00 campfire/storytelling.
Sunday
7:30 breakfast if you let
me know your are coming, IÕll bring the
coffee.
9:00 back on the water.
1:00 pm pack up.
Please
give me a call or email (Youth Director: Amy Grobin, 968-4618,
chistina.grobin@alumni.duke.edu) to let me know you are coming or if you have
any questions.
THE 48th ANNUAL GOVERNOR'S CUP REGATTA
Henderson Point, Kerr Lake
The Governor's Cup Regatta is rapidly
approaching and the Carolina Sailing Club is pulling out all the stops this
year to ensure that this years regatta will be the most spectacular sailing
event of the year for this region. This regatta is one of the oldest, largest,
and most venerable in the Southeast. There will boats from all across the state
and from all up and down the Eastern United States. You owe it to yourself to
attend this years event.
The Governor's Cup Regatta will be held
the third weekend of June, (19th and 20th). It combines tradition and
contempory ideas for a camaraderie of sailing, building new friendships while
renewing old ones. The weekend always provides fun fleet racing no matter what
the wind and weather decide to contribute.
The races at the Governor's Cup
are exciting and colorful due to the large variety of boats that are competing
for the Cup. Returning this year will be the Fireballs, Flying Scots, Isotopes,
Lightnings, Tanzers, and Thistles. New to the regatta this year will be the
Opti Green Fleet and PHRF boats. Last year, the Vanguad 15 broke out and joined
us as a fleet, with MC-Scows, Buccaneer, and Laser represented in the open
class competing on portsmouth handicap.
Each One Design fleet is in
competition for the Governor's Cup, which goes to the boat that beats the most
other boats in its fleet. All Dingy class boats are invited to join us. Last
year, we had 91 boats on the water. We expect to see even more boats competing
on beautiful Kerr Lake this year. Join us for a terrific competition.
We encourage all participants to
visit this web address to add your name to the Scratchsheet for this years
event -
http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/events/regattas/govcup/govcup2004scratchsheet.htm
Download the NOR from -
http://www.carolinasailingclub.org/events/regattas.htm#gc
5 7/8Õs Isotopes
Experience
Spring Fever 2004
April 8-10
The Isotope Fleet traveled to Lake Hartwell, GA to join around 80 other catamaran skippers from Colorado, New York, Florida and places in between to spend the weekend enjoying the red clay, yellow pollen, and unpredictable weather and winds of the 6th Annual Spring Fever Regatta. Spring Fever is one large catamaran camping party. The goal is to have fun, and get lots of catamarans out on the water. Competitive and new, young and old, the skippers were reminded at the competitors meeting that sailing is fun, settle it on the water, and look out for each other.
Walter
Brier and John Riley were both able to free up their work schedules to be able
to sail on Friday, as did the majority of participants. Eric & Joleen Rasmussen and
Kemp & Jackson Harris arrived between 6-7 on Friday night, with enough
light to get the boats unloaded and the masts up, before hitting the tail end
of the pizza party and the front end of the dancing. Front end in that after finishing up pizza, we crashed
WalterÕs campsite.
Walter
had a lovely point campsite, secluded from other campers. Too bad about the poker game one site
over that lasted Ōtil 11:00pm.
Also, being on the point meant that we were right close to the bass
boats that were heading out at 6:30 in the morning, just after the geese. John, however, was right next to a
trash can that was collecting beer bottles through much of Friday night.
For the
last couple of years, IÕve heard about Spring Fever, how it is too cold, too
windy, too light. This year
held true to form. With six boats,
the Isotopes and Chesire (14ft version of the 16ft Isotope, or 7/8ths), were a
class starting with the Hobie 17 and Hobie 18 fleets. Jackson, sailing the Chesire, sailed with Isotopes rather
than the Formula 14 and Hobie 16 thanks to an Isotope friend, Sam Evans, who
thought to suggest it to us.
Jackson definitely wanted to sail with the Isotopes rather than the
spinnaker sporting Formula 14s.
FridayÕs racing was hot and light.
The boats hung out for about three hours, when Race Committee moved from
the middle of the lake with no wind, into a cove with a bit of wind. The race started in light, steady wind,
but subsequently died, resulting in a shortened course. Walter has yet to learn to watch
out for the S flag on a mark boat.
Walter was third across the line for a first place finish. It was a hot day on the
water. No one knew what to expect
for Saturday. The winds on
Saturday started promising, though shifty. The Formula 18s were the first start, the second start was
Inter 20 and Inter 17s. The third
start was the Formula 14 and Hobies who were caught slight off guard, as their
class flag was numeral pennant 4.
The Isotopes were the fourth to start. Half way through the first race the wind shifted
180 degrees, lightened, then freshened.
At the point that it reversed direction, Joleen was just approaching the
first windward mark. Joleen had
the opportunity to approach that mark about 7 times, before finally making it
around. Even though he was
in the fourth start, Eric, on Isotope 42 was the first boat of any class to
finish in the first race on Saturday.
After that, he hit a mark in every race.
With
only two races on Saturday, and one on Friday, RC posted a schedule change to
start the racing at 9:30 rather than 10:45. SundayÕs weather forecast was a bit grim with storms
promising. We parked the
truck close to the tent, and took foul weather gear into the tent. We made an early night of it, and this
time there was no poker game next door, and we were up before the geese went
through. It had rained some during
the night, but the morning was clear, and not as cold as Saturday morning. Even so, I still put on my wetsuit as I
could always take the top portion off if I got too hot. Walter made a coffee and biscuit run,
while Eric did some lace repair on my trampoline.
The
first race started shortly after 9:30, and we were again the forth start. The winds were picking up and. on our
upwind leg, we were on a close reach, hiked out, with the windward hull just
out of the water, sailing though the downwind fleet. It was neat.
Had to think starboard, port, windward, leeward a fair amount.
The
second race was a downwind start for the fourth start, and the winds began to
die. I was last to reach the
windward mark, though I stayed in clear air, and avoided the pinwheel mess at
the mark. Last around the mark in
the Isotope fleet, and in the lessening air, I decided to go the left side of
the course, rather than the right as all the other boats, every single one in
all the classes, had gone to the right.
Also, the wind was slightly better on the left side. It was the longer leg, as the finish
line was closed, but if the wind held on the left side, the gambit might pay
off. It was a slow sail down the
lake. I watched as the boats on
the right side of the line bunched up in the middle of the downwind leg near
the committee boat. I watched as I
sailed past them on the other side of the lake, the lone boat. I kept sailing for a while past the pin
before I tried to jibe for the leeward mark. I jibed, and I stopped. I jibed back, and went a bit further, jibed again, and was
able to sail to the leeward mark.
I looked up the course, and couldnÕt spot any Isotope sails. I looked back, and saw that I was ahead
of Kemp and Walter. CouldnÕt spot
Eric or John. As I approached the
finish line, I still could not find any Isotope sails ahead of me. I whooped as I crossed the line,
thinking that I may have been first.
Sure enough, the others were all behind me. The clear air gambit paid off.
The
third race had Eric and I starting port, which a couple minutes before the
start was the favored tack, but at the start, the winds were square to the
line, so we sailed behind the starboard boats, ending in not so bad a position
on the lake and at least in clear air.
In the
last race, the winds had picked up a bit and John, on starboard, was T-boned by
a Hobie 18, on port. The Hobie hit
John square on JohnÕs port shroud chainplate, twisting it a little bit. The two boats were hung up with JohnÕs
shroud embedded six to eight inches deep into the bow of the Hobie for about
half a minute. The Hobie was less
fortunate and headed to shore rather than finishing that race as its bow looked
like a can-opener had been used on it.
The
good wind did not last the race.
As I rounded the leeward mark, I passed Kemp to windward, on the layline
to the pin. Alas, the winds
died as I approached, and rather than tack away, as Kemp did, I pinched for the
pin, and managed to nicely hit the pin. Kemp finished before I did. I rounded the pin to finish again, and was forced to tack
back to starboard due to the small pack of boats on starboard heading for the
pin. I did another 360 and sailed
a bit up the line before taking to starboard for my third shot at the finish
line. What a way to end the
sailing.
For
five of us, it was our first time at Spring Fever, and for four of us, it was
our first time sailing with many other catamarans. For Jackson, it was his first time racing as a skipper. We all had a terrific time, in spite of
our mistakes and mishaps. I found
the competitors helpful and considerate while looking out for each other. Scoring-wise, the top three boats in
the Isotope fleet were only one point apart.. Every Isotope took a first this weekend. Since John was the only one with two
firsts, accompanied by two seconds and a third, he took first place. It was close and competitive in light
and fluky wind conditions.
Isotope
Class Standings.
First Š
John Riley, Second - Kemp Harris, ThirdŠ Eric Rasmussen, Fourth Š Walter Brier,
Fifth Š Joleen Rasmussen, Sixth Š Jackson Harris.
You
remember your first race.
You know the generous skipper who
welcomed you on board and suffered your mistakes, your drive to improve and
impress. So you can hear my nerves
rattling recently, when John Pelosi finally invited me to crew at an out of
town regatta -- the Potomac Cup, all the way up near DC.
I had heard legend of his
district crew, Harold Broadwell and Clay Rumble, even met them briefly at the
Borderline. But a couple weeks
ago, for the April CSC race, Harold made the trek from Wendell to check out his
future forward crew and see whether I could sail.
Test 1: passed. My invitation to the Potomac Cup was
not revoked.
We left Friday afternoon with a
cooler full of good beer and my stomach full of butterflies, excited! I suspected the highlight for these two
was not so much the race, but the great Korean Barbeque John and Harold had
stumbled into the previous year.
How many times IÕd watched John drool as he recounted the meats, cooked
in front of you, plus all those unique and plentiful appetizers that just kept
coming. Henry and Avis Bridgers,
along with their district crewmate
Pat Terry, met us at that strip mall in northern Virginia, where sure enough,
dinner surpassed all expectations.
IÕm not sure I did the same on
the water that weekend! I was just
getting the jist of talking on the downwind leg, feeding my fellow crew all the
information I could muster about other boats, when the Lightning on our hind
quarter suddenly surged ahead several feet! ŅLooks like weÕre getting a puff,Ó I warned, then Ņoh ----! The boat behind us just turtled!Ó Immediately, spray flew and so did we,
planing off the water as Harold exclaimed in glee: ŅTina, this is sailing!Ó Not
for long.
Two broken masts and five
capsized boats later, we wrung ourselves out on shore. A downpour and furious winds had forced
us to douse the chute fast and let the jib luff, whipping and snapping. To crawl onto the bow and lower the jib
was too dangerous a risk in this weather, but to pull the blowing sail down
flat by the sheets could have capsized us. Even at the dock, it took two people holding the boat and me
fending off from inside it to prevent a crash. Needless to say, the race was abandoned for
safety.
Talk about trial by fire! But I remember vividly when the squall
first hit, my back against the main, leaning this way and that to balance the
boatÕs pitches, all the while searching John and HaroldÕs faces for clues of
just how much trouble we were in.
I see JohnÕs look of concern and HaroldÕs seeming confidence, and I
remember thanking God that I was with such an experienced and talented
crew. You always want to learn
from the best, but when the lessons are thrust upon you, itÕs nice to have
teachers sharp enough to help you survive.
Tina
Tenret
FORGET THE ONLINE DEGREE,
GET THE ONLAKE DEGREE!
We had
the first Thistle Crew University class Saturday April 24th at Lake Jordan. The
formal, hands-on training class was held prior to the start of the Saturday
informal racing series. Overall,
the event was a great success! The
course is conducted utilizing a fully-rigged, Thistle that was strapped to
trailer in the parking lot. We ran
through some basic fundamentals of sailing and racing, and then we actually
performed hands-on simulated mark roundings and sail changes while rolling the
boat and trailer around in the parking lot. Pretty interesting and much more realistic than the standard
classroom sessions..
We had 10 folks attend the class,
and 6 of them went out sailing with Alan Backus, Flint OÕBrien, and Kevin
Sheehan (me) on our three Thistles.
We were able to get in four very good and competitive races after
spending about 1 hour on the course materials and hands-on training on a boat
in the parking lot.
We will
be having another class in the near future so stay tuned to the newsletter for
future announcements.
Tanzer
16 Racing Events In North CarolinaPlease reference the following list of
Tanzer 16 racing events in North Carolina. The activities sanctioned
by the Tanzer 16 Class Association are summarized as follows:
05/22 Tanzer Day @ Lake Jordan
(Fun Sail, Picnic, Boat
Tuning Clinic, Party)
06/05-06 NC
State Championship @ Lake Townsend with
MayorÕs Cup Regatta
06/19-20 GovernorÕs
Cup Regatta @ Kerr LakeÕs Henderson
Point
07/10-11 National
Championship @ Oriental with Oriental Sailing
Social
08/07-08 Mid-Atlantic
District Championship @ Edenton Bay
Challenge
09/11-12 Blackbeard
Regatta @ New Bern
10/09-10 Indian
Summer Regatta @ Lake Waccamaw
The
South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association will recognize the skipper with the
best season score.