Vicki Palmer, Windward Leg Editor

windwardlegeditor@gmail.com

Nominations for the Honorary Life Member Award are starting to come in! Don’t forget to submit your favorite candidate using the form here:  

Your nominations must include the reason(s) why your candidate deserves to be considered for this prestigious annual award. Deadline for submissions is August 15, 2024. Only 2024 ACTIVE ISCA members are eligible to submit a nomination.

ISCA Constitution 10.4 - The World Council may grant honorary life membership in ISCA to any one person a year who, through special contribution to the class or through special relationship to ISCA, is considered meritorious. An honorary life member is entitled to full privileges of membership but is not required to pay the annual dues of ISCA. 

At the Chicago Yacht Club on October 4-6, 2024, Dick Tillman will be inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Dick’s long list of sailing accomplishments in the sailing world are being recognized with this prestigious honor. Within the Sunfish Class, Dick served as ISCA President from 2002-2006 and won every award possible that recognized not only his champion sailing skills but also his dedication and service to the Sunfish Class. A most-deserving champion at so many different levels whose legacy within the Sunfish Class will never be forgotten. Dick was the most wonderful kind of friend whose kindness and loyalty will keep his memory alive in our hearts forever.

By Robert Harris

Fifty-four years ago, several sailors sat on the beach at the Southold Yacht Club (SYC) looking across at Shelter Island and mused “wouldn’t it be fun to race our 14 foot long Sunfish around the Island,” and thus the “World’s Longest Sunfish Race” (WLSR) was born. The 53^rd WLSR took place last Saturday. The race starts and finishes at the SYC, circumnavigating Shelter Island. There is a singles fleet and a doubles fleet. 

The actual sailing distance with tacking and jibing is estimated to be about 26 miles, the length of a marathon. Sailors hailed from as far afield as Nevada, Georgia and Australia.  It is a very competitive race and one of endurance; just finishing is an accomplishment. After a rough day on - and in - the water, a double dose of Advil after racing hits the spot!

Sailors ranged in age from 16 to 76.  Sixteen year old John Price, who hails from Cutchogue, shared a boat with his sister, Elizbeth who said “90% of the race was great.”   Ruth Hakanson and her daughter, Chloe, straight off an 18-hour flight from Australia, shared a boat and had the best time ever. Tom Dunkelman, now in his 60’s, who first sailed with the SYC at the age of 15, and always wanted to give it another go, flew in from Nevada for the event and wound up borrowing WLSR Chair Beth Fleisher’s boat. 

Chris Williams, from Utah, won the race and will be having his name inscribed on the WBAZ-FM Plaque, a perpetual trophy. Local sailors, Bill Edwards and his wife, Tina, who have always sailed singles, switched it up and sailed doubles on Saturday, and ended up placing first in doubles. Only time will tell if they go back to singles. Jack Schultz from the Westhampton Youth Squadron won the youth award. George Zinger will have his name inscribed on the Heinl-Lyman Octogenarian Plaque: Oldest Competitor and First Master (age 50+) to finish. Isis Shiffer from the Sebago Canoe Club will have her name inscribed on the Peggy Wagner Memorial Plaque for First Female Finisher. Big congrats all.

Sunfish are one of the world’s most popular boats, with over half a million built since 1952. Sixty-seven of those boats participated on Saturday with 74 sailors which included seven doubles, making this one of the largest WLSRs to date. 

No club can operate without its staff of volunteers. They are the backbone of any club.  They do all the hard work while we sailors sail. With that said, every volunteer that I work with enjoys being a part of the team and spending the day on the water or doing whatever else is necessary to make the club run smoothly. This past Saturday was no exception and over 30 volunteers made it possible for all 74 sailors to participate. 

Being a sailor and a volunteer, I know what goes into running a club smoothly, and I’m sure that I speak for all the participants when I say thank you for all the work that you tirelessly performed. An example was Commodore Gregg Young who was the first safety boat on the water and the last to come ashore.

Prior to the racing, Race Chair Beth Fleisher held a meeting with all the volunteers explaining their duties and stressing safety. Then she held the skippers’ meeting again stressing safety.  Every sailor had to wear a life jacket, not just have it on board, which should be standard practice. She made clear that the North and South Ferries had right of way and to stay clear. She also made a point of saying that if a sailor quit racing, he or she had to notify the race committee so that they would not worry and go looking for you. Even though most sailors figured that we would sail counterclockwise around Shelter Island because of the wind and tide, Beth waited until the end to confirm that was the course.  During the meeting, an observant sailor noticed and reported that a boat with sail number 1 had left the beach to get an early start.  There was one minor problem, however, the sailor was attending the meeting. Cole Colby did retrieve his boat and everyone got a laugh. 

As we all know, sailing is largely dependent upon the wind, with maybe some skill thrown in.  On Saturday, the prediction was for light wind in the morning, building by late afternoon. It turned out the weatherman was right on. 

At the start, the wind was fairly light and stayed that way until we approached Mashomack where it started to build. Knowing the local waters and the currents, especially around South Ferry and after passing Mashomack, was of utmost importance, and the race leaders more than likely studied the currents. By the time we rounded Hay beach and began the last leg of this marathon, it had really started to blow at 15 gusting to maybe 18 knots.  Not only were we fighting the wind, but the wakes from the big boats as well as the choppy waters made the last leg of the nautical marathon really challenging. Nonetheless, most of the fleet finished within the time frame.  The finishing window was 5:12 p.m., with the first boat finishing in just over 4 hours 44 minutes and the last in about 6 hours.

Congratulations to all the sailors who competed in this nautical marathon.

Facebook posting … 

In the 77 boat Sunfish Fleet, Chris Williams captured his second World’s Longest Sunfish Race Around Shelter Island Title in only three years. Chris made the critical pass only a half boat length away from five-time Shelter Island Winner, John Eckert (2^nd place) entering Greenport. Chris was able to hold him off through the long 1.5 hour beat in adverse current and 12-15 mph winds. 

Griffin Sisk had a similar comeback passing Lee Montes (5^th) and then Stuart Dreheim (1^st time racer, 4^th place) to capture third. 

The race took about 4 hours and 40 minutes for the first finishers. 

Isis Shiffer from Brooklyn, NY-Sebago Canoe Club was top female. Bill and Tina Edwards were top Double Handed boat. George Zinger- eldest competitor. Chris Williams top Master. 

Rookie notables- John Butine (10^th- Lake Norman YC- Charlotte, NC); Stuart Draheim (3^rd- Roger Williams U Alum). 

Congratulations to ALL the finishers!

World’s Longest Sunfish Race – photo courtesy of Gayle Sheridan Photography.

July 20-21, 2024 – Sodus Bay Jr. Sailing Association, Sodus Point, NY 

July 20-21, 2024 – Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club

Photos courtesy of Don Stucke. L to R in the winners' photo:

Sam Williams (4th), Scott Greenbaum (5th), Alan Beckwith (2nd), Alexa (Bill B's daughter), Bill Brangiforte (3rd), Amanda Callahan (1st), Marguerite Kreuzkamp (Good Sportsmanship)

By Bob Harris

This past Sunday, the Menantic Yacht Club not only ran an abbreviated series of regular Sunfish races, but we also hosted the Shelter Island Yacht Club in a series of team races that we’ve named the Island Cup.  West Neck Harbor was full of sailors and spectators cheering on their favorites. The idea behind the match-up was to forge friendships and have fun together in a relaxed but competitive atmosphere, and that’s exactly what happened.

The First Island Cup was a series of three on three team races with two flights on a box course. Representing the SIYC were Peter Beardsley, Jack Lane, Amanda Clark of Olympic fame, Kate Bogart, Connor Needham and Chip Whipple.  Representing the MYC were Paul Zinger, Lee Montes, Derek Webster, Caitlin Cummings, Charlie Modica, Jr. and Eric Ryan.  Some of the racers are valued members of both clubs, and I’m told that years ago, Peter Beardsley taught at least one sailor to sail with the MYC through the SIYC sailing program.  Keeping it all in the family – student against teacher. Peter plans to write a blow-by-blow report.  

To summarize, the MYC won the first flight and the SIYC won the second flight, so we had a tie.  After consulting with all the racers, it was decided that it would be appropriate to let the tie stand as an indication of the community spirit of the event. All those involved agreed that they want the Island Cup to continue.   

Thirty-one sailors on 29 boats participated on Sunday for MYC regular racing, including five newcomers, three of whom were from the SIYC including, Chip, Connor and Kate. I think they will be racing with us again in the future. The other newcomers were Chris Williams, winner of the Worlds’s Longest Sunfish Race (WLSR) on Saturday and Eric Ryan’s friend, Luke Raymond. Some sailors sailed all four races, others just one or two. Competition was fierce from all sailors.  Derek placed first overall followed by Peter, Eric and Luke combo, Lee, Paul, and Chip in sixth. 

Betsy Colby ran the races for both the regular MYC races and the Island Cup races, along with her trusty crew consisting of Deborah Mintz and Ed Hydeman with invaluable assistance from team-racing expert Melissa Shepstone. They ran four regular MYC singles races followed by the Island Cup races. The first and last Island Cup races consisted of two three-on-three team races of flight one and two, respectively. In between, the committee ran two sets of rolling races in which both flights of racers were on the course at the same time. It was exciting to watch. Photographer Adam Bundy, who is new to sailboat races, commented that it looked like chaos on the water, which it would for non-sailors. Many thanks to Betsy, Melissa and the rest of the committee for the great job in running both series of races so smoothly. 

Matt Fox captained the mark boat along with his crew of Ben Gonzales. They were kept fairly busy setting marks for MYC regular racing and then quicky setting up the box course for the Island Cup. Thank you. 

As commodore and instigator of the match between the two clubs, I decided to do stake boat duty along with Dave Daly in order to be close by in case any problems arose which I’m happy to say did not occur.  It was a pleasant day on the water and we even found a little time to enjoy a swim. 

Eric and Jill Ryan hosted the after-race party at their beautiful house overlooking West Neck Harbor, with able assistance from Jill’s parents.  It was a perfect cool night for the party which was well attended by members of both clubs.  We feasted on delicious fried chicken and sides from Commander Cody’s, as well as sides and desserts from MYC members. There was lively conversation and new friends were made – everyone had a great time. Thank you for your hospitality, Eric and Jill.

During the party, on behalf of the MYC, I thanked all the participants involved in the first ever Island Cup. When I contacted John Sommi in June, I had no idea that my idea had to go through a number of SIYC committees or that SIYC would task Peter Beardsley, a valued member of both clubs, with coordinating the event for SIYC. It was a lot of extra work – thank you Peter.  

Many thanks also to SIYC volunteers Nathan Jensen and Will Lacy for umpire duty, and Ellen Leonforte for going above and beyond in getting the loaner boats ready for SIYC team racers Connor and Jack, missing two singles races in the process. MYC also presented Lisa and Charlie Modica with a thank you card from all the members who had attended the Honey Fitz cruise the week before. Thank you Melissa Shepstone for making the card, and Rita Gates for getting the signatures.

We are a very congenial family-friendly club, open to all. We may not have a clubhouse, but the sailing is great, the camaraderie is superb, and we just have tremendous fun. All sailors, novice to expert, are welcome.  Just show up in West Neck Harbor at 2:00 pm on any Sunday through Labor Day, check in with the Race Committee, giving them your full name and sail number, and be sure to bring your life jacket. Non-sailors are also welcome to assist with the race committee boat and the stake boat. You can get more information about the MYC at the Facebook page: Menantic Yacht Club, or from Bob Harris at robtsharris@gmail.com. Steve and Melissa Shepstone have a fleet of loaner boats available on a first-to-reserve basis. Contact Ellen Leonforte at 914-450-1450 or e_leonforte@hotmail.com to reserve your boat.

Learn more about this new sailing program introduced in Connecticut that invites Sunfish sailors of all levels to participate. Will Kresic, you’re a genius! Such a wonderful program to encourage Sunfish sailing. And getting help and participation from the UCONN Sailing Team is a bonus! 

Visit this program’s new website and read about this great new sailing adventure that seems to be a HUGE success already! SSOC 2024 (google.com)

Also get ideas from this website about how you can set up a similar sailing adventure in your area.

ISCA/USSCA Class Administrator

8070 Willow Tree Way, Alpharetta, GA 30005

www.sunfishclass.org    sunfishoff@gmail.com  404-451-7743