Ah well, didn't get the free Penguin!

[bamamick]

I called and the lady told me that the boat was gone four hours after the first call. Well, the wife always says that things work out for the best. Maybe another will come along?

On another note, a few weeks ago after doing some soul searching I gave my International Canoe to a friend of mine who I think can actually use and have fun with it. He is a championship level Sunfish sailor (he has won races at the World's and last year finished second in the Sunfish Master's) and can sail pretty much anything. He also owns the shop that does the work on my Dragon, Finn, etc. so I know that he can and will make the boat as nice and as fast as he can. Anyway, on the way to work this afternoon I stopped by the yacht club to see what was going on and saw him reaching along Mobile Bay on the Canoe. A sight to behold, and it does my heart good to see it. IC's are AWESOME. I just wish that I had been made a little smaller, a little smarter, and with better reflexes.

Mickey Lake

[Paul Pless]

Anyway, on the way to work this afternoon I stopped by the yacht club to see what was going on and saw him reaching along Mobile Bay on the Canoe. A sight to behold, and it does my heart good to see it. IC's are AWESOME.That's is awesome.

Good job Mick.

[Concordia...41]

Yep. Good job. That silly karma thing will be back around for ya' ;)

- M

[bamamick]

I put out a post on SA and I will do the same here: if anyone out there has a Penguin blocking up their garage or sitting under a cover needing a new home, I will take it. I would prefer a wood boat with wooden spars. I don't want a wreck, but minor repair and refinishing is fine. Don't care about rigging or sails or any of that kind of thing.

My desire is to have a boat here under my shed to putter around with, and the only way that I can do this is if it is either free or offered at minimum cost. I have a new trailer and can pick up just about anywhere east of the Rockies.

If anyone knows of a boat let me know. I want to sail the WOOD regatta next year and I want a boat that I can teach small children how to sail in.

Thanks,

Mickey Lake

[paladin]

Apparently there was just a Regatta or something in Florida with Lasers.......and a cousin placed pretty well up there in the finals, and I didn't even know that he sailed.....I haven't seen him in 15 years....

[bamamick]

Laser Masters at the Palm Beach Sailing Club? I have sailed out of that club. Nice club, but you have to go a long way to get to the course (like most of the east coast Florida clubs). There is a small Finn fleet there.

I have sailed a Laser in one regatta in my life. It was a flip-fest in a borrowed boat. There is a distinct possibility that if the weather had been more kind that day that I would have had a very different life. My best friend wanted to get a Laser and so did I, but that one day turned me away from dinghy sailing for about 30 years and I got heavily into racing Stars. Now at the age of almost 51 I find myself primarily a single-handed dinghy sailor (though of course, I do sail the Dragon and Star whenever I can).

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

My experience with Lasers kind of turned me off to racing them. I offered to help out on the Race committee boat in exchange for swapping into a boat for one of the races. This was a local Saturday afternoon of races in Savannah.

The guy who ran the committee boat was agreeable to that idea and was the father of one of the sailors. I'd use his boat when the time came. I offered to spot the line at the start. He set the line so that it favored the pin end so dramatically that all the boats could close reach in perpendicular to the starting line. The river current was also pushing them across the line. On the start of the first race all but one of the twenty boats were across the line early. I blew the horn for a general recall and restart. It was a three minute start sequence so it wouldn't take long and the racers now had a taste of what the conditions would do to their maneuvering. No harm, no foul, I thought.

The guy running the races went bullshit on me. I mean really got in my face and screamed obscenities. I was frankly abashed and not a little pissed off. He said I should have called out the numbers of all the boats over the line, etc. Now Lasers have sail numbers in the five digit range and I (even on the best of days and knowing the boats) couldn't have done that accurately, or probably been heard if I tried. I said something to that effect and the guy replaced me and turned his back. The same thing happened the next start but the guy calling the line just let everyone go, which pretty much made for a parade up the windward leg. The head guy decided against letting me sail a race (he 'forgot' about it) and it was pretty much a wasted afternoon after that.

On the dock afterwards, another guy on the RC boat told me that the head guy's son was the one boat that hadn't been over the line in the start I'd called. This was said by way of an explanation and a sort-of apology.

Whatever.

[Hwyl]

A good reason to dislike all Laser sailors then.

[bamamick]

lol. I called the line for an Optimist National's once at the Mobile YC. I have never seen such arguing, whining, complaining, etc. Literally dozens of protests a day. Parents 'schooling' kids on the water. Parents raising hell in the parking lot and in the clubhouse. Geez.

On the other hand, the reason that so many Olympic and international-caliber sailors come from New Orleans is that they have a fantastic Opti program at the Southern YC. No doubt in my mind that the one is directly responsible for the other.

Haven't heard from any Penguin donors. One should be coming along almost any minute :).

Mickey Lake

[rbgarr]

A good reason to dislike all Laser sailors then.

point taken