TELL TALES (June 2, 2010)

·        HAPPY BIRTHDAY greetings go to Alex Soodak who turns 15 tomorrow and Nick Etz who will turn 12 on Saturday. Both are Optimist skippers, but Alex may be moving up to Portsmouth soon.

·        SCHEDULE:

June 5 – First parent orientation of summer learn-to-sail program and summer series, Race 1

June 7 – First session of summer learn-to-sail program begins

June 12 – Summer series, Race 2

June 19 – Summer series, Race 3 (Hibiscus Cup Regatta, Punta Gorda)

June 26 – Summer series, Race 4

July 3 – Summer series, Race 5

·        SCHEDULE COMMENTS

1.      Our first summer program parent orientation is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Michelle Thomas and Brian White will be conducting it and it should be over by 9:30. Those who want to be sailing counselors must meet with Jabbo Gordon at 9:30 for training or you can’t help. A sign-up sheet for sailing counselors (four per session) will be posted that morning.

2.      Coach John Thomas and Jabbo Gordon will work with our 20 Optimist sailors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Coach Blake Waldron will coach the Portsmouth Division from 12 to 5 p.m.

3.      Saturday is the deadline for the Hibiscus Cup Regatta which will be in Punta Gorda on June 19. Only six are signed up and we need 11 (half the Optimist fleet, plus one). 

·        PARENTS RACE

1.      Seven good sports competed in the annual Parents Race last Saturday afternoon. Sara Frajerman provided the largest contingent as her father and mother (John and Karen) as well as her maternal grandfather (Rudy Buchwald) sailed. Jackie Trecartin had the most coaches – Scott, Brianna and the twins. One Opti Mom said that the event was her first time in an Optimist and that it would be her last. And one father complained during one race that there were too many kids calling “Dad”, but suggested that his youngster not yell at him.

2.      There was a nice westerly breeze, but no one capsized and the fleet was closer in the third and fourth races than in the first two. There was a race in giving them a total of five.

3.      Steve Etz, Nick’s father, won three races and took the overall crown. Joe Light, John’s father, won one race and placed second while Jackie Trecartin grabbed the fourth race and took third overall, winning a tie-breaker over Karen Frajerman.

·        REGATTA RESULTS

1.      Four VYBA sailors went to the School’s Out Regatta at Tampa’s Davis Island Yacht Club last weekend and did pretty well. Courtney Purcell placed second in the last of nine races and finished ninth overall out of 38 registered Green Fleeters.

2.      Louisa Nordstrom decided to compete in the RWB Fleet and came in 17th out of 43 registered. She was eighth out of 20 in the Blue Fleet. RWB had only five races.

3.      Lucas Galarza was 22nd overall in the RWB and 11th out of 20 in the Red Fleet

4.      Sami Tornese crewed for Ben Mohney in the 420 class. They had only four races and were fifth out 11. Ben, who used to sail with VYBA, now competes with Sarasota’s YSP.