My how time flies..

So.. in the time that has lapsed since my last blog, FWYC has held two races.

First was the Portsmouth held on the 17th. Frosty Nipple #5 was held under slightly sporty conditions. Four boats total - our favorite Vanguard 15, 2 420's, and a really fast sunfish came out to brave the conditions that ranged between 15 and 19 knots. We had a GREAT race committee with the Yeagers and Dave Eames supplying his boat. Thanks to you all for helping - I was on a 420 with Alex Johnson and we had a killer time. I may not be speaking for myself so much as everybody on the race course, but I was sore the next day. That storm blew through and a shuttle-sighting party ensued on the point. As a sidenote to this, Jeff Brown is FAST on a Sunfish - Sunfish Midwinters is in Panama City in three weeks, somebody get him to go!!!

Now for the real fun - we had a great PHRF race on Sunday, with Zevins #3. Everybody had a good time on the racecourse, it was a beautiful day. Lightning Rod nosed out Jibe Talkin for the win, congratulations guys. You can check out his pursuits and endeavors on www.lightningrodracing.com - good luck Dave. Barbara Harrington and the Grants made really cool awards - shadowboxes with protest flags and pictures (in honor of Sandy). The most amazing part of my day was looking right behind Jibe Talkin and seeing Cantankerous right behind us.. we were just waiting for Sandy to holler at us at that point. A great Mongolian BBQ hosted by Tom Garner followed, and we all had a great time.

Up next for the racing circuit is the final Frosty Nipple on Sunday, and in the interim.. the J22 midwinter campaign starts. We've already had some Texas jokes flying around e-mails, so if the boat weighs in, you all will get to follow the J22 to Rush Creek Texas for midwinter madness.

All in all, FWYC is having a good time - hope you all are having the same.

Part Deaux: Saturday Night & The Finns..

I left you at the peak of our quest for a shower - we came in off a frustrating Scot sail (is there any other kind?) and a godsend named Louise let us into her house for a well needed hot shower. Feeling like normal people again, we headed back to NOYC. Jeff had some American Brown in a keg down in dry storage, which was pretty much a hit. We checked on our results (nondescript for us, Fairhope in 4th) and glanced at the Finns (one of our CA neighbours was winning at that point). We headed to the French Quarter, did a good hike around downtown, and ate at a great place called the Alpine. Among other high points were the hurricanes and hang grenades.. by the time we got back to the yacht club, I was done, and apparently the debauchery kept rolling in the bar (the Finn sailors are nothing but bad influences). I was woken only by our CA neighbours rolling in at 4am, and then by the wind.

Sunday dawned bright and early, with wind and a great sky, and the sailing was good from that point on. Although I forgot to put in the plug when I put the Scot in the water, all seemed to be forgiven and I went and got to hang out on the Finn committee boat. It was actually a pretty cool experience, SYC has the procedure down, and I got a schooling in not only race committee, but true sailing tactics when one of the Canaliens and Brian Boyd decided to do some match racing for the tie. It was pretty cool, I got some amazing photos, and had a great time all the way around. I got back to NOYC, Jeff and Jim did better (10, 5, 8) and they were excited. We hung out with the Wainrights and had a good time pretty much the whole way home.

In conclusion -

The Finns outdrank us. I'm not sure that they had a better time than us, but they definitely gave us a run for our money, and plan to again at our Meigs Regatta, over the fourth of July. I can't wait, this crowd is a lot of fun, and they intend on supplying some extra boats if we want to sail them, and really intend on having a good time with us. So, to all the FWYC members reading this, thanks for letting us go represent your club, and when we have visitors, sit down and have a drink with them, because there are some really cool people heading our way.

Til next time.. which is actually Sunday, Feb 17 for the FROSTY NIPPLE!!!!!!! yay

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez: The Mardi Gras Hangover Regatta: Part One

Five people from FWYC attended the annual Mardi Gras Regatta hosted by NOYC and SYC this year. We went to sail and represent for Capdevielle.. but little did we know how much fun we would have, and what was in store for us. We left in two groups, Jeff Brown and Jim Coulter decided to grace NOLA with their presence before ours, and by the time we got there, they were well involved in hunting down microbrewed beers. Sam and Jennifer Grant and I left and by the time we hit Garcon Point, we were having issues due to lack of air machines (the kind you find at a gas station) and no bottle opener, which is a serious issue for any traveling sailor. By the time we got to New Orleans (stopping only for fried pickles and one extremely misguided bathroom stop) we arrived to the smell of crawfish and beer, and it pretty much was nonstop from that point on. We were greeted by two Finn sailors from California, who were great neighbours, and our hosts in New Orleans were great. We were extremely excited to see familiar faces, Macho and Louise and Sam and Meredith, and made a load of new friends.. and from that point on Friday night, what happened in New Orleans stays in New Orleans.

Saturday dawned hazy and WINDLESS, and never really picked up. I found the popup and woke up Sam and Jennifer for what would become the first in a neverending quest for bathrooms and showers. Luckily for me and my future hangover, this particular quest involved breakfast and a screwdriver. Feeling slightly more fortified, we headed to the yacht club, where we met our favourite Tammany member, who put flying a Scot in light air into perspective: "Yeah, and if by sailing, you mean sitting in a bathtub hoping it goes forward, then that's what you're going to go do". (Thanks Kevin) and headed out on the scot. By the time we made it to the course, we were hating light air more than normal, and were hungry before race one. Jeff and Jim were volunteered to be on the committee boat, so with Jim as Caparazzi (capdevielle + paparazzi), we felt pretty good. The wind did NOT feel so good, and was shifty and very inconsistent. We didn't get the results we were looking for, (11ths) and did a lot of tactical analyzing that we were planning to use in my race, which of course, got abandoned. My stick time mainly consisted of keeping the boat semi-close to the start line and keeping the sun on Jennifer and I because it was getting chilly. We got towed in by one of New Orlean's chase boats, and we were immensely grateful, as was Gulfport - thanks guys!!!

Stay tuned for Part Deaux: Jeff and Jim take on the Scot, and I watch cute boys go in circles on the Finns.