Menantic Yacht Club welcomes Vipers
This past Sunday, the Vipers invaded the Menantic Yacht Club (MYC).
It was an exciting, record-breaking day for the MYC’s seventh series of Sunfish races, with 37 boats and 39 sailors. Only in 2016, when the MYC hosted the Women’s National Championships, did we have a higher number of boats ply West Neck Harbor for Sunfish racing, with a record 39 boats entered. Sunday’s racers included a group of Viper 640 racers who were in town for a regatta at the Shelter Island Yacht Club.
As he did last year, MYC member and Viper 640 racer Peter Beardsley invited the other Vipers to join the MYC and race Sunfish for a change. The results were a little different from last year’s, but not by much.
The winds were light, maybe 2 to 5 knots, and gusty, but the competition was not. A number of MYC sailors were recovering from Saturday’s 20-course Brooklyn Gustatorial Society dinner hosted by Linda Gibbs and Tom McMahon, and a number of the Vipers had also partied hard Saturday night after their races were canceled due to lack of wind.
After racing, Viper Pat Robinson concurred in Mary Vetri’s observation that the hot day on the water was the perfect way to cleanse one’s body of its alcohol content.
Both this year and last, two Vipers finished in the top 5. Vipers Erin Florio and Devin Hart placed 4th and 5th this year. Last year, a Viper took first place. This year, however, MYC members took top honors, with Charlie Modica Jr. in 1st place, Peter Beardsley in 2nd and Derek Webster in 3rd. Competition was tough for the top of the fleet, but consistency paid off.
Even though Peter took two 1st-place finishes and Charlie only one, Charlie was more consistent overall. Erin took the fourth 1st-place finish. It seems that Derek finally met his match.
The first race of the day was the longest course in the MYC’s course repertoire; with the light winds, it took about 45 minutes to complete. The other races were shorter and more to my liking. The mark roundings were really congested, with some bumping going on.
Denise Fenchel mentioned that she did a 360 penalty turn, and I saw several other sailors do the same. However, it seems that several sailors who should have done penalty turns neglected to do so. The MYC operates on the honor system, so sailors, please be mindful of the rule that if you hit a mark, another boat or foul another sailor, you are required to do a 360 penalty turn.
I was very happy to see that a number of MYC sailors did well on Sunday, including Denise, Jodi Sisley, Kate Duff and Alicia Rojas. Jodi was especially proud of herself and danced a celebratory jig while de-rigging. Kate was very pleased with her new sail that is emblazoned with her favorite number, 37.
Betsy was back from racing Herreshoff 12’s in the national championships, but some of her regular Race Committee crew took the day off. However, Marian Thomsen, the longest serving member of the RC crew, Paul Zinger, Susan Donlon and Debra Mintz did a superb job. Paul was seen racing in the 4th race, in which he placed 6th. Thank you, all.
Matt Fox couldn’t make it on Sunday, so Tom McMahon volunteered for chase boat duty. Tom was ably assisted by Mike Donlon and Suzanne Crocker. Suzanne is new to the MYC and is eager to sail with the fleet after a 40-year hiatus from Sunfish sailing.
Betty Bishop, whom we had missed during her fabulous two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard, captained the other chase boat, ably assisted by Elsie Rose, Melanie Coronetz and Chris Miller. The chase boats were not kept busy on Sunday, causing Melanie to comment that it had been “a boring afternoon,” with which Tom concurred. Thank you, all.
Remember, an after-race party will be hosted by Marian and Larry Thomsen at One North Silver Beach Road this Sunday. 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 20 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 boat and the chase 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
Charlie Modica Jr 11 1
Peter Beardsley 16 2
Derek Webster 19 3
Erin Florio 20 4
Devin Hart 22 5
David Owen 44 6
Steve Shepstone 45 7
Joan Butler 47 8
Dana Robinson 50 9
Alicia Rojas 51 10
Cole Constantineau 51 11
Charlie Modica 54 12
Denise Fenchel 55 13
Bob Harris 59 14
Rachel Beardsley 66 15
Patrick Robinson 66 16
Eugene Van Rynbach 72 17
Doug Rose 74 18
John Modica 82 19
Brandon Liebnick 83 20
Peter Zahn 83 21
Luke Raymond 86 22
Linda Gibbs 86 23
Jodi Sisley 90 24
Eric Ryan 96 25
Bill Martens 100 26
Jonathan Brush 100 27
Kate Duff 107 28
Tom Pickett 112 29
George Zinger 113 30
Natalie Imamura 115 31
Mark Webber 115 32
Ellen Leonforte 120 33
Paul Zinger 120 34
Mary Vetri 126 35
Allyson Schultz 134 36
Brett Mintz 135 37
Caroline Keating 143 38
Sharon Wicks 150 39
