Visiting Yachts Prevail Travels With Ginny
The Annual Pequot Yacht Club Classic Yacht (Continued from page 3) Regatta started on a clear and mild September 16th in a light SE wind. Ten boats from seven different days we made landfall on the pretty French island yacht clubs crossed the line to a 14-mile course, of Martinique. Here, Henneke and Tijo left for including Bell 22 and George’s Rock. The SE their home in the Netherlands. Carole and I spent wind held fairly steady until the last leg and then the winter in the warm Caribbean waters, slowly died. Four boats were left stranded with no wind, making our way north. Our last leg was from a foul tide and made the decision that “enough is beautiful Bermuda to Southport. Friends and fam- Vol. 27, No. 8 October, 2006 enough.” ily were urging us home. It’s so nice to be back even though the adjust- The first boat to finish was Hiro Maru, owned Travels With Ginny The Twelves on the Sound by Hiroshi Nakajima, Vice Commodore of Stam- ment to living on the hard has been more difficult —Ginny Vought —Gibney Patterson ford Yacht Club. He crossed still with a breeze, than I expected. Traffic on I-95 seems worse than I have sailed all my life, but this voyage was a It was a gorgeous, almost Fall day on Long Is- but could not withstand the challenge of the small- I remember, and I can’t get used to the phones. profound experience. I don’t believe circumnavi- land Sound last September 12 when six majestic est boat to finish, Port Draper’s C&C Redwing 30, All this life at sea was spectacular and such a good gating the Atlantic was anything spectacular. 12-meter yachts came out of Black Rock Harbor to Kindred, from Norwalk Yacht Club. Third place thing for me to do. Pequot and Pequot friends re- However, two ladies in their sixties making the race for the Twelve-Meter Challenge. The race was went to Len Merullo in his Bull’s Eye, a custom main the most beautiful in the world. Without your trip was rather unusual. a sequel to the same event staged last year in which designed yacht from Saugatuck Harbor Yacht support and encouragement I would never have After unexpectedly losing my lifelong friend Pequot wound up second. This year the result was Club. accomplished this odyssey. and husband, Walker, I decided to continue to live different. Pequot, under the helmsmanship of aboard my Cal 39, as he and I had planned. My David Perry, was the winner. first passage without him was in 2003 when I navi- The six boats were all familiar names from the Old friends of gated the ICW. Mary von Conta, Willy Lalanne days when the America’s Cup was sailed in 12 me- John Boyd gath- ered for a farewell and Carole Heller made this trip possible, sharing ters. They were assigned as follows: Pequot sailed lunch before his their experience and expertise along the way. Nefertiti; Fayerweather Yacht Club on Heritage; leaving for a new Carole and Willy crossed the Gulf Stream with Black Rock Yacht Club on American Eagle; Cedar home in Flor- me, making landfall in the Bahamas. During that Point Yacht Club on Intrepid; Milford Yacht Club ida. With the vet- winter on my own I learned a great deal about the on Columbia; and Stamford Yacht Club on Weath- eran Fleet Cap- tain and owner of responsibilities of being a single-handed skipper. erly. You may recall that Columbia (the oldest of Southern Cross (in Maintenance chores and provisioning in foreign the six), was originally sailed by Pequot yachtsman center with cane) harbors was an adventure that required my full at- are, from left, tention. (Continued on page 4) Hugh Smith, I found that I enjoyed this “live aboard” exis- David Smith, Steve Galpin, Bill tence and began dreaming of sailing to further ho- Kueffner, Gibney rizons. I discussed my ideas with Carole while she Patterson, George visited me that winter. Carole is an experienced Carter, Radley Daly, Jeff Priest, (Continued on page 3) Boyd, Gerry Pres- son, George Wiswell, Lloyd Mahone, Hop Perry, Andy Bisset Photo Credit: Hugh Smith and Ernie Wiehl.
Pequot Pilot ISSN 1078-1943 Pequot Yacht Club, Southport, CT 06890
Gibney Patterson, Editor Pro Tem. Committee: Ann Cathcart, Charles R. Sprowl Jr., Commodore, Susan Kueffner, Tom DeLong, Steve Galpin, Art Gravanis, Sharon Lipp, John W. Watkins, Vice Commodore Norman Marsilius Pat Randolph. W. Bruce Kueffner, Rear Commodore Wendy Macbeth, editorial assistant and production.
Photo Credits: Bud Ireland, Chris Jennings, Joel Kunkel, Dan Murdoch, Hop Web site address: pequotyc.com Perry, Lorna Savage, Hugh Smith and other unknown heroes and heroines. Administrative email: [email protected] Ginny Vought The Pequot Crew aboard Nefertiti. 3 Make Your Reservation Now Clubhouse Porch Repairs Pilot Staff Changes 255-5740, ext. 40 Construction work on the Senior clubhouse Kim Smith, our Pilot editor, left for a summer OCTOBER porch is expected to begin later this fall. The work on Nantucket and has decided to stay on. She is 21, Saturday— Wine Tasting & Dinner will include new foundations as well as improved looking forward to pursuing her photography and 27, Friday — Awards Dinner framing above ground and repairs to the railings. painting during the off season. She is currently SAVE THE DATE! When the work begins, both the upper and lower working in real estate. exterior decks will be closed to use. Access to the NOVEMBER Susan Kueffner and Sharon Lipp have joined dining room will be preserved. However, you may 5 —Frostbiting begins the Pilot Committee. 11 —Pub Night see safety fencing around areas of the parking lot 19 —Annual Meeting and lawn.
Work on the Junior clubhouse porch is planned for early October. The existing roof will remain, but other components will be rebuilt. A temporary Cayo Loco Cleans Up entrance will allow access to the building. All summer Treef Rosow has been cleaning up These projects are scheduled as well as possible in his Cayo Loco on Wednesday nights in our to fit between the summer sailing and frostbiting #3 Pequot picks up 3 boats at mark. usual light airs. However, she proved she could seasons. move in heavy going in the Black Rock Yacht Pequot having a first and second, and no other boats really Club’s annual late season Cross Sound Race. in contention. Perry again tried a port tack approach, tack-
Sixteen boats started in a driving rain and an 18 ing for the line at the opportune moment. Pequot and Mil- knot southwest breeze. Cayo Loco carried a full Sail into the Fall ford both tracked each other all the way to the last wind- main and #3 jib on a reach to Old Field Point as ward mark. There, Fayerweather, Pequot and Milford all the wind built up to 23.5 knots. After rounding For the first time, the Ideals are in the water until rounded very close together. Fayerweather went on to win, Gong 11A they beat up into Smithtown Bay as the the end of October! Whatever your interest — thereby securing 3rd place, with Pequot and Milford en- breeze dropped to 11 knots. The last leg was a recreation, instruction, or racing —Sailing Director gaging in a downwind dual to the finish line. By mere sec- long downwind run under spinnaker back to Black Chris German is there to accommodate you. Log onds, Perry crossed second, winding up and winning an Rock. onto www.pequotyc.com for more information. The exciting and close series. Cayo Loco was 2nd overall to finish and won weather’s great and the days are numbered. Next year, Pequot as the winner will be the host to the 1st in her class plus the spinnaker divisions com- series. Save the date and let’s put on a great show. Past Commodore Rad Daly at the helm. Rear, Pam Toner bined. Rosow’s crew included members George and Lili Tarbell. Skipper Dave Perry at right. Gosselin and Charlie Zylstra. The 12-Meter Challenge, Septem- ber 12, 2006 at Fayerweather YC Sailing Nefertiti, the crew lead by Skipper Dave Perry edged Milford YC for 1st. Back row, Doc Bisset, Ted von Rosenvinge, Dave Perry, Joel Kunkel, Peter McCabe, Rad Daly, John Dumke, Chuck Matteson. Front, Norman Marsilius, Pam Toner, Lili Tarbell, Nancy Marcanto- A ride to the North Americans: Past Commodore Hugh nio, Betsy Hulme. Smith and Manager Jeff Engborg aboard Endurance towed 3 of the Club’s Ideals and 2 of Fairfield Community Sailing’s Photo Credit: Dan Murdoch to Stamford on September 13. Sailing Director Chris Ger- Cayo Loco during a Pequot Sunday race. man in lead boat. Staff members Luis and Julio trail. Page 5 Page 2 bor disabled but in good spirits. 1 2
Travels With Ginny We wintered at a first-rate marina, made re- (Continued from page 1) pairs, replaced all rigging and enjoyed the com- sailor with several Atlantic crossings on her re- pany of international yachties and live-aboard sume and one of the best navigators I know. I was cruisers like us. It was a warm community, and delighted when she agreed to join me. For three friends we made there will be friends forever. In years Walker and I had prepared the boat for off- the spring, we said our goodbyes, made promises shore passages, which meant that Ginny had many to stay in touch and meet as often as we could creature comforts and safety features. along our travels. My plans were to sail east in July, 2004 with a Carole and I continued through the Straits of course to the Azores and then to Portugal. Before Gibraltar and into the Mediterranean. Costa del we departed we had a new smaller staysail and a Sol and the beautiful Balearic Islands kept us busy bimini built and did the usual provisioning. We and thrilled for the summer. Wonderful crystal invited Jeffery Mullally, a strong young sailor to clear anchorages, beautiful landscapes and tiny join us and departed on July 3. villages were everyday pleasures. Landfall in Flores, the most western of the After too short a time, weather and season Azores, was accomplished in a very pleasant 17 again dictated that we move on. We returned to In sequence: #1 Rounding leeward mark, Pequot in background. #2 3 boats rounding ahead of Pequot. days. From there Jeff flew home, and Carole and Gibraltar, visited Ceuta on the Moroccan coast and I were on our own. We spent six weeks exploring then set sail for the Canaries in October of 2005. The Twelves on the Sound on, he pretty much controlled the rest of the boats. It was a runaway for a first-place finish. Milford Flores, Sao Jorge, Faial, Terciera and Sao Miguel. In November Hurricane Delta hit the marina in (Continued from page 1) Lanzarote, but Ginny sustained only some cos- came in second. Fayerweather (winner in 2005), These islands are spectacular with hiking, festivals Briggs Cunningham, who successfully defended metic damage. Hurricanes are a rare occurrence in with a deep reef in her main, finished next to last, and wonderful international concerts in lovely vil- the America’s Cup in the first renewal of the series these islands. but stay tuned. lage squares. Season and weather reminded us we after World War II. Our thoughts were soon focused on the passage In the second race Perry executed the same ma- needed to press onward. When we departed for In the Long Island Sound 2006 event, there back across the Atlantic. We invited a young neuver at the start, but this time it left all the star- Portugal in early September, we promised each were three races. The first two were ten-mile Dutch sailing couple that we had met back in La- board tack boats in a better position to windward. other that we would return. windward-leeward, twice around. The third was a gos to accompany us for the journey. This trip Things did not get any better, and at the first mark Our passage to Portugal was challenged by triangle followed by a windward-leeward leg. To was less than the brochures had promised and cer- Pequot was back to fifth place. This position held weather and less than comfortable. We had three the advantage of the racers and the spectator fleet, reefs in the main using a partially rolled head sail. tainly not the sleigh ride we expected. But after 22 to the leeward mark and then the situation each leg was only 2 ½ miles, allowing the wind- changed. In rounding the mark, all the boats ahead Two hundred miles into the 600-mile passage at 5 ward mark to be seen from the starting line. This a.m., our roller furling gear crashed into the water. (Continued on page 6) of Pequot swung in wide arcs, allowing Perry to also meant that the spectators could follow the rac- cut inside, thereby picking up three boats and put- It was very dark and my watch. I will never forget ers from mark to mark. the ghostly sight of that large white sail floating in ting Pequot right back in the race. From there, The first race, starting in an 18 to 20-knot Perry held on to notch a second place. Milford inky black water. It immediately created a drogue; breeze, featured a highly effective port tack ap- the boat became calm and still. Almost immedi- came in first and Fayerweather last. proach by Perry from the leeward end of the line. Following this race, Fayerweather with agree- ately, Carole was on deck dressed in her oil skins. He closed in on all the starboard tackers to the We assessed the damage and began rigging spare ment from all participants shook out her reef. point where he wanted to tack and hit the line on The third race started with both Milford and halyards to the bow to support the mast. Our the starboard tack right at the gun. From that point greatest concern was losing the rest of our rigging. While working, I slipped on the wet deck and found myself in the water with the genoa. For any of you who question the importance of harnesses and tethers, if I hadn’t had mine on I would not be telling this story. Carole characterizes the feeling of losing your only crew member as terrifying. I realized that remaining calm was my best ally, and with the help of a good friend and a cresting wave I climbed back on board —unharmed, but wet and weary. Moving on to the job at hand, it took us 5 hours to secure the furling rig and genoa inside the Cocktails on Ginny: Ginny and Carole (far right) with life lines. Three days later we entered Lagos har- friends. Page 3 The six twelves. Page 4