Menantic Yacht Club report: Aug. 10, 2025

Sunday, Aug. 3, the Menantic Yacht Club (MYC) held its sixth series of Sunfish races with blue skies and light wind and an invasion of Vipers.  

No, not the snake variety, but excellent sailors who usually sail Viper sailboats. And they were slithering between other sailors with great expertise. We had a great turnout with 34 boats and strong competition.

Peter and Rachel Beardsley race Vipers as well as Sunfish, and once a year they invite their Viper friends to join them on Shelter Island for a weekend of racing. On Sunday six Vipers, Stewart Craig, James Owen, Devin Hart, Brian Fox, Colin Santangelo and Cole Constantineau, joined the MYC on borrowed Sunfish. Prior to racing, I recruited Colin to help me bring the marks down to Bill Martens’ dock from the road. Thank you, Colin.

Stewart put Dave Olsen’s boat to good use, placing in the top six. The last time that boat was used in a race, Linda Gibbs placed fifth overall. I might just have to use it one of these days. Rachel had a good day of racing, placing eighth overall, after which she raced to catch a plane back to San Francisco. 

I’m happy to note that Caitlin Cummings has returned for the summer and she remembered her old racing skills, placing 13th overall on the day. Mike Donlon is back, and he helped sailors launch their boats. Lee Montes is also back, and he joked that he “inadvertently” let Derek Webster beat him in a few races. He let a few other sailors beat him, also. Derek and Lee are both top-notch sailors.

Charlie Modica Sr. was the only boat that flipped, twice, I might add. The second time he struck paydirt, the bottom muck, and luckily none of it rained down upon him. According to his brother John, he was doing a survey for the DEC. There were two over-earlies, after which the dreaded one-minute rule flag went up.

As mentioned earlier, the competition was fierce. The starts were really crowded and there was certainly some bumping going on. Consistency paid off as usual. Even though four different sailors, Derek, Eric Ryan, Paul-Jon Patin and Charlie Modica Jr. each placed first in a race, Charlie Jr. was by far the winner on Sunday, with two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes. Derek placed second overall, followed by Paul-Jon, Peter Beardsley, Lee and Viper Stewart.

For the past several weeks Jodi Sisley has been missing in action, all for a good cause.  She had been diligently taking long bike rides in training for last weekend’s Pan Mass Challenge, a two-day ride that raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Center. Jodi, in typical fashion, met the Challenge with gusto, biking some 170 miles over two days. Congrats to Jodi, and all the other participants.

Betsy Colby was back as our PRO, assisted by Marian Thomsen and Kerry Mitchell. The wind shifts required mark moves and kept the crew on all three boats busy. Thank you, all.

Matt Fox took the day off and was replaced by Ben Gonzales as captain of the mark boat, crewed by Lucy Brown and newcomer, Peter Semmelhack. You all did a great job — thank you.

Betty Bishop captained the chase boat, crewed by Dave Daly and Dorie Hagler. Despite all the mark moves they all had an enjoyable day, as did all of us sailors. Thank you all, for a job well done.

Next Sunday, Matt and Shelly Fox will host an after-race party. Matt is planning to barbecue his specialty, pulled pork and pulled chicken. You all know what to bring.

We are a very congenial, family-friendly club, open to all. We may not have a clubhouse, but 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 boat and the stake boat.

You can get more information about the MYC on Facebook at Menantic Yacht Club, or from Bob Harris at [email protected] or 505-235-5844. Steve and Melissa Shepstone have a fleet of loaner boats available on a first-to-reserve basis. Contact Melissa at [email protected] to reserve your boat. 

See you on the water. 

Results:                           Pts    Place

Charlie Modica Jr.         11            1

Derek Webster               16            2

Paul-Jon Patin                 23            3

Peter Beardsley               26            4

Lee Montes                       32            5

Stewart Craig                    40            6

James Owen                     41             7

Rachel Beardsley          49            8

Joan Butler                         54            9

Paul Zinger                          54            10

Andre van Rynbach      59            11

John Modica                       63            12

Caitlin Cummings               71            13

Alicia Rojas                        78            14

Eric Ryan                              81            15

Devin Hart                           86            16

Kate Duff                              94            17

Charlie Modica Sr.        96            18

Brian Fox                               98            19

Linda Gibbs                        103         20

Bob Harris                            104         21

Denise Fenchel                    105         22

Steve Shepstone                 108         23

Colin Santangelo           110         24

Will Lehr                                115         25

Cole Constantineau   116         26

Jonathan Brush                  125         27

Tim Mitchell                       129         28

Tom McMahon                 136         29

John Colby                          137         30

Liz Langfield                      150         31

Mary Vetri                            153         32

Sharon Wicks                   157         33

Brett Mintz                          172         34