Blue Marsh Sailing Association

SOUTH RIVER VAGABOND RECAP- August 11, 2009

Four boats, Lily, Coventina, Allegro, and Babe made the trip. Forgot the names? In order Bob Ciferri with crew John Ward, Tony Stajkowski and crew Mary, Joe Rutolo and crew Ron Bukowski, and myself and crew Henry Borneman. In short it was an almost perfect two days with no rain day or night, and winds gentle but fairly steady on Saturday and an all day wind that increased from 5 knots to 20 knots by the time we got out on Sunday afternoon. Our entourage of three boats (Bob had taken Lily down on Wednesday for some sailing with his son and met up with outside the South River on Saturday) made the trip in good time without problems. We sailed out the South River with the wind on our nose and with the turn into the West River giving us a more favorable wind direction we were able to sail all the way without the motor. After getting settled into our slips at the Pirate’s Cove Marina we enjoyed a cocktail hour aboard Lily recounting the day’s sail. Pirate’s Cove has an excellent restaurant and we enjoyed a variety of entrees from their extensive menu.

Sunday dawned sunny and hot with wind. We had a good breakfast at the marina and headed for home. Headed was the word for the day as we went up the South River in increasing winds. Tack after tack finally got us back to our starting point at the Pier 7 Marina at Route 2. Some of the other boats were not as lucky having to shorten sail or motor to get back. Everyone agreed that the vagabond was a success from the good sailing and camaraderie it provided. Our excitement did not end however until after we had crossed the Susquehanna at Columbia. The high winds of an approaching storm buffeted us just as we started across. That along with the following torrential downpour reminded us that Mother Nature always has the last say!

Tom Stoner 610-223-3593

FIFTH RACE RECAP –SEPTEMBER 26, 2009

The day started breezy and the winds just continued to build.  The first three races averaged slightly over 15 minutes and we finished with a circumnavigation of the island in 36 minutes!   Ray Hemphill with crew Ron Gebeau and Armando Antonini grabbed first place honors with two firsts, a second, and a third.  Bob Ciferri and crew John Ward continued his drive toward the Club Championship for the year by garnering second place with two firsts, a third, and a forth.   Lou Brown and crew Russ Witzke took third even though they retired at the end of the third race.  Our racing program continues to be a monthly sailing event of interest.   Our thanks go to this week’s race committee Jay and Jane Moyer, Jan Stoner, Carol Clark, and Kristel Adair.  Our last race of the season will be our annual Turkey Race to be held on Saturday, October 31.  Even if you haven’t been racing consider coming out to see what it’s all about- you might even win your Thanksgiving turkey!  This race day consists of one race of five laps around the island.  Have a question? Contact Tom Stoner, Race Chairman 610-678-0683 or tjstoner@msn.com.

FOURTH RACE OF SEASON RESULTS- August 30, 2009

Our original Saturday race date had to be scratched for weather reasons.  While we would have been dry the previous day’s rain resulted in Blue Marsh closing to prevent flooding downstream plus the wind was nonexistent.  We were able to reschedule to Sunday but lost three boats and the whole committee.   Thanks to Mike Gent, Mary Stajkowski, Willard Smith, and Betty Brown for their last minute committee work.  The day was sunny, dry, and very windy with gusts.  It was a day to have an agile crew!  Armando, sailing alone, can attest to that as he battled all day to keep from capsizing and bailed at every opportunity.  Ron Hrabak, crewing for Bob Ciferri, fell overboard when he went forward to free a fouled line but Ron was wearing a life jacket and Bob demonstrated good man overboard skills in retrieving him.  Lou Brown and crew Russ Witzke were on top of their game as they won all four races on corrected time.  Tom Stoner and crew Henry Borneman sailing the other Mariner battled the winners all day but had to settle for second place.  Joe Rutolo with crew Michelle tied Bob and Ron for third.  The windy conditions provided great sailing and enabled us to sail longer races including a circumnavigation of the island.  On a humorous note the Corps sent a boat out to retrieve debris that might have floated into the dam from the runoff and they picked up one of our race markers only returning it when they realized there were others just like it!  Are they really that shabby? 

Tom Stoner- Race Chairman 610-223-3593

RACE DAY RECAP July 25, 2009

Mother Nature is smiling on our race program as she slipped a sunny windy day in the middle of all this gloomy, rainy weather we have been having.  Seven boats showed up to do battle.  The 10-15 knot winds that were predicted did not show up until the last race and during our post race social.  However the first three races had light winds with occasional gusts.  The many wind shifts kept us adjusting sail settings and were a constant wonderment as to who they would favor next.    Bob Ciferri , with crew John Ward, continued his winning ways taking overall honors.  Lou Brown, with crew Russ Witzke, and Joe Rutolo and crew Michele tied for second.  I, with crew john Pittman, came in fourth.  The handicaps are starting to tighten up as the four races had four different winners on adjusted times.  Our thanks to the race committee Jan Stoner, Jay and Jane Moyer, and Ron Hrabak for their normal fine job.   A special thanks to Jay Moyer and John Pittman who helped many of our sailors to retrieve their boats.  Tom Stoner, Race Chairman  610-223-3593    

RACING RECAP June 27, 2009

The weather gods are looking down fondly on us as they gave us an almost perfect day for sailing.  I feel sorry for those who were unable to make it.  I was a little disappointed in the turnout of only six boats especially since we had eleven for our inaugural race last month and this was our annual regatta.  But the racing was close and spirited with the good winds which were sustained all day.  The committee reported that a number of people came up to inquire about the racing and there were quite a few folks sitting on the bank enjoying the show. 

Our handicap system rewards improvement and it showed with Bob Ciferri and crew Rick Crump capturing first place overall.  Ray Hemphill, with his normal crew Ron Gebeau and the addition of Sean Hollis as an advisor, improved his standing and came in second.  Tony and Mary Stajkowski have been coming on strong as of late and finished third.

Each boat’s handicap is an average of its race results calculated by dividing its actual finish time by the winning time.  Slower boats can win by reducing their margin of losing and faster boats win by increasing their normal margin of winning- it’s that simple.  But regardless of who’s winning the important thing is learning and having fun.  That’s happening so let’s see you out there next month- July 25.

Tom Stoner- Race Chairman 610-223-3593

May 30, 2009 Race Observations              

The turnout of 11 boats was encouraging- sailing is still an activity in Berks! 

The Ferron family was out in force.  Donna sailed with Sean;  John  and brother Darryl sailed with Lou; and Darryl’s son Dylan and daughter Sloan sailed with me.  Dylan and Sloan were new to sailing so it took a couple races to get the hang of it but soon were doing quite nicely.  Dylan took the tiller as we took in the buoys under sail.  Hope we see more of them this season. 

Marty had to work but that did not deter Nancy from driving the boat up to the lake.  A voice from the past, Larry Bortz, took a day off from his drumming chores to crew for Nancy.  It looks like she has really gotten the racing bug after her win at last year’s Turkey race! 

Confusion seemed to reign in the second race as we called an ABC twice around.  Sean and Jerry, our speed monsters ,  got around in no time flat while the rest of the fleet took forever.  An inadvertent sounding of the horn might have thrown the fleet off.  In any event the poor times were thrown out because of the 25% throw-out rule. 

I am looking for someone who will take over the racing committee.  Jan will not be at the next race due to a class reunion and Joan will be moving soon.  If you can spare one Saturday a month and want a front row seat to the action give me a call.

The change requiring the rounding of the buoy marking the finish line seemed to work O.K.  The change was made to keep all boats moving in the same direction at the finish line whether finishing or just rounding the mark as part of the race pursuant to finishing.

The racing seems to be attracting some observers as well as potential members to the club.

Welcome back to Sam McGuire.  He was a member several years ago and raced then.  He has been involved in work the last couple years and now has a little more time to sail.  He had his son, Nate, as crew.

There was a call to run a race around the island.  I didn’t call it because the wind seemed to be dying and I thought the lee side of the island would be slow.  However on hindsight the wind would have been O.K. and the lack of a chase boat would not have been as much a deterrent because with one rounding the fleet would have been closer together and thus able to provide assistance.  Please give me your thoughts for future race days.

We will be starting our mid-week sailing on June 3^rd.  It’s a great way to get your boat out and your skills sharpened.  If you want on our e-mail mailing and have not been getting them please let me know.  Tom Stoner 610-223-3593 (cell) or tjstoner@msn.com.

BMSA RACING HANDICAPS EXPLAINED
What is this handicap system? How is it calculated? The BMSA handicap is not unlike golf or bowling handicaps which compare current performance against previous performance. In this case performance is calculated by dividing the boat’s actual time to finish by the winning time. Corrected time in a race is determined by dividing actual time to finish by the boat’s handicap. Just like a golfer or bowler whose handicap goes down as his performance improves so does the boat’s handicap go down as the boat’s margin of losing decreases. There is no doubt that a new sailor whose performance improves dramatically will be at an advantage over the seasoned sailor who finishes higher but is more consistent.
Handicaps are calculated based on the boat’s last twelve races. The worst 25% performances are discarded- four total races -one race discarded; eight total races- two races discarded, twelve total races-three races discarded. This actually hurts the new sailor more as his performance should be more erratic. For 2009 new racers will be handicapped for the first four races based on the average BMSA handicap divided by the average Portsmouth number for all boats for which we have a handicap times the Portsmouth number of the new boat. At least the model of boat will be taken into consideration to a degree.
Using this system each sailor is able to see how his performance is changing relative to the group as it is recalculated after each day of racing. The Club champion is determined by totaling for each boat the number of boats beaten plus one for each race. This gives more credit on days when there are more boats competing. The plus one above gives credit to those racing over those not competing. Handicaps will not change after race days not having at least four boats competing but points toward the Club championship will increase for all races.

We have had good turnouts recently for our midweek sailing so why quit yet with this good weather? We will be going up at 4:30 to get an earlier start. If you think you will be there and want a ride let me know so we can watch for you. Tom 610-223-3593 (cell)

Our vagabond had six boats, thirteen crew, and plenty of good sailing. Boats participating were: Bob Ciferri, and crew Dante Pietrinferni; Neil Hoffman and crew Judith Lraines and Heidi Moser; Marty and Nancy Katzen; Tony and Mary Stajkowski; Tom Stoner and crew Rick Crump; Louis Barr and crew Armando Antonini. Louis sailed over from Middle River and Neil came down from Havre de Grace. The other four boats launched at Elk Neck State Park and sailed south against a good wind. After almost six hours of sailing the 16 mile trip had to be completed underpower. Aftrer a quick swim or shower we convened at the Harbor House restaurant for a delicious meal. An electrical storm knocked out the power just as we were presented the check. The dilemma was resolved by the old fashioned way of paying cash using a battery powered calculator and flashlights. We retred for a good night’s sleep enhanced by the patter of a light rain and thunder in the distance.

On Sunday Mother Nature gave us another windy day but clocked the wind around from the North! This resulted in having to again work against the wind but this time against the tide as well. We had to motor a good part of the return trip and found that motoring on the tacks to windward and sailing the tacks that were reaching was an effective tactic. All in all it was a fun vagabond with lots of good sailing. Ask Mary about her unexpected dunking! Tom Stoner

Last week we had four boats- Lou, Dante, Katzens, and myself. We even had enough crew to go around and fair winds to make it interesting. The weather bureau claims the rain will end Wednesday morning and it will get warmer. So come on out- the summer will soon be over! Tom Stoner 610-223-3593