Have Fun Racing (was CAL T/2 comparison) [John]

John Raxter opined: "PHRF racing is about having fun. Some racers forget this aspect of the events. Take whatever rating you can get, and when you get rolled on the downwind leg by the J24, have your crew offer them a toast, and show them how much more fun you are having. Have fun! You will enjoy the racing more, your crew will be more likely to return, and as your experience and crew improve you will sail closer to your rating." I couldn't agree more. One year while sailing in the Good Old Boat Regatta (before we enjoyed your company aboard Pentaquod, John), my wife Bebe and I were sailing double-handed. On the final downwind leg, we came up on a gaggle of handicap class boats. (We were in the Cal 29 class, and our position in the fleet was well established at that point.) One of the boats was a beautiful big old wooden yawl, with two men standing in the cockpit, giving orders to a bunch of young women at a machine gun pace. One of them was sitting on the leeward rail, and in a voice close to tears, looked back to the cockpit and exclaimed "I don't understand what you're saying!" Meanwhile, I was perched on the coaming of the cockpit, leaning back against the lifelines, jib sheet in one hand and the tiller extension in the other. And Bebe was lying down on the cockpit cushions, head propped up by the stern, reading Newsweek. At the post-race party, a woman sought us out; she and her husband owned the beautiful yawl that we had passed. She remarked on our relaxed attitude about racing. "Are you allowed to do that?" she asked? I think the key to having fun while racing is to have someone model the behavior as an example for the others. If the A-types do all the winning, then it can poison the experience for everyone. But if someone who is genuinely relaxed and polite and generous is successful in the competition, it can help set the tone for the rest of the fleet. Alfred Poor 1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod"

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Alfred Poor" <apoor@...> wrote: > > John Raxter opined: > > > > "PHRF racing is about having fun. Some racers forget this aspect of the > > events. Take whatever rating you can get, and when you get rolled on the > > downwind leg by the J24, have your crew offer them a toast, and show them > > how much more fun you are having. Have fun! You will enjoy the racing more, > > your crew will be more likely to return, and as your experience and crew > > improve you will sail closer to your rating." > > I'll second Alfred's comment. I did a lot of local racing plus some fairly high level racing for the time. One year, we were doing the Whitney Series race around Santa Barbara Island; it might have even been the first leg of the Tri-Island race, which goes around Santa Barbara and San Clemente Island. We had a young guy with us who worked for one of the sail makers. We got up close to the island about midnight and go too close. We were in kelp and we could see running lights outside passing us. He completely freaked out. That was it for him. The race was over. Anyway, we got out of it and the only other memory of that race I have is getting seasick trying to change a bow running light bulb in very light air with leftover chop from the day's sea breeze. I had to go lay down for a half hour while my vestibular apparatus settled down. A few hours later, we were back in the race and the whole thing was as much fun as any overnight race is. The pleasure of being out there at night and seeing the dawn come up is at lest half of it. Winning is a bonus, not the reason for doing it. When I was still racing my 29 footer, our big competitor was a funny guy who used to get really excited and had trouble keeping crew. He is Hungarian, having escaped the revolt in 1956 and made his way to California. Maybe his English would fail him at times. Anyway, one day he kicked one of his crew to get his attention. The guy complained and Imre apologized telling the crewman that he'd forgotten his name for a moment. Keeping calm is more fun plus it wins races. I saw Imre a few months ago. He and his wife now have a summer place on a lake in Hungary where they do some sailing. The kicking episode was over 30 years ago and I didn't remind him of it. It was pretty funny at the time, though. I don't think I'd enjoy the present era of professional crew and rich owners spending everybody else out of competition. Mike Jr does lots of racing in those events and it's more fun on other people's boats in those circumstances. I'm now a cruiser although I'd like to do a few casual races. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96

Hi, Mike. "The pleasure of being out there at night..." Hear! Here! Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of mtkennedy1 Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 11:16 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Have Fun Racing (was CAL T/2 comparison) [John] --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Alfred Poor" <apoor@...> wrote: > > John Raxter opined: > > > > "PHRF racing is about having fun. Some racers forget this aspect of > the > > events. Take whatever rating you can get, and when you get rolled on > the > > downwind leg by the J24, have your crew offer them a toast, and show them > > how much more fun you are having. Have fun! You will enjoy the racing more, > > your crew will be more likely to return, and as your experience and > crew > > improve you will sail closer to your rating." > > I'll second Alfred's comment. I did a lot of local racing plus some fairly high level racing for the time. One year, we were doing the Whitney Series race around Santa Barbara Island; it might have even been the first leg of the Tri-Island race, which goes around Santa Barbara and San Clemente Island. We had a young guy with us who worked for one of the sail makers. We got up close to the island about midnight and go too close. We were in kelp and we could see running lights outside passing us. He completely freaked out. That was it for him. The race was over. Anyway, we got out of it and the only other memory of that race I have is getting seasick trying to change a bow running light bulb in very light air with leftover chop from the day's sea breeze. I had to go lay down for a half hour while my vestibular apparatus settled down. A few hours later, we were back in the race and the whole thing was as much fun as any overnight race is. The pleasure of being out there at night and seeing the dawn come up is at lest half of it. Winning is a bonus, not the reason for doing it. When I was still racing my 29 footer, our big competitor was a funny guy who used to get really excited and had trouble keeping crew. He is Hungarian, having escaped the revolt in 1956 and made his way to California. Maybe his English would fail him at times. Anyway, one day he kicked one of his crew to get his attention. The guy complained and Imre apologized telling the crewman that he'd forgotten his name for a moment. Keeping calm is more fun plus it wins races. I saw Imre a few months ago. He and his wife now have a summer place on a lake in Hungary where they do some sailing. The kicking episode was over 30 years ago and I didn't remind him of it. It was pretty funny at the time, though. I don't think I'd enjoy the present era of professional crew and rich owners spending everybody else out of competition. Mike Jr does lots of racing in those events and it's more fun on other people's boats in those circumstances. I'm now a cruiser although I'd like to do a few casual races. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96 Yahoo! Groups Links

mtkennedy1 wrote: > > > > I don't think I'd enjoy the present era of professional crew and rich > owners spending everybody else out of competition. Mike Jr does lots > of racing in those events and it's more fun on other people's boats in > those circumstances. I'm now a cruiser although I'd like to do a few > casual races. > My academic training was in history and, although I don't practice it professionally, I do like to see things in the perspective of time. We had a time of unrestrained economic activity in the late 19th century that later become known as the "Gilded Age" for its economic excesses. The general structure of society endured into the early 20th century. That gave us the huge sailing yachts with paid captains and crews that we see in old photos, and it gave sailing an aristocratic image, with white ducks and blue blazers and yachting caps and a general air of exclusivity. Then came the Depression and its end with WW II. We emerged as a much more democratic nation, economically as well as politically. Everybody could aspire to a boat--maybe just a little outboard runabout or a plywood sloop, but it was no longer an aristocratic activity. When I was a kid, there were two big racing fleets in town--a Lightning fleet and a 110 fleet.. Fiberglass further democratized sailing, making good boats available to the middle classes. We're entering Gilded Age II, it seems like. The economic changes are not favorable to the middle class, which looks like it's evaporating. The yachting magazines all focus on boats over 40 feet. The concept of cruising in a 25-footer is viewed as faintly humorous. I don't think these are favorable trends for anybody (except the builder of >40' boats). I'd rather live in an environment in which a bunch of folks I know have boats than one in which we work as paid crew for a Vanderbilt or, in modern parlance, a Gates or a Disney. Chris Campbell