October 2011 Papoose Article

This year we have had more than our fair share of cancellations due to weather conditions—lack of wind and hurricane Irene to name a few. Yet, despite these frustrations, our stalwart sailors have made the best of things and have sailed whenever we have had the chance. We also welcome a new Junior Member, Mitch Romine, son of Kathy and Tom Romine.

On August 7 three Lightnings sailed two races in a 3 to 4 knot wind out or the south-west with Commodore Rich Miner taking two firsts followed by Chuck Chute who came in second in both races followed by Hank Jelinek in third position in the races. August 14 brought rain and insufficient wind to race. On August 21 Rich Miner set a triangle course but the wind was blowing at a steady 10 to 15 knots, gusting to 15 knots and with the threat of thunderstorms, Perry Anderson and Don Okner were forced to head back to the dock before the first horn. Hurricane Irene visited us on August 28 resulting in another cancellation.

The pace picked up on Sept. 4th for the annual Commodore's Cup Regatta. Despite the threatening weather, race officials (John Miller and Ian Oldridge) were able to sneak in the regatta before subtropical storm Lee unleashed it's rains. Seven boats representing five different classes (Lightning, Laser, Snipe, Sunfish, SunCat) of sailboats participated in two Portsmouth handicapped scored races. Winning the regatta by collecting two first place finishes, was Rich Miner with crew Gail Miner and Ken Potts sailing the Miner's Lightning Hawkeye. After a total corrected time tie-breaking rule was applied, Snipe sailor John Marx held onto 2nd place overall, with Hank Jelinek finishing in a close 3rd. Other participating skippers included: Michael Mackey(Laser) 4th, Constance Gill(Snipe) 5th, Christopher Mackey(Sunfish) 6th, and Marc Marussich(SunCat) 7th.

Following the racing, Rich and Gail Miner hosted the Commodore's Cup Party at their lakefront home. The good weather held up, and a large crowd filled the deck at the Miner's swapping sailing stories into the night. As usual, lots of good food appeared, including Constance Gill's beautifully presented salmon dish, Elke Braendle's fast-disappearing pulled pork sandwiches, and the Gomez family's gourmet salads. The younger set got busy decorating party favors to hand out. And amazingly, John Miller had the foresight to choose hurricane lanterns as the sailing trophies - how did he know?

On September 11, the air was light but steady out of the south-east. With American flags flying from backstays, Rich Miner, Don Okner and Chuck Chute competed in two races with Rich and crew Gail Miner snagging two firsts, Don and Ed Snook taking two seconds and Chuck Chute and Dave Newton in third place for both races.

We still have more sailing left and some social events as follows:

· Oct 15^th Finish Line Party (alternate date Oct. 22^nd)

· Dec. 3^rd Awards Brunch, LMCC

Please note that Race Official assignments for October are as follows:

ñ Oct. 2 Chuck Chute/Dave Newton

ñ Oct. 9 Rich Miner/Gail Miners

ñ Oct. 16 Perry Anderson/Margaret Anderson

Visit us on the web at www.lakemohawksailing.org and consider joining us so that you can sail and socialize with us! For more information about membership in the LMYC or, if you want to learn to sail, just call our Vice Commodore, Gail Miner at (973)729-5283, email us at sail@lakemohawksailing.org or write to PO Box 29, Sparta, NJ 07871

Until next month, smooth sailing and God bless America!

Don Okner

Commodores Cup Regatta