Frostbite NewsWeek 9 Racing - PRO Stanley -05/04/2013What a perfect day to end the spring series. The wind even cooperated with a steady breeze from the south east. Not what we were accustomed to this spring but a welcome change in direction. We wanted to get one more race in for both of the keel boat fleets but an unfortunate change in current prevented that. Up until the tide change the starts were picture perfect the whole afternoon. Everyone used all of the starting line and the incoming current held boats back so there were no over early boats. That all changed with the trip of the current. Competitors did not realize how much the change in current was affecting them and we had 2 general recalls for the Lasers and one for the JY-15's. The "I" flag and some good communication from both ends of the starting line held all back and we got them off within the 1500 start limit. We had a scoring glitch with the second JY-15 race. Early notification and understanding sailors allowed us to reconstruct the finishes accurately so the race was not a loss. Thanks for the prompt action by Frank to get the race reconstructed when we hit the beach. All the JY-15 sailors get a big thank you for being understanding and honest to allow us to reconstruct the race. No race committee is perfect but any obstacle can be worked through with cooperation. Congratulations to all the competitors who qualified and the ones who went home with awards. Please remember to get your boat off the club property. With all the new construction they need the parking lot we use for storage. Remember any boat left behind may receive a fine from the club. I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall. We are planning a one day 80th anniversary regatta for the first Sunday in Nov. Spread the word, all are welcome. I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall. May everyone have good winds and fair tides this summer. Week 8 Racing - PRO Stanley -04/23/2013 WOW what a beautiful day out there, spring is getting here slowly but surely. The dying northerly certainly presented it's challenges, add the freshet and it was a total crap shoot for everyone involved. Some of the quotes from sailors were: "I would get up the beat and tack on the shift only to get thrown into an auto-tack", "it didn't matter what side of the course we were on, both sides were wrong" and my favorite on was " aww just get us going!!!". Frank was heard saying a couple of times "if you can successfully run races here you can run them anywhere". Both windward mark boats commented that we would ask them to move the mark and when they got there we changed our minds. It was one of those days where the best thing to do was race and let mother nature do what she will with the wind. Being PRO out on the river can be very trying on patience and tolerance at times. It can also bring out the best in people and remind me of why I love Frostbiting and sailing in general. ALL the sailors were very understanding and recognized that the wind was not cooperating with us. When the day was over we got many thanks for a job well done. It was greatly appreciated. An unnamed JY sailor recognizing that the Etchell's had take down and were busy being the last class in and hauling their boats, he and his crew came over and took care of the take down of Fair & Square. Thank you. And lastly another sailor who fouled a competitor came over and withdrew even though there was no protest lodged. There are still Corinthian sailors out there and I am honored to be part of this group of sailors. OK enough smoke blowing..... this Sunday is the last day of the season. We will not start any races after 1500. Everyone has set-up and especially take-down. Marks have to be stored on F&S and she has to be moved out to her mooring. The crash boats have to be hauled and everyone has to get their boats off the club property. Overall results and awards will be given. I look forward to seeing everyone on the water Sun. Wine & Dine with Gary Jobson -04/23/2013 Wine & Dine with Gary Jobson at the Leukemia Cup Regatta Kickoff Celebration on Thursday May 16 from 6:30-8:30PM at the Essex Yacht Club. Tickets are $20 per person. Join Gary Jobson for fascinating sailing stories, enjoy a drink and dinner including Salad, Pasta and Carving Stations, Auction. Register Here Or contact Grace D’Amico Phone: (203) 665-1400 E-mail: grace.damico@lls.org Essex Twelve Meter Challenge -04/16/2013 EYC, ECYC, Pettipaug, and the Baldwin YC are having the Essex 12 Meter Challenge in Newport on Saturday, June 22nd. We have six 12 Meters reserved. One yacht is available. Would Frostbite be interested in crewing that boat (American Eagle – 13 crew capacity)? What’s involved: -We meet and board the boats at Fort Adams at noon on Saturday, June 22nd. -We have 3 to 4 races in Narragansett Bay….basically “Frostbiting on Steroids” using 12 Meters. -We come back to Fort Adams around 4:30pm. -Post Race plans are still being worked out but we will meet at ECYC on Sunday the 23trd for an awards party. -Costs: approx. $190 per person. Includes a half day of sailing, trophies, a RC boat (required), a North Sails event hat, and the party at ECYC (BYOB). Contact Commodore Mark Kondracky if interested. Week 7 Racing - PRO Stanley -04/16/2013 Today we took a dice and put wind directions on it from North to West-Southwest then rolled it on the upper deck and used that direction to set the course and starting line. Not really, but we might as well have done that. A starting sequence would start then a minute later the wind would shift and throw everything off. Then the question became do we send them or abandon. We abandoned one start and it made no difference, from then on we just sent them and let Mother Nature decide where the sailors should go. It was pretty crazy out there. Many times I would look around and the wind direction was different at each mark!!! The last beat seemed to have the most consistent wind direction. Wind velocity was up and down most of the day also. The wind seemed to be strongest coming out of the channel from the Brewer Dauntless Shipyard. At other times the fleets were barely able to make ground going into the current. According to the tide tables I looked at the "incoming" tide was supposed to trip about 1430 but it was running out the whole time we were on the water. The spring freshet has begun. It was even more evident this morning when I saw all the debris going downriver, oh boy!! The attrition rate was not bad at all, One Etchell Had to call her day short after damage to the boom. An unknown JY-15 skipper withdrew from the last few races, I believe she had enough of the shifty breeze. I know I did, my frustration was evident by the end of the day. Ideal-18's had one protest but it was withdrawn after polite discussion on the beach. The Laser class had two general recalls, but that ended when we lengthened the starting line. Chris Marrs dominated the Laser class for the day with aggressive upwind sailing and going left on the second beat. He finished the day with 3 bullets and was heard saying "this is the only first place glass I have ever won". A fitting day, Chris is moving to Annapolis and will not be able to finish the series this spring. Best of luck to Chris on his new journey. Special thanks this week to the volunteer crash boaters. They all did a great job and were patient with our requests. "Please move that mark here, no wait leave it, oh he## just go for it". Chatham and the scorers had another great afternoon, at least it sounded it as they sang away between races. And as always Frank did a good job at keeping things calm. We look forward to seeing everyone this Sunday. Remember to watch for the debris coming downriver. Week 6 Racing - PRO Stanley -04/11/2013 She huffed and she puffed and she knocked the whole fleet down!!! Mother nature reminded us that spring Frostbiting is not always moderate breezes. Every boat that stayed out until the end of the day capsized at least once. Some of the lighter Laser sailors capsized and waited for the next race to start while sitting on their boat. The Laser reaches had the boats going so fast the hull was lost in the spray flying off the bow. And one JY did a rail to rail roll with both the skipper and crew hanging over the side, and they stayed upright. It was one of those times I wish I had a video camera out there. Some quick weather facts, An unnamed Etchell sailor saw 18-20kts with one gust at 27kts at the Yacht Club bar, (not sure if the air moving was inside or outside!!!). I checked the Brewer Dauntless Marina weather log and it said that the wind at 1300 was 15kts, at 1430 it was 13kts. There was a 31.1kt gust at 1520. Brewer is sheltered from the south so who knows how true that info is. Either way it was hooting out there. Fair & Square II was moving around all day long, At one point the anchor rode was under the boat and we were afraid it may have caught on the engine. Ideals opted wisely to stay at the dock. The Etchell's class got out on the water and one boat broke it's tiller, another with a new main decided not to waste his well spent money!!! We started the other two on a cruising canvas triangle, one sailed the triangle and the other sailed windward leeward, I believe there was a communication breakdown somewhere. Then they hit the beach. JY's sailed four races and had four boats that started the day. By the end of day three boats remained, good job Joe and Tijae. (I never gave Tijae a dunking when she crewed for me!!!). The Laser's had five races and started with 17 boats, by the fifth race 10 were left. Overall it was quite a challenging day but everyone seemed to have fun. Everyone out there did a superb job. Crash boaters were busy all afternoon making sure the swimmers were safe. Speaking of safety; I want to acknowledge the two Laser sailors, you know who you are, for stopping and making sure fellow sailors were safe. I do not know if either boat lost positions, but neither requested redress. It makes me proud to see that kind of Corinthian sailing in our group. Thanks guys. Credit should also be given to those who were wise enough to recognize their limits. I look forward to seeing everyone on Sun. I think we will see seasonable temps and we will have to wait and see what mother nature gives us for wind. PS check out the "Boxtruck Films" video. Week 5 Racing - PRO Stanley -04/03/2013 Ok what is this? The department of redundancy department? Incoming tide this week meant less of the wonderful current issues we are so familiar with but that darned wind just would not settle in. As soon as we got a starting sequence going the wind would shift again only to come back. With primary and alternate windward marks set about 40 degrees apart one was usable at one point or the other. Forecast was for NW at 5-10 from the national weather service, Wunderground weather was calling for W at 7-12. At one point it was coming out of the East for a couple of minutes and as everyone knows we saw SW for a bit. (Etchell's went with spinnakers on the "downwind" leg, dropped the spinnaker's to beat to the mark then set them again only to drop them 5 minutes later) Talking to some people on Sunday who live on the shore in Old Lyme and Westbrook they told me the wind was about 15 from the SW. I checked the mid sound New Haven buoy history and indeed it did go WSW around 11:00 and SW around 14:45. Which tells me we were in the transitional zone with NW battling SW as the land warmed. We know that the NW breeze won out most of the time. The finicky breeze challenged skills and patience for all out there but everyone seemed to enjoy the warmer "spring" temps. There were allot of heroes who became zeroes, and zeroes that became heroes. Frank did a great job directing the crash boaters at setting marks. Willie did a superb job of anticipating his needs with the windward marks. Again Chatham had scores ready by the time we hit the dock. This was facilitated by Nicoles enthusiastic calling of the finishes. Let's pray that this Sunday is more decisive with the wind. We look forward to seeing everyone on Sun. Week 4 Racing - PRO Stanley -03/27/2013 NW, NNW, NW, WNW, NW, WNW, West. OMG will it ever stop shifting out there? At one point we saw some SW trying to push in, and the last race of the day for the Etchell's and Ideal's saw it straight out of the north on the northern end of the course and NW at the southern end. Then there was the current, I dunno 11/2- 2 knots flushing out all afternoon, keeping the boats from crossing the line on Starboard easily. If I didn't cut what little hair I have so short I would have pulled it out!!! As challenging as the day was for all of us I did not hear anything negative, (that anyone had control over). Just before the last Ideal race we saw the wind die to next to nothing while the Etchell's tried to go up current. We saw breeze coming in from the north while the Ideals begged to go in. We got there last race off at 1529 hrs and it was a good race for them. Eddie even thanked us for persevering and allowing him to get a bullet!!! The crash boats did a great job as always with Bill hopscotching the windward marks while the Bob & Bruce show made numerous adjustments to the starting line. We wanted to adjust the leeward mark but the spacing of races just wouldn't allow it. Chatham had the results completed by the time Fair & Square hit the dock, good job Chatham. Nicole and Liz both called the finishes at different times And Jeannie backed them all up. BTW I owe Jeannie special thanks because I left her out of last weeks thank yous, Thank you Jeannie. Doug a newcomer to Essex Frostbite (but no stranger to dinghy and big boat racing) helped me on the upper deck and got a first hand look at how crazy the river can get. I'm hoping we can get him out in an Etchell's to try the competitive side of Frostbiting. Big kudos to the sailors for putting up with mother nature and making the best of an extremely challenging day. I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday this week. Rich Wilson Live -03/22/2013 Rich Wilson is the author of "Race France to France, Leave Antarctica to Starboard" Great American III. He finished 9th of 11 finishers of 30 starters in the Vendee Globe 2008-9, the solo, non-stop, sailing race around the world. He was the only American, the only asthmatic, and the oldest skipper (58 yrs old) in the fleet. Tickets are available at Brewers Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook. Saturday, March 30, 2013, 5-7PM Water's Edge Resort. Flier Week 3 Racing - PRO Stanley -03/18/2013 Can anyone say frostbitten !!! WOW, what a day. It was soooo cold, how cold was it? Cold enough that the vangs on the lasers were dripping icicles!!!! But when the class was poled they wanted to stay out for 1 more race, (and lasers had take down). There were some big gusts out there. After starting the sequence for the Laser's last race we thought the wind moderated to give them a calmer race but nooo, the strongest gust of the day came straight out of the channel from the Essex Boat Works and made it hard for the Lasers to get over the line. At one point each Etchell had a wipe out in an earlier race. The day's attrition rate was fairly high but those that stayed out were treated to classic Frostbite racing. All 4 classes had skippers who were smart enough to go in and get out of the cold. I accidentally sent the Ideals in after asking the fleet captain Lori if she wanted to have one more. She was smart enough to want to go in herself and I thought the class wanted to go in, my error. Both the laser and JY-15 classes had swimmers. There were also some stragglers in both classes. We decided to give them their positions at the gybe mark allowing them to get some rest and keep the starts rolling. I hope nobody felt slighted. Unfortunately I gave Etchell 132 his position too early in the first race, I looked away for a minute then looked back and realized that he may have gained a position with a good lift (and there were some major shifts out there), I was more carefull about giving positions after that. Big thank yous to the great crash boat crew out there, they did a great job on a hectic day. A special thanks to Chatham, Liz, Stacie and Nicole. They did a great job with the scoring on a confusing day where boats did not let us know when they went ashore. Thanks to the club for the corned beef and cabbage soup. It was tasty and HOTTT. I look forward to seeing everyone this Sunday. Rives Potts and Carina's Circumnavigation to the World's Great Open Ocean Races -3/16//2013 The event will be held Sunday, April 7th, 4:30pm at the ECYC.(Note this is a new date) Rives Potts, Vice Commodore of the New York Yacht Club and General Manager of Pilots Point raced and sailed around the world on his yacht Carina, beginning and ending with Bermuda Race wins. He also raced the Transatlantic Race 2011, the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Attendees are invited to remain for Dinner at the Corinthian (VISA cards accepted). Please RSVP to Monique Armstrong, monique@coastalcookingcompany.com if you plan on attending the talk and/or diiner. The event will be a benefit for the Valley Regional Sailing Team. A $10 per person donation is suggested. North U. - Rules and Tatic -03/12/2013 Turn the rules into a tactical tool! Learn the ins and outs of the 2013-16 Racing Rules and how to integrate them into your tactics. No matter what your rules knowledge, you'll leave viewing packed lines, crowded mark roundings and crossing situations as opportunities instead of challenges. Sign up today! Hosted by and for the mebers of Essex Yacht Club, Essex Corinthian Yacht Club, Frostbite Yacht Club and their guests. Space is limited. Reserve your spot today. Click here for the flier, Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 6:30 to 9:30PM Location: Essex Yacht Club Cost: $10 at the door. Space is limited, please pre-register Register: email c.burns@essexyc.com Week 2 Racing - PRO Stanley -03/10/2013 What a beautiful day on the river today. When I got to the club this morning about 1145 I thought the day was going to be a flop. The river was like a mirror with no ripples to be seen. But as usual mother nature proved me wrong and about 15 minutes later the southerly started to establish itself. We managed to get 6 races for both the Etchell's and the Laser's, Ideal's and JY's each had 5 races. When we first got set-up the wind was stronger than the current for the first round of races but as the current built it spun us around so we were stern to the wind (and the scorers were now in the sun!!). We simply changed the start and finish flags to opposite sides, made minor adjustments to the start and finish marks and kept the starts rolling. With the current building and trying to push everyone over the starting line Frank and I were impressed with the lack of OCS's, (although there were a few), and how much of the line was used. There was not much end stacking and some bold sailors got off spectacular port tack starts. From our vantage point on the upper deck the beats were pretty well balanced and we only had one major shift that warranted using the alternate mark but the wind came back so we could use the primary mark again. The leeward legs against the current were slow but there was discussion of some challenging moments out there. We shortened up the leeward mark for all classes which allowed us to get a good flow going and gave the Etchell's so many races . The soup was excellent as usual and a good time was had by all, we look forward to seeing everyone next week. Message from Commodore Kondracky -1/29/2013 As I write this letter, Fair and Square is frozen in the pond, and being pelted by snow. It doesn’t help that I watched Shakelton’s heroic expedition to Antarctica yesterday. Nevertheless Sailing is just around the corner, and the year 2013 marks our club’s 80th year of racing. Our season will begin on Sunday March 3th. If you check out our website, you can see the countdown clock posted by our webmaster. Just like last season you can register for racing on line or you can register by mail. If you choose snail mail, send it to; Frostbite Yacht Club PO Box 283, Essex, CT 06426. New this year, webmaster Mark Fortin has set up a way for you to log onto the site and create your own profile. Also new this year, to celebrate our 80th year, if you get a new sailor to register on line, let me know and you both will be eligible for a Frostbite mugs or cups. Hey you could use it to drink a hot beverage. A few announcements this year: Our PRO duties will be filled by Stan Horan and Frank Murphy... Both Stan and Frank have served as PRO’s and have contributed to great racing for our club. Also you can look forward to continuing to sell FBYC gear from the website. Look for details once we start racing. Also new, we will have an awards presentation on the last day of racing in the spring at EYC and look forward to a winter party at ECYC as we have done in the past. We will continue with our yearly membership program. Skippers registering for a series will receive a membership card and FBYC bumper sticker. Crewmembers and FBYC volunteers can become associate members for a fee of $20 dollars, and also receive a membership card and a FBYC bumper sticker. Also new this year, you can only register, and get the discount for both seasons now. This will make our book keeping and budgeting better. If you already registered for the spring last year, no problem, however you won’t be able to register for a full year until 2014. The spring series will begin on March 3rd and run every Sunday for nine weeks with one exception. On Easter weekend, we will race on Saturday March 30th. Racing starts at 1:00pm, with no races started after 3:30pm. Daily awards, and tasty hot soup will follow in the Essex Yacht Club. Racing Fee’s: The board has voted to change the racing fees. While the single season rates will remain the same, the fall season will have a 20% deduction when you register for both spring and fall seasons now. Work party: In preparation for the start of the Spring Series a Work Day is scheduled for March 2 at 12:00 noon. We need to launch all of the crash boats, and make sure all of our equipment is ready to go. Also past commodore Doug McDonald continues to help us by making repairs on Fair and Square. If you have the time, please join us for a couple of hours, and also spread the word about our season to potential new sailors now. You have a great board, and fantastic volunteers. We need your help to bring in new racers and help improve the program. We currently expect to have five classes participating; Etchells, Ideal 18s, JY 15s, and Lasers. We are planning on the Valley Regional Sailing Team to sail again in 420s again in the fall. Our objective is to start any fleet with 4 or more boats. Volunteers – Since 1933 FBYC has been hosting a frostbite series. We could not do this without the commitment and generosity of our Volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, we encourage you to do so. We appreciate the contribution of all skill levels. Please contact Bob Leary, our volunteer Coordinator. Haven’t sailed with us before? Frostbite is open to any sailor who is age 15 or older. (Younger with parental permission) Sign up for a whole season or kick the tires with a single day of racing. Please send me an e-mail, and we will connect you with a fellow class participant you can speak with about our fun, challenging racing on the river. Don’t have a boat- occasionally we have opportunities for sailors who are looking to crew or find a boat. Let us know and we will try to find you a boat. The year 2013 marks our 80th year. Essex is a beautiful town with a rich nautical history. The officers and members of FBYC are grateful for the support from Essex Yacht Club, Essex Corinthian Yacht Club, Brewers, Pettipaug Yacht Club and the Connecticut River Museum. We would like to also express our thanks for the support from the community of Essex. Please support our sponsors and come help us celebrate on the water. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please feel free to contact me via E-mail. If you any historical pictures of Frostbiting, or antidotes, let me know since we are putting together a film/slide show marking our 80th year. Have fun and Sail safe Mark Kondracky, Commodore Mrk399@aol.com FBYC's 17' Sea-Pro for sale -1/23/2013 FBYC is selling its 17' Sea-Pro Center Console boat with 60hp Evinrude motor and accessories. Asking price $6,000. For more information Call Scott at 860-638-9587. More details here. FBYC JY-15 Update -12/08/2012 Here's a listing of the ideas we came up with at our end of year meeting on Sunday. 1. New 2013-2016 Racing Rules of Sailing discussions. 2. Clinic Day(s) - Pre-Season, 1st Week, Video Analysis. 3. Skipper/Crew Switcheroo Races. 4. Mentoring Program, possibly with combined "team" scoring. 5. Long Distance Races - Brockway Island, Nott Island. 6. 360 Races - Lead boat(s) at each mark do a spin. 7. Travel Team - Races vs. Stamford, etc. 8. Mix 'n Match Races - Sail with other members of the fleet. 9. Add CT River Challenge to our schedule - End of Spring. 10. Pre-race and post-race drysail area skull sessions. I'm sure there are others I've forgotten. Let's recruit additional JY-15 sailors in the off-season so we can continue to rebuild the fleet. Let's stay in touch and continue to develop some of these ideas before the Spring 2013 Season starts. I'd be willing to have a gathering at my house or we could meet out somewhere. Remember, the goal is to have fun, build skills, and become a solid, competitive fleet. Always a pleasure - Prescott, JY-15 #2613 Fall Season Update -11/28/2012 Fall Season Update -11/28/2012 Frostbite Yacht Club Fall 2012 Party Can Drive to Help Local Food Banks Local food banks are in need of canned goods in order to provide relief from hurricane Sandy. Our 420 fleet captains Roman and Travis are organizing a canned food drive. Please bring non perishable food goods to Frostbite this coming Sunday November 10th. Storm Sandy Check out the lastest Frostbite Status on our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frostbite-Yacht-Club/279387048799907 Fall 2012 Message from Commadore | Results, Race Tracking and PicturesVintage Media
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