Maris Stella Yacht Club and Crabbing Society
I was on my way to work last Friday when all of a sudden an object flew off a truck ahead of me and hit the windshield of my Prius. I didn’t see any immediate damage and thought perhaps it had hit the roof, but acutally it had hit the exact edge of the windshield, so that it was only on the drive home that cracks appeared, spreading long and fast.
So, time to get a new windshield. I called a glass company, which said it would send a guy out on Monday, but when Monday came the company called back saying the guy was sick and the supplier didn’t have the proper windshield and would Tuesday be ok? While my mind asked, Do I have a choice? my mouth said Sure, and for the Monday I swapped cars with Emma, thinking that she had a scant mile to drive to her job, and on local roads at that, so the cracked windshield was unlikely to present her any problems. Oddly enough, I was unequivocally right for a change.
That left me driving the old Accord to Irvine and, saints be praised, it got all the way there. And all the way back, too, but at the beginning of the drive back… it happened. Just south of the 5-405 merge (if you happen to know the area), where the traffic always settles down to a sedate seven or so miles per hour, I saw it. One lane to the left, one position ahead of me, a car with an LBI sticker on its bumper. I immediately reached for my camera, which I always keep in the arm-rest compartment between the front seats expressly for this purpose, and I realized:
I’m in the WRONG CAR!!! AAAAaaahhhhhhhhhh!
Oh well. At least the glass people came on Tuesday, and the Prius looks awfully nice without any cracks in its windshield……
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Daggerboard change
Notice the new daggerboard design. "The daggerboard mold was modified after a sailor lost a finger tip slamming the previous style daggerboard with the large opening and blue rubber stops and the stops broke off."
However, "In the course of the redesign of the mold, the shape of the part of the board that extends beneath the hull and its length were inadvertently changed slightly." Rendering the new daggerboard "class illegal".
Why do we care? Be careful slamming your daggerboard I guess!!!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
I like this rule
However, a boat not racing shall not be penalized for breaking one of these rules, except rule 22.1.
22.1 If reasonably possible, a boat not racing shall not interfere with a boat that is racing.
How are you going to penalize a boat not racing?
Force them to play one round of
22.1 If reasonably possible, a boat not racing shall not interfere with a boat that is racing.
How are you going to penalize a boat not racing?
Force them to play one round of
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My Second Favorite Racing Rule
Rule 45 (and, once again, italics mine):
"A boat shall be afloat and off moorings at her preparatory signal. Thereafter, she shall not be hauled out or made fast except to bail out, reef sails or make repairs. She may anchor or the crew may stand on the bottom. She shall recover the anchor before continuing in the race unless she is unable to do so."
On the bottom of what? My first thought was the bottom of the boat, in which case I hope the crew can hold its breath and has a finely tuned sense of balance (as well as a finely tuned sense of the absurd). So I guess it means the bottom, as in where the water meets the underlying muck, which isn't of much use if you're racing out in the Pacific or anywhere else that the water's more than seven feet deep (there's that crew holding its breath again).
On the other hand, the latter interpretation works fine if you happen to be sailing Sunfish in Barnegat Bay. I can't wait for August!!!!
In any case, I hope "she" recovers her crew along with her anchor.....
"A boat shall be afloat and off moorings at her preparatory signal. Thereafter, she shall not be hauled out or made fast except to bail out, reef sails or make repairs. She may anchor or the crew may stand on the bottom. She shall recover the anchor before continuing in the race unless she is unable to do so."
On the bottom of what? My first thought was the bottom of the boat, in which case I hope the crew can hold its breath and has a finely tuned sense of balance (as well as a finely tuned sense of the absurd). So I guess it means the bottom, as in where the water meets the underlying muck, which isn't of much use if you're racing out in the Pacific or anywhere else that the water's more than seven feet deep (there's that crew holding its breath again).
On the other hand, the latter interpretation works fine if you happen to be sailing Sunfish in Barnegat Bay. I can't wait for August!!!!
In any case, I hope "she" recovers her crew along with her anchor.....
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sunday Morning Birding
standing from left: Ross, Terry, Trent, Barbie, Guy, Gjon, Shellie (in shorts!), Eitan, Lea, Matt
seated: Lauren
June 10, 2007
La Jolla Cove
Sunday morning, 10June, was a pleasant 59 degrees at 7 a.m. at LaJolla Cove, however, calm winds and seas made for few seabirds for more than 15 birders lined up at telescopes behind Stan’s Bench - but no puffins or guillemot…. and no Stan (!!). A few far-distant Sooties were spotted, but otherwise nothing much was happening until Guy McCaskie called out “Brown Booby!” and all present watched it fly in and over and around the myriad kayaks on the glassy water for more than five minutes. The young bird settled on the water a few times and made at least one booby-like plunge dive before turning back and heading south. Photo by Sue Smith
My 360th San Diego County Bird.
Friday, June 08, 2007
The King of Lightnings
Back in the day, when we were Lighning sailors with the Surf City Yacht Club, we sailed against some pretty big names in the Lightning Class. There was one guy though who dominated for a decade or more. His name was Bruce Goldsmith. Occasionally Jack or Howard would beat him (epecially when the race was on Barnegat Bay) but Bruce Goldsmith was king. He was known as the "Living Lightning Legend." Unfortunately he died last week in a sailing accident during a race on Lake Erie. There has been a lot written about him the past few days but I just wanted to forward one story I read that I think tells much about the kind of guy he was as well as the talent he has as a sailor....
Bruce, with his luminous charisma was the life of every party. Everyone felt they were Bruce's friend- and they were. He had the amazing knack to make anyone feel special, welcome and a part of the gang.
But perhaps what was most extraordinary about Bruce was his ability to "keep it all in perspective". No matter what was happening around him, Bruce made sure he held everything in perspective. It seemed that for Bruce, life was always too short to not enjoy it to the fullest... and that was his greatest talent and lesson for all of us.
In one race, a “number” of years ago, Bruce taught us many lessons, but again, "perspective" was the most valuable lesson. I was crewing with my brother in a Lightning North Americans and we were super deep, with a whole 2 boats behind us, in the last leg of the last race. ..We were struggling with the whole "keep it all in perspective" thing for sure. Interestingly enough, Bruce was just ahead of us (that would make him 3rd to last!) and evidently he could tell we were struggling with "perspective" and needed some coaching. Bruce turned around, opened up his cooler and smiled. "C'mon guys, lighten up a bit. It’s just a race." and he chucked us 3 beers.
We then watched Bruce round the leeward mark and proceed to sail through the fleet that last weather leg, nailing one shift after another, sailing around one boat after another...until he worked his way back to the top 5 .
What you need to appreciate is that with that top 5 finish, Bruce and his team sailed themselves back into the lead, the overall win and Bruce's 4th Lightning North American Championship victory.
Bruce, with his luminous charisma was the life of every party. Everyone felt they were Bruce's friend- and they were. He had the amazing knack to make anyone feel special, welcome and a part of the gang.
But perhaps what was most extraordinary about Bruce was his ability to "keep it all in perspective". No matter what was happening around him, Bruce made sure he held everything in perspective. It seemed that for Bruce, life was always too short to not enjoy it to the fullest... and that was his greatest talent and lesson for all of us.
In one race, a “number” of years ago, Bruce taught us many lessons, but again, "perspective" was the most valuable lesson. I was crewing with my brother in a Lightning North Americans and we were super deep, with a whole 2 boats behind us, in the last leg of the last race. ..We were struggling with the whole "keep it all in perspective" thing for sure. Interestingly enough, Bruce was just ahead of us (that would make him 3rd to last!) and evidently he could tell we were struggling with "perspective" and needed some coaching. Bruce turned around, opened up his cooler and smiled. "C'mon guys, lighten up a bit. It’s just a race." and he chucked us 3 beers.
We then watched Bruce round the leeward mark and proceed to sail through the fleet that last weather leg, nailing one shift after another, sailing around one boat after another...until he worked his way back to the top 5 .
What you need to appreciate is that with that top 5 finish, Bruce and his team sailed themselves back into the lead, the overall win and Bruce's 4th Lightning North American Championship victory.
Have I Forgotten Something?
Let’s see: car keys — check. Glasses… Damn! I have five pairs of glasses and I can never… Oh, there’s a pair. Wallet, phone — check. Account of the final day in the May regatta… Oops!! Well, some things I try to forget….
Actually, the day didn’t start all that badly. There was a good breeze, and current was not a factor, although there was kelp. We had a good start in the first race, sailed a solid upwind leg, and rounded the mark in first place, with Clay a short distance behind. Alas, we went right and he went left, and left turned out to be the better side; Clay edged us at the finish by about a foot. Still, we were in pretty good shape, now tied overall with the Matts (who took a distant third), only a point behind Clay, and sailing pretty well.
In the second race we got an even better start, hitting the line right at the starting gun but forcing Clay outside of the committee boat. In the early going we led, but we seemed to sail more slowly than other boats. Did I mention there was kelp? There was so much that a person of about Caroline’s weight could probably have walked across the bay. We’d snagged some, although we took a while to realize it. Finally, Ross checked the rudder, removed a small forest from it, and we instantly sped up, but by this time Clay and the Matts had caught us.
Even so, it was still very much a race, until…. We reached what should have been the lay line, tacked onto starboard, and watched as Clay’s wife sailed a collision course on port (and in her own boat, not Clay’s), blithely ignoring us. We hailed her, but by the time she responded, it was too late — we had to point into the wind to avoid a collision, came to a stop, and watched our competition sail away. By the time we got going again we could no longer stand the mark and had to make a couple of extra tacks. The result: Clay took first (again), and we almost caught the Matts, but ended half a boat length behind them, somewhere in the middle of the fleet.
I don’t think she did it on purpose….
Two more races remained, but by this time the regatta was pretty much settled. Not that we accepted our fate. For the third race the race committee responded to changing wind by changing the starting line a bit. The new line favored a port-tack start from the pin end, and we attempted it, but the kelp was so think at that end of the line that we couldn’t maneuver as freely as we would have liked. The result: I seem to recall that we sailed upwind and down, and ended just behind the Matts, with Clay in first. Fourth race: starboard-tack start, but otherwise ditto. And in the end, I’ve got a new third-place plastic boat to add to my trophy fleet.
Got those Fran Temme blues….. But June’s coming up!
Actually, the day didn’t start all that badly. There was a good breeze, and current was not a factor, although there was kelp. We had a good start in the first race, sailed a solid upwind leg, and rounded the mark in first place, with Clay a short distance behind. Alas, we went right and he went left, and left turned out to be the better side; Clay edged us at the finish by about a foot. Still, we were in pretty good shape, now tied overall with the Matts (who took a distant third), only a point behind Clay, and sailing pretty well.
In the second race we got an even better start, hitting the line right at the starting gun but forcing Clay outside of the committee boat. In the early going we led, but we seemed to sail more slowly than other boats. Did I mention there was kelp? There was so much that a person of about Caroline’s weight could probably have walked across the bay. We’d snagged some, although we took a while to realize it. Finally, Ross checked the rudder, removed a small forest from it, and we instantly sped up, but by this time Clay and the Matts had caught us.
Even so, it was still very much a race, until…. We reached what should have been the lay line, tacked onto starboard, and watched as Clay’s wife sailed a collision course on port (and in her own boat, not Clay’s), blithely ignoring us. We hailed her, but by the time she responded, it was too late — we had to point into the wind to avoid a collision, came to a stop, and watched our competition sail away. By the time we got going again we could no longer stand the mark and had to make a couple of extra tacks. The result: Clay took first (again), and we almost caught the Matts, but ended half a boat length behind them, somewhere in the middle of the fleet.
I don’t think she did it on purpose….
Two more races remained, but by this time the regatta was pretty much settled. Not that we accepted our fate. For the third race the race committee responded to changing wind by changing the starting line a bit. The new line favored a port-tack start from the pin end, and we attempted it, but the kelp was so think at that end of the line that we couldn’t maneuver as freely as we would have liked. The result: I seem to recall that we sailed upwind and down, and ended just behind the Matts, with Clay in first. Fourth race: starboard-tack start, but otherwise ditto. And in the end, I’ve got a new third-place plastic boat to add to my trophy fleet.
Got those Fran Temme blues….. But June’s coming up!
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