Not older, just better...

[Bob in Va]

It's relatively small potatoes, but two old Ericsons took first place honors in the annual "Race to the Pub" this Saturday at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. Marc Swart's 1974 E37 "Adante" won the A Fleet (non-spinnaker) race going away, battling it out at the finish with the third place spinnaker boat (Rocket 22). And my own '76 E23 "TigerEye" followed those two across the line to win the B Fleet race. We had a ding-dong battle with "DeMerit", a Merit 25 that took second place honors in A. She passed us at about the half-way point, but we managed to reel her back in and nipped her at the line. So two Ericsons, with combined ages of 64 years, showed those younger whippersnappers a thing or two. And as Dizzy Dean said, "If it's true, it ain't braggin'."

 

[Chris Miller]

sweeeet....

 

[Mark F]

Very cool Bob! Were you in the spinnaker class?

 

[Chad and Sandy]

E victory

Way to go Bob!!!:clap:

 

[Bob in Va]

classes

There were three classes: Spinnaker, Non-spinnaker A, and Non-Spinnaker B. The break for the latter two was at 220 - boats phrf-ing below that raced in A, boats above were in B. The Merit rates 171 on our lake, and the E23 (CB version) rates 237. In past years it has rated 234 but for some reason was increased this year (we've had a number of changes in fleet rules and makeups this year, some of which are controversial). In the past we've had essentially a "gentlemen's agreement" to race our boats in the appropriate class, but this year the rule is more rigid. In a small club, with a great deal of variation in boat preparation as well as our typical "who knows" from day to day wind conditions, that generally resulted in good competition and chances for everyone to stand on the podium. Now that we have a strict phrf break between classes, racing is not as close and results are much more predictable. The guys who normally dominate the two non-spinnaker classes were not in the race described above and thus it was more of a free-for-all.

 

[Steve Swann]

Making racing fun - why not?

I find it interesting that some small clubs get very persnickety about rules, ratings, and get so caught up in their competitive racing that it excludes people and boats who might otherwise come out and compete once in a while. This is not lost on the non-competitive sailors and boat owners who might have otherwise gone out there and tried. If you are new to racing, or sailing, or have an older boat, who even wants to try to break into racing in a Club that is so competitive? Is this healthy for a Club?

Our Southern Idaho Sailing Association (SISA) is going to great efforts to get more boats and sailors involved in the racing scene; even to the extent that some of our more competitive skippers will leave their boats tied up and come onto a neophyte's boat to assist and teach during the actual race. The intent is to expand the fleet to include more people, more boats, and therefore, a larger, more interesting Club and Races. These experienced sailors even help set up the boats, give advice on trim and tuning, etc. By being on someone elses' boat for the race, these skippers are actually take a penalty in the season trophy results as a "no show," but they have decided it is more important to get more people coming out to race, give out some confidence, and ensure that everyone is have a rewarding time than it is to get their name engraved on a cup to be shown at the end of season Christmas party.

I applaud those clubs and racer/skippers who are helping expand our sport by including people like me.

Steve Swann
E25 Seahorse

 

[Bob in Va]

I applaud them too

The guys who share their expertise and time will be remembered by those they helped long after the dust has covered the trophies. And the club will grow and prosper as a result of their farsightedness. There is a quote from one of the California clubs' newsletters making the point that clubs have to be careful once they have achieved success, because it is easy for the same group of hard core sailor/racer types who got everything started from scratch to scare off new folks who aren't quite as committed to the racer mentality. My thinking is that there should be room for all, and that those who find they really enjoy the cut and thrust of close racing should have an avenue for moving up through the system, while those who are just out there for fun and camaraderie should still have an opportunity to compete. It generally stops being fun when you can pencil in the podium results before the race starts.