January February March 2004 Calendar April 24-25 Spring Thaw Invitational – Lake Norman, NC May 15-16 Spring Series – Annapolis, MD May 22- 23 Crystal Bowl – West River, MD Inside This Issue • 2004 Jet Midwinters 1 • Presidents Message 2 • A New Year? A 3 New Boat! 2003 Midwinters Champions Tom Grace & Paula Pacheco • JetFrost – Midseason 4 2004 Jet Midwinters Update Chris Hennon • District III Champ- 4 ionship The 2004 Jet-14 Midwinters Championship was contested Jan 30 - Feb 1 at • District I Champ- 4 – the beautiful St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Five Jet-14 crews experienced three ionship 5 days of great racing, wind, food, prizes, relatively warm weather, and • Fleet Reports 5 hospitality. After a short delay on Friday, we headed out to the course in a light but fairly • Chevrons & What 6 They Stand For consistent northeasterly. The Jets were to sail a 1 1/2 lap windward-leeward • Happ’nin Fleets 6 course. After a clean start, three boats headed left while Team MacMurray Don’t Just Happen and Saunders tested the waters to the right. The left paid and it was a three • Vangs, Travellers & 7 boat race up the last beat. Tom Grace and Paula Pacheco showed great light Outhauls air speed and took race 1, with Team Hennon and Michos close behind. Controversy ensued after race 1 as the Jet fleet accidentally sailed into a fleet New Members since Oct 1st! of angry Snipes, resulting in a barrage of protests. But luckily, the Snipe fleet subsequently sailed right through a Flying Dutchman start and evened things out. Cooler heads prevailed that evening. • Eric Haneberg – Annapolis, The 20 degree left hand shift during the first race caused the race committee MD to adjust the course for race 2. Team Michos won the start near the pin and • Kristin Berry – Jet #392 – led closely bunched fleet around the mark. The fleet remained close on the Annapolis MD run, but nobody could catch Michos on the final beat as they took the bullet. • Charles Shoenfeld – Jet MacMurray nailed the start in race 3, forcing Team Hennon to bail right. #1130 – Baltimore, MD Fortunately the wind clocked around about 10 degrees right and Hennon • John Gemperline – Jet #665 rounded first. Another very close race with all 5 boats within striking - Cleveland, OH distance. On the final beat, Team Grace took a flyer to the left, made big Day 2 was for the heavyweights. A stiff 14-18 kt northeasterly settled in Jet Blasts Page 2 with moderate chop. Team Saunders – we especially enjoyed his cooler of experienced a setback as Barry's crew beer! Class Officers/Board Members felt like he just got off "The Regurgitator" at Cooney's Island. 1 717 T. Grace / P. Pacheco President: Dirk Schwenk, Fleet 61; After Team Hennon won race 4, 2 1093 C. Hennon / P. Hennon 410-269-5227 Michos looked to be out of the racing 3 1136 D. Michos / S. Michos 4 1145 C. MacMurray / F. Bajowski First VP: Sean DeFusco, Fleet 51; as they dropped their main and jib. 856-722-1729 5 962 B. Saunders / R. Bruns Fortunately it was only a broken Second VP: Dave Michos; Fleet 60; 216-261-9922 outhaul and they recovered to win Secretary: Mary Ungemach; Fleet 3; races 5 and 6. Team MacMurray 973-839-0487 liked the heavier conditions as well, Treasure r: Howie Ungemach: Fleet 3; taking a second in the last race of the 973-839-0487 day. Chief Measurer: Marion Zaugg; Fleet 4; It was anybody's regatta as Sunday 419-892-3796 dawned. Hennon and Michos were District I VP: Susan Mallows; Fleet 51; tied for first, with Grace/Pacheco 908-638-5201 only 1 point behind. Conditions were District II VP: Sue Michos Fleet 60; 216- more like day 1, with a 5-10 kt 261-9922 easterly. Some leftover swell from an District II VP: Pete McKenna; Fleet 61; 202-778-0258 overnight blow produced surfing Light Air – Jet Frost District IV VP: Allan Tedrow; Fleet 31; conditions UPWIND. Hennon was so 518-371-8765 excited about his standing that he JetBlast Edit: Ted Reshetiloff ; Flt 61; started race 7 three times. Their Presidents Message 202-498-3126 fourth place finish virtually took them I was supposed to write this about the out of contention for the Board of Governors meeting, but a funny thing happened to me Sunday Contacts for Active Fleets championship. Grace/Pacheco won race 7 handily, creating a tie with morning, and so my BOG report will have to wait. I woke up, ate Fleet 3: Pines Lake SC, Wayne NJ Michos for the lead going into the last – Howie Ungemach, Jet race. Race 8 may have been the breakfast, and went to basketball -- an 1106 – 973-839-0487 most exciting of the regatta, as activity I look forward to in much the Fleet 4: Mohican SC, Mansfiled OH, everyone battled in close quarters same way I look forward to sailing Karen Hugon, Jet 884 – around the entire course. It came the jet. Good, friendly fun. A new 330-264-8725 down to the last beat as Grace guy arrived, said "I'm Larry" and Fleet 31: Saratoga SC, Balltson Spa, decided to go left. Michos tacked to jacked up a few airballs by way of NY – Al Tedrow, Jet 964 – warming up. Five minutes later, he 518-371-8765 cover, giving the right side of the dropped dead. You are right, of Fleet 32: Raritan YC, Perth Amboy, course to Hennon and MacMurray. NJ – Valerie Schwenk, Jet The right side once again paid, and course, that is not funny, except in the sense of funny that is surreal and kind 1018 – 718-447-5977 Team Hennon won the final race. Fleet 35: Packanack YC, Wayne NJ of sad. But it sharpened my focus, to Grace/Pacheco's second place finish –Sue Clark, Jet 645 - 973- say the least, on the things that really meant that they are the 2004 838-9358 Midwinters Champions! matter to me. My life is good in Fleet 46: West River SC, Galesville, many ways, and it is so much richer MD – Randy Bruns, Jet Everyone who attended agreed that for the fact that I sail jets with my 1126 – 410-544-5571 family and friends. As you make Fleet 51: Hunterton SC, Clinton NJ – this regatta was well worth the trip, your plans for this year's campaign, Sean DeFusco, Jet 1105 – especially now that racing covers don't forget how precious is each day 856-722-1729 three days. Let's put next year's Fleet 60: Edgewater YC, Cleveland midwinters on our calendars now and on the water, don't lose sight of the OH – Dave Michos, Jet get double digit participation next small joy of getting just a little better, 1136 – 216-261-9922 year. and do maximize the glory of Fleet 61: Severn Sailing Assn., knocking around in little boats with Annapolis, MD – Tom On Saturday, Steve Reynolds stopped your extended jet family. And if you Stout, Jet 1064 – 410-626- by after the races. Steve sailed Jet catch me whining about the heat, the 1558 gains, and took the bullet. Hennon, #427 in the early 1960s on cold, or a blown roll-tack.... Fleet 62: Annapolis YC, Annapolis, Biscayne Bay at Miami. At the time, always the MDbridesmai – Bob Putnam,d, Jetnipped MacMurray for second. over 20 Jets thrived on the bay. - The Prez. 1141 – 202-338-1165 Everyone enjoyed Steve's tales and scrapbook of Jet racing 40 years ago Jet Blasts Page 3 beautiful, high quality product and complicated. And I now realize that A New Year! A New Boat?! the idea was starting to take shape. the rig needed to be fine tuned, but I Gary & Cathy Mentesana don’t recall ever being able to wipe Cathy had already made up her mind. the smile off my face. The little boy Now that a new year is here, it is In a new boat, we could spend the in me had a new toy and life was almost inevitable that each of us goes time that we devote to the sport good. through that annual resolution ritual. actually sailing rather than playing Lose weight. Spend more time with with epoxy and we would have After our first regatta, we realized the family. Sail more. Beat Brent. something to show for our long hours that Avanti too was light and stiff. All noble resolutions, but did you at work. However, a new boat would She punched through waves and ever think about an easily attainable need to be cared for (was I really up jumped up onto planes. She was a bit one? What about a new boat? for top and bottom covers?) and we more squirrelly with the new would be out of excuses when we aluminum board (as evidenced by our In 1974, my Dad had a few didn’t do well. broach at the first jibe mark of the resolutions of his own. Learn how to first race), but she felt like a rocket sail and race in a double- handed After deliberating for a couple of ship! dinghy (quite appropriate since he weeks, we took the plunge and wrote had mastered the Sunflower the the check. Andrew indicated that We have now sailed Avanti too a previous summer) and provide a #1144, fully rigged, would be ready little more than one full season. She lifetime gift to his then 10 year-old for us by Nationals! Was it the right has met every challenge with flying son.