AMIDSHIPS:
Scuttlebutt & Race Yarns

News & Coming Events listed first, then Race Yarns  (scroll down or go to click-able list of event dates at bottom of port column).  Reports are loosely based on actual events and people. We tease, embellish and exaggerate, so don't take anything you read here too seriously.  

LABOR DAY BREAKFAST AT THE CORDS' AND RUSSELLS'

We enjoyed a large gathering of lot owners, their families and friends in the beautiful setting of the adjoining lots of John and Gwen Cord and Bill and Nan Russell.  Thank you Cords and Russells!  We welcomed new lot owners Chris & Carol Fread- lot 294, Joe & Lisa Conner-lot 300 and William & Rebecca DeVries - lot 90.

In the spirit of Labor Day, we recognized the labors of those who have made Grandview Lake such a great place:  Past and present board members, committee members, volunteers and staff members.  Special thanks were given to Frank Reindl & Peggy Voelz, coming off the board after two, three year terms each. We recounted the significant efforts each have driven, and the fine manner in which they were accomplished, involving many others. We also enjoyed watching the kayak and paddleboard race – see separate post.

KAYAK AND PADDLE BOARD RACE

Matt Bartlett, Jason Carroll and Rieanna Simpson were 1st place winners in the paddle board, men's kayak, and women's kayak races respectively.  Thanks to Max Henry for coordinating and officiating the race, and providing prizes to winners. 

Max (far right under the unicorn) points out the turn markers to participants

It was a very competitive and spirited group.

And they are off!

Jason (left) and Matt (right) dig hard in a close finish (Matt finished first). Jason was 1st in men's kayak, and Matt was 1st in paddle board.

2nd place winners were Steve Willment, Jocelyn Carroll, and Ryan Kitchell in the paddle board, women's kayak and men's kayak races respectively.  Also racing were Max Kitchell and Evan Linville.

Ryan in foreground finishes 2nd in men's kayak. Above him Rieanna finishes 1st in women's kayak. Steve, upper left finished 2nd in paddle board.

TORTOISE/HARE CONFUSION: August 26th Race Report

Another well attended race.  With wind!   Sails appeared along various shorelines and self-assembled until we had nine boats racing including five with both mainsail and jib, making for a picturesque lake scene if you happened to be taking photos.  Winds were enough for a good race, and unpredictable and gusty enough to keep everyone on their toes even during some calm spells. Phil Bush, crewing for John Auld became familiar with Y-Flyer boom vang head clearance when quickly moving from leeward to windward during sudden gusts.  

  

That blue line running from the boom to the mast is the boom vang. Duck!

Thanks to Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett and Bernice & Terry Rains for volunteering on the Committee Boat (Bernice and Terry made themselves available at the last minute).  And Terry!- Way to set anchors so that the pontoon boat was floating smack dab, exactly, precisely next to the yellow flag the entire race!  And they took in all of the race markers after the race which was much appreciated in the heat. Thanks to Beth Auld for coordinating volunteers for the race, this being a tougher one to cover.  And to Kevin Preuss for organizing the race and setting up a good course with Lisa’s help.  Arlene Truex graciously extended her hospitality again for our post-race gathering.  Thanks everyone! 

 

Sailor’s pre-race practice runs benefited from plenty of wind particularly in a wide area near the start/finish line.  The wind was plentiful on the way to the first mark. The run to the second mark was slow but steady.  Upon reaching the second mark, in both races the winds stopped until there was a large gunwale-to-gunwale gathering of boats all in the same place.  The lull was not long enough for an agenda to be agreed upon though.  Then wind-reading skills and some luck took over once the wind re-appeared.  Slightly different courses were set to the third mark, stretching the field of boats out once more, determining much of the finish order.   The final run from the third mark to the finish line was also interesting with no wind direction to be taken for granted.  John Auld and Phil Bush successfully stayed closer to the shoreline than to the center of the course from about lot 256 to lot 249 in the first race when the wind was coming from S-SW and funneled along the shoreline.   But when they attempted this again in the 2^nd race, they found the wind had shifted more to W-SW and they just inched along. Meanwhile the Cartwrights in the Thistle stayed toward the center of the course and passed them handily.  While both Auld/Bush and the Cartwrights² thought they finished ahead of the other double-sailed boats in the second race, they and all others will be surprised by the handicapped result. Sailors were also covering each other’s next moves, using their rights-of-way to their own advantage in the chess game with their opponents.   Kevin Preuss and Matt Bartlett mused after the race that perhaps their sparring allowed Laura Garret to slip ahead of them for a win in the Laser class.

Dianne stands on centerboard.  Step#1 in righting a sailboat

Later, always helpful Lance and Bianca assist Dianne.  Here Bianca lifts top of mast to make the righting process a bit easier.

Our sailors will be surprised, shocked even, at the result of the 2^nd race.  Various sailboat models have an official handicap to account for differences in their inherent speed. We apply this handicap to the elapsed finish time recorded on the stopwatch. In the second race, we had a tortoise-beats-hare story. In the fable, the tortoise wins.   But in our case the hare, the MUFFIN BUNNY, became the tortoise in the fable. Got that?   The “MUFFIN BUNNY” hopped to a first place finish!  The Sniders sailboat #2, named the Muffin Bunny, an AMF Sunbird with a high handicap captained by Bill Kent and crew Gay Lawson won first place in the International Class in the second race. The boat is inherently slower than the rest of our fleet (our fleet’s handicap factors range from 83 for the Thistle to 115 for the AMF Sunbird).  And indeed they finished the second race about 7 stop-watch minutes later than the 2nd place finisher, and were even 5 minutes behind the stop-watch finish of the last place finisher.  That is quite a long time. So long that many were much of the way back to their docks when Bill and Gay were enjoying a wind that gave them a rapid straight shot from the third mark to the finish line. But when you factor in its handicap, Bill and Gay out sailed their competitors by half a minute with the handicap.  Well done!  Come back!  

For an idea of which boats in our fleet are faster/slower by design, here are their handicaps with fastest listed first and slowest listed last:  Thistle 83.0, M-Scow 85.2, Hobie 86, Y-Flyer 87.9, Laser 92.3, JY-15 92.4, Butterfly 109.4, AMF Sunbird 115.

Sailors winning first in their class or overall in either of the two races were John Auld/Phil Bush, Matt Bartlett, Laura Garrett, and Bill Kent/Gay Lawson.

We enjoyed a well-attended relaxing gathering at GYC’s “Home Port” at Arlene Truex’s.  Some weren’t quite as gregarious as usual due to the toll taken on their energy by the sun and heat while fighting gusty winds.  At least three sailors were too whupped to attend the full moon gathering that evening.

Race Results:

FIRST RACE (“LABOR DAY”TROPHY RACE):

Laser Class:  Laura Garrett 1^st, Matt Bartlett 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3rd, Dianne Fisher 4th.

International Class:  John Auld/Phil Bush 1st, Tom Schroeder 2^nd, Jeff/Tom Cartwright 3^rd, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 4^th, Lance/Bianca Snider 5th

Overall results on handicapped basis (not for scoring purposes):  Laura Garrett 1^st, Matt Bartlett 2^nd, Kevin Preuss 3^rd, John Auld/Phil Bush 4^th Tom Schroeder 5^th, Dianne Fisher 6^th, Jeff/Tom Cartwright 7^th, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 8^th, Lance/Bianca Snider 9^th.

SECOND RACE:

Laser Class:  Matt Bartlett 1st, Laura Garrett 2nd, Dianne Fisher 3rd, Kevin Preuss 4th

International Class:  Bill Kent/Gay Lawson in the MUFFIN BUNNY 1st,  John Auld/Phil Bush 2^nd,  Jeff/Tom Cartwright 3^rd, Tom Schroeder 4^th, Lance/Bianca Snider 5^th.

Overall results on handicapped basis (not for scoring purposes):  Matt Bartlett 1st, Laura Garrett 2nd, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson in the MUFFIN BUNNY 3rd, John Auld/Phil Bush 4th, Jeff/Tom Cartwright 5th, Dianne Fisher 6th, Kevin Preuss 7^th, Tom Schroeder 8^th, Lance/Bianca Snider 9^th.

NEXT RACE

Our next race is September 9^th.

MIX-MASTER TAKES ITS TOLL: August 5th, Race Report

Photos courtesy of Sandi Miller

We had good winds on a hot day with our “gourmet” volunteers and a visit from the newlyweds from out west.   We also had a couple of capsizes, with a collateral “victim”, and other frustrations in an area notorious for unpredictable winds.

Our Committee Boat volunteers were wave-riding gourmets Jack and Sandy Miller, Mimi Riffle, Steve and Gretchen Fisher, and Harry and Sandy Meshberger.  Jim Riffle and Terry Rains performed safety boat duty and got a workout.  John Auld set up a good race course considering the air was calm at set-up time.  Kevin and Beth Auld organized the race and Committee Boat.  Arlene Truex again hosted us at “home port”.  Thanks everyone!

Welcome back to John Gall and his bride Rachel visiting from Wyoming.  They sailed the Riffle’s M-Scow and were very competitive.  This was the first time the M-Scow was out since its memorable 2017 trophy winning voyage (“glub, glub”).  We were also fortunate to have Sherri Agnew join us before she said good bye to her Butterfly, now sold.   In total we had eight boats with eleven sailors. Our numbers have been good, with our less frequent sailors making up for absences of our “injured-reserve” sailors (not sailing-related injuries mind you).

The first race was very close among the 6 boats that started on time (2 were delayed in arriving on time for the start so they finished later).    The wind was plenty good with the usual shifty character produced by Grandview’s surrounding topography.  Our gourmets were happy for the cooling breeze on a 92-degree day.   But the breeze made for a fast race, the finish of which interrupted their lunch of BBQ chicken, sandwiches, fruit salad and brownies.

Lasers at the start

More starters: L to R, Lasers  JY-15 in foreground, Y-Flyer

The third mark (last before the finish line) was in a location infamous with sailors for totally unpredictable winds from one moment to the next –a mix-master of sorts.   If you draw a line from say, lot 311 to the north end of the slalom ski course, you will get a rough idea of the mix-master’s location.   Maybe it’s caused by the high ridge above that point.  Maybe it’s the impact of two inlets on either side of the point.  Maybe it’s the updraft coming from the nearby steep dam slope next to the less steep emergency spillway slope.  Maybe it’s a combination of all of those factors.  Whatever, it is reliably unreliable.  After rounding the marker in that area, each sailor had to figure out what line they could sail with the wind direction chosen just for them by the mix-master.  The victim in the first race was Tom Schroeder and crew Phil Bush who couldn’t figure it out fast enough.   Before rounding that last marker they were about 4^th in fairly tight group of 5 boats.  Tack this way, no wind, tack that way, no wind. Meanwhile about ten seconds behind them, Auld/Hass rounded the mark and were able to find and ride a nice sliver of wind, just for them, all the way to the finish line.  Schroeder/Bush didn’t finish till about a minute and half later.    Others were about to be dealt a more costly blow.

Finish of 1st race: Kevin Preuss finished first and is not in this pictured.  He was followed by (left to right) Matt Bartlett, Dianne Fisher, Laura Garrett ( all in Lasers) and John Auld/Paul Hass in the Y-Flyer on a special sliver of wind just for them.  Another special wind for them arrived shortly thereafter.....

Just as the starting horn was about to sound for the 2^nd race, with the starting line not far from the mix-master, a strong gust from an unexpected direction capsized Laura Garrett.   She did a nice job of righting her Laser quickly (somewhere over in the starboard column is a photo of her showing how it is done)  It also hit Auld/Hass hard under circumstances that didn’t give them enough time for the usual countermeasures that sailors like Laura employ for fast recovery.  To make matters worse their Y-flyer flipped onto the stern of another sailboat preventing it from moving.  And the Y-Flyer “turtled”, with its mast pointed straight to the bottom of the lake and that nicely painted hull pointed skyward.

 

The turtled Y-Flyer with its bow on top of another sailboat. The orange pole marks one end of the starting line.

 The Y-Flyer was unable to start the second race, and the other boat was significantly delayed.   Jim Riffle and Terry Rains came to their aid and were able help get the Y-Flyer righted shortly after the finish of the second race.  Thanks Jim and Terry!

Those winning 1^st place in their class and/or overall on a handicapped basis were Kevin Preuss, John Auld/Paul Hass, Laura Garrett, and Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush

Race Results:

First Race

Lasers: Kevin Preuss 1^st, Matt Bartlett 2^nd, Dianne Fisher 3^rd, Laura Garrett 4^th

International Class on Handicapped basis:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 2nd, Sherri Agnew 3^rd, John & Rachel Gall 4^th.

Overall on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring):  Kevin Preuss 1st, Matt Bartlett 2nd, Dianne Fisher 3rd, Laura Garrett 4^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 5th, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 6th, Sherri Agnew 7th, John & Rachel Gall 8^th.

Second Race

Lasers: Laura Garrett 1^st, Matt Bartlett 2^nd, Dianne Fisher 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th.

International Class on Handicapped basis:  Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 1^st, John & Rachel Gall 2^nd.

Overall on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring):  Laura Garrett 1st, Matt Bartlett 2nd, Dianne Fisher 3rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 5th, John & Rachel Gall 6th.

Our next race is scheduled for August 26^th.  Come join us!

ADVENTURE OR ORDEAL? - July 22nd Race Report

Photo courtesy of Lisa Duret

Sailors, including some visitors, enjoyed another day of good winds.  We had a couple of downpours accompanied by very strong gusts, and were assisted with an equipment malfunction by some “Good Samaritans”.  And a thousandth of a second made a difference.

L to Right:  Laser, JY-15, Y-flyer, Thistle, Laser

Our Committee Boat volunteers were Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett, Bernice Rains and Mimi Riffle. Jim Riffle performed safety boat duty. Catey Hale and Kevin Preuss set up a fine race course.  Kevin and Beth Auld organized the race and Committee Boat, and Arlene Truex hosted our Protest Meeting.  Thanks everyone!

We had six boats in the first race and eight in the second. Dianne Fisher had some rigging trouble prior to the start of the first race and drifted over to the Max & Cindy Henry lot. The Henrys rushed out to help Dianne get ship-shape for the second race.  Thanks Max and family!   We were happy to have Lance and Bianca Snider join us in their Y-Flyer, albeit a little late for the first race as they were getting their visitors, Bill Kent & Gay Lawson set up to race their other boat, the Sunbird.  Bill and Gay did very well considering their claim of being racing novices.  And we were glad to have Bob Orben back on a Y-Flyer again, crewing for John Auld in Paul Hass’ absence.  Jeff Cartwright followed our urging to come back and visit soon. He joined brother Ben and father Tom in the Thistle.  

The first mark was to the north of the starting line so we were facing dark clouds that appeared in the northern sky.  No lightning or thunder though. Shortly after the start the heavens let loose with pounding rain and strong wind gusts creating whitecaps. In seconds sailors were drenched by both the rain and the spray, and were fighting to keep control of their boats.   This happened at about the same point in both races, lasted about five minutes, then cleared up.

“Attitude is the difference between ordeal and adventure”
- Bob Bitchin
(from sailing quotes)

Afterward, sailors were downright gleeful about the experience.  It was fun to be in all that wind, all that rain, with all those waves.  It made for an exciting race - an adventure not an ordeal. So we pass the Bob Bitchin attitude test. And remarkably, there were no capsizes, not even among the tippy Lasers. 

Those having particularly good races, taking first in either their class or on an overall handicapped basis: Matt Bartlett finished first in the Laser Class and overall in both races, John Auld and crew Bob Orben were first in the International Class in the first race, as were Tom Schroeder and crew Phil Bush in the second race. 

Noteworthy:  A one one -thousandth of a second difference (once you do the handicap math) put Cartwrights in the Thistle ahead of Auld/Orben in theY-Flyer in the second race. So Cartwrights finished second and Auld/Orben third.

And we had a great protest meeting until the rain returned at about the time we normally disband. – thanks Arlene!

Race Results:

First Race (Trophy Race):

Laser Class:  Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd

International Class: John Auld/Bob Orben 1st, Ben/Jeff/Tom Cartwright 2nd, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 3rd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 4th

Overall on a Handicapped Basis:  Matt Bartlett 1st, Auld/Orben 2nd, Cartwrights 3rd, Kent/Lawson 4th, Schroeder/Bush 5th, Kevin Preuss 6th.

Second Race (Trophy Race):

Laser Class:  Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd, Diane Fisher 3rd

International Class: Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 1st,  Ben/Jeff/Tom Cartwright 2nd, John Auld/Bob Orben 3rd, Lance/Bianca Snider 4th, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 5th.

Overall on a Handicapped Basis:  Matt Bartlett 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 3rd, Cartwrights 4th, Auld/Orben 5th, Lance/Bianca Snider 6th, Bill Kent/Gay Lawson 7th, Diane Fisher 8th. 

Our next race is Sunday, August 5th at 2pm

JULY 4TH BREAKFAST AT ARLENE TRUEX'S

 Photos courtesy of Lisa Duret
A large gathering of lot owners at Arlene Truex's home enjoyed a great view of the main lake and observed a fire-cracker-hot Independence Day.    We hear that the jelly donuts were a particular favorite.    Thanks Arlene, for keeping this tradition alive!

Below are some photos from the fun event:

PHOTO-STORY of the June 24th Race

Images courtesy of photojournalists Sandi Miller & Bernice Rains

Welcome to new sailor, Phil Bush!  This was his first time in a sailboat.  He studied ahead of time, and learned quickly while on the water.  He is now a crew with experience, and is eager to join us again (those needing a crew take note). The conditions were just right for a new sailor at Grandview as well as for the rest of us.   Warm but not hot.  Winds that were not too gusty, not too slow, and only absent for a short period.  Just right.  Our Committee Boat volunteers, "the gourmets",  dined well in the great weather.  And Tom and Andy Jennings were able to squeeze in another great sailing day at Grandview before the big move (and took first and second respectively in both races).

Committee Boat volunteers have sounded the "5-minutes-to-start"horn.  Jack monitors the stopwatch while the others watch the sailors try to position themselves optimally for the start.

Our Committee Boat volunteers were Steve and Gretchen Fisher, Jack and Sandi Miller, and Terry and Bernice Rains.  Sandi's and Bernice's great photos tell the story of the race.

Jim Riffle and Cindy Bartlett performed safety boat duty.  And the race gave Bob Orben a good reason to get out in “At Last”.  We had plenty of other spectators as well, ready move out of the way of approaching sailboats (thank you!).  Terry Rains and Kevin Preuss set up a really good race course.  Kevin Preuss and Beth Auld organized the race and Committee Boat.  Arlene Truex again hosted a very very pleasant “protest meeting”.  Thanks everyone for making for such a great day of sailing and socializing.

1st Race Start:  Dianne is first over the line

1st Race Start: Uh-oh John & Paul in foreground on far right "catch an edge" of the bow, slowing them down.

...

Ah, they recover and are on their way.  But wait!....who is this approaching on the right edge of the photo?  Why it is Matt, on a starboard tack....with the right of way!  Headed straight for John & Paul. Oh man, this will be close.

 John & Paul are on a port tack and do not have the right of way.  Sure enough, Matt had to alter his course to avoid them.  Matt informed them that he was fouled, so....

 John &Paul must perform the dreaded 360 degree turn as their penalty, costing them precious time. Here they are 180 degrees through the turn.

 Meanwhile the Lasers are off to a good start with Kevin out in front followed by Andy, Tom, and Dianne in wind-dictated synchronization.

Meanwhile, on the Committee Boat:

Our Committee Boat volunteers did a great job of starting the first race and capturing it in photos.  So now they settle in and relax with a nice lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, cantaloupe, brownies, and craft something-or-others.  They have about twenty minutes to dine and watch the race unfold before they have to exert themselves again.  Food and entertainment on the water, aaahhhh, life at the lake.

Time to get busy again: Gretchen eyes the exact finish line and will blow the horn the nano-second approaching Laura crosses it.  Jack will announce the precise time which will be recorded on the race sheet.

Gretchen blows the horn for a finisher.

Tom Jennings, having finished well ahead of everyone else checks his stopwatch to determine his elapsed time
 
.

John and Paul finish and prepare for the next race. "Hey volunteers! Can you all spare a brownie?"

Then Tom with rookie Phil as crew come by the Committee Boat.  "Hey volunteers! Can you all spare a couple of craft something-or-others?"

Okay, time to start the 2nd race:

2nd Race Start: Andy (in foreground) is hoping to start ahead of his dad, Tom (approaching from left).   But as we all know from the start of the first race, Andy has a little problem.  And since he is peeking under his boom to see where other boats might be, he is also aware of that problem:  He is on a port tack, and Tom, on a starboard tack has the right of way.  So guess what?

Andy (in foreground) has to "come about" changing to a starboard tack to avoid fouling Tom.  Since they are both on a starboard tack now, who has the right of way?   You are correct - Andy now has the right of way because he is downwind of Tom and they are overlapped.  If Andy turns to his right, Tom will have to yield to him by turning right also.   Would he do that to dear-'ol dad?

Yes, he certainly would, this is a race after all!  They have both turned to the right and both are on a port tack,  just in time to encounter Matt who has the right of way over both of them because he is on a starboard tack.  So they have to go behind Matt. 

Then Dianne crosses the starting line.  A little close to the starting line buoy.  If she touches it, she has to take a 360 degree penalty turn - guess she did not.

 Then Laura speeds by the Committee Boat. 

So now you have seen the start of two good races from the Committee Boat.
We welcome volunteers and will train you.  What is it like to be in the race?  You can find out. Come join us!

Race Results:

First Race

Lasers: Tom Jennings 1^st, Andy Jennings 2^nd, Matt Bartlett 3^rd, Kevin Preuss 4^th, Laura Garrett 5th

International Class on Handicapped basis:  Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd.

Overall on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring):  Tom Jennings 1st, Andy Jennings 2nd, Matt Bartlett 3rd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5th, Laura Garrett  6^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 7^th.

Second Race

Lasers: Tom Jennings 1^st, Andy Jennings 2^nd, Dianne Fisher 3^rd, Laura Garret 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5th^.

International Class on Handicapped basis:  Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd.

Overall on Handicapped Basis (not for scoring):  Tom Jennings 1st, Andy Jennings 2nd, Dianne Bartlett 3rd, Tom Schroeder/Phil Bush 4^th, Laura Garrett 5th, Kevin Preuss  6^th, Matt Bartlett 7^th, John Auld/Paul Hass 8^th.

The next scheduled race is the "July 4th Trophy Race.  Instead of July 4th (too busy on the lake) it will be  held on July 8th.