We’re getting closer to the 2012 Gathering….put this on your calendar, you won’t regret it.  I went last year…brought a van load of friends.  This year I’m thinking a bus load would be more appropriate!

The beach at Pirates Cove is gorgeous and lined with some of the south’s finest jewels…..check out the video from 2011….you’ll love it.

Some friendly competition sailing with friends at Pirates Cove in 2011
You may order a DVD of this from Mike at Alabama Films. E-mail me at mikemorlock57@gmail.com for more info. Video in post.

Today started out cloudless and still.  Not even a ripple on Buttonwood Sound as the rest of the Buccaneers and Mutineers started rolling in.  We already had 6 Buccs and 2 Mutts on site as of Thursday evening, but the rest of the 17 came in well before the 3:00 start time for the Annual Race Around Porjoe Key.  It was a typical day in the Keys…for August!  The sky and the horizon merged together in a blue haze, it was so still.  I was really concerned about having the race to Porjoe – no one likes a 7 mile floater, the boat can’t carry enough beer and the ice starts to melt!  But at the skippers’ meeting at 2:30, a wind shadow was ruffling the water about half way to Porjoe.  Given the option of a shorter course to a marker on the Intracoastal, the skippers unanimously voted to still round Porjoe.  Mutineers had the first start; by the time they were all launched and ready to go, the wind was a steady 7 kts with a gust to 9. Away they went, and the
postpone flag was raised to give the rest of the Buccaneers a chance to launch and come out to the start line.  I thought I had counted them out and all were present, so I started the sequence and got the Buccs away about 15 minutes after the Mutts.  Much to my chagrin (and his!), Frank Hunter sailed out to the line after everyone had started!

It was a close reach out to the island, a nice steady breeze keeping everyone hauling along.  As they rounded, almost everyone keeping the island to port (even given the option, we seem to prefer hard left rudder), the chutes started popping out.  Jim and Margaret Davis were the first to launch their spinnaker in the Mutts, although they were in second place behind Jerry Thompson and Bob DeRoeck, who probably looked behind them and put down their beers in a hurry to get their own kite out and flying. Bea and Allyson had decided to round the island starboard side to, so they sailed into the rest of the Mutts, and then ran aground briefly.  Bea later joked about not being informed of the dirt on the other side of the island! None of the other Mutts had spinnakers, or chose not to set them, but all 8 Buccaneers flew their chutes, sending them up like clockwork as they came off the wind around the corner of the island.  My boat driver commented “Crack team
there” after watching the Yurkos, who were in the lead, set theirs flying in textbook fashion.  Tate Beckham was sailing solo, and it was windy enough to keep him busy – he called out to us, “it’s hard to drink beer and single hand at the same time!”  After they crossed behind the key and started heading back to the sailing club, the spinnakers came over to the starboard side, port tack, and were carried almost on the beam all the way back to the club. A bunch of a-sail wannabees?!

The Mutt winners were Jerry Thompson and Bob DeRoeck on Jerry’s RJ.  Jerry gets to keep his Sailor Jerry rum and Bob gets to take the Crazy Flamingo home for a year, to bring it back next year with another bottle of booze!  Jimmy and Kristy Yurko won the Buccaneer Captain Morgan trophy and we’re sure it will have a place of honor in their home and come back next year, maybe with a few Annabelle teeth marks added!

Tomorrow’s windfinder forecast is calling for winds in the high teens, and Sunday will be around 20.  The Dead Dogs & Tin Whistles regatta is living up to its windy reputation, for sure!  Here’s the lineup:

Buccs:

Mark Gyorgy, Patrick Hopp, Frank Hunter, Rick Scarborough, Kelly Smith, James Whited, Tom Wille, Jimmy Yurko, Jeff Neurauter

Mutts:
Tate Beckham, Team Davis, Team Madden, Team Picou, Dave Rowe & Son, John Schomburg and the Hard Tackers, Team Scott, Jerry Thompson & Bob DeRoeck (on one boat – no fair!)

Photos from today can be seen at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150529729839095.400607.764504094&type=1&l=1bee343c92.

Stay tuned for more pics and news from tomorrow!

Ginette Hughes
MCA #1789 Wing

Anderson, South Carolina is home to football fans, serious college football fans.  I didn’t know that the first time I went to Western Carolina Sailing Club…but it didn’t take long to figure that out.  Anderson is just a stone’s throw from Clemson…a serious football town, and everywhere you look you see orange bumper stickers…window decals…you name it, it’s there.  But being alongside Lake Hartwell, these folks like to sail, A LOT!  When October rolls around it shows.  Nearly seventy boats participated in the one design and Keelboat fleets at this regatta this year.  For Kristi and I, this was the fourth trip to the WCSC Hospice regatta, which raises money for the regional hospice center in Anderson, it won’t be our last.  Lake Hartwell is a mountain reservoir and typically a light air venue.  Large land masses on the narrow lake give local sailors a significant advantage in the shifting light lake conditions due to the somewhat regular, yet peculiar, patterns of thermals.  The lake is relatively narrow, so when the wind does pick up the water is nearly always flat. 

                This year’s Hospice regatta was selected by the Buccaneer Class Association to be the “Macalpine-Downey Gibbs Cup” regatta.  The winners of the regatta would have their name engraved on a perpetual class trophy commemorating the designers of the Buccaneer 18.  At this regatta we also announce the name of the “Quaiche bearer”.  Each year a member of the class who has contributed greatly to the class will have his/her name engraved on a perpetual trophy with a Scottish Quaiche (shallow drinking bowl pronounced “kweyKh”…yeah, say that three times fast!) atop.  This person will hold the Quaiche for the following year. 

                A massive front moved across the entire east coast this weekend and brought bright skies and huge winds.  The breeze early in the morning was light as mornings typically are, but as the sun rose and the sky got brighter whitecap conditions arose before the first gun.  We held two races on day one, the first in 12-15 knot conditions, exciting, but very manageable.  The entire fleet was smiling from ear to ear. As I mentioned earlier, the big lake, with its short fetch doesn’t allow for big waves, so we were capable of planing speeds both up and downwind.  The race was tight, overlaps at each mark…this eleven boat fleet came to race and it showed. 

                The first start of the regatta brought eleven Buccaneers to the line.  There was a good strong breeze, and the practice tacks we had taken upwind showed that it was likely to be a port favored beat.  The pin was also a bit windward.  Trying to port tack the fleet at the pin in a strong breeze didn’t seem like too good of an idea.  The line was short, and with port tack favored I thought there would be a large hole at the starboard end of the line, so we shot for the committee boat.  We hit the line with full speed as the starting gun sounded.  As I expected there was a large hole and we were able to bear off as needed to keep the boat moving through the chop on the lake.  We worked our way upwind, and watched for an opportunity to tack as the wind shifted.  We knew that the locals had an advantage on this lake due to the unique geography.  Our plan was to stay between the local sailors and the mark.  It seemed like a good plan until Steve Kimele, known for his ‘flyers’ tacked away early and made a run for the right side of the course.  We decided to let Steve go and cover the rest of the fleet, hoping the strong breeze would level the playing field.  We were right, and as we made our way upwind the left side proved to be favored, and we approached the top mark in the lead.  Rick Scarborough was hot on our tail, and wouldn’t be shaken easily..but we managed to hold him off by two boat lengths through the finish securing the first bullet of the regatta.

The Buccaneers were the first start of the regatta, and being first to cross the line gave us quite a bit of time to cruise around before the next race.  We enjoyed our peanut butter sandwiches, I think there was supposed to be jelly on there too, but couldn’t find much evidence of that.  As we ate and cruised back and forth waiting for the next race, the skies darkened just a bit. The wind got much stronger and the boats began to accelerate greatly.  While the first race was concluded with gusts around 15 knots, the second race would start with wind speeds of 18 knots in the lulls.  Gusts to 28 knots would be recorded before the end of the race.  The wind strength was so strong by this point that you couldn’t tack using the mainsail alone or you would stall head to wind and have to steer backwards. 

                With such strong winds, and a relatively short starting line, we didn’t feel it was too imperative to fight for a position at the crowded favored (pin) end of the line.  As with the first race we aimed to time a boat end start. We expected that with the strong conditions the fleet starting on starboard would be pushed significantly towards the pin, so we started about 2-3 seconds back of the line with full speed heading for the committee boat.  We were just a little off on our timing.  The resulting 3 second delay from the gun to our crossing of the line was worth it to gain a windward advantage and a large hole to leeward to foot off if needed.  We felt good about our start and raced to the top mark in a pack of five boats watching for trim gusts from the other boats.  The leading boat “Sanguine” at this time helmed by Rick Scarborough of Alabama seemed to be gliding effortlessly through the strong breeze as if it were an eight knot sunset cruise.  We had to figure out what he was doing.  We never did. 

                As we approached the top mark Rick held a strong lead of about 5 boat lengths over us, and had Patrick Hopp’s “Wasabi” was just behind him.  Alongside us were Mark & Noah Gyorgy as well as Ronnie & David Ashmore…this race was going to be close. We rounded the mark, took the inside lane and set the spinnaker.  Rick, being in a significant lead played it safe and sailed Wing-on-Wing to the leeward mark.  We were not able to catch Rick, but did pass Patrick prior to the mark by utilizing the inside advantage as we neared three boat circle. 

                On the windward beat both Wasabi and Sanguine showed excellent boat speed.  Sanguine seemed to stretch her lead, while Wasabi chipped steadily away at ours.  Wasabi eventually passed us on our right side.  At approximately ¾ the way to the top mark we saw an opportunity to pass by staying left as the other two went right.  There was a slight left shift that made the port tack favored coming into the mark, and we felt that if we got to the left of the other boats we would able to capitalize on the favored tack for the last tack of the beat.  The gamble worked, and we crossed both Sanguine and Wasabi by just 2 boat lengths before turning for the mark.  Our subsequent tack put us even with Sanguine after rounding the mark and we both set our spinnakers for the final run.  At this point it was pure excitement.  The wind had built to steady 18-20 knot speeds with gusts close to 30 knots.  We were planing along, shifting our bodyweight aft to keep the bow up as we sped along downwind.  The wind began to shift to the right, causing the spinnaker to collapse and indicating the need for a gybe.  We had successfully gybed on the previous run, but right now we were in the middle of one of the biggest gusts of the day…and it wasn’t interested in easing any time soon.  We decided to hold the gybe until the lull.  It was a good call because there was no lull, only another shift.  Fortunately this shift was from the left.  This allowed us to bear away to the finish line, and protect our air from Rick who had worked his way over us and was attempting to blanket us and slingshot in for a victory.  Instead the shift sealed the second win of the day for us. 

                At the party that night all the talk was about the huge winds, and the bigger grins that come along with it.  I don’t know how fast you’re going when you’re planing along in 20 knots of breeze…faster than you’ve ever sailed before, then a 30 knot puff hits you…but however fast that is….WOW. 

                Sunday morning was a totally different animal.  The sky was bright and only a few puffy clouds were on the horizon.  There was a very light thermal along the shore that came and gave us enough push to get out to the course where at 10:00 the Race Committee would signal the first postponement.  We rafted up alongside the other crews and enjoyed a beautiful morning; some snacks…even a screw top beer from Captain Meddock’s magic bottomless cooler.  By noon the race committee had seen enough to call it for the day.  The races were abandoned, and the regatta was over. 

                It was our fourth attempt at the WCSC Hospice regatta.  In all previous attempts Kristi and I have been denied access to any spot on the podium…but not this time.  Perhaps it was our newest little good luck charm (newborn daughter, Annabelle).  Regardless of how, or why, we were able to claim first prize. 

Every year one Buccaneer class member is chosen by our Commodore as a Quaiche Bearer for their contributions to the Buccaneer Class…

This year we honor David Spira for his contributions

Below is a description of just a few of the things David has contributed to our class and why we thank him.

The Macalpine-Downie/Gibbs Quaiche 2011

 David has been a member of the Buccaneer 18 class since the mid 1990s, and has given much to our class.  David has served several positions on the National Committee including Commodore, Vice commodore, BNAC race chair, Publicity Chair.  He has been the newsletter editor, the BNAC chairman.  David played an instrumental role in the acquisition of our current class builder, and were it not for his relationship with Nickels Boat Works we would likely not have a class builder today.  David co-authored the class tuning guide which has helped to level the playing field for new members to the class.  He oversaw the projects to develop promotional videos for the class, and promotional artwork of the Buccaneer 18 that has been featured in Sailing World magazine and used in other publications. 

It is clear that without the efforts of David Spira we would not have the strong and vibrant class that we enjoy today.  It is efforts of friends like this that make this class great and worthy of our time. 

 I am pleased to share this Quaiche with our friend David Spira, whose name will be engraved on it’s base. 

Deed of Gift for MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup

Award and Competition To Honor the Designers of the Buccaneer 18

Established in 2005 by Scott Laundry

In 1967, the partnership of Rod MacAlpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs created the Buccaneer 18. Since then over 5000 Buccaneer 18’s have been built, and production continues today. Rod passed away in 1986, but Dick continues to be involved and support the design. Rod, Dick, their partnership, and their contributions deserve our appreciation and recognition.

This recognition should take a form that reflects and supports the spirit of one-design sailboats. It should also acknowledge those that help sustain the Buccaneer design. To this end a new tradition is being established that includes an annual one-design regatta and an annual award for distinction.

The Buccaneer one-design competition will be named for MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs. The names of the captain and crew that win the regatta shall be recorded on a perpetual plaque. The winners will have the honor of holding the plaque until the next competition. The time and location of the MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup Regatta shall be at the discretion of the BCA Commodore. The regatta will be a venue other than the Buccaneer North American and Mid-Winter championships and will be designated a class-sanctioned regatta. The hope is that this will serve as a high profile regatta that can help foster or acknowledge growth. It may also serve to provide geographic balance.

One-design racing helps sustain our class but so do dedicated people that help it survive and thrive. Some Buccaneer sailors directly reflect Dick Gibb’s dedication to the preservation of the design. Others plow energy into the Buccaneer Class Association and the Buccaneer Community at large. Some ensure the continued success of the class by nurturing the Buccaneer spirit that is part Corinthian, part pirate, and mostly fun. While many contribute, there are usually a few who stand above. Each year one of these Buccaneers will be designated the “Cup-Bearer” for the MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup.  The BCA Commodore will select the Cup Bearer for distinction and contribution to Buccaneer sailing. The Cup Bearer will have his or her name recorded on the perpetual plaque. The Cup bearer will also retain the award cup for the year.

In a nod to Rod’s Scottish roots a Scottish quaich (pronounced quake) has been chosen for the award cup.  The quaich is a shallow drinking vessel that is traditionally used to offer a drink of welcome and farewell to travelers. It is sometimes called a “cup of friendship”. The quaich is ideal for an award to be associated with Buccaneers gathering from afar and for honoring friends.

Suggestions for recognition of sailors and possible venues for the competition are welcome. It is hoped that the MacAlpine-Downie /Gibbs awards will foster good competition while honoring the originators of the Buccaneer 18 and those that perpetuate its continued success.

Registration for The Buccaneer North American Championships now. Register today to come to the BNAC in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We are going to racing, brats, cheese and beer. Its going to be a great time, we hope you can make it.

Registration is now open!

BNAC 2011 Home

BNAC NOR

If you have any questions or conerns please contact us: bnac2011@kenoshayachtclub.com

President Obama and the Governors of both California and Arizona hailed the recent sales of Buccaneers between AZ and CA as proof that President Obama’s economic reforms are producing intended positive results.

“Matt Davis is a force I tell you! It’s outstanding to see these boats off the pavement and on the water. That’s what our policies are all about! More sailing for everyone!”, said presidential spokesperson and former Bucc owner Rob Gibbs.

At the center of this action is Matt Davis who sails out of Arizona Yacht Club in AZ in the winter and White Trash Yacht Club in OR in the summer. His first move was bringing famed Bucc #5100 “Blur” back to racing action as the renamed “Slur.” And then if that wasn’t enough, he loved sailing Bucc’s so much he upgraded to #5250, “Wonderful” and brought her off her sleepy TTL pavement home to sail in the recent San Diego NOOD Regatta.

Davis then spun a web of deals with the State of California to send “Slur” on to Bakersfield, CA and new Bucc owner and long time AYC member Dennis Martinelli of Spira/Martinelli fame. California Governor Jerry Brown lauded the event. “The entire Central Valley will turn out when “Slur” makes its way to its new home here in Bakersfield!” “I wish Harry Sindle could be here to witness this event!”

And if that weren’t enough to show that the recession is over, Arizonan Ramon Rivera is now the proud owner of #4346 “Hailey’s Comet”. The “Comet” has had a long journey from TX, to Phoenix, to Lake Havasu City, and back to Phoenix. Along the way she lost her “Tomato” spinnaker but gained a spinnaker launch chute and Ramon is ready to get her racing again. Ramon and Coronado 15 sailor Marcos Monetti (soon ALSO to be a Bucc owner we expect) will be campaigning “Comet” in Arizona Fleet racing….and….you just may see her crossing the border to California too!

Welcome new Bucc owners!
Matt Davis – #5250, “Wonderful” (for now)
Dennis Martinelli – #5100, “Slur”
Ramon Rivera – #4346, “Hailey’s Comet”

Arrrr!

Ok, sure.  Spira and Martinelli took first place, but you sure wouldn’t have known it by the contented smile on Carol Vaillancourt’s face as she and Ryan Schofield accepted the 2nd place trophy for the SD NOOD on 3/20/2011.

Carol and fellow NorCal fleet member Ryan Schofield have been sailing together for several years now, have tuned and outfitted old “Wind Me Up” (#4183) and have showed us all what can be achieved if we work hard at our team work, our boat tuning, our tactics, no matter how old we are!  CONGRATULATIONS CAROL AND RYAN!

There were more smiles to go around.

• Dave Rawstrom and Rob Gibbs with a bullet in race #1.  We dog piled on Spira/Martinelli before they figured out “Slur” and went back to their normal “bullets.”
• Ramon and Marcos sailing their new-to-them Bucc “Hailey’s Comet” in the ocean for the first time.
• Brenda Shears and Keith Kintigh with a house full of Buccaneers at their Mission Bay condo Saturday night after racing.
• EVERY BUCC for sailing THE OCEAN COUSE!

Courtesy Peter Howson

Yes, after half a dozen years sailing in South San Diego Bay and Mission Bay the Buccs were “forced” to sail the Ocean Course in the blue Pacific immediately off the coast of Mission Beach, CA.  A light air day with soft rolling 2-4’ swells sent several sailors to the rail for chumming.  Fortunately no sharks emerged.  We DID see a nice family of Sea Lions and also a small pod of Dolphins.

Scores, and many nice photos by Peter Howson and Tim Wilkes on the web

REGISTER NOW for SD NOOD

Bucc 18 Midwinter Championship.

Dear San Diego NOOD Sailors,

 We’re looking forward to having you and your crew join us at the San Diego NOOD this year. The dates are March 18-20, 2011 and once again our regatta headquarters will be located at the San Diego Yacht Club. The San Diego NOOD is also co-hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club and Coronado Yacht Club, with a portion of our NOOD fleets sailing out of these two great clubs as well. The NOOD staff is busy getting ready for you at our second stop of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD season. Welcome to all of you! We’re anticipating some great Southern California sailing and fun parties ashore this year.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY CLASSES
Mission Bay Location:
Buccaneer 18- Midwinter Championship
Capri 22, Corsair Sprint 750, Lightning, Soling, Thistle, A Cat, F-18, Santana 20, Victory, Weta 4.4

REGISTRATION DETAILS:
 A minimum of six boats is required for a class to remain eligible. Due to the number of classes anticipated at this event, entrants should be aware that there is a possibility that certain classes may be started together but still scored separately. A $50 late fee (in addition to the entry fee) will start on February 28, 2011 at 5 p.m. EST. This is an additional fee if you register or pay on or after this date past 5 p.m. EST. Please note this deadline when sending mailed or faxed entries. To receive a refund or to cancel your entry, call 401-845-4112 by March 14, 2011.

PARTY INFORMATION:

Don’t be left out this year! Come and join us after racing for food and plenty of Mount Gay Rum and beer at the NOOD parties on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. San Diego Yacht Club will be hosting all the NOOD parties again. Friday night will include beverages and light fare, Saturday’s menu will feature a full meal with some great music and enjoy SDYC’s great Chili and Hot Dogs with all the fixings during Sunday’s awards ceremony. Pre-Party tickets are available now online at $47 each for you and your crew.On site the party tickets will be $50 each, so buy now and save. NOOD merchandise will be sold during the parties so don’t forget to stop by to get your exclusive 2011 NOOD gear for yourself, your crew and family.   

MISSION BAY YACHT CLUB INFORMATION:
Visit MBYC.org for information regarding Mission Bay Yacht Club. Hoist and short term boat storage will be  available by contacting our office 858-488-0501. The Bar will be open after sailing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Breakfast is available on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Box lunches are available if reserved prior to racing, please contact MBYC.

Solomons Island Style

December  11, 2010

The last buccaneer event of 2010 in Solomons…a real blast.   Last year (2009) someone, who shall remain nameless…and hopefully blameless decided that it would be a good idea to try to hold a Buccaneer race in December…in Maryland.   Now Maryland is not the coldest place on earth in December, but well this past Saturday, many of the creeks in the Solomons area were frozen over.

The first Freeze Your Bucc Off! (as it would be named) began with a modest start, 3 buccaneers, six sailors, and one very cold RC volunteer…  I was there for the first event, and while it was cold, and not very windy, we had a good time.  It was a good enough time to schedule a repeat.  FYBO 2010 commenced on Saturday December 11 with seven Buccaneer crews gathering at SMSA for the 2^nd annual event. With seven boats we were almost regatta-like!  We held a skippers meeting, hopped on our boats & raced away from the dock, quite literally.  The first race sequence was started with the race committee officiating from the dock, a short windward, then leeward course up the creek, around Ma’s Leg Island, and downwind into Back Creek provided a fun first race; and a good start to the series.

I sailed with the BuccSOMD’s newest skipper, Mark Williams.  It was our first time racing together, and we hit the line on time, and with speed, but the narrow channel, and close tacks quickly put our rusty skills to the test.  The seven boats gracefully, some more graceful than others, tacked & ducked their way up the creek into more open water to round the island and set their spinnakers for the run.  Mark and I finished last, but not by much.  We would go on to improve our standings throughout the day.

Very new to the Buccaneer fold this day was Keith Mays and his lovely crew Emily who on a borrowed black Buccaneer desperately wanting a permanent name, made a name for themselves winning a race and racking up some quite respectable finishes, losing a tiebreaker to Jim Whited & Jen Miller, and finishing third just ahead of Bucc veterans Mark & Eric Gyorgy.

The races were all in very light air, with a max wind speed for the day around 6 knots, and very short lived at that, there was much skillful drifting to be done.  Though I might have to add that with temperatures below 40 degrees, I was content to drift.  We did manage to race five races.  We raced three point to point races, and two windward/leeward races.  RC was tempting us with talk of chowder & hot cider, but I only ever heard of “last call”, somehow I missed the first call.  I guess I’ll have to sail faster and closer to the committee boat next time!

The last race, back to the dock…was quite welcome.  We made it ashore well before sunset & packed up the boats.  All the teams had a great time, and we moved into the bar for a post-race party.  Nineteen of us in all filed in for the festivities.  Leftover spaghetti & meatballs hit the spot just right with plenty to go-round we were able to get our fill as the results were read…top honors were awarded to team Kick’Em Jenny, Jeff Moore & Jolie Homsher, for showing us all just how it is done!

Race Results

This years Strictly Sail will be Jan 27th – the 30th.  Come see the latest and greatest Nickels Buccaneer 18.  We will also talk about the upcoming seasons schedule and BNAC 2011 in Kenosha August 1-5.

See you there.

Welcome to the NEW and improved Buccaneer18.org!

Click on the Bucc drawing in the top left corner to get back to home.

Click on the top menu items, or hover over the lower menu items to navigate through the site.

Enjoy!

ARRRR!

Bucc's Sail with Jobson

Gary Jobson and the Carolina Yacht Club hosted 80 sailors and their guests – including two Buccaneer sailors (Chris Robertson and Emory Heisler) for the “Sail with Jobson – Fantasy Sail Weekend December 3-5, 2010. (video)

Not to miss an opportunity to sail, Emory showed up a day early to sail with his Buccaneer skipper from 2010 Buccaneer North American Championships (BNAC) Captain Ray Dunn who also just happens to live in the Charleston area – proof once again that if you know a Buccaneer, you probably know someone in just about any port in the country!  Arrrrr!

Along with an afternoon of sailing with Gary Jobson hopping from boat to boat the weekend included many reminders about the Leukemia Cup Regattas, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, and their shared mission to cure blood cancers.  Attendees included at least half-a-dozen blood cancer survivors, but also was missing several participants from previous years that were not so fortunate to have the cure they needed for their version of the disease.

Many of your Buccaneer bothers and sisters will be participating in Leukemia Cup Regattas throughout the year!  Remember them and the reason that they sail!

Arrrr!

Little do most folks realize, but Cooperstown, NY, home of the baseball hall of fame, is also a sailing town! Just outside of town is Lake Glimmerglass.   Glimmerglass is a beautiful, natural mountain lake with clear water and very interesting winds.  The wide section of the lake at its southernmost end is perfect for racing small boats. The Ostego Sailing Club is home to a lively Thistle fleet, Flying Scotts, and Buccaneers as well as many small trailer-able keelboats.

For Kristi and I this was our first trip to Glimmerglass, a Buccaneer sailor “must do at least once” type of regatta.  It seems just about every sailor in the class has a Glimmerglass story, this is ours.

The regatta was slated to be a top notch event for our class this year, it was the site of the classe’s “MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup” regatta which honors the designers of the Buccaneer 18: Rod MacAlpine-Downie and Dick Gibbs.  Folks traveled far and wide to attend, including our current class champions who traveled from Colorado & California to compete.  For us it was scheduled to be a nine hour drive but a nail in our back tire added an hour and a half to the event.  Fortunately we were close to a service station in PA whose employees were more than happy to help us out quickly.  Once back on the road we managed to get to the lake just after dark and were greeted at the fire by our fellow Buccaneers from NY.  We were welcomed with open arms, a bottle of rum, and quite unexpectedly a birthday cake!  (it was my birthday that day…I didn’t realize I had told anyone)

There was dew on the ground, and it was pretty cool – probably about forty degrees.  The locals said that we were lucky it was so warm!  I was surprised, since it was the seventeenth of September and here in Solomons we hadn’t had a single evening drop into the forties yet.  I wasn’t expecting to be worried about frost.

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days with light breezes coming down the lake from the south end and quite unpredictable shifts coming left and right.  The locals seemed to have an advantage, but the randomness of the shifts seemed to even the odds quite a bit.  We sailed a total of eight races, five on Saturday, three on Sunday – each lasting nearly an hour.  For the first time in quite a few years we sailed triangular courses for over half the races, which proved to be quite challenging because while the winds shifted often, the shifts were rarely large, so holding a spinnaker in the building breeze at the bottom end of the triangle (in the widest part of the lake and dead downwind of the mountain pass) was quite challenging.  Dousing the spinnaker from the reach was quite exciting since you couldn’t go to leeward to bring it in!

Dinner Saturday was a delicious chicken barbecue with a huge buffet of appetizers donated by the local club members: delicious slices of salmon and every other meat, cheese and veggie finger food you could imagine – even a few you probably can’t.  We hung out by a large fire telling stories about the day’s events and lies about events before and to come.  Many cold beers later we all retired to the tents to prepare for another day’s racing.

Sunday’s conditions were just as beautiful as Saturday’s.   Shoving off across the relatively calm mountain lake looking at the trees whose leaves were just beginning to turn was a great feeling, one I wish I could repeat every day…but just as good as a memory.

At the day’s end we gathered at the tent to devour the leftovers from Saturday’s dinner which were just as good as the night before…or we were twice as hungry.  The awards ceremony was like many other, there were AAARRGGHH!’s from the Buccaneers as the trophies were handed out.  We were excited because we knew we had placed and earned a nice engraved mug, 2^nd place.  We were pretty happy with that finish especially considering the tough field of competitors.  What was different about this scenario was that when they called our names for the glass, they didn’t let us just walk away as they had the others.  They began to read a two page nomination from our classmates.  The nomination commended Kristi and I for our contributions to our class and our Commodore handed us the Quaich (pronounced quake).  The Quaich is our class’s perpetual trophy given to one sailor (or team) per year for stewardship and contributions to the Buccaneer class.  Of all of the birthday’s I’ve had in my (still short) life, this one will be marked as the best one yet!

Jimmy Yurko

January 2011 Events NORs are up! (FL) DDTW, (AZ) BDR

Three Turkeys in Long Beach

Three hearty Bucc 18 teams skipped the AYC Gov’s Cup to join in the “umpteenth” Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Turkey Regatta, sampled the legendary sailing inside the Long Beach sea wall, and got  some early turkey dinner.  

The sailing AND the turkey more than lived up to their reputations! 

Day 1 started out with some steady rain and good 10-15mph winds but only two Buccs on the line.  Sacramento road warrior Carole Vaillancourt and skipper Ryan Scofield on “Wind Me Up” faced off with Emory Heisler and his brother Tim in “Erin Mogan” for the first race, a 2 lap W-L course.  Ryan and Carole lead easily at the first W mark and stayed there down to the gates as Emory and Tim sailed without the chute.  A problem at the gate for Ryan and Carole though let Emory and Tim sneak ahead by the 2^nd W mark.  However without the spinny they couldn’t hold their position which gave Ryan and Carole an easy 30 second win. 

Buccaneer Moth Hunting!

Before race 2 could start Emory and Tim headed for warmth and turkey as the rain continued and the early signs of hypothermia started for Tim.  That left race 2 as a one-boat bullet for Ryan and Carole, but by the time Race 3 began Dave Rawstrom and crew Bailey Marra in “Red Fish Blue Fish” had found the course to put some competition back in the sailing. 

 Dave and Bailey sailed neck and neck with Ryan and Carole upwind until a blown tack by Ryan and Carole at the layline sent them from two boat lengths ahead to two boat lengths behind Dave and Bailey at the weather mark.  Ryan and Carole once again sailed their spinnaker against a team not ready to set the chute in the heavy conditions allowing them to pass Dave and Bailey for another easy win and 3 bullets for the day.

 It was time for TURKEY!  Back in the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club the 3 Bucc teams and Dave’s family were joined by EX-AYCer-Spira-Crew Dennis Martinelli who was also in town for Turkey and some hard core Laser sailing too.  Of course the ABYC lived up to their reputation “with all the trimmings” and classic Yacht Club hospitality followed by a well deserved evening of recovery (except for Dennis and Emory that found their way to a bar showing the UFC fight!  Imagine that???!!!).

Long Beach Turkey Storm

Sunday dawned with “freight train” winds blowing chunks of palm trees down the street.  Fortunately they “died down” to 20-25mph by race time.  Seeing these conditions both Dave and Emory lost their crews to the Farmers Market and teamed up on Emory’s “Erin Morgan” to keep at least two boats racing…or so they thought.  

 With the wind blowing a steady 20 with gusts to 25 Carole let Ryan know that she felt it was to windy, and that left the “well balasted” Emory and Dave to blast and plane around the course.  Ryan was appropriately jealous and Dave and Emory had some “profound revelations” during their 2 races “against the wind.” Details?   Sorry!  Sworn to secrecy!

After the scores were totaled, Ryan and Carole’s three Day-1 wins were just enough to win the Bucc class – AND a nice pair of frozen Turkeys (larger classes even had Cornish Game Hens for 3RD place LOL!)

Five Miles to Avalon

AND THEN…..Emory and Tim jumped on a Catalina 30 Monday morning and cruised to Catalina and back (Tuesday) in beautiful 15-20 mph winds and calm seas.  “It was like sailing with training wheels”, said Emory, compared to the two blustery days in Long Beach.  But THAT is a different Turkey Day Regatta story.  

Next year we hope to see more Buccs on the line for a great event at a great venue…..with some great Turkeys!Next West Coast Race….SD NOOD, March 18-20.  See you there!  ARRRR!  

Ryan Scofield – “Wind Me Up”,

Emory Heisler – “Erin Morgan”  

Robinson Cup presented to Mike Sigmund, Buccaneer fleet captain

Mike Sigmund (s/n 3687 – Ms’App) Buccaneer fleet captain within the Carolina Sailing Club was recently awarded the ROBINSON CUP for the 2010 sailing season.  The Robinson Cup is given in memory of Dr. Donald Robinson, a founding member of CSC. 

The Robinson Cup is awarded at the Carolina Sailing Club’s Annual Awards Banquet.

Here is the link to the newspaper article in the local ‘Recorder.’

http://www.somdnews.com/stories/09012010/rectop134732_32375.shtml

Sailing for charity: August 30, 2010

For immediate release

Solomons Island, MD – Neurauter wins Buccaneers – Hodan wins Lasers – St. Mary’s Hospice wins Team Racing

Over a hundred sailors and yachtsmen participated in events supporting the Summer Challenge 2010 this past weekend.

Saturday saw two events for racing sailboats and one for cruising boats on the Patuxent River near Solomons. In the small boat racing held just inside the river mouth, Jeff Neurauter and his crew, Happy Olmstead topped the Buccaneers, a class of sailboats designed for two persons.

These boats are popular in the Solomons area. Craig Hodan won the Laser class, a sailboat set up for one person to sail. Lasers are popular world-wide and are part of the Olympic Games. The larger boat fleet attempted a course in the Bay off the Patuxent River, but ran out of wind before any could complete the course. ‘Whiskers,’ captained by Barbara Whited, was well ahead when all abandoned the race returned to the harbor under engine.

A separate event for cruising boats of all kinds started on Saturday afternoon off the Solomons Boardwalk, went up the river passed Cuckhold Creek, and returned to end at the entrance to the Solomons harbor. “I never thought an event of this kind would be so much fun,” said Len Zuza of Lusby, whose 38-foot ‘Dulcinea” took part.

Most contestants came to a post-event party at Zahniser’s Yachting Center that evening when prizes were given out.

Jolie Homsher, a Laser sailor, won the grand prize for raising the most in contributions to the event. She gathered $365 from friends and co-workers.

On Sunday at St. Inigoes Creek in St. Mary’s, six teams of three boats each sailed a round robin of 15 team races. The team representing St. Mary’s Hospice won the day with a record of five wins and no losses. This team had recruited sailors from the national champion St. Mary’s College sailing team to skipper and crew its three boats. Second place was a team sponsored by Wyle Laboratories, a contractor to the Patuxent Naval Air Station. Wyle drew from local high school competitive sailors to fill out its team.

The Summer Challenge is a fund-raising whose proceeds benefit Hospice of St. Mary’s, Calvert Hospice, the scholarship fund of the Rotary Club of Prince Frederick, and the Southern Maryland Sailing Foundation, which supports youth sailing in our area.

Contact Stovy Brown at stovy@chesapeake.net or (410) 610-4136 for further information.

Results:

Racing off Solomons, Saturday, August 28

regatta place sail number boat name skipper

1 5227 Irene Jeff Neurauter

2 5270 Black Betty Jimmy Yurko

3 2332 New Breed Brian O’Hara

4 1971 Dodgem!! Kevin Divorsky

5 5274 Christopher Dragon Jim Whited

6 2027 NFW Mike Danko

7 1356 Fugly John Durniale

Bucc 18 America’s Cup Connections?  Are you kidding?  Our Buccaneer connection to the yachts sailing in the Americas Cup is our designer Rod Macalpine-Downie. According the SailingNetworks article Rod experimented with wing mast/sails as well.

 These boats were designed by Rod. Together they held the World Speed record for sailboats from 1972 to 1980 helmed by British millionaire Sir Timothy Colman.

 http://www.sailingnetworks.com/organisation/view/9421

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_sailing_record

For most folks the idea of sitting in a crowded mini-van, for 19 hours, eating truck stop food, and watching tired DVD’s doesn’t sound like much fun, and I would have to agree.  But for me, that is just a small price to pay for escaping the cold of winter, and getting away for 3 days to sail and race in the warm air and water of the Florida Keys.  Upper Keys Sailing club again invited us to race for the three days preceding the MLK holiday, and the trip was nearly perfect.  We arrived shortly after noon on Friday, un-stacked our boats, and were racing by 3:00.  Friday’s winds were over ten knots, and turned out to be the lightest of the weekend.  Ten boats raced in Friday’s race around Porjoe Key, a 7mile race, long by Bucc Standards, we placed 2nd, pretty good considering the competition.

Saturday’s winds were sustained around 20 knots, with a more than a few stronger gusts…one of which we caught before the start of the races for the day…causing an exciting capsize under spinnaker…it gave us plenty of opportunity to practice our recovery skills, which would prove to come in handy later in the regatta.  There were three races Saturday, we improved in each race, Our first race started off well, we were 2nd rounding the first mark, but a fouled spinnaker as a result of our pre-race capsize, kept us from staying with the leaders, and dropped us to 7th.  During the 2nd race we were holding a tight 4th, when the two leaders were caught by a rogue puff, and capsized.  We managed to keep our boat upright, and in so doing scored a 2nd.  Our third race was the most exciting, and probably in the strongest winds of the day, had us on the longest sustained plane I had ever experienced.  On the last run I could feel the entire hull cavitating beneath my feet, an the centerboard just hummed.  We were first in the race by nearly a minute.  Unfortunately upon crossing the finish line were called OCS on the start, awarding us 12 points instead of 1…not good.

Sunday started off about the same as Saturday, with a capsize in the first race, we were on the way to the last leeward mark, competing for 3rd place, when we lost control and went over.  We managed a fast recovery, coming up with our spinnaker drawing, and speed into the last mark…we managed to pass two boats before the finish, scoring a 7th.  We finished the regatta with a bullet in the final race, passing the leaders, on the last beat with a three boat overlap on the finish line.  Eighteen and a half hours each way, three days of racing, absolutely worth it!

Jimmy Yurko

24 Buccaneers Racing MLK Weekend from AZ to FL!

Phoenix, AZ / Key Largo, FL: The Buccaneer 18 Fleet continues its MLK weekend tradition with twenty-four Buccaneer 18s crossing swords on both sides of the country this weekend – 13 Buccs registered at Lake Pleasant, AZ at the Arizona Yacht Club Birthday Regatta (BDR) & Leukemia Cup Regatta, and 11 more registered on the opposite coat at Key Largo, FL for the Dead Dogs and Tin Whistles (DDTW) Regatta.  http://buccaneer18.org

The Buccaneer 18 Fleet has a great MLK weekend history of participation in the AYC BDR/LCR, setting the bar as largest fleet for several years now including 26 Buccs registered in Arizona back in 2007 and sending several fleet members to the Leukemia Cup Fantasy Sail for their fund raising success too.

The right-half Buccs began their own MLK tradition in 2007 with a dozen Buccs sailing the warm waters off Key Largo, FL for the DDTW Regatta. 

In 2010 between the two events the Bucc’s have 24 boats representing an even dozen states, from Washington DC to Washington and Oregon and even Canada!  ARRR!

Registered Buccs as of 1/12/2010

Ronnie Ashmore: Western Carolina Sailing Club

US Sailing Sailor of the Week 12/4/2009

For over 30 years, Ronnie Ashmore of Anderson, S.C., has played a valuable role in improving the overall operation of the Western Carolina Sail Club (WCSC).

He does so for the love of sailing and the deep pride he takes in supporting his home sailing club.

Last October, Ronnie co-chaired the 2009 Hospice Regatta hosted by the WCSC. Over the past ten years, this event has raised more than $213,000 for Hospice of the Upstate, an organization that provides compassionate care and supportive services to residents throughout the Upstate of South Carolina and Northeast Georgia. This year, over $31,000 was donated to the organization. This was $6,000 over their initial fundraising goal. Ronnie was ecstatic with the turnout this year. An impressive 81 boats and 350 sailors competed. He was also happy to see the WCSC represented well on the race course. Overall winner, Marc Bailey, will represent the WCSC at the 2010 National Hospice Regatta in National Hospice Regatta in Rochester, NY in June 2009.

Ronnie, who is also president of APAC Ballenger Paving, has donated large amounts of his time to WCSC, especially in the area of improving the harbor’s breakwater. The harbor breakwater system at WCSC is composed over 2,200 tires floating in 18 tire bundles laced together with rubber straps in a pattern designed to dissipate wave action coming into the harbor. A great deal of maintenance and repair is required for the breakwater system to be effective. Each year his crew performs various maintenance tasks on the breakwater including, replacing straps, adding floatation to sunken bundles, and moving the breakwater as lake levels change.  Ronnie has displayed outstanding leadership while directing crews of workers during these difficult tasks.

Ronnie was born and raised in Greenville, S.C. For the past 20 years, he has lived on Lake Hartwell in Anderson. His first experience in a sailboat came in 1974. While spending the weekend with friends at a lake house near Columbia, S.C., Ronnie decided to jump in the docked Sunfish and sail around a small island, not too far off. He decided this was something he’d like to learn more about. After graduating from Georgia Tech the following year with his degree in civil engineering, Ronnie bought a used 15-foot Chrysler Mutineer, some sailing instruction books, and learned how to sail. Sailing has been a big priority for Ronnie ever since he got hooked back in 1974. “During my 36 years of sailing, there were many short periods of inactivity, but today, I take every reasonable opportunity to get out on the water to day sail or crew on any boat when I am not racing my Buccaneer 18.” , said Ronnie.

Ronnie and his wife Gloria also enjoy couples racing on their Tanzer 26. All three of their sons, ages 25 to 29, know how to sail. His son David lives close enough to be Ronnie’s steady crew aboard his Buccaneer 18, “Ramblin’ Wreck”. They have been racing together for several years now, including every Buccaneer 18 North American Championship since 2003.  Ronnie also has two grandsons who have attended the WSCS Junior Sailing program.

“Ronnie has donated without fanfare or complaint large amounts of his time to the WCSC especially very challenging tasks that improve our club,” said Carl Ulbrich, 33-year member of the WSCS.  “Ronnie is an hoest, unassuming person of impeccable character.”