VM Regatta 4/20 Cancelled due to 70% Chance of Showers

First regatta of the season held with varying conditions including overcast, showers and mostly sunny ( New England right?). Winds were swirly, gusty and rather strong throughout the day although at times you couldn’t buy a breeze. When finished, Cliff came out on top with Herb in second, Rick ( and Alain ) in third. Alain’s boat sank after a few knockdowns but fortunately he had installed some flotation so rescue was made handily. Not to be outdone, Rick Gates tried to sink his boat but, after the radio became disabled due to water in the hull, it just kept doing 360°’s until rescue. Rick Laird also retired although in a much less exciting manner.

Final regatta of the season, VM, was attempted. With a forecast of 6-10 knot winds, 6 boats began only to find more like 3 knots which tapered off as the day progressed. After 3 races, a lunch break was called hoping for bettering conditions. After a reasonable time, a poll was conducted. The result was suspension (cancellation) of the regatta, making these results unofficial. We were however afforded amusement in the form of watching Rick Gates retrieving some of the marks in the new dinghy.

The weather just won’t give us a break! At least 70% chance of heavy rain and high winds force us to cancel.

Quick note reminding all that the final V36 regatta is scheduled on October 7th @ noon and not this weekend. Note that the date is incorrect on Minuteman’s calendar ( which is the reason for this post ). Carry on!

Cliff wins Footy Regatta coming from behind Herb to take the lead in the last race. We only completed 9 races because of light showers beginning 2 hours before the weathermen predicted. [ Perhaps they should be called whether( or not) men?] Wind was actually better than predicted with normal Sandy Pond dead spots and swirls keeping everything interesting. We were a little disappointed with the turnout but an iffy forecast might have been the cause.

Due to Hurricane Lee, Saturday’s Schooner/ Bring What You Brought Regatta has been cancelled. Some forecasts are calling for rain/thundershowers but ALL are calling for WIND- From 20knots sustained and up with gusts over 40 knots. This would affect both sailing as well as transportation to/from the pond. Since discretion is the better part of valor, we felt that cancellation was in order.

Cliff wins our EC12 regatta under very nice skies with somewhat spotty, fairly light wind conditions. Interestingly, several places were determined within a foot of the finish line, leading to good racing. Luckily, there were almost no weed calls ( except Chris who picked some up while launching through the weeds- go figure). Speaking of Chris…. he also took a dip in the pond while resetting the start mark after one off the young locals decided to pull it in for who knows what nefarious reason. Afterwards Chris said that wearing Crocs near a slippery shoreline might have been a less than great idea.

Cliff Martin wins our 3rd annual V36 regatta with his Rip Tide under sunny skies with challenging winds which varied from almost knock down force to very light conditions. Both Ricks were forced to change boats during the regatta (Note the 6’s).

L to R: Rick Laird (4),Rick Gates (5),Herb Dreher (2),Alain Jousse (3),Cliff Martin (1)

Under threatening skies and good ( usually) winds, 4 skippers competed today. 12 races were completed (2 throwouts) and when results were revealed Cliff totaled 10 points for the convincing win.