Sunfish fleet celebrates a run of ‘firsts’
The second post-season series of Sunfish races of the Menantic Yacht Club on Sunday, September 20 heralded another day of firsts — more women than men sailed and two sailors who had not taken a first-place finish during the regular season did so.
The weather was perfect with light, variable winds from the west and plenty of sunshine. The winds were blowing between 3 and 5 knots with a few puffs in the 6-knot range. The race committee held five races around a triangular course, the last of which with the finish moved to the windward mark.
Eight sailors rigged their boats for the races with just one newcomer, Chris Lewis. Unfortunately, just as the two-minute horn sounded at the start of the very first race, Chris suffered equipment failure and had to bow out for the day. Sorry about that Chris, but we hope you’ll join us again next week.
The racing was competitive this week even though some of our top racers were not participating. Tom McMahon not only won the first race, but did so by a wide margin. Way to go, Tom! He was disappointed because the race committee forgot to blow the horn signaling that he had finished. But truth be told, he was actually lucky that it even recorded his finish, since it was a little short-staffed on Sunday and had to do a lot of multi-tasking.
I am all too familiar with the agony of defeat, very seldom placing above third or fourth, but Sunday was a welcome change for me. Much to my surprise, I took three first-place finishes. Dave Olsen, Penny Pilkington and Linda Gibbs were just a little behind me in most of the races. In the last race, the leaders were so close that Penny beat me by only a half a boat-length and I still came in third with Linda squeaking into second place. Where did she come from?
Many thanks to the race committee, Commodore Pete Bethge and Sam Suratt. They performed superbly, as our committees usually do. Finding a replacement for Rita, now a committed racer, and Anne Savonie, who was out of town, was a difficult task. Fortunately, Sam was happy to oblige.
Ronnie Hill missed racing this week but had what we consider a valid excuse — he was helping a neighbor who had to make an emergency trip to the hospital. Although he wasn’t able to join the race, he did manage to get back in time to host the after-race party at Commodore Bethge’s home. Ronnie treated us all to a real feast that included Commander Cody’s fried chicken and potato salad, as well as a delicious homemade green bean and potato casserole. Pete Bethge made a tart cole slaw and his special spicy spaghetti. As if that were not enough, Ronnie topped it all off with an amaretto cheesecake that was truly awesome and went really well with my homemade brownies. It’s safe to say that nobody left Ronnie’s party even the slightest bit hungry.
There will be one more series of post-season races next Sunday at 2 p.m. in West Neck Harbor. Commodore Bethge has several Sunfish available — please call him for details at 749-1297 and come join in the fun. See you on the water.
This weeks results:
