News Archives - NH Boat Museum

Model Yachting News • December 2019

Posted on December 17, 2019December 17, 2019 by Paul McBride

Seasons Greetings

It has been a great year for racing Solings and US12s, not unduly hindered by milfoil, and thanks to the new Wednesday rain date, added this year, not as affected by bad weather. Tim Wright started out the season by winning the Sasquatch Footy Regatta, and proceeded to win just about everything else.

Videos and Photos

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

Lots of other class boats sailed with us over the course of the season: Marblehead, Santa Barbara, Soling 50, Dragron Flite 95, Dragon Force 65, T65, Serenity, J Boat, a Chinese Junk, and Footys – RC controlled and free-sailing. Next year we might also see a couple of Whirlwind J Boats, and a V36. The club hosted one regional event: The Sasquatch Footy Regatta in the Nor’easter Footy Series.

Club members volunteered to help with parking for the NHBM auction, and help on the docks for the biennial Vintage Race Boat Regatta in Wolfeboro Bay. Club members also competed in regional events at Stowe Vermont, Nashua New Hampshire, and at Needham and Marblehead Massachusetts. Next year will be even better. Watch out for more DF95s and DF65s as these are the fastest growing classes in the AMYA.

Long Live the Soling 1 Meter Class

As the Back Bay Skippers was started to race Solings, and most members sail Solings, loosing the original manufacturer and supplier of the Soling kits has caused considerable concern. It is also of concern to the AMYA, as the Soling 1M Class has the largest number of boats registered to AMYA members. Tim Stone, AMYA Soling 1 Meter Class Secretary elect, sent out a status report on the S1M kits to be made by the new manufacturer. No dates for availability of the new kits have been announced but they are making progress. Hopefully kits will be available for the next Summer building class. There seems to be enough used boats for new members, but building a boat yourself increases the level of commitment and the experience helps in adjustment, and any repairs that may be required in the future.

Nashua Model Yacht Club

Rick Gates, a Back Bay Skipper member, has been working several years at establishing the Nashua Model Yacht Club in Nashua New Hampshire. He has hosted several regional events there including the 2019 AMYA Region 1 US12 Championship, and several events in the Nor’easter Footy Regatta series in 2018 and 2019. A club meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2020 at the Pine Street Eatery, Nashua NH, at1 PM. For more information contact Rick Gates at rgates1@comcast.net

Mark and Kathleen

Commodore Mark Whitehead has been occupied taking care of his wife, Kathy, who is recovering at home from a recent fall. Best wishes to Kathy for a speedy recovery. We’re all looking forward to another of her cunningly devised challenging games to choose the winner of the door prize at the next Spring Skippers Party.

News Articles

If any of the “off” season sailors in Florida have any photos, videos, or stories of their sailing adventures, there’s room for them here in the Back Bay Skippers News. Go ahead, make the rest of us jealous!

Wishing Happy Holidays and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year to skippers everywhere.

Links: American Model Yachting Association

Model Yachting News • November 2019

Posted on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 by Paul McBride

The Sailing Season Ends
On November 4 the dock was pulled and put away for the winter. Another successful season with fifty five events participated in by 1254 people.

Front Row L to R: Paul McBride, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Leach, Mark Whitehead

Back Row: Larry Gil, John Simms, Paul Wallace, Skip Koehler, Diane LaBella, John Russell, Tim Wright, Jim Opie, Howard Germon

Videos

Photos

2019-11-04 Dock Out
Photo Gallery

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

The Top Ten
Skippers must sail in 50 percent of the regattas to be considered for end-of-season awards. From those who completed that requirement, the top ten from each class are listed below.

Congratulations to all the skippers for a rewarding season!

US12 Fleet

1. 1. 1. Tim Wright
    2. Bill Hagerup
    3. Don Cundy
    4. Don McBride
    5. Jerry Leach
    6. Paul McBride
    7. Jim Opie
    8. Paul Wallace

Soling Sailor Class Fleet

1. 1. 1. Don McBride
    2. Paul McBride
    3. Denis Boisvert
    4. Paul Wallace
    5. Diane LaBella
    6. Mac MacDonald
    7. Jack Minahan
    8. Skip Koehler
    9. Al Stevens
    10. Bruce Brown

Soling Master Class Fleet

1. 1. 1. Tim Wright
    2. Rick Lalley
    3. Tom Greig
    4. Dan Masessa
    5. Don Cundy
    6. Rick Gates
    7. Anthony Quinn
    8. Mark Whitehead
    9. Bob Brennan
    10. Tim Brand

Links: American Model Yachting Association

Model Yachting News • October 30, 2019

Posted on November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 by Paul McBride

The Season Comes to an End

The Solings
Gathering on a dreary gray day October 29, thirteen dedicated Soling skippers sailed an eight-race regatta. No matter what the weather, however, when we’re sailing it’s all smiles and certainly not dreary. Wind prediction was 5 mph and for the most part that was the case, with flat water here and there.

Photo Albums

2019-10-30 US12 Last Sailing Day of 2019
2019-10-29 Soling Last Sailing Day of 2019
2019-10-24 US12 Sailing Day
Photo Gallery
Back Bay Skippers YouTube Channel

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

Tim Wright led the way most of the regatta, but John Russell, Mark Whitehead, and Paul McBride snuck in wins. Al Stevens also claimed a first, but since he was sailing a Dragon Flite 95, I’m not sure we can give him full credit! Crossing the finish line in second place were Jerry Leach (2), Anthony Quinn (2), Tim Wright (2), Jay Burns (2), and Paul McBride. As it turned out, the first- and second-place skippers filled the top five positions in each race. Rick Gates can claim one third-place finish, and Paul Wallace captured fourth in two races.

Sandra Wallace tried her hand at the helm of the 227 — will we be adding another skipper to our fleet in the future? She’s a hardened blue-water sailor so the transition to little boats shouldn’t be too bad.

Joining today’s festivities, just to keep it interesting, were a blue heron, a Mallard duck, a cormorant, and a loon. None brought a boat to enter but still were fun to watch. No eagle or peregrine falcon this time.

The visitors

The US12 Fleet
Reporting on both last week and this week, the fleet seemed to have contrasting regatta winds. October 24 had a decent breeze at around eight mph, but October 30 was locked into a flat, calm day with only occasional puffs. Both days were a challenge in their own right.

Trivia
One of our really, really dedicated skippers, Rick Lalley, makes the trip down from Thomaston, Maine each week. Rick has calculated that this summer’s travel distance equals a jaunt to Los Angeles and halfway back! We hope he never gets stuck in Chicago!

See you on the water next season!
Keep your eyes on the news; there’s still lots going on.

Links: American Model Yachting Association

Model Yachting News • October 22, 2019

Posted on October 24, 2019October 24, 2019 by Paul McBride

The End Is Near
We’re almost at the end of the season — but not quite. Owners of US12s had fun on October 16 for a sail-whatever-you-bring regatta. Five skippers participated, and Tim Wright brought his Santa Barbara out of storage for some sea trials — a pretty sight. The skippers did a round robin so everyone was able to sail all their boats. Although a bit cool and raw on the bay, the day was considered a big success.

Photo Albums

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

Thirteen skippers launched for the October 22 Soling regatta, the wind good enough to complete thirteen races.

Rick Gates and Jerry Leach brought out their Dragon Flite 95s, Rick taking two firsts, three seconds, one third, and two fourths. Jerry managed to capture three firsts and three thirds — and to spend about fifteen minutes hung up on the outside buoy line. The long keel and lengthy bulb on the DF95s have a strong attraction to buoy ropes!

Solings

Taking Soling firsts this week were Tim Wright, Jay Burns, Jim Opie, and Howard Germon. Anthony Quinn, Mark Whitehead, Howard Germon, and Jim Opie were second-place finishers. Third spots were filled by Mark Whitehead, Jack Minahan, Howard Germon, Tim Brand, and Jim Opie. Included in the top five were Paul Wallace and Skip Koehler.

Mills Museum STEMS Program
For the second year, a representative from the NH Boat Museum Back Bay Skippers traveled to Claremont to join staff helping the Women-in-Engineering program at the Mills Museum. Rick Gates guided a class in boatbuilding and sailing on the patio pond.

Students learn sailing

On the Docket
Al Stevens’ johnboat now is wearing a brand new cap and has been moved to its winter location.

On a good day next week the season will come to an end with dock-out. At this point we’re unsure if there’ll be another day of sailing — Mother Nature will determine that.

Links: American Model Yachting Association

Model Yachting News • October 15, 2019

Posted on October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 by Paul McBride

Fall Sailing
You can’t beat it! Sun, great wind, cool temperatures, and great color across the bay. Not to mention that pressure is gone now that no scores are kept — just bragging rights.

Photo Albums

2019-10-16 US12 Sailing Day
2019-10-15 Soling Sailing Day
2019-10-10 US12 Sailing Day
Photo Gallery
Back Bay Skippers YouTube Channel

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

The US12s sailed on Thursday, October 10, launching five boats for a great day of sailing.

The October 15 regatta attracted twelve skippers and their Solings to challenge each other in thirteen races.

Picking up wins this week were Tim Wright with seven, Howard Germon four, John Russell one, and Jerry Leach one. Fight for the most second-place finishes was between Tim and Howard, with the exception of race two when John Russell was the second boat to cross the finish line. Filling in the other top spots were Paul McBride, Jay Burns, Paul Wallace, Anthony Quinn, and Mark Whitehead, occasionally interspersed with the aforementioned winners.

A Vintage Marblehead Graces the Bay
Preparing for races this weekend at Red’s Pond in Marblehead, Rick Gates brought his vintage Marblehead to race with the Solings. This Soling’s bigger brother participated in ten races, earning one third, four fifths, two sixths, two sevenths, and one ninth.

The Johnboat
Al Stevens has not only donated the johnboat but has worked all summer to get it ready for rescue duties. The next step is a cover to keep the rain out, so off she went to Rollins Upholstery.

Almost Your Last Chance
We never know how many regattas are left. When the dock is gone, so are we. It all depends on the weather — when it gets cold, we tend to lose enthusiasm, so come on down and watch the fun while it lasts at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. The sailing season will end soon.

Model Yachting News • October 8, 2019

Posted on October 9, 2019October 12, 2019 by Paul McBride

US12s
Tim Wright reports, the first day of un-scored racing on October 3rd was just what it should have been, fun and loose with seven US12s and one Marblehead. The Marblehead was one of many built by Ned Lakeman. Ned made so many boats he gave them away, this one to Tim Wright. It was sailed by Paul McBride. The boat needs a good wind to reach it’s potential, but we didn’t have the wind to really get it moving. However, beautiful fall colors and no ski jump made for great sailing as well as splendid photos and lots of fun amongst the competitors. In all, a wonderful day and a nice gathering of sailors.

Photo Albums

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

You Have to Love Autumn
The sun was out, there was a bounty of color, and the temperature was in the mid-sixties. A bald eagle even flew by to celebrate the day.
When we arrived for the October 8 regatta, there was concern about the wind being too light, but overall it wasn’t a bad day. There were occasional dead spots, but we managed to complete ten races. Fourteen skippers launched Solings, Tom Greig sailed his US12 and performed a waterline test on his J Boat while Tim Wright sailed his Chinese junk.

Tim Wright’s Chinese Junk — look, he’s in the lead

Promotions
In past years, who sailed in which fleet was determined by a 50-50 split in scores. When we split the fleet in 2018 (Sailors and Masters) it didn’t work as well as it should have. In a recent vote it was determined that the top four Sailors would be promoted to the Master Class and the bottom four Masters would become members of the Sailor Class for 2020. The hope is that this will keep the fleets balanced in numbers and abilities.

Congratulations to the 2020 Promoted Skippers!
New Master Class Skippers

- - - - Don McBride
        Paul McBride
        Denis Boisvert
        John Russell

Al Stevens Makes Progress
Over the summer, Al Stevens made great progress, filling leaks and painting the Johnboat he’s donating to Back Bay Skippers. He’s almost there, and we’ll be transporting the boat to Rollins Upholstery for a cover as soon as the dinghy comes out of the water.

Out on the Water
Howard Germon enjoyed an exciting adventure to Alaska the last three weeks. Prior to that, it was a deluge of friends and relatives, all contributing to his lack of sailing time on Back Bay. Back in action this week, he started the regatta with decisive wins in races one and four. Following that, he scored one second and two thirds.

Race two was a miracle when always-sixth-place Commodore Mark Whitehead led from start to finish with a win. After that, it was a second in race four and a couple of fourths.

Tim Wright had three wins and three thirds. Not to be outdone, Rick Lalley had three wins and three seconds. Paul McBride joined the list of winners in race eight. Don Cundy didn’t get a win, but had three seconds in races two, six, and nine, and Tim Brand sailed to second place in race ten.

Model Yachting News • October 1, 2019

Posted on October 3, 2019October 3, 2019 by Paul McBride

US12s
Tim Wright reports that this week, our US12 fleet wasn’t wondering whether rain would stop in time for the regatta as we did last week. Rather, we were hoping it would hold off long enough for a full afternoon of racing. Under dramatic skies and with ridiculously fickle winds, we managed to complete ten races. B.B Wright scored for us and kept the pace moving along. She would see wind and say, “Let’s get going.”

At 2:30, Don Cundy showed us the weather radar, which indicated a serious line of rain ever so close to Wolfeboro. We decided enough was enough and started packing up quickly. While leaving the parking lot, the rain started to fall. Thanks, Don, for your timely attention to the weather!

On the course, due to the winds and the holes into which we all sailed, the racing was spirited and lively. People changed positions right up to the finish line.

Photo Albums

2019-10-01 Soling Regatta
2019-09-26 US12 Regatta
Photo Gallery

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

There was some borrowing of boats. Don Cundy sailed to second place with Tim Wright’s spare boat, winning a race for the second week in a row. Paul McBride sailed to fourth with Paul Wallace’s boat. Paul W.’s boat won a race for the second week in a row.

Don McBride didn’t catch any weeds this week, and sailed to a solid third-place finish. He also displayed uncommon courtesy by lagging behind in one race to keep Diane LaBella’s Soling1M company at the back of the fleet. However, he stayed back only once.

Jerry Leach was having some issues with his boat at times, finishing fifth. At one point, it seemed he was trying to match Don McBride’s miracle of catching weeds with his keel. He didn’t come away with anything, but his boat stayed very still on multiple points of sail.

Tim won the day with good boat speed and lucky phantom winds and shifts. In the first race his luck hadn’t kicked in and he tacked into a 90° header on the last leg, barely avoiding a last-place finish. After that, he started to pay better attention.

We all were glad to complete ten races in ninety minutes, and just as glad to get out before the heavens opened up. Since we need the rain, we were willing to sacrifice the last few races. Hopefully, we’ll have some more good racing next week.

Bruce Brown Receives Award
Last week, Bruce Brown took his first win, and this week, he received the totally desirable Back Bay Skippers water bottle for his accomplishment — no easy task. Congratulations, Bruce!

Late-Season Sailing
Last week was the end of season scoring, but we’re still sailing, and the Solings gathered on October 1 for a non-scored regatta. There’s a lot less pressure and certainly a more relaxed atmosphere. It was a gray day with the typical Back Bay wind that you never know when, where, or if it’s going to blow. It certainly tests your skills at reading the wind, however, and we managed six races for our sixteen skippers.

Rick Gates Challenges for Award

One of the awards given each year is the screw up award. Sailing his Dragon Flite 95, Rick Gates looked just a little foolish hooking the start buoy line. Freeing himself from that, he sailed off and proceeded to entangle the first and final mark. Could Rick be this year’s winner?

Breaking News
Paul Wallace, a Sailor Class skipper, jumped into the lead in race three and never looked back. Sailing one hundred feet ahead of the rest of the fleet, he certainly demonstrated his sailing prowess. It was an all-in — both Master and Sailor class — regatta, so the win was all that much sweeter.

Out on the Water
Looking at overall scores, Rick Gates had an impressive record of one first, two seconds, and a third. Since he was sailing his #170 Dragon Flite 95, a different class, he couldn’t be compared to Soling finishers.

Don Cundy pulled off a win in race one to start things off. Paul McBride had a strong showing taking two wins, although one was when he was sailing Rick’s DF95.

Tim Wright had an unusual day with only one win, but in his defense, he took rescue duty and served as boat analyzer for the rest of the skippers. After his tragic mast disaster last week, Rick Lalley was back in action with three seconds and a third. Commodore Mark Whitehead was shooting for a straight with a fourth in race one, a third in race two, and a second in race three. After that it was a fizzle with two sixths and no fifth or first. Mac MacDonald, after missing a few weeks of sailing, waited until the last race to pull off a good strong second-place finish.

Model Yachting News • September 24, 2019

Posted on September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 by Paul McBride

Tim Wright Reports
The US12 sailing on September 19 was good but a little frustrating. How many times can we mention the shiftiness and uncertainty of the wind? (Just about every week!) The six US12 skippers persevered, however, and completed nine races. Don Cundy showed up despite a hole in his keel that needed attention. Tim Wright has been holding onto Paul Wallace’s boat and brought it to test it out. It was a match made in heaven. Tim told Don he could sail Paul’s boat and give some feedback.

Previous Highlights

Score Sheets

In racing, Tim again won the day with eight first-place finishes. The only boat to beat him all day was Paul Wallace’s boat with Don Cundy at the helm. Don finished second for the day. He also had five second-place finishes to go with his victory in race five. Third place went to Don McBride, who finished just ahead of his brother, Paul. Paul overcame some early difficulties and ongoing steering issues. Fifth place went to a returning sailor. John Simms hasn’t sailed often this year due to boat issues. His boat had a persistent leak, but he purchased a boat from Tim Brand and started shaking off some of the rust. We expect more from him in the future and certainly next year. Jim Opie finished close behind in sixth.

There were some incredibly close finishes. In one race, the third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-place boats were overlapped as they approached the finish. The fifth-place boat crossed while the third- and fourth-place boats were still crossing the finish line. It was very dramatic, and our spectators marveled at the racing.

September 26 is the final day of scored racing for the US12s, then a month or so of unscored sailing until the dock comes out. Tim Wright always brings an extra boat, so if you want to try sailing a US12, come on down.

A Dark Cloud
Every week, Rick Lalley makes a three-hour trip from Thomaston, Maine, showing dedication to the sport and to the Back Bay Skippers. This week, however, a gust of wind knocked his boat off the stand and broke the mast before Rick got near the water. Sadly for Rick was a three-hour trip home and missing the last scored regatta. A real bummer, we all hurt right along with him.

A Blustery Day
We are starting to lose a few skippers to conflicts and commitments, but we still launched eighteen Solings for the September 24 nine-race regatta, the last scored regatta of the season. We will continue to sail till it gets too cold to be enjoyable; we just won’t keep track of the scores — on paper, that is!

Tuesday’s winds made up for the last few regattas. Hard winds for the entire afternoon kept us on our toes. At the beginning of the season, many of the skippers would have called it quits and headed home, but now with a little more confidence, they enjoyed the blustery day.

Breaking News
Bruce Brown, another member of the Building Class of 2018 pulled off his first win in race two. We forgot to reload the water bottle bag, so the awards presentation will be made next week.

John Brucker, Class of 2017, finally got a chance to sail with us again. He works in Danvers, Massachusetts, so it’s a struggle to sail with us. Being a little tentative getting started, John made significant progress after a little tuning help from Tim Wright, placing fourth in races eight and nine. It was a great day to play hooky!

Macklin and his dad join the fun

Back Bay Sailboat Kits
Always looking for ways to educate and improve the experience, especially for the younger set, we are trying out the Back Bay Sailboat Kits. The first to receive a kit was three-year-old Macklin. He and his dad will be working together to build his own sailboat.

Out on the Water
First place in Sailor Class was dominated by the top two finishers this week, both with four race firsts. Don McBride took top honors, and close on his heels was Denis Boisvert. Paul McBride had three second-place race finishes to give him third for the day. Jay Burns showed off his prowess with two seconds and three thirds, and Diane Labella rounded out the top five.

At the top of the Master Class was Tim Wright with seven firsts. New in the top three was Jerry Leach with five second-place finishes. Don Cundy tied for second after sailing to one first, two seconds, and four thirds. Bob Brennan snuck into third, proud of one second-place finish, and Rick Gates captured fourth. Miraculously, Mark Whitehead reached the top five — thanks to the tie by Don and Jerry.

Join the Fun
If you don’t want to build a boat, we’ll help you find a used one. Don’t want to sail? Just come and watch — we put on a great show every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 1:00 PM, weather permitting. Be sure to bring your camera.

Model Yachting News • September 17, 2019

Posted on September 23, 2019September 23, 2019 by Paul McBride

Headed South
Sadly for us, John and Bonnie McClun left Wolfeboro to call Amish country in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster area their home. Movers were scheduled to arrive Thursday, September 19, when their change of residence was officially launched.

John had been a longtime sailor in both the Soling and US12 fleets, and Bonnie was an outstanding scorekeeper for the US12 regattas. So they wouldn’t forget us, they were presented with a memento of their days with the Back Bay Skippers.

Previous Highlights

Upcoming Events

9/24 Soling Season End
9/26 US12 Season End

Score Sheets

US12 News
Tim Wright reports that the sailors this week for the US12s had two big questions. The biggest was the weather. On September 12, the rain looked like it might go all day, but both Mark Whitehead and Tim Wright thought it would stop. It did at 12:15! We had just enough time to set the marks, get the boats out and ready, and plan the course.

There were twelve races, with the wind lessening over the afternoon. The wind direction dictated a course from left to right. The racing was competitive except for Tim Wright, who seemed to get his wind from a more reliable source. That was the other big question. Where did he get it? It was apparent at the start that his boat was moving well, and he came in first for the day with 10 points. Paul McBride, who has been making good decisions over the last few weeks, came in second for the third week in a row with 25 points.

The differences in scores between third and fourth, and fifth and sixth were two points in each case. The races came down to the finish on many occasions, and the closeness of the scores showed how good the racing was. Jerry Leach (34) had some trouble with his jib sheet but managed to finish in third, barely two points ahead of Don McBride (36). In fifth place with 42 points, Jim Opie finished two points ahead of Bob Brennan (44). Bob hasn’t sailed his US12 often this year, and tried to shake off a little rust. In the next to last race, Bob got a second place, showing there is hope for the future.

The group enjoyed the day and the sailing, and putting up with the fickle wind yet again. We needed no crash boat or boat hook, so it was a good day! As the scored season is rapidly winding down, all sailors are enjoying the wonderful last days of sailing this summer and into the fall.

New Skippers Meet the Challenge
Last week it was Jay Burns who charged to the front of the Sailor Class and took his first win. We didn’t realize it until the scores came in, so presentation of his awesome Back Bay Skippers award wasn’t presented until this week.

Completing his boat in July and with very little stick time under his belt, it was Nelson Steiner who took his first win this week, receiving the coveted Back Bay Skippers water bottle.

Out on the Water
The September 17 Soling regatta launched twenty-one boats for a frustrating eight races. The wind was predicted to blow at a pitiful five mph, and it did but only in very limited spots. Most races had very very light winds — great for the light-air wizards, but a real struggle for the rest of us.

But actually the wind was like this: VERY LITTLE

When the spray settled in the Sailor Class, Diane Labella displayed woman power as she sailed to the top, followed by Don and Paul McBride. Jay Burns did a great job sailing into fourth with Nelson Steiner pulling off fifth.

Light air must agree with Dan Masessa because he won the Master Class. Rick Lalley and Bob Brennan tied for second, and Anthony Quinn held off challenges by Rick Gates to place third, Rick landing in fourth. Completing the top five was Tom Greig.

Model Yachting News • September 10, 2019

Posted on September 14, 2019September 14, 2019 by Paul McBride

US12s Sail
Tim Wright reports that on Thursday, September 5, we had good news and bad news. The good news concerned the weather. It was beautiful with good wind — variable, of course — and very pleasant temperatures. The bad news was that only four US12s sailed, taking advantage of the great conditions.

Previous Highlights

Upcoming Events

9/24 Soling Season End
9/26 US12 Season End

Score Sheets

On the water, Tim Wright led the way with Paul and Don McBride finishing second and third respectively in very competitive racing, and Paul Wallace in fourth. Trying out his new sails, Paul, in his thoughtful way, let others do well because he knows how important it is to them. What a guy!

Diane Labella sailed her Soling on the course with us and had some good races. At one point, she brought her boat ashore to let it take a nap. “It looked tired,” she explained. After a short rest, her Soling returned to the action.

The big news of the day was something they said couldn’t be done. Impossible, they said. Don McBride actually picked up some weeds on his US12 keel, but it wasn’t just a little weed. It was easily longer than the boat. When it comes to doing the impossible, just ask Don! We were all in shock that he was able to do something so unlikely.

News Flash
Al Stevens took his first win in race five on September 10, a day that will go down in history — or infamy, depending on your outlook. Congratulations, Al!

Without boastful fanfare, Jay Burns snuck in his first win in race two and followed that with another victory in race three! Jay was so quiet about his achievement, the rest of us focusing on our own yachts didn’t even notice until the scores came in. His award of the coveted water bottle will be presented at the next regatta. Congratulations, Jay!

On-Again-Off-Again Winds
During the September 10 Soling regatta, winds were fickle, to say the least, with spotty winds challenging the entire fleet. Stragglers would cruise along making gains on the leaders when, suddenly, the wind disappeared. The next race might be just fine, so it became a crap shoot as to what you’d get. The light-air skippers always seem to manage, but the rest of us go nuts. To further the frustration, six weed calls were made.

Twenty-two skippers launched for the eight-race regatta this week, making for a full bay. No matter the conditions, however, skippers and spectators always have a bunch of fun.

Out on the Water
The Sailor Class was led this week by Paul McBride, a bit more consistent than older brother, Don, who sailed to second place. Rounding out the top three was Denis Boisvert. Jay Burns took the fourth spot with two first-place races, followed by Bruce Brown in fifth.

In the Master Class, Tim Wright was out in front with Rick Lalley in second. The other Rick, Rick Gates, ran a strong third with two first-place finishes. Dan Masessa sailed into fourth with just a little more consistency than Tom Greig in fifth.