Tuesday, May 26, 2020 Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts & Beers” race # 4… 19 Harbor 20’s gathered in the Five Points of the harbor Tuesday night to a comfortable 8-9 knot Westerly. It was quite apparent by the turnout that most of the fleet was just not ready to let their nuts go, my mother always told me that I would go blind if I was not careful. OK, then with that out of the bag let’s move forward.
The night racing was again top shelf with everyone increasing their performance level to new heights. The fleet Championships will be extraordinarily close this year. Team Macdonald crushing the first start by crossing the fleet on port while pinging in on the first shift bye-bye the race was for second before we even reached Lido. The first race was twice around and I did not get to check into B fleet until after the finish was Ross Watanbee found his Juju and put the hurt on the rest of B fleet.
Something tells me that there will be a high demand for Alex Curtiss to crew in the Fleet Championships. Curtiss jumped in the boat with Robert Kinney after the first race and won the last two races of the evening. If I am counting correctly Curtiss has been on a winning streak of his last five races. Well done Alex remember to team up with someone soon for the championships.
We had a couple of good quotes last night again Jennifer had a good one “Look all our friends are back”. Kinney said, “ If the clubs grow agro again, we will need to start this up again”. I copied that and threw out the idea of renting the six-man Tiki boat and setting up our own bar on the course?
BIG shout out to everyone who participated over the last 12 weeks, and almost 50 races with an average number of boats at 20 and a lot of photos taken. Yates did a great job last night and took some REALY good photos!
The rest of our shout outs go to Chris Killian, Phil Thompson, Bob Yates, John Drayton,
Jim Buckingham, Steve Schupak, Bill Menninger, Robert Kinney, Team Newman, and Bob McDonald. All of you did an outstanding job running our races and keeping us all sane during these interesting times.
With this type of skilled help like Kinney said “Should the yacht clubs go agro will just start this up again.”
Results:
B Fleet
1. Team Watanbe 1-1-2
2. Team 83 2,5,4
3. Team Corkett 3,2,6
4. Team Sellinger 6,3,3
5 Team Bubb 8,4,1
6. Team Hill 7,6,7
7. Team Fischbacher 7,6,7
8. Team Haynes 4,8,8
A Fleet
1.Team Kinney 7,1,1
2, Team MacDonald 1,4,5
3. Team Wiese 5,7,2
4. Team Kohl 2,11,3
5. Team Buckingham 6,2,8
6. Team Smith 3,8,9
7. Team Bose 4,5,11
8 Team Camerini 8,9,4
9. Team Tucker/Schupak 9,3,10
10. Team Kimball 10,6,6
11. Team Ramser 11,10,7
Remember a couple of days still left to run the ZURK Challenge? https://lenboseyachts.blogspot.com/2020/04/zurk-challenge-anytime-spring-2020-just.html
Sea ya
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| I Nutella anyone if you try this! |
TONIGHT! Night, May 26th, 18:00 Harbor 20’s “Nuts @ Beer” Race # 4 . Last week we had 11 boats gather in the Five-points area with some extremely competitive racing in both A and B divisions. The weather forecast has the breeze out of the southwest at 8 knots with the tide coming in at a low rate. It looks like a good night to single-hand.
We have Chris Killian as PRO tonight and I still need to confirm mark set crew, while hoping we still have Bob McDonald as mark set. If you notice my name on your incoming calls please answer. SI’s remain the same as in previous weeks and we will be trying to get in 3 to 4 races tonight.
The “Nuts” series was named from what General McAuliffe famously said while defending Bastogne to the German surrender ultimatum “Nuts” Which best describes my feeling to today’s new normal. Similar to the battle of Bastogne the sky’s cleared, the tide of the battle changed and the allied forces regained the momentum of the war. With the sky’s clearing, for now, from the virus it appears the yacht clubs will be re-engaging next Tuesday night. With the sign of reinforcements approaching there is a feeling of relieve yet we have done extremely well running our races and as the “Only Child” I have issues with digressing from the skill level, we have grown used to this season on Tuesday nights. To make the transition easier for this “Only Child” I have added duck tape along the sides of my mask to keep my thoughts to myself next Tuesday night.
Now that we are so close to the new normal I hope everyone will join us tonight and everyone that has been participating PLEASE come out for the encore of the “Nuts” series tonight? LET’S GO SAILING!
Sea ya
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts & Beers” race # 3… 11 Harbor 20’s gathered in the Five Points area of the harbor Tuesday night to a cool 10-15 knot Westerly. The afternoon breeze started to aggressively fill in and was blowing in the low 20’s by 13:00, fortunately, the breezed dyed down to a manageable 15 knots at starting time. Because of the early breeze attendance dropped to 11 boats.
The winds did make for some memorable sailing and again the competition was very close. I left the course feeling beat up like a border town dog with three legs in the rain. After my second cold beverage at the dock, I thought ok who did I just lose to Curtis, Menninger, Macdonald, Buckingham, and Ramser. I guess I should have placed where I did in 6th. I’ll log it as tiller time and spend more time practicing starts and stops on the starting line.
In B fleet Chris Hill was all smiles returning to the dock with four first places while the racing was just as close as it was in A fleet. It was good to see “Trident” Team Sellinger return to the racecourse and hope to see more of them in the following weeks.
Well done, goes out to Team Schupak as PRO I do not think we had more than a five- minute wait between races, I guess that happens when you are last to finish, so I had that going for me. Again Killian and McDonald showed up for mark set, mark sure to buy these two around or four should the bar ever open up again.
Killian as already volunteered to act as PRO next Tuesday night, unless I hear from someone who would like to take a turn. All of our volunteers have expressed an interest in returning and enjoyed the PRO perspective.
When it’s windy I do not hear many quotes across the water although I did pick one up from Menninger while rounding Q mark along with the N/M 42 Reliance who decided to join in the mix of the A fleet boats, which was our leeward mark. Menninger made an early move to swing behind the beast when Reliance pulled off a crazy Ivan. Menninger was heard while rounding after nearly escaping disaster “You would think that they would steer straight at the mark”.
Next Tuesday could be the last of the Nut series, so make sure you attend and enjoy the outstanding work of our volunteers.
Results “Nuts & Beers” # 3
A Fleet
1st Team Curtiss # 435 3,1,1,1=6
2nd Team Macdonald # 329 1,2,2,5=10
3rd Team Menninger #113 2,3,3,2=10
4th Team Buckingham # 360 5,4,4,3=16
5th Team Ramser # 3 4,5,5,4=16
6th Team Border Dog # 108 6,6,6,6= 24
B Fleet
1ST Team Hill # 19 1,1,1,1=4
2nd Team Bubb # 131 2,2,2,2=8
3rd Team Sellinger #146 3,3,4,6=16
4th Team Fischbacher # 74 4,5,3,6=18
5th # 83 5,4,5,6=20
Also, be sure to check out the ZURK challenge, team Novak has the course record at 1:06:41 in the Harbor 20 division, while team Drayton has the record in the Duffy class at 1:03:45 while Team Simmons has the record in the Mega Yacht division at 1:02:00. The thought that we should have a commando division that can only be run between 1:00-4:00 Am made me laugh. ZURK Results can be found at http://lenboseyachts.blogspot.com
This Tuesday Night, May 19th, 18:00 Harbor 20’s “Nuts @ Beer” Race # 3 . Last week we had 15 boats gather in the Five-points area and some of the closest racing this season. I was so far off the weather forecast last week I’m not even going there this week.
Steve Schupak will be PRO this week with Chris Killian doing mark set. I have not checked in with Bob McDonald yet but something tells me he will be there to help out with mark set. McDonald has had some of the fleets better sailors joining him so I know he has been taking notes so he will be faster than ever when he rejoins the racing.
I have attached the SI with no changes made, we would sure like to increase our numbers and hope that some of you will consider joining in with your old friends again!
We miss you:
Duncan
Springer
Duffield
Chamberlain
Khol
Haynes
Thorne
Wiese
Chan
Gordon
Geissmann
Whitney
Pilafidis
Kelly
Conzelman
Volk
Come on everyone, slip rent is not greeting any less expensive. When your grandkids ask you “What did you do during the 2020 Virus to keep from going crazy”? You can answer “We kept to proper social distancing by sailing our Harbor 20” Let’s go sailing!
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts & Beers” race # 2… 15 Harbor 20’s gathered in the Five Points of the harbor Tuesday night to a cool 8-10 knot South West Breeze. A little drizzle fell upon us, I am not referring to our new neighbors, as we rounded the first weather mark of the night. By the end of the night, the light cloud cover dissipated away and breeze shifted more to the right than filled into maybe 10 knots of breeze.
Chris Killian and Ambassador Bob McDonald did an outstanding job trying to communicate with our new undesirable neighbors. The racing was extremely close in A fleet this week with eight out of the ten participants normally finishing in the top 10 of the fleet championships. One of the quotes I took in this week was from my wife Jennifer “There are a lot of good sailors out here tonight”. With the first race being a one lapper the 1st-10th place boats was extraordinarily close. Now mix in a vintage Catalina 38 with an intoxicated crew on the finish line at the same time and Killian had his hands full. We finished on the leeward end of the line and noticed five H20 finishing within a half boat length of each other. In the second race, Killian looked to spread the fleet out more and called for a twice around.
The racing was a lot of fun last night and I will now start cleaning the bottom of my boat every week. Five boats showed up in B fleet with Boat 83 and Chris Hill tied for first with 83 winning on the tiebreaker. In third was Matt Hurlimann followed by John Bubb and Burt Mcchesney. Bubb, I did not discourage you from bringing your dog? There is an old sailor’s description of “Blowing Dogs off their Chains” when it is windy which I was trying to take a laugh from.
Someone is going to have to remind Team Macdonald that these races are just practice races and save some of that JuJu for the upcoming fleet championships this fall. In second place was Jim Buckingham, I overheard “Buck” squeaking a little, at the last leeward mark rounding, while I was slowing down in an effort to keep a good lane. Buck was able to hold his lane when I decided to clear my air and tack, he hit the right side and gained back two places to hang on to second place for the night. In third was fleet guest Payson Infelise, It is good to see Infelise join the group and hope to see more of him in the coming weeks. To throw a little pun your way Payson, I know there are a couple of us that might want to go over your port approach to the weather mark.
We will be back next Tuesday night hope to see more of you return to the fun we had a memorable race this last week. Complete race results on my blog site at https://lenboseyachts.blogspot.com/2020/03/saturday-march-28-2020-newport-beach-ca.html Also go to the front page and check out ZURK challenge only a couple more weeks left.
B Fleet:
1st Boat # 83 1,5,1= 7
2nd Chris Hill 1,2,4=7
3rd Matt Hurlimann 4,2,2=8
4th John Bubb 3,4,3=10
5th Burt Mcchesney 5,3, 5=13
A Fleet:
1st Team Macdonald 1,4,4= 9
2nd Team Buckingham 3,2,6= 11
3rd Team Infelise 5,6,1 = 12
4th Team Campbell 7,3,2, = 12
5th Team Kinney 4,3,9= 16
6th Team Thompson 5,7,5= 17
7th Team Menninger 9,1,9 =19
8th Team Bose 8,6,8= 22
9th Team Kimball 2,10,10=22
10th Team Tucker/Schupak 10,7,8 = 25
Sea YA
Tuesday, May 5, 2020, Newport Beach CA, Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts & Beers” series # 1… 18 Harbor 20’s gathered in the Five Points of the harbor this last Tuesday night which is about 5-6 more participants than in past opening nights.
I had my normal “giddy-up” feeling inside me for the start of the summer sailing season as Jennifer and I filled our cooler before departing for the boat. On our arrival to the boat, I was overcome with a peaceful moment with calm across the harbor. The end of a summer day sail has become a meaning full moment in my life. During these time’s the other competitors have never met more to me.
Bill Menninger was this week’s PRO with Chris Killian and Bob McDonald providing mark set. Fleet Captain Bob Yates also showed up as the photo boat and provide a taxi service for the people that keep their boats on a mooring. If my count was correct we had 10 boats in B fleet and 8 in A’s trying to find the pressure and place the dots together.
Again in A fleet this week was Team Macdonald sailing the most consistent in the three completed races followed by team, Campbell and Bose. In B fleet Dean Gray showed his consistency, welcome to the fleet Dean. Followed by Chris Hill and Tom Fischbacher. Retirement must have cleared Fischbacher’s head because I think this is the third week in a row he has stayed on the podium.
The fourth race of the night was a sprint to the weather and finish after rounding the clearing mark. Jennifer and I laid down our cards and took pin at the start hit the first shift and were all smiles knowing that the finish was at the weather mark. Adam Dearmount finished second followed by Tucker/Schupak.
We will be looking for volunteers for next Tuesday night PRO, Quote of the night was from PRO Menninger “It’s fun to watch”
Hoping we can talk a few more boats to join in, please come on down the water if fine!
Teams:
Drayton
Newman
Duncan
Springer
Chamberlain
Khol
Kinney
Haynes
Buckingham
Thorne
Wiese
And all the rest of you, we miss you! LET’S GO SAILING
If you are interested in improving your H20 Skills
This Tuesday Night, May 5th, 18:00 Harbor 20’s “Nuts @ Beer” #1 series starts off the summer sailing season. Because of the venue change I will re-confirm our PRO, Killian again has signed up for Mark set, he even purchased his own marks, now that’s commitment. We will continue, in the summers series tradition, and try our best to get in 3-4 races each night. If the yacht clubs have not re-engaged by June will also try to run Thursday night along with Tuesdays.
The forecast is all over the place with two models at 5 Knots out of the west and another at 14 knots. Luckily the tides are much easier forecasted and the pool will be filling up with a vengeance this Tuesday.
I am hoping that attendance will be close to the same, my gut just told me we needed to distance ourselves from the weekend traffic. It also can be an “Only Child” thing, I have a hard time sharing.
So grab some beers and whatever else you would like to bring along with you and LET’S GO SAILING! Tuesday Night! Look for our update and SI Monday Morning
Sea ya
Saturday, April 25, 2020 Newport Beach CA, Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts” series# 6 … Roasted Nuts! Does anyone get the feeling that we were sailing on Lake Havasu in mid-summer last Saturday, it brought back flash backs from drinking Mai-Tais at the Nautical Inn? The collection of all the different types of roasted nuts that appeared after the morning fog had lifted was overwhelming and discouraging.
As the fog lifted Cathy and Robert Kinney appeared just north of the mayhem with 25 Harbor 20’s appearing from every corner of the harbor. As the day warmed up the mark set crew of Bob McDonald/ Bill Menninger along with Chris Killian worked on keeping the course squared and trying to keep the roasted nuts from pooping in our sandbox. With the breeze being light at about 5-7 out of the south-southwest it was challenging putting the dots together and navigating through the mayhem. For the most part, working the right side of the course and playing the middle of the course for the last part of the beat worked out. Downwind staying on port tack seemed to pay the highest dividends throughout the day.
In B/C Fleet Thomas Fischbacher figured out the path through the mayhem and won B/C fleet by posting a 4,4,2,5. While boat # 5 came in second followed by Tom Corkett in third place. In A fleet Andrew Person and Colin Voight posted a 4,3,4,1 for first place. Team Macdonald continued their upward trend in the standings and I would assume would be leading in the “Nuts” Series finished in second with a 9,2,3,2. Jennifer and I finished in third and showed the fleet how to get to the weather mark in the first race and how not to get to the downwind mark.
Some quotes of the day had to go to PRO Robert Kinney letting all the “Boatkniks” know that they were speeding through the harbor with a healthy “Slow Down”. Another good one I overheard was while sailing through the anchorage one of the crew from the anchored boat say “ Why do they have to sail so close to us, they should go somewhere else.”
Which then leads me to our next topic, let’s hope the city council does not close down the harbor this Tuesday at their meeting. My gut tells me it is time for us to move our “Nuts” series to Tuesday nights starting at 1800 in the anchorage. It would mean we are starting one week earlier than in previous years and we would not be seen as contributing to the mayhem.
NEXT GATHERING IS TUESDAY MAY 5th at 1800.
This Saturday, April 25, 2020, 13:00 Harbor 20’s “Nuts” series # 6 Roasted Nuts: Why do people roast nuts? Roasting nuts draws the natural oils to the surface, intensifying the rich nutty essence, creating a deeper color, and making the nuts crunchier. Roasting you're nuts prior to adding them to a recipe can improve the flavor and texture of any dish.
Just thought I would provide you with that tidbit noticing that this weekend's forecast is for 76 degrees that will feel like 84 degrees with the breeze out of the SSW 7-9 knots. The ebbing tide will be minimal, similar to the expected relief funds. This week we have Team Kinney signed up for PRO and Chris Killian has graciously volunteered as mark set again. Our rally point is in the 5 point anchorage at 1300. LAST WEEK we had 29 boats at the rally point!
I would like to know if you are interested in the concept of a “Catch and Dispose” tournament on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 12:00? We have had some interest with Yates, Bose, Thompson, Camerini, and Menninger asking questions and or signing up. We will need at least 6 more teams confirming their attendance to move forward with this idea? I hope we can pull this off because it will make for great PR for the H20 owners and sailors. If you missed my first description this is a general concept:
We will meet in the Five-point area at 12:00 for the H20 first “Catch and Dispose” tournament. At 12:00 a horn will sound and everyone can sail or motor to any part of the bay you want and start collecting any type of Plastic, Trash, Flotsam you can find in the harbor then place whatever you find in a durable outdoor trash bag. All participants shall deliver their catch by 15:00 to the Fernando St Public dock where I will be to collect and weigh your catches. Photos will be taken and stories told as you drop off your catch as you sail by. I will do my best to let everyone know about our hard work to keep the harbor clean. PLEASE contact me if you would like to attend?
Did you know there is a recipe for Sweet & Spicy Roasted Party Nuts? This means I have one more silly idea to sell you that John Drayton and I blended together while sharing ideas. I plan on taking a run at this after the “Catch and Dispose” Tournament or on Wednesday the 29th. Drayton receives another “Well Done” for writing up this challenge:
“ZURK” Challenge
Anytime, Spring 2020
Just Fun Racing – “NA” Organizing Authority
Turning Basin, Balboa, CA
SAILING INSTRUCTIONS
1 RULES
The “ZURK” challenge is intended to be a test of seamanship and navigation, where both navigation and weather forecasting are a key part of the challenge.
Competitors are expected to determine the optimal time and course that allows them to round each of the designated marks in the most efficient manner when considering the effects of wind velocity, wind direction, tide, current, etc…
Racers can run the course as often as they want, and at any time 24/7 between now and June 1, 2020
2 SCHEDULE OF RACES
Racing will be held at competitor’s discretion during the months of April and May 2020.
3 RACING AREAS
Newport Harbor CA.
4 THE COURSES
The course is to round each of the following permanent racing marks: “Z” “U” “R” and “K”, and then returning to the first mark rounded.
For scoring purposes, marks can be rounded in any in order, and may be rounded in any direction.
Course to be sailed is as follows:
MARK 1 (ANY OF ABOVE “ZURK” MARKS)
Mark 2 (any of above “ZURK” marks not already rounded)
Mark 3 (any of above “ZURK” marks not already rounded)
Mark 4 (any of above “ZURK” marks not already rounded)
Mark 1 (MUST BE SAME MARK THAT TIMING WAS STARTED AT)
Time shall be recorded for each total elapsed time after rounding all four marks (hh/mm/ss), with time recorded when boats return and re-round “Mark 1.”
5 MARKS
Marks will be permanent Newport Harbor racing buoys “Z” “U” “R” and “K”.
Z Mark – Beer Can turning mark. Permanent marker buoy near Lido Village
U Mark – Permanent marker buoy in front of Lido Island Yacht Club
R Mark – Permanent marker buoy near Pacific Coast Highway Bridge
K Mark – Permanent maker buoy off US Coast Guard Base
More details about mark locations can be found here: http://aocyc.org/racing-marks/
6 START AND FINISH
Competitors will be responsible for self-recording start and finishing time. For purposes of scoring, competitors shall be responsible for submitting times after rounding each mark.
Start Time @ Mark 1: hh:mm:ss
Finish @ Mark 1: hh:mm:ss
7 SCORING
Scoring will be updated monthly for best times in the following classes:
- Harbor 20 Open
- Harbor 20 B
- Harbor 20 C
- Open Sailing Class
- Duffy
- Other
Best times shall be submitted to: _______________________
8 PRIZES
“Nuts” trophy’s will be handed out to the top boat in each class.
9 DISCLAIMERS OF LIABILITY
Competitors participate in the regatta entirely at their own risk. See RRS 4, Decision to Race. The organizing authority will not accept any liability for material damage or personal injury or death sustained in conjunction with or prior to, during, or after the regatta.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sailors are asked to observe applicable CDC advice by single-handing, or by sailing with crew that are part of their household.
I really like the idea of running the course in a Duffy!
SEA YA!
Saturday, April 18, 2020, Newport Beach CA, Five Points area of the harbor. Harbor 20 “Nuts” series and what a bunch of Wing Nuts showed up to our rally point. A new record of 27 boats gathered around PRO Jim Buckingham and his team for six races and extreme competition. The weather could not have been any better with a somewhat consistent 9 knot westerly and air temperatures in the mid’60s with sunny skies. The breeze did shift to the left quite a bit during the third race and Buckingham’s team was all over it and adjusted accordingly. Similar to a quarterback reading the defense and calling an audible at the line of scrimmage.
Participants sharpened their skills with 6 races with the first two races having downwind finishes, after one weather leg, which had boats finishing one boat length behind and losing 8 places, that’s how close it was. Buckingham then added a leeward gate which allowed a few people the opportunity to catch a couple of boats if they had a bad start.
In A fleet it was a tight battle between Team Smith/Curtiss and Campbell both teams were tied with twenty points going into the sixth race. After the smoke cleared from the last race I did notice a big high five aboard team Smith/Curtiss who let out a loud “whop” for taking the day, Team Campbell finished in second. Other top finishers in A fleet were Menninger in 3rd, Team Macdonald in 4th and moving up the ranks every week. Team Kinney had a good day finishing in 5th, followed by Terry Gloege sailing single-handed in 6th and 7th was Team Kimball.
B/C fleet had another good turnout with 11 boats on the starting line. After race four the top boats were Team Hill with 13 Points, Team Novak with 10 Points and Team Duffield with 10 Points. Looking at the scoring sheet it appears that team Hill placed all the dots together and finished the day with two first’s to win the day. Team Novak finished with a 4,2 and placed second followed closely by Team Duffield finishing with a 2,6. Team Duffield has been finishing very strong over the last three weeks and once the official racing begins again will be looking to move up to B fleet soon.
We had some great quotes this weekend with a pile-up just off the committee boat at the start of race 5 in A Fleet. While trying to find room on the starting line one boat was pushed over to port which sent a domino effect towards the committee boat. With everyone doing their best not to run into anyone the comment was heard clearly across the starting line “well that was a real cluster …k” at the same time Team Kinney was discussing the price of oranges and we were glad to escape without any damage and I was just enjoying the moment which is rare for me. Any other time I would be pounding my feet on the cabin sole of my boat. A couple of feel-good quotes came in after the race with an email received by Team Macdonald to the race committee “Best races ever: Jim, fabulous job today with your helpers.” The other was when I contacted Chris Killian to thank him for doing mark set again. “Len, when people tell you thank you for doing race committee it feels like they mean it. It feels really good to help out.” Killian said.
So we are on again for next week with Team Kinney volunteering for PRO and Killian doing mark set again. Please let me know if you like the idea of Sundays “Catch and Dispose” tournament. I did have two people say they would be interested in participating if I can get 8 more boats to show interest we will give it a try.
This Saturday, April 18, 2020, 13:00 Harbor 20’s “Nuts” #5 series Wing Nuts will be gathering in the 5 Point area of the harbor. slang: one who advocates extreme measures or changes (as in politics). Politics aside let’s just focus on improving our sailing skills this week’s PRO Jim Buckingham said: “I was thinking of running shorter but more races. Windward finish downwind for the first few (2-3). Maybe add leeward mark after that. Rather than 5 races shoot for 8 races. 10-15 minute races. Give everyone a chance to work on starting. Mark one approach positioning.” Jim has Chris Killian doing mark set for him this weekend.
I like the idea because I certainly need more practice on both areas on the racecourse. Last week I could not adapt to getting off the line correctly and then getting pushed around and forced to the left to come into the first mark and be forced to “Kick the Can” back to the end of the starboard parade. “I hate when that happens” although I do like it each time we have 22 boats meeting in the five points area and it appears that we will have the same tune out this Saturday.
The forecast is for a cool 61 degrees and a very small chance of sprinkles at 12:00 which is almost guaranteed when Jennifer walks down the dock. The breeze will be more out of the west this weekend at 9-10 which still keeps the single-handed players in the game. The current will be going out rather hard for the first hour then coming in the last part of the day.
The following weekend we will be looking for volunteers for PRO or if anyone knows of a Duffy or Whaler we can use that would be HUGE! PLEASE remember. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sailors are asked to observe applicable CDC advice by single-handing, or by sailing with a crew that are part of their household.
"NEWS FLASH" The H20 King of the WING NUTS called today and asked if we where sailing this Saturday, I can't do it, not going to return his call.... Any guess on who I am referring to?
Sea ya
Saturday, April 11, 2020, Newport Beach, CA. On the harbor in the five points area. Are you wondering what are the five points, me too, so I am going to take a guess now that a good friend had asked me last week? My guess is Bay Island, Harbor Island, Linda isle, Bayshore’s and Lido Isle? Let me know If I am mistaken.
What I wasn’t mistaken about was that we had 22 Health Nuts show up for the #4 “Nuts” H 20 race series to a cool marine layer cover and 9 knots of southerly breeze. I am not going to comment on what was the favorite way to get to the weather mark the fastest because again this week I was sailing like a squirrel in a maze that could not find the nuts. I have attached the results if you are wondering who is in which boat go to the fleet roster and look up the sail number at www.harbor20.org/sailors/members-list/
We heard some good quotes this week, PRO Newman: “ We have the weather mark set now we just need the wind to stop shifting 50 degrees to either side.” By the way, Newman what did your crew do to that sounding horn? I kept hearing duck calls. Team Kinney said hello “ Looks like things are still full steam ahead” regarding the day’s attendance. The last quote came from my good friend Chuck Simmons who was observing the racing with his wife Amy aboard his boat “Golden Rivet II” “Hey Len, Would you like a tip? Start on time!” In which I replied: “Nuts”. I did not really say that but it would have been more appropriate than what I did say.
Move off the day: Was Bill Menninger and Alex Steel crossing the fleet on port at the start of the second race. Which was only surpassed by Menninger’s third row start in the first race than sailing to a third. How does Menninger do it? Only one way to find out Join us next week “Same “Nuts” Channel, same “Nuts” time.
A special shout out to Greg Newman to his team of Jessica and Max Moosmann along with mark set Chris Killian
Sea ya.
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| This photo was taken six years ago! |
Attention all health nuts, did you know Nuts are nature's way of showing us that good things come in small packages. These bite-size nutritional powerhouses are packed with heart-healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Of course, you can get too much of these good things: Nuts are high in fat and calories, so while a handful can hold you over until dinner, a few more handfuls can ruin your appetite altogether. And although nuts are a healthy choice by themselves, they'll quickly become detrimental to any diet when paired with sugary or salty toppings or mixes. I must confess that I do get high from my own supply. Last week Wendy and Phil returned the nuts not passed out at the awards presentation and I ate them.
We will be gathering again this Saturday, April 11, 2020, at 13:00 for “Nuts” series # 4 Health Nuts. Our rally point will be in the anchorage in the five points area. Greg Newman has graciously volunteered to be this week’s PRO. It is Phil Thompson turn to sail so if we have any volunteers for mark-set please let me know?
We have been averaging around 22 boats each week and of course, we all hope we keep up the pace. What else are you going to do right? Sit at home, eat nuts and drink?
The weather forecast is 63 degrees with the winds out of the south between 9 & 11 knots with a minimal tide going out. Say “Raw Redskin Peanuts”, grab your “Roasted Unsalted Almonds” and let’s go sailing! Thinking it’s kind of cool to own a Harbor 20 and sail in Newport Beach?
Sea ya
Saturday, April 4, 2020, Twenty-four Harbor 20’s showed up to warm spring afternoon in a comfortable 8-9 knot southwesterly for the # 3 “Nuts” series nutella. PRO Bob Yates nutella me he had called an audible when he noticed the breeze was going to stay out of the south and run windward/leewards races. In fact, I got a good laugh when I had talked to Yates, the day before, while he was looking for nutella as an award. I laughed rather hard when he told me that.
On the race course I was having difficulty deciding if the left was strong enough to reach the weather mark before the people that pushed right early. As we look at NHYC the weather mark was in the left-hand corner. By the end of the day, the right side was the conservative bet. Downwind I was doing OK just playing the middle although I did lose a battle with Buckingham approaching the leeward mark which was just off of “R” mark near the PCH bridge. Team McDonald and I played toward the left side, while looking at the mark, and sailed into the moorings hoping for current relief. While Buckingham found pressure by staying in the middle of the bay and gained three or four boat lengths on us. As we rounded together Peter McDonald said: “ Buck found some breeze they're didn’t he.” On most of the long beats up to the finish line, I guessed wrong, thinking the right was favored. I had one race with Schupak/Cheadle where I was lee-bowing them back to the right. On the last one Schupak even squealed a little and after a while tacked back left with Menninger. As we approached the finish the left paid and they both crushed me. I was also having a tough day on the starting line, last week it was all me, this week I felt like Forrest Gump trying to run with his leg braces on.
Guess you can tell I have been watching a lot of TV between H 20 races. My feeling is all the participants are feeling extremely fortunate that we have the best boats for these times with an open harbor. Some quotes from this weekend: Robert Kinney “ Thank you, Len, for organizing these events I have had my fill of Netflix.” Bob Yates while writing down all the boats finishing at once while talking to himself “ Oh man, there are a lot of boats finishing.” Please thank Phil Thompson and Wendy Kerr for the continued support as mark set and coaching boat the next time you see them.
Results:
In B fleet with ten boats: Team Chamberlain connected the dotes with a 1,2,2,4. Followed by Chris Hill with a 5,5,7,2 for a second. In third was Terry Duffield and her friend with a 9,6,5,1. I think I noticed Terry driving that last race? In A Fleet with fourteen boats: It was all Jim Buckingham with a 7,1,1,4, see Jim your boats not slow. It was rumored that Buckingham asked Menninger to sail his boat in the last race of the previous week. Telling Menninger that he felt his boat was slow, it appears Menninger left some JuJu on the tiller for him this week. In second was Schupak/Cheadle with a 4,4,8,2 and in third was Team Menninger with a 10, 2, 9,1. An honorable mention should be noted to Team Haynes, Team Camerini and Team MacDonald by staying only a couple points behind.
Remember let be know if you have any questions or concerns. I was wondering if we should try to race just outside the harbor in Big Corona? No pun!
We will be racing next weekend!
Saturday, March 28, 2020, Newport Beach, CA In the harbor Five Points area. The Harbor 20 is one of the only boats in the harbor that allows you to compete and keep one’s proper distance from one another while the Covid-19 roles over the top of us like the marine layer above. With the thought of “Every cloud has a silver lining” 26 teams appeared in the five points area sailing with family members or single-handed. Team Drayton volunteered to do race committee aboard his True North 38 “Isa Sol”. “In the Harbor 20, I can only bring one other family member, this way we were all able to get out of the house to enjoy the day.” John Drayton said.
Drayton had an idea he wanted to try regarding the format of the racing which is different than the A, B, C divisions. In our first race divisions where split up by even and odd sail numbers which lead to a number of jokes across the water to whether or not the skipper was odd. For example, when team Kinney sailing boat 420 “Jo!nt Venture” asked Drayton if he was even or odd Drayton replied “OH!… you are differently odd.” Which becomes even more laughable when you look it up the question online. The next race was high and low sail numbers which is still a math problem and difficult for the participants that do not see or hear as good as they once did.
The concept was a success because there is not that much difference in skill level between or A and B divisions. This “mixed bowl of nuts” allowed many B & C fleeter’s to jump into the lead and hold on to it. As an A fleet skipper, at this time, I was quickly aware of the people that would soon be moving up the divisions.
(At this point in the show please click on the attached link https://youtu.be/aXJhDltzYVQ )
I am still getting a good laugh out of the “Nuts” theme and with this week’s theme being “Mixed Nuts”. Not to beat around the bush, while looking into a bowl of mixed nuts I typically brush aside Brazil nuts and by no means will I use its slang term. When I told my wife Jennifer I ate a Brazilian nut she asked: “how many is a Brazilian, you are going to ruin your dinner.”
Results to the “Nuts” series “Mixed Nuts”.
C Fleet
1st Duffield
2nd Fischbacher
3rd Boat 227
B Fleet
1st Chamberlain
2nd Corkett
3rd Adam/Kate
A Fleet
1st Bose
2nd Kimball
3rd Campbell
Memorable moments and quotes from the day. My deepest moment was felt by the participants and the sense of companionship between the competitors. Kind of like a big ass group huge! I was only able to grab two quotes. One participant asked another “ How you doing?” with the response “Staving in style”. The other was when Drayton noticed a cluster of boats gathering close to the Committee boat at the start of a race and said “Anyone that hits the committee boat is going to be called over early for the rest of the day”
We are looking for your comments so please forward me your thoughts. We will be racing next Saturday to make up for BCYC Weiss series. Looking for volunteers?
Sea ya
3-21-20 Newport Beach, CA Harbor 20 Fleet 1. In a time of the dark unknown cloud encircling the globe, a ray of sunlight shined upon our bay as twenty-five Harbor 20’s entered the five points area.
As I drove down the bluffs the ocean gleamed with clarity from the clearing of the previous day’s spring showers. Santa Barbara and San Clemente Island’s where easily seen on the horizon and it was one of those clear cool early afternoons where you can almost count the rocks on the East end of Catalina.
While the sun was reflecting off the harbor waters participants of the first “Nuts” series started to appear and circle the committee boat. The “Nuts” series was named from what General McAuliffe famously said while defending Bastogne to the German surrender ultimatum “Nuts” Which best describes my feeling to today’s new normal. Harbor 20’s allow participants to stay at an acceptable distance from each other by sailing single-handed or with a family member. Similar to taking walks around the bloke or revisiting nature on long hikes.
With the “Nuts” theme in place awards were gathered. 1st was a package of Macadamia Nuts, 2nd Pistachios, 3rd Peanuts. Before the racing started I received inquiries from H 20 owners indicating that they did not want to race but just go out for a sail and I quickly encourage them to do so then sail by and say hello.
A comfortable cool breeze of 7-9 knots out of the SSW blew across the harbor which allowed the racing to start on time at 13:00 hours. The participants decided if they wanted to sail in A & B divisions with 11 teams starting in A fleet and 11teams in B fleet, don’t ask me how that happened. Team Kelly took the first race in B fleet followed closely by team Hurlimann and Team McDonald. In Class A Team Kimball put the puzzle together first with teams Haynes and Drayton close behind. My observations were that the fleet was not overly aggressive at the starting line with the strong outgoing tide. Tacking over to port and getting to the right side of the course seemed to be favored, one just needed to find the correct lane with pressure. Bringing the boat to speed looked to take an eternity. The current played an even larger part in the day’s downwind strategy with some participants unable to protect their lead by keeping themselves between the mark and fast approaching competitors.
My favorite quotes of the day were from Greg Newman “ Len, I Love…Love that course.” Another fun quote came from “Moose & Squirrel” when I commented to Max that he might consider paying closer attention to his kinetics in the boat with Jessica asking me “Are you calling me fat.” In which, I was looking to respond as quickly indicating that that was not the case. The last quote of the day came from my wife Jennifer, my text and email arriving announcements is a chirping sound, “ It sounds like we have a summer cricket in the house” with all the accolades from the day’s participants coming in. This would not have happened without Fleet Captain Bob Yates agreeing to this idea and procuring the necessary equipment from the Lido Isle Yacht Club along with Phil Thompson, mark set, and Scott Barnes scoring and photos.
Thank each one of you for attending, I enjoyed our on the water awards presentation. Look for the next “Nuts” event NOR due out by Tuesday for the next two weekends one-day events.
Suggestions are encouraged for example was five races too much and would you rather have done only four races? You can check out all the days photos at Fleet1 Face book page or my blog site at lenboseyachts.blogspot.com
Sea ya
Len’s Lesson # 66 in the form of a question: “Isn't it healthy to be a little naughty sometimes?”
B Division
1st # 32 Greg Newman 3, 3, 5,1, 2 = 14
2nd # 218 Devon & Greg Kelly 1, 5, 1, 4, 5 = 16
3rd # 107 Tom Corkett 5, 7, 2, 7, 3 = 24
A Division
1st # 5 John Drayton 3, 5, 5, 1, 1= 15
2nd #168 Tucker Cheadle 5, 1, 1, 8, 5= 20
3rd # 201 Debra & Peter Haynes 2, 6, 3, 6, 7 = 24
(We have todo results by hand, look at our score sheet photo)
