US Snipe Sailor It’s all about adapting Mahatma Gandhi said “live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Well, there was some learning going on last month at the 2017 US Nationals on what most certainly is the smallest lake a National Championship has ever been held on in Winchester MA. Augie Diaz was heard to say “I have to re-learn all over again”. George Szabo, in a futile attempt to keep his sanity in the forever-shifting conditions, joked about having to tear up his book. The tiny lake was a different world for most of the visitors. Was it the best venue to be used to select the US representatives to the 2018 Western Hemispheres and Orient Championships? Maybe not. But it was impressive to see the largest turn out in many years and to witness how many of the non-tinylake sailors adapted and improved over the course of the week. Another “new thing”: more races were held than any previous Nationals: Standard 4 for Crosby, 12 for Heinzerling and 10 for Wells. And the resultant short (15-minute-long) races made for close quarters situations at most starts, marks and finishes. I suspect that there were many boat-handling saws that were sharpened by the end of the regatta.
Off the water, the regatta organizers chose to try to cut down on plastic cup waste by providing “keeper” plastic cups with the regatta logo on them in the registration packet for both skipper and crew as well as volunteers. Everyone was to use these cups for after-sailing beverages on 4 of the 5 days, which translated into the elimination of an estimated 500 of the disposable “solo” cups that are typically used at the keg and tossed after one use. The cups cost ~$2.50 each so the net cost to the regatta is more than the ~15 cent solo cups, but it is such a shame to be tossing so much plastic out at our regattas – and everyone has a momento from the regatta! To all you open-water fans: fear not - no one is intending to convert Snipe sailing into a tiny-lake escapade, but the large turn-out and great fun that was had at last month’s Nationals should lead us all into pondering that something could be said for “poking the bear” and trying something new from time to time – whether on your own or by / at your local regatta. What have you learned lately?
“I can’t control the wind but I can adjust the sail.” ― Ricky Skaggs, American country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer.
SCIRA USA 2812 Canon Street San Diego, CA 92106 619-222-0252 Jerelyn Biehl, SCIRA Executive Director jerelyn@odmsail.com Sherri Campbell, SCIRA Finances sherri@odmsail.com Fall 2017
2017 US Nationals Regatta Summary Now that the 2017 US Snipe Nationals is in the books, I can take a breath and reflect on the experience. As a firsttime major regatta chair, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting into, which is probably a good thing or I might never have bid for the event! What I did know was that I very much wanted to bring Nationals to Mystic Lake and that the size and health of our fleet would help us run a great week-long event. My vision when placing the bid was to show how Snipes are sailed by a good number of Snipers in our neck of the woods and to engage more families and youth who have likely never been to a Snipe Nationals. About a third of the fleet, aged 12 to 87 years young, was under 25. In addition, one of our fleet members told me at the banquet that he’s been a Snipe owner and fleet contributor for five years, but Nationals made him feel a part of the broader class – a part of our family – for the first time. A key thing I learned along the way that differs from previous experience running weekend events involves all the outside-thefleet engagements required. Building strong support with the Winchester Boat Club board was key, as was making the bid and pitch to US SCIRA. The WBC Board provided active support securing the necessary town permits to deal with traffic, tents, and liquor, which was much more difficult than it should have been. Also, I’ve never needed to find SCIRA reps, judges, or had to sync up an event with such history and expectation to a Deed of Gift where we required a number of waivers from class governance to run races on our small, shifty lake. It was important to me to honor tradition while introducing a new type of venue for Nationals. Our broader Snipe family helped me navigate these challenges, allowing us to win the bid and move forward.
As regatta chair, I very much wanted to incorporate all the great ideas and advice coming my way, but ultimately, this was simply not possible. It was important to encourage feedback and listen, but then realize when it was time to make decisions. Starting in January, I called fleet meetings to solicit ideas and volunteers, which was as a great way to get people involved. Those who volunteered for specific duties became the decision-makers in their areas of responsibility, checking back with me as questions cropped up. Perhaps most importantly, engage a regatta co-chair. There are a lot of moving parts to such an event and having two people looking at the big picture helps to make sure all tasks are identified with a clear execution plan. Art Rousmaniere and I met weekly to figure out how everything would be coming together. Finally, when things don’t run smoothly, don’t panic! Adapt quickly and stay focused on what really matters – showing Snipe sailors a good time both on and off the water. Serious Sailing, Serious Fun. So what if half the bow numbers don’t arrive until the second day? Put the ones you have on the starboard bow and go sailing. Would I do this again? Someday perhaps, after a good long rest. Kevin Hetherington-Young 2017 US Snipe National Championship Regatta Chair
Nationals would’ve been impossible without delegating key responsibilities and trusting those volunteers to deliver. My role was to check in regularly to see if they required assistance. For example, we had incredible support from Bill Swanton to get our race committee gear acquired and organized and the three major socials we threw ran smoothly. Given the scope of the social events, our chief social chair Katie Levinson focused on the Wednesday night dinner and Friday banquet, while the Frasers at the Medford Boat Club threw an amazing night of BBQ, bocce, and live music. As regatta chair, I didn’t have to concern myself with much beyond budget and enjoying these great events.
Fall 2017
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2017 Winchester/Classic Snipe Rally boat # 31171 30903 29727 29842 30089 31309 28542 29111 30470 30600 28442 30422 30999 29704 31424 3258 (Classic) 29955 31013 29008 31204 29972 3047 18326 (Classic) 35 (Classic)
3
Skipper Jim Bowers Cam Fraser John MacRae Katie Levinson Nicholas Giacobbe Andy Klein Bob Coyle Joel Zackin Kerry O'Brian Kevin Hetherington-Young Sue Lodico Michael Bowers Martin Fraser Max Hetherington-Young Andy Pimental Art Rousmaniere Ted Keenan Grace Olsen Venkat Chalasani Ray Schmidt Peter Bronk Dana Rousmaniere Joe Kurland Peter Lane
Crew Julia Rabin Liz Glavinski Myrne MacRae Sarah Levinson Laura Dienemann Michele Morphew Jackie Farnsworth Josie Ruggeri Ann Walt Stallings Audrey H-Y Jan Tabor Andy Bowers Suzette Fraser Vivian H-Y Chelsea Carlton Jennifer Rousmaniere Ellen Pratt Lili Gao Steve Milt Margaret Lawrena Gabe Bronk Liam / Liza Rousmaniere Peggy Davis Jon Bassett
race 1 *19* 2 4 1 3 *9* *16* 13 6 10 8 11 5 14 7 *20* 15 12 17 18 24
race 2 2 1 6 7 *11* 3 5 4 12 9 *16* 14 8 *17* 10 15 13 *19* *18* 20 20
race 3 1 2 *16* 12 7 6 5 3 9 8 11 *19* 14 13 4 10 15 18 17 20 DNF (21)
DNF (21)
DNF (21)
*DNS =(24)* *DNS =(24)*
race 4 1 *4* 7 *13* 6 9 10 *14* 3 8 12 5 15 16 2 18 11 19 17
race 6 5 2 1 8 6 3 4 14 11 13 12 10 7 9 24 19 16 17 15 18
race 7 3 4 7 1 2 9 11 5 6 8 12 10 14 17 24 18 15 13 16
race 8 2 1 4 7 5 3 6 12 14 *DNS* 10 8 11 9 24 13 15 16 17
DNF (21)
race 5 1 4 2 3 10 7 11 9 *14* 5 8 15 *16* 13 *DNS* 6 *18* 19 17 12
DNF (20)
*DNS =(24)*
DNF (21)
DNF (20)
*DNS =(24)*
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNF (21)
DNF (21)
*DNS =(24)*
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
19
18
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
DNS =(24)
total 15 16 31 39 39 40 52 60 61 61 73 73 74 91 95 99 100 114 116 129 154 156 157 168
Fall 2017
2017 US Snipe Regatta Schedule Date
Sept 7-8 Sept 16-17 Oct 14-16 Oct 28-29
Regatta
US Master Championship 43rd Mystic Lake Open Frigid Digit Halloween Regatta
Venue
North Cape YC, MI Medford BC, MA Severn Sailing Assn, MD Atlanta YC, GA
2018 US Snipe Regatta Schedule please send your regatta dates to jerelyn@odmsail.com
Date
Feb 3-4 March 18-20 March 23-25 Aug 16-19 Oct 6-8
Regatta
Comodoro Rasco Midwinters Don Q Women’s Worlds North Americans & Pan Am Qualifier
Venue
Miami, FL Clearwater, FL Miami, FL Newport, Rhode Island San Diego, CA
Qualifying Regattas for the 2018 Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship date event Qualfied teams/# to qualify NAs - Ft Lauderdale Ernesto Rodriguez May 19: Augie Diaz June 17-18: Junior ACCS, Annapolis, MD contact: Chris Ryan: cryanwork@hotmail.com or 410-703-8935 Registration: www.severnsailing.org
Jensen McTighe
August 21: US Nationals, Winchester, MA Jim Bowers contact: Kevin Hetherinton-Young Art Rousmaniere Registration: https://snipeusa.com/regattas/2017-us-nationals/ October 28: Carolyn Nute Memorial, Mission Bay, CA contact: Don Bedford: bedfordd@gmail.com Registration: www.mbyc.org **Women’s NA berth to be decided Fall 2017
1 team qualifies 1 team from NA