For additional information contact:  Lin McCarthy, (757) 850-4225

Southern Bay Racing News You Can Use   #475

SBRNYCU is an independent weekly publication of southern Chesapeake Bay racing happenings. Founded in April, 2000.

Try sailing - it's NOT easy! - Bill Schanen, SAILING Magazine

And, they're OFF!  Wednesday, January 13, at 1300 is the start of the Lauderdale to Key West distance dash!  Good enough reason to extend your lunch hour and send some good luck vibes to our southern Chesapeake Bay sailors.   Before you get too envious, though, yesterday the wind chill in Ft. Lauderdale was  19 degrees!

[Sailing in Lauderdale - KW: Meridian 2 , skipper Sledd Shelhorse and Ron McLean, Jahn Tihansky, Jim Miller (of Doyle Sails, Hampton), Beau Warren, Graham Garrenton, Jimmy Haines, and Ric Bushey;     Mirage, skipper Christian Schaumloffel and Matt Smith, Mark Kawa, Whitney Bates, Jorge Ortiz, and Christoph Leeman; Teamwork, skipper Robin Team and crew.  Mark Wheeler will be navigator on Vela Veloce;  Ken Saylor will be tactician on L'Outrage.]

IT'S ANNA AGAIN!   BORA GULARI AND  ANNA TUNNICLIFFE  ARE US SAILING's 2009 ROLEX YACHTSMAN AND YACHTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR.  Anna is the only woman in the past 27 years to win back-to-back Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year awards.  From US SAILING comes the following announcement:  CST Composites International Moth World Champion Bora Gulari and Semaine Olympique Française Laser Radial Champion Anna Tunnicliffe today were named US SAILING’s 2009 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year.  A shortlist of 10 male and five female sailors – determined from nominations submitted by members of US SAILING – was evaluated by a panel of sailing journalists who selected these two sailors for the noteworthy distinction.     

Yes, there have been a few changes  effective January 1, 2010,  to the current Racing Rules of Sailing.  Get the skinny on the changes, clear up any  "rules fog" and  learn a lot more:

MURPHY RACING SEMINAR 2010 - Rules Around the Race Course   February 20, 2010.   MURPHY 2010 will be an entertaining and informative tour of the course, looking at key rules concepts that come up along the way. Know for sure which rules apply at different spots on the race course.  We'll be talking concepts, not rule numbers!   Saturday, February 20, 2010, 9am-3:30pm. at  Norfolk Yacht & Country Club.    MURPHY 2010 registration fees remain the same as 2009 - $40 per person ($35 for immediate family member of attendee).  Fee includes coffee and pastries at registration, lunch, and break refreshments, and all seminar materials.  MURPHY 2010 is great for skippers AND crew.    To PRE-REGISTER  BY E-MAIL, send your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address to  mcbear@earthlink.net   Put MURPHY RACING-2010 on the subject line.  You can also PRE-REGISTER BY PHONE by calling (757) 850-4225.  Smarter racers race smart, and that's a good thing!

Saylor becomes SpinSheet  Cover Guy.  The January issue of SpinSheet Magazine always provides the up-to-date buzz on Key West Race Week.  This January, one of our southern Bay's sailmakers, Ken Saylor (North Sails -Hampton Loft) graces the cockpit of Bruce Gardner's L'Outrage in a photo taken at KWRW 2009, when L'Outrage won their fleet.  Ken is back on L'Outrage for KWRW 2010 and Lauderdale -Key West.

It's a dirty job, but Pete Hunter's gonna do it! Pete Hunter, skipper/owner of  Wairere, Thompson 30,  is going to New Zealand to do the  Bay Of Islands Race Week on Limit,  Alan Brierly's and Rodney Keenan's Reichel Pugh 65.   And, if that's not "bad"  enough,  Pete will try to get in some fun surfing before he heads back home! 

A little help from your friends. While the Mirage team is racing from Fort Lauderdale to Key West  they will be counting on a special shore support team to make the experience a good one.  Bill, the dad, and Brendan, the son, Drinkwater,  will be towing the Mirage trailer  from Lauderdale to Key West to meet the Mirage-ers when they make the finish.

It's not July yet, but when it is, you'll want to be at SCREWPILE 2010!  And, LG Raley and the Screwpile organizers have already got the block of rooms available for reservation at regatta headquarters, Holiday Inn Select, Solomons Island (1-800-465-4329 or 1-410-326-6311).  Call and just say "I'm with Screwpile!"  Make ressies now - rooms are going already.  (SCREWPILE dates: Jul 18-20, 2010)

A history lesson:  The U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides), as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men. This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea.  She carried no evaporators(i.e., fresh water distillers).   However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log,  "On July 27, 1798, the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston with a full complement of 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of fresh water, 7,400 cannon shot, 11,600 pounds of black powder and 79, 400 gallons of rum."   Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."   Old Ironsides completed her  6 month mission, re-provisioning along the way.  Among the stores replenished were 68,300 gallons of rum (in Jamaica),  64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine (in the Azores),  rum salvaged from five defeated British Men-of-War (we did not salvage anything else), and 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch (captured by a landing party on a raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland).   HOWEVER, when the U.S.S. Constitution  "arrived in Boston on February  20, 1799, she had no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no wine, no whisky and 38,600 gallons of water."   This piece of history was passed along by friends to SBRNYCU reader Bill Johnson, who now makes his home on the Northern Neck, and passes the story along to you.   This undoubtedly explains the origin of post-race parties at point-to-point events.

Racing Paperwork -   Time to Get'er Done for 2010.   First and foremost, if you plan to race PHRF, you need to apply for your 2010 PHRF of the Chesapeake Valid Rating. If you intend to do some one-design sailing, you will need to pay class dues in order to be considered for any of their championships.  IF you want to be scored in the CCV or the CBYRA Annual High Point standings, you must be a member of the respective appropriate organization.   IF you want to receive a copy of the 2010 CCV Racing Guide, you'll need to join CCV ($25 for Club membership).  If you want to be a "good sailing citizen", you'll join or renew your US SAILING membership.  And, don't forget to pay your yacht club or sailing association dues.  These are once-a -year costs that insure you'll have a great season in 2010.  Take the rest of your sailing money to your sailmaker - he'll make good use of it for you!!!   While you are writing these checks, picture yourself sailing back to the dock after the best performance in the history of racing and hurrying to the post-race party to accept yet another trophy!   It's all good!

MURPHY'S LAW: Yrs Truly, the Racing Beagle,  is not fond of the low temperatures we've been experiencing in the southern Bay.  In fact , it has been so cold  I don't dare wag my tail for fear it may snap off like a breaking icicle. Maybe those groundhogs have it right after all - deep cover 'til SPRING!

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