A View of the Regatta Season
With only one more Club race to go and the Frostbiting Season about to begin, the formal Rock Hall Yacht Club Regatta Season Ends. What a season it has been! I don't know if all of our members know that the YC sponsors so many races, holds so many events, or that we have so much outside participation, but I can tell you that it has been a very busy Regatta season at the RHYC.
Just so you can get a feel for what the YC has accomplished, I will list some of the One Design Classes we have hosted; Chesapeake 20's, Hampton, Wayfarer, C420, Optimist Prams (in many forms), Lasers, Laser Masters and Laser Radials, Lightning, Windmills, Sunfish, Albacore, Hobie 16's, 17's and 18's, A - Cats and the traditional Log Canoes. Racers came from as far a field as Florida, Colorado, Michigan and Canada plus all points in between to join us here in Rock Hall.
These Regattas have ranged from kids in the Opti Green Fleet's circling the marks like plastic ducks in a Carnival pond, to the East Coast Lightning Championships and the Albacore Nationals - complete with some hot shot sailors. We have had One Design Division Championships, which are a little like watching open-wheeled sports cars racing on a road course with the closeness, contact, twists and turns. We have had the thrill of watching modern A - Cats scream down the Chester River like they had rockets attached, and getting to the finish line just a little bit before the Committee boat had a finish line set up. I would say they were quick! What could be more "Chesapeake Bay" than watching the thrills of the old Log Canoe's crew fighting to adjust their collective balance and best each other in 12 - 15 knots of wind, or the tradition of presenting perpetual trophies to the winner in the Cheapeake 20's, a class of sailboats that along with the Log Canoe, pretty much defines sailing on our Bay.
After the races, the RHYC had the privilege of making awards to 10 year olds for participation and 75 year olds for finally winning. It was great to watch as they accepted those awards with equal joy on their faces.
What a diverse bunch of boats and people!
It was also a different perspective than I have ever had on Sailboat racing. As a racing participant for many years, I always took the hosting yacht club for granted. I just expected that the Race Committee and Mark Boats were there to set a course and stay out of our way. I also expected there should be a good meal and a cold beer ready when I was finished, or I felt "they" just didn't get it.
Let me tell you some thing, I was wrong! (And those of you who know me know that last part was not easy for me to say.)
None of this could have been done without the numerous YC member volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to make every part of each event special and happen without a (visible) hitch. Nothing is perfect, nothing happens without problems, it is how people in an organization deal with those imperfections that mean something and show what grit that group is made of.
Well, the RHYC has Grit!
We will undoubtedly host similar regattas next year with similar results, but before we move on, I want everyone who had a hand in these events this year, from the kitchen, bar, and food service to the mark and safety boats and Race Committee's, to feel the accomplishment and know that it was a job "Well Done". On behalf of the Flag Officers, I want to add our personal "Thank You", none of this would have been half as good without you; you are all a part of our Regatta "A" Team!
Lee Urbani V/C
Just so you can get a feel for what the YC has accomplished, I will list some of the One Design Classes we have hosted; Chesapeake 20's, Hampton, Wayfarer, C420, Optimist Prams (in many forms), Lasers, Laser Masters and Laser Radials, Lightning, Windmills, Sunfish, Albacore, Hobie 16's, 17's and 18's, A - Cats and the traditional Log Canoes. Racers came from as far a field as Florida, Colorado, Michigan and Canada plus all points in between to join us here in Rock Hall.
These Regattas have ranged from kids in the Opti Green Fleet's circling the marks like plastic ducks in a Carnival pond, to the East Coast Lightning Championships and the Albacore Nationals - complete with some hot shot sailors. We have had One Design Division Championships, which are a little like watching open-wheeled sports cars racing on a road course with the closeness, contact, twists and turns. We have had the thrill of watching modern A - Cats scream down the Chester River like they had rockets attached, and getting to the finish line just a little bit before the Committee boat had a finish line set up. I would say they were quick! What could be more "Chesapeake Bay" than watching the thrills of the old Log Canoe's crew fighting to adjust their collective balance and best each other in 12 - 15 knots of wind, or the tradition of presenting perpetual trophies to the winner in the Cheapeake 20's, a class of sailboats that along with the Log Canoe, pretty much defines sailing on our Bay.
After the races, the RHYC had the privilege of making awards to 10 year olds for participation and 75 year olds for finally winning. It was great to watch as they accepted those awards with equal joy on their faces.
What a diverse bunch of boats and people!
It was also a different perspective than I have ever had on Sailboat racing. As a racing participant for many years, I always took the hosting yacht club for granted. I just expected that the Race Committee and Mark Boats were there to set a course and stay out of our way. I also expected there should be a good meal and a cold beer ready when I was finished, or I felt "they" just didn't get it.
Let me tell you some thing, I was wrong! (And those of you who know me know that last part was not easy for me to say.)
None of this could have been done without the numerous YC member volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly to make every part of each event special and happen without a (visible) hitch. Nothing is perfect, nothing happens without problems, it is how people in an organization deal with those imperfections that mean something and show what grit that group is made of.
Well, the RHYC has Grit!
We will undoubtedly host similar regattas next year with similar results, but before we move on, I want everyone who had a hand in these events this year, from the kitchen, bar, and food service to the mark and safety boats and Race Committee's, to feel the accomplishment and know that it was a job "Well Done". On behalf of the Flag Officers, I want to add our personal "Thank You", none of this would have been half as good without you; you are all a part of our Regatta "A" Team!
Lee Urbani V/C
Comments