Day 1 Midwinters

Wow! What a fantastic day!! It did start out slow, as I mentioned this morning. We got to the club and there was no wind. So we all hung around for a couple hours, chatted and ate our lunch and then — it was as if we were all a flock of birds — we all got up from the tables at the same time (having felt the growing breeze) and headed for the boats. Only five minutes later did the postpone flag come down!

We headed out into a beautiful seabreeze.  We had steady 10-12 winds, three 4-leg races and an all around exhausting and fabulous day, coming in at about 5:45. Then we washed the boat off, I took a quick shower *sigh!* and we had a big ol' shrimp boil. Yum!

You can see the results here:
http://www.fssa.com/content/2015-midwinters-sarasota-sailing-squadron-florida

The Midwest sailors are doing pretty well: Ryan Malmgren and Kris Brown are chugging along in fifth place (nice spinnaker, Ryan!), Mike and Jen Faugust are 10th, Team Sophie is 12, and Chuck Howting and Luther Torgerson are 28. In the challenger fleet, Eric Bussell and Rob Parker are in the running for a trophy at fifth place. Way to go Midwest District!

Ryan Malmgren (#6077) having a great day

Looks Like Light Winds Today at Sarasota Sailing Squadron

Well, racing will start at noon today, but based on the prediction conditions will be much lighter than yesterday. Hopefully if it really is a 1 mph wind they won't send us out to shake and bake. Meanwhile we'll slather on the sunblock!

Since I haven't got racing to report, instead I'll report a little bit about the executive committee and district governors meetings that were held yesterday. The biggest news is that the class is holding a raffle for a brand new, made to order Flying Scot! Tickets are $100 each and you can buy them online at the fssa.com website under the tab "donate." Go to Foundation and follow the prompts! The drawing will be held at this year's NACs, so buy early and buy often! There will only be 250 tickets sold, so your chances are awfully good!

Campers at Sarasota. There are also almost a dozen tents. It's gorgeous here!

Other than that, it is looking very likely, though not official, that next year's NACs will be held in Newport, RI. The class is working hard to make it as affordable as possible, including housing in a local college dorm. Stay tuned for details!

Also, Midwest sailors, let's start thinking about a destination in our district where we also could host the NAC in a few years. At Newport, while there is no Flying Scot fleet, the entire New England district will pitch in to make it happen. That seems to be to be a really smart use of resources. Sheboygan perhaps? Any great inland lakes with facilities for 90 boats? Your thoughts are appreciated!

The class is looking pretty strong, all things considered. Membership efforts are moving along (anyone reading this who hasn't paid their dues .... please support the class!), the website is in good shape, finances are stable, and the sun is shining. So! Let's go sailing!

Brothers with different mothers! Bruce Kitchen, Cowan Lake (left) and Mark Benner, Moraine Sailing Club (right)

Perfect Conditions for Warm Up Regatta

Not to make you jealous or anything ... but this is where we were today!

Well, we got down here in 2.5 days of driving and so far it has really been worth it. The weather is gorgeous, it's always great to see old friends and make new ones, and the competition is incredible. On top of that, perfect conditions prevailed today for the warm up regatta.  

Today we had two, four-leg races. The Faugusts, from Ephraim Yacht Club, were down sailing Mike's parents' boat; Eric Bussell and Rob Parker were duking it out for first place in the challenger race. I know Chuck Howting and Luther Torgerson sailed the first race despite their windex being bent by a large bird, which meant it spun like a top the whole time they were going upwind! Argh! Team Sophie had a good day, finishing roughly 7th both races. Ryan Malmgren made it out for the last race and was looking good with his brand new spinnaker. I'd have a photo except I left my waterproof camera in the women's room at the club overnight to recharge and when I went back for it, it was gone. I spent a couple hours convinced a good Samaritan had put it in lost and found, but after checking absolutely everywhere, it is definitely gone. Someone else reported their tactic was next to their boat recharging and someone walked off with that. Some sticky fingers here, which makes me feel very sad since the odds are the sticky fingers belong to some fellow sailors.  

I remet many sailors that I see only here, every other year. Ben and I sat with Tom McNally and his crew, Henry Pico, as well as Tom's brother, who was sailing with his own (maybe 8-year-old?) son. Also another Ryan, this one from near Acadia National Park in Maine and his skipper, Ned. Ned bought the Flying Scot from Harry at a boat show. He was looking for a boat he could sail in the south during the winter, since the Maine sailing season is awfully short. He'd heard we were a friendly class, so he decided to join us. Yay us!! 

Tomorrow the racing begins for real. So stay tuned! 

Five Midwest District Boats Pre-Registered for MidWinters

2013 Sarasota

Well, our snow is almost completely melted now and the temperatures are above freezing, but the weather is gray and drizzly, so I'm really looking forward to heading south for the Midwinters in Sarasota, which starts with a warm up race on Sunday, March 15. There are already 50 boats registered for the regatta and the Midwest District has a nice representation with five boats. I know Frank Gerry would be sailing except he and Marianne have to teach skiing instead!  (rough life!!)

This will be us next week! Well, this is just Ben, but I'll be there too...

Welcome New District Members!

As I was editing Scots N' Water this morning I noticed that we have two new Scot owners listed in the magazine and I'd like to welcome them to their respective fleets and to our district. In fact, both new members have already been on the regatta circuit, so this is just making it official!

Greg and Linda Vitt, from Lake Carlyle,, who joined us at the Glow this past fall, have officially become FSSA members. Also, Craig Rost, from Clinton Lake Sailing Association, has ...shall we say ... drunk the Koolaid and bought a Flying Scot. He's already planning his regatta schedule...are you?!

Just a quick reminder, for those who are in the southern end of our district, the Chanttanooga Choo Choo, held the last weekend of April, is not a terrible drive and the competition there is always fierce! Check it out: the club, which they completely renovated last year, is called Privateer Yacht Club. Keep the faith! Spring WILL come!

Also, Robert and Lynn Johnson are also new Scot owners in the Midwest, but they do not identify themselves with a fleet. They live in Lake Villa, IL does anyone know where that is? Perhaps we can encourage them to join the fun at one of our fleets!

Strictly Sail Puts Me in the Mood...

Having spent part of the weekend in Chicago for the Strictly Sail (plus motorboats and RVs) show, visiting with Harry and Karen Carpenter, Ryan Malmgren and Stacey Rieu, Rod and Eric Bussell, Jack and Janet Markwick, and many others, my thoughts have turned, naturally, to the upcoming sailing season. Even if it hasn't started thawing out where you are, never fear, I can guarantee you that it will ... eventually.

So, now is the time to fill out your sailing season regatta schedule! Here in the Midwest we have five regular regattas, in chronological order:
Mayors' Cup - Eagle Creek Sailing Club (June 12-14)
Race Weekend-Sheridan Shores (August 1-2)
Ephraim - Ephraim Yacht Club (August 1-2)
[yes, yes, difficult choices will have to be made, since both regattas are on the same weekend...]
Egyptian Cup and THIS YEAR'S DISTRICTS - Carlyle Sailing Association (September 5-6)
Glow in the Dark - Clinton Lake Sailing Association (September 26-27)

Also, you, too, can qualify for the Midwest District Travel Trophy by participating in three of the above regattas. In addition to the perpetual trophy, we will award trophies for the top three finishers.

So get out your calendars, track down your crew and start making plans to participate in these regattas. I know I don't need to remind you that you can find other regattas at fssa.com. In our district it's sometimes a shorter trip to go to the Ohio District events or the Michigan-Ontario events. It's like on the airplane, sometimes the closest exit is behind you, so look at these districts for other fun events to join!
See you on the water!!

Ben Williams and Harry Carpenter at the show

Crazy Conditions at the Fall 48

Four Midwest District boats made the trek to Lake Norman this past weekend. Two boats from Clinton Lake, Eric Bussell and Ben Williams, Ryan Malmgren from Madison, together with Bronson Bowling from Carlyle Lake traveled almost 12 hours to the Lake Norman Fall 48. Lake Norman is just outside Charlotte, NC, and has a very, very strong Flying Scot fleet. Ben and I try to make it there twice a year, for both the Great 48 the first weekend of May and the fall 48, the first weekend of November. They typically run a fantastic regatta.

This year Ryan ran a racing clinic on Friday that was very well attended. Unfortunately, there was no wind so they could not do an on-the-water segment, but everyone enjoyed the clinic nonetheless.

The weather Saturday morning couldn't have been more different than that on Friday. The area temperature had dropped precipitously and it poured rain Friday night. We stayed nice and dry in our tent but I know a few other campers ended up damp. Saturday morning we awoke to continued rain and temperatures in the 40s, without the wind chill. The wind was stiff.

The PRO said he'd take into account the cold weather and stiff wind, but when the wind moderated a bit and he got a reading of only 10-12 with gusts to 18 he sent us out. Those might have been the conditions for a moment, and if they were, that would have been fine, but once we got out to the racecourse, the predicted winds in the upper 20s with gusts in the low 30s showed up.

37 boats registered for the event, 10 started the  race and only six were able to finish (with one boat capsized and one with broken equipment). I was curious and so I checked the FSSA guidelines. One of those guides is that when a "significant (greater than 25%) number" of boats don't start, you might want to reconsider running the race. In this case 66% of the fleet stayed on shore....

Ben and I did go out because we have a general philosophy that if the race committee runs a race, we'll be there. We may have to re-think that philosophy. As the wind built and I got colder and colder my enthusiasm began to wane. We sailed the first upwind leg, at which point I mutinied for the first time in our history of sailing Scots together. I felt deeply in my core that this was not fun. We went in. Somehow, hearing that only six were able to finish made me feel even better about my mutiny!

Still, we took warm showers, laid all our wet clothes out to dry and had a very enjoyable evening at the toasty clubhouse. 

Sunday dawned sunny, though the predicted winds were not much lower than Saturday's. This day 25 boats did not race. I don't know how many just stayed on shore and how many missed the start, but I do know that as we were starting there were about 8-10 boats heading for the line. The race committee did not wait for them.

Anyway, I was determined to put on my big girl pants and enjoy the races, which I did, for the first leg and a half. We rounded the mark second behind a three-up team on Mojo and were working to catch them. Unfortunately, a rogue gust caught us on the downwind leg and we turtled the boat. That is not a big deal; we've done it before and know how to handle it. There were plenty of motor boats to help, though it was very difficult for them to maneuver in the gusts and the chop.

Meanwhile, the race committee shortened the race to three legs and sent everyone in. I did see one person whose spinnaker pole was bent into an "L" shape, but other than that I do not think there were any big equipment failures. The hilarious thing is, for us at least, because we bailed on Saturday and didn't finish Sunday, we ended up in the same place as all the boats who never even went out! 27 boats tied for 10th place!!

Here are the results:
http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/9169#_newsroom+results

Despite the crazy conditions, I know that several people were very happy to have gained some high wind experience. Eric Bussell, in particular, was very pleased to have sailed both days.

So that wraps up our 2014 season! Our boat is tucked away for the winter and soon we'll start dreaming of the 2015 Midwinters. They will be in Sarasota this year, so make sure to put that event on your calendars!!