Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[Joel Aronson via CnC-List]

In the Chesapeake, there is CHESSS, Chesapeake short handed sailing
society.  They run a number of single and double handed races, spin and
non-spin.  It was started by  a friend on West River who got fed up trying
to put together crew.  https://www.chbaysss.org/

I started racing in middle school, and again in college.  Then started
racing as a way to get to sail OPB when a boat was not in the budget.  I
still do Wednesday and Friday OPB for the challenge, the  social aspect and
as away to get me on the water during the week.
I started racing offshore because the thought of just a cruise to Bermuda
was foreign at the time (not any more) and non of my friends were
interested in just a 5-6 day cruise.  After my Covid shots I'll start
weekday racing again.

Joel

On Sat, Jan 30, 2021 at 12:53 PM CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List <
cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:

> Why race?
>
> If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, getting a
> boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to trim sails
> properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few racing
> rules and signal flags, learning how to develop and manage crew members,
> building a team, etc.   I enjoyed the challenge and personal growth that
> came with it and I'm grateful for all the people I met along the journey.
>
>
> Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all costs.
> Cost being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of breakage is
> another.  Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills associated with
> learning the start sequence, flag signals, racing rules, etc.
>
> I followed the cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on some
> racing boats and learned the start sequence and how to get round the course
> and then had some experienced racers coach me aboard my boat on a couple
> races.  It made the greatest difference to have their experience and skills
> to make the races safe and I would encourage any yachtclub to foster that
> program of coaching cruisers in a few races.  I was lucky and found some
> really good guys to help me learn.  My mentors were soft spoken experts who
> were firm but never raised their voices, so all my pickup crew members had
> total respect for their wisdom and we prepped the bottom and I had good
> sails and we did very well.
>
> Why do others race?  How did you learn?
>
> Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R Pasadena Md
>
>
> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with
> the costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use
> PayPal to send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks
> - Stu



-- 
Joel
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[Matthew via CnC-List]

I chuckled at your closing line, Dave.  My wife has become more interested in 
going out on the boat in recent years.  This past summer I set the anchor 
twice.  First time in decades.  

 

From: Dave Godwin via CnC-List  
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2021 7:37 PM
To: C List 
Cc: CHARLES SCHEAFFER ; Dave Godwin 
Subject: Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

 

Charlie,

 

This thread has been interesting. I was wondering, since you mentioned Old 
Dominion, if you ran across Greg Cutter, professor at ODU who was an active 
member of this list and is a serious racer? He and I have raced together, in 
the past and recently Double-handed Down the Bay races and have had a good 
time. We stay in touch.

 

As a data point, I started racing as crew in Cruising One Design boats in the 
winter of 1994/95 in Annapolis. Never looked back; it was like crack cocaine 
for me. I crewed every opportunity that I got, all year long, every weekend and 
any other racing that I could attach myself to. Graduated from crew to owing my 
own boat in the early 80’s. Interesting story there; I crewed on my friend’s 
father’s Sparkman & Stevens alumni 60’, Brigadoon against her sister-ship, 
Running Tide in an AYC Fall Series. I was assigned to the only 3-speed grinder 
for the jib. It was very heavy air. I probably weighted about 145 lbs at the 
time. Me and the other grunt were responsible for the first and second gear 
in-haul, after which we were completely exhausted and a second couple jumped in 
and finished off the tack in the fine gear. I would stagger back to the high 
side and wouldn’t even know where we were. I remember looking back to the 
after-guard and having a revelation: I’d rather be a big frog (my own boat) on 
a small boat than a small frog in a big pond…

 

I crewed or captained on other non-One Design boats, back in the day on 
One-tonners and the like but I just never cared for handicap racing. One design 
was pretty simple: if my competitor was going faster than me, I was doing 
something wrong. And vice versa. Crewed for a good number of famous names in 
Annapolis, around the buoys and off-shore.

 

Did that for 35 years. Stopped because I had earned the respect of my peers and 
the racing was getting to be like the same old black-and-white movie over and 
over again. The start. The mark roundings. Set the ‘ chute. Take down the 
‘chute. The finish. And primarily because given my intensity on the course, I 
was either going to have an aneurysm or be beaten to death with winch handles 
by my crew. Probably the latter.

 

When I met my soon-to-be wife, I informed her that sailing/racing was my life. 
If she wasn’t onboard with that, well fine. She said that she liked sailing (if 
I had a dollar for all my girlfriends who said that and then tried to get me to 
take up golf, I’d have a Hinckley…) and that she wanter to learn how to sail. I 
said that the absolute best way to learn to sail was crew on a race boat. She 
quickly responded that she wanted to crew for me. I told her that our 
relationship would have a half-life of two weeks. I put her on my old crew’s 
race boat and things worked out for the best.

 

So, for me there is not a better way to be able to sail well and comfortably 
than having racing chops in your quiver. I’m still not really a cruiser. I 
can’t anchor to save myself.

 

Regards,

Dave Godwin

1982 C 37 - Ronin

1998 Mast & Mallet Thomas Point 34 - Katana





On Jan 30, 2021, at 5:06 PM, cenelson via CnC-List mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote:

 

+1 on why race Chuck. All your points are valid and they match my own reasons 
for doing it—plus a few more.

 

I got into sailing late in life and had a terrific mentor who was a champion 
sailor at Old Dominion in college. So I learned what it took to get a boat to 
maximize its potential—all in PHRF racing. Plus he found crew.

 

I found two additional reasons why I race:

 

1) I wanted to earn the respect of the sailors I raced against, most of whom 
knew a lot more than I about sailing and racing. I thought it would be cool to 
compete with what I thought were the best sailors, at least locally.

 

2) I found I enjoyed the competition, the thrill of a good start, catching 
someone to windward or keeping them behind me downwind, etc. among friends was 
fun! Of course, I was more often behind, than ahead, blew the start, was Lee 
bowed and left in the gas of other boats and finished DFL! Back at the dock, we 
commiserated among the crew but often our competitors would come by and 
congratulate us about a good move even in defeat!

 

After many years, I am usually mid-fleet but with enough top finishes to make 
up for the boat costs and troubles and difficulty of finding and keeping crew. 

 

I still love being “...in the game...” and as long as I do, I will race (and 
sail) on!

 

Charlie Nelson

Water Phantom

 


Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS 
<https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-em

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[Randy Stafford via CnC-List]

“Why do others race?  How did you learn?”

For me it’s like any other pursuit - skiing, bicycling, golf, tennis, whatever 
- if you go out with people who are better than you, you’ll learn and improve.

That’s why I started out crewing on other people’s boats.  Besides rehearsing 
basic blocking and tackling, I got to see different techniques and leadership 
styles.  To quote Jimmy Buffett, “and I learned much from both of their styles.”

The main reason I race now is because it gets me out sailing regularly with 
good friends.  April through October it’s a big part of the general rhythm of 
life.  A highlight of the week, to go out on Wednesday night with my buddies 
and have a good time and try to win.

Cheers, Randy
S/V Grenadine
C 30 MK I #79
Ken Caryl, CO

> On Jan 30, 2021, at 10:51 AM, CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List 
>  wrote:
> 
> Why race?
>  
> If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, getting a 
> boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to trim sails 
> properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few racing rules 
> and signal flags, learning how to develop and manage crew members, building a 
> team, etc.   I enjoyed the challenge and personal growth that came with it 
> and I'm grateful for all the people I met along the journey.  
>  
> Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all costs.  Cost 
> being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of breakage is another. 
>  Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills associated with learning the 
> start sequence, flag signals, racing rules, etc.
>  
> I followed the cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on some 
> racing boats and learned the start sequence and how to get round the course 
> and then had some experienced racers coach me aboard my boat on a couple 
> races.  It made the greatest difference to have their experience and skills 
> to make the races safe and I would encourage any yachtclub to foster that 
> program of coaching cruisers in a few races.  I was lucky and found some 
> really good guys to help me learn.  My mentors were soft spoken experts who 
> were firm but never raised their voices, so all my pickup crew members had 
> total respect for their wisdom and we prepped the bottom and I had good sails 
> and we did very well.
>  
> Why do others race?  How did you learn?
>  
> Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R Pasadena Md
>  
>  
> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with 
> the costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use 
> PayPal to send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[John Conklin via CnC-List]

Great thread! Great points. I do love the competition, and it has made me a 
much better sailor. Started racing PHRF on a hunter 33,38,46 same owner kept 
upgrading. He could have had a J/120 but the wife would not let him upgrade 
without a washer and dryer!
Regardless it was competition, and fun against some killer boats out of 
Stamford  and yes, lots of them! We actually won a few too!  I happened  upon 
my  C 37 when I went to Oriental to just get a slip few years back. So many 
boats in town, but so few racers, :( I was talked into doing a pursuit race 
which we won, after starting last and I was hooked! Learned the start sequence 
and had a ball in the JAM class. I loved the racing so much, but waiting to see 
if you really won was killer, and I always marvelled at the pointy Etchells 3 
of them that would blow past me. So here comes  the competition again. I found 
a used etchells very cheap. The new set of sails was worth 2x more then what we 
paid for the whole deal! I  talked my neighbor who was a very serious J/24 
champ out of NJ. Into splitting it with me. We cleaned her up painted her and 
were off to the races literally! :) Very minimal investment As mentioned in 
others post, this guy is my mentor one of those who does not raise the voice 
who just loves to sail. I have Learned so so much! I was having fun but this 
was new level, against national champion crew and another few 20-25 year 
veterans. He is one of the ones with a calm voice that has taught me to the 
game, spinnaker, port start, lee bow, angles 
We now have 4  etchells. Head to head fun.  Whats sad as mentioned is the 
decline of participation in the races. These old(er) timers speak of 40 -75 
boats on the line years ago, when now there is the just the 4 of us and MAYBE 5 
boats in the JAM class on a good day. I am hopeful as mentioned to get some of 
the cruising fleet to give it a go and not be scared of damage to boat or ego, 
just go have fun. I am passonate about keeping it alive and this year have 
joined the Board or the club and will do whatever I can to keep it alive for 
the good of sailng.  As Charlie says, Sail on!

John Conklin
S/V Halcyon
www.flirtingwithfire.net


On Jan 30, 2021, at 12:52 PM, CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List 
 wrote:


Why race?

If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, getting a boat 
to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to trim sails properly, 
learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few racing rules and signal 
flags, learning how to develop and manage crew members, building a team, etc.   
I enjoyed the challenge and personal growth that came with it and I'm grateful 
for all the people I met along the journey.

Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all costs.  Cost 
being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of breakage is another.  
Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills associated with learning the 
start sequence, flag signals, racing rules, etc.

I followed the cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on some 
racing boats and learned the start sequence and how to get round the course and 
then had some experienced racers coach me aboard my boat on a couple races.  It 
made the greatest difference to have their experience and skills to make the 
races safe and I would encourage any yachtclub to foster that program of 
coaching cruisers in a few races.  I was lucky and found some really good guys 
to help me learn.  My mentors were soft spoken experts who were firm but never 
raised their voices, so all my pickup crew members had total respect for their 
wisdom and we prepped the bottom and I had good sails and we did very well.

Why do others race?  How did you learn?

Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R Pasadena Md


Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[cenelson via CnC-List]

Yes. In fact, he owned a C 30 XL Gremellen? rigged identically to my 36 XL. I 
invited his then crew to come and race my new to me 36 soon after I had her 
delivered to NC.
We smoked the local PHRF spinnaker fleet since his crew was both excellent and 
were racing a boat almost identical to his (his foredeck guy claimed to be a 
boat Ho and that he new nothing aft of the mast. OTOH, at the last minute on 
Greg’s call he switched the foredeck from a bear away to a gybe set which would 
take most of the downwind leg for my crew to manage!
Gremellyn was lost when on the hard a storm blew other boats onto to his. Great 
guy and he knew his racing. BTW, he had just acquired an Audi convertible and 
on his way to NC on the deserted 2 lane roads from Norfolk to Washington pegged 
her more than a few times at ~140 mph!
Funny story with Greg: Went to his area for a racing seminar—North maybe—and we 
met for dinner at his favorite Thai? Restaurant—on me since I was actively 
picking his racing brain!
Anyhow he orders some dish and asks for the 911 hot sauce. As a boob from 
eastern NC, I ask what the hell was that. He says it’s the hottest sauce they 
have and it’s called 911 for obvious reasons. It arrives (I ordered a mild 
sauce) and my eyes start watering from the vapors of HIS 911 sauce! 
Nonetheless, he digs in and soon is crying for water to put the fire out in his 
mouth!
IMHO, he is one of those guys who know so much about racing that they ooze 
information just listening to him.

I think he still races on an Elliot 770? With his daughter as crew or skipper.
Nice to know you know him—can be a small world indeed!
Charlie NelsonWater Phantom
Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS


On Saturday, January 30, 2021, 7:37 PM, Dave Godwin  wrote:

Charlie,
This thread has been interesting. I was wondering, since you mentioned Old 
Dominion, if you ran across Greg Cutter, professor at ODU who was an active 
member of this list and is a serious racer? He and I have raced together, in 
the past and recently Double-handed Down the Bay races and have had a good 
time. We stay in touch.
As a data point, I started racing as crew in Cruising One Design boats in the 
winter of 1994/95 in Annapolis. Never looked back; it was like crack cocaine 
for me. I crewed every opportunity that I got, all year long, every weekend and 
any other racing that I could attach myself to. Graduated from crew to owing my 
own boat in the early 80’s. Interesting story there; I crewed on my friend’s 
father’s Sparkman & Stevens alumni 60’, Brigadoon against her sister-ship, 
Running Tide in an AYC Fall Series. I was assigned to the only 3-speed grinder 
for the jib. It was very heavy air. I probably weighted about 145 lbs at the 
time. Me and the other grunt were responsible for the first and second gear 
in-haul, after which we were completely exhausted and a second couple jumped in 
and finished off the tack in the fine gear. I would stagger back to the high 
side and wouldn’t even know where we were. I remember looking back to the 
after-guard and having a revelation: I’d rather be a big frog (my own boat) on 
a small boat than a small frog in a big pond…
I crewed or captained on other non-One Design boats, back in the day on 
One-tonners and the like but I just never cared for handicap racing. One design 
was pretty simple: if my competitor was going faster than me, I was doing 
something wrong. And vice versa. Crewed for a good number of famous names in 
Annapolis, around the buoys and off-shore.
Did that for 35 years. Stopped because I had earned the respect of my peers and 
the racing was getting to be like the same old black-and-white movie over and 
over again. The start. The mark roundings. Set the ‘ chute. Take down the 
‘chute. The finish. And primarily because given my intensity on the course, I 
was either going to have an aneurysm or be beaten to death with winch handles 
by my crew. Probably the latter.
When I met my soon-to-be wife, I informed her that sailing/racing was my life. 
If she wasn’t onboard with that, well fine. She said that she liked sailing (if 
I had a dollar for all my girlfriends who said that and then tried to get me to 
take up golf, I’d have a Hinckley…) and that she wanter to learn how to sail. I 
said that the absolute best way to learn to sail was crew on a race boat. She 
quickly responded that she wanted to crew for me. I told her that our 
relationship would have a half-life of two weeks. I put her on my old crew’s 
race boat and things worked out for the best.
So, for me there is not a better way to be able to sail well and comfortably 
than having racing chops in your quiver. I’m still not really a cruiser. I 
can’t anchor to save myself.
Regards,Dave Godwin1982 C 37 - Ronin1998 Mast & Mallet Thomas Point 34 - 
Katana

On Jan 30, 2021, at 5:06 PM, cenelson via CnC-List  
wrote:
+1 on why race Chuck. All your points are valid and they match my own reasons 
for doing it—plus a few more.
I got into 

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[Dave Godwin via CnC-List]

Charlie,

This thread has been interesting. I was wondering, since you mentioned Old 
Dominion, if you ran across Greg Cutter, professor at ODU who was an active 
member of this list and is a serious racer? He and I have raced together, in 
the past and recently Double-handed Down the Bay races and have had a good 
time. We stay in touch.

As a data point, I started racing as crew in Cruising One Design boats in the 
winter of 1994/95 in Annapolis. Never looked back; it was like crack cocaine 
for me. I crewed every opportunity that I got, all year long, every weekend and 
any other racing that I could attach myself to. Graduated from crew to owing my 
own boat in the early 80’s. Interesting story there; I crewed on my friend’s 
father’s Sparkman & Stevens alumni 60’, Brigadoon against her sister-ship, 
Running Tide in an AYC Fall Series. I was assigned to the only 3-speed grinder 
for the jib. It was very heavy air. I probably weighted about 145 lbs at the 
time. Me and the other grunt were responsible for the first and second gear 
in-haul, after which we were completely exhausted and a second couple jumped in 
and finished off the tack in the fine gear. I would stagger back to the high 
side and wouldn’t even know where we were. I remember looking back to the 
after-guard and having a revelation: I’d rather be a big frog (my own boat) on 
a small boat than a small frog in a big pond…

I crewed or captained on other non-One Design boats, back in the day on 
One-tonners and the like but I just never cared for handicap racing. One design 
was pretty simple: if my competitor was going faster than me, I was doing 
something wrong. And vice versa. Crewed for a good number of famous names in 
Annapolis, around the buoys and off-shore.

Did that for 35 years. Stopped because I had earned the respect of my peers and 
the racing was getting to be like the same old black-and-white movie over and 
over again. The start. The mark roundings. Set the ‘ chute. Take down the 
‘chute. The finish. And primarily because given my intensity on the course, I 
was either going to have an aneurysm or be beaten to death with winch handles 
by my crew. Probably the latter.

When I met my soon-to-be wife, I informed her that sailing/racing was my life. 
If she wasn’t onboard with that, well fine. She said that she liked sailing (if 
I had a dollar for all my girlfriends who said that and then tried to get me to 
take up golf, I’d have a Hinckley…) and that she wanter to learn how to sail. I 
said that the absolute best way to learn to sail was crew on a race boat. She 
quickly responded that she wanted to crew for me. I told her that our 
relationship would have a half-life of two weeks. I put her on my old crew’s 
race boat and things worked out for the best.

So, for me there is not a better way to be able to sail well and comfortably 
than having racing chops in your quiver. I’m still not really a cruiser. I 
can’t anchor to save myself.

Regards,
Dave Godwin
1982 C 37 - Ronin
1998 Mast & Mallet Thomas Point 34 - Katana

> On Jan 30, 2021, at 5:06 PM, cenelson via CnC-List  
> wrote:
> 
> +1 on why race Chuck. All your points are valid and they match my own reasons 
> for doing it—plus a few more.
> 
> I got into sailing late in life and had a terrific mentor who was a champion 
> sailor at Old Dominion in college. So I learned what it took to get a boat to 
> maximize its potential—all in PHRF racing. Plus he found crew.
> 
> I found two additional reasons why I race:
> 
> 1) I wanted to earn the respect of the sailors I raced against, most of whom 
> knew a lot more than I about sailing and racing. I thought it would be cool 
> to compete with what I thought were the best sailors, at least locally.
> 
> 2) I found I enjoyed the competition, the thrill of a good start, catching 
> someone to windward or keeping them behind me downwind, etc. among friends 
> was fun! Of course, I was more often behind, than ahead, blew the start, was 
> Lee bowed and left in the gas of other boats and finished DFL! Back at the 
> dock, we commiserated among the crew but often our competitors would come by 
> and congratulate us about a good move even in defeat!
> 
> After many years, I am usually mid-fleet but with enough top finishes to make 
> up for the boat costs and troubles and difficulty of finding and keeping 
> crew. 
> 
> I still love being “...in the game...” and as long as I do, I will race (and 
> sail) on!
> 
> Charlie Nelson
> Water Phantom
>  
> 
> 
> Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS 
> 
> 
> On Saturday, January 30, 2021, 1:31 PM, CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List 
>  wrote:
> 
> Why race?
>  
> If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, getting a 
> boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to trim sails 
> properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few racing rules 
> and signal flags, learning how 

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[Don Kern via CnC-List]

Chuck,
That a good question with valid answers.  I would add, it pulls the 
families together.  On my boat I have three generation enjoying (most of 
the time) the exaltation of a good competitive team sport, afterwards 
sitting below laughing at some the stunts pulled during the race, and 
then of course the party with competitors afterwards and trying to 
figure out why they went the way they did.


Another answer is: I always have raced.  There is an adage, that when 
two sailboats meet - the race is on.
My dad was a naval architect and he built my brother and I an 8' sailing 
pram, in high school we built a kit Thistle which I campaign for twenty 
years. Was on the sailing team at Univ of RI, team captain and coach at 
Naval Academy, family bought our C in 1980 and have raced it ever 
since, at one point with 4 generations aboard.


My question is: why has sailboat racing in the decline?? In the 60's the 
weekend regattas on Narragansett Bay drew over 100 boats. PHRF-NB in the 
early 2000's was over 600 boats, today we hover around 400.

Reasons I have been given:

   Families have too many other things on their agenda.
   Hard to get crew.
   Too stressful

Don Kern
/Fireball,/ C$C35 Mk2
Bristol, RI


On 1/30/2021 12:51 PM, CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List wrote:

Why race?
If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, 
getting a boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to 
trim sails properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a 
few racing rules and signal flags, learning how to develop and manage 
crew members, building a team, etc.   I enjoyed the challenge and 
personal growth that came with it and I'm grateful for all the people 
I met along the journey.
Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all 
costs.  Cost being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of 
breakage is another.  Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills 
associated with learning the start sequence, flag signals, racing 
rules, etc.
I followed the cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on 
some racing boats and learned the start sequence and how to get round 
the course and then had some experienced racers coach me aboard my 
boat on a couple races.  It made the greatest difference to have their 
experience and skills to make the races safe and I would encourage any 
yachtclub to foster that program of coaching cruisers in a few races.  
I was lucky and found some really good guys to help me learn.  My 
mentors were soft spoken experts who were firm but never raised their 
voices, so all my pickup crew members had total respect for their 
wisdom and we prepped the bottom and I had good sails and we did very 
well.

Why do others race?  How did you learn?
Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R Pasadena Md

Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu


Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[cenelson via CnC-List]

+1 on why race Chuck. All your points are valid and they match my own reasons 
for doing it—plus a few more.
I got into sailing late in life and had a terrific mentor who was a champion 
sailor at Old Dominion in college. So I learned what it took to get a boat to 
maximize its potential—all in PHRF racing. Plus he found crew.
I found two additional reasons why I race:
1) I wanted to earn the respect of the sailors I raced against, most of whom 
knew a lot more than I about sailing and racing. I thought it would be cool to 
compete with what I thought were the best sailors, at least locally.
2) I found I enjoyed the competition, the thrill of a good start, catching 
someone to windward or keeping them behind me downwind, etc. among friends was 
fun! Of course, I was more often behind, than ahead, blew the start, was Lee 
bowed and left in the gas of other boats and finished DFL! Back at the dock, we 
commiserated among the crew but often our competitors would come by and 
congratulate us about a good move even in defeat!
After many years, I am usually mid-fleet but with enough top finishes to make 
up for the boat costs and troubles and difficulty of finding and keeping crew. 
I still love being “...in the game...” and as long as I do, I will race (and 
sail) on!
Charlie NelsonWater Phantom 


Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS


On Saturday, January 30, 2021, 1:31 PM, CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List 
 wrote:

   Why race?       If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail 
better, getting a boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to 
trim sails properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few 
racing rules and signal flags, learning how to develop and manage crew members, 
building a team, etc.   I enjoyed the challenge and personal growth that came 
with it and I'm grateful for all the people I met along the journey.            
 Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all costs.  Cost 
being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of breakage is another.  
Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills associated with learning the 
start sequence, flag signals, racing rules, etc.           I followed the 
cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on some racing boats and 
learned the start sequence and how to get round the course and then had some 
experienced racers coach me aboard my boat on a couple races.  It made the 
greatest difference to have their experience and skills to make the races safe 
and I would encourage any yachtclub to foster that program of coaching cruisers 
in a few races.  I was lucky and found some really good guys to help me learn.  
My mentors were soft spoken experts who were firm but never raised their 
voices, so all my pickup crew members had total respect for their wisdom and we 
prepped the bottom and I had good sails and we did very well.       Why do 
others race?  How did you learn?       Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R 
Pasadena Md          Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the 
list to help with the costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the 
list - use PayPal to send contribution --  https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  
Thanks - Stu


Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu

Stus-List Re: Why race? How did you learn?

[dwight veinot via CnC-List]

Proper approach and attitude Chuck. Good stuff you post

On Sat, Jan 30, 2021 at 1:52 PM CHARLES SCHEAFFER via CnC-List <
cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote:

> Why race?
>
> If you consider the benefits of racing; learning to sail better, getting a
> boat to perform at it's highest efficiency, learning how to trim sails
> properly, learning to use the tide and currents, learning a few racing
> rules and signal flags, learning how to develop and manage crew members,
> building a team, etc.   I enjoyed the challenge and personal growth that
> came with it and I'm grateful for all the people I met along the journey.
>
>
> Racing has a stigma about it that diehard cruisers avoid at all costs.
> Cost being the most important.  Risk of collision and risk of breakage is
> another.  Next is prep time.  Next is learning new skills associated with
> learning the start sequence, flag signals, racing rules, etc.
>
> I followed the cautious route learning to race my boat.  I crewed on some
> racing boats and learned the start sequence and how to get round the course
> and then had some experienced racers coach me aboard my boat on a couple
> races.  It made the greatest difference to have their experience and skills
> to make the races safe and I would encourage any yachtclub to foster that
> program of coaching cruisers in a few races.  I was lucky and found some
> really good guys to help me learn.  My mentors were soft spoken experts who
> were firm but never raised their voices, so all my pickup crew members had
> total respect for their wisdom and we prepped the bottom and I had good
> sails and we did very well.
>
> Why do others race?  How did you learn?
>
> Chuck Scheaffer Resolute 1989 C 34R Pasadena Md
>
>
> Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with
> the costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use
> PayPal to send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks
> - Stu

-- 
Sent from Gmail Mobile
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu