This coming Sunday, November 11^th, is VETERANS DAY - time to remember and honor all of ours!

At the FBYC Laser Frostbite Regatta yesterday 9 brave Laser racers struck out in the cold and damp.  They got in 5 races before they came to their senses.  Jon Deutsch, from host club FBYC, won the day with a string of  2-5-1-1-1, followed by  Hampton Roads sailors Neil Ford (HYC) ( 1-3-3-3-2), and Robert Suhay (4-2-2-2-3), who were  2^nd and 3^rd overall respectively.  Principal Race Officer Lud Kimbrough and his committee tussled with shifty, fluky North and West winds to make it happen.

At the J/70 Fall Brawl hosted this past weekend at Eastport Yacht Club (Annapolis), of the 21 boats racing,  southern Bay racers Ron Thompson (#68) finished 5^th overall and Travis Weisleder (Lucky Dog) finished 7^th.   Crew Len Guenther said, “We had 25+ kts on Saturday and were planing our butts off. I think every boat out there broached at least once.”  According to participants this was the first ever J/70 one design regatta.

LAST REMINDER: CCV Awards Party and Year End Bash - Saturday, November 10, 2012, 7pm at Hampton Yacht Club (4707 Victoria Boulevard Hampton, VA 23669). Award Presentations .Cocktails. Heavy hors d’oeuvres. Free Wine and Keg Beer (while supplies last). Cash Bar. Music and Dancing ‘til midnight. $50 per person at the door. To make ressies or for tickets, please contact Steve Taylor at (757) 722-7861

The first FROSTBITE Race is in the books after an afternoon of the grays and the drizzlies.  Frostbiters took to the Hampton Roads course determined to defy what looked like the classic harbinger of winter.  The Frostbite series runs for 5 Sundays, one race each day around fixed marks in the harbor.  Race 1 was lost to Hurricane Sandy. Yesterday a slight breeze allowed for a shortened Race 2, but a race nonetheless.  RESULTS:PHRF A (6 boats): 1.Phil Briggs, Feather; 2.Gene Thayer, Pterodactyl; 3.Bob Mosby, Cyrano.   PHRF B (8 boats): 1.Ben Cuker, Callinectes; 2.Bob Archer, Bad Habit; 3.Rusty Burshell, Cool Change.    PHRF C (3 boats): 1.Alan Bomar, Roundabout; 2.Mike Tate, Aquarius.   Bob Nunn,One O Five, was the only PHRF Non-Spin boat on the course.  Principal Race Officer-Brian Deibler.  Race 3 will be Sunday, November 11, VETERANS DAY. First signal is at 1200. Valid current PHRF certificate is required, Equip Cat 5P is allowed. PHRF crew limitations do not apply – bring your friends!  For info and to enter please contact Brian Deibler, 757-715-8977 or 757-224-4272.

CNU sailors race and roast oysters.  Undergrad and alumni Christopher Newport University sailors got together over the weekend and did some fun racing and serious eating.  Six bushels of oysters were reduced to “reef and/or driveway materials” after the regatta.   As for the racing, current team members Ben Buhl and Amy Craven finished first, current team member Oliver Ross and Julia Davis were second, and  sailing husband and wife alumni Keith and Susan Goodwin took third.  This is an annual fun fund raising event for the CNU Sailing Team.

Most Southern Bay Racers Live in Boater Friendly Places.  Thanks are due all the municipalities, large and small, who recognize how important recreational boating, including sailboat racing, is to us.  For example, the City of Hampton issued numerous high water advisories on Hurricane Sandy, including flood probability info on areas around marinas, boat ramps, harbors, etc. Then, they went a final step further and early Tuesday morning included in their advisory the following: “Boat owners are reminded that Tuesday’s low tide (4:25 p.m.) will be especially low due to Sandy’s trailing winds blowing towards the east. Boaters should check their lines to make sure they have enough slack to account for these abnormally low tides….”   

Hampton 505 Fleet 8 has a great training day Saturday – perfect 505 conditions - WINDY.   Fourteen (14) 505 teams were out to play. On Sunday and Katherine and Steve Long won the Fleet 8 Championship race for the coveted Hank Plank (named for Henry “Hank” Amthor). The weekend was hosted by Hampton Yacht Club.

The Potomac River Yacht Racing  2012 (see last week SBRNYCU issue #614) Non-Spinnaker Fleet Winner, Woody Morris (Northern Neck SA) sails the same type boat, a Hunter 26.5, as his brother, southern Bay racer Justin Morris.  The Morris bros’ boats, Justin’s The Hunter, and Woody’s What Boat, are very successful on their respective circuits.

The Southern Chesapeake Bay was well represented at the 4th SNAME Cup held in Newport RI on 10-27-12,  by the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. While they did not win, Alan Bomar (Williamsburg), Gary Van Tassel (Yorktown) and expatriate Rick Spaulding made up 3 of the 7 J/22s. The post race party was held with Halsey Herresholff (Capt. Nate’s grandson) at the Herresholff Marine Manufacturing Museum in Bristol RI. All three of our guys are planning to race in the 5th SNAME regatta in Bellevue WA in 2013. 

During Hurricane Sandy our US Coast Guard saved 14 souls from the HMS Bounty  [replica tall ship] as she foundered off Cape Hatteras in 18 foot storm seas.  One other crew member was recovered, but could not be revived.  The captain of the Bounty, Capt Robin Walbridge, was not recovered.

Willoughby Hot Buttered Rum Race held this past Saturday under cold and windy conditions: Winner of the Gold Fleet (5-Boats) - David Bettis (Surely Boo); Winner of the Silver Fleet (4-Boats) - Richard Basye (Miss B Haven)    Race Committee - Rick Perkins (Levante) and crew

MURPHY'S LAW: Yrs Truly, the Racing Beagle, is just wondering - if it’s so cold a dog has goose pimples, what does that leave the goose?  Does the goose have to go cold turkey?  Ummmmmm.  /S/  Murphy the Racing Beagle, the sailing spirit in us all.

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SOUTHERN BAY RACING NEWS YOU CAN USE,  Lin McCarthy, Editor