US Snipe Sailor I LOVE this time of year. Sailing season is well under way - at least for us northerners. I look forward to each weekend like a kid waiting for the neighborhood ice cream truck. In early June, I met with close to 70 teams for eight grueling, blinkand-you-lose-five-boats races at the 2016 North Americans hosted by SSA in Annapolis where we all had the opportunity to sail and party with the best of both categories. The next weekend, Art Rousmaniere Jennifer and I were fleet racing incoming US National Secretary with five other local teams on the Mystic Lakes outside Boston. And just two weeks later, my family sailed, partied and camped at one of our favorite sailing spots (admittedly not for the wind conditions ~~) on Lake Quassapaug in central Connecticut.You couldn’t imagine a wider variety of experiences while doing the same past time in as few weeks. I have been enjoying this roll of National Secretary in that I am finding myself looking out for feedback from folks from around our class. One example was the attendance at the NA’s of new-to-Snipers and selfproclaimed surfer dudes Ed Machado and Jon Robertson from Mission Bay, California. They may have finished out of the top half of the regatta, yet they made a point of telling me how much fun they had, how much they appreciated regatta-winner Doug Hart’s encouragement for them to come and how Joel Zackin of Quassapaug welcomed them to a spontaneous practice session on Thursday. They also had a suggestion that ALL regatta organizers should heed: be sure to watch out for the newbies and consider organizing a buddy system with an experienced Snipe sailor to help make them feel at home. The energy that came from a lively discussion I had (also at the NA’s) with Nick Voss, Nicole Popp, David Hernandez and Christine DeSilva could have powered the beer truck’s cooler for weeks. They made a passionate case for minimizing the barrier to entry, especially to teens
SCIRA USA 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 619-222-0252 Danielle Richards, Executive Administrator danielle@odmsail.com Sherri Campbell, SCIRA Finances sherri@odmsail.com Jerelyn Biehl, SCIRA Executive Director jerelyn@odmsail.com or jerelyn@odmsail.com
and 20-somethings by having more affordable Snipes available and reducing travel costs by having more multi-Snipe trailers. Looking slightly differently at this same “removing barriers” angle, NA’s regatta chairman Chris Ryan leaked to me his secret to such a great turnout: “I kept removing the excuses. For example, when I heard ‘I don’t have a Snipe’, I found a loaner FAST. When I heard ‘I can’t afford it’, I found housing. Simply put, I wore down all those with excuses until they HAD to sign up.” Conniving but effective guy, Chris is. Many times, the definition of “success” for a good regatta can be elusive. You may be challenged to convince anyone to race a regatta on a small lake such as Lake Altoona outside Atlanta or Lake Quassapaug based upon descriptions of hyper-shifty winds or short courses.Yet, Atlanta YC’s annual Halloween Regatta remains a legendary event that Jennifer and I FINALLY made last year. Trust me - that particular legend is real. Also, I queried first-time Quassy-ers Zach Kelchner and Lauren Schoene from Annapolis about what made Lake Quassapaug and their regatta different. They both beamed “It is SOOOOO easy and fun. The boats stay in the water a few feet from the shore and we camp out lakeside and are fed all weekend. This is awesome!”. To add to this, for many the cherry on the top for this edition of the Whittemore St John regatta was Saturday night’s spontaneous multi-generational jam and sing-along session in front of “tent row” a mere few steps from the lake led by Arthur Blodgett, Kevin Hetherington-Young and Dorothy Waskow on guitars, 9-year-old Ryann O’Hare and myself on percussion (on a plastic beer cooler that served as bongos), Kerry O’Brian also on percussion (screw driver whacked on plyers) and an assortment of singers. Magnificent. And then there’s family: Jennifer and I have brought our own kids, 28 year old Adam and 24 year old Kelly, to Quassy for years, In fact, Kelly took her first steps on the club’s porch/dance floor. This year we welcomed their significant others Annie and Andrew that crewed for them so we had four Snipes with Rousmanieres in them. My guess is that most of the 22 teams this year were either parent/offspring, husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. Wonderful. We all have stories. Every regatta has a story. But neither happen on their own. We need to learn from the energy business: it takes energy to make energy. Reach out to a friend. Make your boat available. Let’s make all this happen more regularly. Lastly, we still need hosts for major regattas for the next two years. We have no bids to date but have received general interest from Miami, Winchester, North Cape and Atlanta for either Nationals, Junior Nationals, NA’s, Masters Nationals or Womens Nationals. Bids need to be submitted by August 15th. Cheers,
Art Rousmaniere “Sailing is a long lesson in patience” – Bernard Moitessier (1925-1994), long distance ocean racer
Summer 2016
Filter/Bennett win Snipe Junior Nationals In the 3rd year of its annual Junior Snipe event, Annapolis Fleet 532 / Severn Sailing Association was chosen to host to the Snipe Junior Nationals June 18-19th, in the process selecting 3 of the berths for the 2017 Junior Worlds in La Coruña Spain. Held separately from the regular Nationals, fleet organizers worked hard to recruit and outfit 13 teams to participate in what was mostly a borrowed boat event. While the event attracted many new sailors to the Snipe, the results favored those with a history in the class. Snipe legacy and SSA hometown favorites Christian Filter and crew Jessica Bennett won the regatta with strong contention from Christian Cyrul (Privateer YC) and crew Max Hetherington-Young (Winchester BC). Both skippers were previous winners of the Special Junior Nationals. Third place was awarded to Snipe newcomer Kyle Mergenthaler (Lake Norman YC) with crew Emily Gilreath (Jacksonville YC). Audrey Hetherington-Young (Winchester BC) won the Special Junior “Old Man Diaz” award with dad Kevin crewing. Note that she beat some high school and college sailors in the process!
due to the lack of breeze. An impromptu corn-hole tournament helped fill the time postponed on shore! When the fleet finally got out to the course a race was started, but subsequently abandoned due to the rapidly dying breeze. Four races were eventually completed with the fleet having to wait until 2pm for the sea breeze build to 5-8, minimum necessary to get through the serious pleasure boat chop. With the fleet not returning to shore until past 6pm, the Chipotle dinner with Sandy Westphal’s famous Texas Sheet Cake was a welcome sight! It even revived the sailors enough to have a short debrief run by expert Sniper Henry Filter. Our Protest Committee of Kim Couranz, Brett Davis, and Ted Morgan heard one protest filed for redress. The kids also loved the door prizes provided by the Olivia Constants Foundation and North Sails. Sunday also looked iffy with a dying westerly, but built nicely to 8-10 by 11:30, allowing for 3 more races and the drop that happened after the 6th race was completed. The racing was very tight in a challenging Chesapeake Bay conditions. While Filter/Bennett won by 7 points in the end, coming into the last race they were only separated by one point from Cyrul/ Hetherington-Young. The jockeying for Third Place was even tighter – going into the last race, 4 boats were in a virtual tie for 3rd place. A strong 3rd place finish helped Mergenthaler/Gilreath rise to the top with their drop race. This regatta could not have happened without the cooperation of the local fleet (many of whom made their boats available to juniors), but particular the tireless efforts of Chris Ryan (charters and “sales”), “Super PRO” Steve Podlich, Steve Pickel (boat boy & clinic), Alex Pline (SCIRA rep, boat boy & scoring), and the hospitality team of Josh & Danielle Romme, Sandy Westphal, and Liz Filter. Parents Mark Bennett & Mike Mergenthaler chipped in with on-the-water support and Jill Bennett provided the awesome photos she donated for publicity.
The Clinic on Friday afternoon sponsored by North Sails and run by their One Design expert Steve Pickel helped get kids new to the Snipe up to speed on boat rigging and handling. Many of the fleet had only sailed Opti and 420’s, so the clinic was key to having a positive experience in the Snipe! A pizza party and an Ice Cream Sundae bar provided by the Reisinger family topped off a great opening day of the event.
Fleet 532 is very pleased with the bridge this type event builds with the younger sailors – we netted over 15 new SCIRA memberships! We are already making plans for next year’s event to be the 4th Annual Junior ACC’s and Annapolis Snipe Invite for Under 30 sailors. Mark your calendars to join us next year the third weekend in June!
On Saturday morning PRO Steve Podlich kept the fleet ashore
Lisa Pline, Regatta Chair
Rush Creek Yacht Club invites you to the 2016 Snipe Nationals September 14-17, 2016 in Heath, TX. Come enjoy great fall sailing in north Texas – we’re in the middle of the country so it’s not cross-country for anyone. Pre and post-regatta boat storage available if you need it. Plenty of room for RV and/or tent camping. Member housing is also available. Contact Mary Anne Hopper (972-8001042; maryanne_hopper@hotmail.com) or Dannielle Richards (619 255 0083; danielle@odmsail.com) Register at http://snipeusa.com/regattas/2016-us-nationals/
Summer 2016
Tuesday
Sept 13
17002000 900-1850
Registration/Check-in Desk Open Measurement Center Open Wednesday Sept 14 Registration/Check-in Desk Open Measurement Center Open 1500 Practice Race 1800 Dinner at RCYC 1700 Competitor’s Briefing Thursday Sept 15 1000 First Warning Signal Lunch Will Be Served on the Water Additional Races to Follow 1800 Dinner at RCYC Friday Sept 16 1000 First Warning Signal Lunch Will Be Served on the Water Additional Races to Follow 1800 Dinner at RCYC Saturday Sept 17 1000 First Warning Signal Lunch Will Be Served on the Water Additional Races to Follow 1800 Dinner and Awards at RCYC No race will start after 1400 on Saturday, September 17 th.
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2016 Whittemore Regatta St John Lake Quassapaug, CT. June 26 & 26 The regatta is over, everything is put way. I take one last walk around the club looking for errant garbage and left behind items. I think the work is done until the next regatta we host. And then, Monday morning, comes the request I dread, “can you write a regatta report, we have a Tuesday deadline for the newsletter”. So here we go. Note, many liberties have been taken and outright lies included with the reporting of this event. Many of the comments are “inside” jokes, known only to Quassy participants. To get the real story of what went on, you should consider attending a Quassy regatta. Twenty one plus boats gathered for the event. I say twenty one plus because some folks, like Kevin and Vivian Heatherington-Young brought two boats but could only figure out how to sail one. I think they brought two boats so that they would have the correct boat for the one rudder they brought. The Rousmaniere clan showed up en mass, sailing in and unprecedented four boats. I want to be a member of the youngest Rousmaniere generation. Dad (Art) setup and splashed their boats for them. Mom (Jen) set up the tents and bedding. All Kelly and Andrew, and Adam and Annie had to do was describe how difficult their travels to the lake were, step in and go sailing. How do I sign up to be a Rousmaniere kid? Do I need to know how to spell Rousmaniere? Regatta management can be a real art. Steve and Alex Milt wanted to know where they could fish. They reported catching a large one, but all we saw was an empty hook. One goal of the weekend was to teach Keri O’Brien how to keep the mast in the boat. She and Art R were sailing “Lally”. John (Lally) was a Quassapaug regular, very much missed, but very felt in spirit. At the Competitors Meeting, Quassy new comer, Zack Kelchner unknowingly played the part of Lee Griffith, asking if we would have a “Throw Out” (discard) in the scores. Did someone put him up to it? Did he know he would need it? Where was Lee?
Quassy). Seems like they had not been on a board in many, many years. Also seen on windsurfers over the weekend where Enoc, Illysa, Minna, Jurgen, Joel, and Arthur. We can use the word ‘smooth’ to describe Arthur’s Snipe sailing, but on a windsurfer, maybe not. Smiles were everywhere afterwards. Dinner was great, thanks to the leadership of Enid Gendron. Late into the evening a music circle formed by the tents. I cannot report on all the musicians, but Arthur Blodgett and Kevin Heatherington-Young played guitar. The cooler was played, with great form, by Art R and Ryan O’Hare. Holly and Gavin O’Hare were unusually subdued, allowing Maeve and Ryan the spotlight. Late at night, Annwalt was confused and flustered as to the disappearance of Keri, who she owed a ride to their lodgings. Despite 70+ years of hydrating with beer, Jack Gannon gave us a scare with an ER trip due to leg cramps. Jack, let Jen crouch in the boat. Learn to drive seated!! Two more races were sailed on the Sun’s Day. Bob Coyle and Annwalt Stallings won the last race of the day. Out of character, Bob kept a low profile all weekend and failed to three-peat on a special award. Many Awards were given. The coveted “Take a Bow Award” went to Enid Gendron for feeding us Art R and Ryan O’Hare for their spirited cooler drumming. The “Get a Clew” Award (a jib clew) was decisively won by Zack Kelchner and Lauren Shoene. They overheard the race committee and regatta management discussing potential courses for the last race. Even though it was announced that we could not find our Windward Leeward Flag, and therefore that course would not be sailed. They decided a “T” flag stood for WL anyway. I think they won their private race. Bob and Kevin are going to have to try harder in August to win this award. Sailing Awards were given to too many folks to name in many categories: including16th Place, and 6th place. At the awards ceremony all the regatta announcements happened after the trophies were given out. Did no one tell Zack, to properly play the part of Lee, one must announce an upcoming regatta in the middle of the awards? Fun was had by all! Joel Zackin, Quassapaug Fleet 231 Does anyone read these regatta reports?
The weekend was beautiful weather delivered by high pressure over the region. Read “no wind”. On Saturn’s Day we waited until 3pm for the South sea breeze to appear. Thanks to the efficient race management of Meghan Murphy and Michaela McMahon, two very excellent races were run before 1 30473 Arthur Blogett & Kim Calnan the party began. 2 30679 Gavin & Maeve O’Hare You can see the results of what 3 28542 Bob Coyle & Ann Walt Stallings happened on 4 28442 Sue Lodico & Jan Tabor the race course 5 30470 Kerry O’Brien & Art Rousmaniere below. Sue Lodico 6 29782 Zack Kelchner & Lauren Shoene and Jan Tabor 7 31204 Ray Schmit & Margret Laurence did some crafty 8 31204 Harry Waskow & Alex Korn sailing to end the 9 29704 Kevin & Vivian Heatherington-Young day third. But no 10 31280 Adam Rousmaniere & Annie McNernay one knew that, 11 26026 Peter & Leslie Zackin since the race 12 29964 Bob & Jane Panza management 13 29311 Gilmore & Alice Oneil (me) completely 14 28004 Jurgen & Minna Hollock forgot to post, or even compile the 15 29499 Kelly Rousmaniere & Andrew Goldfarb scores after the 16 30330 Steve & Alex Milt first day of racing. 17 16333 Jack Gannon & Jen Rousmaniere 18 26128 Charlie Baywood & Matt Wiesgable After racing Art 19 29111 Darryl Waskow & Joel Zackin and Adam gave a 20 29111 Enoc Escobar & Illysa Hall windsurfing demo 21 26665 Ian & Robert Ray (toys abound at
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3 1
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8 18
3 6 4 4 12 11 10 9 16 13 15 14 17 7 18 Dns 19 20
5 6 2 8 7 3 4 15 17 12 11 17 13 10 19 Dns 17 Dns
7 8 2 14 10 16 13 4 6 11 15 14 12 Dns 19 20 17 18
10 6 dnf 9 4 5 8 Dns 13 14 11 12 16 Dns 15 9 20 17
25 16 27 33 33 35 35 50 50 50 52 57 58 61 71 73 73 77
#1 Father/Daughter Team #1 Sibling Team Sailing “Lally” #1 Quassy Rookies #1 Married Couple #2 married couple #3 married couple #2 father daughter/rookie #3 father daughter team #1 father son team
#1 son father team
Summer 2016
District III News Hello from the Midwest (District III)! It has been a great start to our sailing season with solid winds and new faces on the start line throughout the District. Our District is gaining positive momentum in fleet growth and travel regatta participation which is wonderful to see. It is my goal to help foster this momentum in the coming years through a few key initiatives (see below). If any District sailors can assist in any of these, or have additional ideas, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Re-Engage District Fleets: facilitate & encourage fleets from around D3 to host regattas & events, as well as, become an active travel regatta participant. District III Facebook Page If you have not “Liked” our District Facebook page, please do so! Even if you don’t use it socially or do not even have an account, please get on – we use Facebook to communicate Regatta details, post pictures & stay in contact! www.facebook.com/groups/d3scira
District Initiatives
District III Subcommittee
As I took the reins from my mentor Matt Heywood in 2016, I have tried to identify a few key areas that our District could work together to build up our fleet sailing programs & travel regatta participation.
I am looking for a couple individuals to form a District III subcommittee to discuss key events, member development ideas, and long/mid-term strategy. Interested in helping? Reach out to me by phone or email!
Junior Involvement: Actively recruit junior sailors into crew/skipper positions with a senior mentor and full junior teams (skipper & crew).
I look forward to seeing everyone at upcoming regattas and never hesitate to reach out to me.
Travel Series: In 2016 our District started a high point (cumulative) Travel Series for our district regattas. The event is open to all District III snipe sailors. Three D3 Regattas are included in the series (Indiana Open, North Cape & Riff Raff)
US National Highpoint Championship Re-establishing the Minneford Trophy The Minneford trophy was established in 1932 and was
awarded to the national highpoint champion. This award was a highly coveted award and was a series many were excited to participate in and to track who was leading over the course of a season. Somewhere along the way, this award fell by the wayside and the Deed of Gift lists winners only up to 2002. The SCIRA US Board has determined to reestablish this national highpoint award and has developed a set of rules and procedures to be implemented this year. This first year will be a chance to test these procedures and may identify improvements to be made through revision in the future. The intent of this new highpoint series will be to encourage more participation in events around the country. The hope is that our class membership will look for and travel to more events by providing a point score system for a set of specific events and publishing a running tally of the current standings. The scoring is based on a highpoint model which favors winners of events with larger numbers of participants and is hoped will encourage increased efforts to get more boats out on the line. The more events you go to, the more points you will accumulate so look to add a few more events to your schedule and watch your scores increase. We are also awarding bonus points for non-championship events to encourage greater participation in important local
Summer 2016
Sail Fast, Jess Lawhead District III Governor jesslawhead@gmail.com fleet events in the districts outside of district or national championships. Each district governor will select 5 district events each year to include as point score events. These can be rotated around the district to provide a focus on different events and growing the fleets that host them or allowing people to rediscover the fun to be had at these venues. District, national, and international championships must be selected for the district in which they are run. This series is similar to what District 2 established last year for a district travel series and which District 1 is planning to follow this year. You may remember an article in the spring 2016 issue of US Snipe Sailor describing this great series. We hope that districts may find this a useful tool to encourage more participation within their district and that sailors will also travel outside their district for increased scoring opportunities. While we are late in broadly publishing this new series and uploading a scoring tracker, we have been working at the Board level on this since January. Work on this series pre-dates and will be different than the scoring systems the International class is developing however each have similar goals and may find some intersections. To find out what events have been selected in each district for 2016 and to find a description of the rules established for this national highpoint championship series and the current standings check out the Minneford Trophy page on the US class website at http://snipeusa.com/regattas/2016-minnefordtrophy/