Mari and I be will riding the MS 150 next month to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. This will be the first organized ride Mari and I have done together...hopefully there will be many more. If you are interested in doing the ride with us or would like to contribute money to our fundraising effort let me know. To find out more about the ride click on the following link: http://bikeflc.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BIKE_FLC_homepage
Mari has a good friend that suffers from this debilitating disease and we will be riding in her honor!
BTW does anyone read this stuff. If so leave a comment...
Friday, March 7, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Update
The Lake Eustis Sailing Club is in the heart of racing season. This means that all of my weekend time for the past few weeks and up until the end of March will be spent sailing. Our midwinter regatta is right around the corner and the lake will be filled with approximately 70 scow crazed sailors including yours truely. After that it is on to Sarasota to race E Scows with Bob Cole out of New York. Bob was kind enough to invite me to crew on his 28 foot sled and I have to admit I am like a kid at Christmas waiting for that ride.
Mari, as always, is very supportive of my obsession with all things boat related. In fact, she is now the proud owner of her own boat, a nine foot kayak. Mari took it out for the first time this weekend during the races and could be heard yelling encouragment to all sailors as they rounded the windward mark.
In addition to sailing I have been trying to get back in shape and have been riding as much as possible lately. I am very much looking forward to the time change this weekend which will allow for some longer rides after work (assuming of course I am not on the road for work).
In addition to sailing and riding listed below are some highlights of the past few months:
-Jimmy Buffet concert (thanks Chick for the jambalaya)
-Florida Keys trip with Bill (Mari's first time in Florida's offbeat paradise. Also got see to all of the grand prix sailboats there for Key West Race Week)
-Gasparilla with the gang from Lake Eustis (a great time was had by all...even if it felt like being on episode of Cops when some derelict decided to break into our traveling party pad)
-GW Regatta (my first top 5 finish in a class regatta)
-Mari's return to running (Mari has completed two half marathons in the past month...I am quite proud of her achievements)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
First Regatta of the Season
This weekend was the first of 3 regattas hosted annually on home turf. The Southeast Regional Championship was attended by 40+ scow crazed sailors in varying conditions throughout the weekend.
As my 2nd year in the scow I am finally starting to get my bearings and slowly (read extremely slowly) move up the ranks. The regatta consisted of 5 races total, 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. It is unusual for us to get in the prescribed number of races at Eustis but this weekend we were successful in doing so. After Saturdays 3 races I was tied for 11th with good friend Dave Moorhouse. I was consistently moving up throughout the day with a 20th, 15th, and 11th. Feeling good about the day I did what most sailors do after a tough day of racing...party!
Sunday started out with great wind for the first race and declining wind down to almost nothing for the final race. My race finishes were a 30th (egads!) and a 20th. The 20th place finish in the last race was miracle since I was in almost dead last around the first windward mark. Many of the boats went out to the right on the first downwind leg and got hung out to dry...thanks guys! By the end of the regatta I was in 17th. Nothing to brag about but a small victory for me. Last year in the same regatta I was in the mid 20's with even fewer boats. After reviewing the results I was not unhappy with the placement due to the caliber of sailors ahead of me.
While the racing was great, the highlight of the weekend had to be watching David Moring drift away from dock only to realize his pirate flag had jammed up his halyard...think long rope to raise the sail. David then did the unthinkable. He dropped his mast on the water without assistance, jumped in the water and then freed the jammed halyard. Then with some assistance raised his mast and sailed off to the course. Nice work David, I can think of 20 easier ways to handle the same problem but none with that kind of panache!
Zack Clayton of Quantum Sails took the overall victory with National Champ Jamie Kimbell of Melges Boatworks in 2nd. Close friend and Lake Eustis's own David Morning took 3rd.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Back to the grind
Despite the weather being less than stellar and the fact that I backed out of what was to be my first triathlon I have to say that I had a stellar weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with my beautiful wife and even a little hydro therapy.
A walk down memory lane had Mari and I reenacting our first date which meant an evening at the local bowling alley. Some how my memory failed me in remembering that she kicked my butt the first time we bowled and the same was to happen this time around as well. I think I must have let her win the first time to make her feel good but not the case this time around. All right I can't lie, I am a terrible bowler and my wife may have a future in the WPBA. Good times at any rate.
Saturday we headed out to the lake for a little time on the water...for me anyways. It was an absolute perfect sail with the winds clocking in around 8-10 knots with some stronger gust. Five others from the club setup buoys for some quick practice in preparation for our upcoming regatta. I ignored about half the practice as I was having way to much fun blasting speed runs back and forth across the lake to want to spoil the fun by mock racing. I later joined in and had just as much fun as everyone piled up at the mark roundings to make for an ideal regatta situation. Last minute maneuvering was the order of the day for avoiding collisions...high on the fun meter. Once the rest of the gang headed in I stayed out for another run at the MC Scow speed record...probably not even close but enough to bury a Catalina 22 out cruising around. It was a struggle to slow my boat down enough to match his speed for a quick conversation.
Sunday we headed over to Cocoa to view a windsurfing wave competition which never happened since those guys need a steady 15 knots of air to even consider heading out. Just as well we got spend a little time at the beach and time together.
A walk down memory lane had Mari and I reenacting our first date which meant an evening at the local bowling alley. Some how my memory failed me in remembering that she kicked my butt the first time we bowled and the same was to happen this time around as well. I think I must have let her win the first time to make her feel good but not the case this time around. All right I can't lie, I am a terrible bowler and my wife may have a future in the WPBA. Good times at any rate.
Saturday we headed out to the lake for a little time on the water...for me anyways. It was an absolute perfect sail with the winds clocking in around 8-10 knots with some stronger gust. Five others from the club setup buoys for some quick practice in preparation for our upcoming regatta. I ignored about half the practice as I was having way to much fun blasting speed runs back and forth across the lake to want to spoil the fun by mock racing. I later joined in and had just as much fun as everyone piled up at the mark roundings to make for an ideal regatta situation. Last minute maneuvering was the order of the day for avoiding collisions...high on the fun meter. Once the rest of the gang headed in I stayed out for another run at the MC Scow speed record...probably not even close but enough to bury a Catalina 22 out cruising around. It was a struggle to slow my boat down enough to match his speed for a quick conversation.
Sunday we headed over to Cocoa to view a windsurfing wave competition which never happened since those guys need a steady 15 knots of air to even consider heading out. Just as well we got spend a little time at the beach and time together.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Weekend warrior
What did you do this weekend? This is usually the monday morning topic of discussion around the water cooler at most peoples place of employment. Since my employment finds me flying solo plying the roads of Florida, I get to share my weekend endeavors on the blog.
To sum up my weekend throw in a dash of road cycling up and down the hills of Mt Dora and Eustis, add a couple of hours in the hiking strap while attempting to act like a sailboat racer, and just for good measure try windsurfing while a lunatic power boater circles around creating a swirling vortex the Flying Walinda's would have trouble negotiating and you have a good idea of my weekend.
The bike ride was probably one of the most pleasant rides I have taken in Florida in a long time. I rode along the back side of Eustis over into Mt Dora past several lake sides on calm roads. I wasn't sure you could ride in Florida anymore without dealing with a greal deal of traffic. Once in Mt Dora I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce where they were nice enough to give me several maps of local ride routes.
Did I mention that I have signed up for a triathlon at the end of the month? I needed something to motivate me to get back in shape. More on this later...back to the weekend.
Saturday and Sunday are race day on the boat. Really this is just a good excuse to get together with friends, drink to much and eat to many oysters. Racing for me this weekend was a little disappointing as far as results go. I took a fifth in the first of four races and found myself at the back of the pack in the remaining races. One race of note saw the winds build to a range that I struggle with. In this race I was with the pack on the first 2 legs. At the leeward mark rounding I buried the bow of the boat in deep into the back of the wave. This is trait of the flat bowed scows that I race. Once the bow buries itself in all you can do is hang on for the ride. As the bow goes deep the stern raises out of the water rendering the rudder useless...again hang on for the ride. I was at least 200 feet past the mark by the time I regained control (relative term). Once under control the rest of the fleet was well up the course and my race was over. Oh well, I caught some fun rides surfing down the back of waves and popping onto a plane briefly.
To sum up my weekend throw in a dash of road cycling up and down the hills of Mt Dora and Eustis, add a couple of hours in the hiking strap while attempting to act like a sailboat racer, and just for good measure try windsurfing while a lunatic power boater circles around creating a swirling vortex the Flying Walinda's would have trouble negotiating and you have a good idea of my weekend.
The bike ride was probably one of the most pleasant rides I have taken in Florida in a long time. I rode along the back side of Eustis over into Mt Dora past several lake sides on calm roads. I wasn't sure you could ride in Florida anymore without dealing with a greal deal of traffic. Once in Mt Dora I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce where they were nice enough to give me several maps of local ride routes.
Did I mention that I have signed up for a triathlon at the end of the month? I needed something to motivate me to get back in shape. More on this later...back to the weekend.
Saturday and Sunday are race day on the boat. Really this is just a good excuse to get together with friends, drink to much and eat to many oysters. Racing for me this weekend was a little disappointing as far as results go. I took a fifth in the first of four races and found myself at the back of the pack in the remaining races. One race of note saw the winds build to a range that I struggle with. In this race I was with the pack on the first 2 legs. At the leeward mark rounding I buried the bow of the boat in deep into the back of the wave. This is trait of the flat bowed scows that I race. Once the bow buries itself in all you can do is hang on for the ride. As the bow goes deep the stern raises out of the water rendering the rudder useless...again hang on for the ride. I was at least 200 feet past the mark by the time I regained control (relative term). Once under control the rest of the fleet was well up the course and my race was over. Oh well, I caught some fun rides surfing down the back of waves and popping onto a plane briefly.
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