SONAR FLEET 1 NEWSLETTER

FLEET RACING:

Sunday June 28:

Everything was in place, 13 boats out ready to race, PRO Bob Monro's RC was ready, willing and able and the rain had stopped.

Unfortunately so did the breeze.

Ugh.

Next up... Our Fourth of July series. Racing will be on FRIDAY, July 3 with the first race being the Commodore's race. Harbor start is 12:30pm

The series continues on Sunday July 5.

Friends and Neighbors Race:

The Sonar fleet has been invited to participate in the upcoming Friends and Neighbors race on Saturday July 11. This is a fun, family around the buoys race and great opportunity to sail with less experience crew.

Our third crew training day is scheduled for July 11. Why not let the trainees experience a real race? Plus awards and barbecue after racing. This could be the perfect ending to this year's crew training class.

FLEET 1 COOKOUT:

The sun came out just in time for a perfect evening. A huge thanks to Jan and Chip Raymond for organizing our first cookout of the season.

Also thanks to chefs Craig Jones, Morgan Connor and Chip Raymond:

Hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, sides and cake for desert. Does it get any better?

Our next cookout is scheduled for July 19, hosted by Sarah and Jim Gleason. Mark your calendars.

CREW TRAINING:

The next on-the-water date is Saturday July 11. We need boats to take out the trainees. Let's do it as part of the Friends and Neighbors race.

Volunteers?

FLEET 1 CALENDAR:

July 4th Series: Fri July 3 (Commodore's Race), Sun July 5
Crew Training: July 11 Final on-the-water day (Friends and Neighbors)
Fleet cookout: July 19 after racing
Marblehead NOOD: Eastern YC, July 24-26
Vice Commodore's Race: August 2
Canadian Nationals: Lunenburg YC, Lunenburg Nova Scotia Aug. 12-15
Fleet cookout: August 16 after racing
Labor Day Series: Sun-Mon, Sep 6-7
Kirby Cup: Noroton YC, Sat-Sun, Sep 12-13 (no fleet racing)
Sonar World Championship: September 16-20, Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA

Last day of racing: Sunday October 4

SONAR FLEET 1 NEWSLETTER

FLEET RACING:

Sunday June 21:

The morning looked sketchy with little breeze and rain. But by the harbor start, the rain had moved on and a beautiful sunny day with a nice but puffy 8-13 kts out of Stamford greeted the 12 boats who made it out to the starting line.

PRO Scott MacLeod decided it was the perfect day to get some serious racing in, especially after the previous week. He ran four races, a W2, a D2 then two D1's.

As is typical in our fleet, three different boats took the gun in the four races.

Team 454 with Ed Sweeney, Tim Sweeney, Leo Schlinkert and Art Collins came in first in race 1. In race 2 it was Team 654 with Morgan Connor, Craig Jones, Jan Raymond and Gavin Watson. Races 3 and 4 saw Team Spitfire (360) with Karl Ziegler, Bill and Willy Crane, and Cecily, Logan & Eli Ziegler. Karl credits being able to keep the boat flat as the key to their victories.

Despite Spitfire's two bullets, the podium at the end of the day looked like this:

1st - Team 654
2nd - Team 726, with Paul Steinborn, Michael and Sara Aingorn and Elizabeth Steinborn
3rd - Team Spitfire

AS always, full results can be found here: http://www.fleet1.org/

Team 654: Craig, Jan, Morgan and Gavin

ACC REGATTA:

Some thoughts from Jim Linville on the ACC regatta the previous weekend:

What a disappointing weekend

Disappointing on so many levels:  The weather was gorgeous, but the wind disappointed.  It was lovely to be back on the boat with Peter and Paul and Ched, but we sailed poorly and were sniping at each other the whole time.  It was lovely to have so many Sonars racing at Noroton and great to see so much enthusiasm in the Viper class, but disappointing to only be able to offer our visitors one day of racing. 

But none of the above merit this piece – I will lose no sleep over the wind or the rust and grouchiness on our boat: all that is part of the game.  What I have lost sleep over, however, is how Noroton might have lost sight of what our game is all about.  I am disappointed that some of our members chose not to bother to show up for their race committee assignments.  I am disappointed that some of our members seem to not feel that it is their responsibility – even their obligation – to help police our self policed sport.  And I am deeply disappointed that some of our members temporarily lost sight of their implicit (and explicit – read rule 2) responsibility to themselves, to our club, to the rest of their competitors and to the sport we all love to sail fairly and honestly. 

Let me be brutally frank – we are a bunch of amateurs, has-beens, never weres.  The very best of us are old guys who used to be good.  If you think the results of any of our races or regattas matter in any significant way, you are wrong.  We are, however, playing a wonderful game with (and against) our dearest friends at a place where almost all of us have been sailing for decades, if not generations. Trust me: when the history of sailing is written there will not be even a tiny footnote about who won a weekend regatta at Noroton Yacht Club.  But I am deeply worried that we might have gotten to a point where we can even imagine that our results might appear to matter more than our conduct, that the rules of the game somehow don’t apply to us, that somehow in the heat of battle we get to choose what the rules are and how they apply to us based on our own narrow self interest.  Where the hell does that come from?

Here’s what matters:  Having fun.  Respecting our competitors.  Being respected by our competitors.  Doing your best.  Playing the game honestly.  Bringing new folks into our sport. Being fair. Making the game fun for everyone.

We talk to our children about sportsmanship and we’ve got the Paul Elvstrom quote on a poster in the Junior Sailing Office (“You haven't won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors”), so here’s the question: are we willing to sell any of that down the river for a couple of places in a weekend regatta? Is it OK to shave the truth if you’re doing poorly but not OK if you’re doing well, or is it the other way ‘round? Do we play by the rules at ‘big’ regattas but not in fleet races?  I pray that the answer to all those questions is a resounding ‘no’ because if we even have to ask ourselves those questions we have sold out and are just dickering over price.  

Noroton came close to getting the answers wrong last weekend.  In the end folks did the right thing, even though the dance with the devil lasted for an excruciatingly long time – maybe too long.  For myself, I say ‘thank you’ to those who backed away from temptation and did the right thing in the end.  That is a tough journey and none of us should minimize it – admitting you got it wrong and taking your licks is a very, very tough challenge and needs to be respected.  And to those of you who might be feeling self righteous right now, remember that there is not one among us that hasn’t shaved the truth or taken a shortcut along the way and all of us need to be reminded of our obligation to our competitors, our friends, our club, our children, and our sport to play it straight.  We might not get it right all the time but if we give up trying we will all be the losers.

Noroton’s legacy is a great one: let’s all work together to keep it that way. 

Jim Linville, Past Commodore.

June 17, 2015. 

Thank you Jim for taking the time and sharing your thoughts and feelings. We appreciate it very much.

CREW TRAINING:

A BIG thank you to Scott Harrison for organizing the second on-the-water crew training session. We had five seminar participants come back to gain more experience. We're starting to see who's serious about crewing now.

Also thanks to Bruce Kirby, Tom Ross and Christi Hart for volunteering to take the students out. We couldn't do it without you.

The next on-the-water date is Saturday July 11.

FLEET COOK-OUT:

Because the forecast looked so iffy, we moved the date of our first cook-out to this coming Sunday, June 28, following racing. Please plan on hanging out with everyone to enjoy whatever the Raymonds have planned. BYOB!!!

FLEET 1 CALENDAR:

Fleet barbecue: June 28 after racing
July 4th Series: Fri July 3 (Commodore's Race), Sun July 5
Fleet barbecue: July 19 after racing
Marblehead NOOD: Eastern YC, July 24-26
Vice Commodore's Race: August 2
Canadian Nationals: Lunenburg YC, Lunenburg Nova Scotia Aug. 12-15
Fleet Barbecue: August 16 after racing
Labor Day Series: Sun-Mon, Sep 6-7
Kirby Cup: Noroton YC, Sat-Sun, Sep 12-13 (no fleet racing)
Sonar World Championship: September 16-20, Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA

Last day of racing: Sunday October 4

SONAR FLEET 1 NEWSLETTER

SONAR ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY:

Photo: Mark Sullivan

Noroton YC hosted the Sonar Atlantic Coast Championships on Saturday June 13th and Sunday June 14th. 23 Sonars participated.

Also racing were a fleet of Vipers in their New England Championship.

Saturday started out nicely with a 7 - 10 kt breeze out of the NNW-N. As is typical with this breeze, playing the sides and shifts were critical... not an easy task.

Our PRO Paul Norton and his race committee were able to get two races in with these conditions.

The boats that managed the northerly best were Team 506 with Scott MacLeod, TK, Matt Cohen and KC Hart who took first place in race one followed by a third in race two. Team Horden (sail #781) with Bahar Gidwani, Yalcin Tarhan, Eva Burpee and Jeremiah Blatz finished with a 2 and a 5. While Team 726 with Paul Steinborn Jr, Ed Steinborn, Michael and Sara Aingorn, had a 5 and a 2.

                                                      Team 506                   Photo: Mark Sullivan

                                                Team Horden                  Photo: Mark Sullivan

                                                       Team 726                   Photo: Mark Sullivan

 Honorable mention goes to Team 672 with David Eisenberg, Glenn Morrison,  Gary Coventry and Lloyd Hardin, who took first (after two boats retired) in race two and Team 500 with Bill Jayson, Basil Lyden, Will and Gillian Graves, who finished third in race one.

                                                      Team 672                   Photo: Mark Sullivan

After the second race, the wind died giving everyone a chance to have lunch, nap, cool off with a swim, argue about sail trim... all the things we do to pass the time while waiting for the breeze to return.

Thankfully the breeze filled in from the south giving us time for one more race and a chance to try out all those things we did to fix what was wrong in the first two races.

Best at that was team 605 with Bob Monro, Michael Rudnick, Eric Ploumis and Tim Walsh, who took first, followed by team 390 with Alex Meleney, Mike Watts, Nils Dahl and Carl Segen in second and Team 454 with Ed Sweeney, Jim Crane, Art Collins and Alec Wiggin in third.

Then back to shore for Heineken beer (shameless sponsor promotion) and a great cook out provided by Kitty Brown and her staff.

Sunday was predicted to have a very light breeze. Of course, the weather forecasters choose that day to be accurate. Ugh.

150 sailors hung out on shore (kitty's worst nightmare) until about 12:30p when we were teased with a little breeze so Paul decided to send out the fleet.

Unfortunately, nothing developed so racing was called and the fleet was towed in without getting any additional races in.

In the end, our top finishers for the regatta were:

Team 506 with 13 points
Team 605 with 16
Team Horden with 17

Team 506: Matt Cohen, TK, Scott MacLeod, KC Hart

Full results can be found on the Noroton website here: http://norotonyc.org/

THIS COMING WEEKEND:

We have a busy weekend planned for the Sonars.

Saturday will be the first crew training on-the-water followup. This will take place from 2:30-4:30p. We are confirming participants now and will get to you if we need volunteers to take people out.

Sunday we resume normal fleet racing with a 12:30p harbor start.

Racing will be followed by our first fleet cookout hosted by Chip and Jan Raymond.

FLEET 1 CALENDAR:

Fleet barbecue: June 21 after racing
July 4th Series: Fri July 3 (Commodore's Race), Sun July 5
Fleet barbecue: July 19 after racing
Marblehead NOOD: Eastern YC, July 24-26
Vice Commodore's Race: August 2
Canadian Nationals: Lunenburg YC, Lunenburg Nova Scotia Aug. 12-15
Fleet Barbecue: August 16 after racing
Labor Day Series: Sun-Mon, Sep 6-7
Kirby Cup: Noroton YC, Sat-Sun, Sep 12-13 (no fleet racing)
Sonar World Championship: September 16-20, Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA

Last day of racing: Sunday October 4

SONAR FLEET 1 NEWSLETTER

FLEET RACING:

Sunday May 31: 

Not enough wind to sail. Good decision by PRO Bill Jayson keeping the fleet on shore.

Sunday June 7:

Sunday we had 13 boats come out to the race course for the rear commodore's race. The boats started in a nice easterly with a 6-10 mph breeze in an adverse current. PRO (and Rear Commodore) Tom Ross set a D2 with about a 1.25 mile windward leg.

The race took about 1.5 hours which was just about right as the wind started diminishing at 3 and fell to about 4-5 mph by 4p.

Going left was important.

After all that sailing, the boat that finished first was Team 454 with Ed Sweeney, Art Collins, Peggy Hersam and Alec Wiggin.

Rear commodore's race winners: Team 454, Art, Ed, Peggy and Alec

Second was Team 506 with Scott MacLeod, TK and commodores Wilson and Wilson (Peter and Carolyn).

Third went to Team 619 with Lee and Susan Morrison, Mark Sullivan and Don Vasta.

Despite the light breeze, we were able to get a second race in, a W1. After a general recall, and with the I-flag flying... note to self, check flags on the signal boat... the fleet was on it's way.

This race was won by Team 605 with Bob, Fran and Ian Monro joined by Michael Rudnick and Eric Ploumis.

Overall, for the day, Team 506 came in first with 4 points. They were followed by Team 619 with 6 points and team 605 with 7.

Sunday's overall winner: Team 506, Peter, TK and Scott... Where's Carolyn?

Full results: http://www.fleet1.org/

CREW TRAINING:

Class of 2015

We had another successful crew training day on Saturday, June 6. Huge thanks to Scott Harrison who ran the morning classroom discussion and the racing during the on-the-water portion of the day.

13 people took part including Noroton members and non-members alike. It was a perfect day for the seminar with plenty of sun and a light to moderate breeze.

This year we are doing something a little different. We have three follow-up on-the-water days scheduled to build a comfort level for those less experienced and to hone skills. Our first follow up day is scheduled for Saturday June 20th from 2:30p-4:30p. We will once again be asking for volunteers to take participants out sailing.

The names of all participants can be found on the club website in the Member's Only area. Once there, click on Sailing at the top then Crew List.

SONAR ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP:


The 2015 Sonar ACC is coming up in this weekend, June 13-14. We currently have 19 boats registered. The long term forecast looks like it will be great sailing.

It is not too late to get in on the action. Please register today.... http://www.sonar.org/

Registration is $195 and includes chili and beer Friday for those who want to come down to the club to launch, continental breakfast Saturday and Sunday, snacks after racing Saturday and Sunday and a cook-out dinner for four Saturday evening.... and of course lots of great racing.

And speaking of launching... This year's regatta combines two fleets. The Vipers are holding their New England Championship with us that weekend. They are expecting 20 boats as well.

So, lots of boats to launch. We highly recommend you don't wait to the last minute as a back up at the hoists are a real possibility.

Here is the full regatta schedule:

Atlantic Coast Championship, June 13-14, Noroton Yacht Club
Marblehead NOOD, July 24-26, Eastern YC, Marblehead, MA
Canadian Nationals/Chester Race Week, August 12-15, Lunenburg YC, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Sonar World Championship, September 16-20, Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA

FLEET COOKOUTS:

Our fleet cookouts are now on the calendar. Hang out after racing and enjoy dinner on the patio.

Here are the dates:

Sunday June 21, hosted by Jan and Chip Raymond
Sunday July 19, hosted by Sarah and Jim Gleason
Sunday August 16, hosted by Regina and Paul Steinborn

DUES:

Fleet 1 dues is $50. If you have not already done so, please send a check made out to "Sonar Fleet 1" (include your name, boat number and partner's names.) to:

Jean Galloway
26 Friendlee La.
Wilton, CT 06897

Just a reminder, fleet 1 dues is separate from SCA membership. SCA membership is required to race in sanctioned regattas like the Atlantic Coast Championship in June.

FLEET 1 CALENDAR:

Atlantic Coast Championship: Noroton YC, June 13-14
Fleet barbecue: June 21 after racing
July 4th Series: Fri July 3 (Commodore's Race), Sun July 5
Fleet barbecue: July 19 after racing
Marblehead NOOD: Eastern YC, July 24-26
Vice Commodore's Race: August 2
Canadian Nationals: Lunenburg YC, Lunenburg Nova Scotia Aug. 12-15
Fleet Barbecue: August 16 after racing
Labor Day Series: Sun-Mon, Sep 6-7
Kirby Cup: Noroton YC, Sat-Sun, Sep 12-13 (no fleet racing)
Sonar World Championship: September 16-20, Falmouth YC, Falmouth MA

Last day of racing: Sunday October 4