JY15 Fleet 38 @ The Snapper Inn

If you missed yesterday, you missed one of the best sailing days of the Winter. It was 42 degrees with a puffy 8 to 12 knot northerly. The breeze was blowing from Snapper across the river at an angle that gave us a reasonable length beat. Although the wind was shifty, the average direction stayed pretty much the same. The weather mark was moved one to the left but not too far. Because of the direction, there were hardly any waves so although you could go fast, there was very little splashing. The key to success for the day seemed to be hitting the new puffs coming in from the left (except for the righty that Greg and John kept getting near the weather mark) and staying out of the holes. You could be leading a race and sail into a hole and lose 5 boats. We only had 10 boats racing , I think because of the predicted big breeze, but the sailing was great. Kevin and Lindsay Brink are back and took fourth for the day. Chris Morretti and Brendan King sailing Jimi Grover's boat (Colleen had her baby girl, Marley this week) came in third, Greg and John came in second and Marybeth Belford and I won the day. We only have 2 days left so if you're not going to sail, now is the time to get your boat. We sail again April 6th.

Last Sunday we had 10 boats racing on a day that was tough on the racers and tougher on the race committee. Any time Larry and Jim would get a race course reset the wind would go 20 degrees one way or another. The first race got off pretty well but after that it was the kind of day that the gybe mark becomes the weather mark and then 2 minutes after the start, that leg is a reach. Dave Becker and I both commented that we were on the wrong side of, pretty much every shift. By the fifth race, Larry moved us down the river as the wind had gone southwest and we got off some good races in a puffy,shifty 5 to 12 knots. Jimi Grover and Jon Hoyler dominated the day with a bunch of firsts. Keith Hennesey and Kevin McKeon were second and Lee Montes and Steve Kelley were third. Rich Rubell and Joe Scarpulo from Centerport YC joined us and had a great time but were not crazy about the unsteady breeze. They'll be back. We sail again Sunday March 9th. Be there.

Although it looked like it might be a bit too windy to sail, we waited a half hour, then sailed, even though nothing had changed.11 teams showed up to sail but only 9 went out. It really was windy. The breeze was mostly upper teens with some big puffs thrown in. There was always a bit of concern every time we were approaching the jibe mark as the big breeze seemed to always hit at that moment. Larry and Rob Buetti ran the races and John Schwarting and Tom Davison saved lives and handed out beer. A couple of boats went over but everyone kept sailing. We did six races of which 5 were triangles with windward finishes and one was an Olympic. Lee Oldak came from Sag Harbor and sailed in Steve Miranda's boat. Young David Hyer sailed with Rick Latorre. Greg Schneller sailed with me. Bill Mascaro sailed with Kevin Brink. It seemed like nobody was with their regular crews. Larry commented that Erin got the best starts but she needs new sails. Afterwards the Snapper Inn was crowded, but if you made your way to the chowder, it was delicious. Prizes were hand made pottery chowder bowls. The winners for the day were David Hyer and Rick LaTorre, followed by me and Greg and third place went to Peter Judge and Harry Manko. A good time was truly had by all. We'll look forward to next year. Meantime, back to out regular schedule, we sail next Sunday. Thank you Larry, Rob, John and Tom. Without volunteers we can't do any of this. And thanks to Snapper and congratulations on their prize winning bisque.

Yesterday was one of the nicest days of sailing so far this winter. When I arrived there was an inch of ice all along the Snapper Inn side. Backing the Aquasport out was tedious as the pointy end of the boat goes through ice much better than the square end. Once I got it backed out the rest was easy. The JY's broke through the ice pretty easily and, once in the middle of the river there was plenty of open water. The weather was perfect. While it was mid thirties, there was bright sunshine and low humidity and 8 to 12 knots of breeze, which made sailing conditions perfect. We only had 9 boats racing. I don't know where everyone was. The wind was blowing across the river so the weather mark and the finish were at Snapper Inn. We did mostly Olympic courses in a breeze that stayed from the Northeast but had constant 15 degree oscillations. The key to success was staying in clear air and picking up the shifts. The top boats were Dave Becker and Rob Buetti with 21 points, Kevin Morgan and Felicity Ryan with 16 points and Jim Ryan and Conrad Volle with 14 points. By the way, my hiking straps let go in the last race, and yes, the water is cold. Next Saturday at 11 am we're racing the Chowder Bowl Regatta in conjunction with Snapper Inn's LI Chowder Cookoff. We're starting at 11 so there will still be some chowder for us when we get off the water at 1pm..

fighting hard on the starboard layline.

Major chaos! The fleet's nastiest mark rounding of the year.

Surfing! Jamie and Bartow had their best day of the year in incredible conditions.

Wow, what a day.. Big thanks to Robert Buetti for the dockside photography. Each of these pictures help to define the type of day that we had. In picture 1, you can see how tight the sailing was. Leg muscles were burning as positioning was crucial to get to the top mark. The middle picture speaks for itself. You really had to be able to make quick decisions as both sides converged at the weather mark. The last picture shows how fast the sailing was with spray flying up at your face, but you don't care because there's nothing you'd rather be doing at that moment. Notice the boat flipped over on the left. Several people went swimming!

Grover/King tied Becker/Buetti with 7 points, but Jimi and Brendan won 2 races, and thus won the tie breaker. Rob and Dave were real tough to hang with upwind, as their boat speed and flat sailing was dominant. Jim and Conrad won a race and came in 3rd. Dave and Chris Hulse had their best outing of the season coming in 4th. Keith Hennessey and Kevin McKeon won a race and were 5th. Jamie Hoyler and John Bartow had two 3rds and were looking like a lock for top 5 until they flipped over and had to skip the last race. We sail again in 2 weeks.

Yesterday was another great day of sailing considering more very light conditions. Larry and Jim ran seven races in 40 degree temperatures. The wind shifted east midway through the day and delivered some funky shifts to make the sailing interesting. Big gains were made by boats all over the race course. Fourteen boats competed. Jim Ryan teamed up with Dan Hesse to take first place. They won 3 of the races. Jimi Grover and Brendan King were 2nd with 18 points. In 3rd, were Peter Judge and Conrad Vollie with 19 points. Greg Schneller and John Schroeder were 4th with 21 points. The racing was tight. Good sailing to young Dave Johnson who sailed with Gerry Hesse, taking a 2nd during one race, and 7th overall. It was great to have Chris Moretti and Tim Gordon sailing for the first time this season.

This past Sunday, fifteen boats competed in what we hope will be the lightest conditions of the year. There were only three races completed with no protests filed. Keith Hennessey and Kevin McKeon had a dominant day winning two of the races. They were able to get off the line successfully and find the right side of the course. Greg Schneller was 2nd overall. Jimi Grover and Brendan King were 3rd. We sail again next week.

Sunday was clear, bright, warm and breezy. What a perfect day for late November. We had 19 boats racing (so Barry and I didn't have to jump in) and we got in 7 races. Barry Pittman is back and Dave Betts sailed with his son Elliot. The start of the day was a bit tough as a Northerly and Southerly were battling it out and meeting in front of Snapper. We moved down river for the first race but when the Southerly took over we went back to sailing in front of The Inn. The last 4 races were 5 leg olympic courses which made the racing much more fun than the standard windward leewards. Erich Hesse was up here for Thanksgiving with his college crew and they cleaned up with 4 firsts, 2 seconds, and a third. The other firsts went to Peter Judge, Lee Montes and Keith Hennessey. Keith and Kevin McKeon were second for the day followed by me and Conrad in third and Ralph Coffill and Christina Puglia were 4th. There wasn't a favored side of the course for the day. The key was to work the huge windshifts and hike hard on the big puffs. The wind changed so constantly that you had to constantly move and tack much more often than you normally would. I like a day when you're exhausted when you're done. It was great !!

"The weather was as predicted with temps in the mid 40s and a Northeast breeze of 7 to 14 miles per hour. With 18 boats racing and the wind constantly shifting 15 or more degrees, I don't know whether the day was more challenging for the sailors or the race committee. Places changed constantly due to the shifty breeze and at the end of the day the first 4 boats were separated by only 3 points. In the end Jimi and Brendan had 13 points, Ralph and Felicity had 15, and Peter and Lee and Conrad and I had 16. Keith Hennesey sailed his brand new boat, Peter Judge finally showed up, Harry Mamko is finally racing, and with 18 boats racing, there were still 10 boats on the lawn. Next Sunday will be huge! Please note that as the weather gets colder its more important to keep the bow of your stored boat up. The boat is very slow with 100 pounds of ice in the hull. Use a milk crate to elevate the bow as a bucket will ruin the grass underneath it. We did sail 6 races, we were off the water by 3 and had races scored and results read by 4. We still could use a couple of volunteers. A race scorer would be great. If we had a dedicated scorer we could run the results in immediately after the last race so the scoring would be done by the time the crowd hits the bar. Get others involved. They don't know what they're missing."

Day # 2 of our season was back to reality for the JY Fleet 38. Conditions were back to normal which means shifty and light. Wind was NorthWest 5 - 10 knots. 17 boats competed. Larry Cullen, Brian Johnson, and Jim Johnson ran 6 races. All races were Windward Leeward once or twice around. Mike and Sandy volunteered to adjust marks and drive the safety boat. Mike Collins (home for the weekend from Old Dominion) and Erin Collins dominated with 4 bullets. In 2nd was Greg Schneller and John Schroeder. Amazing how fast these guys can be in the light air. Jimi Grover and Brendan King were 3rd, and Dave Becker and Rob Buetti were 4th. The 3rd race was a crew race won by Erin, and followed by Steve Kelley in 2nd, and Laura Latore in 3rd. We have next week off and sail again on November 18th.

Afterward, Jim Ryan presented the Long Island Championship Trophy to Mr. Remmer to display in the Snapper Inn. Fleet 38 won last year's event as a team by beating the Sag Harbor and Centerport Fleets.

Yesterday commenced our new frostbiting season with epic conditions. The wind was 15 - 20 from the North with gusts to 25 knots. Jim Johnson and Larry Cullen were back in action setting solid (but tough) courses for the fleet. They set up furthur down the river, closer to the Riverview Restaurant, giving us nice long beats up to the Snapper Inn. We began the day with 12 boats, but several retreated after breakdowns, and capsizes. Six races were ran, including two Olympic courses to finish off the day. The Olympic course (a.k.a course "5") consists of a triangle and a windward leeward with a windward finish. These courses are long, and hurt...THANKS RC! After six races and one throwout, Jimi Grover and Brendan King had just 6 points. Dave Becker won a 2nd place tie over Ralph Cofill. Greg Schneller and John Schroeder were 4th with 16 points, and Jim Ryan and Conrad Vollie were 5th with 17 points including some nice wipeouts! For full results, click on the link above. We sail again next Sunday.

Please email me to correct and add names that are missing. j.grover@wi.k12.ny.us

Support the Snapper Inn by coming in after sailing to listen to some live music, hear the results, and enjoy the bar scene.

Racing is all Sundays always at noon.

Oct 28
Nov 4, 18, 25
Dec 9, 16, 30
Jan 13, 27
Feb 10, 24
Mar 9, 16
Apr 6, 13

Yesterday in Centerport, three fleets sailed for the first every Long Island Fleet Championship. Sag Harbor were represented by two boats, Centerport had 8 boats, and Snapper Inn also had 8 boats. The wind was very light, and we had some current as well. Peter Judge sailed with a "tag-team" of Stephen Judge and Greg Baum. These guys were on fire and took first overall. Brian Simkins from Centerport took 2nd. The Prieto brothers took 3rd. Colleen and Jimi took 4th. Snapper Inn had 6 of the top 10 places. We showed that our fleet is for real. Congratulations to everyone who helped the team win. Next year we will host the event. The perpetual trophy will be kept at the Snapper Inn until then.

The Snapper Team: Billy Mascaro, Kevin Anderson, Lee Montes, James Prieto, George Prieto, Greg Baum, Peter Judge, Jim Ryan, Stephen Judge, Kevin Brink, Lindsay Brink, Colleen Kelley, Jimi Grover, Conrad Vollie, Tom Harris, Tommy Desmond