Howdy from Bob Duff long after midnight during this first day of the three day PHRF N.E. REGATTA, August 22, 23 & 24th,
This picture is a big big fleet of little little Optis recently at the Junior Olympic Championship we helped manage with the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in Rockport, MA. I will not try to estimate the hundreds of kids and parents involved. Hundreds of Optis were on other race lines. We had over fifty 420 Championship boats and over thirty 420 Greens (beginners) on each of 17 starts attempted. Nine of these ended up under "black flags". The last start began with "black" in a dying breeze. Susie Schneider (PRO) announced her purpose of avoiding more delays from General Recalls. By this time the kids knew what was happening. We were trying to get in just one more race for the 420 Green fleet. They needed it to qualify for just one throw out. I thought it was handled very nicely except that the wind died completely before the "drop dead" time.
One of our knowledgeable critics expressed displeasure with "black flags" for such youngsters. However, I feel that its use here was most beneficial. These kids are very competitive and experienced starting in very big fleets. They saw the "black flag" work very well in Rockport. If that drives away a few of these young veterans, well....................!
Circumstances have conspired to keep me up rather late to produce at least a modicum of information about the start or this great PHRF regatta. I was precluded again today from current pictures and it looks like I must improvise without them. Picture prospects are slim now and probably will be for the rest of this summer. Maybe next year under a new administration? At least I can hope! I will try to be creative without any on-water help. The mysteries of politics confound me! It is comforting to know that my tormentor promises never to read anything I write.
So much for pictures, beautiful file transfers and amazing APPLE improvisations! It took me an hour or so tonight to figure that I had to fully reload my new APPLE browser SAFARI which worked (sort of) before I loaned this new box to APPLE for file transfers. Watch your TV to see how simple and cheap this process is supposed to be! I say the browser "sort of worked" because many web things I tried to review through SAFARI gave unsatisfactory results on the EYC web site. The "big boys" at EYC say this is APPLE's fault. I am beginning to think that these "boys" might be right. I will figure that out and let you know in the future. No one owning an APPLE admits to me anything but love and APPLE adoration. I will get there soon - I hope. I will not regret leaving behind all those viruses!
This ever so wonderful APPLE does not seem so wonderful just now. It balks at loading the very few pictures APPLE's "geniuses" migrated over from my virus infested antique DELL. I asked these nice young people how much of my "priceless" data they brought over. Like good sales people who tied me up 3 days doing a 30 minute job ( I would guess), they said "someone else did it and that they brought over everything that they could". I had experienced withdrawal symptoms with my ONLY TWO COMPUTERS quarantined. Here I am all downhearted, paid $4,000 to .................. well, you know what I mean! Like everything else, I will get over it.
Principal Race Officer Susie O. Schneider did her usual masterful job managing all the variables for three quite good races for four fleets totaling 38 yachts on Line #1 today. Our yachts are PHRF's biggest "ladies" ranging from handicaps of negative six to plus 102. There were two other lines for the smaller and the cruising yachts. As an old one-design sailor, these PHRF folks still seem like "private jokers" to me, but what do you expect from a Texan who should be doing rodeos not yacht races. Nevertheless, I am delighted to be right here.
Jennifer Tegfeldt functioned beautifully as "assistant PRO" while Brad Marvin and I did our little things as Timer and Flag Man. Ross Peterson handle the Operator/Gunner job so well that Brad and I almost forgot how much we enjoyed working with Rebecca Bennett much of the summer. She is out west at Arizona State studying to be an airline pilot. Ross was driving us south today to our designated area on the chart. I ask him if he were taking us to Boston. With a wonderful grin he said, "No Sir! Texas"! I liked that!
Tom Brennan and Cheyrl Byrne ran the mark boat with a lot of hustle managing weather marks on a double sausage courses of 1.8 then 1.2 nautical miles for the smaller boats. We had some VERY light breezes (3, 2, and then hardly any knots) at 220 magnetic. Later it came back over 12 knots and Susie gave all but the smaller of our four fleets a 2 mile windward course. Wind moved from the 220 direction to 135 and then back to 150 magnetic.
Jack Cochrane ran the pin boat with the able assistance of Rear Commodore Phil Smith. Susie took some interesting pictures of Phil hauling marks. I would love to show one of them here, but Susie made it clear this morning that the race committee is for her boat races and not DUFFSTUFF. The only brief verbal conversation we have had about my writing is something like "I have no time to read you". That sounds like I am doing something wrong. Comment if you like! I find it imponderable! N.I.H.?
Two interesting things came up today. Susie told everybody about the background of Cindy and Jud Smith's yacht named AFRICA. It stands for "Another Friggin' Racer I Can't Afford".
The other fun thing was a hail from an old friend racing on KATABATIC about a mutual friend. The three of us have sailed together on a very big yacht and some smaller ones all over the western world. Some of this was in "blue water" and two of us shared Hurricane Hugo at sea in 1989. Upon advice of council I am withholding both of their names for the time being.
From KATABATIC he yelled "I SAW ----------------------------ON TV". I yelled back "WHERE WERE YOU?". He said "ON A PLANE!". I asked "WAS HE IN JAIL?" as KATABATIC sailed away with the answer blowing in the wind! I will try finding this friend tomorrow and let you all know what I hear. Maybe! I would bet that many of you know who both of these people are already. Maybe I should have a contest! Reply here in "comments" please!
See you again Saturday night!
