Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Ben Richardson wins the 2011 NE Masters Championship!


Ben Richardson


Ben is on a roll!

The true sign of a great sailor is one that can dominate in all conditions and Ben has done just that. Fresh off from his win in the Apprentice Master's fleet at the Laser Master Worlds in windy San Francisco, Ben came home to take the win in the super light conditions off of Third Beach in Middletown, RI.

45 sailors came to Third Beach to compete in the 2011 NE Masters Championship and while Third Beach is known for providing a variety of conditions, an unusual weather pattern showed up and light air was all she could squeak out.

Due to the conditions, only 3 races were completed in the two days but the prizes made up for it from a new centerboard and rudder to many more amazing giveaways!

Congratulations to Lynne Shore who finished in 12th as top female in a very competitive fleet!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Marblehead Laser Frostbite Week1/Ponce de León regatta: 14 boats, beautiful 10k breeze



Nick La Chance, Marblehead HS Senior, soon to be widely known sail boat racer, and winner of Race 1 on his forst day out, announced his arrival by smoking the fleet on the first beat and never looking back. If you were there you saw how good he is - if you missed it, come out and try to beat him in a couple races before its too late.

In race two Nick did some remedial work on staying up right while JB Braun led the fleet around the course. In race three JB was at it again, alone in front, before the swirling chop got hold of him on leg 2, sending his daggerboard skyward; a pile up at the bottom mark opened the door again, and he recovered to 4th. Race 4 was a blur, don’t remember it. In Race 5, with JB with in position to win the day, he banged out to the right, where he so selfishly had been hording - but denying - more wind. True to form, he tacked and was to cross the port tackers by about two lengths. Then it happened. It was beautiful. A dark blue 35 foot 'racing sailboat' parked itself just inside the starborad tack lay line to hoist its main sail. Beers in hand, puttering forward at about 1kt, main flogging wildly, oblivious to JB's hard-hiking form, the bog boat crew got the sail up most of the way, but it got stuck, or maybe they got tired, and the situation lingered. JB, now bouncing in the chop, going slower, not heading quite as high - he was not going to cross after all. Joy and laghter from the port tackers. And that was it, he finished 2nd.

Nick took top Junior, Christina Mignosa was our top radial, and Jason Yarrington, in 4th place just behind Chris Hufstader, was our top Corintian - well done all!
Thanks to Cheryl and Suzie for RC, another flawless day
PS RC volunteer positions still open - act fast!

Program Reminders
**Sail on Sundays**
Longer season: start Sunday 25 SEP; finish Sunday 21 SEP
More boats: last Fall we averaged 14 on the line
Pool House open for post-race party from Day 1

Prizes
Daily first
Corinthian Daily first: low-point score among those who’ve not previously won the day or the Corinthian
Season top 5, top Junior, Ironman: starting 100% of races in the season (not been done yet… go for it)

Amenities
Hot showers, cold beer

Schedule
People who make the first start arrive: 1145
Skippers Meeting: 1215
Harbor Start: 1230; First Signal: 1300; Last Signal: 1500
Presentation of Prizes: 1600
Fall sailing thru 21 Novermber
Spring Tentative: 6 Sundays– 16 April thru 21 May
Other details: just show up
Eastern Yacht Club
47 Foster Street
Marblehead

Other
You probably don’t need it until Spring, but Team1 has good deals on dry suits, etc.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

NE Master's pre-register here!

Avram Dorfman has set up a website for the NE Masters where competitors can preregister, see the list of entries, and get the results.  He will  be entering the scores on the water, so sailors will be able to get the results very quickly on their smart phones. 
 
All regatta fees will be collected at the site
http://www.diamondwire.org/fleets/new_england_laser_masters/series
 
 




Sunday, September 11, 2011

Updated NOR's

Please check the D7 Calendar for updated NOR's : The NE Master's (September 24-25) and The Last Blast Regatta (October 8th)
D7 Calendar

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

New England Masters Championship (September 24-25th)

Hi Masters sailors,

Yes, there will be another NE Masters Championship and, yes, again off Third Beach in Newport, now for the 8th time at this venue, New England's best, which is why it was chosen for the last US Laser and Radial Olympic trials. The date is September 24-25. Directions and accommodation suggestions are shown on the NOR. 

Online pre-registration, unfortunately, is not available at this time. We are still working on it and will inform you when it is set up.  

There is a reason for the rather late onsite registration and commencement of racing on Saturday, and that is because of a triathlon that takes place that morning on the roads around Third Beach. Please do not arrive much before 10 a.m. at which time the roads should be open again.

And please notice that rig switching will be permitted throughout the regatta. There should be no reason not to sail. Of course, it is too early to predict the weather, but the summers are getting longer. We are optimistic.

See you soon, and please spread the word,

Peter Seidenberg
Regatta Chairman
401-846-2618 H
401-954-8496 C

Friday, September 2, 2011

From Fleet 413: Ted Green update


Ted Green sailing for SUNY Maritime

During the weekend, we hope you can each spare a thought, prayer, and/or some positive energy for fellow Fleet 413er Ted Green Jr. who has been a big part of the fleet's youth movement over the past few years, regularly coming back to show the old guys how it's done.

If you haven't heard, on Aug. 24, Ted was involved in a horrific accident and very nearly died. Here's an excerpt from an email we received a few days ago:

"What I understand is that he was taking down a tree and went to move his safety lines down and when he raised his arm over his head it was 3 feet from a 7000 watt line which arced and zapped him.  Who knew that electricity in covered lines can still shock you 3- 5 feet away without touching them!!!  Big lesson learned. Everyone has been filling in the blanks for him as to what happened but what he does know is that he had his last rites read to him 2 x at two different hospitals - He said if it was not for the speedy response of the Largess crew to get help Ted would not be here with us today. School is on hold - recovery will be well over a year.  He is hoping to have movement in his hand and fingers and arm but it is all up in the air.
 
He welcomes all calls and visits.  Ted Sr was there and his family is hanging in there. Reports on his facebook page are encouraging. But it will still be a long road to recovery."

If you feel comfortable calling Ted, don't hesitate. He has his cell phone and we're sure he would love to hear some words of encouragement. You can also leave him a note on his facebook page.

As we hear more about his progress and what we, as a fleet or as individuals, can do to help, we will pass that along. In the meantime, keep him in your thoughts.

Best Regards,
-Stu & Dave