TELL TALES (Jan. 21, 2009)

· HAPPY BIRTHDAY greetings go to Samantha Wood, a Green Fleeter, who will turn 13 next Wednesday. We are mentioning it a week early in case Joe the Computer becomes inoperative.

· SCHEDULE:  This Saturday at 8:30 a.m., there will be a meeting of those who want to serve on a committee for our big regatta in Englewood on Apr. 11. See Celeste Patete or Lucille Kreider.

Jan. 24 – Winter Series race 6 (24-25 – Boomerang Regatta, Fort Lauderdale)

Jan. 31 – Winter Series race 7

Feb. 7 – Winter Series race 8 (7-8 -- Valentine’s Day Regatta, St. Petersburg Sailing Center)

Feb. 14 – Winter Series race 9

Feb. 16 – Possible optional sailing since it is President’s Day and therefore a school holiday.

· UPCOMING MAJOR events include a Sail Away on Feb. 28, Sarasota’s Sailfest on Mar. 28-29, Scout Week during spring break on Apr. 6-10, and our regatta mentioned above.

· OPTIONAL SAILING is an opportunity to gain some time on the water, which is important whether you are a rock star racer or not. When we offered it on Jan. 12, not enough people signed up. We had the minimum of six for this past Monday’s session, which was better. Those who came were Andrew Sosa, Alicia Muscato, Samantha Wood, Lucas Galarza, Toussaint Thomas and Alex Soodak. The wind was light, but we learned and had fun. The next optional sailing opportunity will be Feb. 16, and we already have posted a sign-up sheet. Optional sailing also counts as a make-up for an absence.  Although it won’t help in series races, it can help as far as boat assignment and selection as a sailing counselor this summer is concerned.

· THIS SATURDAY is the deadline for signing up for the Valentine’s Day Regatta in St. Petersburg. So far we have only two Green Fleet sailors and three RWB skippers. We must have at least seven Green and five RWB for VYBA to provide a trailer and coaches. If we don’t attain those totals, individuals are welcome to attend on their own, but must check out their assigned boat.

· OUR SINCEREST condolences and sympathy go to Mike, Conni and Alicia Muscato. Mike’s mother, Jaquie Damen, died in North Carolina last week after a relatively brief illness.

· REGATTA RESULTS: Here are the official scores from Sarasota’s Labor Day Regatta on Aug. 30-31.

1. Michelle Thomas was 18^th out of 33 Laser Radial skippers which had only one race.

2. Carla Johnson came in seventh out of 51 Green Fleet sailors who had three races. Other Green Fleeters were Brad Arnold, 12^th, Samantha Wood, 15^th, Blake Erquiaga, 18^th, T.C. Liming, 26^th, Sophie Hollingsworth, 27^th, Lucas Galarza, 32^nd, Scott Trecartin, 36^th, Shaun Gallagher, 37^th, Mariah Miller, 43^rd and Lizzie Karras, 46^th. Two of our RWB skippers competed with the Green Fleet, which is legal. They were Stephan VerHulst, 8^th, and Stefan Johnson, 10^th. Zachary Jordan, who was a Green Fleeter with VYBA last year, finished fifth for Sarasota’s YSP.

3. Alicia Muscato was 24^th out of 28 Blue Fleet skippers and 54^th out of 63 overall.

4. Cara Patete took 16^th out of 23 Red Fleet sailors. She was 30^th overall. Others were Evan Langer, 20^th, Andrew Sosa, 22^nd and Sami Tornese, 23^rd. Overall they were 43^rd, 52^nd and 55^th, respectively. All RWB competitors had three races.

5. Garrett Lawlor grabbed VYBA’s best score – a fourth in the 12-boat White Fleet. Ashlyn Weed finished 11^th. Overall, Garrett was 36^th and Ashlyn was 59^th.