Season ends for Sunfish sailors … or not
The Menantic Yacht Club held the 11th and last series of Sunfish races of the 2009 season this past Sunday and every sailor came to the after-race party with many a tall tale to tell. Strong, fluky winds made this week’s racing a spectacular thrill, ending the season with a bang — literally — with quite a number of collisions, bumped heads and boats flipping over in record numbers.
Normally the club holds its races in West Neck Harbor. However, this week Commodore Bethge expected strong unpredictable winds and wisely decided it would be safer, especially for the novice sailors in the Club, to hold the races at the mouth of West Neck Creek between the opening of the Silver Beach Lagoon and Montclair Colony.
He also realized that jibing in the very windy conditions might be too risky for some of the novices, so he held five figure-eight races that technically required no jibing. I say “technically” because I accidentally jibed once and later saw Charlie Modica jibe right in front of me to avoid a starboard boat.
The wind was blowing between 6 and 20 knots with some dead spots around the two windward marks in the lee of Montclair Colony. The wind was so fluky that three boats approaching the same windward mark had wind from three different directions. One second you would be fighting an 18-knot gust only to find you had fought your way into a dead spot. The next moment, the wind would shift 90 to 180 degrees, so you would start to tack, only to have the wind shift back before you could complete the tack. All of which made the race more challenging and more fun.
Before the start of racing, I suggested to a number of sailors that they move the gooseneck (the piece that holds the boom to the mast) on their boats back to the 22-inch mark. Otherwise, in strong winds, the possibility of going into irons and not coming out is greatly increased.
Sixteen hearty sailors braved the high winds and cooler temperatures on Sunday. Welcome to newcomers Alex and Benjamin Hamilton, a father and son team. Even when a block pulled out of the boom on Alex’s boat sending him overboard, he climbed back on, made a temporary repair and he and Ben finished the races. This season saw a total of 55 different sailors compete in a total of 49 races.
To repeat what has become a refrain this season, “poor Penny Pilkington!” At the start line of the very first race, another sailor accidentally knocked her down the lagoon, and it took her so long to get back out that it cost her two DNS’s. Penny had so much difficulty with the wind that she was only able to get out of the lagoon after a passing Good Samaritan kayaker towed her out — maybe next time she’ll call SeaTow.
Later, between races 4 and 5, Penny got a little too close to shore and her dagger board stuck in the sand just as she was starting to turn. Determined not to slide back into the lagoon, Penny jumped into the chilly water, turned her boat around “manually,” and jumped back on board. Sally Smith, who had been cheering her on from shore, wryly observed, “there are many ways to tack and that’s definitely one of them”.
Mary Vetri came to the rescue of another member of the Pilkington clan, Barbara Becker, who had a tough time getting off the beach. Mary and several members of her family gamely braved the cold water to help. By then, Barbara was so exhausted by the shifting winds, the nearby dock and some inconveniently moored boats that she decided to return to shore and join the cheering contingent. Thanks anyway Mary; and Barbara, we look forward to seeing you out there next season.
Many thanks to Commodore Bethge and his race committee crew: Anne Savonie, Rita Gates and Sue Masse. They did a superb job, especially Commodore Bethge in custom designing the racecourse for this week. At the cookout he presented both Anne and Rita with trophies for their splendid work this race season.
After the races, Commodore Bethge presented a series of trophies, some of which will be perpetual. The Menantic Yacht Club Good Shipmate Trophy, a perpetual award, went to yours truly for giving a helping hand throughout the season and for writing these articles that have brought many new members to the club — so thanks to all my readers out there. The Burty Memorial Trophy (perpetual) was presented to Ron Hill for winning the last race of the season. The Windels Memorial Trophy (perpetual) was presented to Richard Smith for winning the first race of the season. This trophy was presented by Amy Windels, the youngest daughter of John Windels, who was one of the longest-term and most enthusiastic members of the club.
Dave Olsen also received a trophy for giving a helping hand throughout the series. In keeping with the highest ideals of the club, Dave generously gave up what would have been a much higher overall score to spend time teaching and mentoring novice sailors. The last trophy presented was the most coveted, the one we all strive for. First place overall for the season went to Charlie Modica. Well done Charlie!
The after-race cookout was hosted by Penny Pilkington and Michael Becker, and luckily for us all, Penny’s cooking far outshone her sailing this week. We feasted on barbecued spareribs and chicken, roasted corn on the cob and all manner of salads and side dishes brought by a number of the attendees, including Mary Vetri’s delicious baked ziti and Ryan McMahon’s rockin’ guacamole.
The deserts, ranging from homemade brownies, cookies and pies to Bailey’s Irish Cream-infused cheese cake, were a delicious finale to our end-of-season celebration.
Normally we would be mourning the end of another racing season, but the Commodore has just decided that if enough people are interested, there may be a fall series starting next Sunday, September 13. Call Commodore Bethge at 749-1297 for details. See you on the water.