Commentary
November 18, 2007
First two then three then four and finally five crews turned out for the inagural 2007-08 Winter Series date. John Dietz arrived early, eager to break in Chiller's new sails. Luckily Tim Smith and crew Eddie Flynn were early as well because they needed every minute to scavenge parts to fully rig the new mast and sails for Negative Risk Factor. With conditions appearing a little iffy in the presence of a stiff breeze and a cold soaking rain, Mike Meseroll tried to pull the old "I didn't bring my boat so I can't sail" trick. However, he relented and ran home to fetch MRP 7 and to summon crew Rod Rupp. They returned in plenty of time to make the first warning sporting new sails as well. The start was delayed by 30 minutes which allowed Ned Thompson and Clare Forlenza as well as Rob Zilai and Dick Carton ample time to rig their "classic" model prams. PRO Jack Woods passed the time by sharpening the teeth on his ripping blade in preparation for rail manufacturing operations for the "new" model prams out at the farm. By the time the first gun went off, the skies were brightening and the NE wind had settled in around 12-15 knots, with sustained winds topping out at 18 knots. After an initial 6-leg race, the committee shortened things up and ran a mixture of four- and five-leg port and starboard windward/leeward and triangular courses. The competitors enjoyed the quick races, although the day was called after the fifth race since Dietz and Thomson had retired due to equipment failures. We were all back at the dock in perhaps a record time of less than 75 minutes. The Zilai/Carton syndicate picked up where it had left off last season by registering five bullets. Meseroll and Smith split the seconds, legitimatly or otherwise, and Thomson and Deitz each had a good race or two before retiring. Thanks to committee Jack Woods, Nancy Wagner and June Kingman, and patrol Don Loughran, Bill Scheyer, Tom Davis and Mike Cunningham, as well as newcomers Keith "Trailer Guy" Kernan and Paul Parsegian. Paul, can you come down and help me check my drain plugs next Sunday? A dinner was served after the races. Thanks to Jane Carton for leading the kitchen crew and Sandi Thomson for rallying the troops. See you all on Dec. 2.
Submitted by Tim Smith
December 2, 2007
5 + 2 - 1 = 6 prams turned out for another day with iffy weather at the start. The only registrant missing was the Zilai / Carton syndicate who sacrificed the day for the sake of patrol. Drizzle during rigging gradually gave way to bright gray skies, which combined with 8-12 knot southwesterly winds made for a good day. Initially there was a brief standoff as the committee headed up river while the bulk of the fleet, having other ideas, loitered back nearer to the club. Committee, reluctant to bring the deck cannon into action to fire a warning shot across the bows of the mutineers because of the many new suits of sails in the line of fire, eventually relented and moved down to set up shop on the Point side of the channel across from the club. This week all 6 competitors hung in for the duration of 5 nicely varied races put together by the PRO Jack Woods and crew. Just about the only course configuration not seen was the elusive "clover leaf" (starboard triangle with port offset mark), but having set such a course once myself for the sailing pleasure of our juniors, I'll be ready if and when it does crop up. In preparation for such an eventuality, Dave and Cheryl Cook and Ned Thompson and Clare Forlenza saw fit to initiate a seminar on the "string rule" in the fifth race, which made for a lively discussion that continued into the post-race debrief. Apparently not distracted by any of this background chatter, Janet Davis and John Harkrader put together a great first outing with 4 bullets. Mike Meseroll and Rod Rupp also sailed well, grabbing one first and finishing second for the day. Overall, there was good parity with five of six competitors finished at least one race in the top half of the fleet, and all of the six putting up a pretty decent poker hand. Afterwards, the sailors and patrol and committee were treated to Sandi Thomson's "Couda Bin A Condenda" chilli with all the fixings, which made warming up all that much more palletable.
Submitted by Tim Smith
December 16, 2007
Races were cancelled for today in advance due to year-end husle and bustle. Just as well, it turns out, with a Nor'easter moving through. Sorry it's taken so long for the updates - at least I have an easy New Year's resolution to shoot for. Hope to see you all out there on January 1!
Submitted by Tim Smith
January 1, 2008
It was a beautiful New Year's Day! All comers were greeted by the sight of new Commodore Rob Zilai's sparkling new Pram parked in "the" spot in front of the club. And what better way to celebrate the christening of the first new 2007 model boat off the line than by sailing up to the Marina Grille for a Guinness Stout or bloody mary! Early in the morning the wind was howling to the point where any waterborne activities appeared inadvisable. Of course, that did not dissuade any of the sailors (or patrol or committee for that matter), and prams were rigged and readied. The faithful were rewarded as NNW winds at 20+ gradually diminished to a more reasonable breeze around 8-12. The theme for the day was poker, and fittingly there were many chances to test the theory of probability. In the first race, contestants made their bets on whether the optimal route from the club to the inside of the 70 bridge would be inside our outside Osborne Island. As it turned out, the odds were nearly even as Mike Meseroll and Rod Rupp (outsiders) just edged Commodore Rob Zilai and PC Dick Carton (insiders). The rest of the fleet arrived without too much delay, and committee then signaled for half time at the Marina Grille. The motley assortment of no fewer that 30 descended upon the startled brunch patrons, and after a quick belt were back on the river for the second race where the bet was whether you need a whisker pole or not for a race with one leg with 80% of the distance sailed dead downwind. It turns out you do, as Janet Davis and John Harkrader edged out Tim Smith and Eddie Flynn, with the rest of the fleet closely bunched behind. At this point the group retired to the clubhouse for the third "race," a true game of chance which involved playing three cards drawn on the water in a hand of lightning Texas hold 'em dealt by Rick Brown. Dick Carton destroyed the field by mustering a hand of five jacks (yes there were wild cards). Overall for the day it was Meseroll / Rupp in first followed by Davis / Harkrader and Zilai / Carton. Thanks to all for coming out including June Kingman, Jack Woods, Nancy Wagner, PC and Mrs. Carl Nordell, Bill Scheyer, Chris Robinson, Jim Aridas, Rick Brown, Ted Finkenaur, PC Win Miller, Don Loughran, Tom Davis, Paul Parsegian, and Mike Cunningham (is that everybody)? It's great to have such support for committee, keep up the good work (maybe we should redeploy a couple patrol as bartenders next time we hit the Marina Grille).
Submitted by Tim Smith
January 13, 2008
Strong Easterly breezes really put the six brave pram crews and their equipment through the wringer this time out, with only three boats left at the end of six races. It was warm enough...right around forty degrees, and the next day's storm clouds hadn't appeared yet, so we were warm enough. Mike Meseroll and Rod Rupp came out swinging, winning the first race, and sailing solidly for the rest of the day. John Deitz and his crew were also sailing very well all day, and were the second survivors, completing all six races. Dick Carton and I were enjoying the adjustment to our new boat, and, while she lacks some of the classic panache of my gal Entrope', she seems plenty fast! We stumbled a bit for that first race, but made a few trim corrections, and had a great five race series with no breakdowns. We did manage to inflict the first good collision, by tee-boning John Harkrader and Sharon Borgatti between two races. A bit later the top of one of their stays got chewed through by the upper mast tang fitting and they had to drop out for the day. Right after that Ned Thomson and Clare Forlenza lost their forestay and had to leave as well. At the start of the next race, as we were squiggling our way around the start, Mes clipped Dave and Cheryl Cook in the transom. They sailed for a bit, but decided it would be wiser to sail the boat back to the club WITH their transom. Over all a very exciting few hours, our thanks to the ample committee and patrol, as well as to Sandy and Ned for the delicious lunch afterwards. Hopefully a few more of the ten new boats are coming soon, as well as some pix of the last two series dates.
Submitted by Rob Zilai
February 2, 2008
After a long layoff, six regular crews were joined by a newcomer as "Almost Perfect," the Borgatti family pram, made her appearance as the second "new" model pram to roll off the assembly line. The mother / son team of Sharon and Michael proved they were not afraid to jeopardize the pristine hull by mixing it up with the rest of the fleet, and managed to sail away with two wins on the day. Also sailing well on the day were Zilai / Carton with three wins, and Meseroll / Rupp and Thomson / Thomson in MRP 10, with one win apiece. Zilai / Carton took the daily honors handily while places 2 through 5 were hotly contested - only 7 points seperated the four places. Seeking to stay true to the name, the Borgatti syndicate hauled off MRP 21, the first garage-kept MR Pram, at the end of the day. Perhaps they were going to scratch off the "Almost?"
Submitted by Tim Smith
February 17, 2008
One more addition to the fleet this week as Quintin Danish x 2 broke out MRP 17 to join the action. Eight contestants is the high water mark for daily participation this season, and there was good parity on the day with four different boats taking a first at one point or another. Zilai / Carton edged out Davis / Harkrader by one point for the daily honors. The MRP 7 effort was hindered by an unfortunate accident with Rod Rupp dislocating a finger. When on-the-water re-location failed, Rod was forced to seek medical attention. Mike came back out with Cheyne for the second half of racing and posted a strong 2-1-1 to close out the day. Rod, hope you have a speedy recovery and we'll see you back out soon.
Submitted by Tim Smith
March 2, 2008
Seven prams came out for another beautiful day, with conditions feeling almost more like spring series rather than winter series. Despite the near-springlike conditions with sun and temperatures in the upper 40s, nary a powerboat was in sight and we had the run of the river once again. PRO Jack Woods along with Nancy Wagner and Trish Surdovel set up shop set on the Point side of the channel and proceeded to run another series of short and well-varied windward leeward and triangular courses with able-bodied assistance provided by Tom Davis, Paul Parsegian, and Mike Cunningham. Winds were ranging between North and Northwesterly directions at about 8-12 knots, at times making the left end of the line favored and temping folks to go for a port start. Guest skippers Dave Kuykendall sailing with Sharon Borgatti in MR 21 and Sue Cundy sailing with John Harkrader in MR 11 gave Rob Zilai and guest crew Jeff Struble a run for their money, with Rob and Jeff just eking out a one point victory for the daily series and Dave and Sue who were in a point tie for second with MR 11 edging out MR 21 on best finishes. Quote of the day was from John Harkrader, on the port start Rob Zilai DID manage to pull off: "I never would have let you get away with that, if I'd known you were there." After the races, sailors were treated to a delicious chicken parm meal prepared by Melanie Flynn. So delicious, in fact, that guests traveled from as far away as Connecticut to partake in the feast. Yum. Hope to see you all out there on March 16.
Submitted by Tim Smith