Well, we finally got the McMahon off for
this year. And what a fine day it was for our Sandpipers. We had
eight boats at start in seven knot breezes from a bit east
of north. The wind held up nicely all morning, and moved a bit
around to the north and then to the west of north. Some lulls,
some puffs, some steady - but all manageable for the fleet.
Three races were run in the morning, a
fine lunch at Bill's Grille, and then one more race in the
afternoon in a dying breeze.
Bill Welch, with Sherry as his crew,
aboard Purrfect, won the first three races. After lunch they
finished third in the final race. Bill was just masterful in the
morning, but in the light air in the fourth race, got trapped at
the leeward mark and never caught a puff after the rounding. Bill
is the McMahon champion for 2009. Very nice sailing.
Jay Taylor and Dan O'Connell sailed
Riptide to second place in the Regatta. with a win in the final
race, and three seconds in the morning races. Jay was close all
the way, and sailed his boat very smartly all day.
Now, for third place, we had a tie! Two
boats with 10 points, after the throw out of their worst score.
Charlie Chapin sailed Buttercup, with Fritz Lehman as his crew, to
third place in the Regatta with his second place in the final
race. Charlie was fourth in the first two races, and seventh in
the third, but the final race, second place, finish made the tie
break in his favor.
Kurt Stocker, sailing Ragtime with his
son Peter aboard as crew, finished fourth in the Regatta, with two
third places, a fourth, and the throw out sixth place. Though he
lost the tie break to Charlie, Kurt was in the hunt all day.
The others out racing were Gato Gorda
skippered by Fred Boos, and crewed by Walt Corbin; Oh! Happy
Daze!! with Bill Cox at the helm, and his wife Kim as crew; Patty
P, sailed to third place in the second race by Paul Swigert and
his crew Shane; and The Village People, skippered by Commodore Jim
Doherty, with Tommy Anderson as his crew.
My thanks to Stu and Diana Sheldon, and
to Nick and Carol Ann Sample for their help with the marks. They
did a remarkable job moving things swiftly, and we lost not a
moment to fussing with marks today. Hooray!! I had wonderful
help, too, from Sydney and Kathleen Stocker aboard Snooper all
day.
And finally, my - really all our -
thanks to Bill and Carol Newbold for all they have done to make
Bill's Grille the absolute hit it is. They labor extensively to
make things good for all of us, and we all join in thanking them
for the "glue" they have brought to the sailing program here on
Useppa.
How can it get any better? Fine sailing
in really nice sailboats, and a lunch to be remembered, every
Saturday. Only on Useppa.
Jay Taylor
in Riptide takes 2nd Place |
