TELL TALES 19 (Feb. 27, 2008)

• Last Saturday (Feb. 23) was the last winter series race. The final standings are as follows:

Red, White and Blue Ð 1, Cara Patete, 19; 2, Alicia Muscato, 24; 3, Chloe Dietrich, 26; 4, Evan Langer, 34; 5, Marissa Phillips, 40; 6, Tyler Thorpe, 41.

Ernest Green Fleet Ð 1, Zack Jordan, 14; 2, Sami Tornese, 19; 3, Garrett Lawlor, 22; 4, Stephan VerHulst, 32; 5, Andrew Sosa, 33; 6, Stefan Johnson, 34; 7, Aubrey Khachetoorian, 37; 8, Ashlyn Weed, 48; 9, Jonathan James, 51.

Portsmouth Division Ð 1, Bryan White, 14; 2, Kyle D'Arcangelis 18; 3, Mallory Phillips, 24; 4, Jackie Sims, 28.6; 5, Sarah Vogelsong, 30; 6, Samuel Dolby, 31.

Since we had seven or more races, everyone was allowed to throw out their worst score. Trophies, which will be presented Saturday, Mar. 15, will go to the top three in the Optimist fleets. Awards will go to only the top two in Portsmouth because the others did not participate in half of the sessions. The spring series starts this coming Saturday. Mar. 1

• Special recognition goes to Paul Kreider who participated in both the Portsmouth and RWB during the winter season. He scored a third and a fifth when he raced Porstmouth and then had a first, two seconds and two thirds when he competed in an Optimist.

• This just in: Mike Muscato who is a VYBA board member and also known as Alicia's Daddy (or Conni's husband) has become a television star. It seems he will be on the science channel Wednesday (tonight) at 10 p.m. Check your local listings for the correct number. The show is called Master Blasters and Mike is on Team Gator. The program will be showing several times in the next few weeks. Talent scouts may be watching and Hollywood may be his next stop.

• Four females from our program are slated to sail in the annual Allison Jolly Regatta, which is for women only, in St. Petersburg on Mar. 8-9. They are Alicia Muscato and Cara Patete from the RWB group as well as Sami Tornese and Ashlyn Weed from our Ernest Green Fleet. However, there will be regular sailing in Venice for those who do not go to the regatta.

• Coach Robert Berg has taken a leave of absence because of added responsibilities regarding his "real" job. He is scheduled to return Mar. 15. Meanwhile, many thanks go to the following substitutes: Michelle Thomas, Feb. 23; Kyle D'Arcangelis, Mar. 1, and Emily Rom, Mar. 8.

• Sailing tips:

1. When you bring your daggerboard up, don't do it with your tiller hand. For one thing, you don't want to let go of the tiller. Besides, your other hand is closer to the daggerboard.

2. When you jibe, you would be well advised to do a controlled jibe instead of a crash jib. A controlled jibe puts you in control and since you are the captain, that is a good thing. Also it saves wear and tear on your head in case it should collide with the boom.

3. When going upwind, avoid going past the layline to the windward mark or the finish. In fact, you should tack before reaching the layline unless you are fairly close to your destination. Otherwise, you run the risk of overstanding and that is a waste of distance and time.

4. When there is a possibility of collision with another boat during a race, avoid contact if possible even if you are stand-on vessel. (You are not supposed to say "right of way" anymore.) If you collide with someone else and could have avoided contact and you wind up in the protest room, the protest committee will throw out your protest. Bank on it.