Sunday, April 27, 2014

MYC @ BYC Wraps up for the Season

2013-14 BYC Frostbite Skippers
Top Row from Left: Doris Aschman, Andy David, John Hause, Bill Brangiforte, Scott Greenbaum, Bernadette Levesque, Alan Silk
Front Row: Corey Charles, Mark Stoughton, Eric Woodman
Not Pictured: Ken Charles, Erin Abbot, Gary Werden

The 2013-14 Frostbite season has come to a close. Ten skippers showed up today for the last day of close racing in both the A and the B fleets.  The weather threatened not to cooperate early, with rain and very light north winds, but as the day progressed, the weather acquiesced and became warmer, although the winds kept up their fickle nature.

Andy David and his family celebrate his first place win
with BYC Race Committee Chair Leo Berendes
The unsteady winds allowed skippers to open huge leads, only to lose them minutes later. It also allowed skippers in the back to make up a lot of ground. The skipper who rounded the windward mark first wasn't always assured of a win, on in some cases, even second place.  It allowed Mark Stoughton to spend most of the last race race of the day in a distant dead last, and surge in the last 500 yards to a close fifth place finish. Bill Brangiforte squeaked by Eric Woodman and Scott Greenbaum to take first place in the A fleet for the day. John Hause edged out Mark Stoughton by one point for first in the B Fleet.

Andy David took home the 1st place trophy for the season with an astonishing average of 2.7 points. Bill Brangiforte and Ken Charles took second and third, respectively.  MYC was well represented in the B fleet. Barrington's John House took first, MYC took the rest of the places with Mark Stoughton taking second and Bernadette Levesque, third.

As the frostbite season ends, another season begins.  The Massapoag Sunfish Racing season starts next Sunday at 1:30, with a three week tune up series, then the serious racing starts with our Sunfish/Laser regatta on May 31, and the Saturday Sunfish Series begins on Saturday June 7 at 3:00.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Spring has Finally Sprung: Massapoag is Open for the Season






The days are getting longer, and the weather is (finally) getting warmer. The ice cleared from the lake last week, and we've wasted no time getting the club ship shape and ready for action.  The dock is in place, the clubhouse is set up and ready to go, the moorings are set and and the new motor for the committee boat had its first run. Even the BoatCam pitched in, watching the dock being assembled.

While we were at it, we've rearranged a few things.  The dumpster has been moved from it's unsightly central location to a spot more out of the way and easier to reach from the clubhouse. The upper circle for small boats is now more of a line, leading to a small natural slope to the launch ramp, making it easier to get small boats from there to the water. The clubhouse now has hot running water, and there are several new picnic tables.

Racing for all classes starts on Sunday, May 4. The first Wednesday night race is 3 days later on May 7. The Sunfish tuneup series runs on three SUNDAYS in May, the 4, 18 and 25. The next week (May 31) is the 7th Annual Sunfish/Laser Regatta. The regular Saturday Sunfish Series starts a week later on on June 7, and runs through until October.

Meanwhile the MYC@BYC Barrington Frostbite Series has next week off for Easter, then has it's final day of racing on April 27. We don;t have any reports from today's racing yet, but will post them here as soon as we get them.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Wind? We Don't Need no Stinking Wind!

The Sunfish were there, but something was missing.

We finally got a nice, warm sunny day at Barrington, but for a while a couple of things were missing.  Both the wind and the committee boat were no-shows. We waited patiently for them both to show up, and once they did the Committee Boat proved to be the more consistent and reliable of the two.

Light and fluky was the order of the day. About half the fleet had to be towed to the race course. The front and back of the fleet were able to make it under their own power, but the middle was at the mercy of the still air. After the first race, the wind shifted about 50 degrees, turning the windward-leeward course into a two-reaching legs course. After only one race, the Race Committee was forced to delay the proceedings to reset the course.

Once the wind finally decided which direction to blow, the RC was able to get 5 races in.  Andy David took both the last race (more on that later) and the A fleet prize for the day.  IN the B fleet, Erin Abbot put in a stellar day in the light winds, finishing with the A fleet more often than with the B fleet. On the water she claimed that "The light winds really like me".

Alan Silk was the star of the day. He very nearly took first in the last race from Andy David.  After a slow start, Alan snuck up the left side of the course staying in breeze and out of the current, and made up several hundred yards before passing everyone at the final turn to the club. It looked like he was headed to his first 1st, but at the very last minute he got caught in a wind shift, and Andy David snuck by him.