All who sailed winners

By Joe Berkeley

Sunday featured some authentic, old-school frostbiting. The wind was from the North. The precipitation included snow, hail, and freezing rain. Moose, Kelly and Christine Shope ran six beautiful races.

Low point for the day was Steve Kirkpatrick, but everyone who battled the elements emerged a winner. It would have been easy to stay home and watch the idiot box. But Newport beckoned and 20 Laser sailors answered the call.

After sailing, Moose recalled a memory from back in the day when he was racing Lasers on a particularly cold day in the fleet. He lost his hat before the first race. By the end of the day, all of his hair had frozen into a helmet. 

If had been a bit windier or a bit colder, we may not have gotten a day off. But we did and it was singularly satisfying to compete with good friends in bad weather.

Winning the day by four points, Steve Kirkpatrick managed to stay warm and stay in the breeze. He’ll be out of town next weekend visiting with the kids who are loving the west coast. Seems like yesterday Steve was competing in Fleet 413 with John Kirkpatrick. 

In second overall, Dan Neri who consistently chose the correct path downwind. It was a bit tricky. Perhaps we can hear some Words of Wisdom from Dan who has good insight on boat prep, clothing, and a great many topics. Dan is an excellent writer and his stories always cut through the static.

One point behind Dan, Adrian van der Wal in third overall who gets the prize this week for most efficient use of time. At 10:00 am he was still in his dorm at Northeastern. He pulled the trigger, made it to Jamestown to pick up his kit, and just made the first race. 

After a sabbatical, Professor Bear is back. The man who has been known to disrespect warm fall days for “not being true frostbiting” was in his dry suit and in his element. Professor Bear won a race and we hope that fine feeling will keep him coming back for more.

Just behind Professor Bear, in fifth on the tiebreaker, Ted Hood, who at times really made the right side of the course work upwind.

Sail Newport’s President Will Donaldson took sixth for the day. I was seventh. Chris Bollengier, eight.

Former Sail Newport President Stu Streuli finished the day in ninth. He had an EWE sticker on the transom of his Laser in honor of the Geoff Ewenson Fund. You can learn more about the good cause at ewespirit.org

Atle Lohrmann rounded out the top ten. At Fleet News World Headquarters, we try to get the story straight. Last week, there were two errors. Christine Shope was referred to as Christine Neville. Former world champion Peter Shope lodged a protest and the editor of Fleet News has done a penalty turn. 

Also, Scott Vogel’s America’s Cup salary was reported as $50 per week. Incorrect. Vogel was paid the handsome sum of $20 per week. In any event, the salary was promptly converted into liquid refreshment as soon as possible.

All sailors wish to express profound gratitude to Moose, Kelly, and Christine. RC yesterday was cold and the fleet enjoyed all six races. Speaking of gratitude, thanks to Christine for making the scores perfect and Jack McVicker for organizing pies from Aquidneck Pizza after sailing. Delicious. Mick and his crew really makes the fleet feel welcome at the IYAC and it is the greatest clubhouse in the history of sport. 

Fleet co-captain’s Jack McVicker and Scott Pakenham encourage you to pay your dues if you haven’t, sign up for RC, and come sailing. 

Joe Berkeley writes fleet news to make a difference. He writes, shoots, directs, and edits for corporate clients to make a living. His work is at joeberkeley.com