January 2018
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The HIGHLANDER Volume LXIV, No. 1, January 2018 In This Issue: Bluegrass Clam Digger Pipers The Shape of Speed Sunrise at Lake Norman !1 The HIGHLANDER ------ Official publication of The Highlander Class President’s Perspective - --- - --- International Association Highlander Web Page By: Neal Deaves www.sailhighlander.org Webmaster: Boyd Barnwell [email protected] What a fast season of sailing this year. It is a sad time to see all the activities on the water shutting down for the season. With local club Editor: Gillian Bauer banquets and awards programs in full swing it is time to reflect the past [email protected] season. It is good to see new members of the Highlander class President: Neal Deaves participate in local events, now it is time to encourage them to travel to Crestwood, KY new venues and meet new friends, the Highlander family. Executive Secretary-Treasurer As the board meets we are looking at new formats for the Debbie Busbey nationals. This year we will be at Lake Norman in conjunction with the Greer, SC, [email protected] P: 864-244-6433 Pipers come October. This is a big step by the board as we venture into new ground. Growing pleasures and pains will come with the changes Secretary: Erin Spengeman but we feel it is needed. Please try to make your plans to attend the Louisville, KY Nationals this year and support the class. We are small but a great Chief Measurer: Bruce Busbey group of sailors. More info will be coming your way by means of the Greer, SC, [email protected] Highlander, Facebook website, emails and phone calls. Discussion is O: 864-254-3394 H: 864-244-6433 needed to allow us to know the desires of the class. Growth and Promotion: Karl Felger Plan some winter activities for your fleet and share them with Cleveland, OH others as we are always looking for new ideas to promote the Builder: Allen Boat Company Inc. Highlander and sailing in general. Attending the Cleveland Boat Show 370 Babcock St., Buffalo, NY 14206 and supporting our Lake Erie sailors could be one fleet outing. For the 716-842-0800, [email protected] hardy bodies of the class they go skiing and this year may enjoy the Winter Olympics. Louisville Sailing club gets together once a month to Directors Jeff Curtin (2018) eat (usually Mexican) and go over sailing rules, regatta schedules, Westerly, RI tactics on and off the water, boat and trailer maintenance and tall tales. Mark Paisley (2018) I am looking forward to Mid-winters and the warmth of the western Hallowell, MA Carolina Sailing Club. What a great way to start the season and renew Gary Steinbach (2019) Massilon, OH friendships on and off the water. See you there!!!! Rick Robertson (2019) Avon Lake, OH Nominating Committee The Highlander Board of Directors is accepting applications to Gary Vinicky Chirs Kafsky host the 2019 and 2020 Highlander Nationals. You can 2017 National Champions contact any board member. We would like to secure the Bruce Busbey, Skipper location prior to the 2018 sailing season as to promote the Debbie Busbey, Crew Connie Sheets, Crew date early. Remember our Nationals this year are not until October 2018 and we need to get the ideas Flowing. Planning ahead makes planning easier for all. We need your help to ensure participation at all regattas and class activities. !2 Team Carpe Diem Wins Louisville by matter if we won the start, they were sailing flatter a Nose and faster and grabbed the lead halfway up the long first beat. Each and every time. In all three By Jay Carey races! As firm believers in the old adage that every Upon arriving at the Louisville Sailing boat counts, we kept digging hard, despite our Club Friday afternoon for the Bluegrass Highlander poor showing. We were fortunate to find a lift in the regatta, Boyd Barnwell, my crew, boat owner and last 100 yards, barely holding off both Deaves' damn good friend, welcomed me with this tidbit of boats. Hometown hero Pat Passifiume followed Ed information: "John Bauer is crewing with Ed and John across the line for second, with our (Spengemen). They're going to be tough." fellow Cowan Laker Doug Fisher not too far "You're right, they are; but so are we," I told behind. We held onto our fourth place in that race, Boyd and middle crew Brenda Madden with as overlapped with Neal and David Bauer at the much conviction as I could muster considering finish, with Greg and Brent Deaves too close for Ed's prowess in a blow and Saturday's forecast for comfort. 15 to 25. I can't write my personal thoughts at that moment as they are not s u i t a b l e f o r a f a m i l y publication. Retreating to the boatyard to pick my camping spot for the weekend, my powers of positive thinking were further tested upon realizing my tent poles were back home, closer to Cowan Lake than the Ohio River. Insert more not-fit-for-print, four-letter words here. Class president Neal Deaves and Class Secretary Erin Spengemen salvaged the day though. Erin's chilli was Race two was a bit more to our liking, tasty and saved a trip to town. Neal invited us to sit despite the fact Ed and John won decisively. We in on the HCIA board meeting. We all owe a great caught an early shift, settled in second and were deal of gratitude to both Neal and Erin for stepping able to hold it throughout the race, largely due to up at the general meeting. They are providing the the fact that Pat Passifiume had some interesting leadership this class needs and deserves. He and spinnaker issues. Keep in mind, it was blowing the Board have some great ideas for Nationals and pretty good. Imagine surfing along at hull speed, how to increase participation at regattas. Kudos spinnaker full and about to pull the boat onto a are also in order for new HCIA Vice President Rick plane when 10 to 15 feet of spinnaker halyard slips Meyers, who accepted the appointment as VP through the cleat in the big puff. The spinnaker that Friday night. climbs higher than the mast and the boat rounds Regarding the racing though, turns out up. "When I saw your centerboard, I Boyd was right. The Eddie/John duo was unstoppable in Saturday's big breeze. Didn't even The Highlander, January 2018 !3 thought you were goners," I told Pat Saturday Sunday morning brought a lot less wind, but night over a cold beverage. His response: "We did after a lengthy delay, just enough to race. Pat and too." Apparently, the new Dyneema halyard was crew, along with Rick Meyers and family got the too thin/too slick for the halyard cleat on Pat's first puff in the first race of the morning and were borrowed boat. The bad news for Pat and crew is long gone. We were fortunate to follow behind that scenario occurred a few times Saturday. The them, with Neal Deaves in fourth, and Doug Fisher good news for the three of us on Team Carpe fifth in a drizzling rain. Ed finished sixth in the short Diem was it happened twice just when he was one-lap triangle. We were still in third overall, tied about to pass us. with Pat for second, but losing the tie breaker. Race three was more of the same. More Luckily, race committee was able to get one wind and more dominance from Ed and John and more off, this time a two-lap triangle. Both Deaves their forward crew. With Ed in the lead followed by boats, Neal and Greg, got off ahead and we were Doug Fisher, we started up the last leg. Race third when it started raining again. On the second Committee Chair John Emmerich, with assistance leg, Fisher went high and rolled us all in the light from Harold Bauer, had set a long windward- breeze taking the lead, with Greg Deaves right leeward course with a beat that had to be close to behind. On the second beat, now in a steady rain, a mile. The strongest wind of the day was on that the tell tales stuck to the jib. We saw some final beat of the day, when those of us on the darkness on the water to the left and caught a nice senior tour were less than fresh. About halfway up puff. Momentum carried us into the lead, past both the beat, we gave up on catching Fisher and Greg and Fisher, right at the mark. As we began settled on covering Pat, who probably would have the reach, I looked back to try and find Pat, who been ahead of us without his aforementioned we were tied with going into the race, when I saw spinnaker issues. That left Team Spengemen in Ed was still buried deep in the fleet. With two legs controlling position with three bullets after to go, we realized we had a chance to win it all, but Saturday's racing. Fast Eddie was indeed fast that knew we needed to win the race to have a chance. day, with Ed driving and John playing the vang and The rain had really picked up and the wind died calling waves as middle crew. Soon as we hit down. We're talking about the type of rain that shore, I had to shake their hands and congratulate drops gallons of water in the boat from the main them for putting on a heavy-air clinic for the rest of every time you tack.