Howdy from Bob Duff(EYC-RC) 6/28/08,- - - - - - - -This new background picture by Jim Ayer(EYC-RC) shows the EYC Emerson T. Oliver(ETO) Race Committee signal boat steaming east for a day of racing. The lobster boat going home is the Heart of Stone. Behind her is the top of the mainsail on IOD #130 Javelin, William S. Widnall(EYC). SONAR Shearwater #566 is Sarah Sheldon(EYC). Other boats defy identification.
ETO was named for the father of Susie Oliver Schneider's (EYC-RC-PRO-Chair), Emerson T. Oliver who was a mainstay on EYC-Race Committee for years and years. S.O.S. is currently chairman and frequent Principal Race Officer(PRO) for the EYC Race Committee. Her son Andrew Schneider just became an "ALL AMERICAN SAILOR" at Boston College.
This ETO picture will continue to show for a while at the top of each race day issue of DUFF STUFF. The "click to enlarge feature" which works on other images does not work here on this heading background .
Susie O. Schneider is shown above/right on that EYC-ETO signal boat. The photo was taken and enhanced by Jim Ayer. Click on it to expand the image.
My computer system suddenly imposed a new word limit without telling me how many words it will accept. It must have heard one of my critics (Jim Ayer) who said "Too many words, Wolfgang, too many words". Jim really just wants more of his great photos. I have not found how to include more than one in each daily article.
Support today on the BRIMBLES line from EYC-RC was Jim McCully on our rubber ducky pin boat and Susie(PRO) on ETO with Brad Marvin, Bob Vessot and me. Rebecca Bennett, our boat operator, had an easy day with no cannons and no moves after the first anchor went down at the harbor mouth. Tomorrow, Sunday, Fritz Koopman(EYC-RC) is joining us and Bob and Jim take off for the day. Bob will be back with us July 5th. I did not hear if anyone else will join us for another relaxed day.
BRIMBLES found NO CORINTHIANs, 3 TOWN CLASS and only 2 LASERs. More of us than of them! This is disappointing. As Tom Brennan(EYC-RC) said once when he was our chairman/PRO, " never before have so many done so little for so few".
Fairly steady breezes were 10-15 knots about 20 degrees east of magnetic north very near the harbor mouth. It was dim and overcast. One TOWN went home before their first start at 12:50. David and Tracy Anderson won that only race in Wabi Sabi #2091. Wayne Colahan in LASER #192032 won all three races which started at 12:22. Complete series results will be posted shortly by Jim Whipple(CYC) and Anne Coulombre(BYC) on the MRA web site. Check later at:
http://www.mheadrace.org/
Click or paste this to your web search box for full results. NO PASSWORD IS REQUIRED. Geoff Smith(BYC-RC) was among the creators of this beautiful informative site. All Marblehead racing classes are there. I have it as a "favorite". You may want to do the same. It is linked rather obscurely on the EYC web site.
Steve(EYC-RC) and Phillip Jeffries were spectating in their new rubber Ribcraft ducky named M-JULIP. The name is a contraction of the two kid's names, Julia and Phillip. M-JULIP was hailed by the BYC-RC to assist a support boat with a line wrapped around the propeller. This is getting to be a familiar occasion, but all went well this time!
On yet another front, the Cottage Park Yacht Club had a fire on their signal boat while steaming out past Deer Island to managed the Constitution Cup Regatta for PHRF and J105 racers. No one was hurt, but racing was stalled. According to Fritz Koopman, the J105s salvaged the day by organizing a RABBIT START without committee for a successful race. I doubt that finishes were recorded, but you never know with these one-design classes! Fritz reported later that the rule was "he who gets first to the Eastern Yacht Club bar wins". That was more that six nautical miles racing. They arrived very close together.
Posting of EYC Race Committee Assignments on Eastern Yacht Club Home Page began during a meeting of some race committee members Thursday night. Work details are to be available regularly via:
http://www.easternyc.org/
Click or paste to your web search box to get Eastern Yacht Club Home Site. Unfortunately, a password is still required to view that schedule. This means that some 20% of active committee members cannot check their own schedules. Clicking on the first line shown there saying "Attention Sailors For Race Results & Regatta Information " helps you bypass the tennis, dining, party, family sail and swim things to get to yachting at a yacht club. This site needs a lot of work which fact is well known. Nevertheless, you may want it included as a "favorite" .
Typically, I find myself wondering why EYC would show race results on easternyc.org which are easily available by a link to MRA. Maybe I am confused about duplication, but an OBVIOUS link would make some sense. The current link is buried so far under "non-racing" news that I did not know it was there until this week.
For Newport-Bermuda race information, click or paste:
http://www.nyyc.org/
for the New York Yacht Club Home Page with much "big boat" data. NO PASSWORD IS REQUIRED. I found Fred J. Atkins(EYC) finishing at Bermuda on yacht WESTER TILL. You really need a yacht name/ID or owner's yacht club to figure out very much. Someone suggested that these result were exclusively NYYC members. I really do not know.
Jack Slatterly(EYC) reportedly crossed the finish line for a gun as crew on yacht Chippawa, but she did not show in the scores I found. Jack's SONAR champion wife Dru joined him there for the parties. Justin Byrne(EYC-RC) finished on a yacht named Whisper, but my search yielded no hits. Wife Cheryl Byrne(EYC-RC) stayed home with the kids and their grandparents. As expected, crews are not listed. I got bumped off several times while surfing. It is somewhat comforting to find that even NYYC has web problems.
EYC-RC will be back at the BRIMBLES line again Sunday . More fun with the "little orange electric timing box with air horns"! This is a 3 minute automated start sequence under Racing Rules of Sailing Appendix "Q". Brad's timing challenge with it is to push a little start button with his little finger at :11 seconds on his atomic watch before the intended start sequence . This courtesy allows racers to supplement timing sounds and improve their starts. With bigger yachts under RRS #26 the signal sequence is 5 minutes without an electric box so far. We try to start everyone at exactly :00 seconds GPS time.
Automation threatens some of our race committee jobs. Many happy enthusiasts joined the BIMBO union while serving in the Georgia yachting Olympics 1993/'94/'95 & '96. The BIMBO union is the Brotherhood of International Mark Boat Operators organized then at Savanna. The BIMBO union may become active again in Marblehead if "management" employs more automation and lays off Race Committee members. I already feel somewhat threatened. Jim Ayer suggests that we need those fancy horizontal lobster boat winches on mark boats. Older members with seniority bumped by automation could then still work races. Jim McCully originated the winch thought and Jim Ayer is trying to run with it..
See you again tomorrow night!
