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.

NOT A SNOOZER: June 3rd Race Report

Photos courtesy of Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett and Lisa Duret

Fast gusty winds made for an exciting race for sailors and spectators. Better than our relatively sleep-inducing race of two weeks ago.  Laser capsizes were frequent, but not as many as the famous race of nearly a year ago.  Our eventful protest meeting was extremely well attended (see two separate posts that follow) with

• a fond farewell to the Jennings clan followed by 
• a celebration of “barefoot season” with a sock burning.

Matt Bartlett set up the race with visiting nephew Trey.  Trey’s been around racing before and was very helpful, knowing just what to do.  

 

Trey readies the race equipment

 He was also a welcome helper on the Committee Boat.  Other Committee Boat volunteers were Beth Auld, Cindy Bartlett, Bernice Rains and Mimi Riffle. They did a remarkable job of anchoring in the heavy winds and did a fine job of directing the race.  

Cindy, Bernice and Trey prepare to anchor the Committee Boat.

Jim Riffle blessed us with the comforting presence of a “safety boat” and Bob Orben kept us in his sights in newly reconditioned, clean as a whistle “At Last”. Arlene Truex hosted us for the protest meeting.  And Kevin Preuss and Beth Auld organized the race/committee boat.  Thanks everyone!

Bob in a sparkling "At Last"

Sailors will choose a race with the description that follows over a race of the more genteel variety any day:  The unpredictably gusty winds made the start a challenge since start strategies, timing and spacing between boats requires some precision.   And numerous capsizes occurred near the turn markers causing time-consuming course changes.   The second mark was at the convergence of channeled wind from two different inlets making for gusts from several directions within seconds of each other – a formula for capsize.  Tom Jennings experienced an equipment failure and abandoned the race.   The heavy winds revealed a worn jib shackle that gave out a few times on Hale and Schroeder.  This required quickly crawling out on the pointed bow of the tippy JY-15 and a tug of war with the wind to regain the jib.  Sailors were regularly drenched from the spray and/or capsize.   

 It was an hour of tiring, perilous, glorious fun!

Hale and Schroeder pass by the Committee Boat before the start.

Followed by Andy

A minute or so before the start the racers start to approach the starting line

a few seconds after the start Bartlett (foreground) and Auld/Hass, followed by....

Hale/Schroeder (right)

LOOK!

The Truex dock (above) is the 2nd best place to watch the race (the best place is the Committee Boat. Arlene (with binoculars) observes the race with Debbie (middle) and Julia (left). Lisa is the photographer.  Here is what they saw:

The first mark is behind Sasse's point in foreground.  Some of the boats are on their way to it, others have rounded it and are headed to the second mark.

5 boats approach 2nd mark.  Bob in "At last" motors along following the action

Oops.  A capsize as the boats approach the 2nd mark.

3 boats, healed over, on their way to the finish line.  The Committee boat (foreground) forms one end of the start/finish line.

See separate posts about

• Jennings farewell and 
• The sock burning.

 Sailors coming in 1st 

(either by class or via handicap) included

 Jim Voelz, John Auld/Paul Hass,  and Matt Bartlett

The next race is June 17th. And yes, of course you can join us.  How? See the  "All Are Welcome" section of the Port Column.

Complete Race Results:

FIRST RACE (“MEMORIAL DAY”TROPHY RACE):

Laser Class:  Jim Voelz 1^st, Laura Garrett 2^nd, Matt Bartlett 3^rd, Andy Jennings 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5^th.

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 2nd

Overall results on handicapped basis (not for scoring purposes):  Jim Voelz 1^st, John Auld/Paul Hass 2^nd, Laura Garrett 3^rd Matt Bartlett 4^th Andy Jennings 5^th, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 6^th, Kevin Preuss 7^th.

SECOND  RACE:

Laser Class:  Matt Bartlett 1^st, Andy Jennings 2^nd, Jim Voelz 3^rd, Laura Garrett 4^th, Kevin Preuss 5th

International Class:  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 2nd

Overall results on handicapped basis (not for scoring purposes):  John Auld/Paul Hass 1^st, Matt Bartlett 2^nd, Andy Jennings 3^rd, Jim Voelz 4^th, Catey Hale/Tom Schroeder 5^th, Laura Garrett 6^th, Kevin Preuss 7^th.

A FOND ADIEU TO TOM AND DEBBIE JENNINGS June 3 Protest Meeting

After the June 3rd Race sailors and volunteers gathered at Arlene Truex's for our usual "Protest Meeting".  We took this opportunity to wish our good friends Tom and Debbie Jennings farewell as they prepare to depart for their new home in Florida.

The "Protest Meeting" is underway

We recognized Tom's contributions to the Yacht Club having served as Commodore and Race Chairman.  And Tom is one of our finest sailors since the 1980's sailboarding days as well as competing with a Y-Flyer and most recently a Laser.  Tom was diligent in learning the sport through study and practice. He usually finished first or second in each race, and has won our various trophies many times.  As a "mainstay" of the Yacht Club over a long period of time, we honored him with the designation of "Sailor Emeritus".  Their son Andy has also been a fine sailor, crewing for Tom and more recently sailing their other Laser.  Andy and his family will remain in the area, but we will miss him on the race course once the house sells.
We wish the Jennings family the very best and hope they'll join us when they are in town visiting.

Tom and Debbie Jennings

Tom Jennings receives a plaque recognizing his contributions to the Grandview Yacht Club

Jim Voelz honored Tom, and tells the tale of a slick maneuver Tom used to beat Jim in a recent race.

Laura Garrett (center) "fesses up" to Tom Jennings with a funny story, embarrassing her Dad Jim in the process (to her right covering his face) to everyone's amusement.

Tom Jennings in his Laser

A familiar scene: Tom Jennings (right) running neck-and-neck with Jim Voelz (left), the two of them out front of the rest of the fleet.

Andy (left) and Tom Jennings race on Fathers Day 2017

BAREFOOT SEASON BEGINS: June 3rd sock burning

As part of our "protest meeting" after the June 3rd race, sailors and volunteers took part in a celebration of the start of barefoot season.   This is our second year, and so far it involves a poem or two, throwing our socks in the fire, then a group photo.

After the poem readings, Tom burns the first sock.

Untitled poem by Julia: 

Socks are for feet

But now we have heat

We don't want to wear them

So we will just flare them

The younger ones participated also

Terry tosses his in.  The fire chokes a bit, so while we wait for it to recover....

Another Poem, titled

 An Ode to the Odoriferous

by Tom S.

Oh you odoriferous foot sweaters you!

You stink to high heaven, P.U.!

I hate to do it, you've been so loyal.

But unless I do, my friendships you'll spoil.

Into the fire to meet your fate.

Oh the stench!

This can no longer wait!

Bob makes his contribution.  The Jennings, as part of moving preparations brought a bagful of socks with no mates.  So anyone who came unprepared had something to burn.

And now we are all ready for summer - bring it on!