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FROM EARL THOMAS
Ahoy, We had a phenomenal day of sailing yesterday, the last regular races of the year. And we had a big surprise toward the end of the day but more on that later. It started with grey skies, light breezes and a low water level, because they are draining the lake in preparation for improvements this winter, but it turned into a great day. We had 5 Lidos sailing, yes that’s right, everybody showed up. Along with Adrian in his newish Catalina Cyclone and Martin in his Laser. |
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Dick was solo as Ann as in Turkey on vacation, Stephen and Logan were there in their speedy Lido, Sidney and Lonnie made it from the east bay, Ralf and myself were battling against them all and Jim Lechner finally made it to the water’s edge but singled handed also. He hasn't joined us to sail in quite a while. He made the extra effort and rented a truck to get down to Shoreline. And he said at the end of the day he had fun and missed the excitement. Jim did very well today and remembered enough to be at the head of the pack in most of the races.
Roy handled the RC duties well and ran 5 races for us, a mix of courses 1, 3 and 4. The winds were light to start with and increased with every race. The last race had perfect conditions with good wind and limited public traffic. I unexpectedly got a first place in the final race because of a perfect alignment of the stars and guessing correctly on the side of the course and when to tack. Stephen seemed to dominate the rest of the day with quick turns and pointing high. Jim and Dick, the two single handers were in the hunt all day. The lack of the extra pair of hands didn’t seem to slow them down. Sidney and Lonnie still seem to have good boat speed when everything aligns.
The muggle traffic was light or we have gotten use to it. But it really didn’t affect us at all. They had a sailing class out there and they were pretty adept at avoiding us. I was fortunate to witness a capsize drill with about 6 beginning sailing students. They were not that happy about going swimming at that time of the morning. But everyone needs to experience that once and get it under their belt.
I talked to William from Shoreline and he said that this winter they are regrading some of the shoreline areas, replacing all the docks, dredging the lake and getting some brand new boats . So next year should be even better at Shoreline. I thanked William for his support and help with our club this year and he said he was returning next summer.
We had a challenge with the launch ramp today as the water was low and the mussels were exposed and everywhere. The smell was a little ripe but better than the last races. And it was still way better smelling than the goose poop and warm water cocktail of Lake Elizabeth on a summer's day. There is a photo here of the crew pushing, pulling and successfully getting one more boat in the water. Thank you to everyone for their help launching and recovering each others boats including the RC boat.
Roy and I deflated the marks and I transferred all the racing equipment to him for the long winter's sleep. I am storing the RC boat and will have it ready for next year. We should be ready come spring time for another fantastic year at a newly improved venue and possibly with some new members. As we have met quite a few this year and they look like they will return.
The muggle traffic was light or we have gotten use to it. But it really didn’t affect us at all. They had a sailing class out there and they were pretty adept at avoiding us. I was fortunate to witness a capsize drill with about 6 beginning sailing students. They were not that happy about going swimming at that time of the morning. But everyone needs to experience that once and get it under their belt.
I talked to William from Shoreline and he said that this winter they are regrading some of the shoreline areas, replacing all the docks, dredging the lake and getting some brand new boats . So next year should be even better at Shoreline. I thanked William for his support and help with our club this year and he said he was returning next summer.
We had a challenge with the launch ramp today as the water was low and the mussels were exposed and everywhere. The smell was a little ripe but better than the last races. And it was still way better smelling than the goose poop and warm water cocktail of Lake Elizabeth on a summer's day. There is a photo here of the crew pushing, pulling and successfully getting one more boat in the water. Thank you to everyone for their help launching and recovering each others boats including the RC boat.
Roy and I deflated the marks and I transferred all the racing equipment to him for the long winter's sleep. I am storing the RC boat and will have it ready for next year. We should be ready come spring time for another fantastic year at a newly improved venue and possibly with some new members. As we have met quite a few this year and they look like they will return.
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And now for the Big News. Harold and Maria with their kids dropped by to say hello at the end of the day. It was great to see them again after such a long time. Their kids have grown so much and they are taking swimming lessons. So they should be ready for a Lido boat ride soon. Harold says they still have their Lido in the garage but it is full of stuff from life and Costco. Hopefully they will return next year and sail with us. We are trying to organize a couple more sailing dates this fall. So stay tuned. I am thinking of the Alameda Estuary cruise and maybe Redwood City. If any of you have some other ideas please contact me. Yesterday was a fitting end to a great year. With all of us being better sailors due to John Christman’s tutelage. That was evident as people were hailing out ‘10 boat length’s away and no overlap”, ‘You are the inside boat.’, ‘ We are overlapped but I am the inside boat.’ and ‘We are at the zone and no overlap.’ So now is the season to jot down that winter to-do list for the boat projects you need to do. Perhaps it's the hardware improvement, the trailer repair or ordering those new sails and foils. See you soon at another sailing day this fall. |
Thanks,
Earl___
Earl Thomas #5121
Fleet 62 Captain
Earl___
Earl Thomas #5121
Fleet 62 Captain
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