It was a very nice day for sailing.  There was wind, sunshine and no rain in the forecast.  3 skippers showed up to sail their S1M’s, and 5 skippers elected to sail their DF95’s.

I was in the DF95 camp until the beginning of race 4 when my sail winch decided to stop working.  My story is a sad one that began when a few weeks ago my aging DF hull took on so much water, I had to retire it to an honored place in my basement.  I then got a like-new bare hull from a club member and transferred all my electronics; keel, rudder, etc.  The next week I brought my like-new DF to the pond and before racing started my rudder servo stopped working.  So, I ordered a new rudder servo (and a spare) and installed it last week. 

At the pond this morning, I forgot myself and mistakenly commented that nothing else could really go wrong, but I forgot the universal life rule of stating an opinion out loud.  The rule is mainly, when you say something out loud, if it’s good it will go away and if it’s bad it will happen.  That’s when my sail winch died!

I will replace the sail winch, and in the future I keep my thoughts to myself.

Anyway, the racing was really great!  In particular, Paul and Greg worked hard to show everyone whose DF95 was fastest on this day.  When the racing was over, they both ended up with the same number of points and the scoring software had to decide based on number of first place finishes.

So today, Paul was first over-all and first in the DF95 class.  Herb was the top S1M.

Nice sailing everyone.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Minuteman Model Yacht Club has sailed this unusual regatta for more than 20 years.  It’s limited to skippers over the age of 65 and attempts to level a playing field that might be slanted towards younger skippers.  In this regatta, once the race is completed the final scores are adjusted downward based on a predetermined scale based on age.  Older skippers get a bigger adjustment.  If some scores seem unusually low for a 12-heat race, it’s because of the age/score “adjustment”.

Anyway, it’s a lighthearted race that’s intended to provide a few pleasant surprises at the end.

5 skippers were able to race today and were faced with high winds.  It was a “B” rig day which none of us anticipated, or prepared for, but that didn’t stop us.  We sailed on with de-tuned “A” rigs and fingers crossed.

In the US1 M division, Herb Dreher picked this race to compete with his rare US1M Epic (MEPIC).  The little sister to the Marblehead Epic.  It did well for its first time in competition, and I hope to see it more often.  Alain Jousse sailed his Jim Linville Designed “Patriot” and I sailed my aging “Meerkat”.

Alain did very well with the Patriot and was tied for the lead with the Meerkat at the halfway point in racing.  Unfortunately, gremlins messed up his internal sheeting setup and took him out of the race.

In the second half of racing, the winds let up slightly and rest of the fleet was able to complete with no further breakdowns.

Greg LaPlante was the top score in the DF95 division and took home the Perpetual Trophy “Cane”.  Cliff Martin was top score in the US1M division.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

The weather was very nice, and the pond was weed free.  The winds were variable but not annoying enough to complain about.  So, all-in-all it was shaping up to be a great day for sailing. 

7 skippers came ready to take advantage of the good conditions.  Some events of note we that Herb Dreher struggled during the first half of the regatta because he could not tune his rig properly.  He changed rigs during the half-time break and his performance increased greatly.

I came ready to sail my refurbished DF95.  I had a new (lightly used) bare hull that needed a home.  So I gave it one.  I switched over my electronics, rudder and keel, and came ready to tune then sail.  Control problems started almost immediately during the pre-race tuning.  I found that the rudder was binding so I disassembled and reassembled the rudder assembly, and it seemed ok….for a while.  When racing started so did the control problems.  I got in 3 races before I realized my rudder servo was on its last cog.  So I retired.

I got to keep score and watch the action.  John Whalen dominated with his DF95 and Rick Gate was hard to catch with his S1M.  

It was good day to be outside.  Now I have to go home a fix my boat.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Five skippers came to sail, which is rather light attendance, but it matched the wind we had.  The occasional gusts of wind were enough to keep us sailing, but it made for a slow race day.  We got in 10 races, but mostly because we shortened the course.

My Soling had some winch problems a couple of weeks back, so I had to redo the sheeting.  Today, I put the Soling back on the water, but I could never get it tuned back to where I thought it should be.  The result was that I was the anchor for the fleet.  I worked very hard to make sure nobody else had to worry about coming in last.  There were a couple of races where I unexpectedly managed to place above last, but I assure you it was not because of my tuning or sailing. Oh Well!  There’s always next week.

In the end, Herb was the top S1M and Greg LaPlante was the top DF95

Cliff Martin, Commodore

It was an interesting day of racing.  It was warm, but not hot, and the wind was up, down, and all around as usual for Rosemary.

We started racing with 6 skippers and by the second heat I was having electrical problems with my DF95.  I couldn’t find anything wrong except by the 3^rd heat I had a lot of water in my boat, which I figured was causing my problem.  On closer inspection I found a small crack in my aging hull.  Looks like a new hull might be in my future, but where do I find one?

As I was retiring my boat, John Whalen and Armand Paradis showed up a little late after having to find their way through heavy traffic.  So now, as everybody else sailed, I kept score.

The story of the day was the competition between David Fine and John Whalen, both of whom are excellent sailors.  David was sailing in his usual excellent form, keeping his DF95 in front of the fleet.  John had already missed two races but started sailing with a vengeance.  With 12 heats there would be two throw-outs, so if he stayed out of trouble and sailed fast, he might be able to move into the lead.

David and John traded first and second place finishes throughout the racing.  Then, David got stuck in a crowd in race 10 and finished with 4^th place.  This gave John the chance he needed.  It all came down to heat 12.

In the 12^th heat John and David were in the lead (again).  John was ahead of David as they sailed towards the last windward mark, before turning to the finish.  Everybody knew the wind could be fickle, the racing was going to be close, and we wouldn’t know the winner until someone crossed the finish line..…..that was right up until John sailed just a little too close to one of the starting pins and the wind heeled his boat over just enough for his keel to snag the anchor rope!  The rest is now history.

David Fine was first overall in the DF95 fleet and Herb Dreher was first in the S1M fleet.

Cliff Martin,

Commodore

The day was not as warm as expected, or as humid, but it was much windier and the gusts kept the racing very interesting.

It’s true that the wind was fairly heavy/gusty, but that kind’a glosses over the fact that there were “patches” of dead space where you would go screaming along and then just stop, with sails flapping.  Somewhat reminiscent of the Star Trek movies when the spaceships would come out of warp speed and seem to just stop.  Then you watch to see what happens to the rest of the fleet.  Sometimes everyone just stops all around you OR everyone just sails around you while you try and figure out why they have wind and you don’t.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not really complaining.  The day before some of us tried to sail at a pond where there was virtually no wind.  So, if I have to choose, I’ll take crazy wind.

Herb Dreher was able to navigate his IOM through the fickle winds to top the IOM skippers, and I was able to keep my US1M Meerkat floating well enough to keep ahead of the other US1M skippers.

One of these days I must figure out where the Meerkat is taking on water.  I’ve have tried in the past, but unsuccessfully.  It’s not on the verge of sinking, but I must drain the water out  every 4 or 5 races…annoying.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Over/Under Regatta 5/31/26

The race day was partly cloudy, with light to moderate winds and no rain expected until evening.

Eight skippers showed up to sail, and a few even brought more than one boat.  Along with his IOM, Herb Dreher brought two Vintage 36’s, and I brought my Canterbury J, a DF95, and a Vintage 36.  Greg LaPlante brought a Soling 50 in addition to his IOM.

During open sailing time Herb and I tested some new sails on his V36’s and new member Howard Samuels got familiar with a DF95 he borrowed from me.  When regatta time came, the field included two DF95s, a Soling 1 Meter, a Vintage 36, two IOMs, and a Star 45. Since I had loaned my DF95 to Howard, I sailed my Canterbury J.

Greg chose not to race his Soling 50 so I ended up all alone in the Over 40” division.  But that’s ok, I still enjoyed sailing the Canterbury, and I still had to battle with Herb and Greg

The shifting winds at Rosemary Lake kept the racing competitive and caused the lead to change hands frequently. Unexpected light rain also passed through from time to time, despite the forecast calling for none.

It was a fun day overall, and Herb Dreher was the fastest skipper in the Under 40” division.  I won’t say the obvious about the Over 40 division.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

It’s beginning to look like we will be having more seasonally appropriate weather for a while.  The temperature is in the mid-80’s with variable breezes.

Seven skippers took advantage of the sunny weather to put their boats in the water and try to figure out which direction the wind is coming from.  We had 5 DF95’s and 2 S1M’s approach the starting line.  One of the DF95’s was skippered by David Fine, who is new to the area.  Welcome David!

By all accounts, the DF95’s ruled the day given the winds and sailing conditions.  In the end John Whalen was the top DF95 skipper and Herb Dreher was top S1M skipper.

Aside from the fleet winners, the highlight of the day, for both skippers and spectators, was a boat rescue using our rescue airboat.  It’s always something of a clown show trying to trap a speedy, circling target with a little less maneuverable airboat.  It’s more a statement about the rescue airboat skipper than the airboat.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

I checked the weather report early in the morning just as I had the previous two mornings.  It was forecast to be a little cool, a little overcast and somewhat windy, but with no rain.  I had already sent out an email saying it was going to be a good day to sail.

It started raining when I was less than a mile from my home.  Light, but unmistakably rain.  The light rain continued until about an hour before the start of racing.  When the rain stopped, we were left with fairly heavy winds and very cold temperatures.  While we debated just going home, we couldn’t get past the “…are we rugged seafaring men, or comfort loving wimps…” mindset.  So, we reluctantly decided to give it a go.

It was the first race of the season for these two classes, and the high winds quickly found whatever weakness existed in linkage or rigging.  Some skippers had to go to their back-up boat, but we were finally able get 4 boats on the water; two Stars and two US1M’s

In the end Greg LaPlante was the top US1M skipper after his Star broke, and Herb Dreher was the top Star skipper.

Cliff Martin, Commodore