BuccNews

The Virginia Governor’s Cup regatta at Ware River Yacht Club in Gloucester VA is an annual favorite of the Mid-Atlantic Buccaneer crowd.  The venue is centrally located between  Washington DC and Raleigh NC, two of the classes largest fleets, and even in low participation years with big conflicts (like this year’s class championships taking place at the same time!) still draws a crowd.

Seven Buccaneer crews hit the water for this regatta on the beautiful Ware River, a wide tributary to Mobjack Bay on the Chesapeake Bay.  While sailing we enjoy see breezes, occasionally see pods of dolphin & other cool sea life.

The racing is always interesting, since WRYC hosts just this one regatta each year they come out in full force to support their event.  The RC sets up interesting courses and pays close attention to the racers needs.

This year’s Buccaneer fleet had seven competitors, just 2 shy of the largest fleet at the regatta.  Kyra Tallon won it with consistent sailing and a killer day 2 performance scoring a 1-2-1 on the last 3 races of the 6 race series.  Jen Marbourg-Miller’s “Christopher Dragon” was 2nd with a 3-1-2 score on day 2.  Both boats were extremely well sailed, passing Saturday’s leader “Wasabi” crewed by Jimmy Yurko & Justin Meddock who went into Sunday’s racing with a 2 point lead.  Overall the fleet was very competitive with 4 different boats scoring wins over the weekend, and lead changes occurring often during all 6 races.

Below you can see Kyra (Right) & Jen proudly displaying their new hardware!

Ahoy Buccaneers,

Commodore Larry has designated the Glimmerglass Regatta held by the Ostego Sailing Club as the MacAlpine-Downie/Gibbs Cup Regatta for 2016.  Ostego Sailing Club is located in beautiful Cooperstown, NY.  This year will be the 49th consecutive Glimmerglass Regatta held at the club.  Buccaneers have been competing at Glimmerglass since long before I started sailing Bucs.  OSC knows how to throw a great party, both on and off the water.  Club members take pride in preparing appetizers for Saturday’s dinner and it’s usually a challenge to finish the entree after gorging on these nibbles.  The racing and the social fun combine to make Glimmerglass the highlight of the Nor’easter’s racing schedule.

The racing is scheduled for Sept 17 and 18 with full-day racing on Saturday and half-day racing on Sunday.  Many competitors camp on the club’s grounds, either in RV’s or tents.  Note, there is no electricity for campers.  There are mens and womens rest rooms in the clubhouse, but no showers.  For folks wanting a bedroom there are plenty of B&B’s and relatively inexpensive motels in the area.

The winds are almost always plentiful for the Glimmerglass Regatta, but be prepared, they are incredibly fluky.  As a registration gift in 2011 all competitors received a “Shift Happens” refrigerator magnet, and boy does it.  The weather is likely to be 65-75 F during the day with nighttime low temperature of 45-50 F.  The water temperature will be about 70 F.

Consider bringing the family and making this a mini-vacation.  Cooperstown is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Farm Museum, both well worth a visit. There are three micro-breweries within a few miles of Cooperstown, include the reknown Brewery Ommegang, famous for its Belgian-style beers.  Glimmerglass takes place at the beginning of foliage season.  Leaf-peepers will enjoy the colors of the leaves contrasting the clear blue skies and lake water.

Visit the Otsego Sailing Club website, http://www.otsegosailingclub.com/glimmerglass-regatta-and-pictures.html for more information.  OSC usually has the online registration form available around the middle of July.  If you have any questions about the MDG Cup regatta, Glimmerglass, OSC, or visiting Cooperstown, don’t hesitate to email me at bobboat at Verizon dot net.  If you are planning to participate at Glimmerglass, send me an email so I can alert the organizers of the probable number of Buccaneers that will be competing.

Life if too short to not experience Glimmerglass at Cooperstown.

Shifty Winds,

Bob DeRoeck