TillermanJanuary is for frostbiting. We RS Aero sailors are so tough crazy that we relish sailing in the depths of the New England winters. We love digging our boats out from a few feet of snow and chipping ice off the decks, then venturing out into the frigid waters no matter how cold the temperatures are or how strong the winds are.
I didn’t sail at all in January in 2018. I must have had good excuses every Saturday but I can’t remember exactly what they all were. I can probably blame my grandkids for coming to see us at least one weekend and then there was at least one week when I had a bone in my leg. Oh well! On to February.
I sailed my RS Aero three times in Bristol in February! Woohoo! (I must have run out of excuses.)
The first day I only sailed three races. Hey – I have to ease into things gradually at my age. I did come up with 10 reasons why I wimped out early which I think I should get some credit for. And I hurt my arm, so that’s something to be proud of too.
My second race day in February was outstanding… for three reasons. We set a new record attendance of 8 RS Aeros. I sailed all the races. And I came second overall on the day!!! There’s life in the old dog yet.
Full of newfound enthusiasm for RS Aero sailing in the winter, I even went out on the harbor for a practice sail with a couple of friends training partners the next Tuesday. Apparently that was a bad mistake because we got a stern memo from the powers-that be about how this was totally unacceptable and dangerous and we were lucky we didn’t die. Busted! Oh well! On to March.
I didn’t go frostbiting at all in March. Instead I did what all sensible New England people do… which is to go off to Florida in the winter. Specifically I sailed in the Sarasota One Design Midwinters which, as they say, was a “learning experience.” That’s a euphemism for “I sailed really badly.” But we spent a lot of time hanging out chatting about Aero sailing in the Florida sunshine while waiting for wind – which didn’t always come – and as a result I did learn a couple of boat-handling tips from top Aero coaches Peter Barton and Marc Jacobi, and Tillerwoman found lots of fun things to do in Sarasota while I was sailing and we found some great places to eat out within walking distance of our hotel and I didn’t need to dig my boat out of the snow even once…. so it was all good. It was so good I might even go back this year.
Back home in chilly New England there were a couple more days of frostbiting and the season was over. On the last day of the season I was last out of 7 RS Aeros but I was third overall for the season so I guess there is some reward for persistence, and they gave pictures of me to Jim and Eric for “fleet-building” or something which serves them right for winning so often, and before we knew it, winter was over after only about 10 months of cold weather, and it was May.
In May I went to Minorca Sailing for two weeks and sailed an RS Aero every day for 14 days. I went to group classes, and sailed a gazillion races, and had some one-on-one coaching and had lots of fun. Not only did I not need to dig my boat out of the snow even once, I didn’t even need to rig or unrig my boat even once. That’s all done by the incredibly helpful staff. Concierge sailing at its best!
At the end of May I picked up a brand new RS Aero from Zim Sailing which definitely ranks right up there with the Christmas when Santa Claus brought me my first bike, the birthday I was given my first real guitar, and that day I finally mastered how to spell Connetticut Connecticutt Connecticut.
June was crazy. After one day of trying out my RS Aero to make sure I hadn’t rigged it backwards or something, it was the day of the Small Boat Regatta at Massapoag YC, my home club. I figured out that after all my practice in Minorca I would be really tuned-up for this event. How wrong I was. Another “learning experience.” But the good news was that we (once again) broke the record for the highest number of RS Aeros at a regatta in the north-east. NINETEEN! Who are all these people and who bribed them to come and sail on our little puddle? Don’t they have anything better to do? Only kidding people. Thanks for coming. Please come back in 2019 and bring a friend. Surely we we can break twenty this year.
One week after the Small Boat Regatta at MYC it was the Wickford Regatta. The Wickford Regatta is a celebration of one-design fun going back to the 1970s and claims to have been one of the first Laser events in the world. So it’s only fitting that Wickford is now hosting RS Aeros. As one of my Laser sailing friends said, “If the Laser were reincarnated, it would come back as an Aero.” What? Last time I checked its pulse, the Laser isn’t dead yet, but I know what she means. (I think.) It’s good to see Wickford supporting new one-designs as well as the old classics. Anyway we had fourteen Aeros at Wickford this year. The winds were light and my finishes were almost respectable including a third in the last race. (Repeat old dog metaphor from above.)
In July I turned 70 and to celebrate I sailed the two-day Newport Regatta along with my son. The top-notch race committee cracked off fifteen races but I see from the results that I quit early both days. Hmmm. Need to do better than that in 2019, else people will start to think I am getting old. There were only nine Aeros at Newport. Where was everybody? What’s wrong with Newport? Newport is the sailing capital of the world. We should be getting a better turnout than that. We are the the Laser reincarnated. (See reincarnation metaphor above.) Whatever.
On the last Saturday in July, my son and I went to Stonington to sail in the first ever RS Aero regatta in Connecticut. I even wrote a blog post about it. As the official regatta report said, “8 Aeros sailed in sketchy southerly winds with copious chop on the course and a robust tide running east.” And that’s all I have to say about that. I think Forrest Gump said that.
August is a blur.
In September it was back to Massapoag YC again for their 69th Annual Regatta – a two day extravaganza of feasting and drinking and one design sailing. There were 15 RS Aeros and about 80 future Aero owners who didn’t know it yet. I mean, seriously people, why are you still sailing boats from the middle of the last century? I sailed the Saturday but was so exhausted when I woke up on Sunday morning that I skipped the second day. Seriously. I do need to work on improving my stamina in 2019 else people really will start to think I am getting old. (See Newport Regatta above.)
In October we had the Quahog Regatta in Bristol with its unique racing format. All the RS Aeros on dollies are placed in a line on the grass and the skippers sit on the bow of each boat. Then when the quahog is blown, everybody jumps up and drags their boat to the boat ramp elbowing everyone else out of their way and screaming “Quahog! Quahog! Quahog!” I think Eric said something worse than “quahog” when I tripped him up and wheeled my Aero over his prone body in my haste to get to the ramp first. And I still feel bad about breaking Jim’s mast. Anyway, the course was round Hog Island and back and the winner got drenched with the traditional pot of quahog chowder. The after-race party was awesome but I cannot reveal more or I will be struck with the Curse of the Quahog.
November and December are for frostbiting. We RS Aero sailors are so tough crazy that we relish sailing in the depths of the New England winters. We love digging our boats out from a few feet of snow and chipping ice off the decks, then venturing out into the frigid waters no matter how cold the temperatures are or how strong the winds are.
I did go frostbiting in November a few times. Did some stupid stuff.
And I did go frostbiting in December. Got everything right once. But then I did what all sensible New England people do… which is to go off to Florida in the winter. Specifically I sailed in the Sanford Sailfest which is a fun regatta on a lake in Florida where you get to sail with alligators. Finally, after all the screw-ups and wimp-outs and stupid stuff discussed above… finally I got my act together and finished second overall in the thirteen boat RS Aero fleet including beating the current world champion in the first race. Check out Annoyingly Quick.
I sailed an Aero on 63 days in 2018. And on the last of those days I had a good regatta.
Hmmm!
In 2019 I think I will sail an Aero on at least 80 days. Who knows what will happen?
Is this post too long?
I think I’ll take a nap now.
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