October came and went and there wasn’t much of a difference! This past Sunday I was thinking how great it is to be on the Chesapeake Bay and be able to enjoy sailing in shorts through November. I think I jinxed it- the Indian Summer we have been enjoying might be coming to an abrupt close.  But, although OPCYC’s racing season has come to a close, there are still a few races left to be sailed in, and some hardy cruisers and day sailors will still try to get a weekend or two out and about before the Yankee Clippers start rolling in. 

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To recap the events of the month, the Tucker Thompson’s America’s Cup presentation at the Hampton Air and Space Museum was great. OPCYC had a good number of members present and I believe everyone enjoyed the presentation thoroughly. I hope we can coordinate and cooperate with HYC and BBSA for future similar events.

 

Several of our members went north to Annapolis for the Powerboat and Sailboat Shows and had a good time spreading their wealth around to the poor purveyors of boating equipment and services of every description who are reduced to living in tents in downtown Annapolis. I am sure the likes of Gill, Musto, North, Latell, boatbuilders and brokers of every description, riggers, sailing schools, and a hundred more companies sincerely appreciated your donations. One of these years I’m going to have to take a break from racing to see what I can do to help those poor souls out. 

Unfortunately, I had to miss it, but I am told that the Octoberfest Party was great fun and the bratwurst, sauerkraut, and beer was wunderbar! 

 

Speaking of OPCYC’s racing, the Round the Lights Race was just a hoot. I could believe the 
                                                                       exaggerations on how much wind there was,

                                                                       everything
                                                                       from “it was steady 20, 
                                                                       gusts to 30!” to “we
                                                                       were seeing 25 easy,
                                                                       gusts to 40”.  Well, as
                                                                       the last boat to finish
                                                                       (again), and since we 
                                                                      were privileged to sail
                                                                      longer than anyone else,
                                                                      I can categorically state 
it couldn’t possibly have been over 15 knots, Luna Blu was 
hardly even heeling and we didn’t even bother to reef the main.
Hmmm, maybe that’s why we ended up last…  

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Anyway, your intrepid Commodore and crew did win the 
after- race party by reeling in three bottles of champagne plus 
a glass to drink it in. (Anchor Award for last place , ORC-Cruising, 3rd (last place) and Oldest Boat)). So there, take your 1st and 2nd place trophies and your single bottle of bubbly while my crew and I enjoy the fruits of our labor- or lack thereof. Bottom line is, WHAT A GREAT RACE! I had several HYC and BBSA Skippers and crew come up and thank me for the great time they had. I’ll take credit for the wind, since I had been praying to the Wind Gods a couple weeks out to give us a good breeze (okay, maybe I over did it this time…), but it was the hard work of Jeff and Steve for planning and conducting a great race, for Tim and the rest of the Race Committee, and to Norm and the Sea Scouts for again putting out a superb jambalaya and to all of the boats and crew that participated and finally to the non-racing members who showed up! Much more fun than a drifter ending up with a DNF!

Don’t forget to attend the club’s Chili Cook Off Party/Board of Officer Elections on Saturday, 11 November. Ken and Adele have stated that there will be some chili that will sear the hairs off your chest in addition to milder varieties. As part of the festivities, we will be electing the slate of officers for next year. We still have some vacancies to fill, in particular the Vice Commodore and the Training Rear Commodore (not to diminish the other vacant billets), but these two are near and dear to my heart as if we don’t fill them, I will be serving as Commodore and PMU Dean in perpetuity and no one wants that! C’mon Pointers, somebody step up to the plate and help keep the club vibrant and fun! That’s my pitch and I’m sticking to it!  
 

 
See you on the water!

 

Keith Midgette
OPCYC Commodore