Etchells Fleet 27

2011 Summer Weekend Series

2011-09-21T07:52:00.003-04:00

Etchells Fleet 27 Weekend Series

Overall

Sailed: 9, Discards: 2, To count: 7, Entries: 9, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank	Boat	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	Total	Nett
1st	Fotofinish	(7.0)	(5.0)	2.0	3.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	2.0	1.0	26.0	14.0
2nd	Schadenfreude	(5.0)	(6.0)	4.0	4.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	26.0	15.0
3rd	Girl Talk	1.0	3.0	(7.0)	1.0	4.0	(10.0 DNC)	4.0	3.0	4.0	37.0	20.0
4th	Black Sheep	2.0	2.0	3.0	5.0	3.0	(10.0 DNC)	5.0	4.0	(6.0)	40.0	24.0
5th	Greyhound	(6.0)	1.0	6.0	2.0	5.0	(10.0 DNC)	2.0	6.0	3.0	41.0	25.0
6th	Hustler	4.0	4.0	1.0	8.0	6.0	(10.0 DNC)	(10 DNC)	10.0 DNC	10.0 DNC	63.0	43.0
7th	Tango	3.0	7.0	5.0	7.0	8.0	(10.0 DNC)	6.0	(10.0 DNC)	10.0 DNC	66.0	46.0
8th	More Cowbell	(8.0)	8.0	8.0	6.0	7.0	(10.0 DNC)	7.0	5.0	5.0	64.0	46.0
9th	Boogie TYP	(10.0 DNC)	(10.0 DNC)	10.0 DNC	10.0 DNC	10.0 DNC	3.0	10.0 DNC	10.0 DNC	10.0 DNC	83.0	63.0

Fall Series

2011-09-14T11:24:00.003-04:00

Rank	Boat	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Total	Nett
1st	SCHADENFREUDE	3	3	2	(4)	(7)	2	3	2	1	1	28.0	17.0
3rd	GREYHOUND	2	1	(10)	7	(8)	3	4	3	2	4	44.0	26.0
4th	VOO DOO	7	7	4	3	6	1	1	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	68.0	42.0
5th	TANGO	(9)	(10)	8	8	9	5	6	4	5	2	66.0	47.0
6th	BLACK SHEEP	5	9	7	1	4	8.1 OOD	8.1 OOD	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	81.2	55.2
7th	HUSTLER	1	4	5	5	3	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	13 DNC	13 DNC	83.0	57.0
8th	FUZZY LOGIC	4	5	6	6	2	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	8.3 ood	13 DNC	13 DNC	83.3	57.3
9th	ANDROMEDA	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	10	5	7	5	13 DNC	3	3	85.0	59.0
10th	MORE COWBELL	10	6	9	9.6 OOD	9.6 OOD	6	7	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	96.2	70.2
11th	GIRL TALK	10.6 OOD	10.6 OOD	1	9	10	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	13 DNC	13 DNC	106.2	80.2
12th	MEDUSA	6	8	11.7 OOD	(13 DNC)	(13 DNC)	13 DNC	13 DNC	13 DNC	13 DNC	13 DNC	116.7	90.7

Haul Out Dates

2011-09-12T14:27:00.001-04:00

Here are the two dates for fleet haul out:

September 17th 8:00am Haul out #1 early birds

October 15th 8:00am Haul out #2 for those racing Fall Series

August 16

2011-08-16T06:42:00.007-04:00

Portland Yacht Club

Etchells Fleet 27 Summer Series Final Results

Sailed: 7, Discards: 1, To count: 6, Entries: 11, Scoring system: Appendix A

Rank	Boat	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Total	Nett
1st	SCHADENFREUDE	1	1	(4)	1	1	2	2	12	8
2nd	HUSTLER	(5)	4	1	2	4	1	5	22	17
3rd	FUZZY LOGIC	4	7	(8)	4.5OOD	3	4	1	31.5	23
4th	GREYHOUND	(6)	4.6OOD	4.6OOD	3	6	5	3	32.2	26
5th	FOTO FINISH	(9)	3	2	9	7	3	4	37	28
6th	VOO DOO	5.8OOD	(8)	3	6	5	7	6	40.8	32
7th	MEDUSA	8	(9)	7	4	2	6	7	43	34
8th	GIRL TALK	7	(12DSQ)	6	5	7.5OOD	7.5OOD	7.5OOD	52.5	40.5
9th	BLACK SHEEP	2	2	5	8	(12DNC)	12DNC	12DNC	53	41.0
10th	TANGO	3	5	9	7	(12DNC)	12DNC	12DNC	60	48.0
11th	MORE COWBELL	(12DNC)	6	10	12DNC	12DNC	12DNC	12DNC	76	64.0

R/C Roster:

2011-05-11T07:48:00.008-04:00

May 17: Andromeda
May 24: Black Sheep
May 31: Wolverine
June 7: More Cowbell
June 14: Tango
June 21: Fotofinish
June 28: Voo Doo
July 5: Fuzzy Logic
July 12: Greyhound
July 19: Girl Talk
July 26: Schadenfreude
August 2: More Cowbell
August 9: ESP
August 16: Medusa
Aug 23: Hustler
Aug 30: Black Sheep
Sept 6: Fotofinish
Sept 13: Greyhound

2011 Regattas

2010-12-20T20:46:00.011-05:00

Here is a snapshot of the upcoming BIG REGATTAS for the 2011 season -

September 7-10 NA Championship (Sanctioned B)
Fleet 4, Marblehead, MA

Here is a snapshot of the upcoming LOCAL REGATTAS for the 2011 season

September 17 Fall Series #1-Lightship Race
PYC

September 24 Fall Series #2
PYC

October 1 Fall Series #3
PYC

October 8 Fall Series #4
PYC

Sail Maine looking for high school coach

2010-12-15T18:09:00.005-05:00

If you would like to give a little something back to sail and get paid for it, try your hand at coach high school sailors.
It is a great opportunity to inspire, educate, and influence the future of sailing because when your too old to hoist that main or reached down and grab that mooring line, you better hope someone loves sailing as much as you do to do all the things you no long can.

Contact Sarah Helming at Sail Maine
sarah@sailmaine.org

A night to be remembered

2010-05-25T22:57:00.002-04:00

The Casco Bay Etchells Fleet is off to a roaring start for the 2010 season, with 11 boats on the starting line tonight, the second night of racing in the spring season. According to fleet treasurer Seth Sprague, this is was the largest number of boats to race together in Fleet 27's history. All of the boats were extremely competitive tonight as well as last Tuesday, with positions in the races shifting frequently, and the last place boat finishing soon after the winner. A nearly full moon rose partway through the second race, as the sailors enjoyed a particularly balmy May evening, with winds of 8 to 12 knots that held steady until lightening considerably at the windward mark rounding of the third race. The night of racing was won by VooDoo, followed by Schadenfreude in second place and Andromeda in third.

-B. Pollard

Fleet 27 concludes 2009 Tuesday night series

2009-09-09T11:00:00.004-04:00

In a fitting end to an excellent season of racing, the sun set during the last downwind leg of the series last night, and the wind died right as the last boat was crossing the finish line. The Etchells sailors paddled our ways back to our moorings while some fortunate boats were towed home by friends, as we reminisced about the great races we all sailed together and started looking forward to another season next year. Schadenfreude won the evening, edging out Black Sheep in second on a tiebreak, followed by Fuzzy Logic, and Schadenfreude won the Autumn Series, with Fuzzy Logic in second place and Foto Finish in third. Onward to some weekend racing, the fleet awards party and wintry thoughts of racing in the summer of 2010....

-B. Pollard, Fleet 27 secretary

Fleet 27 concludes spring series

2009-06-17T11:33:00.003-04:00

The Casco Bay Etchells fleet concluded the Spring Series last night with a fine night of racing in excellent conditions. Three races were sailed on one of the longest days of the year under sunny skies with 8 to 10 knots of breeze. The night was won by Schadenfreude, with Fuzzy Logic in second place and Tango in third.

-B. Pollard, Race Committee chair

Say cheese.

2008-08-20T12:03:00.005-04:00

Some really fabulous photos of last night's wet and wild race are online, courtesty of Chuck Feil from FotoFinish.

Also some great pics courtesy of Maggie from Tango are in a Kodak gallery online. (Create an account to view the photos.)

A-Team RC

2008-08-13T16:05:00.004-04:00

Worth a thousand words

2008-08-11T09:08:00.002-04:00

Chuck Feil of FotoFinish has been an unofficial fleet photographer this season. He's posted a handful of shots to a Flickr photo album. Enjoy!

Breeze vs. Current

2008-07-16T12:53:00.003-04:00

The wind held relatively strong and steady for a competitive night of sailing this Tuesday. RC Nicole and her Tuesday-night Boogie TYP crew, Roger and Matt, brought along course-setting expert Howard Coon from the J24 fleet and flag-pulling expert Kaelan Fournier, spawn of the PRO. The LL headed southwest of Clapboard Island and set a long course for the Brothers Islands with a lovely mark boat (which is for sale) on stand-by for wind-shifts.

The first race got off in a moderate breeze that threatened to wane. The fleet split shortly after the start, with most of the boats heading left toward a breeze line and several boats heading right to get out of the current. From the LL, the RC was judging that left looked like it would pay with visibly more breeze, but the split fleet converged close together at the windward mark. More wind filled in the center of the course as the boats headed downwind which seemed to be a right-shift, but the fleet split again back up the course. The second downwind leg was led by ESP, who held onto it for a first-place finish, followed by FotoFinish and Schadenfreude.

With the breeze still holding on the square course, a second race got off immediately following the first finish. The boats crossed the start all clear, and more decided to go to the left side of the course in the waning wind. The once-around race was close among finishers, but Schadenfreude took the bullet and FotoFinish finished once again in second. Fuzzy Logic moved up into third place, and Tango just barely beat out Medusa for fourth.

This pleasant evening of summer sailing was a respite for the boats in last weekend's PHRF regatta, in which 20- to 25-knot winds beat down our sails and wore out our crews in a wildly great couple of races.

~Nicole, RC, Boogie TYP

10 Boats + 3 Races = Fun!

2008-07-09T11:18:00.002-04:00

It was one of those Casco Bay nights that you dream about in the dead of winter: SSW winds, 5 to 8 knots, oscillating 20 degrees back and forth, an incoming tide to keep things interesting.

The kind of conditions that make for some mighty fine Etchells racing.

The forecast called for a slight chance of thunderstorms, but they never materialized. Every so often through the evening we would feel a hot breeze blow off the land. As you felt it you knew that the pleasant conditions we were experiencing on the water were not shared by those sweltering through a hot, humid evening on land.

The 10-boat fleet got everybody excited. Even those of us on the committee boat. Check-in went smoothly, and we pushed Matt Camerson, our mark boat operator, hard to get the windward mark and pin end set quickly so we could start on time. The orange flag went up at 5:55, warning at 6:02 and the first starting gun at 6:07.

The first race was a four-legger, with the windward mark set .8 miles upwind. The pin end was favored, and Joy Robber pushed the advantage a little too hard and was half a boat-length over at the gun. They responded to the recall flag, radio and sound, and efficiently cleared their OCS. ESP and Schadenfruede rounded the top mark closely contending for the lead, the white spinnaker came up, followed by the all red just a few seconds later. Most of the fleet worked the right side of the downwind leg, taking advantage of a favorable shift and the stronger tide. The two lead boats rounded the leeward mark, still in close competition, but Rob, Kendra, and Alyssa on ESP increased their lead on the second weather leg, holding off Stephanie, who was subbing for Andrew on Schadenfreude, for the bullet. Andrew is suffering with a bad back, and he was missed by all his competitors in the night's racing.

For the second race we moved the windward mark right, and the pin back slightly to square up the line. With the breeze holding we opted for a four-legger to give the fleet more mark roundings. The PRO, Catherine Carpenter, did a good job being responsible for the food, drinks, air horns and TALK. With her on board there was never a dull moment on the committee boat. The start was clean, and I panicked through a shift midway through the sequence, I came within seconds of blowing off the start, but patience prevailed; at the gun the line and course were dead on. The winds were getting a little more shifty, so we watched to see who would pick them up and find the pressure and carry it to victory. As the boats rounded the leeward mark, we noted a nice shift and said, "Let’s see who goes left and they will be the winners." We saw the Red boat and its cagey skipper, Nicole, go left and we all put our money on Boogie. It held true as she nailed the bullet in the second race holding off Scott Thomas, in one of his best finishes of the year in Foto Finish. The racing was very tight and the entire fleet finished the second race within four minutes of the first boat.

If we hurried we hoped to get a third race off in the nice conditions. Matt hustled to the windward mark and moved it left to adjust for the shift, Daniel put a "1" up on the board, and with two races done by 7:30, we went for our first triple-race night of the season. The winds were getting lighter, and we kept our fingers crossed it would hold and get everybody back to their moorings before sunset. Luckily it was a nice clean start and the fleet battled the incoming tide upwind, turned the mark closely downwind. Boogie once again favored the right side coming downwind, while Rick Tonks on Fuzzy Logic, with Richard Hubbell, and Terry Naylon on board, jibed off and played the left side, but couldn’t quite gain enough to take the second bullet of the night away from Boogie.

In the end it was a “Boogie Night,” taking the evening with two firsts and a third. ESP finished second with a first and two thirds. Fuzzy Logic and Foto Finish tied for third and were involved in some very close racing all night long. Schedenfruede, with Stephanie at the helm, was just a point behind in fifth, and a point ahead of Seth and the Medusa gang in sixth. The racing was close throughout the fleet as Pam, Rich and Katherine brought Tango home in seventh, with three seventh-place finishes in each of the races. More Cowbelle, USA 50, made its first races of the season finishing with three eighths, to take the eighth place. Drumbeat finished ninth, and Joy Robber had a tough-luck night being over in one race and caught on the backside of the shift in another.

The only fleet boats not racing were represented on the committee boat, so Fleet 27 should get a perfect attendance award for the evening. Hopefully we will hit a dozen boats on the line before the end of our 2008 season.

Thanks for a nice evening; its good to be home.

--Ralph, RC, VooDoo

Light and lively.

2008-06-25T08:37:00.002-04:00

We started the day with about a 2-hour harbor postponement, while we waited for the forecasted southerly breezed of 6 to 8 knots to settle in. We spent the time working on the boat, finding a set-up that allowed us to be fast in the predicted light conditions. After getting out on the course, and sailing along with some other boats we felt pretty good about our work.

We sailed two races. In both Gretchen got us off to good starts, both midline. In the first race we worked the right middle along with about 35 other boats. The far right didn’t pay today, and we crossed the majority of the boats as they tacked back onto port and headed left. We hit the starboard layline with about 200 yards to go to the weather mark. We were probably in the top 30, with lots of boats. Boats were pouring in off port, and despite being on the layline, we died in the massively disturbed air. Our options were few as we were blocked by other boats from tacking to clear our air, so we pinched, pinched, pinched around the mark, very slowly and were probably passed by as many as 20 boats. We had a good downwind leg, but on the weather leg we came in on the port tack layline and sailed in more gas and lost more boats. We were feeling a little better about a 73rd finish as we could look back over our shoulder and see some boats as we crossed the line, and the bulk of the fleet was within minutes of us.

We refined our tuning before the 2nd race, went over our errors from the first race, grabbed a bite to eat, and took a pee. And went off racing. Once again, Gretchen got us off to a good start and we worked hard on the weather leg. We got to the weather mark clean, had a good downwind leg, the sun was bright and right in my eyes trimming the chute, not quite enough suntan lotion as I’m a little red on the cheeks and lips this morning. We rounded in the top half of the fleet, as Gretchen once again chose the correct gate and made a great leeward rounding as we picked up a number of boats. As we approached the weather mark we dueled with our friends on 1207, tacking on their air and pinching them off as we approached the mark. We had to hike hard till our stomachs burned to pull it off. Flat sailing boats are fast. Downwind, we broke from our normal practice of an early jibe and stayed right, and we lost boats that went down the other side. Right near the finish a Canadian boat jibed twice right on our stern and took our air, that cost us about 4 or 5 boats. Bummer. We felt OK about the improvements our 63rd place finish showed, and remain optimistic as we approach day 3. Weather calls for rain, thunderstorms, and 15 to 20 knot breezes. Might be wet and wild.

More to come.
Ralph

Right was right.

2008-06-24T08:56:00.000-04:00

And we went left. End of story. The local guys had it figured out, and took 2 of the top 3 spots. Start at the boat and immediately tack onto port and bang the corner. That was the secret to race one. The wind was blowing from the East. I had reviewed the last 5 years of June wind data for Chicago and found the winds blow East less than 2% of the time, so I didn’t spend much time analyzing it. We started on the left/center on a square line with the center boat punched ahead by about a boat length. The boat ahead of us was OCS and gave us his dirty air which also didn’t help us get a jump off the line. We worked for a clear lane, heading left, and waited for a knock and lane to go back right. By the time we did it was way too late. EVERYBODY right of us had us beat. And in this fleet, everyone is fast like Andrew and tough to catch. We had some good speed downwind and passed a few boats, but struggled getting upwind speed in the shifting and dying winds. We made some good moves in preparation for the second race, and felt we were faster, but after waiting about 45 minutes they blew it off and sent us in.

Bottom line, thank God we have a throw-out. Day 2 will be a better day.

The race committee organization here is unbelieveable. 41 people, 8 boats, not even counting all the safety boats. They even have a separate boat for check-in. The start line is 3 boats, one on each end and a signal boat in the center. They use 5 mark boats to for each windward, leeward end, and one to wander and feedback wind info to the PRO. Last is the Judges Boat. In addition there is a press boat and a spectator boat, and probably 15 or 20 teams have coach boats which also function as safety boats. Quite an operation.

We were really pleased to see Eric and Justin win the first race. First they are amateurs, second they are great guys, humble, friendly, open, and helpful. Also, they are damn good sailors. They previously had USA 1101, but decided to trade up to a new boat gearing up for this Worlds. They have lacked the chance to practice for this event as much as the pro teams, but are very focused, they know Chicago conditions, and they are smart. They very well may end up being a real surprise team in this event.

Good Luck sailing tonight, and wave to VooDoo when you head out. We’ll miss you.
Best regards,
Ralph

Worlds: Day One

2008-06-23T08:30:00.003-04:00

The stress filled process of measurement, weigh in, sail checks etc are over. It took the better part of two days for us to get all our measurements and check ins done, I was impressed with how thoroughly they go over every inch of the boat, sails, hull and sail cards, insurance, etc. Boom, mast, spinnaker pole, every hull dimension, every last wing nut on the bulk heads, even the length of the hiking line on the console. All are checked. The boat weighed in at 1523 kg, just a few pounds more than when she was weighed when made in 2001. Just about average for the competing boats. The check of the safety gear was impressive. They even had a template to assure the paddles blades were of the correct square inch size and length! They even checked the length and diameter of the tow line. You all know me, I had done this myself preparing over the last year. I was amazed at how many boats we have competed against over the past few years at major regattas that had paddles too short, or anchors without a proper chain, or PFDs without whistles. I hope the Chicago West Marine was well stocked. You must select only 5 sails for the entire regatta, and they are precisely measured. If they fail, they are placed in Quarantine, and you don't get them back till after the event.

Seems like we are building a reputation for having a good inventory of tools and spare parts. All day long its was:"can we borrow your dremel, can I borrow your drill, do you have a 1/4 20 tap and die", etc, etc. 1199 is sailing with one of our spare Jib C/Forestay/sealing block assemblies, 1313 is using one of our spare TackTick compass brackets. Must be something about being from Maine that people think you are prepared and willing to help out.

We launched on Friday, and I had the honor of sailing in a "mock" race, designed to expose some of Chicago's inner city kids to sailboat racing. The two kids who sailed on VooDoo Too were Jesus and Alida, ages 14 and 16. What nice kids, very polite and excited. It was the first time Jesus had been on any boat, of any kind. and Alida's first time on a sailboat. They had a live camera on Andy Beadsworth's boat and the event was shown on the local ABC new channel 7 affliates nightly news. It was an honor to participate. Even though we didn't win, Jesus was on the helm as we crossed the finish line and got our horn and wave from the race committee. We pumped our fists and high 5ed, just as if we had won the America's Cup. Yesterday was the practice race, with all 85 boats out. They gave us 4 starts, where we went through a full sequence, then they post a general recall about 5 minutes after the start so everyone came back and we did it again. Finally on the last one they let us go. We thought it was another practice start and we were OCS, so waited for the General Recall and it didn't come so we kept racing. Glad it was practice. We had a good day, the boat seemed fast at times, our crew work was solid, and we picked up some good technique at sailing though the tricky lake chop that is so different than ocean seas.

Now today is the big day. I can't tell you how anxious I am. The weather call for fair skies , but fairly light breezes of 7 to 10 knots. Whatever the conditions we'll be ready to give it our best shot. First warning is scheduled for 11:30 Chicago time or 12:30 in Maine. Check out the etchells worlds website, (link through http://www.etchellsworlds2008.com/Results.aspx). Give us a cheer and throw us a little love, we certainly can use it with this competition.

Best regards Ralph

Counting down the days: Worlds 2008

2008-06-18T08:20:00.000-04:00

84 boats, all working on last minute details for the big show. All have been preparing for over a year, and in just 6 days we will leave it all on the coarse. Man are we excited to be a part of it!

We arrived, as planned; in Chicago at 3:30 a.m. last Thursday morning. The last thing I wanted was to fight city traffic the last 30 miles of our 1150-mile journey pulling VooDoo Too from Falmouth Maine to the Windy City. Just my luck some Chicago commuter would T-bone us and ruin our dream. Thank God for Ohio, gas there was ONLY (?) $3.91 a gallon.

Our immediate impression was what a beautiful city and great place to race. We found the Chicago Yacht Club and Fleet 11 extremely well organized. Parking was secure and reserved, lots of grass for folding sails, assigned slips once we got in the water, a two week membership at the Yacht Club, so we can eat and drink there. You name it, and they’ve got it covered. The Chicago lakefront is all open parkland, and I took my bike to ride through the park, back and forth from our hotel, 3 miles from the Yacht Club. That should help me maintain my required weight.

This last weekend, we sailed in the Chicago NOOD regatta with 54 other Etchells to tune up for the Worlds and get used to lake sailing. They canceled the first day due to Thunderstorms and high winds. The big boats sailed and we saw some severe carnage, broken masts, booms, etc. Kind of glad we didn’t go out and tear our boat up in what was a tune up regatta for us. We are sailing with a new mast, and have new sails we didn’t want to blow out. We finished 37th out of 54, but were less concerned about where we finished and more in understanding the new rig, getting it tuned in to it to maximize our boat speed, and getting used to the crazy chop and shifty winds of Lake Michigan. We made some progress, but would sure love about another week to prepare. Instead we have just 1-1/2 days. That’s where the pro teams really have an advantage. One pro team competing has been virtually sailing their Etchells 8 hours a day, 4 to 6 days a week for the past 2 months! They are going to be hard to beat. One of our goals is to be in the top half of the all-amateur teams. All amateur teams make us less than half the boats entered. Many of them have years of Etchells sailing under their belt. With the high level of experience and skill many of these teams have it will be tough to meet that goal. Also, we are one of 6 boats entered who will be skippered by a woman. It is another goal of ours to be the top finishing boat skippered by a woman. With the high percentage of woman involved in our fleet it would only be fitting. Our toughest competition will probably come from Julia Bailey from Great Britain, and Shannon Bush who comes from the Houston fleet. Also competing are Betsy Altman from Chicago and the reigning Adam’s cup champion, veteran Etchells sailor Pat Stadel, and an unknown from Ireland. Gretchen will have her work cut out for her but we have complete faith in her skill and instincts. Other than that we want to sail to the best of our abilities, get the boat going fast and feel good about being a part of this event. Pretty simple goals.

Another interesting part of the Worlds will be a “mock” race, being held on Friday afternoon. Two members from each crew, as well as, 2 kids age 14 to 16 from Chicago’s inner city will participate as a crew in the event. The kids participating all come from the Rickover School, a talented and gifted program that emphasizes Marine themes in their Science classes. The kids have been studying the Physics of Sailing. The event will be televised as a feature in the Chicago area and ends with a big picnic dinner with the sailors and kids. Should be fun.

I will try and post a number of reports back from Chicago to all our friends in Fleet 27 as the World’s progress via our blogspot on the web. We are extremely proud to represent our fleet and the Maine sailing community. We will do our best to positively represent our fleet both on and off the water.

Right now, our biggest worry is to shed those last couple of pounds so we can confidently make weight, and have a little room so we can have some fun in Chicago. It seems the challenges never end.

You can follow the series, live through the International Etchells website www.etchells.org. , but only if you’re going to be rooting for Bow number 50.

Ralph

Thank you, Nor'easterly

2008-06-04T10:02:00.003-04:00

This week's Tuesday night races looked like they were not going to happen given the weather forecast and dead calm conditions at 5:30 p.m. Shortly after postponement at 6 p.m. we had a fairly steady light northeasterly filling in, allowing us to get things underway at 6:15 p.m.

Ten boats were on the line. Boogie T.Y.P. won the evening with a third and a first. Welcome back to Rick Tonks, who came in second. Third was Rob Haile/ESP and fourth was one of our newer members, Todd Lalumiere, in Joy Robber.

We had a shortened course in the second race. To review, a shortened course is always at a turning mark that the boats would round as part of the race. We made two sound signals and hoisted an S flag on our race management boat anchored outside the windward mark so as to finish boats as they passed the windward mark to port.

Thanks again to Dave and Mary for their help on the committee boat. Those two are a big help!

—Andrew Carey, RC

Racing through the Winter

2008-03-10T15:10:00.006-04:00

I felt the wonderful warmth from the sun’s rays as they hit the back of my neck in the 80-degree weather. It was a big contrast from the –4 degrees that showed on my thermometer at my home in Maine earlier that morning, as I hustled out the door to catch my 6:00 A.M. flight to Miami. As we lifted our white boat, VooDoo Too off its trailer, swung the crane around and dropped her into the water, I kept thinking how sweet it is to be sailing in the Jaguar Series this winter. Just eight hours after leaving bitter cold, mammoth snow banks, and my ever-present shovel in Falmouth, we were ready for another weekend full of exciting Etchells racing against 80 other boats, many of them sailed by the biggest names in yacht racing today.

For years one of the saddest days of the year for me was haul out day. As a fleet we would pull our boats from the water, store them away for the winter, and begin counting the days till spring. This year was different. After buying US-1166 in Miami last spring and racing in the 2007 Midwinter Regatta, VooDoo Racing decided to enter the full Jaguar Cup Series for this winter. My terrific shore crew rose to the task and got the boat transported to Biscayne Bay Yacht Club over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were one of the first away boats to arrive in Miami. The Jag series is made up of 4 regattas, 1 per month, December thru March. What is nice about the series is you rig the boat before the first regatta, and then leave the rig up, with the boat stored on its trailer in the yard of the Yacht Club through the entire series. This way, within a couple hours of arriving in Miami you can be on the water tuning up or racing.

The warm weather and water, Miami nightlife and dining, socializing at the Yacht Club all add to the experience, but racing in the Jag absolutely blows your mind; 80+ boats, all looking for a front row position at the starting line, all crowding around a windward mark 2 miles up the bay, dueling downwind through the leeward gates, back up wind then drag racing to the finish. After 8 miles of racing the entire fleet finishes within minutes, from bullet to DFL. One boat length back could cost you 4 or 5 positions.

If you even wanted to think about obtaining a top 30 finish your racing has to be perfect. The boat set-up and tune, the start, the choice of coarse sides are all critical. If you miss a shift, forget it, you will drop to the back of the fleet. As an all amateur team with family and work obligations limiting the time we can commit to sailing, just beginning to experience major regattas and on a steep learning curve we struggled to move up in the standings. In the first regatta we were tagged with 2 OCSs and finished 70th. The next regatta we generated much more consistent boat speed and were excited about our 49th place finish in the 81-boat fleet. We found that if we nailed the start, and held our lane we could sail the rest of the race competitively in the middle of the fleet. We also discovered a number of subtle deficiencies in the boat, rig, and sails that would need updating if we aspired to consistently sail in the front pack. We stuck with our plan, realistically set expectations and goals, and looked for signs of improvement. For us the bottom line was to redefine winning consistent with our abilities and experience and strive to enjoy the whole experience.

In the last and biggest regatta of the series, we got off to a slow first day. The entire VooDoo Racing team came to Florida not feeling well. We suffered from a combination of Maine winter cold and flu bugs, and struggled to hit the physical level needed to compete. A good nights rest helped a lot, and on the second race of the second day of the regatta we put together a race to be proud of. Gretchen banged off a near perfect start, the boat was fast, and we hung with the Olympic Gold Medallists, America’s Cup sailors, Etchells World Champion’s and all the boats with paid professionals. We were hanging in the top 20 boats through the first 3 legs, and were amazed at how much cleaner the air was in that front pack. The downwind leg to the finish found us the meat in a sandwich with current Etchells World Champion and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Andy Beadsworth from England about a boat length ahead and to our left. Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and past Etchells world champion, Jud Smith was to our right and about 3 boat lengths behind us. I concentrated exclusively on spinnaker trim and trying to catch the surf and every wave. I kept telling myself that I had to continue to do my job and trust my teammates to do theirs or we would lose precious positions. We completed our last jibe, swinging back onto starboard, less than a minute from the finish. As we settled in for the home stretch we heard the gun as the first boat finished. A group of boats including eventual Jag Series winner, Bill Hardesty, previous world champ and North Sails Vince Brun, and America’s cup tactician on Luna Rosa, Andy Horton, crossed us on port and finished ahead of us. We were overlapped with Beadsworth as we finished at the left end of the line, but another boat slipped in between on the right side. We looked over our shoulders and found we had beaten Jud Smith by about 4 boat lengths. We were not sure of our actual finish position, but hoped this might be the race where we finally obtained a top 20 finish.

Later that day, back at the Yacht Club with Mount Gay in hand, we checked the recently posted scores and saw we had obtained an 18th! We were thrilled and felt this a huge accomplishment for an amateur team with relatively little experience in sailing Etchells in big time events.

On the third day of the regatta we found ourselves back in the fleet racing boats with crews similar in experience to ours, but still having a ball. In the last race we held off current Adam’s Cup Champion Betsy Altman from Chicago and our fellow fleet 27 member Terry Naylon and his Marblehead partner Mark Toso. With this finish in the book, a 49th, VooDoo ended up as the second highest finishing boat in the regatta driven by a woman, behind Shannon Bush of Houston. We were especially proud of this coming from a fleet with a significant number of female members and drivers.

Our shore crew stepped up got the boat broken down, and she is now safely back in Maine. We are now working through the lengthy list of items we need to complete to prepare for our first opportunity to sail in an Etchells World Championship this June in Chicago. The preparation work never stops.

Participating in the Jaguar Cup Series is a tremendous opportunity for Etchells sailors; the conditions, race committee, facilities, and competition are all unbelievable. I am so thankful to all the people involved with VooDoo Racing for making it happen. Whether they assisted as crew in fleet races and practices, boat prep, transport, shore crew, whatever, they are as much a part of the experience as those of us fortunate enough to be on the boat for the racing. One of our competitors at the Jag, named his boat “My Wife is the Best”, but I believe with all my heart that my wife Sue, is the BEST. Holding down the home front with a 6 and 2 year old, while Daddy is away racing in Florida for 4 weekends is no small task, and without her the experience would not have happened.

Lastly I can’t say how proud I am to be a member of our fleet, and sailing as one of fleet 27’s members at this event. I have learned so much sailing against you, and getting beaten by you through the years in our Tuesday night races. Our fleet racing is very good, and any of you have the skill to make the jump and give the Jaguar series a try. I can assure you it would be a rewarding, yet humbling, learning experience. It would also be an experience, whose memory you will carry with you for the rest of your life.

And besides that warm sun feels so good on the back of your neck.

—Ralph Carpenter, VooDooToo

At a loss for words.

2007-08-19T19:17:00.001-04:00

Our elusive fleet members and owners of Hull No. 3, Daniel and his wife Victoria, made it out on the race course last week, even though his boat is still awaiting a few more coats of paint on its bottom. As our RC, they set a great course -- with help from former 523 owner -- and took some great pics, but haven't had time to write a pithy entry for the blog. So a few photos will tell a million words...

Qualifying for the world-qualifier

2007-07-24T13:44:00.000-04:00

At the annualFleet 27 meeting held on March 31, 2007, the 2007 PYC PHRF and One-Design State Championship regatta, held July 7-8 of this year, was voted in as the Etchells Fleet 27 qualifying regatta for the 2008 Etchells World Championship. That event only yielded three races, which is two shy of consituting a qualification series according to Etchells Class rules. During a subsequent Fleet 27 meeting on Monday, July 9, the present members of the fleet decided to add on the races from one — or more, if necessary — subsequent Tuesday evenings to the PHRF races already sailed in order to constitute a world qualifier. That solution wasn't unaminously agreed upon, however, and one fleet member who sailed the PHRF regatta suggested that the three races sailed in the PHRF should be set aside and a new world-qualifier series should be established for our fleet. You can read his case here.

Throwing out races could dramatically affect the outcome of our world-qualifier, a critical race that decides who will represent our fleet at the 2008 Worlds. In order to get an unbiased, educated opinion from non-fleet members who were both knowledgeable about the Rules of Racing and the Etchells Class rules, the problem and the supporting evidence was all forwarded to the officers of the U.S. Etchells Class Association, who in turn asked for support from Patricia Stadel, a long-standing member of the International Etchells Class Association and an official U.S. Sailing Association judge. Pat took this issue very seriously. She consulted as many as eight other official judges, the governors of the class, and even rules-guru Dave Perry. Pat has recommended that the three races already sailed stand, and two additional races — voted on by the fleet — be added to constitute a world-qualifying series. You can read Pat's complete recommendation here.

I encourage everyone to read both the documents and to discuss the findings. I have further communications between the national class officers and the local fleet available to anyone who's curious or interested in learning more about the process. I'm sure Pat would also make herself available to anyone who would like to discuss her decision with her. We owe her and the national class our appreciation and thanks for taking the matter so seriously. And I apologize for not having the foresight at the annual meeting to establish a "plan B" for our world-qualifier so all of this could be avoided. I hope my subsequent efforts to find a solution seem fair and equitable to all members of the fleet.

Fleet 27 historically hasn't been as stringent with the class and racing rules as other older and more well-established one-design fleets are. We have, in fact, never had so much as a formal protest filed for a Tuesday-night race. Many of our fleet members only want to have care-free fun on the water every Tuesday night, which they deserve; but we need to balance that attitude with the serious goals of our members who travel to sanctioned events. As the fleet continues to grow with new boats and more ambitious sailors, we will need to be congnizant of the need for a solid foundation in one-design principles, and adherence to the class and racing rules that make this sport fair and fun for all of us.

Thanks,
Nicole Jacques, fleet captain

Halloween comes early

2007-07-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

Last night's Race Committee included: a jester (Scott Thomas), a pirate (Rich Stevenson), a glamorous, expert RC maven (Jody Cady), a stellar PYC member & J24 sailor (Howard Coon), an incognito blonde (Pamela Thomas in a wig) and a black lab (Leroy the Sailor Dog). Andrew Carey generously provided the awesome chase boat. Check out photos of the the racing here.

—Pam Thomas, Tango

Everything goes right

2007-07-11T07:05:00.000-04:00

The first evening of sailing following the fleet’s development of a modified course design tested the abilities of the RC, Team Boogie T.Y.P. Following the initial course set-up in a moderate southeasterly, the RC began its first sequence at precisely 6:00 p.m. As nine boats got off the line and headed up the first mile-long leg, the breeze began a dramatic shift to the right. After the fleet rounded the windward mark following Schadenfreude, who was in first, the RC moved it approximately 20 degrees to compensate for the shift.

Between races, the RC promptly moved the pin end of the start line forward to square it up, and the second race of the evening started at 6:50 p.m. Midway up the first leg, the wind became light and unsteady. The RC made the decision to shorten the course and, per the SIs, raised the S flag and moved the Lindsey Lord so the pin end of the start line would be to starboard. Meanwhile, the boats rounded the windward mark in closer competition than during the first race, with Schadenfreude still leading. Both the red boat and Tango gave the leading boat a good race downwind, ultimately finishing second and third respectively.

The evening ended controversially when the last boat to cross the finish line, ESP, flew a protest flag because they saw fault in the RC protocol used to shorten the course. While unfortunately no formal protest was ever filed, ESP’s skipper did have to concede to being wrong during a discussion with a member of the RC and the fleet’s race officer.

Playing well with others

2007-07-04T12:52:00.000-04:00

This week's Tuesday night races were held in conjunction with our local J24 fleet and with an earlier start. Two races were held for both fleets on the east side of Clapboard Island in a moderate southerly. Both races were twice around with a 0.85NM weather leg, 350-ft. starting line and leeward mark immediately to windward of the committee boat. Thanks to Ralph Carpenter for the new marks which worked great!

The fleet seemed eager to get racing and an outgoing tide may have played a role with three boats over early in the first race and one OCS in the second race. However, the prize for being aggressive in pre-race maneuvering goes to the J24 that plowed into the stern of the Lindsay Lord. The team on Medusa, skippered by the Gleason siblings for the evening, had it all figured out and took a bullet and a second place.

The apres-racing gathering featured some very nice burgers and hot dogs as well as other Independence Day-type cuisine and a beautiful sunset.

Special thanks to pregnant HOTtie Laurie Lafleur, who, although very gravid these days, was a big help on race committee.

—Andrew Carey, Schadenfreude

In Like a Lion...

2007-06-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

A dying northwesterly shifted to the east and rapidly built to approximately 12 knots before the start as a storm cell passed to the west of PYC. The race course was a 2WL set just to the north of Clapboard Island. The race was started as the easterly began to recede from the RC towards the weather mark leaving two boats, Voodoo Too and Greyhound (recovering from an OCS), floundering at the start. As the boats rounded the weather mark, the wind further lightened and shifted to the northwest. The RC picked up the pin and shortened the course at the second weather mark. Voodoo Too and Greyhound rounded the first weather mark just as Schadenfreude finished. The wind shifted back to the east, briefly increased in velocity, before dying once again. Voodoo Too finished the race with approximately a minute and half left on the 20-minute time limit. Further races were abandoned due to a lack of breeze. RC towed four boats back the anchorage. Thanks to J24 sailor Nick Dambrie on Belafonte for also towing boats.

—Rob Haile, ESP

Drumroll, Please...

2007-05-31T11:41:00.000-04:00

Week two of the 2007 spring series got started with eight boats on the line. The crew from Drumbeat ran the Lindsey Lord and chase boat (courtesy of Justin Andrus) with assistance from crew for Glass Slipper and other friends of the fleet. Thank you, all! The line was set south of Clapboard Island and we got two races in for the evening with a rare northerly breeze which shifted east and diminished as the evening progressed.

VooDoo had a stellar evening, taking second in the first race and a bullet in the second race to move past Schadenfreude as top in the overall standings. It seems the VooDoo crew has learned a thing or two from the hot shots over the winter. Schadenfreude had a difficult beginning, with a failing backstay and a DNF, but recovered nicely with a second for the second race. Nicole and the smoke-free T.Y.P. had a strong showing, taking two thirds tonight. The newbies on Tango continue to dance beautifully with the top half of the fleet. Nice work, Pam!

The evening came to a close back at PYC commiserating with the fleet and getting ready for the next race. Is it Tuesday yet?

—John Majkut, Drumbeat

Shakedown Cruise

2007-05-23T20:19:00.000-04:00

Six boats sailed the first races of the 2007 season in a light and shifty breeze. The co-skippers from Glass Slipper were on the committee boat setting courses with help from the crew of Hustler and several friends of the fleet. They set the line off the northeast end of Clapboard Island and got off two races for the evening.

It's no surprise that last year's series champion, Schadenfreude, led the fleet for most of the course during both races, ultimately ending the evening with two bullets. The pleasant surprise was the newbie boat Tango, which took a second and a third during the first time out with the fleet. Check out the final results.

The evening ended with celebratory cocktails and a Boogie T.Y.P. cake at the Falmouth Sea Grille bar, courtesy of Fleet 27's rock star Ralph who organized a 30th birthday celebration for fellow colored-boat owner Nicole. There was beer, Mt. Gay, and a rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" accompanied by kazoos. And a final round of tequila shots were enjoyed by the die-hard sailors who hung out with Dan the bartender until closing time.

Annual Meet and Eat

2007-03-31T10:00:00.000-04:00

The members of Fleet 27 fervently gathered for their first official meeting of the 2007 season. Ravenous and parched, we descended upon our venerated treasurer’s home and indulged in a sumptuous spread of lasagna, chicken casserole, fondue, and Mt. Gay. The dinnertime conversation revealed some life-changes for the HOTties from Hooked on Tonics—one is pregnant, one is engaged, and one is buying a house. We heard sea stories from Ralph, new owner of a four-digit hull, who raced with the big boys & girls in Florida over the winter. And we commiserated with a couple of the fleet’s newbies who proudly sail the more seasoned hulls and are in various stages of boat-repairing, including keel-fairing, bottom-painting, and gelcoating.

Once satiated, we got down to business and made a few official decisions. First, the boats go in the water May 12 and our spring series begins May 15. Our weekend series consists of four scored regattas: PYC’s Pilot and PHRF races, Handy Boat’s MS Regatta, and either the E22 class’s New England Championships in Burlington, VT, or a PYC fall series race held the same weekend. Our 2008 worlds-qualifier race is the PHRF race in July. And we intend to host a class-sanctioned regatta in September 2008.

We made a couple other critical decisions, like where to go drinking every Tuesday night (alternating between PYC and Handy’s) and what color our snazzy fleet-branded hats should be.

We’re ready to sail.