BYC Poopdeck Article - December 2019

​It’s been a busy month at the Manatee River Pram Fleet!  Our race team travelled to Lake Eustis and made a splash at the Inland Lakes Championship Regatta.  Day one brought some heavy air, and our sailors loved it.  Regina Rettig and Isaiah Jones raced in the Opti RWB fleet and both placed consistently in the top 10 all day, with Isaiah taking 2nd on the first race of the day.  The wind died down for day two, and while Regina took the lead for a bit, the crowded course and lack of a steady breeze made for a frustrating day.  Isaiah and Regina finished 7th and 12th, respectively.  Brodie Hausman dominated the Laser Radial fleet, taking 1st in nine out ten races over the weekend and securing a commanding win.
 
While the race team was enjoying the lake life, our recreational team took to the good old Manatee River.  This month we added a little distance to our excursions.  One week we ventured west to the floating dock at Emerson State Preserve.  This gave our sailors another opportunity to practice docking and approaching in shallow water – and even more importantly, a chance to get out of their boats for a swim break!  While the warmer water is nice, it sure has been hot out here.  After some patient and challenging light air drifting, the wind filled in and made for a much more enjoyable downwind sail back to the Club. 
 
Recreational sailing is intended to be just that, recreational.  But we all know, it’s hard to have fun unless you know what you are doing.  While summer camp is a great intro into sailing, it can be hard to fully grasp the concept of tacking upwind in such a short time.  We have been starting our rec days with mini chalk talks, mostly focused on upwind sailing and the results are starting to show!  At our last rec sail, we purposefully challenged them with a longer upwind sail, and they all tackled it successfully.  We are averaging 9 sailors at each rec sail, and it has been a joy to watch them all steadily improve. 
 
The MRPF racing team also participated in the 39th Annual Sarasota Yacht Club Invitational last month.  This was a one-day regatta on Sarasota Bay, and while it started off glass calm with no breeze in sight, conditions improved as the day progressed.  James Freund and Brodie Hausman enjoyed using the new 420, finishing 6th in their fleet!  Regina Rettig and Cooper Duquette represented MRPF on the Opti RWB course. They made the most of a small starting line, with Regina taking 8th and Cooper securing 1st place.  Congratulations to our team on a day full of top ten finishes! 
 
If you know a sailor that completed one of our summer learn to sail programs, or an equivalent, and would like to get involved in one of our year-round sailing programs, please contact us via email at [email protected].
 
Sail Fast!