A week from today, October 10th, is COLUMBUS DAY - a holiday in recognition of our patron saint of distance racing!

CCV FALL SERIES, RACE #3 -  The wind numbers stayed in the high teens most of the day, but the temperature numbers went the other way - 54 degrees at starting time.  As racers peeled off their wet foulies at the post-race party,  there was talk of petitioning for double credit as an early "frostbite" race. Twenty-seven (27) racers blasted through the steady westerly to cover the 16 mile (PHRF A and PHRF B) and the 11 mile (PHRF C and PHRF Non-Spin) courses in Hampton Roads harbor.  This is the middle distance race of the 5 race CCV Fall Series.  RESULTS:  PHRF A (7 boats): 1.Mirage, Christian Schaumloffel;  2.Sea Star, Dave Eberwine; 3.Flying Colors, Richard Payne.  PHRF B (9 boats): 1.Cool Change, Rusty Burshell; 2.Bad Habit, Bob Archer;  3.Callinectes, Ben Cuker.  PHRF C (8 boats): 1.Not So Blue, Pete Wallio; 2.Quicky, Mike Veraldi; 3.The Hunter, Justin Morris.  PHRF NonSpin (3 boats): 1.Virginia H, Andy Armstrong; 2.Incentive, Louis Lewis.  Principal Race Officer - John McCarthy        The final day of this series, CCV Fall Series, Races #4 and #5, will be on Sunday, October 16.  For info and entry contact John McCarthy at (757) 850-4225

NEPTUNE'S ATLANTIC RACE - For this annual pursuit race, organized by Broad Bay Sailing Association as part of the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival, Mother Nature brought partly sunny and 15-20 from the NW. It was the right breeze for one of the fastest Neptune races in a while.  The first boat to cross the line was TURBO'S TUB (skipper: M.D. Riley) at 12:10pm.  The last boat finished at 12:58pm.  RESULTS: PHRF Spinnaker combined (5 boats): 1.Kingfisher, Dixon Wilde; 2.Shock Full of Nuts, Larry Boone and Butch Patterson; 3.Scoundrel, Cliff Porter.  PHRF Non-Spin (5 boats): 1.Turbo's Tub, MD Riley; 2.Black Widow, Leo Wardrup; 3.Surely Boo, Dave Bettis.  Cruising Fleet (8 boats): 1. Dreamtime, Jim Borberg; 2.Coeur d'Alene, Hank Giffin; 3.Tanqueray, Haines and France.   Principal Race Officer - Scott Almond. 

HOSPICE TURKEY SHOOT REGATTA - Opens Friday evening (October 7) and goes through Sunday (October 9).  Monday, October 10 is Columbus Day HOLIDAY - plenty of time to get the boat home and/or catch the Sailboat Show in Annapolis. The 2012 Hospice Regattas National Championship  will be April 20-22 in St. Petersburg FL.  St Petersburg Yacht Club is running this event for the next 3 years, in Sonars ( as did the Rochester YC 2009-2011).  Racers competing in the Lightning Fleet (PHRF racing) Turkey Shoot Regatta this coming weekend at Yankee Point will be competing for a berth in the National Championship.  St Petersburg in April sounds pretty good!    For slightly more casual racers (racing cruisers) the regatta offers the  Flying Cloud Fleet.  There are awards galore and special recognitions, e.g. the most Beautiful Boat Award (voted on by race spectators) and the Woobly Compass Award (for the best overall among the wooden boats).  Saturday's race is around drop marks and Sunday's race is a pursuit course. Courses will be  announced each day at the morning Skippers Meeting.  HOSPICE REGATTA folks say, "WE CANNOT DIRECT THE WIND, BUT WE CAN ADJUST THE SAILS"  To enter, please click on www.turkeyshootregatta.org , print down the entry form and send it with your entry fee to the address on the form.  For logistics questions and general details please contact 2011 Event Chairman, Karen Knull at karen@yankeepointmarina.com ;  for questions regarding the racing, please contact 2011 Principal Race Officer, John McCarthy at (757) 850-4225.  Please help "adjust the sails" - enter today!

BARNEY HARRIS (skipper) and DAVID BYRON (crew) are the winners of the ALBACORE INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA sailed weekend before this past at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.  Racing took place on Lake Ontario and Barney and David won by 11 points over the second place boat in the fleet of 54 Albacores.   Barney hails from the northern part of the Bay (PRYC).  Barney races on our part of the Bay frequently and Southern Bay racers will remember him as winner of the 2011 Governor's Cup (hosted by Ware River Yacht Club) in early August. 

THE KEEPER of THIMBLE SHOAL LIGHTHOUSE, Pete Jurewicz, sends the following IMPORTANT MESSAGE  to  ". . .inform you of the safety hazard at the Thimble Shoal Lighthouse.  Hurricane Irene damaged the deck and canopy supports and gutters on the North-East side.   I have installed guy wires to suspend and keep the gutter intact. However, it would not take much for a boat running its rigging down the side to get hung and potentially pull several thousand pounds of cast iron down onto the boat."   Racers doing races near the lighthouse need to keep well clear.  

Southern Bay Expatriate Debbie Koeliker Bruesewitz (former commodore of BBSA) and her husband Scott  in November will be off to the NOOD Championship Regatta in the British Virgin Islands. They sail a Mt Gay 30, Redrum, and won PHRF 3 and overall in the Chicago NOODS.  Scott's quote at the regatta award ceremony is a memorable one:  "No way! No way!" "You've got to be kidding me!"  he shouted as he took  the podium to accept the award for first-place overall at the 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD.

Some of the best racers in the word come from the southern Chesapeake Bay - let's keep 'em coming.  If you know a young one with the passion and determination to be among the best, share this with him or her:   US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Development Program has added an additional Laser and Laser Radial Open Clinic to the schedule of upcoming opportunities for young sailors aspiring to be the best in the U.S. The clinic will be hosted on November 12-13, in Houston, Texas, and run by US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics coaches Luther Carpenter and Mike Kalin. Interested sailors should register online by November 4 and submit their four best sailing results from 2010-2011. Scroll down to the clinic and click on the two links: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Events/Training.htm    http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Selection/2012_US_Sailing_Development_Team.htm

RESCUE 21  Here's a helpful video on understanding  DSC Radios and MMSI (detailed info was provided in SBRNYCU, Issue 560, September 26, 2011)   For the video about why you should have a DSC VHF Radio, click on   http://www.vimeo.com/6539272  

FLYING SCOT FLEET 185  ANNUAL  INVITATIONAL at RAPPAHANNOCK  RIVER  YACHT CLUB, October 22nd.   This is a one day event open to Flying Scots.  Entries are due no later than Wednesday, October 19th.  Check-in and Launch is from 0900-1000, then racing, then lunch on the water, then racing, then a casual dinner at  1730 (5:30 pm).  For details and to enter, please contact Fleet Captain Burke Johnson at (757) 812-9635.  Fall on the Rapp River racing your Scot - it don't get no better. 

COMING UP THIS WEEK AND WEEKEND (Oct 8-9):

***CCV Octoberfest Wednesday Evenings Racing Series opens this Wednesday, Oct 5 - Christian Schaumloffel (757) 496-3590.

***Deadline for room ressies at the Wyndham Oceanfront Hotel for the CCV annual party is Thursday, Oct 6 - (800-365-3032)

***Annapolis Sailboat Show opens Thursday, Oct 6 (runs through Monday, Oct 10)

***TURKEY SHOOT HOSPICE REGATTA - Welcome and check-in Fri Oct 7, racing Sat-Sun, Oct 8-9.

On Saturday, fifteen boats raced at the FBYC Indian Summer and 5^th Annual Sail Against SIDS regatta. The Braun family, sponsors of  Sail Against Sids, provided racers with an Oktoberfest feast complete with kegs donated by Legend Brewery. The proceeds from the regatta benefit the research and prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) through the Maxwell Raymond Braun Foundation.  RESULTS: Flying Scot (8 boats): 1 John Aras, 2 Len Guenther, 3 Rob Whittemore.  Front Runner (7 boats): 1 Parker Garrett, 2 Matt Braun, 3 Mark Stephens

Planning on a "Beach Weekend" at this year's CCV Awards Party and Year End Bash on November 5th?  The annual gala will be at the Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel.  So, to take advantage of the special $99 room rate, you must make your room ressies by THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6th - call 1-800-365-3032 and mention "CCV End of Year Party".   

MURPHY'S LAW:  Yrs Truly, the Racing Beagle, has noted reports  that  British Olympic sailors have pleaded with London 2012 Olympics organizers to forsake spectator viewing positions for decent sailing courses at the Games venue in Weymouth and Portland. [see Scuttlebutt, September 30, 2011)  The Murphster sympathizes with the Brits' viewpoint.  Many a regatta this beagle has been dogged by inconsiderate spectators and pushy press.  Consequently, complaints have been registered.  Without exception, the complaints have had an effect - haven't seen the Queen Mary or  ESPN blimp anywhere on the southern Bay lately, have ya?  Will I should say!   /S/  Murphy the Racing Beagle, the sailing spirit in us all.