Quannapowitt Yacht Club

Winners Roger Sharp and his daughter Laura Sharp dominated the entire day.

We had another great "Chaos Cup" regatta last fall on October 17th at the Quannapowitt Yacht Club in Wakefield Massachusetts with seven boats attending. As always the QYC members pulled together to help out on the race committee boats and back at the club house in the kitchen.

Just like last year it was cold. It even snowed the day before the regatta! It was also pretty windy in the morning with white caps and gusts blowing across the lake. I became very nervous when Diane Kampf said that she was not going to sail in the rough conditions because she will generally sail in anything. In the end her husband Greg Kampf convinced her to sail so all was good. Lets face it a Flying Scot is pretty hard to capsize on a moderately windy day even for an inexperienced sailor.

I like the fact that I need to stay in shape if I want to be a good small-boat sailor.

It’s hard to motivate myself to exercise when I don’t have a goal. Sailing gives me that goal. I know I do better when I’m at a reasonable weight, have a bit of aerobic capacity and don’t wear myself out holding the tiller on a windy day.

Older bodies take longer to get in shape so when February appears I know I’d better put in a little effort – less comfort food, walks when it’s warm enough, some bicycle style crunches every other day, lifting some modest weights to build a little endurance in my arms. It’s eight weeks until docks in and I want to be ready – well, at least sort of ready anyway.

So, welcome to the middle of winter; but don’t blink, spring is gaining on us. I’ll see you in April for race practice. Be ready or be sore.

Jay Livingston, Commodore

On a gray fall day with the breeze appearing only as patches of ripples that meandered down the lake scooting individual boats around like leaves on a parking lot, we race.

This is fall in New England; not too many more times to get the club’s fleets out and stay warm and dry, so we use what we have. I call over to John, on the race committee boat, that I’m glad I have my job (to keep my Laser moving) and not his (to divine the steadiest direction of the wind and consequently to set a fair course.) John dryly observes that, “You just do the best you can,” and John does.

The first race he starts the three fleets three minutes apart, but ends up with the first two fleets just a mixed clump of boats sitting on the starting line causing what wind there is to lift right up over the shapeless sails. The mess just barely sorts itself out in time for the Lasers to start with enough open water to get across the line.

Before you put the boat away for the winter in 2009 there is one last regatta, North of the Carolina's, that you must attend!  October 17th, 2009 the Quannapowitt Yacht Club, 26 Linda Road in Wakefield, Massachusetts is hosting our annual Flying Scot Regatta affectionately known as "The Chaos Cup".  QYC has hosted "The Chaos Cup" regatta for twenty-two years.

From the beach area, the wind ripples on the lake gave the water a deep green/gray hue. The monotone surface suggested no puffs and no lulls, just a steady consistent 8 to 10 knot breeze that should place a premium on sail trim and boat handling in the upcoming club races. This eyeball assessment didn’t come close to forecasting the squirrelly shifting breeze that played games all across the race course a half hour later with gusts that flogged the Laser’s sail and lulls that had me crowded up against the centerboard.

Despite the endless rain, sailing is happening. Most Wednesdays and Sundays QYC sailors have been out enjoying competitive racing. It’s hard to tell ahead of time whether or not the weather will cooperate, but those who show-up with optimism seem to get rewarded.

Hello All,

Did you miss the activities at the club last weekend?  If so, you don’t want to miss them the next time.  We had a really fun time at the Day Sailor Regatta on Saturday, and the Pot Luck Supper on Sunday.

On Sunday the 8th QYC held its first Sunday race of the season. The day was also used as a kick-off for QYC¿s 125th anniversary celebration including an open house and food for the public with a Boston Globe reporter/photographer there to document the club's vitality. There were more than 20 boats on the water with most participating in the racing. Conditions were the regular Quannapowitt-changeable.

We had a great Racing Clinic at the club today. Six boats showed up to practice starts, mark roundings and short races. What a difference practice makes! During the first few training starts almost everyone was stumbling along eight to ten boat lengths below the line and most showed up for the start as much as two minutes late. With encouragement to get to the line early and relax about being over early, we started to have a nice little fleet bunched around the committee boat end a minute before the horn and most everyone starting within 20 seconds.

Just a heads-up, this coming year QYC will be implementing a new way to assign volunteers to committees and work groups. During a specific time period in the spring you will be notified of an opportunity to sign up for your preferred choices for Sunday Race Committee days, work parties and other events and tasks. After members have had a chance to volunteer, the remaining dates will be filled by appointing members. Once you have been assigned you can negotiate with other members to change your appointed duties.