Happy Ending/New Beginning

Fellow Moth Boat sailor Joe Bousquet has been encouraging some of the junior sailors on the high school sailing team where he teaches to give Classic Moths a try.  To further that end I've been passing freebie Moth Boats to Joe.  Earlier I gave him a boat which a lot of people thought was beyond rescue but Joe has already repaired the holes in the bottom and in the fore deck.  He indicates that it will be ready in time for next season.

I blogged about this poor ol' boat earlier.  Most people who looked said it was too rough to plant flowers in.  Joe B. plans to get her sailing by spring.

More recently Rich Larson, up on Long Island emailed me to say that he wanted to donate a Moth which his daughter was no longer using.  This boat was in much better condition that the boat above and included a road going trailer and a custom cover.  All someone had to do was come get the boat.  After talking with Joe B., diaristdaughter and I hit the road for New York.

For reasons known only to the programmers of Garmin GPS units, our little gizmo decided instead of the GW Bridge that we should take the Lincoln Tunnel and go smack down 42nd St and then to the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

The entrance to the QM Tunnel was blocked and by the time I realized that fact we had passed the detour.  We looped around, trading pleasantries with the Taxi Cabs and saw lots of big buildings of which I'm only vaguely familiar.  Is this one the Chrysler Building?  I think it is.

We eventually got to Rich's house on Long Island.  We were only a little bit late!  The rain magically stopped during the time we were actively hitching up the trailer and transferring boat gear from the garage to my wagon.

This Mk II Fletcher-Cates (blue hull closest to the camera) is in relatively good condition.

The Mk II version featured roll tank style decks while using the same hull as the standard version.  Originally this boat had a center main traveler rather than the current aft bridle.

Before leaving, we picked Rich's brain for some handwritten instructions to override our GPS.  I didn't fancy another ride down 42nd St., this time towing a wonky boat trailer with old dry rotted tires.  No, this bridge isn't the one you're thinking of.  This one is the Manhattan Bridge.

Here's the one you're thinking of.  Now, if you're interested in this bridge, be sure to ask me about my portfolio of prime Florida real estate.

We avoided downtown but every time I turned around we were going over another bridge, this one's the Verrazano Bridge--and no, none of these bridges are free.  I dread seeing my ezpass statement.  Sigh--the things I do for juniors sailors.  At least the sky was getting brighter in the  direction we were headed.

The next morning.  Yes, we eventually did get home in one piece.  I had brought two wheels/tires plus tools in case the old tires gave out but thankfully they didn't.  A week later, I helped Joe B. change wheels before he set out from my house in Maryland to go back to Norfolk, VA.  We had to use a sledge hammer to free one of the wheels from it's hub!

She looks good with her travel cover in place.

The following weekend Joe came to collect the boat.  He decided to stick on some reflective tape in case the tail lights decided to go on holiday.

Joe B. ready for the Grand Depart.  I'm the one who should be smiling--this boat came and went while my wife was out of town!

And yes, Joe also had an uneventful trip.  Perhaps this is a lucky boat.  Hopefully I'll see a new junior sailor in her next racing season.

2017 CMBA Nationals

This year my usual "photographer" couldn't make the trip down to Elizabeth City so I gave my camera to Greg Duncan who was sitting out this year's competition due to a back injury.  Apparently my camera's memory card was full of other stuff so there are limited photos from the first day of racing.  We raced a total of 11 races over two days; 7 on Saturday and 4 more on Sunday.  The conditions were mostly sunny and warm but with only maybe 5 or 6 knots out of the NE.  My son and I swapped boats for this regatta.  The boat that he had been racing seemed to perform well if there was a good breeze and not so well if there wasn't.  We wanted to see if the problem was the boat or the skipper.  After two days of racing we came to the conclusion that it's the boat.  Erik came in second in our division and I came in a distance 5th out of 8 Gen I boats.  At the end of the regatta, we gave the hull to a fellow competitor who is putting interested high school kids into Classic Moths.  If you get an old 175 lb lard-butt out of that boat and substitute a 100 lb kid, that boat might take off!  We shall see.

It wasn't completely glassy but there were plenty of holes!

Donald Hewitt sailed Greg's Connecticut design Moth in the Vintage division. The Connecticut was designed in the late 1940s by Skip Etchells up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have Mike Parsons seen here in his Gen II division Mistral.  The Mistral was designed by Derek Chester in the early 1970s.

Your old diarist (sail nr 43) at the helm of the boat which we decided to donate after the conclusion of racing.  A nicely built boat--too nice for me to strip off the hardware and get out the sawzall--but she just didn't suit us or maybe we didn't suit her.  Here's hoping she moves on to a brighter future.

Walt Collins was back in form, sailing Feather.  Walt dominated the Gen I fleet winning 10 out of 11 races.

Erik sailing out to the start area in Ooh-La-La.

Zach Balluzzo, sail Nr 90, has aged out of juniors this year but was able to claim the third spot on the Gen II podium.

A study of ancient vs modern:  Don Hewitt in the Vintage Connecticut and John Z in his Mistral.

Walt was quick enough to poke Feather up among the faster Gen II boats.

Your old diarist making the best of things in Nr 43.  Nr 133 is Don Janeway's Vintage winning Ventnor Moth.  Don's father purchased the boat in the summer of 1941.

A jet skier watches as Mike Parsons, the overall 2017 National champion, glides to the finish line.

Erik (Nr 67) and Ed Salva (Nr 10) sniffing out the few puffs on offer.  Both are sailing converted Europe dinghies.

Sunday brought Joe Bousquet plus two junior sailors, plus a little more breeze, but sadly I have no photos from that day.  Joe is working hard to funnel juniors from a high school sailing team where he teaches math into Classic Moths.  I think we'll see some fruit from his efforts in the coming years.