Vicki Palmer, Windward Leg Editor

Congratulations to 1^st Place Winner, Renzo Sanguineti of Peru

(All photos courtesy of Gustavo Linares)

Thirty-four competitors from 11 different countries met at the new Club de Regatas Lima sailing site in Paracas, Peru to compete in this PanAm Qualifier.

The countries that qualified for both the Women and Men divisions:

Women: ARG, CUB and GUA 

Men: GUA, VEN and PUR

With nine races sailed, the top five winners were:

1^st – Renzo Sanguineti / PER
2^nd – Jean Paul De Trazegnies / PER
3^rd – David Hernandez / GUA
4^th – Caterina Romero / PER (Top Female)
5^th – Diego Gonzalez / CHI

For the full results, go here:

Sailwave results for CAMPEONATO CENTRO ...b Regatas Lima - Filial _Paracas_ 2023 (sunfishclass.org)

Noteworthy item:  Out of the 34 competitors, eleven sailed with the new ISCA North sail including Jean Paul de Trazegnies (2^nd place overall winner) and Caterina Romero (4^th place overall winner and Top Female).

Country Qualifier Results: 

Male: PER, USA, CAN, GUA, VEN, PUR 

Female: PER, USA, VEN, ARG, CUB, GUA 

One Country Qualifying event remains - 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador June 23-July 8

    USSCA Pan Am Games Trials Regatta will be sailed at Sayville Yacht Club, NY, July 7-9, 2023 to select one sailor (male and female) to fill the berth. US Trial provisions, qualified competitors must intend to compete in October 2023 at the Pan American Games if they win the US Trials. All participants must have a passport that does not expire before May 4, 2024. 

     Three (3) US female sailors and three (3) US male sailors will qualify to sail in the US PAG Trials based on a resume/application via email to Olympic@ussailing.org, due no later than 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 16, 2023.  Resumes will be judged based on sailing achievement in the most recent three years with weighting towards the national-level qualifying events.

2023 Sunfish North American Championship – The 60th 
 2023 Sunfish USA Men and Women Pan American Trials Qualifier 
 2023 US Sailing Singlehanded Championships 

United States Sunfish Class Association, US Sailing, Island Bay Yacht Club 

 Island Bay Yacht Club Springfield, IL 
 June 8-11, 2023 (Race Days: June 9-11)

PAY ATTENTION TO REGISTRATION DEADLINES:

Early entry fee until 2359 hours CDT May 15, 2023

Standard Entry Fee until 1600 hours CDT May 31, 2023

No on-site entries shall be permitted. 

(Editor’s Note: Proving infectious was to be among 15 new Sunfish women sailors whose excitement about learning everything they could in a one-day sailing clinic was a privilege to be a part of. Imagine seeing this level of excitement where sailing venues are a blip on the radar. Instead, sand sailing might be more prevalent. But that didn’t douse the joy I saw in every face. Chairperson and lead instructor, Jen Moffitt, travels 2+ hours each way to help with clinics like this and to sail in Arizona Yacht Club sponsored races. She was a star performer with sharing her high level of sailing knowledge as well as radiating with her joy of sailing with competitors, some of whom are even considering sailing at this year’s Women’s North Americans at the Lewes Yacht Club in Lewes, DE. Our Sunfish Class members continue to amaze us with sharing their dedication and love of sailing.)

by Jen Moffitt

The Women of Arizona Yacht Club (WAYC) Race Clinic was held Saturday, April 1, at Tempe Town Lake. Seventeen (17) women sailors turned out to learn boat handling and race techniques aboard Sunfish. Participants got to learn about boat rigging on the infamous Sunburn before taking a break on the hill to learn about typical wind patterns of Tempe Town Lake.

Retiring to Hundred Mile Brewing down the road to beat the heat, Sunfish legend Vicki Palmer had diagrams galore to help participants learn about racing strategy and racing rules of sailing. With a delicious lunch and drinks as a midday break, sailors had a great time discussing sailing and making connections before heading out on the water for the afternoon. Although the current and wind were not cooperative, sailors had a great time (or at least faked it well).

Thank you to all participants for being eager to learn and flexible with the wind and thank you to our manpower and organizers for pulling it all together!

April 29-30 a rigging, boat handling, race starting, basic rules learning event was held on Gull Lake, Michigan.  Martha Croasdale, a member of Gull Lake Sailing Club, contacted her DN Iceboat friend and Michigan Sailing Team Coach friend Peggy Menzies, who had the date open and volunteered to come over and provide guidance for a workshop.

Martha had arranged with member Larry Carter to loan his 15’ runabout for the workshop.  Gull Lake Sailing Club loaned its buoys. Larry brought it all to member Kate Miller’s home the day before to have it in close proximity to where the event would take place. Member Gail Turluck gave Larry a ride home.

The goal was to have newer sailors participate to keep the instruction focused.  The group was kept small to allow for a lot of individual attention.  With safety in mind, sailors were advised to dress for the season; a couple wore wetsuits and a few wore drysuits; PFDs were required. The lake water temperature was 50°.

Peggy brought her personal coaching paraphernalia which included boards with colored markers, a powerful bullhorn, flat model sailboats with booms for providing examples, yardsticks with booms for a walking-dice driven sailboat racing game, and more.

Saturday opened sunny with West to Northwest winds of 1-7 mph.  It warmed up quickly from the high 40s to 64°. After getting the boats rigged and adjusted, there was a discussion of some boat handling skills and port-starboard right of way. The first exercise was to sail between two windward-leeward set buoys in a figure-8 pattern, applying the rules but sailing as fast as possible. Participating were Martha Croasdale, Larry Carter, Glenn Howes, Aidan Howes and Clayton Matthews.

Then back to shore for a briefing on how to roll tack and when tacking to pass the tiller behind the back and shift the mainsheet successfully.  Back on the water to go between the buoys working to practice that skill.  

Next the group returned to shore for a lunch break.  A briefing on starting a race, with timing, how to approach and stay in compliance with right of way rules was next.  Out to the small course with a number of practice three-minute starts to develop the judgment of timing, speed, and staying clear while trying to hit the line at 0:00.  

By about 4:00 a long-predicted cold front was approaching and training was called for the day. This allowed for return of the runabout to its overnight dock and all participants to get their boats packed up.  Just as this work was done, it started to rain.  The group went across the road to NEDS on Gull Lake for refreshments and dinner.   There was review of the skills learned and practiced and requests for activities to focus on for Sunday.

Sunday morning was brisk.   Early there was a little sun.   Though having been encouraged to arrive on time at 9:00, there was a little lag, possibly due to the cold. It was 41° and breezier. Wind was West-Northwest to East-Northeast (yes, that shifty) 8-18 mph. By 10:00 it became cloudy and just before 11:00 am a squall came through with quarter-inch hail!  The group was still on shore, so secured their equipment and sat it out in vehicles.

After the squall it was time for the yardstick/dice sail race game.  The dice throw would assign number of steps to take, whether or not to tack or if there was a wind shift. Sailors held their yardsticks in front with the “boom” in place for proper trim for the wind direction, stepping a windward-leeward course.  It proved to be a great tool for learning the three-length mark rounding zone rule.

The group venture onto the water occurred about noon. A number of short races were sailed.  With the shifty, gusty conditions there were some tight maneuvers, near collisions, a few capsizes, yet great learning.   Second day participants were Martha Croasdale, Larry Carter, Glenn Howes, Clayton Matthews, and Steve, who just happened to be making his April sail with the goal of sailing his Sunfish on Gull Lake every month this year!

By 3:00 the cold, wet sailors, fresh with stronger skills, were ready to call it a day.  The high temperature was a cloudy, whopping 47°, more than 20° below average!  

Larry then took the runabout home, Glenn helped with driving to meet him and take him back to the park for loading Sunfish onto trailers and cleaning up. A final wrap up discussion and thank yous sent Peggy and the sailors on their way after a successful workshop.—Gail Turluck

(Bill volunteered to teach a Women’s Clinic at the 2019 Women’s North Americans in Niantic, CT. We’ve been reporting his observations to you in each Windward Leg issue with the hope you’ll find his observations and sailing tips helpful. The Sunfish Class is so fortunate to have members like Bill who share their time, energy and expertise at events like this. We learn; we experience and we feel so energized and grateful to members like Bill. We are also so appreciative of places like the Niantic Yacht Club, their staff and a Chairperson with hard working committee members who dedicate their time and energy to host such a successful event. We’ve worked our way up to the end - Observation #’s 8-11 – a smarter and energized group who loved this kind of special attention! The bonus is having such helpful tips to share with y’all. Thank you, Bill!)

8. Nancy Jaywork sailed one of the prettiest races I ever saw in the last race. Although not one of the heaviest or strongest competitors, she played the shifts beautifully and steered well to pull off a big win. This shows, even in breeze, staying in phase with the shifts is still the most important thing.

9. Faye Flam came in after the last race exasperated. She rolled the boat over three times between races 1 and 2 and somehow got the halyard on the other side of the gooseneck. Her gooseneck slid back to 30+ and the boat was extremely hard to sail. Despite this, she finished each race and ended up 7^th overall in the series. This shows that perseverance plays out on a windy day with lots of races. Always remember, everyone else is getting tired and probably having boat problems as well.

10. If you ever do crash your boat on a windy cold day, don’t wear jeans. After my third rescue, I felt like I was wearing a giant wet diaper, and I was freezing! It is definitely better to wear sailing gear or a wetsuit if you think you might have to go swimming.

11. I could go on and on and will in the future. But I have to say that the best part of this regatta was the positive energy! Shannon, NBYC and the UCONN crew did a great job running this event and everyone had so much fun! This type of regatta is great for the Class and sailing in general.

Thanks again for inviting me.

Bill

Sailboat Racing Tips: How to Hold Your Position on the Starting Line

Professional coach and champion sailor Mike Ingham guides us through the steps to defending a position on the starting line to get a fast and clean start. Thank you Sailing World

By Joe Sullivan (“This summer, God willing, I shall participate in this fantastic competition for the 50th time.”) 

 Editor’s Note: Joe is a long-time, most valued and appreciated, member of the Sunfish Class. In addition to Joe’s passion for Sunfish sailing and helping those who share his passion, Joe also pens the most interesting stories. The historical account for this event is an adventure that will inform and entertain you! 

PART II 

I won’t review every Race but focus upon those situations, which made certain races unique.

Race #2 in 1972 was a case in point. The tide charts had been read correctly and a decent breeze was blowing as the fleet circumnavigated Shelter Island clockwise. We again had a good turnout and halfway across Gardiner’s Bay, I was in a group of about 9 - 10 sailors, who were sailing south and wondering how long it would take to round Mashomack Point and head west on the south side of Shelter Island. Coincidentally, we all noticed two Sunfish, also heading south, but much closer to Shelter Island than the rest of us.

After a while, a powerboat came by and I recognized it as one of SYC’s safety boats. There were two men on board and one hailed our group…”You guys are going the wrong way! You’re heading toward Easthampton.” One sailor, not I, yelled back, “No we’re not. We’re going the right way. I sailed this race last year!” That gave me little comfort because I had also sailed the Race last year but because we were going in the opposite direction, I didn’t have a clue how far we were from Mashomack Point. The safety boat then turned around and made a Bee-line toward the two boats sailing close to shore. 

Sailing the lead boat was 19-year old Jock Campbell on whose heels was last year’s winner, Don Trueman, who at some point hailed Jock and while pointing to our group, asked, “Do you think that we might be going the wrong way?” “No,“ said Jock, “I’ve been racing around Shelter Island with my father in our big boat for years and we’re going the right way!” 

In the meantime, the safety boat had gone full speed ahead and found Mashomack Point and returned to our group way off shore. The official on board screamed at the top of his lungs, “You idiots are going the wrong way! Watch where I’m pointing. I’m only going to do this once” and he pointed to Mashomack and then accelerated away. Needless to say, our entire group sheeted in immediately and close-hauled directly to Mashomack Point ASAP! 

Don Trueman was an older and more experienced Sunfish sailor than Jock Campbell, and we learned later, that he followed Jock for the remainder of The Race and passed him just before the finish to become the first double-winner in the Two-Year History of this remarkable and challenging competition!    

Race #5 in 1975 was definitely UNIQUE! The winner, “Rip” Fisher, crossed the finish line in second place but was awarded the 1ST PLACE TROPHY when the sailor, who did cross first was disqualified. Because the breeze was virtually nonexistent when the leaders were passing the South Ferry, the leader at the time opted to do something very foolish. With no breeze blowing, he entered an empty ferry slip and made forward progress by standing in his boat and going hand-over-hand into, through and out of the ferry slip, which was very dangerous indeed and resulted in his disqualification.   

The next two races were particularly special for me, as I won the Race in 1976 despite a very tenacious 17-year old sailor from the Westhampton Yacht Squadron nipping at my stern for the last mile of The Race. I recall praying to God not to win, but to do my best. But I also reminded God that I was 39 years old and once I turned 40 and started going downhill, I might never have as good a chance at winning as I did that day. 

As good as I felt in ‘76 however, 1977, topped everything. By then, Barbara and I had four children, adding a third son and finally our only daughter to our clan. We were good friends of the O’Brien family with whom I was distantly related and whom we sponsored into Southold Yacht Club. The O’Briens had a large family. The oldest was a girl, Mary Beth, and she was followed by five very competitive younger brothers. I had known Mary Beth since she was born, and I took her sailing before she was eight years old and eligible for SYC’s excellent Junior Sailing Program. Over the years, she developed very good sailing skills  and became very competitive in the sport. The minimum age to sail in “The World’s Longest Sunfish Race” was 18 by December 31 of the year of the Race. In 1977, Mary Beth just made the cut-off and her Dad, Gene, assured me that she was ready to compete.

As I was ready to launch from the beach before the Start, I saw Gene standing at the edge of the water looking out across the Bay. I said, “Gene, where is Mary Beth? I haven’t seen her.” He said, “She’s elected not to race.” I just about died and asked “WHAT HAPPENED? She assured me that she was going to participate,” Gene said, “She’s on the porch at the club. Maybe you can talk her into sailing.” I bolted up the beach and saw Mary Beth sitting in one of the chairs and looking out toward Shelter Island. “Mary Beth, “ I hailed, “You’re going to be late for The Race!” “I’ve decided not to race. Mr. S.“ “Why not?” I exclaimed. “I don’t know,” she replied, “I guess I’m afraid that I’ll get lost.” I then gave her my best pep talk; reinforced how good she is, and assured her that she won’t get lost. Finally, she got up and said, “I’ll give it a try.” “No you won’t” I retorted, “You’ll give it your best shot!” “What if I get lost?” she asked? “You won’t get lost, Mary Beth. Just stay in the middle of the course and focus. You will do fine!” 

When I finished “The Race,” hours later, Gene met me at the beach, and with a huge smile on his face, informed me that Mary Beth had won! I was thrilled!  But I’m even more thrilled today because while SYC has been honored to have many terrific female sailors participate in this nautical marathon over the years, Mary Beth O’Brien, has been the only female winner in 51 races.  

The RACE became very popular and participation grew every year, particularly with the arrival of the “Pied Piper of Sunfish Sailing,” Dr. Dick Heinl, who in 1987 showed up leading a caravan of 8-9 cars from the Seawanhaka Place Yacht Squadron in Nassau County. They all enjoyed the experience and the majority continued to participate in “The RACE” for at least the next two decades. Dick Heinl became the first four-time winner of this nautical marathon, and at age 85, the oldest winner. Dick is now 98 years young and while his last official race was at age 93, he graces us with his presence every year while sailing doubles with his son, Scott.  After starting, they come-about before exiting Southold Bay and return to the SYC beach when the entire fleet has exIted the Bay. 

In 2003, Keith Lyman, an annual participant from East Marion, NY won The RACE at age 79. At the time, no one older had ever crossed the finish line in first place so Southold Yacht Club created a perpetual plaque in honor of its two most successful senior participants.  

                             HEINL – LYMAN OCTOGENARIAN AWARD

                                     “The older I get, the faster I wuz!”

In 2005, at the 35th Annual World’s Longest Sunfish Race, Around Shelter Island, NY, Southold Y. C. saluted two octogenarians, Dr. Richard Heinl, 80, winner at age 62, 64 & 66 and Mr. Keith Lyman, 81, who in 2003 at 79 became the oldest winner. “In their honor, we annually recognize the Oldest Participant and the First Master 50+ to finish.”  

Sadly, Mister Lyman passed away in his late 80’s but unbelievably, in 2009 at age 84, Dr. Heinl set a new age record (oldest winner) while becoming the first person to win the Race four times.

Three years later, Bobby Boger, who grew up sailing at Southold Yacht Club, was the second person to win four times while representing SYC in 2006 and his alma mater, the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in 2010, ’11 and ’12!

• World's Longest Sunfish Race Perpetual Award thru 2022
• World's Longest Sunfish Race Perpetual Award thru 2022 Heinl-Lyman Octogenarian Award
• World's Longest Sunfish Race Perpetual Award thru 2022 Peggy Anderson Wagner Memorial Plaque

For the full story, go to Sunfish Class Association - Joe Sullivan Article March 2023  

L to R: Bobby Boger, Joe Croasdale, Bart Hale, John Condon, Lee Montes, Dick Heinl, Joe Sullivan, Sean Sullivan, John Eckart, Chris Williams, Jim Koehler 

Feb 11-12: FL Regional #1 RESULTS

May 6-7 : Midwest Regional #1 Hueston Sailing Assoc., OH

May 20-21: Southeast Regional Champs, Blackbeard Sailing Club, NC

May 20-21: Mid-Atlantic Regional #1, Brigatine YC, NJ

May 27-28: Upstate New York Regionals #1, Canandaigua YC, NY

June 3-4: New England Regional #1, Barrington YC, RI

June 17-18: Southwest Regional #1, Seabrook Sailing Club, TX

July 22-23: New England Regional #2, Wequaquet Lake YC, MA

Sept 16-17: Midwest Regional #2, Bruce Goldsmith Regatta, Devils Lake YC, MI

Sept 30-Oct 1: Southwest Regional #2, Dinghy Fest, Rush Creek YC, TX

Sept 30-Oct 1:Mid-Atlantic Regional #2, Normandy Beach YC, NJ

Oct 14-15: Midwest Regional #3, Great Pumpkin, Louisville SC, KY

Oct 28-29: FL Regional #2, Halifax SA, FL

Nov 18-19: West Regional, Mission Bay, CA

Regionals still to be confirmed:

• New York Regional #2
• Gulf Coast Regional

Qualifying for 2024 Worlds at Rush Creek YC, Texas

Class Notice with Qualification details

ISCA/USSCA Class Administrator

8070 Willow Tree Way, Alpharetta, GA 30005

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