Sunday, December 20, 2015

Today in Newport



Who is that old guy with the beard?

Where did he get that hat?

Why does he have red, white and blue tape on his mast?

How did he manage to finish 5th (out of 43) in one race?

What did Tillerwoman have for dinner?


12 comments:

Keep Reaching said...

Have you inadvertantly revealed the secret technique to which you make occasional tantalizing references? The photo clearly shows you ahead of another gentleman and the only difference in setup I can see is that your elastic thingy attached to the centerboard is looped around the bow, while his goes straight back. Fiendishly clever. Who would have imagined the difference it could make in boatspeed.

Tillerman said...

Sadly no. The centerboard elastic thingy around the bow was the fashion in Laser world many years ago, and like many outmoded fashions I think I may be the last person on earth who has not yet discarded it. I think the logic was to keep the elastic thingy away from one's compass (which I wasn't using today) and the downhaul and outhaul deck cleats. My glasses and my hat are probably of a similar vintage.

Alden Smith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tillerman said...

Woah there Alden. You are getting a bit carried away with your beliefs in the diverse and varied talents of the Tillerman there.

Why do you assume that the red, white and blue stripes are anything to do with France? Although it has just been announced that the first RS Aero World Championship will be in France in 2017 (subject to World Sailing (ISAF) approval.) It's not for France, but it is a patriotic statement of sorts.

Baydog said...

Tillerman, of course
someone left the hat at his house last winter
he is finally embracing the country in which he resides
you said 43
she had stuffies and blackened tilapia

Tillerman said...

I see I am going to have to write another blog post about that hat. Nobody seems to remember that it has been featured on this blog before.

And you are correct, Baydog, that the red, white and blue tape is a patriotic statement of my support for the USA. On July 4 my new sailing club held a parade of boats that were supposed to be decorated to celebrate Independence Day. It's a bit hard to string flags all over a Laser so my eldest granddaughter helped me decorate my boat with red, white and blue tape. I have since removed most of the tape but haven't got around to removing it from the mast yet.

I did say 43. I must find another good picture to use when I write about racing in a 43 boat fleet. Any suggestions?

Are you still remembering what we had at the Brick Alley Pub? Actually we had quesadillas on Sunday this week (at home.)

Damian said...

Great photo. And well done on your 5th place - very impressive. Frostbiting is great!

Tillerman said...

Thanks Damian. I am probably going to write a blog post on how your recommendation of Nick Craig's book would have helped me - if only I had had the sense to follow his advice!

Damian said...

Ha! Join the club. I consider myself an expert at ignoring or forgetting perfectly good advice for no reason whatsoever. It's one of my most notable talents

Tillerman said...

It just doesn't seem fair that reading lots of sailing books doesn't make me a better sailor. What am I missing?

Unknown said...

Man, you keep placing high in so many races.

Tillerman said...

Dion, a wise man said that you have to be inconsistently good before you can be consistently good.

Another wise man said of this fleet, "It's like coming to play in a neighborhood pick-up baseball game only to find that some of the players are members of the Red Sox."

In this fleet "inconsistently good" is about as much as I can hope for.

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