Week 4 at Barrington

Bill Brangiforte finds himself with unfamiliar competition, Bernadette Levesque and John Houstle

Once again the weather cooperated at Barrington as 14 skippers took to the water under nearly perfect conditions.  There was a strong ebb tide current running perpendicular to the wind, forcing everyone to alter their tactics to make sure that the current didn't push them where they didn't want to be.

The pin end and startboard tack starts were favored all day, but the current forced everyone to tack almost immediately to avoid overstanding the mark due to the current.  The first race started with about 12 knots of breeze, but dies as the afternoon wore on, and by the last race, there was almost not enough wind to overcome the current.

Racing was close all day, with the B fleet sailors finishing close to the A fleet all day.  Andy David, Bill Brangiforte and Corey Charles, who had a stellar afternoon, took the top 3 spots in the A fleet, while Erin Abbot broke the MYC stranglehold on the B fleet by spending most of the day with the A sailors.  Marta Chlus and Bernadette Levesque rounded out the finishers in the B fleet.  Results will be posted on the Barrington Yacht Club web site as soon as they are available.

Racing continues next week, same boat time, same boat station.

MYC Awards Plus Week 3 at Barrington

Bill Brangiforte goes over the Jens Rig with MYC 2015 Sunfish Champion Marta Chlus

Marta Chlus took home just about every conceivable piece of Sunfish racing hardware at the Massapoag Annual banquet.  She took home the Most Improved Sailor award, and as if to prove how much she improved, she took home the 2015 MYC Sunfish championship.  Just to rub things in, she took the top prize in the club raffle too! Not a bad haul for a new Sunfish sailor.

She gets to defend her championship in a slightly revamped MYC Sunfish Series next year.  To encourage MYC members to get out on the water more,  we are working on ways to include MYC member results from the two Regionals Championships (Barrington and Wequaquet), the North Americans as part of the summer series.  We will post more details as they are worked out.

Meanwhile, week 3 at Barrington saw a lot of close races and a surprisingly large number of capsizes. Three of MYC's contingent of four went over, as did a few other of the 13 skippers on (or IN) the water.  John Houstle mentioned that he saw a weather prediction for 13 knots.  He was right.  The wind blew 13, For a second. As it was going from 0 to 20. Or back to 0. Then again, maybe that's why there were so many capsizes.

Those who weren't done in by the wind were done in by the current.  Almost every race had someone over early or hitting a mark.  For a while it seemed as if you could win just by making the fewest mistakes.  Bill Brangiforte snagged 2 firsts and 3 seconds on his way to taking the day, followed by Scott Greenbaum and John Coen. For the second week in a row, MYC ruled the B fleet, taking the top 4 spots.  Bernadette Levesque, Marta Chlus, Mark Stoughton and John Houstle took the first 4 spots respectively. Bernadette, Marta and John did it in spite of each of them capsizing.  Mark stayed dry, but made up for it by being over early 4 times.

Racing continues next week.  The water is still warm, and so is the air when the sun is out, so there's no excuse for missing the races.

Gentle 20 Knot Zephyrs

Cory Charles getting ready to go out while the boats sails snap in the wafting gales

Can't the weather settle on a happy medium?  Last week brought howling 6 knot gales, this week brought gentle 20 knot zephyrs.  Even that didn't deter the 16 sailors who ventured out onto the river or the 11 who survived all 6 races this week.  Five people were forced to go in early due to frequent capsizes and breakdowns of various boat and body parts.

Those who were lucky enough to survive all 6 races got in some good heavy air sailing in a gusty south-southwest wind that the National Weather Service tells us ranged from 17-23 miles per hour and a strong outgoing current.  Starts were a mixture of aggression and caution, and PRO Frank Hearn, believes that we set a club record for general recalls, as everyone tried to either keep the wind from blowing them backward or keep the current from pushing them over the line.

The fleet stuck pretty well together most of the day, with frequent traffic jams at the marks.  Almost nobody finished out of the running all day, which is a testament to everyone's boating skills.

The last race of the day found a breeze that had lightened considerably, and the sailors who went to the left shore to get out of the current found themselves nearly stranded as those who braved the current to take advantage of the dying wind in the middle of the river made out like bandits.

Scott Greenbaum took 4 firsts in the 6 races to carry the day, followed by Bill Brangiforte and Bill Shaw.  The Massapoag Contingent ruled the B fleet. Bernadette Levesque, Mark Stoughton and John Houstle finished 1-2-3 there this week.  We will post a link to the full results here as soon as they are up on the BYC web site. Racing continues next week.  We had 15 boats the first week, 16 the second, can we make 17 or better for the third?

Howling 6 Knot Winds

Andy David and Erin Abbot battle the 6 knot gales and 1-2 inch seas

Weather forecasts called for howling south winds blowing steady at 12 knots with gusts to 25 to start off the 2015 Barrington Frostbite season.  15 skippers, including 4 from Massapoag, bravely faced down the forecasts to make their way out to the course, which was bearing the full brunt of the 5-8 knot southerlies to start the 2015-16 Barrington Frostbiting season.

Leo Berendes and the Race Committee got 6 races off in good order, choosing simple windward-leeward courses which were easy to adjust as the wind clocked to the west.  The westerly track of the wind made for a good imitation of Massapoag conditions, with swirly winds, and many spots where there was no wind at al, which made some of the races real wild cards.

Results were all over the place, with 4 different skippers taking first place in the 6 races.  Ken Charles took the day with 15 points, beating Bill Brangiforte by a point.  Bernadette Levesque took first place in the B fleet. Bernadette also finished 7th overall.  Mark Stoughton took 10th overall, while John Houstle took first in the Masters division and 11th overall, and Marta Chlus took 13th.

Racing continues next week.  Full results will be posted on the Barrington Yacht Club web site.

Phoning in the MYC 66th Annual Regatta Recap

Photographic representation of my imagination this week

Well, I know when I'm licked.  Tillerman has a much more comprehensive and entertaining take on the 66th Annual MYC Regatta than I could ever even hope to come up with, so...

I'm just going to post a giant link to his blog.

If anyone is still here, the results are posted here.  

Also, this coming Saturday most of the Sunfish fleet is going to be in Chatham at the Yankee Duo regattas (yes it's plural) and the Town of Sharon's 250th birthday "Light up the Lake" boat parade is this coming Saturday at 7:30.

Today was Swirly Round Day at MYC...Oh wait.. Every Day is Swirly Round Day at MYC

The steady hand of the artist...If the artist was the wind at Massapoag

Once again, the wind couldn't pick which of the 360 available degrees to use today, so it decided to sample all of them.  Today's PRO Kevin Buruchian, set several upwind marks, and the wind rejected all of them, opting to go left of the left most one, the right of the rightmost one, and sometimes even from behind he starting line.  

Marta Chlus continued her winning ways from last week, taking four firsts out of five races. She's put on a display of blazing boat speed lately, just buzzing past everyone else on both upwind and downwind legs.  Mark Stoughton won his first race in a long time after correctly playing (guessing) the shifts. John Houstle took third almost all day, and newcomer Jeff Sprung took fourth as he tried out a new but not yet tuned boat today, showing good speed downwind but suffering upwind.

Don't forget, the 66th Annual Massapoag Regatta is in just TWO WEEKS!  Signups are available online at http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/10127.  

The Saturday Series takes next weekend off for Labor Day Weekend, however there is the Women's Regatta, the Youth Regatta and the Big Boat Singlehanded Regatta all taking place on Labor Day.

Rain Clouds and Blimps

Clouds, Rain and Even Blimps were in the sky on Saturday

Bernadette Levesque and Marta Chlus put on a clinic at the (very) belated and rain delayed start of the Saturday racing series this week, showing everyone else how to master he crazy conditions on the lake.  Bernadette ruled the course, never coming in any worse than second, and except for a rough second race, Marta did the same, making a one-two punch that kept everyone else looking in from outside.

Conditions on the lake were light, heavy, and exceptionally shifty, forcing the Race Committee to set several potential windward marks.  The wind didn't cooperate at all, frequently shifting outside all of them, and confounding matters by coming from different directions on different parts of the course.  Huge leads were gained and lost several times during the course of each race, and a 10 boat length lead frequently meant nothing.  A skipper who was first around the windward mark could, and frequently was, last around the windward mark, after the wind deserted them.  Bernadette and Marta mastered the winds. Mark Stoughton came in 3rd in almost every race, sometimes losing by just inches.  Scott Rosa joined the racing contingent this week, and did surprisingly well, with a third in his first race.  Skip Russell took a 4th in the 1st race, beating Mark, who went right when the rest of the fleet went left.

Racing continues next week.  Full Results are here: http://mycsunfish.blogspot.com/p/2015-sunfish-saturday-series-results.html

I see Sunfish..... They're Everywhere (The Sequel)

There was a Sunfish invasion at Lake Massapoag

The invasion of the Sunfish continued this week.  Not to be outdone by the 40 boat fleet at WLYC for last week's Regional Championships, 45 Sunfish sailors from 15 states descended on Massapoag for the 2015 North American Masters Championship.

The Masters Championship is open to all Sunfish sailors 40 years of age and above.  Sunfish sailors are a hardy lot. Some of the skippers competing this weekend who were already eligible for the Masters championship when the 40 and 50 something competitors were born.  And on the course they showed some of the youngsters how a Sunfish is sailed!

Competitors were treated to classic Lake Massapoag conditions. Day 1 of the racing brought light southerly winds for the first race, a short break for lunch and a passing thunderstorm, and howling west winds in the afternoon.  An unsteady clocking of the wind challenged PRO Kevin Buruchian and the Race Committee to set a square course long enough for a race to be run.  A course would be set, and the sequence started, then the wind would shift 20 degrees, requiring a reset. One time, there was such a large wind shift that the Race Committee simply flipped the course, turning the leeward mark into the windward mark. By the end of the days racing, they were just about out of lake.

On Day 2 Lake Massapoag showed the fleet just how contrary and irrational its winds can be, bringing much lighter winds and less challenging course conditions.  The very light and shifty winds caused a fair amount of head scratching within the fleet as the fleet as skippers tried to figure out how best to make their way around the course. Upwind, swirling headers forced many boats to the left and right. Downwind legs were not always downwind for the entire run.  Looking at a "downwind" run, one could never be be sure you were looking at, because you could see boats on just about every point of sail.

Doug Kaukienen figured out the lake, and continued his winning streak started at the Regionals last week. By winning the Masters, Doug earns an invitation to the Sunfish World Championship in Peru.  Doug beat out Bill Brangiforte, Scott Greenbaum, Drew Staniar and Andy David, who rounded out the top 5.  Andy David won the Apprentice Master Division (aka. The Junior Division). Doug won the Masters (50-60) Division, Drew Staniar won the Grand Master (60-70) Division, and Dave Davies won the Supreme Master (70+) Division.  Full results are available on the Regatta Network on the MYC website.

Dave not only won his division, he demonstrated the best in sailing sportsmanship when he jumped off his own boat during a race to help a skipper who had capsized and was having trouble righting his boat.

PRO Kevin Buruchian and his Race Committee did an outstanding job in difficult conditions, getting 7 races off over the two day regatta, and managing such a large fleet in such a small lake.  Kevin not only ran the races, after the racing was done for the day, he went around making boat adjustments, lending equipment and giving pointers to the MYC Sunfish sailors and anyone else who could use a hand.

On land, Diane Kampf and her crew outdid themselves once again, making sure that everyone was bandaged, fed and well lubricated.  Their job spread out over several days as a number of skippers made a week of it, racing in the Regionals last week at Wequaquet Lake YC and going straight to "Camp Massapoag" and pitching their tents or parking their RVs for a week's vacation by the lake.

Thanks to all the competitors and to all the MYC members who made this a fantastic regatta!

I See Sunfish... They're Everywhere!

This is just some of the boats at the Sunfish Regional Championships this weekend.
It was impossible to get al of them into one shot.

It was the weekend the Sunfish took over the lake as the Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club hosted part II of the New England Regional Championships.  The club was bursting at the seams as thirty nine boats competed in the open division, while another five took part in the youth division and three in the double-handed division.  It was also the toughest fleet at a Sunfish regatta in a long time, as sailors came from all over the country to compete, with many of them making a double header of Wequaquet this weekend and Massapoag next weekend for the Masters North Americans.

The weather couldn't be any better, as 10-15 knot winds pushed the fleet fast enough to allow for 6 races on day 1 and 3 more on day 2.  Doug Kaukeinen had an unbelievable weekend taking first place with 16 points in 9 races and no finish worse than 3rd for the whole regatta. Dan Hesse took second, 10 points behind Doug, and Amanda Callahan continued her winning ways, taking 3rd in a tiebreaker with Bill Brangiforte.  Massapoag's Kevin Buruchian came in 7th.

Next week is the Master's North American Championships at Massapoag.  It looks to be another strong fleet. Since Kevin Buruchian is too young to compete he is going to serve as PRO. Diane Kampf is once again outdoing herself as Regatta Chair to make it a great time for everyone.

No news here...But in National News

Amanda Callahan (top) and Bill Brangiforte (bottom)
represented our local Sunfish fleet at the North Americans.
Amanda came in 8th and Bill came in 12th

Not much going on at Massapoag this weekend, as racing was preempted for a Laser Team Racing tournament (which was itself cancelled).   Racing resumes next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Sunfish North American championships were held this week at the Rush Creek Yacht Club in Texas.  Joao Hackerott from Brazil took top honors, beating out Greg Gust on the last day of racing.  Local sailors Amanda Callahan and Bill Brangiforte put in very good showings in a tough fleet, taking 8th and 12th place respectively.

Congratulations to Amanda and Bill for their excellent showings!

Gentle Breezes?

Bernadette Levesque (4158) showing her son Noah (4062) how to sail a fast downwind leg.

29 boats, and their skippers showed up for an easy sail in the gentle 21-30 knot breezes at the Massapoag Small Boat Rodeo Regatta yesterday. Capsizes were the order of the day in all three fleets. Some of the boats threw their skippers, and others sailed away without them, and there were a couple of breakdowns due to the wind.

The competition in the Championship fleet was fierce. PRO Greg Kampf summed it up perfectly, saying "Tough Fleet" when he found out that one quarter of the fleet was made up of current or former North American Champions. Dan Hesse travelled all the way from Saratoga Springs NY to take the regatta with 8 points in 6 races. He bested Bill Brangiforte, Scott Greenbaum, Alan Beckwith and Ken Charles.

The Sunfish Challenger fleet ended up with a 3-way tie for first place. John Houstle took the tiebreaker and first place, even after sailing upside down most of the day.  Mark Stoughton too 2nd and Noah Levesque took 3rd.

The Levesque family is trying very hard to match the Charles family for the biggest family Sunfish Fleet.  Bernadette was joined by her husband Pete and her son Noah, who are both new to the Sunfish class.

Dwight Escalara of Wakefield, RI took the Laser honors, beating John Eckart, Judy Krimski, Nat Cook and John Dugan.

The regatta also marked the inaugural of RS Aero racing at the club.  It's a new class and they guys in that fleet are generating a lot of interest in the boat.  Eric Aker took first place, winning all six races. Derek Stowe took 2nd and Gary Werden took 3rd.

Thanks to MYC's Scott Rosa for taking a lot of fantastic photos, which are up on our MYCSunfish Flickr site.

Safe and Legal

Mike Goldstein emphasizes some of the finer points of motor boat operation

Two important parts of good racing are safety and good race committees.  Yesterday we ran extensive training sessions for both.  In the morning, several new and returning members took part in Massapoag's start of the year Safety and Race Committee Training program.  

The seminars were put together by MYC's Education Chair, Bernadette Levesque, and featured boat safety presentation by Mark Stoughton and Mike Goldstein, followed by powerboat operating procedures by Mike Goldstein.  Mike took participants through all the aspects of each of the clubs powerboats.  All participants were also actively encouraged to take Bob Gaffney's Powerboat Certification course later on this year. 

Joe Honor, Marta Kovat and Raplph Lambalot
taking charge of the Committee boat

After the safety seminar and lunch, Mark Stoughton and John Houstle took 9 members through that basics of service on a race committee.  Conduct of a race and the responsibilities of each member of the race committee was presented on shore, then everyone headed out onto the lake, where each participant took turns in the crash boats and the committee boat. Each participant got a chance to drop and move marks, set up a course, and run a mock race. 

Dan Abram even provided
the feeling of a real race

To finish out the safety related weekend activities, today, members of the Coast Guard Auxillary were at the club to offer free safety assessments for anyone at the club who wished to have their boats checked out.

Next Week: How to

It's time to go back to school.  Next Saturday is MYC's annual Safety Seminar.  It is a day long seminar focussing on how to stay warm and safe and dry. (Well, except for the Sunfish, Laser and Aero sailors, who are expected to be wet.)

You will learn what needs to be on your boat, and more importantly, on you (Like a lifejacket).  This seminar is mandatory for all new members, and recommended for everyone.



The class starts at 10:00am and runs until approximately 12:00pm, rain or shine.





Immediately after the safety seminar (12:00 noon), there will be a second seminar teaching the rudiments of Race Duty.  You will find out that running a race is more than just pushing the button on the Ollie.  You will learn how to set a race course, how long to make the starting line, how long to make the legs, course choice, mark boat positioning, and more.  We heartily recommend this course for new members, and anyone else who wants to improve their race duty game.

First Day of Racing - Well for the Big Boats Anyway

The only small boat in sight is the kayak

The first day of racing at Massapoag got underway today. Well, at least for the big boats.  With at least 4 Lasers out of commission, and two Sunfish up on the repair lift, there were no small boats on the water today.  Roger and Kate Sharp, John and Connie Eckart and Jim Cavenaugh with crew John Houstle had maiden voyages for their new Scots, After two races, Roger/Kate and Jim/John along with Greg Kampf, with crew Harvey Davidson filling in for Diane, are in a three way tie for first place with various ways of getting 5 points, with John/Connie being one point behind.  

Just a reminder, there is no racing next weekend because of the Mother's Day holiday. Racing resumes on May 17.  In addition, on that day the club will be offering free Coast Guard safety inspections for all comers. Wednesday night racing begins on May 20.

Scrambled Lasers and a Side of Areo

Getting ready for another season

Massapoag Yacht Club opened for the season today, as about 80 members, plus the Sharon High School sailing team, gathered to put together the docks, set up the clubhouse, clean the grounds, set the moorings and do a thousand other things that make up the Spring Work party.  Rear Commodore Eric Hemmendinger proved to be an able drill sergeant, seemingly appearing at several areas of the club simultaneously to direct the efforts of the members.

This egg would make a huge omelet!

While the club itself fared well, the brutality of this past winter took an unexpected toll on the Laser fleet.  The weight of nearly four feet of snow was too much for several Lasers. When the tarps and boat covers were removed, we found several Lasers looking like so many cracked eggs.  A number of dollies were flattened as well.

At least three of the Lasers are considered total losses, and a couple more were damaged, but can be repaired. Only two or three Lasers were undamaged.  Two for the three Sunfish stored in the same place were undamaged, and the third only suffered very minor damage.

Providing a welcome distraction from the carnage in the laser fleet, Gary Werden showed up with the latest offering from RS Sailing, the Aero.  Designed as a "21st Century Laser" this 66 pound wonder gathered a lot of attention.  Getting in close to see the boat was tough, as everyone wanted to get a good close look.  Gary offered test sails, but only one person was equipped and brave enough to test the boat in the 50 degree water.

The boat looks to be well thought out, with all of the control lines within easy reach of the cockpit. The kick up rudder pulls down into position with a line on the tiller, so you don't have to lean out over the stern to get the rudder down like you would on a Sunfish. Water clears out of the cockpit and stays out with a piece of brain dead simple engineering.

The Aero is a new fleet this year at Massapoag, and we should be seeing a lot of them.


Don't forget that the spring tuneup series starts Sunday May 3rd 1:00. Also, next week is the last week of Sunfish frostbiting at Barrington.  Sunfish sailing will be on Sundays from next week until June 6, when the Saturday series starts. We've moved the start time or the Saturday series from 3:00 to 2:00pm, so don't be late!

Getting Ready for the Season

Coming soon to a Lake Massapoag near you

It's good to know after the seemingly interminable winter, that the ice is finally departing and it's just one week until the Spring Work Party at Massapoag.  And just another week until racing starts.

This year is going to be like last year, with a couple of changes.  Sunfish racing will be on Sundays at 1:00 from April 26 until May 30, the weekend of the Small Boat Regatta. Saturday racing will begin on June 6 at 2:00.  Please note that the racing is going to start at 2:00 on Saturdays, not 3:00 as it has in the past. Second, we will be having a new class join the Sunfish and Lasers this year.  Three racers have purchased RS Aeros, which is similar to a Laser, and hope to establish the first Aero fleet in the Northeast.  They will be participating in both the Saturday racing and in the Small Boat Regatta on May 30.

While you're waiting, please remember that Barrington Frostbiting is still going on through April 26.  Unfortunately your intrepid reporter has not been able to partake of the racing there so far this spring, so our reporting has been rather lax.

Racing Today is for the Birds

A couple of birds enjoying a sushi lunch by the ice flows in Barrington

"THE FLEET HAS SPOKEN" was the first line in the email from Leo Berendes last night announcing that racing has been cancelled for the second week in a row at Barrington.  With any luck, the week of 40 degree temps will make things toasty enough for racing next week.

Say it Ain't Snow!

These guys were supposed to be racing this week.

Today was supposed to be the first day of the spring Frostbite season at Barrington.  The racing was cancelled because the river is still clogged with ice, the dock replacement project is running late due to the weather, meaning that the support boats had nowhere to dock, and a lot of Sunfish were still snowed in. Not to mention that the wind speed (5 mph) exceeded the temperature (1 degree F).

Thanks to everyone who showed up to shovel out boats and move them to the North parking lot.  The boats are all huddled together like penguins for warmth.  

Keeping warm

Racing next week is questionable, for both logistical and safety reasons, not to mention that it is still just too damned cold for a lot of people to race.  We will post an update here as soon as we  have word about racing.

Frostbiters, Start your Sails

MARCH 1, 2015 FROSTBITING CANCELLED

Barrington is getting ready for the start of frostbiting next week in two weeks.  They have asked that all Sunfish owners come dig out their boats and move them to the new designated storage area on site.

We have received the following notification from the Yacht Club regarding any boats that are stored on site:

Frostbiting Sailors, BYC will have management staff onsite this coming Saturday from 10am-1pm and Sunday between 11am-1pm.  We have set aside those times this weekend to allow participants to come down and dig out there sunfish.  Please bring your own shovels.  Storage will now be located in the sand lot which is located north of the main parking lot. Scott Nichols, General ManagerBarrington Yacht Club 

The club has been good to us over these many years, so if you have a Sunfish at Barrington, please come down this weekend to move your boat. 

It Appears that Mother Nature is Out of the Loop

Can Someone please tell Mother Nature that we want to start racing.

This coming Sunday is supposed to be the start of the 2015 Barrington Spring Frostbite Season.  Nobody told the weather.  The temperatures around Barrington have hovered in the teens or below for almost a month, and Mother Nature has seen fit to try to move all of the snow and cold weather from Alaska to new quarters in New England. Right now there are large ice flows in the river all the way down to the race course, the launching area is covered in two feet of snow, and any boats stored over the winter are just lumps in the snow pack. 

To complicate matters further, the club has attempted to install new docks over the winter.  That project has been stalled by the weather, and as a result, the boat storage area is completely unreachable, blocked not only by snow, but by the construction activities.

We received an email from the club advising that the spring frostbiting season may have to be postponed until they can figure out a safe way for the fleet to get in and out of the water.  Right now, the March 1'st racing is in jeopardy. There is no word on March 8th.

Here is the letter from the club:

Due to SNOW, Ice and construction the area where the boats were stored last fall is closed to all.  DO NOT come down to the club and go into the construction area.  The project team is working on a plan to resolve this ASAP and will be meeting this week.  In addition, there is another delivery of docks and pilings scheduled early this week.
The current status is a combination of the weather and the construction project being ahead of schedule and then running into a full stop on site due to conditions.
Please take this as advanced notice that the March 1 Frostbiting may be cancelled.
I will keep you all informed as to status and plans as things occur or change.  
Any questions email or call me.

Leo Berendes

Wind Chill and Solid Water

Wind chill and solid water have no chance against the hardy souls at Massapoag. A few days ago, not content with the two month break in the frostbiting season, John Houstle took his iceboat out onto the lake.  He hadn't taken it out in a number of years, and reported that it needs some tweaks to get going really fast, but from the looks of things, he got it going pretty well.

Now back to your regularly scheduled snowstorm.