Flying Scot Midwest District

107th Annual Ephraim Regatta & 2012 District Championship

2012-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

The 107th annual Ephraim Regatta will also be the 2012 Flying Scot
Midwestern District Championship regatta. Dates are August 3-5. For more
information, keep an eye on www.eyc.org/racing. Forty to fifty Scots are
expected (last time the EYC hosted this event, in 2005, we had fifty-four
Scots!) The EYC is well known for quality race management and friendly
hospitality; in 2009 the EYC won U.S. Sailing's One-Design Regatta of the
Year award for hosting the Flying Scot NAC. Our racing venue of Eagle
Harbor, Ephraim, Door County, Wisconsin is unsurpassed for clean water,
brisk winds and scenery. Questions? Contact regatta chairman Bjorn Hooper
bjorn@thehoopers.net Hope to see you there!

Tempting the Wind Gods...

2011-10-05T14:18:00.001-07:00

Ben and I traveled to the Privateer Yacht Club in Chattanooga last weekend to participate in their District Championships. Two boats from that club came to our districts/Glow this year and this was an opportunity to reciprocate. Plus, it's just a really friendly club and one we get to every year, though usually in the spring. Anyway, the wind was strong both days. Probably about 18 mph, but the race committee did say one gust on Saturday measured 23.5. So, it was hard work.

We got a good start the first race and, to our utter amazement, were leading by almost a full leg by the second or third leg. Then about 10 boat lengths from the finish, Ben blurted out "I can't believe we're doing a horizon job on those guys!" Can you believe he did that?! Talk about tempting the wind gods.

And, sure enough, it couldn't have been more than three seconds later when a puff from an entirely different direction auto tacked our boat and Plop! Ben fell in the water!! I also got a nasty rope burn by my eye from the vang, but never mind that, we had to get Ben back in the boat. Luckily he managed to scramble back in the boat with a little help from me and, after some futzing around, trying to get out of irons and calm ourselves down a bit, we finished the race, still in first place. Phew!!

We had another first-place finish the second race, but we had been in third place the whole race and only with some crafty strategizing we were able to nip the other two boats by just a nose. Usually the shoe is on the other foot and we're being overtaken right at the finish, so we really enjoyed that! A third place finish in the third race and then two fourth-place finishes on Sunday dropped us to third place overall but we felt great about our performance. We very very rarely beat Rob Fowler and Scot Cline, the first place boat, or Ed Craig, the second place boat, so that was a real accomplishment.

The drive home was long, but worth it after a weekend of such great sailing!

Midwest District edition of Scots N Water...

2011-10-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we don't have a longer post on the Glow to offer you; things got a little crazy right after that even, what with one child going to France for the semester and another starting college in California. Sorry about that! Still, you can read all about the Glow and the Whale/Egyptian/Leukemia Cup held at Carlyle Lake in the next edition of Scots N Water. We tried to submit a ton of stories so everyone will know what an active, friendly district we have!

Glow II and Midwest District Championships

2011-08-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

A longer post will follow with some of the exciting details. Suffice it to say, the conditions were perfect, the racing was very competitive, the parties were fun. I'm pretty sure that everyone had a wonderful time. Deb and I certainly did!

Pictures are worth 1000's of words -

Line up at one of the starts on Saturday...

Glow II 2011 Winners, Rob Fowler and Scot Cline, who traveled all the way from Chattanooga, TN...

2011 Midwest District Champions, Ryan Malmgren and Amy Novak...

Photos above by Doug Williams. Here is a link to all of Doug's photos from the regatta posted on Flickr: CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE PHOTOS

I am posting below the results for Glow and the Districts which were combined this year. The results differ because we had some sailors from other districts competing in the Glow regatta.

2011 Glow II Regatta

Pos	Sail	Skipper	Crew 1 / Crew 2	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	5152	Rob Fowler	Scot Cline	1	1	1	3	3	9
2	5622	Ryan Malmgren	Amy Novak	2	2	5	5	1	15
3	5897	Ben Williams	Deb Aronson	5	4	4	2	4	19
4	5015	Frank Gerry	Marianne Gerry	6	5	6	1	2	20
5	5150	Larry Klick	James Williams	7	6	2	6	6	27
6	2512	Randy Adolphs	Kasi Rekoske	3	8	12	4	8	35
7	4788	Charles Howting	Luthor Torgerson	4	7	10	8	9	38
8	5892	Bill Vogler	Deb Torgerson	8	9	3	9	10	39
9	5551	Christopher Wright	Jon Wright	9	3	7	18 OCS	5	42
10	5404	Jack McClurkin	Dan Lopionski	12	13	15	7	7	54
11	3204	Stephen Grossman	Eric Grossman	11	15	8	11	11	56
12	5631	Eric Bussell	Rod Bussell	18	14	11	12	13	68
13	5356	Bill Humphries	Linda Lind	10	10	9	21	21	71
14	5927	Dave Sherwood	Emory Luth	16	12	14	16	15	73
15	4278	Geoff Endris	Patrick Endris	15	18	16	14	12	75
16	5638	Felicia Bamer	Linda Tatum / Adam Benson	13	17	13	15	18	76
17	2695	Walter Barniskis	Michael Barniskis	19	16	20	10	14	79
18	3683	Hugh Roberstson	Christina	14	11	17	21	21	84
19	2981	Ken Johnson	Teri Keeler / George Keeler	20	20	19	13	16	88
20	5681	Chistopher Tesdale	Bryce Davis	17	19	18	17	17	88

2011 Midwest District Championships

Pos	Sail	Skipper	Crew 1 / Crew 2	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	5622	Ryan Malmgren	Amy Novak	2	2	5	5	1	15
2	5897	Ben Williams	Deb Aronson	5	4	4	2	4	19
3	5015	Frank Gerry	Marianne Gerry	6	5	6	1	2	20
4	5150	Larry Klick	James Williams	7	6	2	6	6	27
5	2512	Randy Adolphs	Kasi Rekoske	3	8	12	4	8	35
6	4788	Charles Howting	Luthor Torgerson	4	7	10	8	9	38
7	5892	Bill Vogler	Deb Torgerson	8	9	3	9	10	39
8	5551	Christopher Wright	Jon Wright	9	3	7	18 OCS	5	42
9	5404	Jack McClurkin	Dan Lopionski	12	13	15	7	7	54
10	3204	Stephen Grossman	Eric Grossman	11	15	8	11	11	56
11	5631	Eric Bussell	Rod Bussell	18	14	11	12	13	68
12	5927	Dave Sherwood	Emory Luth	16	12	14	16	15	73
13	4278	Geoff Endris	Patrick Endris	15	18	16	14	12	75
14	5638	Felicia Bamer	Linda Tatum / Adam Benson	13	17	13	15	18	76
15	2695	Walter Barniskis	Michael Barniskis	19	16	20	10	14	79
16	2981	Ken Johnson	Teri Keeler / George Keeler	20	20	19	13	16	88

A Post from Marianne Gerry....

2011-08-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

Reflections on 2011 NAC’s

Many of you don;t know me, but I am sure you all know Frank. When I go to a regatta, I am all about the sailing, the time outside in the sun and the physical and mental challenge of sailing in different places and different conditions. I don’t hang around and socialize too long so it takes longer to get to know me. Both Frank and I continue to strive to improve our sailing and do our best, no matter what place that gives us.

Anyway, on to the NACs. Two days of driving, first night a stop at Berlin Yacht Club in Ohio to pick up our boat and spend the night, see a few friends who were in the middle of overnight Junior Sailing Camp; 50 + kids; we didn’t hang around too long; afraid we’d get put to work.

I hadn’t even looked at any of the NAC promotion material until I began reading it on our second day of travel. WOW, I was impressed by the clear and concise instructions and the attention to every detail on paper. I asked Frank who wrote the instruction packet and he said either Hank or Melanie. When I met them both, I complimented the author; Melanie by the way. I tend to be a very organized person (some say OCD) and recognize and appreciate that trait in others.

As we pulled into Cedar Point Yacht Club, were greeted, directed, boat unhitched,etc. I realized the organization on paper had been transferred to reality. I have never attended a National Championship (17 years in the Highlander class and 6 NACs in the Flying Scot) where measuring was done so efficiently and stress free. I remember at other times, baking in the sun, waiting in line, tempers around me growing short and I won’t even tell you about my temper!! Ephram was pretty awesome but the addition of a full service yacht club at Cedar Point made the NACs that much better. I quickly found the upstairs balcony with shade and a breeze and not many people and it became my yoga studio every morning before racing.

We pulled into the Cedar Point Yacht Club parking lot at 4:15 pm on Saturday and were measured and registered by 5 pm. WHAT SERVICE

For the first time ever, we had time to sail on Sunday at a leisurely pace, try out our new spinnaker,( Ryan finally got there with spinnaker in bag) and get acquainted with the big water of Long Island Sound.

Day One, Monday July 11. Got there early so Frank could have time to play with the boat, socialize, and generally take his time. Not a problem for me, I used the time to go for a walk, check out the real estate, and do a nice yoga practice up on the balcony. An hour or hour and a half of exercise is my normal morning routine.

The first glitch in the NAC organization happened just when Scots began lining up at the hoist, and all of the dock space was taken up by Junior sailors in Optis for an hour. No wind and a hot day so we delayed for an hour and I am glad those Optis did us the favor of getting in the way. We still bobbed around until 2 pm waiting for the sea breeze to come in. The best favor the Optis did was to delay our race starts until noon for the rest of the week. The heat took it’s toll on me that day and I was glad I hadn’t planned on attending the Jimmy Buffet themed dinner that evening. I did throw my Jimmy Buffet Parrot T-Shirt and earrings and a lei into my suitcase, but never wore them; stayed in my room at the DoubleTree. AIR CONDITIONING and some chicken fajitas were much better than a social event.

Day Two July 12

We still haven’t figured out the wind on this BIG LAKE. Is there a favored side? Do we play the compass? Does the tide really make a difference? At least there was better wind today and we did finish respectably enough to make the Championship division.

Used the afternoon to hang around the yacht club. I headed for the beach where I took a dip on Monday after the races; glorious cool clean water,(never seen a midwest lake this clean). I was planning to do some serious lap swimming, invited Ben and Deb, Ryan and Carrie, Sarah and Charles, but no one was up for it. Just as well. It was low tide and there was no water for me to swim in. I walked out to the dock and dangled my feet in the 4 inches that had been over my head on Monday.

Day Three July 13

Yay, the wind is blowing nicely and the forecast is to build. Our Lake Erie years got us used to some pretty wild conditions, and taught us to respect the water but not fear those high winds. Contrary to most women, I actually love “balls to the wall” sailing. I remember some windy crazy rides being mad at Frank for not putting the chute up. Although I am a Master’s swimmer and swim 2000 yards or more three times a week, I do put my lifejacket on if it is blowing enough that I could get hurt. Doesn’t matter how good a swimmer you are, if you are unconscious. So when you see me with a lifejacket on, it’s definitely time to put on yours.

Day Four and Five

I confess it is now August 2 and two weeks past the NAC’s and I never finished this. I was writing in the van on the drive home to kill the time and as soon as I got home, all the minutiae of daily life took over and I never wrote again.

To sum it up, though, I had a good time at the NACs and everything went smoothly. Also as one of the locals told me, they had a “Chamber of Commerce” week for weather. The following week they and us were wallowing in the 100 degree nasty stuff.

One never knows what Mother Nature has planned so we got lucky that week. I think the weather is the number one factor in the success of any regatta. At this NACs they had everything else perfectly under control and someone must have paid the right bills to get the weather to cooperate too.

Photo from Ephraim...

2011-08-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

Note to self; pay attention to what the local sailors are doing! We didn't keep an eye on Frank and Marianne Gerry at the Wife-Husband and on the last race they went far left and caught one of those magical lifts that put them 30 boat lengths ahead of the fleet. Yesterday (Sunday) it took us a race and a half to realize that Jay Lott knew what he was doing going hard right in the windy, wavy conditions at Ephraim.

Oh well, no one ever said we were fast learners!! Still, here we are, duking it out with the Van Egerens on Snout Dog!

2011 District Championship Registration & T-shirt order forms

2011-07-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

I just posted links under "Favorite Links" and in this sentence for the District Championship Registration Form, T-shirt order form, and additional information, including hotels.

If you are interested in T-shirts, long or short sleeve, microfiber SPF 50, orders must be postmarked by August 8. Early registration discount applies to registration forms postmarked by August 15.

Here's the new T-shirt image for this year:

Look forward to seeing you soon!

Brand New Demo Boat FS 5955 Available at the Wife-Husband Regatta, Delevan

2011-07-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

I just heard from Harry that he is planning to bring a brand new Demo boat to the Wife-Husband regatta at Delevan, July 29-31. This is yet another reason you should plan to attend this year's Wife-Husband regatta, which promises to be a terrific event. Delevan hosted the 2009 Districts in high style, with great racing and hospitality. The wife-husband should be superb. Deb and I hope to see you there.

The new demo boat that Harry is bringing to Delevan is a chance to buy a brand new boat at the demo boat price. Speaking from experience, this is a great deal. Deb and I acquired our new boat "Sophie" FS 5897 at the close of the Egyptian Cup two years ago. This boat was right out of the mold and Harry literally dangled this beautiful boat just in front of us all weekend during the races. Deb and I made a quite spontaneous decision to buy 5897 during the awards ceremony of that Egyptian Cup, and we have never looked back. We keep Sophie as our "road ready" regatta boat, and sail our older Scot "Suzie-Q" FS 3683 at Clinton Lake in the club races. I can sincerely say that buying Sophie was one of the best decisions we've made over the years. We've thoroughly enjoyed campaigning this very fast and beautiful boat. Here's a photo (by Photoboat) of Sophie at last week's NACs (bow 28).

The new demo boat includes a radical racing rig. All the details are shown below:

2011 DEMO BOAT - RADICAL RACE PACKAGE

Flying Scot 5955, complete –
White hull and white deck, dark blue trim and gray gel coat centerboard cap

Mad Sails – main, jib and spinnaker – choice of colors as sails are not ordered yet

Mast hinge

Trailex aluminum trailer with nose wheel and tie-down

Spinnaker pole

360 swivel cleat for centerboard

Ronstan X-10 hike out stick

Mast head fly

3:1 purchase on main sheet – light blocks (Conception line 5/16”)

Spinnaker halyard led aft with reel

Spinnaker guy hooks on deck with cleats at chainplates (flat adjusters)

Spinnaker sheets (Conception line 3/16”) – internal system with ratchets under seat

Outhaul – 6:1 internal wire

Cunningham – 6:1 led through deck and cleated to console

Vang – 12:1 cascading led aft to console cleat

Pole lift led through deck to console cleat – 2:1

Pole downhaul – shock cord through deck

Spinnaker turtles on forward seat corners

Jib sheets – 2:1 cleated on seat with auto ratchet (Conception line ¼”)

Hike-out line on centerboard cap

Anchor and 100’ of line

Paddle - wood

Spare tire with mount

Bucket & chamois

Throwable cushion
Radical Race Package

Discounted Demo Price including delivery to regatta $16,900.00

NAC Racing

2011-07-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

What can I say? I didn’t know there could be five days of such perfect sailing weather, except maybe in San Diego or Shangri La. True, we bobbed around for a couple hours on Monday before the first qualifying races, but once we started, the wind came in just fine. All five days we had wind, sunshine and low humidity. Winds were moderate to strong Tuesday; hiking was involved and there were many more lumps than in our home waters. Wednesday it got windier and Thursday it blew like stink. Three boats went over that day, according to my sources, but except for Sandy Eustis’s badly squished hand (which was heavily bruised but not broken, thank goodness) there were no casualties. I witnessed Mark and Maria Benner, who also went over, get towed into the harbor wet but smiling. By Friday, when we had one race scheduled, the winds had died quite a bit and I spent more time in the boat than hiking out hard, as I had over the previous four days.

We had two races Monday. Ben and I were in the A Fleet (the boats were divided in four groups, A – D, for the round robin style qualifying races) and we felt like we were sailing in the Hall of Fame fleet, otherwise known as the hardest-fleet-ever, with Al and Katie Terhune, Kelly and Heidi Gough, Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter, and Mike and Amy Miller. And those were only the sailors we knew! There were plenty other amazing sailors in our fleet we’d never raced against. Still, that’s just me whining, because every fleet had its share of rock stars, this being the NACs.

We got off to a good start, however, and beat the rest of the fleet to the windward mark in the very first race, trading tacks with Al and Katie and holding them off until the leeward gate. We hung on to second place even though on the fourth leg, a downwind finish, we could practically hear some amazing skippers, including Kelly Gough, breathing down our necks.

After that race I told Ben I was happy, we could go home now! We came hoping to make the championship fleet, which we did not manage to do at last year NACs, so we were very happy with our first race. The next two qualifying races didn’t go quite as well for us (I’ll spare you any painful details) but we raced in moderate and fairly steady wind for both Monday and Tuesday and ended up 16^th going into the finals. In addition to us, Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter and Frank and Marianne Gerry flew the Midwest District flag in the Championship Fleet. Go Midwest!

Wednesday it was getting pretty windy, though it was certainly manageable. Ben had re-tied our vang so I could bend the boom much more than we ever could before. That really helped us keep the boat flat and made me feel much more useful since I didn’t run out of vang as soon as we started hiking. The second race Wednesday we had some more primo moments. Ben wanted the right side and he decided to try for a boat end start, something he doesn’t often do. The stars aligned and we “won” the boat end start and had speed and clear air almost immediately. The fleet split, as it so often does, to the left and the right and we ended up sailing in clean air right up the middle, so we liked our position. We liked it even more when we rounded the windward mark in the lead, in front of Andrew Eagan and Al Terhune! Not surprisingly, after half a leg, we lost the lead, but still enjoyed the company while it lasted. Instead of trying to stick with them when they tacked back to the center of the course, we kept going right. Bye Andrew! Bye Al! I think that decision to keep going lost us about 10 boats, it turned out. So we learned a good lesson; when you are that close to those kind of sailors it’s fine to just follow them around the course! We finished 18^th in that race.

Thursday was the windiest day of all. I would say it was steady 18 with gusts to 25. We handled the boat fine, though I mostly remember a lot of hiking and pulling on the vang than strategy. We had a great time, though, and we gybed well, without any close calls. We are a relatively light boat, but we did manage to keep her pretty flat. By the end of the second race I’d say the wind had moderated somewhat, but the funny thing is how much stronger the wind seemed in the approach to the harbor. Not just Thursday, but Wednesday and Tuesday too. We’d finish our races, relax a little and then have to work really hard to get to the docks.

Friday we had just one race and, although some were worried we’d have no wind, the northerly having blown itself out on Thursday, the conditions were really lovely. Steady wind at maybe 8 knots or so. Very few gusts. The water was lumpier than I’m used to but nothing terrible. We had a great first leg and were in the front group approaching the windward mark but we ended up trying to squeeze in where we had no rights and hit the mark.

We learned a good lesson that, unfortunately, we’ve learned before. Hopefully this time it will stick. When approaching the mark on port tack, every boat below us, even if they are currently on port tack, is a boat to be concerned with since they’ll all be at the mark around the same time as we will. That seems so self evident I’m embarrassed to say it, but I just did not talk to Ben about those boats and when we got to the mark we faced this wall of boats and no hole, no gap at all. We couldn’t bring ourselves to duck this mass of boats though that is what we should have done. Instead, having hit the mark we did circles and took a big mental hit as well. We worked hard to recover but soon realized we were both physically and mentally exhausted and, try and we might, the rest of the race was probably our weakest. We were happy and relieved to finish 25^th in that race. When all the scores were added up, we ended up 21^st in the championship fleet, better than we expected. We learned a lot and look forward to next years NACs in the familiar waters of Carlyle Lake.

Flotsam and Jetsam

2011-07-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Things that have been sighted floating on the water this NACs: big, red jellyfish; boom crutch; horseshoe crab hanging “prow” out of the water; paddle; cormorant; spinnaker pole, only for a moment and not ours. Oh, and a huge mass of seaweed wrapped around our centerboard after rounding the leeward gate in Wednesday's second race.

Cedarpoint Yacht Club NACs

2011-07-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

We’re at the fourth day of the NACs and I haven’t blogged yet! I’m going to make a quick installment. Let’s call this the food chapter. We’ll talk about yesterday’s racing tonight.

So let’s talk about the food! The first night of the NACs, before we’d even sailed a single race, there was a spread of hors d’oeuvres that most would have called dinner, but no, Cedarpoint Yacht Club was not satisfied with that offering, which included things like cream cheese topped with jam and jalapeno peppers and spread on bread, chicken wings, great TexMex dips, good mix of cheeses and more.

Then came dinner. For dinner, we had a pasta bar, with the chefs standing by to serve up a choice of four kinds of pasta, and marinara sauce, pesto or a vodka/cream sauce. I’m telling you, we ate like kings!

Last night, which was Wednesday, we had a clambake on Sprite Island Yacht Club, the co-hosts of the regatta. Sprite Island is just what it sounds like, an island. To get there we were picked up by one of a fleet of little flat-bottomed motorboats driven by a team of handsome young men. It was a gorgeous evening with enough wind to keep most of the bugs away and they had a great band playing music we recognized, like Van Morrison and Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jimmy Buffett. Forrest Rogers’ wife, Betty, told us about the lovely view on the backside of the island, so we walked around and found ourselves on a bluff overlooking the Sound. There was a club race going on over at Cedarpoint Yacht Club, which we could see easily. Shortly after we returned, the lobster/steak dinner was served. Sandy Eustis announced at our table that, of the last 15 NACs he attended, this was the best ever. It was hard to disagree.

Packin' for the NACs

2011-07-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

So here it is Tuesday and we're packin' for the NACs! Heading out early to visit my family in Bethesda, MD. The boat is all set, but I'm struggling with the clothes. Sadly, we have no clothes with our club logo on it and I have nothing for parrothead night!! Woe is me!! Who knew sailing could be so stressful?!

Ah well, we've paid our money, we've packed our measurement certificate and our trailer is road legal, so the rest is just details.

Hit the road!!

106th Annual Ephraim Regatta, August 5-7

2011-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Below is an announcement from Jay Lott about the upcoming Ephraim Regatta. If you've not been to this event before, you really should plan to attend this year. The sailing is always great, the location is stunningly beautiful, and the hospitality can't be beat and includes two great parties. If you are a regular at this regatta, you already know all of this, so make your plans to attend now!

From Jay:
The Ephraim Yacht Club, Door County, Wisconsin, invites you to the 106th annual Ephraim Regatta, August 5-6-7, 2011. The Ephraim Regatta is one of the largest and best-known Flying Scot regattas, typically attracting over 30 Flying Scots. There will be two parties, and great sailing on the clear clean waters of Eagle Harbor. For more information, the NOR, and a registration form, go to www.eyc.org/racing. Questions? Contact regatta chair Jay Lott jaylott01@gmail.com

Annual Pig Roast Regatta Held at Cowan Lake

2011-06-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

You know that old saw about "for want of a nail, a shoe was lost .." etc? Well, we almost had something like that happen this past weekend at Cowan Lake. This morning (Sunday) as we headed to the racecourse for our second day of racing, Ben found that he had a screw loose ... in his glasses, I mean! He was on the verge of losing the lense. Thankfully, the screwdriver on my Leatherman was just the right size and he was able to fix his glasses.

That was lucky because, as of this morning we were in contention for first place (quite a rare occurance for us). Rob Tikoft, a Cowan Lake sailor who we have met at many other regattas as well, was just ahead of us in the standings. After us there were several other sailors, including two other traveling boats, Sandy and Keith Eustis (formerly of Cowan, now of Lake Koewee in S.C.) and Tom Hohler and Chris Czapleski that we had to worry about. I was relieved that Ben was going to be able to see what he was doing.

This was my first time at Cowan Lake, though Ben had been a couple times with other crew. It is a lovely lake and the people are incredibly friendly.They are Flying Scot Fleet One, so they have a long history of Flying Scots and still have a large and strong fleet (as well as an active fleet of Snipes, Highlanders, Y Flyers and Lightnings). I'm going to try to post a photograph of the club, which sits at the top of a very high, grassy hill overlooking the lake, which only allows 9 horsepower motors on it, I might add. As an aside, Saturday evening there was a really interesting and lively presentation by Steve Tsuchiya, a club member, Flyiing Scot sailor and America's Cup historian. I thought I was too beat to listen, but I really really enjoyed it! Steve was an engaging and entertaining speaker.

The race committee ran Olympic Modified courses the whole weekend, which is rare for Flying Scots, at least in my experience. My main concern was we might forget about the reaching mark, but no worries. Saturday the winds were light and shifty. There were about 12 boats in the Championship (aka Hogs) fleet and 7 in the Challenger (aka Oinkers) fleet. We got two good races in, with the lead changing frequently, what with those shifty conditions, etc. In the end, Rob Tikoft won a race and Tom Hohler won a race. Ben and I finished a consistent 2nd and 3rd.

Today there was more breeze and slightly steadier winds. Ben and I got to the first windward mark in the lead after an awesome start and led the rest of the way around. All we had to do to win this regatta was finish about mid fleet, assuming our closest competition was only a few boats ahead of us. So what happened? Well, we were over early on the last start! Ack! Okay, that's okay, we re-started, got the all clear and put our heads down to try to recover from that mistake. We found some wind, we liked the right side of the course, we worked on good boat balance and sail trim; it was, in the words of Ryan Malmgren, hard work conditions. As we approached the windward mark, I was hoping we'd be maybe mid-fleet if we were lucky. I looked up from whatever I was doing to see that we were going to be first around the mark because two boats to leeward of us could not fetch the mark!

We continued around the course and successfully finished first, again. That is not something we do often, so two bullets in a day was really special. Happy Father's Day, Ben! The traveling trophy is a concrete pig that has got to weight 30 pounds. We get to write our names on it and bring it back next year.

I also want to mention that, in the final standings, every boat that trophied had Mad Sails, so that's a great plug for our very own Ryan Malmgren's sailmaking prowess!

Steve Hartman, co-founder of Glow Regatta, Dies

2011-06-04T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hello All
I am saddened to have to report that longtime Flying Scot sailor Steve Hartman died this week from an infection. He was 64. Steve was a legend at the Clinton Lake Sailing Association, especially for establishing the Glow-in-the-Dark regatta, which drew sailors from as far as Texas and Florida. The regatta was as well known for its fabulous food, courtesy of Steve, as its great racing, complete with wacky trophies, even including a toilet seat!

Several years ago Steve stopped sailing his Scot and he, his brother, Mike, and his cousin, Jerry, stopped hosting the Glow. But more recently Steve had become enthusiastic about sailing again and about supporting the revived Glow. Steve and his son-in-law, Eric Bussell, sailed together in the Flying Scot Midwinters in Sarasota last March.

Steve helped and encouraged Eric and Eric's father, Rod, to become active in the Flying Scot fleet at Clinton Lake. Ben and I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Steve in Sarasota this past March and enjoyed his ideas, enthusiasm and support for the upcoming Glow regatta.

He will be sorely missed by the Flying Scot community.

2011 Wife-Husband is at Delevan: Be there or be square!

2011-05-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

A fleet in the Midwest District is hosting the prestigious FS 2011 Wife-Husband Regatta, July 30 -31. Delevan Lake Yacht Club is hosting the event this year, and it promises to be great fun. Delevan is a beautiful lake, and the Delevan Lake Yacht Club is top notch venue with superb race management and on-shore hospitality.

Deb and I attended our second Wife-Husband last season at Lake Norman. Challenging sailing conditions, but still a great time. Our first Wife-Husband, the year before, was at Oklahoma City, but was blown out. The wind never dropped below 35 mph --- but the important point is that we still had a wonderful time on shore. The Wife-Husband is one of those very special FS events that make the class unique. If you've never been to one of these, you really owe it to yourself to put it on your calendar. If we give this regatta the strong support it deserves, perhaps one our Midwest teams will be crowned Wife-Husband National Champions for 2011. So, start planning ahead now, and consider marrying your crew (or skipper) if necessary....there's still time....it's been done before, as I learned over dinner at the Lake Norman event last year.

Link to NOR: NOR 2011 Wife-Husband Regatta

Notice of Race for 2011 Midwest District Championship

2011-05-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

DATE: August 26 - 28, 2011
LOCATION: Clinton Lake Sailing Association, Clinton Lake, IL

Here's a link to the NOR for the combined 2011 District Championship and Glow II regatta. Please note that this is ONE MONTH EARLIER than the regular Glow II date.

Link to NOR: NOR 2011 Districts & Glow II

Egyptian Cup Rescheduled Due to Flooding at CSA

2011-05-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

We got the following email from Bill Clark of FS Fleet 83 at Lake Carlyle:

Flying Scot Sailors,

Due to near record flooding on Carlyle Lake, it has become necessary for
Flying Scot Fleet #83, at the Carlyle Sailing Association (CSA), to
reschedule the 2011 Annual Flying Scot Egyptian Cup Regatta (ECR). The
current lake water level and the clean up that follows a flood of this
magnitude does not allow us to have the Egyptian Cup Regatta as scheduled on
4-5 June 2011.

We have rescheduled the 2011 Flying Scot Egyptian Cup Regatta by combining
it with our annual CSA Whale of a Sail Regatta being held this fall at the
Carlyle Sailing Association on 17-18 September 2011. Hopefully everyone who
was planning on attending the ECR in June will be able to adjust their
schedules and will attend the Whale of a Sail/Flying Scot Egyptian Cup
Regatta this fall.

Please continue to check our CSA web site for the latest information on club
activities and regatta schedules.

http://csa-sailing.org/Welcome_to_CSA.html

Note: CSA has cancelled all activities and sailing events for May including
the Leukemia Cup Regatta scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend. The Leukemia
Cup Regatta has been rescheduled for 29-31 July 2011.

Please forward this email to anyone you know who may be planning on
attending the ECR or Leukemia Cup Regatta.

For any questions regarding the new date and registration for the ECR, see
or web site or contact Mike Pitzer (see below).

Bill Clark
FS #5270

Deb's Sunday report, Great 48

2011-05-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when we headed out to the race course the wind was alternately light, wispy or non existent, and the chance of getting any races off seemed low. But the wind came in after an hour and we had three great races. Today as we headed out to the race course the wind looked perfect; maybe 4 or 5 knots and steady. But the wind quickly came down and by the time we were about halfway up the first leg it was looking light, wispy and non-existent. Just goes to show, you never can tell!

Happily, the race committee shortened the race as the wind died, and we sailed just two legs. Taking down the spinnaker half way down the "downwind" leg as the wind came in from the opposite direction and we sailing upwind ... again! I will say, even with these goofy conditions, Ben and I had our best finish ever at Lake Norman. We were second across the line behind Lake Norman skipper Chuck Gise. We were very pleased with that, since there are always really great sailors at Lake Norman.

Top Five Finishers:
First place, John Aras and John Wake
Second place, Paul Abdullah and Alex Krumdieck
Third place, Ben Williams and Deb Aronson
Fourth place, Harry Carpenter and Adam Keen
Fifth place, Steve Shaw and Mark Lally

Link to full results: Full Results, 2011 Great 48

Deb's Saturday report from Great 48

2011-05-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

Ben and I were going through sailing withdrawal. Since the Midwinters in March (Sarasota) we hadn't been on the water. The Great 48 is hosted by Lake Norman Yacht Club in Mooresville, NC, just outside of Charlotte. That's a long drive for us (no duh, I can hear you saying!) but it's always worth it. This is just such a friendly and generous club that, no matter the sailing conditions, we have a good time. This year 33 boats registered and we sailed all in one fleet.

Yesterday (it's Sunday morning right now) things look dubious. We all got to the race course a bit before 1 pm and then bobbed around like corks for more than an hour. The race committee's patience paid off when the breeze filled in very nicely from the southwest. They ran three great races. This is such a tough fleet that, at the end of the day six boats are within three points of each other, with four boats (including us and Harry Carpenter) tied for fourth!

At the top are John Aras and John Wake with four points, Paul Abdullah and Alex Krumdieck with five points. Next is Steve Shaw with crew Mark Lally.

The social part of the regatta is all things Scottish! In addition to a bagpipe player that performed even as we were sailing into the harbor at the end of the day and then throughout the evening's festivities. We were all required to wear "kilts," which we made with a length of plaid cloth and a rough rope belt and there were competitions in the "boom toss" (hold a boom at the end and try to throw it as far as you can), bocce ball throw and barrel toss. I'll post pictures when we get home...forgot the darn camera cable! Winners in both the men's and women's division won, what else, a small bottle of Scotch! At dinner the tablecloths also were plaid and plaid bunting was hung around the room. I'm only relieved we didn't have to eat haggis!

Link to Nice Midwinters Photos

2011-03-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

Some great photos from the midwinters are posted on the Florida District blog:
click here for photos

All of the photos on Picassa.

Deb's Midwinters Wrap Up

2011-03-13T12:02:00.001-07:00

Banyan Tree at Ringling Museum

Ben and SSS cat - very friendly (the cat, that is)

Jeff Linton and Amy Smith "King
and Queen of the Flyweights"
wearing their crowns

Well, the wind gods were not interested in letting us get a last day of racing in. Friday dawned quiet and sunny and Ben and I were psyched for a day of light-wind racing. We had visions of everyone being able to participate and maybe even squeezing three races in. We were about the third boat in the water, energized by our optimism. But, sadly, as soon as our boat got to the end of the dock, WHAM!, the wind came in. It seemed like the wind went from about 3 to 18 knots in the blink of an eye and never let up. Big, fat bummer.

The wind did prompt Ben to just double check the official maximum wind guidelines, which are on the fssa.com website. They are: 20 knots with gusts to 22 or 24 miles per hour with gusts to 26. Here's the link to the word document from fssa.com: condition guidelines.

So the Sarasota Sailing Squadron put out food and handed out awards and everyone packed up their boats and hit the road. We headed north. It is 35 degrees in Illinois today. I am faced with mountains of dirty laundry, mail and work..... Sarasota, 80 degree, sunny days and Caribbean blue waters are just sweet memories.

Links to the the 2011 Midwinter Championship Results

2011-03-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

Championship Results

Challenger Results

Thursday...Deluge

2011-03-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

This morning a monster storm came through and we stayed snug and dry in our new tent. Ben and I made a dash for the car in a lull but when we got there, the car – all the cars — were sitting in a pond. Since my feet were already sopping wet and I had capris on, I volunteered to get the car. I figured the puddle was just a few inches deep. Instead I went in up to the edge of my capris and my shoes practically floated off my feet! Still, I hopped in, picked up Ben and we headed to town for breakfast. We found our new favorite breakfast place, the Blue Dolphin, which has awesome breakfast food. My spinach and feta omelet was the best ever and the coffee was perfect. It must be a good place because we bumped into Jay Lott, fellow Scot sailor from Ephraim, who had discovered the spot a few days earlier. Coming back to the club, bellies full, we ran into other tent campers who were headed out to find a hot breakfast and dry off. We sent them to the Blue Dolphin.

Meanwhile, the race committee consulted the oracles and decided that the front coming in would make for unpredictable winds and that we should wait and finish the regatta on Friday. We have had five races so far, so we're in good shape. Now Ben and I will go to the Ringling Museum, where you can learn about the circus and see the amazing Ringling mansion and estate.

Day Two of Midwinters

2011-03-10T06:16:00.001-08:00

Boy Howdy! Yesterday was some fun, with winds of about 18 with gusts to mid 20s or more. It was gorgeous weather; the water was Caribbean blue, and the sun on the white caps made a lovely sight, like the cover of a travel brochure. There was a spectators’ boat with a deck that was really high above the water. It had about a dozen people on it and I imagine they had great fun watching the action.

Behind the scenes, however, my fingers were puckered and my drawers were droopy with the drenching I got as front crew. I was smiling — or occasionally grimacing — the whole time.

Ben did a good job of keeping the boat flat, considering we were pretty light (320 lb). Jeff Linton has inducted us into the “fly weights club” and we are in good company, between him and his crew/wife Amy Smith and Mike and Amy Miller, who are less than either us or the Lintons.

We sat back in the boat and Sophie seemed to like that a lot. On the spinnaker legs our light weight occasionally paid off. One time we had what seemed like a three-minute continuous plane right down the rhumb line to the gate, passing a few boat on either side.

We’ll see what today brings, but we’ve got five races in already; two on Tuesday in moderate wind (that post got lost in the ether) and three in yesterday’s blow. This morning a huge storm came through, which I’ll write about shortly.

My First Midwinters...So Far So Good

2011-03-10T04:22:00.000-08:00

This is my first post to the Midwest District Blog. I sail FS 5631 Wind Talker and started sailing last year. I am a member of Fleet 135 (Clinton, IL). This year I want to learn how to sail fast and hope to be able to keep up with some of the faster sailors.

This year I am attending my first Midwinters Regatta in Sarasota, Florida with Steve Hartman. The host this year is the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Wow! That was my first impression of the host club, the welcoming committee, the organization, the facilities, and all the friendly sailors from across the country.

60+ boats are competing and it has been fun to watch. Unfortunately, the windy conditions (15-20 mph) are a little too much for my experience level. Steve and I decided to hitch a ride aboard Jerry Hartman's cruising boat Charisma and watch the action.

I wanted to be racing, but how can I complain when I'm drinking a cold Miller Lite on a boat in sunny Sarasota, Florida? Here is a video of the second start of Day 2 Championship Division:

The racing was great to watch! After reading some books over the winter break, it was interesting to watch the starts from our vantage point. I think I learned a thing or two from watching the pros, but we'll find out this spring when I get back in the boat.

While on board Charisma I heard story after about about many past regattas and particularly the Glow in the Dark Regatta. Steve and Jerry were former Fleet 135 regulars in Clinton, IL and highly involved with "the Glow". The Glow in the Dark was a regatta hosted annually at Clinton Lake. From what I gather, anyone who has been around Flying Scot sailing for a while has heard of The Glow. If you are like me and new to Flying Scots, apparently we missed a hell of a good time (and great sailing).

After returning to the harbor (and towing in a broken boat), I grabbed a beer with fellow Fleet 135 sailor John Heizer. While at the bar, we heard Nautical Bob on the microphone referencing The Glow and telling those gathering for the top gun briefing how he earned his nickname at the Glow in the Dark. I thought this was very interesting because (1) I just heard several stories about The Glow and (2) The Glow regatta will be the venue for the Midwest District Championships. I tracked down Nautical Bob and he explained how he got his nickname:

I'm appreciating that regattas can provide great sailing and great company. I'm taking notes because the the Sarasota Sailing Squadron and the racing committee is doing a great job so far. The Clinton Lake Sailing Association will not be hosting The Glow until September, but I'm already looking forward to hosting these great sailors at our club. Hopefully a few of them will make the trip.

There are still a few days left at the Midwinters. I'm sure Deb will fill you in the details. As a newbie attending my first national regatta, I'm already looking forward to my next Midwinters.

Hopefully the wind will die down so we can get out on the racecourse...

First Day at Sarasota

2011-03-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of racing at the actual Midwinters. The club, Sarasota Sailing Squadron, has two ramps with long docks, and one hoist. The organizers developed a pretty creative system to help get all the boats in the water. We have one number that goes on our bow and on our trailer and also matches our parking spot number. They have a posse of young men driving several tractors that put us in the water, then return our trailer to its designated spot. Coming in, they see our bow number, drive off and get the trailer in that spot, arrive at the ramp with our trailer, help get our boat on the trailer and then drive off to drop it in our spot before zipping off for the next boat.

At least eight boats from the Midwest district are here: Jay Lott and Cain Gottleman, Ryan Malmgren and Carrie Carpenter, (both from Ephraim) Shannon and Mark Wilfert, Chuck Howting and Luther Torgerson (Madison), Larry Klick (Medicine Lake), Eric Bussell and Steve Hartman, John Heizer and Jen Liu (both from Clinton Lake), Felicia Bamer (Carlyle Lake) and us.

We had nice light wind yesterday, which Ben and I really enjoyed. Gotta run! I see the tractor coming with our boat on it and I gotta go help put it in.

Davis Island, MidWinter WarmsUps

2011-03-06T14:48:00.003-08:00

Well, hard to believe but it has been 80 degrees down here in Florida! Saturday and Sunday we did the Davis Island warm up regatta. We had 29 boats - our Midwest fleet was nicely represented with Jay Lott and Ryan Malmgren from Ephraim, Shannon and Mark Wilfert from Madison, and Ben and me from Clinton Lake.

Saturday night was Hawaiian shirt night, though the dress ranged beyond shirts to dresses, flip flops (mine but no one else saw them!), doo-rags and more. The organizers had almost a dozen sponsors, so there were tons of prizes, both for best Hawaiian outfits, farthest distance traveled (our own Jay Lott, who drove three days on his own from Ephraim!!) and closest, Jeff and Amy Linton, who I believe can walk to the club if they are so inclined. Carrie Carpenter won best Hawaiian outfit for women with a lovely dress in an exotic Hawaiian print. Sandy Eustis, of Keowee Sailing Club in South Carolina, won for men. Our table helped in the voting, since he was sitting with us and with Tom Hohler and his wife, Chris. Since voting was a voice vote and Tom has a really loud voice, I'm telling you, really loud!, we pushed the voting to Sandy!

The race committee was tough, "promising" us 10 races over the two days. No one I talked to was thrilled at that prospect, I can tell you! We never got that many races in, which was a relief. Still Saturday we had four races. That's a lot for those of us who haven't sailed for more than six months. The winds settled a bit and clocked right as the day went on, not counting some dramatic flip flops the last race.

Today we woke to really high winds and white caps everywhere. Jeff Linton announced he wasn't going out in those conditions and all the crew that were nearby cheered him. But an hour later the wind came down, so that we all changed our mind and headed out. We were looking at a nice, mellow day of 5-7, though there were still waves. Unfortunately, by about halfway up the first windward leg the wind built to the point where we ran one race and then race committee sent everyone in. I think there were a few breakdowns but everyone stayed upright and came off the water smiling.

The regatta committee did a great job; it was really well run and out-of-towners were made to feel really really welcome. On to Sarasota Sailing Squadron!!

Hitting the Road for the Midwinters

2011-03-01T19:17:00.001-08:00

Running around trying to both pack up for the trip to Davis Island (for the Midwinter warm ups) and Sarasota Sailing Squadron for the Midwinters, and tie up loose ends at work. I need another 10 hours!! Ah well, once we hit the road none of that will matter, and whatever doesn't get done can be dealt with later. If we can just remember sunglasses and sails we'll be all set. The snow has just melted here in Urbana, Illinois, and it's kind of hard to get my head around packing for sunny and 70-degree weather. Sigh, life's tough, isn't it?!

Who else is headed south from the Midwest District? Will we see you on the road?

Ephraim Yacht Club, 2011 Ephraim Regatta

2011-02-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

Please be the guest of the Ephraim Yacht Club at the 2011 Ephraim Regatta, the 106th consecutive Ephraim Regatta. Last year this was one of the largest Scot regattas in the country, with 30 boats entered. The EYC expects to host the 2012 Flying Scot Midwest District Championships, so the 2011 Ephraim Regatta will be a good way to gain some local knowledge in advance of that event.

The Ephraim Regatta takes place in a beautiful sailing venue (ask anyone who attended the award-winning 2009 NAC), and includes two excellent parties (with beer). We are an easy weekend trip for anyone in the Midwestern district.

The NOR, Welcome and Information Letter, and Registration Form are now posted at www.eyc.org/racing

Contact me with questions: jaylott01@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Jay Lott
FS 5698
Ephraim Regatta Chairman

Fall 48 Sunday

2010-11-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Way to go Ryan! After a goofy Saturday, with many fleet "inversions" as Ben likes to call them, Ryan began Sunday with 20 points and then had two bullets Sunday to climb all the way up to fourth place. Nice job!
Blowing at about 10-12 with gusts to 15, the wind Sunday was more consistent than Saturday's conditions. And boy, was it fun. We got two good races in. Ben and I liked the first race most since we managed to place second just behind Ryan. That was our best finish ever at Lake Norman.
The race committee was unusual at this regatta. As far as I could tell, as the last boat crossed the finish, they blew the five-minute horn and began the series for the next race. That caught a bunch of us flat footed. In fact, Ryan said he was hove to above the finish line and looked up to see an "on course side" flag, which was referring to him. That was the first he realized the start sequence had even begun. And he STILL won that race!
We headed out pretty fast since we delivered Sophie to Harry for a few off-season repairs. Harry, very nicely, met us in Morgantown so we didn't have to drive all the way to Deep Creek. It feels funny driving the rest of the way home with no Sophie behind us. It will be even weirder to look out our back window and see the garage empty. Wait, here's a thought, maybe we could actually put a car in our garage now?!

Fall 48: Saturday

2010-11-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Wow. Talk about challenging conditions. For example, we had worked up to 3rd place at one point, when half-way down the second downwind leg the wind died, and then after a few minutes shifted right into our teeth, and then after a few more minutes, we watched it build again from the original direction as a dark line of wind a 1/2 mile away. As it came down, it brought the whole fleet down with it, hooting and hollering in some cases. At the leeward mark it seemed as though at least half the fleet felt it had an inside overlap on the other half.

We'll see what Sunday has to offer. I'm hoping for two races that don't have multiple "fleet-inverting" shifts...

Ryan Malmgren is also here, so the Midwest District is pretty well represented. He is sailing with a former Lightning sailor, Michael, who, despite yesterday's conditions, says he is sold on Flying Scots.

After sailing we had a nice visit around a roaring fire with Mark and Maria from Moraine Sailing Club in Pennsylvania. That was particularly nice because we had gotten quite cold on the water. The high temperatures were in the 50s.

More later!

Fall 48

2010-11-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

Season is winding down. On our way to Lake Norman we drove through snow. We made it to Mooresville at dinner time and stopped at "Joe Fish" for a wonderful dinner. NO CAR TROUBLE (so far). After dinner in the nice warm restaurant, we set up the tent in the dark, in the rain. Debby's hands got pretty cold, and so did mine, which I demonstrated for her later in the tent by putting them on her bare skin. Once we got the tent set up, we had a very nice evening reading while snuggled into our zipped together sleeping bags. Much nicer than any $60 motel room... Just now finishing up breakfast at "The Daily Grind". Looking forward to seeing Ryan, who had planned to arrive Friday early enough to sail a bit to break in a crew who is new to Scots. The lake was beautiful at dawn. A steady breeze, but "red skies". I guess we'll be testing the old "Red sky in morning, sailor's warning". More later.

Wife-Husband 2010

2010-10-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

A one-race regatta is still a regatta! Hats off to the race committee at Lake Norman who managed to squeeze a race in invery, very light conditions yesterday. Thekey was to find pressure, and some people found it on the right, while others found it on the left. The race was shortened just in time as the water turned glassy and everyone was then towed in. This morning we all floated around,visiting between boats, having a grand old time, as the race committee tried hard to conjure up some wind. But there is no way to pull off a race if the weather gods do not cooperate, so after almost two hours everyone got towed back in and the regatta was over.

I don't have the standings in front of me; we'll have to post them when we get home. Right now we're on the road and we have stopped for our quasi-traditional, post-regatta steak dinner at Texas Steakhouse. Even this place has wi-fi, which is just crazy!

The Case of the Wandering Traveling Trophy

Trophies were given five deep in both the Championship and the Challenger fleets. In addition, being a nationally sanctioned race, there were two traveling trophies awarded, one of which was for the highest finishing couple for whom this was their first Wife-Husband.

The awards committee, helped by Carol Claypool, first tried to give it to the second-place boat, but they demurred, saying they'd attended a Wife-Husband a few years ago. At that point, the committee worked its way down the list, landing at a boat that had finished a few places behind us. But this being our first Wife-Husband, I thought we might be the winners. So I slunk up to the front, in full view of everyone, of course, to whisper in Carol's ear that we, in fact, had finished higher and this was our first Wife-Husband. I went back to my seat just as they announced their mistake. Ben and I happily went to the front to humbly accept our award. Then, in the midst of awarding the other trophies, Carol came back to us and mentioned that, in fact, John Wake and his wife, Sharon, who finished fourth just ahead of us (he got us by about half a boat length!), also had never done a Wife-Husband before! So there you have it, after being almost awarded to three different boats, the trophy finally landed in the right spot! Hurray, John and Sharon!

John and Sharon also win Ben's award for "coolest boat-name and t-shirt combination." Their boat, Lucky Dog, had a great cartoon graphic and then John and Sharon wore shirts with fire hydrants on the back!

The high point of the trophies, I thought, was Carla Vitez's short speech when she and her husband, Larry, won the first-place trophy. She talked about what a great marriage builder sailing the Flying Scot was. Partly, she said, because it taught them to work together, partly because they were always learning new things (in Larry's case, it was learning patience instead of yelling "pull the green rope, the green rope!" which earned a big, understanding laugh from the crowd) and finally the opportunity to sail with so many lovely people, at which point she listed many couples from Lake Norman and elsewhere whose friendship she had enjoyed over the years. That was quite a fitting tribute to the class and was received with a warm round of applause from the gathered sailors. After that, the awards were over, everyone hit the road. Between leaving Charlotte and stopping for dinner, we passed two other Flying Scots heading north on the highway (one with Vermont tags, that's a long drive!), which always gives me a little thrill.

Next year's Wife-Husband will be in the Midwest District, at Delavan Yacht Club, which we are really looking forward to.

Wife-Husband Regatta...

2010-10-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Back in 2005, when we first got our Flying Scot, the most exciting aspect to me was this national Wife-Husband regatta. It says a lot about the class that they host this among only a handful of other nationally sanctioned regattas. Well, between one thing and another, we have yet to actually sail in the Wife-Husband. Several times we had work conflicts; the one year we DID make it (Oklahoma City) it blew 30 mph ALL WEEKEND! We had a good time, but not on the water!

So, here we are, at Lake Norman, North Carolina, in our second attempt to participate in the Wife-Husband and this time ... so far there is zero wind! Are we a bit of a jinx? I hope not! It's coming up on noon and we're looking for wind. Doesn't look likely, but things can change.

Still, no matter what happens, it's been a successful trip; last two times we came here (last fall and this spring) for regattas, our car broke down. Once we borrowed had to borrow a car from another sailor, once we had to borrow a boat. The fact that we got here with both car and boat marks this as a win!

Driving down was wonderfully uneventful. We listened to the Jack Aubrey novels (Master and Commander). We are on the epidsode called "Surgeon's Mate." I can't really encapsulate the story but we like them so much that we listen to them from the minute we leave the driveway until we pull into the club, stopping only to eat or get gas! Does that make us boring?! don't answer that.

Last night we got here in time to put our tent up before we went in to dinner. Yumm! Brisket, salad and the works. It was crowded. Word is there are more than 40 boats, which is a big as the Midwinters some years. I think we might be the only boat from the Midwest district, but I could be wrong. Stay tuned, maybe we'll have some sailing stories shortly.

ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS -- 2010

2010-09-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

(NOTE FROM BEN: In the post below from Ryan about the recent ACCs, he is too modest to point out that not only was he second in the regatta, but sails from his loft were used by the top three finishers in the regatta.)

Ryan Malmgren

FS #5622

This year I had a wonderful opportunity to sail in the Atlantic Coast Championships (ACCs) -- hosted by Lavallette Yacht Club in Lavallette, New Jersey. I was feeling pretty spoiled because I got to fly in from Wisconsin while my friend and crew Jerry Latell was stuck driving eight hours from Fishing Bay, Virginia… and even more spoiled because Harry Carpenter brought a boat for Jerry and me to demo. The boat was spanking new (and btw: this quick boat may still be for sale if you’re lucky – give FSI a call!) – having only been sailed a few times before the event so… actually… feeling “spoiled” is kind of an understatement!

What follows are brief snapshots (ok, so maybe not-so brief) -- of some things Jerry and I did throughout the regatta – boat and sail handling, tactics, strategies, blunders, skillful luck etc… which helped us pull off a successful finish in a tough fleet, at a place that neither of us had ever sailed before… in a boat (albeit new) that was foreign as well.

Day 1 – Feelin’ Consistent ‘n Good ‘n Glad!

There were 43 boats participating in the event overall (28 in our Championship Div) – so at the end of the first day after three races Jerry and I were feeling pretty good about our position because we had managed to sail very consistently with finishes of 3-3-3 and were only three points behind the leader -- John Aras (John Wake crew) – who had finishes of 1-4-1 on the day... and five points ahead of our faithful FS builder Harry Carpenter (daughter Carrie crewing). Saturday’s wind speeds ranged from 5 to 12 knots… and the pressure differentials across the course were marked at any given time (what I call “Hard Work Conditions”… more on that later!) The shifts were very subtle -- but real --and overall seemed to progress toward the right side of the course more often than not… or so it seemed to us.

Day 2 – Feelin’ Good ‘n Bad ‘n Ugly n Glad Again!

Sunday was a little tougher for us in much lighter, spookier stuff. After holding off, starting, stopping, setting, and re-setting the line -- the RC managed to pull off the fourth and final race in a nail-biter -- launched in a medium, shifting-left-pressure, dying-right, still more to the left, now dead-wrong-if-you’re-right, , even MORE-left-is right, meanwhile completely-crapping-out-right! – breeze that ranged from 0-8 knots (the gusts). All spookiness aside… we managed to get to the weather mark in 2^nd place right behind Harry and ahead of Aras… and things looked very rosy until I suddenly almost blew everything by jibing away into oblivion (more later, I promise)…

THINGS THAT WORKED FOR US OVERALL:

Clear air starts – We managed to pull off good starts in all four races (actually our very best start was called back because of general recall… but everybody says that, right?... but no, no, really!). The line length was fairly generous in all of the races – even for 28 boats – and this allowed me to be fairly aggressive about coming down the line on port with less than 2 minutes to go and picking out a nice open spot to flop back onto starboard with a minute or less on the clock and protect the hole to leeward. We chose to start in the middle of the line in all but one of the starts… and even in that start – which was heavily committee boat favored – we were at least ¼ of the line length from the committee boat. In summary, we had four good reasons to stay away from the ends on Saturday: 1) ends are really scary when the line is that long because if there is a shift you are deep instantly! 2) We had decent “line sights” using markers on the shore in all of the races and wanted to take the sag out of the line-sag! 3) Folks tend to pile up at ends and there are more gaps in the middle generally in a long line that is fairly square! 4) See reason 1!

“Hard Work Conditions”

“Hard Work Conditions” (HWC) are my favorite kind of conditions – especially in foreign waters because they tend to eliminate the “local knowledge” factor. Many folks may think HWC are the kind of stuff where you’re hiking for all your worth and the wind is howling. Not so in my book. To me, HWC are when the wind is down, up, over, down, up, and sideways… and the water is flat, chop, flat, SUPER CHOP (ie. when NJs finest cigarette boats roar by), and flat again! These are the kind of conditions that require constant sail adjustments (yes, I was using Hogwart’s sails brought all the way from Madison per charter rules) -- and crew weight in order to change gears and keep the boat moving and the helm neutral . Anybody who crews with me is familiar with my “Hard Work Conditions” chant while sailing in this stuff… (this mantra almost drove my son, Evan, over the edge at the Ephraim Regatta this year) -- and, although it may be annoying, there is method to the madness: because saying these three words makes it clear to all on board that we better keep the sleeves rolled up and stay busy -- because with hard work comes the possibility of big gains! (and, conversely, big losses for those who slack!) Ergo… suffice it to say, that Jerry and I were constantly moving our weight up and down and the sails were breathing in and out to keep the boat at a constant state of heel, maximum speed and with minimal rudder. The sails were never cleated for more than a few seconds as we would trim a bit when pressure went up and ease a touch in the light spots while putting the bow down ever so slightly to gain speed when sailing upwind (and everything above reversed downwind!).

“Tune” the boat!

One of the only disadvantages to sailing a nearly brand new boat that I can think of, is... (other than terror it will be “owned” after a collision) -- well, it is still a foreign boat. And unfortunately for us, we arrived so late in the morning on Saturday that in the rush to register and rig, we weren’t able to double check the rake (as Harry had suggested because new stays can stretch a smidge). And thus Jerry and I found ourselves the last boat going in the water, and scrambling to get out to the race course with the rest of the fleet ahead of us. When we finally got off the line in the first race we immediately noticed an inability to point as high as expected once we got the boat up to speed… and for me there was a nagging weather helm sensation. Fortunately, we were able to sail a strong race – employing HWC rules of thumb, watching the compass and working our way up the middle, hitting most of the shifts. So despite the unbalanced feel to the helm, and lack of pointing, we were still able to finish very respectably in 3rd. Notwithstanding, as soon as the race was over, I crawled under the bow and cinched up the turnbuckle as far as it would go before bottoming out. I’m not sure how much that was (never DID have a chance to measure the rake) – but it was probably close to two inches forward from where we had started, and as soon as I got the helm in my hand I could feel the familiar neutral helm that I’m accustomed to, and the boat came to life and felt much more like good ‘ol Hogwarts back home. (Footnote: although the score sheet may not reflect any improvement… we found it much easier to dig ourselves out of compromising positions on the course and there was much less stress maintaining an edge and more space between us and the majority of the fleet for the rest of the regatta after this rake adjustment.)

Avoid Boats!

I always try to stay away from boats. And if I’m next to them (especially going downwind), I try to trend away so that we can all “live” together and in this way we can hopefully BOTH get away from the pack, whenever possible. And when I’m sailing a borrowed NEW boat? This philosophy is magnified tenfold! In general I won’t hesitate to urge port tackers across my starboard bow and dip their transom if it allows steering happily in the same direction toward the next shift (hopefully) or more pressure (better still!). It might happen a few times in a given regatta… but on Saturday at ACCs it happened three times in ONE BEAT! An even more extreme example of my desire to stay away from confrontations at ACCs was when I found the bow slightly overlapped with a very aggressive sailor as we were entering the 3 boatlength circle at the leeward mark with very little speed due a poor angle… so to Jerry’s surprise I suddenly slowed the boat (with sharp rudder movement) … and then did two rapid jibes -- so as not to worry about getting fouled up with the guy and let him go so we could round cleanly and with good speed (due to better angle) -- and without incident. This is an extreme example of avoiding boats… but when you’re sailing with borrowed, NEW boat, it is an easy decision to make...!

Watch that Compass!

The compass matters… especially on longer courses when the wind shifts are soft and subtle (unlike the short course lake shifts that are more pronounced and obvious). That was the case on Saturday… and Jerry and I were in constant communication on what the compass was telling us. There were many times I would feel headed or lifted and would ask Jerry to repeat the latest compass reading – even though I had just snuck a peek and read it aloud – to doubly remind both of us that we should stick to the fundamentals. We were especially conscious of the final shift of any given leg so that we would have a good guess of which way to go on the next.

Stay Away From Corners in HWC!

And on Saturday we did just that – playing the shifts in the middle of the course, never getting to laylines early, changing gears in the HWC, and keeping the boat headed toward more pressure whenever we spotted it on the water (polarized glasses help!). But Sunday was a different story…

Sunday

On Sunday we tossed caution to the wind (so to speak) – as far as staying away from corners, because Jerry and I correctly assessed that “pressure would be king”… and we had to get to the busy corner of the course to stay alive. That said, after another solid start, it was clear to both of us there was more pressure on the left (did I mention polarized glasses? get them and you’ll see what I mean!) – and so we banged the left side hard and when we came out of the left corner we were in the lead pack of three boats and seemingly golden because the boat we wanted to beat – Aras – was behind us, and the boat we needed to stay near (but could spare some points) – Harry – was half a boatlength in front of us… and everything was peaches and cream… until… for some reason I suddenly decided to jibe away from the obvious “pressure-is-king” left – and into oblivion on the lighter side . Explanation? Not really. Ever want to get away? Well I did… but couldn’t – not with the chute plastered that way to the forestay. So Jerry and I did the only thing we could do – sit and try not to move… and keep heading up to get whatever apparent wind there was to fill the chute… and ooze our way forward while the pack ground us down (bringing new pressure from behind) and completely ensconced us at the bottom mark. We had only one leg left in the race and the regatta… but fortunately we got back to our game plan (after a brief, and silly tack toward a teaser breeze on the right) – and had the presence of mind to put the bow down slightly and foot our way full speed to the far left – where the pressure continued to grow… and grow.. and helped us climb back to a comfortable 6^thplace in the race and 2^nd overall!

THE END…

Glow 2010 Results

2010-09-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Pos	Sail	Boat	Skipper	Crew 1 / Crew 2	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Total
1	5622	Alveolus	Harry Carpenter	Carrie Carpenter	2	2	2	1	2	9
2	5897	Sophie	Ben Williams	Deb Aronson	5	1	1	3	3	13
3	5015	Helga	Frank Gerry	Marianne Gerry	1	3	3	5	4	16
4	5892		Bill Vogler	Rob Preston / Deb Torgerson	4	4	7	2	1	18
5	5150	Kethcup	Larry Klick	James Williams	3	5	4	4	7	23
6	4328		David Sebald	Luther Torgerson	7	6	8	8	6	35
7	4278	Blown Away	John Heiser	Jen Liu	9	7	5	9	9	39
8	4113	Flying Finn	Shannon Wilfert	Mark Wilfert	11	8	10	6	5	40
9	4644		Joe Karbarz	Mirko Montanari	10	9	9	11	8	47
10	5637	Sunset	Don Johnson	Deb Torgerson / Karen Hewitt	8	10	11	7	13	49
11	5631	Wind Talker	Rod Bussel	Emory Luth	6	13	6	13	13	51
12	3552	Redi or Knot	Olaf Westerstahl	Anna Stenport	12	11	12	10	10	55

Deb's 2010 Glow Report

2010-09-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Clinton Lake Sailing Association Flying Scot Fleet 135 hosted its fourth annual Glow II Regatta September 24-26. The weather cooperated nicely and we ran three races Saturday in moderate winds and two on Sunday in gusty winds of about 12-15. Fleet 135 member Nick Schneider served as PRO and did a wonderful job, as usual.

The five races were won by four different boats, an indication of the highly competitive sailing happening on the lake. With six out-of-town boats, we had participants from as far away as Medicine Lake, MN, (Larry Klick, sailing Ketchup, who is a Glow faithful!) and Deep Creek, MD, as FS builder Harry Carpenter both came to participate in the regatta and deliver a new boat to Clinton Lake. Harry’s daughter, Carrie, crewed for Harry. Carrie also brought her “mascot” Alfie, who made friends with the marina dog, Friday, and several young children.

The new boat, named Alveolus, was purchased by our newest Flying Scot sailor, John Mann. Welcome, John!

On Saturday our first start was mediocre and we were unsettled about what to do. Consequently we sailed the middle of the course, trying to stay in phase. The course was windward-leeward once around in light wind. We rounded the first mark about fifth and stayed there.

Next race there may have been a bit more wind, or at least we had more wind! On one of the downwind legs (I’ve lost track of which one) we stayed to the left of the leaders, found a private puff that drove us by the other boats like they were standing still. I felt like waving as if I were on a parade float! We went from third or fourth place to well ahead. Somehow we managed to hold Harry Carpenter and Frank Gerry off, though they almost caught us at the finish.

The third race we were third to the windward mark. The most exciting thing we saw up there was our fleet comrade, John Heizer, who bought his Flying Scot “Blown Away” less than a year ago, rounding the mark in second, hot on Harry’s tail. Go John! We rounded the final leeward mark in third place. The wind continued to clock left and the leaders headed to the left to dig into the shift. We realized we were far enough left and could lay the finish from where we were if the wind held. We sailed as high and as fast as we could go, hoping against hope to maybe catch Frank and Marianne. For some reason we had excellent boat speed and were pointing really well. We managed to not only catch Frank but also to catch Harry, crossing barely a boat length ahead of him.

That evening, before our traditional grilled steaks with sides, Harry and Carrie answered questions and shared their racing knowledge with the assembled skippers and crews. It was a lively, very informative session that everyone appreciated. Around dinner it began to drizzle, but it did not dampen our spirits as we sat snug in the pavilion.

Sunday dawned cold and misty, but we all enjoyed a wonderful hot breakfast prepared by Joe and Denise Karbarz, with help from Luther Torgerson. The wind was stronger than Saturday. I spent so much time hiking on Sunday, I barely remember any of the races, except for the time we almost capsized when I was taking the spinnaker down! That was pretty unforgettable. Ben managed to steer the boat back under the sails and we breathed a sigh of relief. That puff, or its buddy, did knock one boat over. Long story short, we finished third in both races; my legs and hands are still sore!

The trophies this year were handmade cedar wheel chocks, varnished and engraved with “Glow 2010” by Fleet 135 member Emory Luth. They were very popular, and many participants said they were too pretty to use! Crew trophies were crank handles decorated with black flame decals (handy work of Fleet 135 member Karen Hewitt); a real collector’s item!

Next year the Glow is also the Midwest Districts, so mark the regatta on your calendars. Hope to see you there!

Photos by Doug Williams. All of Doug's photos from the regatta can be found on Flickr. To see them, click on this link: Glow 2010 Regatta Photo Set.

Whale of a Sail, 2010, Deb's Report

2010-09-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

The 40th annual Whale of a Sail regatta almost ended up a no-blow. Fourteen Flying Scots registered for the multi-class regatta and we spent all day Saturday enjoying one another's company and whistling for the wind.

Unfortunately the whistling did not pay off and by about 3:30 pm the race committee canceled racing for the day. Of course, it will not surprise any sailors that about 45 minutes later a lovely light breeze came in, but by then many of us were a few sheets to the wind and the rest of us were happy to stay on shore and enjoy watching the 11 Mutineers race in their nationals in the light and spotty wind.

Alas Sunday morning dawned with heavy rain and thunder. But we were not deterred and neither was the race committee! After waiting around for almost two hours the race committee decided to send everyone out and we had one of the odder races in the history of the Whale.

Just at the start the wind died. Some boats were far enough away it took them several minutes to cross the line. Then a fresh wind came in from behind us and for a few minutes Flying Scots enjoyed some lively sailing, though we were not going up wind. After the fleet rounded the "windward" mark the wind died again and shifted so again we were on a beam reach. As we ghosted to the "leeward" mark we were thrilled to see a crash boat tooting its horn and flying the "shorten course" flag. And so we sailed the last leg, kind of up wind.

Everyone, from the race committee to the participants, was relieved to have gotten a race in and spirits were high. Hopefully next weekend's Glow in the Dark II regatta will have a bit more wind but this weekend goes to show, you just never know!

Fourth place Robb Preston and Hannah Preston
Third place Emilio and Sue Tellini
Second place Ben Williams and Deb Aronson
First place Frank and Marianne Gerry

Fun Regattas Coming Up!

2010-09-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

There are two great regattas coming up to cap off the midwest sailing season: the "Whale" at Carlyle Lake, IL, and the "Glow" at Clinton Lake, IL. Deb and I plan to attend both (our fleet hosts the Glow) and we plan to post results and regatta reports for both events.

The Whale of a Sail is Sept 17-19. Here's a link to the Whale Notice of Race: NOR. This is a multi-class regatta, but the Flying Scots always have a separate start. The race management and hospitality are superb. The facilities are world class.

The Glow II regatta is Sept 24-26. Information, NOR, etc. about this regatta can be found on the CLSA web page. Many sailors camp right on the club grounds. Both Friday and Saturday night there will be a bonfire.

Sailing Tee-Shirt from Scot Sailor D. Randy Adolphs

2010-08-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

I'm posting an email below from midwest Flying Scot sailor D. Randy Adolphs. He has a great tee shirt for sail that you may be interested in...

Hello Ben and Fellow Flying Scot Sailors

Ben could you put this on your blog? We all have lots of good sailing tees but we could all use one more !

These simple words capture the essence of sailboat racing. Go in the right direction and HAVE FUN! Every sailor (and all your sailing buddies, family and friends) should have at least one t-shirt with this timeless message! Maybe two or three!! Great gifts!!! I just happen to have a few available. Email or call your order in now. Shirts are 100% cotton. Attached are some photos of shirts and available colors (I need a better looking model!).

Sizes: SM, M, L, XL, and 2XL.

Colors: Black, Charcoal, Heather Indigo, Iris, Military Green, Navy, Red, Royal, Tangerine and “pigment dyed” Pacific Blue, Forest Green & Wave Blue.

Prices;
Ultra Cotton: $15 ea (or 2 for $25)
Heavy Cotton (Pigment Dyed) and 2XL’s: $17.50 (or 2 for $30)
Shipping: $5 (large orders TBD)

Please let me know how many you would like?

Many Thanks & Smooth/Fast Sailing (and remember - Life’s Hard. Sailing’s Easy. HAVE FUN!),
D. Randy

d.randy@sbcglobal.net or 608-334-9673

Ehraim Regatta Final Results

2010-08-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

Pos	Sail	Boat	Skipper	Crew 1 / Crew 2	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total	Pos
1	5622	Hogwarts Express	Malmgren, Ryan	Malmgren, Evan	2	4	1	1	8	1
2	5775	High 5	Faugust, Michael	Faugust, Jennifer	5	1	5	2	13	2
3	5698	Reindeer II	Lott, Jay	Sauter, David	8	3	2	9	22	3
4	1168	Tag	Goettelman, Cain	Goettelman, Seth	6	7	4	6	23	4
5	5150	Ketchup	Klick, Larry	Williams, James	1	2	7	15	25	5
6	4987	Charlie B	Carpenter, Harry	Carpenter, Carrie	13	6	3	3	25	6
7	2922	Undaunted	Claypool, Nancy	Claypool, Carol / Berger, Carrie	10	10	6	5	31	7
8	5015	Helga	Gerry, Frank	Gerry, Marianne	3	15	10	4	32	8
9	4747	R-bub	Engelke, Dan	Gheorghita, Liz	7	9	12	8	36	9
10	527	T-Bone	Pillat, Christian	Harsch, Skip	9	8	9	12	38	10
11	EYC 92	Merry Scot	Polzin, Dierk	Polzin, Don	12	12	8	11	43	11
12	5897	Sophie	Williams, Ben	Aronson, Deb	4	14	11	16	45	12
13	4788	Nauti-Lass	Howting, Chuck	Riley, Aric	24	11	17	7	59	13
14	4810	Think Fast	Goetsch, Griff		20	5	20	20	65	14
15	4175	Blew By U	Brown, Kirk	Moegenberg, Peter	23	17	14	13	67	15
16	EYC 81	White Whale	Smith, Matthew	Gheorghita, Will / Harlan, Robert	15	25	21	10	71	16
17	EYC 91	Flying Ghotti	Schallip, Ben	Shatto, Jim	11	13	18	32/DNF	74	17
18	4150	Mac Scot	Pearson, Scott	Pearson, Annika	14	16	19	27	76	18
19	2983	Evie	Hill, Tim	Hill, Peter	16	32/OCS	13	17	78	19
20	EYC 83	Laura II	Crowe, Alden	Moegenburg, Peter	28	22	15	18	83	20
21	4278	Blown Away	Heizer, John	Liu, Jennifer	18	18	23	24	83	21
22	2787	Make Time	Bayer, Tom	Judd, Curtis / Weiss, Paul	27	20	26	22	95	22
23	1988	Fernow	Faugust, Jim	Faugust, Darlene	22	23	25	25	95	23
24	1322	Skizot	Heidler, Woody	Zingsheim, Murphy	19	32/OCS	32/OCS	14	97	24
25	5631	Wind Talker	Bussell, Eric	Bussell, Rod	25	19	32/DNF	21	97	25
26	EYC 93	Crail II	Peterson, Isak	Peterson, Stefan	26	24	16	32/OCS	98	26
27	769	Aries	Latreille, Sara	Mazeski, Kelly	21	26	27	26	100	27
28	EYC 82	??	Boughey, Brittany	Dyar, Bryn / Hooper, Kirstin	29	27	22	23	101	28
29	5922	Phoenix	Thomas, Jonathan	Lewis, Joani	17	21	32/DNC	32/DNC	102	29
30	25	Who Dat	Baird, Dan	Coble, Christiana / Berger, Steven	32/DNC	32/DNC	24	19	107	30
31	4411	Liberty One	Welch, Graham		32/DNC	32/DNC	32/DNC	32/DNC	128	31

Ehraim Regatta - Deb's report: Sunday brings a nice breeze!

2010-08-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Whew! Back home from Ephraim and what a weekend. You know it is a good trip when you go away for just two days and come back refreshed and happy.

Sunday we were expecting wispy, light wind, even lighter than Saturday, so we were pleasantly surprised when, about 30 minutes before the first race started the wind filled in quite nicely. Not heavy, mind you, but enough to prevent a real shake and bake experience.

The high point of my day was the very first start, which was VERY fun! We duked it out at the pin end with a bunch of really good sailors and just squeaked by the pin, missing it by a whisker, and had good speed. Alas, after half a leg the fleet was called back — general recall.

Even with the decent wind, the water was choppy. Ben did a good job driving the boat through the waves and I did okay on weight management, but we were not at the top of our game. Despite a couple decent starts and good upwind legs — or at least parts that were good — we could not find our groove. Still, we didn’t make any glaring errors and ended up 12th out of 31 boats. Not too shabby. That Ephraim is a tough, tough fleet!

Meanwhile, shortly after we got off the water, Ben came down with a massive caffeine withdrawal headache .. maybe it was that weak coffee at our breakfast restaurant? Hmmm, perhaps we should carry our cappuccino maker on board!!

Ryan and Evan were really going fast on Sunday, scoring two bullets, which gave them the series win. Congrats Ryan and Evan! Local Ephraim sailors Mike Faugust, Jay Lott, and Cain Goettleman filled out the rest of the top four places. In fifth, from Medicine Lake, was Larry Klick. Just out of the trophies in sixth was Harry Carpenter, who sailed in a borrowed boat with Carrie. Harry and Carrie had a strong second day with two third place finishes.

Ryan Malmgren and Harry Carpenter also very generously gave a great seminar after the races Saturday, which was greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile, our fellow Clinton sailors John Heizer and Jen Liu looked great out there, finishing 21st and Eric and Rod Bussell, at their first Scot regatta ever, came away with a 25th place and — I think — a lot of good experiences!

Photos by Doug Williams

The rest of Doug's photos from the regatta and Jay's party can be found on Flickr: Ephraim Regatta Photos by Doug Williams

Ehraim, Saturday - Deb's Update - Light Air!

2010-08-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

Sailing conditions were light and shifty today at the Ephraim Regatta. Larry Klick and his crew, James Williams, from Medicine Lake, MN, had the best day of anyone, with a first- and second-place finish. There are more than 31 boats participating, as well as several International 110s.

The first race the wind was coming out of the south at about 180 degrees. We had a very good start and stayed on the right, which we decided looked better. We rounded about fifth at the first mark and about the same at the leeward mark. On the second upwind leg we concentrated on keeping the boat moving, not tacking very much and looking for pressure. We also spent a lot of time looking at the other boats around us, all of whom were doing pretty much the same thing! The committee shortened the race to that upwind mark, much to our relief, and we placed fourth. Just after we finished an entirely new and fresh wind came in from the north and the rest of the fleet finished the “upwind” leg with spinnakers flying. It was an awesome sight, but I did not envy the committee boat trying to take finishes with everyone all clustered together, including some International 110s.

We then waited for about an hour for the race committee to reset the course, at which point we sailed a second race. The wind seemed much better on the right side, but we started on the left to get a clear start and never quite recovered! Larry and James had a great windward leg, rounding well ahead of the next boats. That was the case for the entire race, until Mike and Jennifer Faugust caught them just at the finish. I can’t report much more about the front of the fleet because they were mostly out of sight as we tried to work our way back up through the fleet, without much success.

The race committee tried to get a third race off before the 3 pm deadline, but were unsuccessful, so we all headed back to the dock, many getting towed in, as the wind continued to die. Tomorrow predictions are for more very light wind, but time will tell.

Part of the Ephraim Regatta tradition is the annual Saturday bratfest, which is always very well attended. This year was no exception and we enjoyed brats, grilled corn on the cob, and lots of cold beer. The results also were posted there and a very partial listing includes:
Larry Klick and James Williams 3 pts
Ryan and Evan Malmgren tied with Mike and Jen Faugust 6 pts
Jay Lott and Dave Sauter 11 pts
Cain Goettelman and his brother Seth 13 pts

Someone ran off with the actual standings, so I can’t tell you more just now, but stay tuned!

Photos by Doug Williams.

Arrival in Ephraim

2010-07-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Here we are in lovely, cool Ephraim, WI, for the 105th annual Ephraim Regatta! Clinton Lake has three boats here; us, John Heizer and Jen Liu, and Eric and Rod Bussell. We passed the Bussell’s on the road yesterday; it’s always so exciting to see another Flying Scot on the road!

Last night Jay Lott threw his annual “roadkill party,” with the most amazing food, all of which he had caught. We had salmon fresh-caught by Jay and Ryan Malmgren … where DO you catch salmon inland? Then there were duck and pheasant kebobs, which I’ve never had and were very flavorful. In addition there were crowd pleasers like mac n cheese (one kid who was in line accosted Ben as he walked by with a full plate, ‘is there mac n cheese left?” he asked in desperation!) Then there were hot dogs, brats and the works.

In addition to Flying Scots participating in the regatta, other Ephraim Yacht Club members came to Jay’s and Clinton Lake Flying Scot sailors Joe and Denise Karbarz, who are spending the week in their cabin boat and are planning on being spectators, came to the party.

We camped at Ryan’s cabin, which is tucked away in the woods up the road in Sister Bay. The land borders the water and is up on a cliff. They have steps down to a gorgeous beach, full of huge rocks. It is absolutely breathtaking and we feel lucky to be here. It does, however, rain in this paradise, and last night as we snuggled in our tent, the rain came down for hours. Still, we stayed dry, it looks like the rain has stopped for the moment, and we are now looking forward to setting up our boat and having a great day of sailing in gorgeous Ephraim.

2010 Ephraim Reggatta: plan to attend!

2010-07-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

The 105th consecutive Ephraim Regatta is coming up, July 30 - August 1, 2010. This is always a great event with a large Flying Scot fleet. Deb and I are planning to attend, and at least two other boats from our club have registered: Eric Bussell, who just joined fleet 135 at Clinton Lake Sailing Association this year, and John Heizer, who joined last year. Eric sails with his Dad, Rod, and John sails with his wife, Jennifer.

We plan to post some regatta updates and pictures once the regatta is under way.

Here are links to the NOR, Registration Form, and other information:

2010 Ephraim Regatta Notice of Race

2010 Ephraim Regatta registration form

2010 Ephraim Regatta Welcome Letter and information for competitors

2010 Flying Scot Midwest Districts a Big Success

2010-07-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

Photos by Dave Miller. Other pictures from the regatta can be found at the following link: Dave Miller's Photo Album

The post below was contributed by Deb Aronson (Sophie, 5897):

This year's Flying Scot Midwestern Districts were held on Medicine Lake, MN, Larry Klick's home club. Those of you who have sailed at the Glow will know Larry, since he owns the bright red boat named Ketchup.

The turnout for the regatta was exceptional, with ten out-of-town boats, including three from Ephraim, two from Madison, one from Ames, Iowa, as well as Bill Vogler from Carlyle, Frank and Marianne Gerry from Delavan.

Due to a lack of babysitters, two Clinton boats had to drop out at the last minute, but Ben and Deb, sailing Sophie, traveled to the regatta and had a great time! Medicine Lake is small but has a quite active Flying Scot fleet. Visitors launched from a local park and met the locals, several of whom live on the lake, on the race course. Saturday was overcast and quite cold, with a light wind. Just as the racing began, so did the rains, but the rain was relatively light and only started in earnest as we came off the water around 3 or 4 pm.

The first race everyone crowded at the pin end, resulting in a bit of a pile up and some boat bumping at the start. We had a fairly slow start but soon found some wind and got the boat moving pretty well. With the patchy wind, boats traded places throughout the race, and though we had some shining moments, we finished the first race in 10th place. The second race we got a better start, figured out that the left side of the course often paid off, tried to stay left but also watch the compass, and finished fourth. Our light weight appeared to help considerably this regatta on the downwind legs in the light air. We marched past several boats with our spinnaker up in this second race, for example.

The third race looked at first as if we were going to tank it. We got called over early, as did Bill Vogler, and had to restart. Figuring we might as well try for some clear air, since the wind was getting patchier and patchier, we headed right while the bulk of the fleet went left. And there, something magical happened. It was as if we had a little motor on our boat. While everyone struggled to find some pressure, we just sailed over the water, Sophie felt perfect, no matter what we did we went fast, and we were second at the windward mark! Then putting up our 'chute, again in air so light it was hard to tell where it was coming from, Ben figured out it was a tight reach, we got the 'chute full and just marched past Cain Goettleman, from Ephraim, who had beat us to the first mark. We got to the leeward mark more than 10 boat lengths ahead of Cain. The course had, meanwhile, been shortened and so we finished at the windward mark and headed in for a warm shower and dinner.

After everyone got warm and dry we met at a local pizza place for a lively dinner and the swapping of various tall tales and handing out of door prizes. Ben was introduced by Ryan Malmgren as the new district governor to a loud round of applause.

Sunday Larry Klick promised sun and warmth, neither of which materialized. Still, the rain held off and we had two more races in similar conditions as Saturday. We had two solid races, nothing very spectacular, but no big mistakes either. Still, the fleet is tough, several boats behind us in the standings beat us in the races, so although we were in fourth going into Sunday's races, we figured we'd fallen out of trophy contention. Much to our surprise, we had managed to hold on for a fourth place trophy in a very very tough crowd.

2010 Midwest Districts at Medicine Lake: Results

2010-07-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Sail #	Skipper	Crew 1	Crew 2	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	Score	Position
5622	Ryan Malmgren	Carrie Carpenter		2	1	3	1	1	8	1
1186	Cain Goettelman	Seth Goettelman		1	3	2	2	6	14	2
5015	Frank Gerry	Maryann Gerry		3	2	6	6	3	20	3
5897	Ben Williams	Deb Aronson		10	4	1	8	7	30	4
5551	Chris Wright	John Wright		6	6	8	5	5	30	5
5892	Bill Vogler	Jill Rendleman		8	7	7	7	2	31	6
5698	Jay Lott	David Sauter		4	9	4	10	5	31	7
5150	Larry Klick	James Williams		7	8	5	4	9	33	8
1202	Tim DeVries	Deb Torgerson		5	5	10	3	19	42	9
4113	Shannon Wilfert	Mark Wilfert		9	12	15	16	11	63	10
1354	Dave Schwain	Kevin Schwain		14	13	12	12	12	63	11
5074	Claus Niesen	Melissa Niesen		11	10	13	15	14	63	12
2576	Mike Misk	Maria Misk	Natalie Misk	12	14	14	14	13	67	13
4815	Josh Brose	Curt Holmquist		19	11	19	11	10	70	14
2695	Walt Barniskis	Norrie Simpson		13	16	9	17	15	70	15
238	Jeff Howell	Barb Emahiser		19	19	19	9	8	74	16
3958	Tom Conn	Dan Madsen		19	15	11	18	15	78	17
2770	Liz Sumpton	Liz Salzman		15	19	16	13	16	79	18

Single-Handed Results

Sail #	Skipper	R1	R2	Score	Position
1202	Tim DeVries	1	1	2	1
5150	Larry Klick	2	2	4	2
2576	Mike Misk	3	5	8	3
5551	Chris Wright	6	3	9	4
5897	Ben Williams	5	4	9	5
4113	Shannon Wilfert	4	7	11	6
5074	Claus Niesen	7	6	13	7
2695	Walt Barniskis	9	8	17	8
3958	Tom Conn	8	9	17	9

2010 Flying Scot NACS – A Perspective From The Rear – By John Heizer

2010-07-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and I were able to get a one week summer vacation and since we've only had our boat since last Fall we wanted to get more experience racing Scots. Even though we have participated in some club races and Wednesday night races, two regattas (Clinton Lake SA 2009 Glow, Carlyle 2010 Egyptian cup) and the Mid Winters in New Orleans, we felt out of our element racing in a larger group. We thought that if we were to brave up and race the NACS we would learn a lot about racing and become more comfortable at regattas.

Even so, in the days before we left, I had doubts (in spite of lots of encouragement from Ben Williams and Deb Aronson) that we belonged there. I emailed the FSSA president, vice president and the gulf district governor expressing my concerns. All three heartily encouraged us to come. The president, Charles Buffington, even introduced us to the current Flying Scot national champion, Allan Terhune and asked him to check our boat for correct setup and advice, which he did graciously. I was pleasantly surprised. At the NACS we made new friends, strengthened existing friendships, increased our comfort sailing in large groups and improved our sailing technique.

One of our problems has been focusing so much on sail trim and boat handling that we forget to look outside. We haven’t been able to free ourselves up enough to get our heads out of the boat and look for the part of the course that has better pressure, to see what the competition is doing, or even closely follow the wind shifts. With the many hours we spent racing over the last week I feel we were able to make some progress in these areas.

For the first time, in some of the races we actually had more than one boat behind us at the first windward mark. In one of the earlier races, which was eventually cancelled due to the wind turning completely off, we were on the line, in a clear spot, right at the starting gun. However, we were not up to speed when I decided to tack. We only made it halfway and were caught in irons. Even so, we went to the side of the course that benefitted from a persistent shift and had 8 boats behind us at the windward mark! I was so surprised I counted the boats behind us several times until Jennifer yelled to me to turn around and steer. This was a thrill and a huge victory for us .

Of the 16 boats who completed all three of the races in the challenger series we finished 2nd from last and were miles behind the 1st three-fourths of the Challenger group. To sum up: even though we were at the back, my doubts were unfounded – everyone was friendly and welcoming; we gained experience, confidence, and some skills; and most importantly we had a lot of fun. Even though this serious event was thickly populated with professional and expert amateur sailors, there was still room for inclusion and encouragement of these two newbies.

Congratulations to Clinton Lake’s Ben Williams and Deb Aronson 2010 NACS Challenger National Champions!

Deb's third post from the NACs (posted Sunday, 7/4)

2010-07-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it might seem that we fell of the end of the world there for a few days, but things got a little hectic. In catching up, this post is a bit long, I give you fair warning.

After the qualifying rounds finished on Tuesday, we showed up Wednesday for the 1 pm start only to be met with more weather. The winds were high, storms kept sweeping through and so we sat in the club house watching the radar and the clouds.

Finally at about 2 or 2:30 the RC announced we were going out, so everyone dashed to put their boats in. There were about 50 boats using one hoist and so, although the process went very smoothly, it took a while. By the time Ben and I just got our boat in, a squall came through,and the race committee sent everyone back in. At that point, everyone took their boats out and 30 minutes later a lovely sea breeze set in!! Argh! Still, that was it for the day and we were told to come back Thursday for a 10 am start.

Thursday started out looking better. There was a decent wind, they started the race (windward-leeward twice around), and off we went. The wind shifted a bit and the race committee was really trying to make things perfect, so they kept shifting the marks, providing a whistle at the preceding mark to alert us to the change. Unfortunately, on the third leg they muffed the setting of the mark, turning that leg into a reach instead of an upwind leg. For some reason, they then finished us at the end of the third leg, probably (maybe?) because they figured that was a crazy race and better to just end it as soon as they could. Ben and I were not only well back in the fleet, maybe 17th or so, but we didn't get a finish, which is the first moment we realized we had been over early at the start. They had put up a individual recall but do not announce boats, so you just have to guess. Ben knew we had been over before the gun but thought he had dipped below well before. It turns out, the "I" flag was up, meaning not only do you have to go around an end to restart if you are over early, but you have to be behind the line one minute before the start. We had forgotten that important detail!

Luckily for us (to spare you any suspense) they had to throw out that race because in the instructions for this particular regatta the minimum race has to be four legs. Whew!!

Next they tried another race, again windward-leeward. We got a good start that time and headed pretty hard right in the dying wind. We got to the windward mark just behind John and Susie Domagala. As we rounded the mark we began to realize just how much the wind had died and we ghosted down the course, barely under way all the way to the leeward mark. We rounded and went left and the wind died still more. I will spare you the painful details, but it was a long, long leg during which what wind there was shifted and we put up our spinnaker again. Finally, we were in spitting distance of the mark, the water like glass, when we heard the abandon horn. The race had not been completed in the allotted time. What torture!!

So we'd been on the water since 9:30, it was now 2:30 and we had no races that counted yet. Looking grim!

Happily, when we got in, a sea breeze began to blow, they sent us out again and ran a lovely race. We decided on a conservative start and to head right, which we did. We traded tacks with two or three boats up that leg, but managed to round in first place, got our chute up though the wind was light, and headed to the leeward mark. We managed to pull away a little on that leg and also benefitted from a big traffic jam right behind us when about six boats got to the leeward mark at the same time. The next two legs we did the same and pulled out more. They finished us downwind and by that time we were about 20 boat lengths ahead of the next boat. That was a fun race!!

Friday they had to run two races to even make the regatta count and things were tense. They had us start at 9:30, got a good race in with a moderate wind from the north east. We had a conservative midline start, played the shifts, had the boat going well upwind. Each mark we rounded in second place, though the leader changed every time! In the end, Kim and Dave Thinel, of the Florida District, had the best boat speed and won the race. We were second and felt really good about our finish.

Then, just like the day before, the wind died and we sat, and sat ... and sat. The smart boats, including John and Jen, headed in to get out of the sun. By the time we figured out we could do that they had decided to try to start a race in a wimpy north wind that had shown up. They were running out of time, the race had to start before 3 pm and it was already 2:15. As they started the Championship Fleet we saw the seabreeze coming in from the exact opposite angle and Ben said, "Deb at the start, get ready to put the chute up." Luckily, the RC also saw what was happening, abandoned the race, we all trucked down wind, they set up a new course and voila! we got a good race off in a steady, moderate wind. Hallelujah!

That race was similar to the one on Thursday. We traded tacks with a couple boats on the way upwind. One boat, Greg and Diane Kampf from Massachusetts, got there first, then we were second. That was the situation for almost the whole race until the last upwind leg, when our closest competitor, John Kreidler, got by us to finish second.

We had a one, two and three finish, which gave us six points. John K had nine points, so that made us the winner of the Challenger division. We are feeling pretty darn good about it!

Deb's second post from the NACs (posted Wednesday, 6/30)

2010-07-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

Well, when I left you all yesterday, we dashed out to the racecourse during a break in the weather and, between one thing and another managed to complete all three races of the round-robin qualifying series. Unfortunately, it took about 8 hours, with winds topping out at about 18 with gusts over 20 and lots of chop. In addition, we had almost finished one race that they subsequently abandoned when a squall came through, and had several general recalls in which one fleet sailed almost an entire leg. So that made for a long day!

Both Ben and John qualified for the Challenger fleet, but no races are being run yet, since winds are now 20 and above, with some gusts being reported at 29! This is survival sailing at its finest, especially with a light crew weight. Nevertheless, we're have a good time, we are certainly not overheating, which had been my big concern. From our district, both Ryan Malmgren and Frank Gerry are in the Championship Fleet, so GO MIDWEST District!!

BUT, the big news is that the local paper, the Sun Herald has front sports page feature of the regatta and Yours Truly is in a photo below the fold, complete with our Clinton Lake affiliation! Check it out!! www.sunherald.com, scroll down the page until you find sports and you'll see a feature labeled, "The Big Breezy." The photo of us at the start line was in the print version too!! Go Clinton Lake!!!
Or you can go straight to the story at http://www.sunherald.com/2010/06/29/2298154/the-big-breezy.html

Deb's first post from the NACs (posted Tuesday, 6/29)

2010-07-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Bay-Waveland, Mississippi, where the Flying Scot North Americans have been stalled due to Hurricane Alex's far reach. Sunday, when we were getting measured, the weather was lovely and both the Junior and the women's divisions were able to compete.

Yesterday (Monday) was supposed to be the first of a two-day round-robin qualification series. There are four fleets of 12 boats each and each fleet will race against the other three. Then the finals will consist of a total of five races with the 50 boats divided into a Championship and a Challenger series, based on results from the quals. We got our boats in the water, only to have an enormous storm come through that had all 50 skippers and their crew hunkering down in the club house (a very lovely club house, by the way) for the entire day.

So there has been a lot of visiting and tall-tale swapping among the sailors, who are both top-notch and extremely friendly. John Heizer and Jen Liu with their son, Will, are also here and are enjoying meeting the sailors and soaking up the scene. We are sharing a house together that is a bit inland but on a canal. It is very scenic, with dense foliage and exotic plants. Someone sighted an alligator in the reeds near the club, but according to those who know, an alligator isn't half as scary as a crocodile. who knew?

It appears to be an incredibly competitive group here, with many former North American champions, professional sailors and the like. We'll learn a lot!!

This morning, instead of starting at 1 pm as previously scheduled, to take advantage of the sea breeze, we were going to start at 10:30 to try and fit all three qualifying races in this morning. Alex had a different idea, and at about 9:30 another large cell began moving through, bringing buckets and buckets of rain and a stiff breeze. It looks as if racing will be put off for another hour or so, so keep your fingers crossed!

Photos of Midwest sailors at the 2010 NACs

2010-07-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

The inaugural post of this blog is coming after the Flying Scot NACs at Bay Waveland. I meant to start it before, but that's how things go sometimes.

To start with, let me include a few pictures of

sailors from the midwest district who attended the NACs. These were taken on Sunday (measurement day), before the all of the rain started, as folks were setting up their boats.

From top to bottom:

Frank and Maryann, just after stepping Helga's mast.

Maryann showing off cool sunglasses.

Ryan and Carrie.

John standing between Sophie and Blown Away.

Jen and Will, just after setting up Will's play area under the Bay Waveland Club.

Lots of Scots...