2003-2004 Race Reports
Sunday Nov. 2	Opening Day, Christian Becker Trophy
Sunday Nov. 9	Fall 1
Sunday Nov. 16	Team Racing!
Sunday Nov. 23	Fall 2
Saturday Nov. 29 & Sunday Nov. 30	Turkey Bowl (Sunday counts as Fall 3)
Sunday Dec. 7	Food Pantry Regatta; counts as Fall 4
Sunday Dec. 14 at SFA-Deluxebury	Mass Bay Trophy, Part I; no CPYC racing
Sunday Dec. 21	Fall 5
Sunday Dec. 28	Fall 6
Thursday Jan. 1	Broo Bowl
Sunday Jan. 4	Fall 7
Sunday Jan. 11	Fall 8
Sunday Jan. 18	Spring 1
Sunday Jan. 25	Spring 2
Sunday Feb. 1	Spring 3
Sunday Feb. 8 (Midwinters weekend; Annapolis)	Spring 4 at CPYC
Sunday Feb. 15	Spring 5
Saturday & Sunday Feb. 21 & 22	Ski Weekend
Sunday February 29	Spring 6
Saturday March 6	Practice session, tuning, sailing for fun
March 7	Spring x as a makeup day!
Sunday March 14 at CPYC	Mass Bay Trophy, Part II; no WFSC series
Saturday & Sunday March 20 & 21	Marty Bowl (Sunday counts as Spring 7)
Sunday March 28	Spring 8
Saturday April 3	Spring 9
Sunday April 4	Cleanup Day at CPYC; Annual meeting & awards party (tentative)
Saturday & Sunday April 17 & 18	IC NATIONALS at Hyannis!!

Christian Becker Trophy
November 2, 2003

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points
717	JimBowers/ MyrnaChanMacrae	1	2	1	1	1	6
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	6	1	2	2	2	13
685	JockMacrae/ LindaEpstein	3	3	3	3	3	15
617	BillRothwell/ EmilyDrowne	5	6	4	5	4	24
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	2	5	5	6	8	26
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	7	4	6	9	5	31
630	DaveLucia/ CatherineBrinkley	8	8	7	4	6	33
268	RossWeene/ Elizabeth?	4	10	8	7	10	39
632	JohnKolbe/ JuliaMarsh	9	7	10	8	7	41
640	CarolineRoss/ PaulSmith	10	9	9	10	9	47
626	JanWalker/ DonnaHanson	12	12	11	11	11	57

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 11:38 am
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	56	13 ENE	__
1 pm	53	10 ESE	__
2 pm	53	10 ESE	__
3 pm	53	10 E 10	__

Gosh. Is it really November already? Being mild and pleasant, the weather was feeding the ambiguity of the season. Only the short period of drizzle reminded us of other weather to come.

We had a great turnout for opening day, even without five stalwarts who found flimsy excuses (like regattas, coaching, and travel) to be away. Many folks showed early to unload boats, find all the parts, wash hulls, wax with secret potions; some of us trying to remember how to rig. Best was Jan who couldn't remember which line was which and tried to rig using a Star mainsheet; after which there was no room left in the cockpit. Hmm. Looks a bit long, must be one of these others...

Lots of boats in three fleets: 11 Interclubs, 9 Lasers, 6 Rhodes19s. Many thanks to a race committee operating with quite different logistics. Hatch with a multitude of assistants ran races from the outermost leftmost finger pier while two crash boats cruised around enjoying the weather with nothing exciting to do. Those spotted were: Ted Keenan, Ken delPapa, Zach Orlov, Scott Tarpley, Ray Schmidt, Denise Economides. Others who helped- sorry I've not remembered, please speak up so we can acknowledge you. Stephanie supplied Fab Food, establishing a benchmark for the season.

Fall 1
November 9, 2002

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	1	3	5	1	1	11
717	JimBowers/ MyrnaChanMacrae	3	1	2	2	3	11
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	2	4	3	7	5	21
757	JohnPratt/ ChristinaRoussel	5	5	4	3	6	23
683	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	7	2	7	6	4	26
685	JockMacRae/ LindaEpstein	4	6	1	8	8	27
401	ErikGoethert/ AmyWrightson	6	11	6	4	7	34
397	AndyCrocker/ JulieShea	11	7	8	10	2	38
549	BobCoyle/ CarolynMathews	11	8	9	5	10	43
640	CarolineRoss/ PaulSmith	11	11	10	9	9	50
632	JohnKolbe/ JuliaMarsh	11	11	11	11	11	55

Logan airport conditions at race time High tide was at 11:08am
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	37	13 NW	under 18
1 pm	39	14 WNW	under 19
2 pm	39	13 NW	19
3 pm	39	12 WNW	under 17

A fine example of mid-season frostbite weather -- windy and chilly but with brilliant sunshine to take the edge off. The conditions were gusty with the WNW wind zooming down around the corner, adding geographical shifts to the mix. Large shifts were frequent but more persistent than we usually see. Hatch prudently set a long no-gybe course to keep the fleets out of each others' way and to help the new folks settle in without (as much) worry about capsizing. (Only a few of the Lasers went swimming.) In a fascinating example of motivation at work, Dave Nelson managed to edge out Jim & Myrna, leaving it to Jim as 2nd finisher to write this week's summary of the course, conditions, and challenges. Dave pulled it off on the last beat of the last race by robbing Andrew Crocker, who had led all the way, of a deserved win. Looks like Andy is finally figuring out that new Ched main.

Various skippers wrestling with equipment missed various races -- Bob's halyard jumped the sheave as he raised the sail, Andy sat out a race to create a drain plug out of duct tape, Erik's main sheet block launched itself skyward on a beat, John Economides slipped back to the dock to snitch a boom from another Rhodes, and so on. Ray and Taryn went to oversee the relaunch of a Rhodes that was probing the mud near the airport. There was a rumor that Angela Hickey was in the water, to quickly push off a foundered boat so they could remain anonymous. But that could have just been a rumor.

An interesting observation: although 11 ICs were on the line both this week and last week, only six boats were out there both weeks. So do the math! Already we've had 17 different skippers on the line. Now to work on getting most of us there most of the time. Wow!

Thanks to the race committee for another day of smoothly run races, despite 11 Interclubs, 9 Lasers, and 6 Rhodes 19s. On board the hut were Hatch, Denise Economides, Jennifer, and someone I'm embarrassed to say I don't know. Ray & Taryn, Zach & Jan handled the launches. Zach supplied chili "cooked the way it is supposed to be cooked". Religious arguments aside, it was really fabulous chili. Jim and Ellen Liddington (Rhodes sailors from the Sandy Bay club) brought along some wonderful chowder. Just the right sort of food after a frosty day on the water.

Team Racing Follies
Sunday November 16, 2003

Team Purple (The Grapes of Wrath) vs Team Orange (The Pumpkin Eaters)
Four boats per team; swapping in and out for 3-on-3 racing
Place	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5
1	Purple	Purple	Purple	Purple	Orange
2	Purple	Orange	Purple	Purple	Orange
3	Orange	Orange	Orange	Purple	Purple
4	Orange	Orange	Purple	Orange	Purple
5	Purple	Purple	Orange	Orange	Orange
6	Orange	Purple	Orange	Purple	Purple
Winning:	Purple	Orange	Purple	Purple	Orange
Overall Winner: Team Purple, with 3 wins

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 9:58 am
Time	TempF	Wind
Noon	44	10 NNW
1 pm	45	8 W
2 pm	46	9 W
3 pm	47	6 W

The teams:

Sailing for purple, we had
John Pratt	with	Christina Roussel
Paul Adam	with	Gaelen Phyfe
Jan Walker	with	Stephanie Baldock
Bill Rothwell	with	Emily Drowne
Sailing for orange, we had
Andrew Crocker	with	Julie Shea Crocker
John MacRae	with	Myrna Chan MacRae
Erik Goethert	with	Amy Wrightson
Dave Lucia	with	Margery Bravard

Yes kids, this was something different. After substantial milling around, the Powers That Were determined that we had eight boats and a whole lot of colored jerseys (courtesy of Tim Fallon, Team Race Worlds competitor, thanks Tim). Four boats got purple tops and the other four got orange tops. This was the most clarity that we experienced in the whole event. In order to race 3-on-3, which is plenty of boats to keep track of, one boat from each team sat out each race. Which boat sat out? Well, how about the one farthest from the line at the start!! (Heh, heh, just kidding.)

The object of the game in team racing is to have more of your boats ahead of the other team's boats at the finish. The object is not to sail fastest but to try to ensure that the other guys don't get in front of your teammates. Yeah, there's some complicated mental arithmetic about the sum of the squares on the other two sides being less than 10 but basically you just want your team-mates to finish first and second so that it doesn't matter where the poor ol' third boat is.

Although Pratto claims that, with two exceptions, team racing rules are exactly the same as ordinary racing rules, it sure doesn't look that way on the course. Instead of going for the mark, boats are tacking off into right field, just to enjoy the scenery and to take a competitor that way too, allowing a team mate to get around the mark cleanly. It is definitely a different kind of day out there -- sort of like chess, where the pieces have free will.

The participants declared it a heck of a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For those who found something else to do today, the word is, "Don't miss it next time (scheduled for March)."

It was a glorious November afternoon, with light winds and bright sun, multitudes of boats on the line, and the Rhodes' spinnakers to brighten the day further. Interclubs fielded eight boats, Lasers had a stunning crowd of 15 boats, and at least five Rhodes 19s got out there. Quite the exciting afternoon on the course as the Interclubs were not sailing "conventionally" so who knew what they were about to do in front of you...

Hatch showed everyone how, sitting in a launch by himself at the starting line, imperturbably sending off wave after wave of competitors. At the hut, Bob Coyle, Ellen Pratt, Denise Economides, and Jr Hotshot Tommy Coyle took the finishes; not always easy when fleets ended up entangled at the finish. Crash boats were driven by (oops, help!!) Stephanie's boyfriend and a Laser guy. Fortunately, they had little to do except enjoy themselves on such a lovely day.

Back inside at the end of the day, the Rhodes fleet provided pizzas, Warren brought a great big salad, and Kay van Valkenburgh of the Lasers created an astounding chowder with cod, calamari, shrimp, and scallops. Too bad for you if you left early!

Looks like the start to an exciting growth year for all of the fleets. And, the fun can only get better. See you on the water!

Fall 2
November 23, 2002

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points	CrewRace
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	6	1	1	1	1	10	623	CindyOlsen
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	2	3	2	2	3	12	619	RyanDonoghue
683	PaulAdam/ JanWalker	4	4	3	5	2	18	683	JanWalker
619	WillWelles/ RyanDonoghue	3	5	6	4	5	23	401	AmyWrightson
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	1	7	5	8	7	28	627	StephanieBaldock
401	ErikGoethert/ AmyWrightson	7	6	10	3	4	30	640	CarolineRoss
397	AndyCrocker/ JulieSheaCrocker	5	8	7	6	9	35	397	JulieSheaCrocker
632	JohnKolb/ JuliaMarsh	8	9	8	7	6	38
549	BobCoyle/ CarolynMathews	9	10	4	9	8	40
630	DaveLucia/ MargeryBravard	11	2	dns	dns	dns	49
640	CarolineRoss/ PaulSmith	10	11	9	10	10	50

Logan airport conditions at race time High tide was at 9:58 am
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	47	6 NE
1 pm	49	8 NE
2 pm	47	10 E
3 pm	46	10 E

Another enchantingly lovely November day. It seemed like such a gift -- yet the temperatures were actually exactly in the normal range for this date. Perhaps it was the lovely fair air and brilliant warm sun that made it feel like much earlier in the season, or, like next spring. The winds were light and stable overall, with the multitude of tiny shifts to keep the leaders on their toes and tacking.

We sailed the same area of the harbor as on opening day -- Hatch and the helpers stood on the leftmost outermost finger pier and sent us off to the left (north-east) into the wind. Unlike opening day with water rising all day, the high tide was in the morning. With the water level falling to negative tides by haulout time, it started out quite shallow near Snake Island, as various Rhodes 19s discovered during their prep for the first race. This made for tactical excitement when you got squeezed off into the gravel while on a favored port tack. (Give up the lift? or save the board?) The current in this area of the harbor is also a puzzle. Although the tide was definitely going out, the current at the weather mark looked to be coming in.

Again, plenty of boats on the line(s): 11 ICs, 11 Lasers, 7 Rhodes. Fabulous. Another first-time-this-season appearance: Will Welles, who came bearing sails. 619 and 683 were sailing with brand new test model Quantum sails (slightly different), finishing third and fourth. In the crew race, the same sails finished second and third. Satisfied skippers agreed: "Friendly leach".

Hatch sent off volley after volley of sailors in his usual skilled fashion, making it look easy. On-dock assistance from Denise Economides. (Anyone else?) All the fleets out there out at once and no one getting seriously in anyone's way. Launches were run by stalwarts Ray & Taryn and by John Pratt, with cameo appearance by Mike Birmann, running a camera. C'mon Mike -- when you are going to sail?!

Indoors featured major football excitement with a huge Pilot House crowd watching the Patriots and downing pizza. We helped with both.

Paul called a fleet meeting in the bowling alley to have people talk over the dues increase made necessary by Cottage Park's change in how they assess the winter dry sailing fees. Boat owners who are not members of CPYC will see their dues increase by $50. (Non-member owners pay an extra $50 in frostbiting dues to sidestep CPYC full membership costs of over $500; still a great deal.) No one else's dues will change. By the way, dues are due December 1st or you will not be scored in the fall series.

Turkey Bowl & Fall 3
November 29 & 30, 2003

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	Total
717	JimBowers/ MyrnaChanMacRae	2	3	1	6
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	3	1	6	10
685	JohnMacRae/ LindaEpstein	1	2	9	12
619	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	5	4	4	13
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	7	6	2	15
617	BillRothwell/ EmilyDrowne	4	7	5	16
268	MikeBirmann/ KatieClinton	9	5	3	17
640	CarolineRoss/ SirWinstonChurchill	6	9	9	24

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was around 10:30 am
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	44	WSW 18	24
1 pm	47	WSW 15	?
2 pm	47	W 18	27
3 pm	46	W 17	?

Man-of-few-words Coyle summed it up thusly:
Got back around 2, shocked to see sailing occuring.

Scott Tarpley, on the hut:
It really was a fun day with some of the longest courses I have ever seen. Hatch sent the fleet on a no gybe course from the club out to the hut (where I was with the camera).

Mass Bay Regatta Part 1
Scituate Frostbite Association at Duxbury Bay Marine School
Sunday December 14, 2003

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points
683	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	2	3	2	2	1	10
808	SteveKirkpatrick/ JaneKirkpatrick	1	5	1	1	3	11
777	FranCharles/ SueCharles	3	1	3	3	4	14
3	ChadDemarest/ WhitneyBesse	4	2	4	4	2	16
385	EdMills/ PeteMinich	5	9	5	8	6	33
630	DaveLucia/ MargeryBravard	6	7	8	9	5	35
401	ErikGoethert/ AmyWrightson	8	6	7	5	13	39
708	JoeFava/ EliseMazareas	13	4	6	6	13	42
740	EdMayo/ CharlieDiprima	9	8	9	13	13	52
501	MarkDineen/ VanessaDecolibus	13	13	13	13	7	59
549	BobCoyle/ JanWalker	7	13	13	13	13	59
455	GradyCarr/ MrCarr	13	13	13	13	13	65
675	ChuckLeonard/ BethanyLeonard	13	13	13	13	13	65

Duxbury conditions at race time High tide was at 2:46 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	27	16 SE	21
1 pm	31	20 SE	25
2 pm	31	21 SE	23
3 pm	32	22 SE	25

Egad. A frostbite day in which the weather dominated everything. Home at the ranch, Lasers and Rhodes 19s sailed the Food Pantry Regatta. The first race started with a light westerly. About 300 yards into it, the race was called, and the course reset for a strong southeasterly. With 5 Rhodes and 7 Lasers, they made a good show of it.

On the IC front, four boats made the treck south to Duxbury to sail in the Mass Bay Champs, Part 1. Unfortunately one of the boats (626 a.k.a. 549) succumbed to a weak outhaul line and had to drop out after one race. We were there though, which counted for a lot in my mind.

The conditions were challenging, even for really experienced sailors. The weather observations in the chart are from an iWindsurf site in Duxbury, presumably close to the water. With temperatures below freezing, stiff winds, and many of the boats full of ice at rigging time, it took some determination to get out there. One Duxbury sailor told me that they made it as far as the committee boat in order to explain that they weren't coming after all.

From Chad Demarest, who actually saw it all:
The weather report promised gnarly, and gnarly was delivered about 30 minutes after we hit the ramp. Snow, wind...the works. I hope everyone arrived home safely and found a roaring fire and hot beverage awaiting them. Thanks to the Winthrop sailors who made it down --- we hope it was worth the trip. And thanks to Doug and Tina (race committee) for sacrificing their bodies for our enjoyment. They went way beyond the call of duty.

The word "epic" might be a bit over-used these days, and it may even be a bit strong for today's sailing, but it's close to being the best description of the conditions and courses that tested the mettle of 13 skippers and crews on this blustery Sunday afternoon. A gentle southeasterly greeted the competitors at noon, but it quickly ramped up to 15-18 by the time we were on the water. 16 teams arrived, 13 took to the water, and 11 finished at least one race. The breeze was meaty --- not nuclear, but not trivial either -- and the long courses required lots and lots of hiking. The chop was on, making the downhills athletic and challenging...catching one good ride was often worth 5-10 boatlengths. The dark side of big chop: the coating of salty ice on your face going upwind.

Oh, ya...it was cold. Like, 28 degrees or so.

And not one boat flipped. Franny reported that it was the best day of frostbite sailing he'd had in years. I heard that from a lot of people. It was really, really fun. In an epic sort of way.

Chuck saved the day with his canopied whaler, allowing our intrepid RC of Doug and Tina to run safe, meaty courses in some pretty nutty-cold conditions. The first two races were up-and-back (finish downwind), followed by three X's (no-gybes). The beats were long. Almost Nationals kind of long. High tide was at 2PM and we took full advantage. There was a huge premium on boatspeed with not a lot of mark roundings to make gains on. There were some shifts, even some huge shifts, and a few lulls and that sort of thing, but mostly if you hiked hard and went really fast, you did well.

Steve/Jane and Paul/Gaelen did both of those things. They hiked hard, and they did really well. Paul and Gaelen ended up pulling out the win in the last race, capping a sweet day where they had, at times, both exceptional height and exceptional wheels. Franny and Sue were also very quick and very solid, but it was tough to get ahead of either of the two lead boats today.

Congrat's to all the hearty souls who survived. It was one of those days you'll tell your grandkids about.

Fall 5
December 21, 2003

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points
683	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	1	1	2	2	1	7
685	JohnMacrae/ LindaEpstein	2	2	4	1	3	12
627	DaveNelson/ JanWalker	5	7	1	3	2	18
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	3	6	7	4	4	24
619	MikeBirmann/ KatieClinton	7	3	5	5	7	27
401	ErikGoethert/ JuliaMarsh	8	8	3	6	5	30
549	BobCoyle/ KateGingras	6	5	8	7	6	32
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	4	4	6	9	11	34
630	DaveLucia/ MargeryBravard (co)	9	10	9	8	8	44
417	KarlSeibert/ ArolynSeibert	10	9	10	10	9	48

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 3:12 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	33	18 SW	-
1 pm	34	16 WSW	-
2 pm	34	17 WSW	-
3 pm	34	17 SW	-

After last weekend at Duxbury, the weather looked downright tame, although it was blowing in the teens from mid-morning on. Early hopes for cancellation by a few hesitant skippers were submerged as more and more cars pulled up, spilling enthused frostbiters. With only one hoist working, it took time to launch all the boats, yeoperson duties at the hoist provided by Mike and Katie. Tom and Hatch ferried the ICs over to the docks for rigging as paddling would have been challenging with the straight-in southwesterly.

We had two new faces in the crowd, sailing in Erik The Red's Red Boat. Welcome to Karl and Arolyn Seibert who coped handsomely with the boat and the weather, especially for a first time out.

In spite of its previously observed lack of stabiliy, Mike Birmann took a chance and purchased IC 619 from Will Welles. It seemed to be moving well. Mike will report on whether it is as tippy as Will claimed. Mike will also report on the name chosen for his boat.

Jan provided some entertainment at the end of the third race. Excited by the prospect of winning, she missed the strap on the last tack and trailed along under water for awhile to amuse those still on the course. Apparently she can't claim total immersion bragging rights, because Dave was still holding onto her foot. Unless your boots get full, you didn't go overboard.

The real story of the day was the tide, which was exactly low as we were hauling out after racing. Not only was it an astronomical low tide, it was the solstice astronomical low tide. With -1.4 foot tide, there was no water below the hook on the hoist. Skippers got there somehow, including wading in inky black sludge. Swabbing down boots, boats, and sails took considerable time, esp for folks with shiny white bottoms.

The race committee was skippered by Hatch. On dock were Todd and Rick from the Laser fleet, with on the water work by Tom Robinson and Team Tango (Ray and Taryn). Thanks for another day of great racing!

Fall 6
Sunday December 28, 2003

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points	CrewRace
683	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	2	2	1	2	2	9	683	GaelenPhyfe
717	JimBowers/ LindaEpstein	3	1	2	5	1	12	717	MyrnaChanMacRae
670	DaveNickerson/ DanNickerson	4	3	6	1	3	17	617	EmilyDrowne
617	BillRothwell/ EmilyDrowne	5	4	3	3	4	19	670	DaveNickerson
757	JohnPratt/ ChristinaRoussel	1	6	4	6	6	23	619	KatieClinton
619	MikeBirmann/ KatieClinton	6	5	5	4	5	25	757	ChristineRoussel
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	7	7	7	7	7	35	684	DianeEconomides

Logan airport conditions at race time High tide was at 3:00 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	50	SSW 7	-
1 pm	51	W 6	-
2 pm	52	WSW 7	-
3 pm	51	SW 8	-

And now for something completely different -- a glorious fall day with winter features, like early sunset and no leaves on the trees. Seven ICs and about the same number of Lasers enjoyed a spectacular day on the water. Mild zephyrs from SSW to WSW teased the frostbiters, who were sweating in the full sun and 50 degree temperatures. People pulled off gloves, mitts, spray tops, etc. Various weather services reported 6 to 8 knot winds at Logan but no such conditions were evident in our sailing area, which seemed to feature winds at 0 to 5 knots with gusts to 6. With moderate tide levels and light air, current was not a factor.

Races were again run from the dock, with longish courses out in the direction of the hut. People who gained weight over the past week of partying were at a distinct disadvantage in the very light and variable conditions. This is the kind of day to drive novice IC sailors crazy. Tactics and light wind skills (or, ahem, kinetic skills) were the story for the day.

Lovely variety of eats afterwards in the Pilot House. Emily Drowne celebrated her birthday; be really nice to her and she might tell you which one it was. If you left early, you missed the lively discussion on whether/how to save the world from ourselves (to be continued).

Race committee was ably run by Hatch, with help from Todd Rake, Dave Nelson, and someone else who was wishing he had brought sailing gear. Team Tango (Ray and Taryn) enjoyed driving the launch around but were not called upon for further duties. Thanks to all!

Broo Bowl!!
January 1, 2004

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points
717	JimBowers/ MyrnaChanMacRae	1	1	1	1	2	6
685	JohnMacRae/ LindaEpstein	2	2	4	2	1	11
623	SteveBraverman/ CindyOlsen	3	3	2	3	3	14
627	DaveNelson/ ChristinaRoussel	4	4	3	4	4	19
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	6	6	6	6	6	30

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 12:46 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	42	17 WNW	23
1 pm	42	16 W	25
2 pm	42	18 W	25
3 pm	43	15 NW	under 20

Great day for frostbiting! The wind was "up there" near 20 but the temperature was in the low 40's under brilliant sun. The gusts were manageable and the shifts moderate. Five boats came and were counted.

Racing was run from the hut, with a no-gybe course that looked long but took closer to 15 minutes than to 20. The racing was tight and fair. Not the day to be taking any chances and besides, it wasn't all that crowded on the course. Downwind legs were about boatspeed and tactics. Jimmy moved high each time and commanded the inside, with the others only a few boatlengths behind. There was more separation on the final beat to the finish, with the last boat around tacking to port each race, looking for the shifts they needed to catch the leaders. It worked a few times but the wind was different on the two sides of the course. Finishes were tight too, with some places decided by fractions of a boatlength.

Hatch directed operations, with on-hut assistance from Denise & Taryn, with John and Ray in the launch. The launch was called upon to rescue 684 after a sudden death roll at the second mark of the first race. Just a brief lapse on the main sheet as a puff came from nowhere; presto, up she comes and over she goes. Team Bottoms Up now has gotten that over with for the season and they expect to stay dry from now on. Back on shore, boats were stowed quickly and folks settled down to a wonderful feast of Shan's justifiably famous red beans and rice, accompanied by shrimp and mounds of cornbread from Denise.

All set for more action come Sunday.

Fall 7
January 4, 2004

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Points	CrewRace
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	2	1	3	2	2	10	683	JanWalker
685	JohnMacRae/ LindaEpstein	1	7	1	1	3	13	685	LindaEpstein
683	PaulAdam/ JanWalker	3	3	4	3	1	14	617	EmilyDrowne
401	ErikGoethert/ AmyWrightson	8	2	5	5	9	29	632	JuliaMarsh
757	AlexMeVay/ ChristinaRoussell	5	6	2	7	10	30	640	CarolineRoss
617	BillRothwell/ EmilyDrowne	4	5	9	9	8	35	401	AmyWrightson
609	TomRobinson/ MaryFiske	9	8	8	4	6	35	627	StephanieBaldock
632	JohnKolb/ JuliaMarsh	7	4	10	10	5	36	609	MaryFiske
549	BobCoyle/ CarolynMathews	6	9	7	8	7	37	549	CarolynMathews
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	11	12	6	6	4	39	757	ChristineRoussell
640	CarolineRoss/ PaulSmith	10	10	11	11	11	53

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 3:19 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	50	W 7	-
1 pm	50	W 7	-
2 pm	49	W 8	-
3 pm	46	W 9	-

A fine drizzly day of frostbiting. Nothing extreme in any way. Eleven ICs and 13 Lasers showed up in a mellow post-holiday mood for a quiet day with interesting racing.

Some people who were without crew stayed home but not Steve. Ohhhhhno. Steve took a Laser in his bare hands and bent it to his will! Kicking ahem you-know-what and besting the other dozen Lasers to take first honors for the day, showing once again that IC Sailors Rock! (Read about it in his Voice.)

First, it was a fickle day. Conditions didn't follow any of the forecasts. In fact, the actual conditions we experienced on the water didn't seem to match the contemporaneous observations reported from the airport a mere half mile or so away. We felt light air throughout the sailing time, from barely there to brief patches of at most 8 or 9 mph. Only occasionally were skipper and crew both on the same side of the centerboard.

Early on, the wind hovered on the left side of West with variations in strength across the course. For the last two races, it filled slightly more often from the right.

Oddly enough, the real story of the day was the current. Even with a very modest tide level, the wind-driven current proved to be a strong factor in the racing. Few people were even threatening the line at the starts; current at the weather mark surprised more than a few folks forced to throw in a double tack to make the mark. People sticking with the channel side on the downwind leg often caught a nice boost from the current.

Hatch managed two fleets with his usual aplomb. Jimmy and Myrna did the necessary RC work on the hut; Team Tango circled with the launch but nothing untoward happened. Thanks to all for a nicely run set of races, finishing all too soon on a pleasant afternoon. Food indoors was wonderful again, with fresh shrimp in cocktail sauce, two vats of chowdah, and some fine brown sugar brownies. Pilot House action continued long into the next or the next football game.

Fall 8
January 11, 2004

Logan airport conditions at race time High tide was around 1:00 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	9	WSW 6	-
1 pm	-	-	-
2 pm	23	WSW 10	-
3 pm	-	-

As predicted, by race time the climate conditions were perfect for frostbiting. Temperature in the 20's and winds 10-12 out of the southwest. Unfortunately since the temperature had come up to the 20's rather than down to the 20's, we had hard water in the harbor. Rumor had it that even the channel was frozen.

To battle this disappointment, Bob called for pond hockey as a substitute. Conditions on Winter Pond in Winchester were excellent. The pond had frozen smoothly and the surface was bare. Gazillions of people were out skating, most holding hockey sticks. Bob, Tommy, Linda, and Jan had a great time skating, passing a puck around, and generally getting in each other's way. Jocko was there earlier playing pickup. It was a wonderful active afternoon.

Rumor had it that the South-of-the-Charles fleet was going to be iceboating, using iceboards and windsurfer sails. Another fascinating approach to getting outside on a winter Sunday afternoon. Beats cleaning the basement any time.

For any other deep freeze occasions, check with Bob about whether the hockey option is "on".

Spring 1
January 18, 2004

How many things can you find wrong with this picture?

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 1:55 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	33	SSW 6	-
1 pm	33	S 3	-
2 pm	33	0	-
3 pm	33	N 5	-

This time we were one for three in the conditions department. The temperature was good but there was no wind and, oh yes, the little matter of the ice. It was broken up near shore by the tides and out in the channel by the Coast Guard. But the rest of it was just punky ice.

By the time I arrived, the perpetrators were indoors talking over the situation of the hut's location. It has relocated itself to the beach to the right of CPYC (if you are looking out from the clubhouse). The good news: the mooring is still attached to the hut. The bad news: the mooring is also pretty much on the beach. Paul, Warren, and Dave Nelson (probably with a cast of observers) had wrestled a launch down into the water to survey the situation from closer in. They chipped ice off the hut but couldn't do much else until resources were marshalled and more favorable tide times came along with more favorable working conditions. Paul and others are working with Commodore Mike of the club to get this resolved as smoothly as we can, given the circumstances. Even some 20/20 conditions would help.

Spring 2
January 25, 2004

Logan airport conditions at race time High tide was at 1:44 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	10	W 12	-
1 pm	13	W 16	21
2 pm	14	WNW 12	24
3 pm	16	WNW 13	-

High fives for another fine Star Fleet performance. (Click to see larger view.)

OK. So once again we were one-for-three in terms of conditions. This time the wind was sailable, albeit gusty. But with very solid ice inshore and temps making it all the way up to 16F, it was not a sailing day in Winthrop. In fact, it was probably not even a hockey day anywhere nearby.

Fleet stalwarts Paul, Bob, Steve, Warren, and Pratto braved the elements to inspect the Whaler, which had been clinging perilously to the dock since last week. They managed to nudge it from one icy berth to another hopefully less perilous one. The hut remains parked off Gary Macdonald's living room. Gary and Fran think it might make a nice summer cocktail porch if we leave it there.

Down to business eventually, the folks in the Pilot House sorted themselves into three fleets and sailed, er bowled, two hotly contested series. With a strong second series, the Star Fleet took the day with 436 total points; Snipes were second with 419, just squeezing out the J24s with 416. It was mostly clean racing, with only a few suspicions of 3-ball spares. Paul and John were called over a few times which surely accounted for their near-miss for 2nd place.

Steve took the day's high honors with a 94. The presence of Kelly and young Ben surely contributed to his strong surge in the second series. We parted with resolve to all move to North Carolina before the end of the month. Or, at the very least, to go to the mid-Winters in Annapolis, where the soup is warm even if the water isn't.

Spring 3
February 1, 2004

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was about 2 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	29	NW 10	-
1 pm	31	WNW 12	-
2 pm	33	NW 12	-
3 pm	34	NW 13	-

"Sailing? What's that?" -Jock MacRae


Which one is pond scum? (Click image to see larger view.)

Wow!! Temperature above freezing for the first time in almost four weeks! Unfortunately, no one told the ice. Or maybe, fortunately.

The stalwarts gathered at Winter Pond in Winchester at the appointed hour and located a pretty good patch of ice for some hockey action. When all frostbiters were assembled, we were eight. Happily some other ringers, er, folks happened along early so we had enough for two teams. We want to thank Bob, Gerard, Giovanni, and Matthew for joining us and showing us a few things. Especially Giovanni, who at (maybe?) 10 years old was skating rings around some of us, plus passing and shooting with the best. Possibly headed for greatness on a bigger pond. And Matthew, who at (maybe?) 2 years old kept Gerard on a different piece of ice for awhile.

We played for maybe two and a half hours, with a short Zamboni break for Tom and Bob to clear what we had churned up. By late, we had some major skate grabbing faults in the ice leading to Pratt-falls that surely wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Were we keeping score? After all, it was Sailors v Sailors. Eventually, just like the Patriots, we declared "Next goal wins it". A slick drive by Linda and Jocko finished up the afternoon, with the win going to (ta-dah) Sailors.

Late day action saw the fans gather at Mikey's for the traditional Super Bowl action. Votes were split on the MVP, with a vocal minority giving it to Delhomme. Wrapped up a good day of sporting action. Ask your doctor if it is right for you.

The Midwinters!! February 7 & 8, 2004 Annapolis MD

Spring 5
February 15, 2004

Competitor	String 1	String 2	String 3	Points
John Pratt	85	84	91	260
Bob Coyle	80	83	79	242
Linda Epstein	75	76	86	237
Tom Robinson	65	83	72	220
Cristina Roussel	68	70	69	207
Jan Walker	55	69	51	175
Dave Nelson	80	73	dnc	153
Taryn Pittman	58	69	dnc	127

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was at 12:35 pm
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	19	NW 16	24
1 pm	19	NNW 16	?
2 pm	21	NW 12	21
3 pm	21	NW 15	19

Waiting for the other pin to drop. (Click image to see larger view.)

I'm running out of cute ways to say "yet again, we didn't sail." You knew that before you left the house. A good crowd gathered though, just in case. It was too cold plus it was really gusty. Water looked really wet this week, if somewhat bumpy with the whitecaps. Pond ice was punky so no hockey either. After lots of story-telling and catching up, about half went on home to wash the dog or the clean the basement. The rest bowled or hung out in the Pilot House watching car racing.

This time the bowlers opted for fleet racing instead of team racing - each person scored on their own for three strings. Overall winner with three firsts plus the day's high score was Pratto. Also bowling very consistently was Jan, with three DFLs and the day's low score. Linda had the only strike of the day; Taryn and Cristina each had their first-ever spares. Winner of the green fleet was Cristina, who was trying candlepin for maybe the first time since high school PE bowling; she couldn't remember.

Ski Weekend
February 21-22, 2004

Spring 6
February 29, 2004

Boat	Skipper/ Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Points
683	PaulAdam/ GaelenPhyfe	2	2	1	1	2	3	11
717	JimBowers/ MyrnaChanMacRae	3	3	3	3	5	2	19
627	DaveNelson/ StephanieBaldock	1	7	4	4	4	6	26
757	JohnPratt/ CristinaRoussel	10	1	2	5	3	7	28
397	AndyCrocker/ JulieShea	5	8	8	10	1	1	33
623	SteveBraverman/ AlliStrumski	4	4	5	7	8	5	33
685	JockMacRae/ LindaEpstein	7	5	6	2	6	10	36
549	BobCoyle/ CarolynMathews	6	6	9	8	9	4	42
609	TomRobinson/ MaryFiske	9	9	7	9	7	9	50
684	ShanMcAdoo/ DianeEconomides	8	10	10	6	10	8	52
632	JonKolb/ JanWalker	11	11	11	11	11	11	66

Logan airport conditions at race time Low tide was about noon:30
Time	TempF	Wind	Gusts
Noon	52	10 WNW	-
1 pm	52	10 WNW	-
2 pm	54	8 W	-
3 pm	53	12 WNW	-

Finally! The day we've all been waiting for. Beautiful, sunny, decent wind, mild. The kind of day you would choose to hook someone on frostbiting. Eleven ICs were there; the people missing were out of town or else they would have been there too. What a beauty for Spring 6 (six, VI, 110, roku, or however you want to say it; we've missed a lot of sailing). The day also attracted 7 Laser sailors.

The racing was eventful, with teams Adam/Phyfe and Pratt/Roussel showing the effect of *practice* at the midwinters and in Duxbury last week. Several other teams demonstrated in a spectacular way the effects of *no practice* in the intervening several months. Someone else will have to write up the conditions and so on (please?) because I never did figure out what was going on (q.v.)

Thanks to Hatch and his skeleton crew of Denise, Ray, and Kate Gingras for running wonderful races on a wonderful day. Long lazy after-race in the Pilot House where people caught up on months and months of each others' lives. An ex-commodore (CPYC) was spotted, brushing off the many congratulations for having escaped the job with his sense of humor intact.

Spring 9
April 3, 2004

Pictures are worth lots of words, right? So, click to see them.

This was the day that was, q.v.

IC Nationals, Hyannis Yacht Club
Hyannis, MA
April 17 & 18, 2004

Place	Sail	SkipperL	SkipperF	CrewL	CrewF	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Total
1	625	Funsch	Mike	McAndrews	Terence	Larchmont	1	3	2	3	18*	5	1	6	7	15	2	5	50
2	808	Kirkpatrick	Steven	Batcho	Julie	Scituate	2	10	7	2	1	14	3	21*	4	2	6	8	59
3	693	Adams	Ed	Adams	Luke	Newport YC	5	2	10	5	4	3	9	12	5	5	22*	2	62
4	818	Atkins	Chad	Brockway	Holly	Hyannis/Newport	3	16	8	18	7	1	2	2	3	26*	4	10	74
5	755	Fowler	Neil	Gleason	Josh	HYC	6	9	1	1	21*	8	17	1	1	17	5	12	78
6	683	Adam	Paul	Phyfe	Gaelen	Winthrop	16	1	5	9	9	17	5	11	2	22*	10	7	92
7	752	Demarest	Chad	Hale	Sarah	Scituate	10	8	15	26*	5	2	22	15	9	3	7	3	99
8	717	Bowers	Jim	Chan-MacRae	Myrna	Winthrop	12	4	12	21	26*	10	4	14	12	1	14	1	105
9	17	Patin	Paul-Jon	Patin	Anne	Sayville	17	5	4	13	20	24*	11	18	6	19	1	6	120
10	619	Birmann	Michael	Sheridan	Erin	Winthrop	33*	24	13	10	6	12	8	8	10	12	8	13	124
11	627	Nelson	David	Baldock	Stephanie	Winthrop	4	33*	14	11	24	7	7	4	16	21	13	14	135
12	708	Fava	Joe	Mazoreas	Elise	Scituate	14	18	11	29*	2	6	6	7	19	7	21	28	139
13	820	Welles	Will	Donahue	Ryan	Winthrop	30	11	3	8	32	34*	12	19	15	18	3	4	155
14	685	MacRae	John	Epstein	Linda	Winthrop	32*	6	20	6	15	22	23	9	29	8	9	11	158
15	816	Anderson	Karl	x	x	x	20	19	22	17	11	20	20	3	11	16	23*	9	168
16	31	Strauss	Simon	Cosentine	Rosanne	Larchmont	21	23	25	15	44* ocs	26	18	5	14	4	15	15	181
17	536	Lorson	Pedro	Berry	Mimi	Nanhasset Bay	24	15	6	44* ocs	3	4	24	13	44 ocs	9	16	24	182
18	651	Scott	Ted	Smith	Sonya	HYC	18	14	9	44* ocs	44 ocs	23	13	10	20	6	12	19	188
19	24	Winslow	Jonathan	Ihara	Marisa	x	22	7	27*	14	14	11	16	17	18	25	26	18	188
20	670	Nickerson	Dave	Nickerson	Dan	x	8	28	40*	16	10	9	21	20	8	23	31	16	190
21	807	Bishop	Rick	Collins	Meredith	HYC	13	40*	16	4	8	16	27	28	28	30	11	21	202
22	10	Monro	Bob	Monro	Fran	Larchmont	28	20	31	31	44* ocs	15	15	16	17	20	25	17	235
23	397	Crocker	Andrew	Crocker	Julie	Winthrop	25	27	28	12	17	13	29	27	24	11	33*	25	238
24	623	Braverman	Stephen	Olsen	Cindy	Winthrop	23	25	21	23	13	19	25	31	44* ocs	14	18	29	241
25	518	Worrell	Sterling	Runci	Zach	Scituate	7	36*	30	28	12	35	10	29	27	10	27	32	247
26	806	Prizzi	Tony	Kania	Kitty	HYC	15	17	32	7	31	38*	32	35	25	33	19	20	266
27	401	Goethert	Eric	Wrightson	Amy	CPYC	19	12	19	25	25	21	14	33	26	31	44* dnc	44	269
28	765	Kivney	Gerard	Kivney	Maureen	HYC	37*	29	17	22	19	33	28	32	22	24	20	23	269
29	620	Besse	Whitney	Yu	Tamara	x	31	13	18	20	28	28	35*	24	31	32	29	34	288
30	601	Spencer	Nathaniel	x	x	x	44* dnc	30	33	30	27	40	33	30	13	13	17	33	299
31	810	Eastman	Peter C.	Taylor	Tracey	HYC	35	22	26	44* ocs	16	18	19	26	21	29	44 dnc	44 dnc	300
32	617	Rothwell	Bill	Drowne	Emily	Winthrop	26	26	37	19	23	31	38*	23	33	37	32	26	313
33	549	Coyle	Bob	Gingras	Kate	Winthrop	29	31	24	27	36*	30	31	36	32	27	28	22	317
34	268	Weene	Ross	Slater	Eli	Winthrop	34	21	35	44* dnc	29	39	37	25	23	28	24	27	322
35	754	Bruce	Alan	Bruce	Bev	Scituate	11	39	23	24	22	27	30	44* dnf	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	352
36	711	McCarthy	David A.	Hauk	Christine	HYC	36	32	38*	34	34	25	34	38	30	35	30	35	363
37	39	Taboada	Keith	Taboada	Patty	Metedeconk River	9	34	36	32	33	44* dnc	26	22	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	368
38	815	O'Loughlin	Sean	Harrison	Alec	HYC	27	42*	41	33	35	29	36	37	34	34	34	36	376
39	628	Kallman	Peter	Deppe	Shane	SeaCliff	41	37	29	36	30	32	41	34	44* dnf	39	35	30	384
40	490	Abbott	Bill	Lowell	Sam	HYC	40*	38	39	35	37	37	39	40	35	36	36	31	403
41	248	Trovato	Mike	x	x	HYC	39	44* dnf	44 dnc	44 dnc	38	36	40	39	36	38	37	37	428
42	455	Woods	Robert	Schmidek	Jared	HYC	38	41	34	44* dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	465
43	62	Flinn	Larry	x	x	HYC	44* dnc	35	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	44 dnc	475