3/19/11 RACING

by Pam

Where do I begin? I read on Facebook that Sandy’s week had been such that he really needed to sail this weekend. He was rewarded with a good strong breeze to distract his mind and fully focus his attention on sailing. Or was he? Shaun was back with us and jumped on the committee boat with Doug and did some filming (http://networkedblogs.com/fD4lF). When I saw Sandy at lunch he said it was a ‘what not to do’ kind of day. When I saw some of the video footage later, I would have to agree. There were some … uh … creative moves going on out there and there were Lasers tipping and even Luigi was getting is some righting practice. It looked a bit busy. Frank won the first race.

I’d had my fill of sailing from the week before and opted to have a nice lunch during the first race and upon arriving just before the second race, I came across a Fire Rescue team in the parking lot. I stopped to inquire about how long it takes them to respond to a call and he said they just got a call about an hour ago and had taken the guy to the hospital and were looking for some help in retrieving the guy’s boat. Butterflyers to the rescue. Racing was stopped while Doug, Shaun and I zipped down to the end of the lake to locate the boat. It was good and stuck. We pulled north … nothing … we pulled south … nothing … then we somehow managed to pull it in a circle and unscrew the mast from the bottom of the lake and Doug stepped onto the centerboard wondering what exactly he’d just boarded and exactly what cockpit he was about to dive into. What came up was a state of the art, wicked quick, Megabyte. Shaun and I tagged along as Doug sailed back to CSC trying this and that line and learning how to sail the boat as he went flying across the lake. She was quick and watching the hesitation and apprehension on his face before each gybe was priceless. He managed to get her back to CSC without tipping but the minute he stepped off the boat at the docks, she tipped. According to Doug, that was the only thing she wanted to do the whole time he sailed her. Thanks CSC for taking the boat off our hands and we hope the owner is ok and that Doug didn’t mess anything up.

So back to racing. The Lasers had gone in and it was just the Butterflys now. Sandy won the second race and Luigi did some more righting practice but did some swimming this time and headed back for the club. Just like the Megabyte, no sooner did he get off the boat than she tipped. What was with these boats? After helping get him back up we returned for the third race and were down to only two racers, Bruce and Sandy. They finished the race but opted not to sail through the finish line at the end. Doug and I followed and Doug watched the sail trim of both and then got on Sandy’s boat to try out the new hull and sail. The more I see him sail, the more I think it’s his natural habitat. The things he did to Sandy’s boat would have put my boat out of commission and sunk her on the spot. I’m putting his observations in a separate posting along with some pictures that Sandy took from his Blackberry.

So to end the day, we’re back on the docks and Doug sees a Laser trying to launch from a nearby ramp and says that guy is in trouble. Butterflyer to the rescue. He arrived to find a father/son situation where the father was putting his son on a Laser to sail for the very first time in 15 to 20 mph wind. The boat was all rigged wrong and the son wasn’t wearing a life jacket and Doug’s help was flatly refused. That never stops Doug. He says those that deserve it the least, need it the most so he stayed on hand. The son, naturally, ended up in the reeds on shore and Doug waded out and re-rigged the boat as best he could given that cleats were put on backwards and parts were missing. The son got off the boat and handed his wet wallet to his father who put it in his jeans that were now wet to about mid thigh. Doug offered to sail the boat back but the father, wearing street clothes, no life jacket and now carrying both his and his son’s wallets, insisted he would do it. We watched as he sailed out of wipeout alley knowing full well, he’d have to come back and it would be entertaining. Sure enough, he didn’t disappoint. He came back in and tipped to windward about 25 yards from the ramp and walked the boat back to the launch ramp for take out. Priceless! We invited the son to join us on Saturday mornings when there was a rescue boat and other sailors around to offer advice and help.