May 28, 2019

US12’s Get the Ball Rolling
Last Thursday, May 23, we had our opening US12 regatta. The weather cooperated, which this spring means it didn’t rain and there was a little wind. While it’s always shifty on Back Bay, it wasn’t any worse than usual, and some spirited racing ensued.

Bill Hagerup showed he is a force to be reckoned with this year. He would have won the day easily except he lost battery power not once but twice. He’s looking into trying a new charger so his outstanding performance won’t be lost to equipment failure. Of the eight races he finished, he won five.

Tim Wright won four races and greatly benefited from the DNFs Bill received. Tim came away with a lucky first place with Bill right behind, even with the DNFs. Jerry Leach got one win and came in third for the day, followed by Don McBride, Bob Brennan and Paul Wallace.
US12 Scoring Details

During the sailing, the other sailors realized Bob Brennan’s performance was adversely affected by his talking, so there was a frequent cry of “Keep talking, Bob.” Spectators provided an attentive audience, and Bob kept talking. I suspect Bob will figure this out soon, but until then, keep talking! Although, come to think of it, Bob is usually talking, so little encouragement is needed. It was good to get the official season started and know we still have all summer to keep going.

It’s a Party
To put the final touches on the 2018 season and to kick off the 2019 season we had our Skippers Party on May 25 at the Whitehead residence in Ossipee. As always, great food, lots of camaraderie, competition for the door prize, and 2018 season awards. The game, of course, was led by the infamous Kathleen Whitehead, with the impressive basket of goodies going to BB Wright, who rose to victory in the challenge.

After a thank-you to all those who made the year a success, we moved on to the well-deserved awards for 2018.

Leadership Hat Awards
Dock Masters
Anthony Quinn
Paul Wallace

Ambassador
Rick Parent

2018 Season Winners
Soling Sailor Class
1st Place Rick Gates
2nd Place Rick Parent
3rd Place Jerry Leach

Soling Master Class
1st Place Tim Wright
2nd Place Rick Lalley
3rd Place Mark Whitehead

 

US12 Fleet
1st Place Tim Wright
2nd Place Don Cundy
3rd Place Bill Hagerup

 

Tim Wright reviewed the rules for the coming season to close out the program.

Rain and More Rain
The Solings just can’t get a break. The first two practice sessions were plagued by rain, the third by a super-high wind. Before scoring began, the Solings could hang out with the US12’s on Thursdays, but now that the official season has begun, that’s no longer possible. After this Tuesday’s regatta was ruined by precipitation, no wind and cold temperatures, we have applied for a Wednesday rain-day permit that can be used by either the Solings or the US12’s — maybe that will help.

Join the Fun
We have a wonderful group of participants for this challenging-but-fun hobby. Young and old can join, and those wanting to build a yacht should keep in mind our boat-building class at the NH Boat Museum July 8 through July 12. The link will take you to a sign-up for the building class.

https://www.nhbm.org/model-yachting/model-yacht-building/

If you don’t want to build a boat, we’ll help you find a used one. Don’t want to sail? Just come and watch — we put on a great show every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 1:00 PM, weather permitting. Be sure to bring your camera.