TELL TALES 35 (July 23, 2008)

• As predicted, Jabbo was out of town most of last week and we did not have a 'Tell Tales'. Color him gone again this coming weekend when he heads for Rocky Mount, N.C.

• We haven't had a birthday is a while, but Chloe Dietrich will celebrate hers Friday. Happy Birthday. We won't have another until Aug. 2 when Jackie Sims has hers.

• Coaching this coming Saturday will be Emily Rom and Jackie Sims. Thanks go to Jackie for substituting for Kyle D'Arcangelis who is away on vacation. And we thank Charlotte Sims for taking her sister's place last Saturday when Jackie had a work conflict. Charlotte also handled the administration duties as well as heading up the summer program last week. Many thanks.

• This Saturday will be the last parent orientation for the summer. It will start at 0900 and therefore, regular sailing will begin at 1000. Garrett Lawlor has volunteered to serve as the capsize and recovery demonstrator for the final orientation. Our thanks to the little workaholic.

• Here are the RWB standings after seven weeks: 1, Stephan VerHulst, 24; 2, Alicia Muscato, 26; 3, Cara Patete, 27; 4, Garrett Lawlor, 31; 5, Aubrey Khachetoorian, 42; 6, Ashlyn Weed, 47; 7, Sami Tornese, 50; 8, Stefan Johnson, 50; 9, Evan Langer, 52; 10, Andrew Sosa, 53.

• Chloe Dietrich has transferred to the Portsmouth Division and sailed her new Laser last Saturday for the first time, placing second to Bryan White. Paul Kreider, another recent transfer, took third. Bryan leads the series with 14 points and Kyle D'Arcangelis is second with 27.

• Hats off to Charlotte Sims and Bryan White. During third session, Nancy Lemonde rode with them many times as parent of the day while her grandson was taking the beginner's class. She sent an e-mail to us about our two summer instructors. "I would also like to acknowledge both Charlotte and Bryan on their jobs well done. Both of these young people were an inspiration to all 12 of their students. They had a very diverse class of students that ranged in ages from 9 to 15 and they communicated very well with each and every one of them. Bryan and Charlotte were also very safety conscious. I am sure that their parents are very proud of them and our community is a better place because of them." Those are high words of well deserved praise.

• As of today, 80 youngsters have signed up for our learn to sail program, a 27 per cent increase over last year. However, we still have six openings for the summer's last beginners' class, which will start next Monday morning. So if you know someone who is interested, encourage them to contact us. We had eight in the first advanced session and 12 are scheduled for the second advanced, which will begin this coming Monday afternoon. We should have a good Green Fleet.

• Our heartiest appreciation goes to board member Bill Ward who held the winning ticket for the July 5th VYBA races held on the Venice Yacht Club waterfront. More than $600 was collected for the pot which was to be split between the winning ticket, drawn from the No. 5 canister and the VYBA. However, Bill very graciously donated his portion right back to the VYBA.

• Bill's son, also named Bill, has been the Laser coach for the 2008 Olympics in China. You may recall that he did a special team racing clinic for us during last Christmas vacation.

• As a reminder to all sailors, especially those in the Portsmouth Division, please keep all your gear together. If you don't, some parts may be in Dad's car and others may be in Mom's car. That's not a good combination when you show up to sail and you are missing something vital.