September 12, 2023 • Soling 1M Sailor Class Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Towne, Steve
Sailor
1
Witzel, Jeff
Sailor
1
Quinn, Anthony
Sailor
3
Wolcott, Clint
Sailor
4
Ware, Genie
Sailor
5
Monetta, Ted
Sailor
6
Barstow, John
Sailor
7
Strodel, Bob
Sailor
7
Opie, Jim
Sailor
9
Gerber, Ken
Sailor
10
Currier, Dick
Sailor
11
Bodenstab, Mark
Sailor
12
Koehler, Skip
Sailor
12

Model Yachting News • Week Ending September 16, 2023

Posted on

Written by Mark Whitehead, Tim Wright, Paul McBride
Editing & Proofreading Kathleen Whitehead
Photos by B. B. Wright, Tim Wright, Al Posnack, Paul McBride, Mark Whitehead
Layout & Photo Captions by Paul McBride

Games by Dave Perry
e-mail: backbayskippers@gmail.com

Meet Mark Bodenstab
Mark Bodenstab moved to the Lakes Region in 2016 after careers as a naval aviator and civil engineer. He is thoroughly enjoying retirement with his wife, Julie, frequent visits with children and grandchildren plus free time that now includes sailing.

Mark Bodenstab 54
A Good Turnout and Fair Weather at the Start

Last Official Regatta
Not quite what we expected, but we did — just barely – complete the four races required to make it an official regatta. Meteorologists predicted a humid but essentially rain-free window Tuesday afternoon – the lesser of two evils with thunderstorms predicted to pummel Wednesday’s afternoon. At the 1:00 PM start, there was a bit of a breeze and the sun was peeking from behind the clouds, but at the start of Race 4, the “humidity” increased significantly with a downpour. The sailing area cleared in a hurry as soon as the last race finished.

Tim Wright
Don Ouimette, a Visitor at Back Bay

One “ray of sunshine” was the presence of Don Ouimette, vice president of the American Model Yachting Association, who competed in three of the four races – winning all three! Don is an accomplished skipper, a past National Soling Champion, and, most recently, winner of the 2023 CanAm Challenge in Stowe, Vermont. We’d apologize for Mother Nature’s bad mood, but it didn’t seem to bother him!

Don Ouimette 4561, Winner of the 2023 CanAm Challenge
Scorekeepers and Skippers on the Shore
Water, Water Everywhere
The Scorekeepers were in good spirits despite the rain.
Al Posnack 111

Solings on the Water
Despite the weather forecast, there were twenty-two participants September 12, including our special guest. In the Sailor Class, Steve Towne and Jeff Witzel tied for first place, each scoring 3.50, Jeff with two second-place finishes and Steve with a first and a third. With a final tally of 4.00, Anthony Quinn came in third, able to brag about a second and a third. Also with a second and a third was Clint Wolcott, scoring 4.50 for the fourth spot, and Genie Ware was fifth, scoring 6.00 and having one third-place finish.

In the Master Class, our visiting skipper, Don Quimette showed us how it’s done by sailing to first place in all three races he entered. For our Back Bay Skippers, it was Al Posnack winning the day with three wins and a second and a score of 1.25. One of his wins was due to an average following a weed call. Tim Wright wasn’t far behind with a score of 1.67 for second overall, garnishing a win and two seconds. Don Cundy placed third, finishing fourth in three races and second in one race for an overall score of 3.50. Bill Malay and Mark Whitehead tied for fourth scoring 4.25, Mark sailing to first place in Race 4.

Steve Towne
Joel Nelson
Bill Malay and Don McBride on the Dock
Raindrops are falling on our Solings.
Parking lot on Tuesday 11:15 AM: Summer is over?

US12s Have a Perfect Day of Sailing
Only five sailors showed up on September 14 to sail for the final day of scored racing this summer. They were the lucky ones, as the day was about as nice as it can get. The sun was out, the wind was blowing just right, and the racing was fun and fast. With just enough wind shifts to make it familiar, the sailing was ideal.

US12s had a beautiful day for sailing.
Scorekeeper B.B. Wright
US12s
US12s at the Start

US12s on the Water
Paul McBride showed up and had issues with his boat before the first race. He got to work taking photos until after the fifth race, when he borrowed an untuned spare boat and sailed to fifth place. Jim Opie has been sailing better this season and ended up fourth with a solid performance. His best finishes today were third places, of which he had seven. Jim was a part of many close finishes and he was right in the thick of it. Don Cundy has been working to get his boat more to his liking all season, and he is getting closer. Today he had three seconds and three thirds. John Simms overcame some electrical system failures, and still finished in second place. He had eight second-place finishes as well as a first. It was a very strong showing indeed. Tim Wright had eleven wins and a second-place finish and was tough to catch and beat all day long. In all, the US12 sailors had a lot of fun throughout the “official” season. After all, having fun is Rule #1.

John Simms and Tim Wright
Tim Wright 438 and John Simms 101
Don Cundy 20
Don Cundy 20 and Jim Opie 130

Open Sailing on Thursdays for the Rest of the Season
While the official scoring ends this week, we will still score the races each week. They just won’t count for the official scoring season, only bragging rights. For that reason, US12 sailors would like to invite sailors of all boats to show up and sail/race with us. We all can welcome the chance to see other boats and enlarge our circle of sailors. Feel free to join us on Thursdays from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on Back Bay.

US12s approach the third mark.
Fun for All Ages

Sailing on Back Bay
The radio-controlled model yachts are on Back Bay in Wolfeboro from 1 PM to 3 PM weekly, the Solings on Tuesday and the US12s on Thursday, weather permitting. Wednesday serves as an alternate day should sailing conditions be poor.

Join the fun! We love to share so don’t be shy about asking to try your hand at the controls. Come watch the show or take a picture. It’s a sight to behold.

Upcoming Events:

Past Events:

e-mail: backbayskippers@gmail.com

September 7, 2023 • US12 Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Wright, Tim
Sailor
1
1.00
Simms, John
Sailor
2
2.30
Quinn, Anthony
Sailor
3
2.60
McBride, Donald
Sailor
4
2.89
McBride, Paul
Sailor
5
3.30

September 5, 2023 • Soling 1M Master Class Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Wright, Tim
Master
1
1.43
Posnack, Al
Master
2
2.71
Minahan, Jack
Master
3
4.14
Malay, Bill
Master
3
4.14
Barstow, Tom
Master
5
4.29
Whitehead, Mark
Master
6
4.67
Leker, Steve
Master
7
5.00
Cundy, Don
Master
8
5.14
McBride, Paul
Master
9
5.60
Gates, Rick
Master
10
7.00

September 5, 2023 • Soling 1M Sailor Class Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Davis, Linwood
Sailor
1
1.86
Ken Gerber
Sailor
2
2.71
Quinn, Anthony
Sailor
3
3.00
Ware, Genie
Sailor
4
3.29
Brown, Bruce
Sailor
5
4.86
Monetta, Ted
Sailor
6
5.43
Witzel, Jeff
Sailor
7
5.71
Barstow, John
Sailor
8
6.43
Koehler, Skip
Sailor
9
7.83
Bodenstab, Mark
Sailor
10
7.86
Strodel, Bob
Sailor
11
8.60
Owens, C
Sailor
12
10.75

Model Yachting News • Week Ending September 9, 2023

Posted on

Written by Mark Whitehead, Tim Wright
Editing & Proofreading Kathleen Whitehead
Photos by B. B. Wright, Tim Wright, Paul McBride, Mark Whitehead
Layout by Ken Gerber
Photo Captions by Paul McBride

Games by Dave Perry
e-mail: backbayskippers@gmail.com

Meet Linwood Davis from Model Yacht Building Class of 2023

Born in La Mesa, California, Linwood Davis moved to Salem, New Hampshire when he was six years old. After education in Salem’s school system, Lin graduated from the University of Maine at Orono, earning a BS in Engineering Physics with a concentration in electrical engineering. In 1987, he moved to Londonderry and spent the next forty-two years doing electronic hardware engineering, designing everything from Ethernet media attachment units (MAU) when Ethernet was in its infancy to ultra-wide-band prototype radios for the military. Retiring a year ago, he has been enjoying freedom and a bit of travel.

Linwood Davis

Hot, Hot, Hot!

This is September? It’s suppose to be cooling down a little, but no, it’s in the nineties with high dew points, and along with that are light winds and the proliferation of weeds — eleven weed calls this week alone! The Soling fleet launched twenty-three boats on September 5 for an eight-race regatta, the next to last officially scored regatta. The fleet tends to shrink as September days speed by so we try to be as inclusive as possible with our seasonal scoring. After next week, it will be something we are especially good at — BRAGGING RIGHTS.

Scorekeepers and Skippers
It's busy on the dock adjusting sails and launching boats.
Solings round the second mark.

Solings on the Water

Linwood Davis has learned a lot in the few weeks he has been sailing, taking top honors this week in the Sailor Class with three firsts, two seconds, two thirds, and a score of 1.86. Congratulations, Lin! You get to wear the target next week. Second place went to Ken Gerber. In between remodeling projects at his house, he has managed to hold his own on the waters of Back Bay, scoring one first, three seconds, and a third, giving him a final tally of 2.71. Always a tough competitor and leading the fleet for the season, Anthony Quinn held the third spot, scoring 3.0 with one win, one second, and one third. Genie Ware scored 3.29, which landed her in fourth place with a first, a second, and two thirds. The fifth slot was won by Bruce Brown, scoring 4.86 that included a second and a third.

The Master Class was led by Tim Wright with five wins and a score of 1.43. Al Posnack held the second spot with four seconds and a first, scoring 2.71. It was a tie for third between Bill Malay and Jack Minahan, both scoring 4.14. Bill’s tally included a second and three thirds, and Jack’s two wins were offset by two low finishes. Fifth went to Tom Barstow with a score of 4.29. Of note, the scores for third through sixth were barely over half a point apart.

Al Posnack 111 and Tim Wright 383
Solings
A Busy Day on the Water
Masters Sailing One Way; Sailors Sailing the Other Way
US12s

US12 Sailing

Last week, we had more wind than needed. This week, we had more heat than needed. The temperature was in the low 90s with humid thick air. However, we were left with more typical Back Bay winds. Lots of shifts, holes, and isolated puffs were the norm today, September 7. Five sailors came and managed to complete twelve races. If not for running the races one right after another, there would have been fewer. We can thank the scorekeeper for keeping us close to the line for a quick start of the next race.

With the scored season winding down, with only one more week, the US12 fleet would like to invite Solings and other RC boats to sail with us starting September 22.

John Simms at the Controls
Anthony Quinn checks his boat on the dock.

US12s on the Water

Less than one point separated fifth from second place. Paul McBride took some time to take photos, but managed to come in fifth place with two second-place finishes. In fourth was Don McBride with three second-place finishes and a score of 2.89. Also with three seconds was Anthony Quinn, whose overall score of 2.60 put him in third. John Simms had two firsts and four seconds, boosting his score to 2.30 and second place. Tim Wright, again, was tough to catch, but it’s worth noting that Tim came in fourth in two races. Fortunately for him, with twelve races there were two throw-outs.

Tim Wright 438, Don McBride 10, and Anthony Quinn 937
Don McBride 10 and Anthony Quinn 937
Don McBride 10
US12s majestically sail to the second (and last) mark.
Trevor received a sailboat kit for expertly sailing a Laser.

Sailing on Back Bay

The radio-controlled model yachts are on Back Bay in Wolfeboro from 1 PM to 3 PM weekly, the Solings on Tuesday and the US12s on Thursday, weather permitting. Wednesday serves as an alternate day should sailing conditions be poor.

Join the fun! We love to share so don’t be shy about asking to try your hand at the controls. Come watch the show or take a picture. It’s a sight to behold.

RC Laser

Upcoming Events:

  • September 15-16, 2023 Vintage Race Boat Regatta, Wolfeboro Bay
  • September 24, 2023 3rd Annual RC Laser Regatta, Bow Lake, Strafford NH (Rescheduled from September 10)

Past Events:

e-mail: backbayskippers@gmail.com

August 31, 2023 • US12 Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Wright, Tim
Sailor
1
1.00
Simms, John
Sailor
2
1.90
Cundy, Don
Sailor
3
3.00
Quinn, Anthony
Sailor
4
3.90
Opie, Jim
Sailor
5
4.14
McBride, Donald
Sailor
6
4.25
McBride, Paul
Sailor
7
5.40

August 29, 2023 • Soling 1M Master Class Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Wright, Tim
Master
1
2.20
Posnack, Al
Master
1
2.20
Leker, Steve
Master
3
3.60
Whitehead, Mark
Master
4
4.20
Cundy, Don
Master
5
4.40
Barstow, Tom
Master
6
4.60
Malay, Bill
Master
7
5.40
Minahan, Jack
Master
8
5.80
Brennan, Bob
Master
9
6.40
Nelson, Joel
Master
10
7.00
Gates, Rick
Master
11
7.50

August 29, 2023 • Soling 1M Sailor Class Regatta

NAME
CLASS
SCORE
SEASON

Quinn, Anthon
Sailor
1
2.80
Witzel, Jeff
Sailor
2
4.00
Monetta, Ted
Sailor
3
4.20
Towne, Steve
Sailor
3
4.20
Ware, Genie
Sailor
5
4.40
Opie, Jim
Sailor
6
5.00
Wolcott, Clint
Sailor
6
5.00
Davis, Linwood
Sailor
8
6.60
Wallace, Paul
Sailor
8
6.60
Wilhelm, Bruce
Sailor
10
8.00
Brown, Bruce
Sailor
11
9.00
Barstow, John
Sailor
12
10.60
Cavanagh, John
Sailor
13
11.80
Bodenstab, Mark
Sailor
14
12.40
Currier, Dick
Sailor
15
14.00
Corbet, Dave
Sailor
16
15.00