JYCA E-NEWS

Regattas

There is something in the water,  as they say,  in Texas ... and I don't mean JY15's! I refer to the fact that every female JY sailor seems to be pregnant or with an infant JY sailor in tow.

As I l flew down to the  Southwest district championships on May 17th,  I could see the beautiful ---- reservoir to the East of Dallas. I was anxious to meet the Rush Creek crowd which I knew included many of the top sailors in the JY fleet including Paul and Carrie Forrester. A line of thunderstorms had just blown through preceding a strong cold front and promising some exiting breezes for the following day.

After meandering over to Heath on the East side of the sprawling Dallas suburbs I was greeted by  Mary Medina and (former JY sailor, now E-scow'er) Jeff Progelhof (or "Progee" as they call him). I quickly realized that this is a very welcoming and but also close group of sailors whose friendships run very deep.  But it's not a "clickish" crowd. The know how to make an "out of towner" feel welcome in Texas. I was treated like a prince and my money was no good where ever we went including the local Tex-Mex hang out - thanks Jeff! After dinner, I retired to Jeff and Diane Kerr's residence on the water. (Diane's expecting in 5 weeks.) They have a  bunkroom in their house just for sailing crews - really nice!

Saturday dawned with a pretty good breeze out of the Northeast. Eleven JY15's were registered but this was also a multi class regatta with Lasers, Vanguard 15's, MC scows, Thistles and E Scows. The locals kept promising "it'll die and be 5 - 10 by afternoon" but that was not to be. Instead, the first race was sailed in an exciting 18-20 knots with gusts around 25. Some "auto tack" shifts capsized more than a few sailors (including the Foersters). Jim Bookhout and son stayed upright and sailed fast to sailed to win the first one. 

After one race the committee sent the fleet in for lunch while they cleaned up some of the carnage. (I saw one Thistle sailing half submerged.)

Two races were held in the afternoon, both Olympic triangles. The winds had dropped a bit but still provided plenty of excitement. The fleet seemed fairly tight up the first beat but the leaders showed their skills on the reach as they worked up and down the waves and  pulled away by planning faster and sooner than I was able to. Jim Bookhout and Brian Caulk again scored one and two. Paul Foerster, (whom everyone had conceded the trophy to before the regatta began), seemed to be fading fast. Paul did win the last one. Finally a race with no capsize or mechanical breakdowns he must have been muttering to himself. After the racing was over for the day they told the clueless out-of-towners that right, towards the shore was the way to go.

The evening's entertainment featured a DJ and dinner on the Yacht club deck for a relaxing end to the day.

The winds on Sunday shifted around to the South east at a more moderate 10-15. The lake seemed like a piece of Swiss cheese with random puffs and holes everywhere which the leaders played effectively. Paul Forrester, sailing with lighter crew (not that Carrie is heavy!) triumphed in these conditions with two firsts. Brian Caulk's consistency earned him a second, just 3 points behind Paul and the Bookhouts struggled with the lighter air  to capture third.  

Of course, I spent a lot of time talking with the Rush Creek folks about the ups and downs of the class. Most, like Dave Hoye, the new Southwest district representative, and Dave and Missey Smedley (who loaned me their boat for the regatta), have been long term and enthusiastic supporters of the class.  But I guess what struck me the most was that here was a group of JY racers who all bought their boats about the same time, were all about the same age and now found themselves moving to the "young family raising" stage of life together. Having been there, I can tell you it is not the stage of life which is most conducive to spending lots of time sailing. But then, just wait about six or eight years and you've got reliable crew! I guess the point is, things change and some times of life are better than others for JY sailing. Most JY sailors joined the class early on - about ten years ago, when it seemed like the right boat for them at the time. Some have moved on as things changed in their lives, some have returned. The key to a successful class is to always be finding new people for whom the JY is just the right boat, right now.

While standing on line for hamburgers I had the opportunity to speak with several Thistle sailors about what made their class so successful. They were quick to point out many second and third generation sailors who were there. I thought, wow, here's a class that's self perpetuating. They just grow their own sailors. (Kind of like Star Wars - the attack of the clones).

In summary, I had a blast in Texas and I look forward to returning to Rush Creek to sail with JY: the next generation, someday. I encourage all of you to get out and meet some new people sailing JY's this Summer!

For pictures and results, check out the Rush Creek web page at www.rcyc.org.

Now for the regatta news. Please note that the Southeast district championships are June 22&23 in Beaufort, SC. This was formerly called the Low Country regatta. Also the JY15 Open, held annually in East Greenwich RI will be the site of the New England Championships this year. Mark the dates!

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addendum

Welcome to the May 2002 E-mail newsletter addendum. (if you do not wish to receive future issues, click on the unsubscribe link at the end of this newsletter)

Several corrections to the racing schedule were pointed out to me after the May newsletter was released - Please note the following

1. There is a link for the Designers Cup entry form.

2. New link with info on the Newport regatta

3. The Rochester Canoe Club Invitational was omitted from the list.

4. The East Greenwich YC - host of the New England Championships has a new website link - check it out!

5. The Kollen Park Regatta has been moved to August 10 & 11

Regatta	Location	Club URL	Date	Contact	Phone
Island Bay YC Regatta	Springfield, IL	Island Bay YC	June 8&9	Phil Peterson	(217) 546-8085
**Designer's Cup Notice of Regatta "Entry Form"	Stonington, CT	Wadawanuck YC	June 16	Gary Orkney	(860)-535-1859
Southeast District Championship Regatta	Beaufort, SC	www.byscnet.com	June 21&23	Walt Gnann	(843)-521-4015
CT State Championships	Westbrook, CT	Duck Island	July 6	Bob Mueller	(860) 349-1446
Austin Centerboard Regatta	Austin TX	Austin Yacht Club	July 6&7	Dave Hoye	(972)-772-9299/9300
Muskegon YC Regatta	Muskegon, MI	Muskegon YC	July 13 & 14	Peter Blacklock	(231) 744-8473
Newport Regatta	Newport, RI	www.sailnewport.org	July 13&14	Mark Kondracky	(860)-399-7261
Midwest District Championship	Pymatuning, OH	Pymatuning Sail Club	July 13&14	Tim Abbey	.
SAYRA Inshore Championship	Charlestion, SC	Charleston YC	July 20-21	Ed Sieger	(843) 744-3481
Rochester Canoe Club JY-15 Invitational	Rochester, NY	Rochester Canoe Club	July 27&28	Dan Blasdell	(585) 244-2271
New England Championship	East Greenwich, RI	East Greenwich	Aug 3&4	Dave Wehr	(401) 884-6533
Lake of the Woods/LOWISA	Kenora, Ontario, Canada	.	Aug 3-11	John Gjerde	(262)-740-9004
Kollen Park Regatta& JY Invitational	Holland, MI	Macatawa Bay	Aug 10 & 11	Doug Slade
Spar Wars	Hilton Head, SC	South Carolina YC	Aug 17&18	Debbie Baldridge	(843) 342-BOAT
Atlantic Coasts Championship	Stamford, CT	Stamford YC	Aug 17&18	Gino Bottino	(914) 241-8868
Waukegan Regatta	Waukegan, IL	.	Aug31-Sept1	Paul Winiarz	(847)-548-0721
Put-in-Bay Race Week	Put-in-Bay, OH	www.ILYA.org	.	.	(440)-942-3903
JY15 North Americans	Stonington, Ct	Wadawanuck YC	Sept 6,7,8	Gary Orkney	(860)-535-1859
Muskegon Fall Regatta	Muskegon, MI	Muskegon YC	Sept 28&29	Peter Blacklock	(231)-759-8596
Governor's Cup	Austin TX	Austin Yacht Club	Sept 28&29	Dave Hoye	(972)-772-9299/9300
Halloween Regatta	Augusta,Ga	Augusta Yacht Club	Oct. 12&13	Gil Samuelson	(706) 860-4913
Rush Creek Fall Dingy Fest	Rush Creek TX	Rush Creek TX	Oct. 19&20	Dave Hoye	(972)-772-9299/9300
Halloween Regatta	Stamford, CT	Stamford YC	Oct 26	Gino Bottino	(914) 241-8868
Wurstfest regatta	Canyon Lake TX	Lake Canyon Yacht Club	Nov. 2&3	Dave Hoye	(972)-772-9299/9300
JY15 & MC Scow Fall Regatta	Columbia, SC	Columbia Sailing Club	Nov. 2&3	Robert Key	(843) 744-3481

Bob Mueller, JYPrez@snet.net

Carol Fritz, JYSec@rochester.rr.com

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