I think I mentioned before that the reason I didn't sail in the 2009 Laser Masters Worlds in Nova Scotia earlier this month was that my second son had, quite astonishingly, failed to consult the International Laser Class Association website for the schedule of major Masters regattas before setting the date for his wedding!!!
So instead of drifting around St. Margaret's Bay a couple of weekends ago, clad in lycra and neoprene with a few hundred other old geezer Laser sailors waiting and waiting for wind to materialize and races to happen, quite fruitlessly as it turned out, I was....
... sitting at Guilford Yacht Club by Long Island Sound drinking a Dark and Stormy and having a laugh with my two favorite girls.
Yes, all was not lost. I brought my son up to be enough of a sailor to know that the best place for a wedding reception is a yacht club. And please note that, although I am not dressed in the aforementioned lycra and neoprene, I am wearing a very yachtie outfit of blue blazer and khakis.
Damn it. It may be a wedding but I am a sailor.
My two grandchildren (my other son's kids) Emily and Aidan were at the wedding, and of course they stole the show...
Emily was the flower girl. She had been told to walk very slowly down the aisle of the church... and she certainly complied. I was beginning to worry that the organist would run out of tunes before Emily completed her slooooow walk down the aisle, basking in the rapt attention of the congregation.
I think it was my job to keep Aidan occupied through the ceremony. I must have got distracted by something... perhaps my little guy making his wedding vows... and somehow Aidan escaped. Uh oh.
Talking of my son, here is a picture of the bridegroom. Yes this is the same kid from the Little Guy post a couple of weeks back. Cleaned up nicely didn't he?
And here is Aimee, my new daughter-in-law. Isn't she gorgeous?
And here is the happy couple together...
I think I see a keelboat in their future, maybe cruising to Block Island and the Vineyard, perhaps the Around Long Island Regatta in a few years? Who knows...
Susie Pegel (a real Laser sailor) sent me a number of suggestions for Laser sailing songs to help Sam Chapin build his fleet. Susie says that they used to sing a version of Impossible Dream. She didn't give me the words, so here are my suggested words. The tune is very similar to the completely unrelated song on this video...
To sail the interminable race To beat the unbeatable foe Knowing that I will feel tomorrow A stabbing pain in my big toe
To sail while singing this song To see that guy ahead and so far To try when my arms are too weary And I can't wait to get to the bar
This is my quest To follow that guy No matter how awful The burn in my thigh
To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to bang the corner Why? Well, just because
And I know that it's probably true When the wind's from the west That guy will pick the shifts like a charm And once more I'll lose the contest
And the club will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still staggered with his last couple of dollars To reach the unreachable bar
Here is my first Laser sailing song in response to Sam Chapin's request to write a Laser sailing song. Somehow this is supposed to help him build his fleet?
To be sung to the same tune as a very similar song by the Beatles called Helter Skelter.
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top where I crash
And I tack and I turn and then I go for a splash
'Til I get to the bottom and I see you again, yeh, yeh yeh
Do you, don't you want me to cross you
I'm coming on fast, and I'm going to pass you
Tell me, tell me, tell me, c'mon tell me it right
Well you may be a sailor but you ain't no Scheidt.
Now Laser Sailor, Laser Sailor, Laser Sailor, yeah ...
a-Will you, won't you want me to beat you
I'm coming on fast, but don't let me cheat you
Tell me, tell me, tell me again
You may have a Laser but you ain't no Ben.
Look out! Laser Sailor, Laser Sailor, Laser Sailor, oooh...
Look out, 'cause here I come ...
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top where I crash
And I tack and I turn and then I go for a splash
'Til I get to the bottom and I see you again, yeh, yeh yeh
Do you, don't you want me to cross you
I'm coming on fast, and I'm going to pass you
Tell me, tell me tell me, c'mon tell me it right
Well you may be a sailor but you ain't no Scheidt.
Hmmm. That's a thought. Anybody else out there thinking of going? Anyone know what it's like sailing at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club? Any advice on tourism in Thailand generally?
Now let's see if this idea involves more hours sitting in planes than sitting on a Laser...
It is eight years since September 11 2001. I suspect none of us will ever forget that day.
That summer I had helped teach junior sailing classes at our small lake-based sailing club in Mountain Lakes, N.J. Two families with kids in that program lost parents in the World Trade Center. Here is an extract from the In Memoriam Online Network tribute to one of those parents, Alayne Gentul.
Asked about treasured moments, her husband offers two, years apart.
"We loved the ocean. Our first kiss was on the beach on Wildwood, N.J. It was a beautiful moonlit night, full moon, and thousands of horseshoe crabs were coming up on the beach to lay their eggs. "
"Our son is part of a group of junior Sunfish sailors and a few weeks ago, they had a junior moonlight race. A bunch of kids gathered with boats, some decorated with little glow lights, in this beautiful, still, moonlit night. We had this feeling, in this excruciating slow race, of something of incredible beauty. One of those times in life you'll remember."
Last night on TV I watched Derek Jeter tie Lou Gehrig's long-standing record for the most career hits in New York Yankees team history. Even the players on the opposing team, the Tampa Bay Rays, applauded him.
I also watched the President of the United States address a joint session of Congress. In the middle of his speech some idiot congressman shouted out, "You Lie!"
Maybe Congress could learn something about respect from baseball?
No, no, no. This is not another post begging for a cool sailing hat like the campaign I ran in January and February to force North Sails to send me a hat I had (IMHO) already well and truly won. North Rocks!
I am speaking metaphorically.
In the past ten years I have worn all sorts of hats.
For six years I wore the hat of Junior Sailing Instructor... for three years as a volunteer and then for three more years in a real job that paid real money. I taught kids how to sail, and how to have fun on the water, and how to race. I was the local cheerleader and organizer for junior Sunfish regattas in northern New Jersey. It was a very satisfying hat to wear but I hung it up in 2005. I will probably leave it on the peg.
I need a new hat.
For a couple of years I wore the hat of Laser Fleet Captain. I started a Laser fleet at my sailing club in New Jersey, looked under very rock to find potential fleet members, helped people find Lasers to buy, encouraged folk to try Laser sailing, organized a new annual Laser regatta, taught fleet members how to sail Lasers better... whatever else fleet captains do. It was fun wearing that hat but I had to hand it over to someone else when I left New Jersey.
I need a new hat.
Why do I feel like I need a new hat? Maybe it's the time of year. Ever since I was in school and college, September always felt like a time for new beginnings, new ventures...
I've been wearing a hat called Laser Sailor for well over a quarter of a century. Wore it a lot last year. Not so much this year. But I like this hat. It suits me. I'm going to continue wearing it for as long as I can. Last night I even dreamed about Laser racing.
I discovered a hat with a label saying "Blogger" in 2005. I like it. It fits me well. I will probably keep wearing it for a few more years, or at least until it doesn't fit me any more.
For many winters I used to wear a hat labeled Crazy Laser Frostbite Sailor. Haven't worn it much these last few years. Want to wear it more this coming winter.
For three years I wore a Marathon Runner hat. The last marathon I ran was London in 2007. It was a tough one. For a couple of years I have been a very lackadaisical runner. But I feel the urge coming on me again. I've been running well this last couple of months. There might be another marathon left in these old legs. Perhaps in Providence RI next May. I think I may put the Marathon Runner hat on again.
But the Marathon Runner hat and Crazy Laser Frostbite Sailor hat are old hats. I need a new hat.
Almost four years ago I was awarded the best hat all... the one labeled Grandfather. Man, I do like being a granddad. It was wonderful being with my grandkids last weekend at their uncle's wedding. When I asked my three-year-old granddaughter Emily what she most enjoyed at the wedding, she said it was "the dancing." The kid danced all night long. She had more energy than any of the adults. I hope I will live long enough to dance with Emily at her wedding. I will always wear my Grandfather hat with pride.
But I need a new hat.
Why is that? For some strange reason now that both my sons are married it feels like some kind of life transition, and I have an urge to take on a new challenge. God knows why. Nothing has really changed in my life. But having seen each of my sons complete undergraduate school, start one career, go to graduate school, start a second career, buy a house and get married (not necessarily always in that order) it seems like the end of a phase of my life.
I need a new hat.
I could dig out one of my old hats. Cyclist. Guitar Player. Skier. Hill Walker. SailX Hotshot. Maybe I will, but they are not new hats.
What new hat could I try on?
Jetskier? Ugh.
Kayaker? Possibly.
Rail Meat? Looks easy.
Astronomer? Comet Tillerman?
Calypso Poet? (If it all falls down.) Environmental Activist? Will work for trees.
How do we sell sailing? How do we communicate the excitement and fun of our sport to potential new recruits? How do we keep existing sailors fired up about opportunities to continue enjoying the sport?
Our Lasering blogging friend Yarg has provided part of the answer in a perceptive post Sailing: Reports of Its Death Are Exaggerated. Yarg finds that sailing, far from dying, is thriving in his neck of the woods. His local Laser fleet has been growing steadily and he is seeing an "explosion of interest" in the local high school sailing scene.
So what is the secret according to Yarg? It's simply the power of a few enthusiasts to communicate that enthusiasm to others.
He writes...
I find that enthusiasm for sailing is viral, but in a good way. It is spread by person to person contact, and a few carriers go a long way. When enthusiasts spawn other enthusiasts, fleets can grow very quickly.
He is damn right. Yarg, and a few others like him, are doing what is needed to develop and grow sailing in their area, by reaching out to others and advertising their ardor for the sport. Enthusiasts spawn enthusiasts. Go viral!
But how does this work on a global level? How does a class communicate that excitement about their activities on a national, continental or global level? How do they grow their class and continually attract new adherents to their brand of sailing?
Well, of course they use the web. And the reporting on the recent Laser Masters Worlds is a case in point on how to get it right.
Who best communicated the enthusiasm that surrounds the Laser Masters Worlds on the web? The answer might surprise you.
Sure, the regatta organizers did a professional job of telling the story of the Worlds. Regular reports were posted on the regatta website, sometimes while the racing was still in progress, and the results were posted promptly. There was an official photographer who took hundreds of spectacular photos of the sailing action and these photos were posted on the web too.
But remember the E-word? Enthusiasm.
The real feel for the fun of a Laser Masters Worlds and the sense of enthusiasm for the event were communicated by the sailors themselves (and a couple of their wives) via their blogs and some terrific YouTube video interviews. Kim Ferguson wrote about the exploits of her husband Scott who won the World Championship in what was the largest and probably the toughest fleet at the event, the Masters Standard Rig Fleet. If you don't think that the top guys can also have fun, read Kim's account of Thursday's racing and find out who Scott called, "Boner!!"
Marc Jacobi was also in the Masters Standard Rig Fleet. He didn't do quite as well as Scott but he had his moments. Check out his account of Day 5 for a gripping tale of how hard Marc made Scott work for one of his wins.
Dr J was sailing in the Great Grandmasters Radial Fleet. He also had his moments. Read his account of Day 4 for a terrific story of why Laser Masters Sailing is so much fun. "My best day of Laser sailing ever!" says the good doctor. Dave Sliom was at his first Masters Worlds and so much enjoyed the experience that he is already working out what he needs to do to improve his sailing for the next Worlds in Hayling Island in the UK in 2010.
Finally we have Tracy Usher, the president of the North American Laser Class, who also blogged about the racing at the Master Worlds. The tagline on his blog is much too modest: "Random discussions about an old and overweight guy still pounding the chop of San Francisco Bay in his Laser". Yeah right! Irony works too.
Even better than the enthusiasm transmitted by those five bloggers were the video interviews with sailors and others by LauraLee Symes. Now this is the way to tell the world about your regatta, and how much fun it is, and why you absolutely have to be there to join us next year.
I already posted about one of LauraLee's videos at Hot Laser Masters Worlds Interviews. Little did I know that this was only the first instalment.
Part 3 has lots of laughs and way too much full frontal nudity.
And the Final video seems to be of a bunch of old drunks at a party desperately trying to remember something of what actually happened in the previous week's sailing. But Wolfgang Gerz did reveal the secret of how to win the World Grandmasters: run every morning at 7am, work out in the gym several times a week, sail a lot all year, and win every Grandmasters title in Europe in the year leading up to the Worlds. Piece of cake!
Seriously, these blogs and LauraLee's videos are a superb way to communicate the fun of this event and the enthusiasm that all these sailors feel for the regatta and the sport in general. Remember what Yarg said? "Enthusiasm for sailing is viral."
So this is what the old geezers in the Laser class can do to proclaim their passion for their brand of sailing. Are other classes doing as much, or perhaps even more, to enthuse sailors for their branch of the sport? More the point, what are you doing to sell sailing to the world?
Yes, all was not lost. I brought my son up to be enough of a sailor to know that the best place for a wedding reception is a yacht club. And please note that, although I am not dressed in the aforementioned lycra and neoprene, I am wearing a very yachtie outfit of blue blazer and khakis.
