Smooth sailing for Shelter Island’s Menantic Yacht Club

This past Sunday the Menantic Yacht Club ran its third series of Sunfish races in relatively light wind with no gusts to speak of, the complete opposite of last week’s blow.

A cloud cover kept things cool and the rain held off. There were some unexpected surprises, on the good side, and only one flip, which had to have been totally by chance in the light air.

After last week’s wild conditions, one sailor was covered with so many black-and -blue marks I thought she had gone 10 rounds with Sonny Liston. The black-and-blue sailor, who shall remain nameless, must have been a bit punch drunk when she told me that Ellen Leonforte had crashed onto Denise Fenchel’s boat, which I then reported in last week’s article.

But, as Ellen later made clear, it was Kate Duff who ran up on Ellen to the point where they almost exchanged boats; fortunately they both just sailed away with no injuries. Sorry for the mix up, Ellen. You just don’t know who to trust these days, but I hope the punch drunk sailor is enjoying her bicycle trip through Scotland.

Prior to racing, Paul Zinger helped Mary Vetri repair her sail. Paul has a warehouse full of goodies in his truck for any necessary repair and has helped others in the past. Thanks, Paul.

We welcomed several newcomers on Sunday: Eric Ryan, Mark Webber, Peter Due, Ed Kaire and Brett Mintz. Peter, who had last raced Sunfish 35 years ago, was so determined to join the fun that he made the 45-minute sail all the way over from Westlake, a small inlet just past Cedar Point Beach. Welcome, all.

Now on to some happy surprises. All the sailors, except maybe yours truly, are showing marked improvement. On Sunday, Ellen placed 2nd in two races and 7th overall on the day. Watch out group leaders, she is coming for you.

John Colby had a very good day, maybe his best ever. Way to go, both of you. Charlie Modica took to heart what I wrote last week about the clock a-ticking. He finally beat his younger brother John and now has a chance on the season. In fact, John was so far back in one race Charlie needed a telescope to see him. It should be noted that John’s rudder did pop off at the start of one race.

The sailing was competitive. Paul took two 1sts even without his new boat, which is on order and due any time now. However, Eric took three 1sts placing ahead of Paul even though they both scored 17 points. Rounding out the top five were Charlie in 3rd, John Modica in 4th and Rachel Beardsley in 5th. Peter Beardsley had to leave early, otherwise with his two 2nds and one 1st place finish, he probably would have done very well. 

Betsy ran Race Committee using Jonathan Brush’s  boat and was assisted by her able crew of Jonathan, Amy Cococcia, Marian Thomsen and Deborah Mintz. When I asked Jonathan if he wanted to run a race or two using my boat, Betsy chimed in, “Why would he want to do that with such good company on the RC.” The RC ran six long races and we were all tired by day’s end.

Thank you all for a superb job.

Matt Fox and Betty Bishop captained the stake boats crewed by Dave Daly, Melanie Coronetz, Ben Gonzalez and newcomer Kathy DeFouw. Kathy has experience driving power boats and hopefully will be able to fill in as needed. They had a quiet day compared to last week’s rescue-after-rescue, with just one rescue on Sunday when Brett flipped and got his mast stuck in the bottom muck. Dave assisted in righting Brett’s boat. Thank you, all.  

I want to give a shout out to Bill and Jini Martens for letting the MYC use their dock for loading and unloading people and gear. Bill has been sailing with the MYC for as long as I have, about 20 years. Many thanks to both of you.

There will be a party next Sunday hosted by Jonathan and Anita Brush. You know what to bring.

We are a very congenial club, open to all, with no dues, no fees and no clubhouse. The sailing is great, the camaraderie is superb, and we just have tremendous fun. All sailors, novice to expert, are welcome. Just show up in West Neck Harbor at 2 p.m. on any Sunday through Labor Day, check in with the Race Committee, giving them your full name and sail number, and be sure to bring your life jacket. Non-sailors are also welcome to assist with the Race Committee and stake boats.

You can get more information about the MYC at the MYC website: MenanticYC.com, MYC Facebook page: Menantic Yacht Club, or from Bob Harris at [email protected]. Steve and Melissa Shepstone  have a fleet of loaner boats available on a first-to-reserve basis. Contact Ellen Leonforte at 914-450-1450 or [email protected] to reserve your boat.

See you on the water.

Results:                    Pts    Place

Eric Ryan                             17             1

Paul Zinger                        17             2

Charlie Modica                27             3

John Modica                      43             4

Rachel Beardsley            45             5

Joan Butler                         46             6

Ellen Leonforte                52             7

George Zinger                  53             8

Bob Harris                          56             9

Alicia Rojas                        57             10

Will Lehr                             60             11

Mark Webber                    60             12

Peter Beardsley               68             13

Peter Due                            79             14

John Colby                         80             15

Ed Kaire                               91             16

Kate Duff                             95             17

Jodi Sisley                           97             18

Mary Vetri                          108          19

Brett Mintz                        124          20