Bow Lake Sailing News Letters 2007
by Bob Shapiro

Sunday 09 September 2007

Tentative Dock Day is Saturday November 3. Please let me know if you plan to participate.

What a successful regatta! Thank you to all who participated, helped, watched and celebrated with us.

Photos from Pam Daigneault, Michele Kincaid, Wayne Donle, Jeannine McKay and Ali Deyett: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157602148533868/

Anybody else that took photos please send photos or links to me and I will publish to the group.

Results on the International Lightning Class Association web site: http://www.lightningclass.org/index.asp

Results on the International Lightning Class Association New England District web site: http://www.lightningclass.org/ne/

History of Results for This Regatta: http://www.lightningclass.org/ne/Results/RegattaHistory/Bow.htm

Saturday September 22 was a gorgeous day – heavy fog in the early morning burned off quickly and we had a day of bright sunshine, blue skies, and some wind. OK it may be true that the previous 4 Saturdays had winds of 15-20 mph and the following Saturday also had winds of 15-20 mph, but we’ll happily take the 0-8 mph winds that we got for the regatta.

Nine Lightnings participated in the regatta. All of the racing Lightnings on Bow Lake participated, together with 5 visiting boats. Sterling Bush desperately rushed to the New Jersey waterfront the day before to get their boat where it had been held hostage in Customs for a few weeks after its return from the World Championships in Greece. Jamie Boynton flew in the night before from Japan via Hong Kong. Imagine how much fun it is to fly 24 hours with a bad cold! Tony and Julie Pascone live on the ocean so far up in Maine that they can see Canada. Tony towed the boat down a week ahead of time and then flew off to Chicago for the week, getting up at 3:00 AM Friday to fly back for the regatta. Julie drove down from Maine on Friday, extending the 5 hour drive into 8 hours when she got horribly, horribly lost in Portland, Maine. Guillaume Joffrees drove down from boarding school in northern New Hampshire to sail with Ned. Aaron Hertzer convinced his father Dan to drive the boat here from Rhode Island, so that 8 year old Aaron could skipper in the regatta.

After the fog burned off there was a period of no wind, but it wasn’t a period of no excitement. Mike Baker plunged into the water and swam his way around the fleet, stopping every now and then to terrorize boats. Pat McQueen opened fire with a boat hook that doubled as a water gun – but Bob Shapiro quickly returned fire with his super soaker. And meanwhile Dennis Unger blazed through the fleet trying to find someone who wanted him to move a racing mark – even though there wasn’t yet any wind with which to judge where to move it to.

The first race was finally started in very light air – you might say extremely light air. Pat McQueen with light air crew JJ Bell (light air as he decided not to take on a third crew) drifted off the starting line in first and built a huge lead. Alas, drifting conditions often punish early leaders and soon Ken Deyett and Bob Bush were in the lead and trying to avoid drifting into each other. Jeannine McKay and Ali Deyett on Ken’s boat and Sterling Bush and Paul Henkel on Bob’s boat were jumping all over the place helping their skippers avoid contact. (Meanwhile I was hoping they would hit as it would have taken 2-3 hours to complete penalty turns in that wind!) Eventually the fleet drifted around the first mark and halfway to the second mark a breeze line came up.

Rounding the second mark and heading back to the finish the wind died again, with Ken holding off Ned for the lead, Bob Shapiro close behind and the rest of the pack way back. But Bob Bush pulled out of the pack by raising his spinnaker and was charging fast. Ken raised his chute to grab the win by a boat length over Bob Shapiro who opted to skip the spinnaker. Ned, with long time crew Jeff Baker, and Guillaume, held onto third place while Bob Bush was close behind in fourth. Aaron Hertzer with father Dan and Pat Mahan ended up fifth, while Tony and Julie Pascone (green boat) came from WAY BACK on the first leg to end up in sixth. Pat McQueen’s early lead dropped him into seventh, while Bob Murphy, Dave Sandman and Norbert Church grabbed eighth. Jet lag was in evidence on What Now? manned by John and Jamie Boynton, and Uncle Steve "Pinball Wizard" Smith.

There was a second race, but I don’t remember much about it. I know there was more wind, I know there was a huge jam at the starting line (and I think we had a general recall), I know I got a lousy start, I know Ken Deyett won pretty easily and Bob Bush was second. I remember a little less of the third race, but I do recall Mike Baker and Josh Gershuny on board Miss Behavin’ saying it was time to win a race, so we did. And I recall feeling very nervous on the beat to the finish with Bob Bush lurking close behind. After three races it was very close. Ken Deyett led with 6 points, Bob Shapiro was next with 7 points and Bob Bush had 8 points. Ned was close behind with 11 points. It was anybody’s regatta to win. Bob Shapiro led by a nose over Tony and Julie at the windward mark, and with Ken pretty far back it was Bob’s regatta to lose. (So he did.) Tony and Julie grabbed the lead and held it to (but not over) the finish line. Unfortunately, they had hit the leeward mark and by the time they finished their penalty circle Ned passed them and eeked out the race win.

Tony and Julie took second in the race to move up to fifth place overall. Ken Deyett came up to grab third and that, combined with Miss Behavin’ slipping down to fifth was enough to give the Deyett team the regatta win. Ned’s race win put him in a three way tie for second place in the regatta. Bob Bush lost the first tiebreaker as both Bob Shapiro and Ned Hinds had a race win and Bob Bush didn’t. Ned Hinds lost the second tiebreaker (Bob Shapiro’s next best finish was second and Ned’s next best was third) and took third overall, leaving the Miss Behavin’ crew in second place overall.

What Now? and Three Men in a Tub had a lot of close racing, including at least one collision and several near collisions. Each team beat the other twice, but John, Jamie and Steve grabbed a sixth place in race three to beat out Norb, Dave and Bob for eighth place overall.

MANY people made this regatta a success! Pam and Werner were aided on Race Committee by Wayne Donle and Marion Hinds. Pam had recently torn her ACL, MCL and all the other CL’s she has, so she was on crutches and in a knee brace. We had several crash boats out to help, with Walter Unger, Dennis Unger, Roger Williams, Deb Ames and Jim Murphy on board to tow boats, move marks and stand by to help in case we got a huge gust of wind or a thunderstorm.

After the racing it was on to the Grange for refreshments and the Bow Lake World Famous Taco Bar dinner, which was enjoyed by about 70 people. Many people cooked or helped out with food, service, preparation and cleanup. John Boynton grabbed coffee, munchkins, apples and juice for breakfast, and John and Mike Baker packed up Mike’s car and provided mobile eats while everyone got their boats ready. Bob and Sandy Boynton made a great garden salad and an amazing couscous salad, Amy Byron made her now famous tub-of-chocolate-and-booze, Jeff Baker made cookies, Caroline King made pies, Margo made guacamole and all the taco stuff. And in the kitchen, Derek Hilton performed Community Service by slaving away all day on preparation and cleanup, along with Margo, Linda, Erin and Kyle Gershuny, Karen Hinds and many others who I have missed. Ned Hinds did his usual masterful and thankless job of mopping the floor and taking all the trash. Meanwhile Bob Murphy, Dave Sandman and Norb Church provided all of the beer, water and soda, Gerold and Laura Thorne allowed boats to park across from the Grange, Dennis Unger provided tableware, and Deb Ames and Jim Murphy made 4 pounds of delicious jumbo shrimp. I apologize to those who I may have missed. Thank You to All!

And a special thank you to the Bow Lake Community Club. They surprised us with a free rental of The Grange (and we surprised them back with a $50 donation)! Please support the BLCC and the BLCOA as together they made this possible.

After dinner it was time for trophies. This year the theme was memories, and the majority of the trophies were framed photographs. Pam Daigneault took most of the photos, while Werner took the one of Pam and Margo took "Sunset on Bow Lake".

Framed 8 x 10 photos of their boats were presented to the winners of the Bob Evans Regatta, as follows:

Dennis Unger - Open Class Keel Boats First Place

Greg King – Open Class Centerboard First Place

Wayne/Rob Donle – Open Class Centerboard Second Place

Jim Murphy/Deb Ames – Open Class Catamaran First

Mark Iber/Peter Hellfach – Open Class Catamaran Second

Ned Hinds – Lightning Class First Place

Bob Shapiro – Lightning Class Second Place

Dave Sandman/Norb Church/Bob Murphy – Lightning Class Third Place

John Boynton - Lightning Class Fourth Place

Please note that Michele Kincaid took Greg King’s trophy and didn’t want to let it go; Greg make sure you get it back from her. Special framed photos were presented to Pam and Werner Daigneault as a thank you for all of their Race Committee work, and to the Gershuny family for their huge positive impact on Bow Lake sailing.

The Martha Comstock trophy was presented to Dave Sandman, Norb Church and Bob Murphy of Three Men in a Tub. They show up all the time, are climbing slowly in the standings, won a race this year, jumped overboard to help Mike Aversa when he capsized, have gimbolled beer holders and really know how to have fun while sailing! They are the spirit of sailing on Bow Lake, for which this award is given. We hear that by the next morning they had already scheduled which person gets to have the trophy in their home for each of the twelve months they will hold it.

Next came trophies for the Ed Hinds Memorial Regatta. Although the regatta has been held for about 30 years, history had only recorded 16 of the past winners. Ned Hinds and Bill Fastiggi had each won twice, and prior to this year, Bob Shapiro and Ken Deyett had each won three times. Ken smashed the tie by winning this year for the fourth time – Congratulations Ken! Ned Hinds, Jeff Baker and Guillaume Joffrees each received a framed photo "Sunset on Bow Lake" for third place, as did Bob Shapiro, Mike Baker and Josh Gershuny for second place. Ken Deyett, Ali Deyett and Jeannine McKay also received photos as their permanent trophies. And then it was time to unveil the Ed Hinds Memorial Regatta Perpetual Trophy for the first time! The trophy, which consists of a wooden base and a silver (ok silverplated) champagne bucket lists all of the known previous winners of the regatta. Ed’s wife Marion, and son Ned were on hand to help present the trophy to Ken Deyett and his team. Ed Hinds was one of the primary driving forces of sailboat racing on Bow Lake for many years. He will not be forgotten.

Colorful Bow Lake Sailing Frisbees were then handed out to all in attendance. If you didn’t get one (or if yours is stuck in a tree or on a roof) stop by and I’ll give you one. These will be given out every few years as the minimum order quantity was pretty large!

A personal note: Thank you to everyone who took care of Marisol at various times during the day. Thank you to Margo for supporting my sailing habit. Margo has been aggressive in doing things to make sure that I am able to continue racing, even as we have the little one running around (ok crawling!). Thank you to Marisol for being an easy baby and letting me sail.

Catamarans and Sunfish have been seen flying around the lake in heavy breezes – most recently Sunday. Mark and Peter got an 18 foot Hobie Cat to supplement their pair of 16 footers, so if anyone wants a 16 foot Hobie Cat they have one that is reasonably priced. Dennis will be bringing a newer Star to the lake next summer and his current one (Gale) is available. Anyone looking to purchase a Lightning please let me know and I will help you find one!

Please send me your expenses for the Bob Evans and Ed Hinds Regattas. If you would like to donate what you spent let me know, but I’d like to understand our total costs regardless. Many people donated cash, and others donated food and their time. Several very significant contributions were received – Thank You! Thank you, thank you and thank you! The remaining t-shirts (donated by Jamie) were all sold during the regatta. I’ll publish the final financial statement after I have received lists of expenses from everyone, but here is what we have so far:

Beginning Balance:

$ 237.29

Expenses Received to Date:

$ 719.84 trophies

$ 282.58 breakfast and dinner at the Grange

$ 50.00 fleet dues

$ 50.00 donation to BLCC for the Grange rental

Revenue:

$ 340.00 registration for Ed Hinds regatta

$ 10.00 extra dinner

$ 85.00 t-shirt sales

$1190.00 cash donations/sponsorships

Current Balance:

$ 759.87 (will go down as additional expenses are reimbursed, but we are in good shape and will end with some money in the bank!)

If you would like to make a donation, please make checks out to Bow Lake Sailing and send them to Bob Shapiro, 8 Webber Street, Wilmington, MA 01887.

Racing Rules http://www.sailing.org/rrs2005

Racing Rules in Brief http://www.ussailing.org/rules/rulesinbrief.htm

July 1 Photos http://www.flickr.com/gp/9636816@N07/cEeGBv

July 22 Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157600961888290

August 5 Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157601256951682/

August 12 Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157601421720115

September 1 Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157601876587926/

Ed Hinds Memorial One Day Lightning Flash Regatta Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob_and_margo/sets/72157602148533868/

Strafford Calendar Sailing Article http://www.straffordcommunitycalendar.com/Sailing.htm

Bow Lake Sailing http://www.wessexusa.com/bls_main1.html

New England Lightning District http://www.lightningclass.org/ne

Lightning Class http://www.lightningclass.org/index.asp

Bob Shapiro: finallybk@gmail.com 603-664-6904

See you in the water November 3!

Sunday 09 September 2007