Greetings Mudheads:

The Stonington High School Sailing Team is holding a benefit pancake breakfast, basket raffle, and silent auction this coming Sunday. Everyone is welcome! Come enjoy delicious pancakes, scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, coffee, juice and mild. All funds raised will support the Stonington High School Sailing Team.

Sunday, November 13
8am - 11am
Mystic/Hoxie Engine Company next to the Mystic Train Station
Adults: $8, Children: $4

Bill Gaynor
Stonington High School Sailing Team Coach

Brooklyn Four Bagger

By Greg Gilmartin

It was a Dark ‘n Stormy night.  Again.

It was unprecedented in the 107 year history of America’s 2^nd oldest yachting trophy that the same boat, the same owner and the same crew would win it 4 years in a row.   That was yesterday.  

Today,  Mudhead Mike LaChance  and his crew drank from the Brooklyn Cup again as his J-105 Dark n Stormy beat out 25 challengers to win the Geenport Ocean Race hosted by the Chinese Yacht Club and the City of Greenport, NY. 

The Brooklyn Ocean Challenge Cup was originally donated by publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1904 to the Brooklyn Yacht Club as a prize for a long distance sailboat race.  Over the years there has only been one other 4 time winner,  Stuyvesant Wainwright in the yacht Butterfly.  He won it over a 5 year period between 1920-1925. 

The Cup was thought lost or missing for many years, but was eventual found and deeded to the Chinese Yacht Club in 1953.  Races for the Cup were held on and off over the years before the current revival  in 2008.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (September 25, 2011) – The Lloyd Phoenix Trophy was decided in dramatic fashion on Sunday at the U.S. Offshore Championship, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy Squadron on Chesapeake Bay. Defending champion Bruce Kuryla (Milford, Conn.) of the New York Yacht Club and Milford Yacht Club and his team edged skipper Steve Travis (Mercer Island, Wash.) and his crew from the Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle by a boat length in today’s final distance race to win the Championship. 

“To pull it out at the finish line is unbelievable,” said Kuryla. “We were behind Travis at the bottom mark, and after going back and forth with them, we trailed by a hundred yards at the top mark. We went low and fast in the light wind and kept creeping along in Long Island Sound style,” explained Kuryla. 

Following spirited discussions among competitors and regatta organizers last night, a consensus was reached that completing the slated distance race was top priority for today.  

With his marching orders, PRO Bruce Bingman launched the fleet to the race course area and the prayers for wind began in earnest. Fortunately a light northeasterly filled in and a line was set. Bingman selected the shortest course available and after a brief postponement, got the race underway. With the ebb still flowing strong, the left was favored and teams able to hold their lanes ruled at the top mark.  

If you're interested in participating in the following please contact Bob Austin-LaFrance.

The 62nd Annual Dyer Dhow Derby at Mystic Seaport Museum is scheduled for October 15, 2011. This regatta is held in appreciation for the Yacht Clubs, organizations, and individuals who have donated and maintained a Dyer Dhow in support of the Joseph Conrad and Community Sailing Programs at Mystic Seaport.

The overall winner from last year was the Maxwell family. They will be the host club for the event this year. On their behalf, we cordially invite you to participate in the 2011 Dyer Dhow Derby. There are five races during the day; Juniors’ (able-l3), Men’s (14 and up), Women’s, Mixed, and the Quarter-Ton fun race (2-4 people per boat). Get started now to line up your crew members!

Greetings Offshore Racers!

 For 42 years the Watch Hill Yacht Club has been running the  Frederick B. Thurber Trophy Race.  This year we are running the race on Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th, 20011.  In response to your feedback, we are making several significant changes to the way we run this race.

1.     We have moved the starting line for Saturday and the finish line for Sunday to Vixens ledge in order to make it more convenient to where people are keeping their boats.

2.     we will be hosting the Sunday awards ceremony in the Stonington/Mystic/New London area.  We are working on the location, but your convenience is our goal.

3.     The last change is the courses.

·         Saturday’s course will start at 10:00 am and be 29.5 miles

·         Sunday’s course will start at 9:30 and is only 15.5 miles.

This should get everyone home a little earlier and give you time to get ready for the work week.

 Attached you will find the Preliminary Sailing instructions and an entry form.  The deadline is Noon on Tuesday, September 20th.  If you are interested, I would urge you to get it in earlier to help us better plan for the number of boats.

 Happy Sailing!

The 2011 Donzo WNRS in the Books!

All that's left is the cheering.  And that is next Wednesday night at the Awards Party at Masons Island Yacht Club.  Last night, the Mudheads finished up our 20th season of Wednesday Night Racing in a light Southerly that never got started.  One short windward leg toward North Dumpling in a raging ebb and it was all over.  And as the sun set on the drooping spinnakers as half a dozen boats tried to sail home, we can look fondly back on our amazing season with 13 races recorded and enough breeze to keep even the most disinterested player in the game.  

Special thanks to the crew of Tony DeLima and his Mayaro crew.  They were out in Soggy Dollar, Jerry Ledger's little runabout, thinking they could party and watch, but we put them to work as the windward mark boat and they did the deed.  Next time, Jerry, we'll give you enough anchor rode.  80 feet you say?  

Once the zephyr from 190 settled in, we started the sequence and the biggest issues in light air is usually clearing the starting line for the next class.  But, everyone ghosted away to the southwest and then the Eddie Maxwell hoisted anchor and the race was on...who was going to get to the windward mark first.  Cosmic Debris?  Breaking Wind?  Or the RC to shut off the pain!  Fortunately, the RC won the race by about a minute and the S flag went up, two guns sounded and we started taking names. Race 13 in the books!  Count 10 for the overall.

Now, the recalculating, retabulating and regurgertating of numbers will commence as your humble scorer will double check and correct all the errors from a season of split second timing. Probably sometime Wednesday afternoon it will all end up neatly typed on paper in time for the ceremonies when we will crown the winners, console the losers and make fun of as many people as we can.   Ihope you'll be there for the festivities.  If you won a Pepetual Trophy last year, bring it with you so we can pass it on to this year's winner.  If not, bring your appetite and thirst.  Stand by for the results.

Another Near Perfect Night

Yea, I know, it would have been a good night for Silver Eel Cove, but...not really.  Two laps around North Hill was the obvious choice with a solid 10-15 knot southerly and a dying flood.   So, what was on the left that attracted 90% of the fleet on the first upwind leg?  Then, right seemed favored on the second upwind leg.  Scuttlebutt over cocktails after the racing was divided, unsure, committed..it all depended on who you talked to.  In the end, going fast is the game and it was a night for many to do that.

Some scenes that impressed...Ursa Minor gybing back and forth in front of Patriot on the final downwind leg.  Patriot towering over head, a giant Baltic 39 chasing down the nimble Evelyn 25.  Ursa Minor hung on, zipping back and forth, to take the fleet gun. Patriot just 15 seconds behind.  Wild Horses and Eclipse screaming into the leeward mark, Horses looking very much like it's name in the puffy breezy.  Meanwhile, Crystal Slipper and Defiant battling their own spinnaker demons right in front.  The next few minutes were chaotic as Slipper rounded, dropped their chute and all looked good until suddenly the chute got away, into the water, the boat did a 180, pulled around by a shrimping chute and crossed back into the rounding traffic, threading their way right over Defiant's chute.  Or something like that.  The story will likely be told at the Awards party on September 7th!  Late... when the last award is handed out.  Matt, make sure you are there too!

Meanwhile, Plummet made a great recovery after last week's dark adventure, by grabbing the Class Two gun.  Jolly Mon opted for wing and wing strategy and grabbed Class One.  Pleased to see Dan Andrews in the hunt on Breaking Wind.  They were 3rd boat to the leeward mark on the first lap.  It sure helps when you have crew, Dan!  More wild finishes than we've seen in awhile, with boats surging across the line.  Shearwater and Quantum Leap crossing from opposite gybes inches apart.  Ringle showed her stuff...finally the right breeze, and Banjo took the measure of the competitive Class Four with a summer win.  And what's with Brer Rabbitt?  Two weeks in a row with Class 3 wins.  

So, we are down to one race to go.  The overall results both in class and in fleet have been posted so far and we have some very close races to contend with going into the final Wednesday night.   And who will win the Runner Up Cup?  So, secure your boats over the weekend from Irene so everyone is able to make the final showdown.   Here are the results.

OUR FRIENDS AT RAM ISLAND YACHT CLUB ASKED TO HAVE THIS NOTICE POSTED REGARDS TO THE SCHEDULED REGATTA THIS WEEKEND.  

August 24, 2011 

RIYC REGATTA CANCELLATION & PARTY RESCHEDULE

Owing to the best information we have at this point regarding the track of Hurricane Irene, the Ram Island Yacht Club Race Committee has deemed it prudent to cancel its 66^th Invitational Regatta.  Instead of a post-race party, all skippers, crews and RIYC members are invited to a gathering on Saturday afternoon, August 27, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Come join us for light food and open bar, courtesy of RIYC.

Mount Gay regatta hats will be available at the Saturday gathering for those participants who have forwarded their entrance fee. Event merchandise will also be available for sale.

Those entrants who do not wish to participate in the party and would like to be reimbursed can pick up their entrance check at the Clubhouse on Saturday between 1:00 and 4:00 PM or notify Wendy Schnur – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thank you for your support of the Ram Island Regatta. We regret that we had to make this difficult decision, but we look forward to a great event in 2012.

Joe Callaghan, Race Afloat Chairman

http://ramislandyachtclub.org/

BLIND MONKEYS ATTACK RC!

It started out as nice a night as you could want.  We've certainly had our fair share this summer.  7 knots of breeze coming solidly from 210.  Silver Eel Bell.   E.  Slowly I turned, step by step....  Then there was this strange sound...a small yelp it seemed, soon replaced by many yelps and yappings and before I knew it, a pack of blind monkeys had taken over my bald head and filled it with incomprehensible notions that tonight, of all the nights, after all the years, tonight Silver Eel was going to pay off.   And the next thing I remember, we were turning on the lights to show our friends the way home.

So, it didn't turn out to be one of those halcyon nights of sailboat racing.  Monkeys happen.  But, the race was on.  Right seemed to be the call upwind.  Ya think?!  I swear a couple of boats tacked at Sarah's Ledge.  We think Wild Horses got to the windward mark first, but it was hard to tell....because E was SO FAR AWAY!   Wicked ebb current....or was that an eel current?   Then the forecast build fell apart and the breeze went real spotty.

Toby Halsey of Patriot suggested there were "...four or five different races out there."   He went East after Silver Eel, hugging Fishers along with Tunes.  Bill Canning in Wild Horses went North.   The breeze held on, light as it was, until about a quarter mile from the finish and it was just no man's land.   Horses lost what little it had not 50 yards from the finish.  Some one on board suggested they were close enough for the gun, weren't they?  I suggested we were still considering an abandonment!   Bill came right back, "You better not!"

Then a zephyr and they crossed and the breeze freshened to 3...from the north!    That was enough for Patriot to get across and then the first half of the fleet followed.   Leda and USA 43 duked it out right to the end.  The northerly allowed Chris Field and Company to glide over for the Class 4 gun.  Brer Rabbitt looked very strong as they were the 6th boat to finish and corrected out for the Class 3 win.  They snuck in front of Looney Tunes who approached the finish line from the North!  Huh?

How do you sail in no breeze?  Well, that's part of what we learn in Fishers Island Sound.  Bill Mortensen on Wunder Dog took the Class Two gun, taking advantage of another zephyr to edge out Ursa Minor.   Jolly Mon and SeTherin were the only two to finish in Class One, 23 minutes apart.  

In the end, 6 boats missed the time limit, but were actually not hurt too badly because TLE (Time Limite Expired) means you get points for finishers plus one.   Those who lost their patience, take a couple of extra points with a DNF, starters plus one.

And this morning there is a new red X on my chart, that goes right through Silver Eel MOA.  But, man, you couldn't have asked for a nicer night to be outdoors, playing on the water after dark!  Here are the results with penalties.

O'Connell, Wilkinson, Seniff.  The Next Generation Has Arrived!

Sons of Mudheads have taken the Chubb US Sailing Junior Championship in Tom's River, NJ.  OJ O'Connell, Ben Wilkinson and Kyle Seniff won the triplehanded title in Flying Scots today beating out 10 other teams from around the country. They scored 17 points with 5 bullets in a 10 race series. Congratulations, guys!    Click here for the results and a video.

http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/ChubbJrChampionships.htm