HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2013 SAILING SEASON & A SAILOR'S RESOLUTION FOR 2014

Here's  the best of our 2013 sailing season in the following order:  1. Highlights, 2. Thanks, and 3. Awards.  At the very end of the post is the 2014 resolution captured in two photos (Thanks Steve).

 1. Highlights and fun facts about our sailing season

Participation:

• We had 42 participants in total this year.  26 of those were sailors, and 16 were volunteers. 
• We welcomed 5 brand new sailors this year, and we are getting younger!  New sailors include Ben Hicks, Erin Gall, Nick Gall, Laura Garrett, and Josh Gray.   
•  Along with our 7 new committee boat volunteers that makes 12 new participants in total for 2013 - Welcome!. 
•  So more than 1/4 of our participants were new to sailing races this year.

The (Devilish) Wind: 

• In most races the wind favored the four or five boats that made it to the first mark first.  The rest were left without much wind. 
• The wind continued to punish those who relaxed or became celebratory after crossing the finish line by capsizing them with a sudden strong gust.  We call this “high five syndrome”.  

  

  Jim has just won the race, and is quite relaxed, making him a prime candidate for "high five syndrome", though he escaped it this time.

•  The wind also punished a few of us at the start/finish line: After coming about, with no forward momentum, it took Tom Schroeder and Bob Zachidny about two full minutes to go 5 feet to cross the finish line while Riley Leonard zipped by on the forward momentum he had before the wind died.  And Andy Jennings was actually blown backward within feet of the finish line.

Riley (foreground) is moving, Tom and Bob are not. (the finish line is marked by the orange pole)

Number of Races: 

We had eight race days, two more than last year.  That means we needed more Committee Boat volunteers than last year, which kept Committee Boat Chair, Beth Auld and our volunteers busy.

Firsts: 

• We had a mysterious visitor from a faraway land who introduced a new custom. 

  

  Nicholas and Graham stand and bow to Committee Boat volunteers

  Nicholas, the Hale’s foreign exchange  student, along with his captain, Graham Hale stood up and bowed to the Committee Boat volunteers after crossing the finish line, like they do in France (or so we're told).
• We had a baby being born during the "LABOR Day" race.   Peggy Voelz was in Montana with their daughter (the new Mom), keeping husband Jim posted on progress via mobile phone.   As sailors passed by Jim during the race, he would yell "still pushing"!  Shortly after the finish Jim waved two noodles in the air which signaled “It’s a girl!”

New Nautical Terms:   

We had some new nautical terms introduced to us in 2013. You’ll find these explained or used in context in our race report blog entries. 

• By and Large 
• Bob and Weave 



Skyward - as in " the skyward pontoon" get it?

• Skyward
• Snarling (of the anchor line) 
• Aggravate the Sail 
• "Become Celebratory " 
• High-Five Syndrome (can infect someone who has "become celebratory").

2. Thanks to the following who made our races and social events possible:

Our wonderful Committee Boat volunteers: 

• Beth Auld 
• Eileen Carroll 
• Tracey Day 
• Norm and Susan Egbert 
• Steve and Gretchen Fisher 
• Josh Gray 
• Bonnie Hicks 
• Dave and Linda Maudlin 
• Emily McGurdy
• Jack and Sandi Miller 
• Donna Mount 
• Bob Orben 
• Mimi Riffle 
• Tracey Wilson 
• Tricia Zachidny

  

  Donna gets ready to start the race

  

  Just another lazy afternoon on the Committee Boat

Our event hosts:   

Spring Social: 

Larry and Nancy Olson 

Memorial Day Breakfast: 

Mike and Leah Essex  (and for sponsoring our use of the Harrison Lakes Country Club for the banquet)

July 4th Breakfast: 

Dan and Judy Hoyt

July 4th Kayak Race:  

Max Henry 

Labor Day Breakfast: 

Ed and Dolores Krome

Hey, by the way, we still need event hosts for 2014!  Please consider hosting the Spring Social, Memorial Day Breakfast, or Independence Day Breakfast. 

And thanks to trailblazers Brad and Carole Arthur for volunteering to host the 2014 Labor Day Breakfast.

Home-Port Harbormasters:   

Before the Race at Truex's

After the race at Truex's

Again this year, after every race, Wayne and Arlene Truex hosted the protest "meetings" at their home.  This is after all the activity that occurs at their dock before the race since they store all of our race equipment and rig and launch three or four boats at every race and then get them all unrigged and everything put away.

Various Yacht Club Efforts:  Thanks to....

Mimi Riffle for all of her hard work again this year as Secretary/Treasurer handling with memberships, treasury, trophies, organizing the banquet and a dozen other things including, being one of two people, who each were on the committee boat 70% of the time.
Jim Riffle for helping Mimi with just about everything. And for his race coordination when Tom Schroeder was unable to, along with Tom Jennings and Kevin Preuss. 

Jim and Mimi

Tom Schroeder for his work as Commodore.
Julia Schroeder who finds herself helping out behind the scenes with just about everything husband Tom does, and keeps him on an even keel (most of the time).

Beth Auld for her work as Committee Boat Chairperson, having a fundraiser for the club with t-shirts, bought a megaphone, found decorations and trophies for our events, among other contributions. Beth came up with the idea of having a Committee Boat training and refresher course, and she and John hosted it at their home.  Beth recruited volunteers (about half were new) and volunteered herself at about 70% of our races.

Beth thanks our committee boat volunteers and gets ready to present them with tokens of our appreciation

Kevin Preuss for volunteering to be Race Chairman next year.

John Sohn for serving as our arbiter and judge of protests, although we didn’t keep him very busy this season since we were all so civil to each other!

Jim Voelz for sharing his tips for winning races. 

Jim teaches us how to race

And as a testament to those tips, Wayne Truex (keeping track of all of our errors

We are looking like serious sailors aren't we?

from shore) even commented that we are beginning to look like serious sailors.

We are thankful for photos from the past season courtesy of the Hales, Millers, Zachidnys, and others.   These photos really added to this year’s blog.   If you would like to share digital photos of our races, but need help with the logistics, Tom Schroeder will be happy to assist you to make it really easy.

3. Trophies and Awards: 

Awards: Laser Class

1st Place:   Tom Jennings

2nd Place: Jim Voelz

3rd Place:  Kevin Preuss

Crew Awards:   

We have a competition for those who crew for our captains.  Crew members receive the same number of points as the captain they crew for in each race.

1st  Place: 

Arlene Truex

2nd  Place: 

Catey Hale 

3rd Place:  

(tie) Bob Orben and Lance Snider

Lance

Bob (and Mimi)

Good Samaritans Award:  

Bianca

 Lance and Bianca Snider won the “Good Samaritans Award” for stopping during a race to help keep the capsized Hobie catamaran from turtling (see the August 18th race report).  They then went back to finish the race, but of course finished last. 
They were awarded our last unsold sweatshirt to signify that they would give the shirts off their backs to those in need (they really would).   It is a 2XL which is good because they will have to both wear it at the same time since we only had one left!

Awards: International Class: 

The International Class consists of boats of many different types, which are handicapped according to statistics published by US Sailing.  Except for the Hobie which we manually calculate.

1st Place:   

John Auld

"Awright!!!" John exclaims as he makes off with the 1st Place trophy.

2nd Place:   

Jim Riffle

3rd Place: 

Peggy Voelz

Awards:   Ghost Class:

Tom lifts the heavy ghost class trophy and prepares to give it to the winner.

   Last year we introduced the ghost class in honor of Larry Olson who really wanted to be sailing, but was unable to. This year’s winner in a spooky sort of way, kept the same boat idle (he bought Larry’s Laser sailboat).  Josh Gray is the winner.  The reason for his absence is very honorable, so we didn’t give him any grief about that (he was busy working on his Eagle Scout project most of the summer). We hope to see a lot of him and his Laser next year.

Josh

Oh yes, and Larry Olson tells us that although we didn’t SEE him at the banquet, he was actually there, and overheard everything that was said about him.  Uh oh!

 

 

Awards: Rookie of the Year 

This award is based on points accumulated during the season:  Our rookie of the year was Laura Garrett. Laura is the daughter of Jim and Peggy Voelz from the Voelz racing dynasty.  In Laura’s first race, they finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd on a handicapped basis.  Laura was a model of perseverance in a year with a very difficult wind.

 

 

Awards: Holiday Trophies:  

Memorial Day Trophy 

Tom Jennings

July 4th Trophy

Jim Voelz

Labor Day Trophy

Tom Schroeder

Awards: Booby Prize:   

Tradition requires that the white porcelain chamber- pot trophy be appropriately awarded:   

You may remember that in 2011 Bob Orben and Wayne Truex won this trophy jointly because they disqualified each other in the same race. 

In 2012 the winners were John Auld and mystery man and good sport Paul Hass for the dramatic capsizing, turtling and successful recovery of the Orben Y-Flyer.   

This year we also have joint winners, They are Committee Boat volunteers Sandi Miller and Susan Egbert. Like recipients of the past, they will have to fight over who gets to display the stylish trophy shown below.  Due to high seas, both Sandi and Susan got feeling a bit seasick.   Sandi even registered a written protest complete with a stick figure drawing.   She said that they were bobbing like "wobbly Weebles" on board the Committee boat.  The chamber-pot trophy was decorated to be a depiction of the Committee Boat’s dilemma, complete with wobbly Weebles and Sandi’s stick figure drawing.

Awards: Championship Trophy: 

2013 Champion John Auld

The Championship Trophy goes to the captain who scored the most point using our scoring system.  This means that he won the most races with the most number of competing boats.  This is the first year he sailed his own boat with great results. This year’s winner had four crew members who can share the glory.  They are Bob Orben, Paul Hass, Bob Zachidny, and Catey Hale
Like last year’s winner, this year’s winner did not miss a single race and is the only one of all of our captain or crew who didn’t.

This year’s Champion sailor is John Auld.

That wraps up our highlights of the 2013 season.
For the 2014 season, Steve has provided us with a great resolution:

We would be pleased to have you join in our sailing activities in 2014 - Happy New Year!
(And there are some sailboats available, see port column)

LABOR DAY BREAKFAST - Special Edition

The heat and rain abated just in time to gather in great weather on Ed and Dolores Krome’s beautiful lakeside garden patio with lots of Grandview neighbors on Labor Day morning.  Our Thanks to Ed and Dolores for hosting us!

This was a Special Edition of the Yacht Club’s Labor Day Breakfast because we used the Labor Day theme to honor those who have served on the various Grandview Lake boards and committees, and lead or have led the other major undertakings that make or keep Grandview Lake a great place.

Pictured above are just some of the great people who have labored hard to make Grandview Lake such a great place. (Photo courtesy of Lenny Verebay)  A listing of all of the 1983-2013 Board of Directors members, including many who were present at the breakfast, but not in the above photo, is shown later in this article.

With many of those wonderful folks gathered together up on the porch (see photo above), we honored them and those not present by reflecting on just some of the things that are great about Grandview Lake. They are not that way by accident;  it took some fine people to take the initiative to make things great and then keep them that way.  For instance:

It’s great that we have a beautiful lake – the main attraction, right?  But what if no one took it upon themselves to monitor and maintain the dam every single day and make sure it gets fixed when it needs to be?

It’s great that the tributaries feeding the lake are kept clear of fallen trees and branches and that the pond to trap sediment is cleared out from time-to-time.  What if no one took it upon themselves to do that?

It’s great that above the perimeter road we see nothing but beautiful hills and woods that make this place that much more special and unusual.  But what if no one had taken it upon themselves to buy and protect that land when the lumber company was about to timber it, and then sell it?  Or what if no one took it upon themselves to keep all the flora and fauna from being destroyed by an overpopulation of deer?

It’s great that you don’t have to lug gas cans from your car trunk down to your dock and spill gas as you fill up your motorboat. But what if no one took it upon themselves to install the gas pumps and keep them maintained.   And what if no one took it upon themselves to keep the boat launches and trailer parking areas orderly and maintained?

It’s great that on your behalf someone confronts those that don’t abide by the covenants or lake safety practices.  But what if you had to always do that yourself, or just live with “anything goes” chaos?

It’s great that you can flush your toilet!  But what if no one took it upon themselves to monitor the operation of the system, and bite the bullet and replace the sewer plant instead of having the state shut it down because it didn’t meet their changing standards?

It’s great that someone is making it easier for us to amend our by-laws as times change, instead of having 10 separate sets of covenants for different parts of the lake.  But what if no one took it upon themselves to perform this long arduous and thankless task?

It’s great that you can catch fish in our lake because someone makes sure it gets stocked.  But what if no one took that task upon themselves?

It’s great that you can walk a hiking trail that been cleared of fallen trees, drive around the lake without litter everywhere, and that we have flowers planted at the entrances.  But what if no one took it upon themselves to do that?

For display at the breakfast, Mimi and Jim Riffle, and Donna Sasse, put a ton of effort into listing those who served on the Board of Directors over the years and who are still living and have a lot here at the lake. It also includes years of service and projects they were instrumental in accomplishing. Harry Sanders also helped by adding his recollections.   It will be helpful to the Grandview Lake history project that is being undertaken.

If you put on your reading glasses you might be able to make out the names on the above cropped photo.  Sorry, but the 3-column format of this blog doesn't lend itself very well to this. To get a better look,  it will be framed and hanging in the GLOA office.  Take a look at it next time you are there. 

We also had a trivia contest about who did what.  Stay tuned as we will find a way to dole out those questions and answers one at a time for the next little while.

Thanks again to Ed and Dolores Krome for hosting, and to Donna Sasse, Mimi and Jim Riffle and Harry Sanders for their research.

SEPTEMBER 1ST RACE REPORT

During our Labor Day weekend race, a new sailor from a developing racing dynasty was welcomed to the club, a new grandchild from a long-time racing dynasty was being born during the race, and we were visited by limbo star, and ace Laser class sailor, Andy Jennings.  Also during the race an attitude adjustment was administered, and snarling problem was solved.

Andy demonstrates how to go under limbo stick in world-class fashion

First we would like to welcome Erin Gall, Jackson Gall’s new bride to the Grandview sailing community.  She sailed with Jackson in her first race and we are delighted to have her join us.   They did well in the 2nd race!  And Jim Voelz appeared for the race in his powerboat instead of his sailboat so he could stay closely tuned to his mobile phone for a call from wife Peggy since birth of their second grandchild to daughter Mary and her husband was imminent.  REALLY imminent!  As we swarmed around the starting line before the race Jim shouted that Mary was in labor and he would wave one noodle if it was a boy and two noodles if it was a girl.  A birth announcement using noodle-net!

With no wind while we waited for the start of the race, it looked like there might be a cancellation.  Then, just in time for the race the wind showed up, albeit from the south instead of the west per earlier conditions. This wind was no stranger.  It is the same wind that been hanging around all season, torturing those that don’t make it through the first mark fast enough, and rewarding those that do.  It chose to play this dirty trick again in the second race. Since it was a holiday weekend, we kept the course in the middle of the main lake, away from the skiing and tubing routes.  Nevertheless, the Committee Boat got quite a rocking.  We are very grateful to our Committee Boat volunteers Beth Auld, Susan Egbert, Deb Hendrick, Emily McCurdy and Mimi Riffle.  Also, thanks to Jim Riffle for setting up the course with assistance from Tom Schroeder, and for taking down the course with assistance from Kevin Preuss.

Are you ready for this week’s nautical terms lesson?  Due to winds from the south we had a straight shot to the first mark on a beam reach (wind coming over the side of the boat), with only about a 50/50 chance of having to tack (changing direction such that wind is coming over the opposite side of the boat) near the first mark depending on wind shifts.  Normally you try to start the race with the wind over your starboard (right) side (a starboard tack) because that gives you the right of way so you don’t have to bob and weave (perform evasive maneuvers) around the other boats.  But this race favored a start with the wind over the port side (a port tack).  Those that tried a starboard tack, tacked just as soon as they got over the line but this strategy put you downwind of the rest of the sailors which turned out to be the slowest approach to the first mark. 

Not much to report on about the first race since the wind was saving its torture for the next race, but here are the results of this the "Trophy Race":

Laser Class:  Tom Jennings 1st, Andy Jennings 2nd, Kevin Preuss 3rd.
International Class (on handicapped basis):  Tom Schroeder/Catey Hale 1st, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 2nd, John Auld/Bob Zachidny 3rd, Laura Garrett 4th, Jack Gall/Erin Gall 5th.
If the Lasers were also handicapped:  The Lasers would have been 1st, 2nd and 3rd as shown above, followed by the International Class in the order shown.
 
Between the first and second race many “Baby yet?” shouts were directed to Jim Voelz to which he replied “Still Pushing!” (not a nautical phrase).

During the second race, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder in the JY-15 started on a port tack and were upwind and well ahead of all but Tom Jennings, but had to tack once in order to get to the first mark.  Now on a starboard tack and enjoying the right of way near the first mark, they encountered John Auld/Bob Zachidny in a Y-Flyer, who had to yield and bear off (turn away from their previous course) which cost them a few critical seconds.  During those few seconds Hale/Schroeder made it around the mark before a wind shift hit Auld/Zachidny, causing them to touch the mark, do the required 360 degree penalty turn, and find themselves with no wind.  Andy Jennings also found himself touching the mark and doing a 360 as well.  Meanwhile about half of the other boats got by the first mark and enjoyed a favorable wind.  But those delayed at the mark found themselves without much wind for the rest of the race finishing way, way, way behind the first pack.  Andy Jennings, just about to cross the finish line, even found himself being pushed backward in a light wind shift.   We were pleased to have Andy join us and give the Lasers more competition in this race.

You may remember from the August 18th race report that attitude and race results go hand-in-hand.  In that race, John Auld and Catey Hale won International Class with a determined attitude as shown below.

Tom Schroeder’s JY-15 didn’t do so well, and the photo below speaks for itself in terms of “attitude”.

So for this race, hoping to reform and do better, Tom recruited Catey Hale to sail with him.   Tom captained the first race.  Against Catey’s better judgment, he tried the start on a starboard tack.  And, having the right of way, thought maybe he would mess with those on port tack before coming about (a synonym for “tack” - changing direction such that wind is coming over the opposite side of the boat – used here instead of “tack” because using the word “tack” too many times within two consecutive sentences would be….. tacky) and getting on a port tack himself. But Catey convinced him this wasn’t a way to win friends, influence people, or win races, so he relented and turned to a port tack after crossing the starting line. But that put them downwind of the others, and they had to sail with dirty air (air that has been made turbulent after going through the sails of another sailboat) making them slower.  Nevertheless although not beating any of the Lasers, the JY-15’s captain, sporting a different attitude and benefiting from some good coaching,  ended up coming in first in the International class.   

For the second race Catey took the helm (you learned that term in the Aug 18^th race report, did you not?) and demonstrated good judgment by starting on a port tack.  The Committee Boat was only about 10 feet away, and the five women on board gave Tom a bit of ribbing during the start which was met with a good natured, but snarling response that we had heard enough from the Committee Boat.  And Jim Riffle had the Committee Boat volunteers a bit concerned when he appeared to be playing chicken with them at the start. With Catey at the helm the JY-15 again sailed to a first place finish in the International class.  This is the best it’s done in many years, finishing behind only Tom Jennings who is in the Laser class.  In addition to learning some valuable sailing tips from Catey, Tom was delighted that he doesn’t have to buy a new boat – The JY-15 can win, provided the captain has the right attitude, and gets to the first mark before the wind stops. And speaking of attitude, Hale/Schroeder could have, should have, easily succumbed to “high five syndrome”, but didn’t.  And this year’s demonic wind was there waiting, surely thinking they would.  It will have to wait for the next sailing season.

And regarding snarling:  Snarling has been a real problem for the Committee Boat this year.   It was getting concerning. Morale was being compromised, and Mimi Riffle reported that something had to be done.  After all, if there is too much snarling, the Committee Boat volunteers can get discouraged.  Well, we’ve taken some action that appears to keep the snarling at bay.  Maybe you have experienced a snarling problem also, and it may be getting you down.  We want to share our way of dealing with it.  Maybe it will work for you as well and make your life a little better.  Here is what you do:  Go buy one of those orange traffic safety cones at Lowes.  Put it in the bottom of a five gallon bucket (you may have to cut the square corners off the base of the cone so that it will fit).  Now, when you haul up your anchor line, feed the line around and around the cone.  The next time you go to drop anchor; your anchor line will feed out smoothly without snarling!  Snarling problem solved!

 Here are the results of the 2nd race, followed by baby news, etc.
Laser Class: Tom Jennings 1st, Kevin Preuss 2nd, Andy Jennings 3rd.
International Class on handicapped basis:  Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 1st, Jack Gall/Erin Gall 2nd, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 3rd, Laura Garret 4th, John Auld, Bob Zachidny 5th.
If the Lasers were also handicapped (not so straighforward in this race):  Tom Jennings 1st, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 2nd, Jack Gall/Erin Gall 3rd, Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 4th, Kevin Preuss 5th, Laura Garrett 6th, John Auld/Bob Zachidny 7th, Andy Jennings 8th.

Like the sailors between races you are probably wondering about the baby being born.  Well, just a few minutes after the end of the second race, as the fleet was headed toward their docks, Jim Voelz received the call from Peggy and was seen waving two noodles.  It’s a girl! And we hear from the Voelzs that everyone is doing great.  It was great fun for the Grandview sailors to anticipate her arrival during the sailing race (especially the baby’s Aunt Laura who was racing with us).  Congratulations!

After the race, the main sail on the Hobie catamaran could not be lowered due to a problem with the pulley.  So a major operation occurred dockside at the Truex’s, as it often does. Thanks to Jackson Gall, Jim Riffle, Kevin Preuss and Wayne Truex for all the hard work, just prior to composing themselves for the protest meeting.

The size of the group attending the protest meeting was ground-level worthy again.  Some legendary stories were told, but you have to be there to hear them.  So come sail or volunteer with us next year!   Thanks to Wayne and Arlene for hosting after each race this year!

AUGUST 18TH RACE REPORT

We had a mysterious (and polite) visitor from a faraway land, resolution to some troubling questions from the last race, a new revelation related to the “high five syndrome" exposed in the last report, more limbo,  two (!!!) Sunfish sailboats, a very pleasant day for  committee boat volunteers and sailors,  race results that could have been predicted by “body language”,  and a new sailing tip involving aggravation.   Fortunately for you,  we have great pictures by Committee Boat volunteer Tricia Zachidny that will save many words (so keep those pictures coming!).  We also received positive feedback on having appropriate background music for reading the blog, so we'll have some of that for you as well.

Before we get to unfinished business from the last race, we want to thank our Committee Boat volunteers for a really great job.  Thank you Beth Auld, Bonnie Hicks, Bob Orben, Mimi Riffle and Tricia Zachidny!  Also, thanks to David and Tracey Day for spotting and returning some race-related gear.   Jim Voelz set up a good course, assisted by Ben Hicks who volunteered to help and learn.  And finally, we extend our best wishes to Maura Leonard, who had volunteered to help out on the Committee boat, but had family members involved in a car accident the night before and was helping them out.  We hope everyone recovers quickly and well.

From the August 4th race report you will remember that we had some questions about some artwork sketched by the committee boat on the scoring sheet:

Question for our Committee Boat artist: Is this a) a woman with long hair whose upper body has been thrown backward by the rocking of the committee boat, b) a volunteer vomiting due to seasickness,  or c) a volunteer going under the "limbo stick"?  (the limbo stick seems to be becoming a recurring theme)

We learned at this week's protest meeting that the artist was Sandi Miller, who was feeling a little woozy from the rocking of the waves that day, which makes option "b" above the correct answer. 

You may also remember that we showed a pair of pictures (below) showing how Wayne and Arlene Truex righted the capsized Y-Flyer, and we were wondering about Wayne's well-being in this procedure:

Arlene secures the line in the ski boat after Wayne positions it properly on the Hobie.  That's Wayne, high and dry, standing on the pontoon in the water.  Earlier, Arlene fell from the "skyward" pontoon - wheeee!

OK Arlene! Gun it!  No, Wait! Where's Wayne?

 In the second photo we wondered “Where’s Wayne?” When asked at this week's protest meeting, Wayne nonchalantly commented that he remained standing on the seaward pontoon  as Arlene expertly applied just the right amount of throttle on the ski boat.  As the Hobie slowly turned mast-to-sky, Wayne said he merely “entered the water” (notice he is fully clothed in long sleeves, long pants and a nice hat).   “No big deal, what did you think would happen?", he asked.   Okay then! 

And to finish the unfinished business: There was another previously unreported  2013 victim of “high five syndrome” the consequences of which are quick and sudden capsize.  The victim is none other than Kevin Preuss.  Kevin revealed that in the July 28^th race, after beating Tom Jennings for 2^nd place, he became "celebratory", let down his guard and received an unwelcome visit from the ever-vigilant Grandview wind gremlin and SMACK! suddenly found himself in the water.   

On to this weeks’ race:  OK, after turning your computer's volume down a bit, you will want to start the background music now by clicking here and then coming back to this window on your browser while the music plays.

The wind was just like the last few races and we’ll spare you the disparaging description other than the fact that even after handicapping for boat speed, the last-place finisher took well over twice as long to finish as the first-place finisher.  To be fair though, we don’t handicap for attitude. Yet.  And from here on in we’ll let Tricia’s pictures narrate the race with a little help from that background music which is Jimmy Buffet's "Changes in Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes":

The attitude we all wish for:  Jim seems satisfied after finishing more than five minutes ahead of the second place boat in the first race.  Careful Jim, this is when “high five syndrome” strikes!

The determined attitude:  Catey Hale and John Auld are focused on the finish line.
  And they finished well, taking 1^st place in the International Class.

The laid-back attitude:  The most comfortable boat in the fleet,  with a recliner-like cockpit .  How did they do in the race? Well........

We had two Sunfish sailboats with us, for this race.  If you have a Sunfish in the shed, dust it off and come out and sail with us!  Or lend it to someone who will.

Ben and Eileen gave it a go, but alas some rudder difficulties caused them to abandon the race.  We hope they are back for the next race.

Graham Hale (left) is joined by Nicholas, the Hale’s foreign exchange student from France.  Nicholas told Graham that in France, it is considered proper etiquette for sailboat racers to bow to the Committee Boat volunteers upon crossing the finish line.  And so they stood up and did, to the delight of the volunteers!

John and Jack Gall do not realize that they are about to be passed prior to crossing the finish line.

Jim and Arlene in the colorful Hobie catamaran snuck up on the brothers Gall beating them to the finish line by one second.  But applying the handicap, the brothers Gall beat them.

Here you see Riley (who did well in both races – way to go Riley!) about four or five feet ahead of Tom and Bob just before the finish line (the orange pole).  The wind had died, but Riley had some residual boat speed, while Tom and Bob had no boat speed whatsoever.  So.......

Thirty seconds later (!),  with Riley long gone, Tom and Bob finally cross the finish line.  "If we couldn't laugh we'd all go insane!"

We had quite a gathering at the protest meeting with our numbers again being the trigger for lower-deck status of the many seating options at the Truexs'.  Bob Orben gave away one of his sailing secrets by advising John Gall within earshot of others that with the constantly shifting winds at Grandview you need to “aggravate the sail”.  If I understand this correctly this means you have to regularly try pointing the boat just a little closer to the wind to see if a wind shift has occurred that will permit you to sail a better course than you previously thought was possible.  I think this may also be known as “pinching” (which is also aggravating, so that would make sense).  Have I got this right Bob?   Anyway it was one of those gatherings that can occur only at a special place with special people - Grandview Lake.

Race Results

Laser Class:  Jim Voelz  sailed the only Laser, thus winning both races in his class. And had we handicapped him he would have come in first versus all boats in the International Class (the rest of the fleet).  

International Class after applying handicaps:

1^st Race:   Jim Riffle/Arlene Truex 1^st, John Auld/Catey Hale 2^nd, Peggy Voelz 3^rd, Jackson Gall/John Gall 4^th, Riley Leonard 5^th, Laura Garret 6^th, Graham Hale/Nicholas 7^th, Tom Schroeder/Bob Zachidny 8^th.

2^nd Race: Peggy Voelz 1^st, Catey Hale/John Auld 2^nd, John Gall/Jackson Gall 3^rd, Riley Leonard 5^th, Graham Hale/Nicholas 6^th, Tom Schroeder/Bob Zachidny 7^th, Laura Garrett 8^th.

Our final race is Sunday September 1^st at 2pm.  Come sail with us!