This is a special Tell Tales which is going to serve three purposes: 1) a notice of race for the Jim Pique Memorial Regatta, 2) sailing instructions for that regatta, and 3) a few other items that have come up since the last Tell Tales on Aug. 28.
• The Jim Pique Memorial Regatta, named in memory of a former VYBA coach, will be held on Roberts Bay on Saturday, Sept. 8. It is a local event for VYBA members only and the annual dinner will be held at the Venice Yacht Club at 6 p.m.
• An informal registration (no forms, but attendance taken) will start at 0830 at which time sailors will rig their boats and put them in the water as soon as possible. A skippers' meeting is scheduled for the Pram Shed at 0930. There will be as many morning races as we can run, including a race in for lunch at Higel Park. Please bring your own lunch.
• Racing will resume in the afternoon. No races shall start after 1600, but the last one will be another race in to Higel Park. After clean up, those who have signed up for the annual dinner will go the pool area of the Venice Yacht Club for the annual dinner at which time officials will award trophies for the Jim Pique Memorial Regatta and the summer series.
• The starting and finishing line will between a faded red flag on the race committee boat (Whaler No. 1) and an orange buoy. A three minute sound signal starting system as described on page 130 of the Racing Rules of Sailing (2005-2008)shall apply. If a general recall is signaled for any class, that class will start after any waiting classes have started.
• There will be three starts: the Portsmouth division, using a Sunfish flag for a class flag, will start first. The Red White and Blue sailors, using an Opti flag, will start second, and the Ernest Green Fleet, using a green flag, will start third. The round an end rule (30.1) designated by the I flag shall apply. The race committee shall hail all boats over the line.
• All classes will race a modified trapezoid course. All marks, which shall be orange buoys shall be rounded to port. The Portsmouth division will sail two laps, with a closed gate on the first lap, while both Optimist fleets will sail only one lap. A time limit for each division will be 30 minutes after the first boat finished. Those not finished will be scored in place.
• The low point scoring system of Appendix A (page 40) shall apply. If at least seven races are completed, each skipper's worst score will be excluded from his or her series score. In other words, there is a throw out only if we complete seven races. One race constitutes a regatta. Awards will go to the top three in each division.
• Now turning to other items, if you did not retrieve any of your items from our Lost and Found container, you may buy them back from either the Nautical Trader or Goodwill Industries. We are starting afresh this fall and we already have a Florida visor in the container. We may give some items away as special prizes at future practice sessions.
• We have about 10 old Optis, complete with blades and sails, that are available to anyone who wants to buy them at a reduced rate. However, they are not in the best of shape and will require considerable repair. As an example, our newest boat is 48 with sail number 12738. The oldest boat is 13 and its sail number is something like 4795.
• Sailors and parents: empty Clorox bottles can make wonderful bailers. If you will bring in any empties, we can make bailers out of them and save everyone some money. Always make sure that there is a bailer in your boat.
• And lastly, VYBA's board of directors approved our venture to a relatively new, small one-day regatta in Dunedin on Saturday, Sept. 22. Cost will be only $20. We hope to have a fun day sailing at a new venue on the same bay where the original Opti (called the Clearwater pram) was actually designed and built. Afterwards, we may want to gather together at Sam's Seafood (near the waterfront) for dinner before coming home. A sign-up sheet is posted on the bulletin board.