Footy Regatta 8/16/25 and Soling/DF95 Regatta 8/17/25

This was one of the better weekends for sailing in my humble opinion; Mild temperatures, no rain, no weeds, and our usual unpredictable/fluky winds.

Saturday’s Footy Regatta was contested by eight skippers sailing Pool Sharks, Rangers, Cobra’s and 3D printed Footy’s.  While these boats are fun, they are not easy to sail and require a lot of focus on the part of the skipper.  Wind shifts and gusts can quickly change the sailing dynamics of any boat, and each boat design has a little different reaction to the changing conditions.  Because they are small, they are built very light, but they carry a lot of sail.  As a result, these boats seem to suffer a little more attrition than other classes.  When sailing was over, we had lost four boats to attrition.

Please see the Saturday scoresheet for results.  My thanks to John Lamport who helped keep score when his boat gave up the ghost.

Sunday’s Soling/DF95 Regatta had a little better wind conditions than Saturday and eight skippers showed up to race.  As luck would have it, Herb Dreher, who is always well prepared, showed up with his Soling, ready to sail.  But between home and the pond his rudder servo stopped working…actually he could get right rudder but not left rudder.  Hmmmm!   He ended up sailing DF95 412.  

Then Paul Mercer’s (who is also always well prepared) rudder decided that it could no longer find and return to center.  The servo would just continue moving, with no transmitter input, until it found its own happy place to stop.   There was not another spare boat Paul to sail, so the race was contested with just six skippers.  

Please see the Sunday scoresheet for results.  My thanks to Paul Mercer who helped me call the line and keep score.

Thanks to everybody who came to the pond to enjoy the weekend with us. 

Cliff Martin,

Commodore

8-03-25 Regatta

The sun was shining, and the humidity was very low as we stood by the pond and looked at the reflection of the trees on the glassy surface of the pond.  It was a great setting to contemplate nature and the meaning of life, but it was not so good if you were planning to have a sailing regatta.

Anyway, we watched as sailors mistakenly launched their boats during the “Fun Sailing” time and then struggle to get them back in the light winds.  Being the optimistic kinda’ guys we are, we patiently waited for regatta time to roll around and hoped the wind would fill in.  The good news is that it did, off and on.

8 Skippers showed up to race with 4 DF95’s and 4 S1M’s. Unfortunately, a couple of the skippers had to drop out before the race due to electronics problems.  That left us with 3 DF’s and 3 S1M’s to compete.  I brought the club’s new RC Rescue boat to continue with its sea trials.

The racing was challenging because of the light shifty winds, and unfortunately the weeds were also in play today.  It seems that theweeds can be “not bad” or “really bad” depending on which way the wind blows.  Today, the weeds were somewhere in between and seemed to get better as the day went on.

I think today’s uber-light winds tended to slightly favor the very light DF’s, although the Soling’s were always in the fight.  You can see that the Soling’s scores are very close together and not far behind the DF’s.  

We got in 11 races today, and when the scores were added up Cliff Martin took first overall, and first in the DF class.  Paul Mercer hasn’t had a chance to sail with us much this year, but he came ready to race and took second overall with his DF.  Herb Dreher took fourth overall and was first in the Soling One Meter class.

Good going everyone!

The RC Rescue boat was able to rescue 4 boats (1 with electronics issues, a couple of boats caught on weeds, and one boat with a keel caught on a mark anchor line).  I thought itperformed pretty good but it’s still a learning process to drive what amounts to a swamp buggy, using just the right stick on Spectrum transmitter.

Many thanks to Steve White who showed up to call the line and help us keep score.

My thanks to all the skippers who came to sail with us.

Until next time.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

7-20-25 Regatta

We had another Sunday of great weather, with no rain forecast until the evening.  

7 Skippers showed up with 5 DF95’s and 2 S1M’s.  In addition, for fun time, I brought my Schooner to get in some sailingpractice in preparation for the Vintage Nationals.  I also brought my newly constructed RC rescue boat to test.  As it turns out, both still could use some work.    

We got a late start because of a last-minute pre-race rescue. A DF65 had snagged some weed, and it was up to the new “RC Rescue Boat” to save the day.  Either that or inflate the pontoon boat.  The RC Rescue Boat performed as designed, however, I was not very good at driving it.  During the rescue there was shouting and hollering from the other skippers, which I optimistically took for encouragement.  Note to self: next time practice when there is no crowd. 

The racing was interesting, as always, because of the shifty winds, but the weeds were also in play today.  The weeds weren’t horrible, but they were always a threat.  I like to think that I selflessly captured a few weeds during racing so that other skippers could sail on unimpeded.  It was a thankless job.  

The fluky winds and occasional small weeds kept the racing very close as was evidenced by the 3-way tie for 3^rd and the 2-way tie for 6^th.  The A-Fleet scoring software was able to sort them out by how they placed in the various heats.

We got in 12 races, and when the race was done Cliff Martin took first overall, and in the DF class, and Herb Dreher took second overall and first in the Soling One Meter class.

Good going everyone!

I want to mention that Glenn Chalder, Region I Director, visited our club today to get feedback for the AMYA.  He talked to everybody before, during and after racing.  It was a pleasure meeting him and he fit right in with our pondside banter.  Weenjoyed his company, and he even called the line and helped Steve White keep score.  Hopefully he will come back and sail with us in the future.

My thanks to all the skippers who came to sail with us.

Until next time.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Skippers,

The Scott Spacie Footy Regatta was held on a beautiful Saturday.  Eight skippers showed up to enjoy the day and have some fun.  There was Pool Sharks, some 3D Printed Hagerup designs and a Hagerup Ranger II.  Alain Jousse even brought his schooner rigged footy to demonstrate.

The initial winds were fluky, as usual, which made the sailing a little more challenging for these little yachts with their big sails.  Unfortunately, weeds were also an unexpected factor.  

By necessity, the course was rather large for footies, so heats were long, and it seemed like every race we had to wait for somebody to drag a weed to shore.  The rescue pole got a good workout, but we didn’t have to get in the rescue boat.

As racing progressed, the wind became a little lighter and the racing a little slower.  As you can imagine, during heats the lead changed often, and you never knew who was going to win until the end.  On at least two heats I managed to stall my boat and give up the lead to skippers who had better control.

In the 2-1/2 hours we raced we managed to get in 8 heats, and when the scores were added up Alain Jousse won the day with his Pool Shark.

Many thanks to Sue Martin for keeping score for us.

Cliff Martin,

Commodore

Skippers,

This coming Saturday (7/12/25) the annual Scott Spacey Footy Regatta will be held at Rosemary Lake in Needham, MA.

A couple of weeks ago we had concerns about weeds and were afraid we might have to move the venue, but last weekend the racing was weed free.  So, we are staying at Rosemary.

The weather is somewhat threatening, so I will keep watch.  I will send out a final go/no-go Saturday morning before 7:00am.  Watch your emails.

Please let me know if you plan to attend.  Racing will begin promptly at 12:00 noon.

 Cliff Martin,

Commodore

Skippers,

This coming Sunday (7/13/25) is the Old Timer’s Regatta.  For 26 years this has been an annual event for Club members who are over 65 years of age.  It is run and scored much like other regattas, but when all the racing has ended we reduce the skippers final scores using a factor that is based on the skipper’s age.  The older the skipper, the larger the deduction.  You don’t know who won until the final score is calculated.

Traditionally, the racing fleet has been limited to just US1M’s, but I think it’s time to bend to changing times and give individuals without a US1M a chance to participate.  

Going forward, DF95’s will be allowed to race as well.  Both fleets will be sailed together, but they will be scored separately.

This year, the traditional “Old Timer’s” cane will be awarded to the winner in the traditional US1M fleet.  The winner in the DF95 fleet will receive a certificate.  If the response is good in the DF fleet, I will get a cane for next year’s DF95 fleet winner.  The name of both winners will appear in the trophy room.

Please let me know if you plan to attend and in what fleet you plan to sail.

No rain is predicted for Sunday so we should have a good day.

 Cliff Martin,

Commodore

7-06-25 Regatta

After literally months of trying to outguess the weather and failing, we finally had a day with sun, wind, no rain, and hallelujah, no weeds… really… no weeds.

9 skippers showed up; 5 had a DF95 and 4 had a S1M.  

We got a late start because of a last-minute pre-race rescue.  While that was going on, I discovered that my trusty receiver wouldn’t hold bind, so I had to borrow a spare. (To quote Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire: “….  I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”; in this case it was the kindness of a fellow competitor)

I got that working, then during the second race my Spectrum transmitter started warning me of an eminent battery failure.  That’s after having it on charge overnight.  I’m not a superstitious person, but I was getting the distinct impression that if I continued trying to sail it would end up in a rescue.  So, I pulled the boat in and helped keep score.

Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet was enjoying the wind and competition.  The lead changed often during any given race, and it was hard to tell who would win until they crossed the finish line.  It was fun to watch, and I also got to visit with our good friend Collin Mosgrove, who dropped by for a visit.

When it was over John Whalen took first place overall with his DF95 and Paul Mercer took second place overall with his S1M.  John and Paul were first in their respective classes.  Good going guys!

Many thanks to Steve White for keeping score.

Also, thanks to all who came to sail with us.

Until next time.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

6-22-25 Regatta

The weather fooled us once again.  As of Saturday evening it was supposed to stop raining before 6am Sunday morning, but the forecast changed overnight.  On Sunday morning the rain was forecast to continue until around 10am.  Therefore, on Sunday morning I made the decision to cancel the Fun Sail but still hold the regatta at 12noon.

I think the rain and heat forecast were a little discouraging as not as many skippers showed up as expected.  We were also in schedule conflict with a Vintage Marblehead regatta at Redd’s Pond and I expected a couple of skippers to sail at Marblehead instead of Rosemary.

We got a late start because we didn’t have the Fun Race time to recover an errant mark. But we did get to enjoy watching Greg LaPlante row around in our little recovery pontoon boat to recover an errant mark and adjust our start line.  

At race time we had 4 skippers on the water, with their DF95’s.  Steve White and Herb Dreher were there but kept score and rooted us on from the sidelines.

The racing was fun, but marred, by the return of dreaded weeds.  We were also plagued by very light and shifty winds.  By race 6 we decided that the heat, the lack of wind and the presence of weeds had bested our normally boundless sailing spirit, and we adjourned to the clubhouse for the day.

At the end of the day Greg LaPlante had the low score.  Way to go Greg.

Thanks to all who came to sail with us.

Until next time.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

We had a relatively nice day with cool gusty winds.  It was slightly cloudy but there was no rain.  9 skippers came out to sail, bringing 3 Soling 1 Meter’s and 6 DF95’s.

Due to the heavy rain, one of our regular marks managed to float to a new location that was a little further out and towards the center of the pond.  While I pondered returning the wayward mark to its original location, somebody suggested changing the starting line to run parallel to the shoreline and using the wayward mark as part of a new course.  Considering the wind was coming directly from the opposite side of the pond, it made sense.  It would be a true windward start. We knew that some skippers might have to squint a bit more to ensure a clean rounding, but the skippers decided to give it a go.

The longer distance to the windward mark made for some great tacking duels that were fun to watch.  I expected more separation between the individual boats, and certainly more separation between the fleets, but the shifty, gusty winds made for some interesting challenges during the windward tacks. Sometimes the winds seem to favor Soling’s and sometimes the DF95’s, but neither for very long.  The result was tight racing,with the leads changing often.

When it was over, John Whalen was the #1 DF95, by 1 point and Rick Gates was the #1 Soling.

For the first time this year, we were pleased to be joined by our old friends Ron Casciato and Harold Cohen.  Welcome back.

Finally, thank you to all the skippers for joining us to sail.

Until next time.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Enduro-2024

I’m sure you’ve all heard this by now, but the Enduro is the last race of the season for the Minuteman Model Yacht Club.  It’s a race with one start followed by one finish 4 hours later.  There are no holds or time outs, and the object is to sail as many laps as you can in those 4 hours.  You may sail any boat you want except a Wheeler or a Large J-boat.  

Recognition is given to the skipper with the most laps who is sailing an over 40” boat and the same for the skipper with the most laps sailing an under 40” boat.

This year has been a very bizarre sailing season.  We’ve had everything from very frequent stormy weather to heavy weeds early in the season, to closure of alternative venues due to bacterial contamination.  It was hard to get in the amount of sailing we normally like to have.

The 2024 Enduro was somehow fitting for the end of this year’s racing.  The Enduro normally has rather chilly, blustery New England fall weather.  This year we had chilly weather, butwhispery light winds that occasionally gusted to 4 miles per hour.

Some boats moved fairly well while some boats barely moved.  Then different boats would sail away while other boats barely moved.  Then the wind would pick up a little more and everybody would be sailing around until the next lull.  It was hard to tell at any time who was leading.

You can see by the scores that the top boats were a mixture of designs, sizes and weights.  The top 5 boats were only separated by 4 laps. Some of the lower scores were because skippers had electronics or battery issues, or they just got caught in some of the slow-moving flotillas and were held back.

All-in-all, it was a fun time.

This year’s winner in the Over-40” division was Cliff Martin.  Herb Dreher won in the Under-40” division.

Lastly, I would like to thank our scorekeeper, Sue Martin, who had to sit for 4 hours, bundled up in scarves, towels, blankets and anything else she could find to keep warm, while we sailed.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Skippers, 

The US1M “Return-to-Rosemary” race was sailed today and 9 skippers showed up to test the waters.

The winds were light, and the competition was fierce, but happily almost no weeds showed up to spoil the fun.  The pond is amazingly Lilly pad/weed free.

The light, on-again, off-again wind was the topic of conversation during racing.  The lead could change during a race as the lead boat got becalmed and was then passed by the fleet…sometimes within a couple of feet from the finish.  A race was never “in the bag” until a boat actually crossed the finish line.

The weather was great and everybody seemed to have a good time; except for our DF95 sailing friend “Roy” who around until his DF95 went stern down 50 yards from shore.  Fortunately, his bow remained visible until it could be rescued.  Many thanks to John Whalen for his quick thinking, and fast rowing rescue!

The best news is that the club will sail at Rosemary for the remainder of the season.  

So, everyone be aware, the Enduro is coming….plan….be prepared!

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Begin forwarded message:

From: Cliff Martin <cliff.r.martin@gmail.com>
Date: October 6, 2024 at 5:07:28 PM EDT
To: Cliff-Martin@comcast.net, Cliff Martin <cliff.r.martin@gmail.com>
Subject: US1M-Oct. 5 – Resultsc

See attached Results 

Skippers,

We have US1M races on our schedule for this coming Sunday (10/06).

Herb and I have checked Rosemary for weeds and there are none to be seen (at least on the surface).  Even the lily pads across the pond are gone.  Therefore, racing this coming Sunday will be at Rosemary Lake.

 Our first best objective is to sail at Rosemary to see if there is still a weed problem below the surface.  Second, we are unsure if there is still interest in sailing before the Enduro.  This year’s Enduro is still on the schedule, and we are planning for it to happen, so stay tuned for any updates. 

Right now, the 10 to 12 free racing time will not be reinstated until we can see if there is any interest in continuing to sail before the Enduro Race.  The US1M racing will begin at 11:00 am.  Some of us will be there earlier because we need to reposition some marks.

 If you have any questions, please let me know.

 Cliff Martin, Commodore

Skippers,

Indian Lake is now open.

I know it’s been a tough, trying, and somewhat discouraging sailing season, even so, we still have 5 weekends until the Enduro, and some people may still want to sail.  At this point, the leadership feels that Series racing has been severely compromised and going forward we should just continue racing the classes on the schedule, but not track them for the Series.

To that end, sailing will now restart at the Indian Lake venue.  I will continue to monitor the conditions at Rosemary and send a message if conditions change for the better.

I will also send out emails to all members on the Thursday before and ask people to let me know if they will be sailing on the Sunday.  If by Saturday afternoon I don’t get at least 4 skippers to say they will attend, I will cancel the sailing.

The Shore Park Beach at Indian Lake is now closed for the season, so skippers must enter through the side road/gate.  I will open the gate at 10:00am and close it at 10:50am.  (It can’t be left open or left unattended because non-club members may enter thinking the beach is still open) These constraints with getting into and out of the parking lot will mean we can’t really have free sailing before the racing begins.  Now, racing will begin at 11:00am.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Skippers and Friends,

The Jim and Susan Linville Memorial Regatta was held today at Sandy Pond, in New Hampshire.  The change of venue was sudden, but necessary, and somewhat inconvenient for some skippers.

The day was sunny and warm with lite breezes.  Nine skippers showed up to compete for coveted ducky trophies.  Three skippers were in the DF95 fleet and 6 skippers were in the Soling fleet.

Both fleets started at the same time and worked their way around the course, lazily moving from one pocket of breeze to another.  The lite winds meant that there was little separation of the boats as they maneuvered the course, and mark rounding’s were, well, you know!  Then there was the occasional gust which caused mayhem in the fleet, and reminded everyone that this was, in fact, a race and there was no time to work on your tan.

Of note, during the last race, while rounding the far mark, the rig on Greg LaPlante’s Soling collapsed.  I suspect the sail was just tired of standing up for 12 heats with very little to do.  As it turned out, Greg still won first place in Soling’s and got the perpetual Ducky Trophy to keep for a year.  For a complete list of winners see our website.

The trials and tribulations of lite winds aside, the day was fun, and it was good to see everybody and talking/thinking about Jim and Sue.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Skippers and Friends,

This coming Saturday August, 03, 2024, the Minuteman Model Yacht Club will be holding an estate give-a-way of model yacht building hand tools/materials that come out of Jim Linville’s amazing basement.

Multiple X-acto knives, clamps, scissors, bench vices, chargers, etc. to name just a few of the many items/materials that will be available.  Some electronics and some small hand power tools will also be available.

The event will be 11:00am – 1:00pm at Rosemary Lake, and will be on a first come, first served basis.  There are no returns and no warranties, expressed or implied.  You look at it or touch it, you own it.  

Everything must go on Saturday, or we start randomly mailing things to members’ homes.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Minuteman Model Yacht Club

Skippers and Friends,

This year, with Jim Linville’s passing, the Sue Linville Memorial Regatta will be renamed the Jim and Susan Linville Memorial Regatta.  It will be held on August 11, 2024, starting at 11:00am.  The venue will be Shore Park, at Indian Lake, in Worcester, MA.

Beginning this year, to allow for more participation, the Regatta will be open to both Soling One Meters and DF95’s.

There will be a First, Second and Third place “Pirate Ducky” keeper trophy for each class, plus a new Jim and Susan Linville Memorial perpetual “Linville Ducky” trophy that will be awarded to the first-place winner of one of the classes; alternating every other year.  This year the perpetual trophy will be awarded to the first-place winner of the Soling One Meter class.

We hope to see everyone at this special event, sailing your Soling or DF95.

Also, please take time to thank Steve White who has graciously volunteered to sponsor the Jim and Susan Linville Memorial Regattas.

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Minuteman Model Yacht Club

Skippers, the weeds at Rosemary Lake have become a problem, again.  

Therefore, I have made the decision to move all MmMYC racing events to the Greater Worcester Model Yacht Club venue at Indian Lake, in Worcester, MA.  The location is Shore Park at 85 Shore Drive, Worcester, MA.  This location has a parking lot, a small beach and a bathroom facility.  The parking lot is opened at 12:00 noon daily.

Sailing takes place on the grassy lawn to the left of the beach and bathroom facilities and marks are already in the water.  You will need to have boots or water shoes to launch your boats.  

At first, we will not be able to have our usual 10:00 am free sailing, but we should be able to resume that in a couple of weeks.  I’ll let you know when we can resume.

As a reminder, this site is controlled by the adjacent YMCA organization and when we sail at Shore Park, we are sailing under an agreement between the YMCA and the Greater Worcester Model Yacht Club.

I think you will like this venue and hope to see you there.  

Cliff Martin, Commodore

Minuteman Model Yacht Club

Ice Breaker – 2024

After a couple of weather driven false starts over the previous two weeks, the 2024 sailing season has finally started for the Minuteman Model Yacht Club.  Newly elected Vice-Commodore Greg LaPlante was Race Director for the traditional first race of the season.

It will not surprise anybody familiar with Rosemary Lake if I say the wind was gusty, swirly, unpredictable, and very challenging for the seven skippers that showed up to compete for the coveted Ice Bucket trophy.

Admittedly, I was expecting this first race of the season to be something akin to a blooper’s reel of model yacht sailing and rescues.  I was very pleasantly surprised when everybody handled the winds, the course and the challenges in a yeoman manner.  There was no opportunity to even try out our club’s new, inflatable, pontoon rescue boat.  WOW!!

The sailing was very competitive, and when the scores were added up Paul Mercer was able to just edge out consecutive two-time winner Greg LaPlante, to take home the Ice Bucket trophy.

Good racing guys!

Cliff Martin,
Commodore