Don't Stop Playing

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. 

We grow old because we stop playing.” 

George Bernard Shaw

Laser Masters Words 2012

Great Grand Master Fleet 

Race 2

Bloggers at Play

Play 

Verb: Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. 

Noun: Activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation.

Blogging is only playing, right? Well it is for me.

Sure, there are some bloggers who claim to make six figure incomes from blogging, and other bloggers who have those annoying Google AdSense ads on their blogs and who probably make 23 cents a year from them. They are not blogging purely for "enjoyment and recreation."

And there are other bloggers who are trying to push a political agenda or save the planet or whatever, so they are not playing because they have a "serious or practical purpose."

But my blog is not serious. It certainly serves no practical purpose. It is for enjoyment and recreation. Mainly my own enjoyment and recreation. If anyone else enjoys it, that's a bonus.

Blogging is playing.

Play can be unstructured or unstructured. Some times it's just fun to kick a ball around and see if you can do crazy things like kick it up in the air and then bounce it off your head. A lot of my blogging is like that. I just toss things up in the air and see how they land or if they bounce off someone else's head. But sometimes it's fun to have a bit of structured play. Invite some friends over. Throw some sweatshirts on the ground to make some goal posts and have an impromptu game of soccer (aka football in real English.)




Our occasional group writing projects are the structured play of our blogging. Someone chooses a topic and others write posts vaguely related to that topic. It's all for enjoyment and recreation. It's play.

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Last month, the topic of our group writing project was Top Sailing Destination on the Planet. We had fourteen entries in all.

There were two things that surprised me about the posts submitted. One was that many of the entries were from bloggers participating in one of our group writing projects for the first time. The other surprise was that most of the posts were actually about the writers' home waters rather than some exotic destination thousands of miles away.

Both surprises were good surprises.

Here are all the participants and their posts...



Five of the entrants chose locations in Europe...

The Knitting Sailor says in her post In which I am provincial that she chooses Kielder Water, a large reservoir in Northumberland in North East England, which is the home of her sailing club.

Captain JP says I want to sail in Scottish waters.

Kevin of Lost at Sea tells us Why West Cork is Better Than Just About Anywhere.

Peter of Blur wrote Summer Nights in Bohuslän which is about a double-handed race through the Bohuslän archipelago on the west coast of Sweden.

And the author of Reaching Broadly tells us in The Wine-dark Sea why his top sailing destination on the planet is in the Mediterranean, specifically the Dodecanese islands, the northern part of the Croatian coast and Turkey around Gocek.

Then there were five entrants who, like me, favor the eastern seaboard of North America....

Diabolo214 says his top destination is the New Meadows River off Casco Bay in Maine, his home sailing waters. It sounds delightful, especially the chance to sail over to Cundys Harbor for a Lobster Roll.

Bridget of VILLAGEHOMESTEAD also lives in Maine and wrote about Penobscot Bay: Little Bit of Heaven on Earth.

Baydog of 829 southdrive is a native of New Jersey and contributed a wonderfully nostalgic post about his summers as a kid on the Jersey Shore, the place he calls his Comfort Zone.

A little further south, Mitch of Bone in its Teeth says that the top sailing destination on the planet is the Chesapeake Bay and the surrounding coastal waters of Maryland and Virginia.

And Sam who writes about How to Sail the Laser tells us that Lasers Like Lake Eustis, his home lake in Florida. Apparently the lake is inhabited by alligators, but they do not eat small sailboats. Good to know.

We had three entrants who are from the center of the North American continent and who enjoy sailing on the fresh water lakes and rivers there...

My2fish says that Michigan is a great place to sail. It certainly looks like it is.

Dan and Michele of Follow the Horizon make a strong case that the best sailing destination is wherever your boat is floating right now, Familiar Waters, in their case the Illinois River

And Kevin of Sail Far Live Free writes about cruising Lake Huron's North Channel in Awakening from a Cruiser's Dream.

And then there was Chris...

Chris of Rowing for Pleasure wrote Rowing in the Rain which was actually about a number of destinations he dreams of rowing at such as the River Krath at Slavna; or on the Barb, the lake in the Upper City in Bekla; or up the Miskatonic River through Arkham. Fantastic!



Thanks to everyone who came out to play.

Hitler Learns His Summer Plans in Newport are Ruined!

Play with Intensity

The Laser is a strict one-design class. The Laser class rules say that "the Laser shall be raced in accordance with these rules, with only the hull, equipment, fittings, spars, sail and battens manufactured by a licensed builder."

There is also a very strong warning at the front of the class rules under the heading Cheating that says...

The ILCA takes a very strong line with Laser sailors who do not sail according to the rules. There have been cases in the past where sailors who have sailed with illegal boats have been banned from sailing a Laser. Such a ban can be for life... 

Our class is much bigger than the odd person who wants to gain advantage by illegally changing the Laser or its equipment. They can sail in other classes where the rules allow changes to a boat to get an advantage. We do not want them with us.

"We do not want them with us."

Hmmm. That's pretty strong stuff. (And by the way, that heading Cheating really is in the class rule book in super-big bold type just in case anyone is in any doubt that sailing with "illegal" equipment is cheating and we might ban you for life and we do not want you with us!)

But all is not what it seems in Laser land.

Check out that video I posted yesterday of Heavy Air Sailing with Marc Jacobi. See that label at the tack of his sail. That's an Intensity Sails logo. That is not a "sail manufactured by a licensed builder." That is a replica Laser sail from Intensity Sails.

Is anyone calling Marc a cheat? Absolutely not. He is one of the most respected sailors in the class. His fleet at Cedar Point YC in Westport CT voted a while back to allow Intensity sails in their fleet.

Maybe Cedar Point is the exception, you say? Think again.

Check out this screen shot from a video posted on Facebook of Fleet 413, the Newport RI Laser fleet. It shows the leaders of a race on a reach approaching the committee boat an a Harry Anderson course.

Boat #181855 has a legal Laser sail. The starburst logo is the Laser trademark. But the other two boats in the top three clearly have replica sails, and so does the fourth boat if I'm not mistaken. That's right. Replica sails, mainly from Intensity, are used by several sailors in this fleet too. Nobody minds. Not a big deal.

The Cedar Point and Newport fleets are probably the two largest and strongest Laser fleets in New England. And Intensity sails are becoming more and more common at other Laser fleets in this area too. There's a real disconnect here. The class rules say that people who race with such sails are "cheats" and we "don't want them with us." But the actual sailors say it's OK.

Why are replica sails becoming so popular? Various reasons are given...

• Legal sails are too expensive.
• Legal sails don't last long enough.
• At times, the dealers are totally out of stock of legal sails.
• Many potential Laser sailors (especially high school and college kids) can't afford to keep buying new legal sails. By allowing them to buy replica sails we encourage them to join our fleet and thereby grow the sport.
• Intensity sails are close enough in performance to legal sails that they aren't an advantage or a handicap so it's no big deal.

Of course, legal sails are required at major regattas. So, sailors who travel to regattas typically have an Intensity sail that they use for local racing and practice, and a class legal sail that they keep for regattas.

Laser sailors are playing with Intensity.

Maybe it's time I bought an Intensity sail?

Kind hearted sailor needed (Mystic Area in CT)

I just saw this post on Bone on its Teeth whose author found this request on Craigslist. I though it worth passing on to my readers too....

Can someone -- anyone -- be a hero or assist in finding a good Samaritan for this dying fellow sailor? The listing is posted in it's entirety below, and the original can be found here.

Kind hearted sailor needed (Mystic Area CT) 

Date: 2012-05-02, 12:08AM EDT 

Reply to: g8tgd-2991232640@sale.craigslist.org 

Special request please. My dad 93 yrs old lifetime sailor and current sailboat owner is asking me his son to take him sailing "once more". The problem I have is that his sailboat has a keel leak and I can't get it repaired fast enough and the boat rigged and launched before he passes away. He just got released from a week in the hospital and has been sent home with Hospice care and about 3 months of time left on his meter. We are doing his bucket list and the thing he wants most of all is to sail again. Just to be on the sound one afternoon under sail is all that would make this great guys life complete. I'm afraid to spend my last few months working on his boat and not making it happen and he also lives with me so I'm taking care of him through this. I'm cutting out the middle man (me) and his boat and just asking outright if someone who might be taking a casual sail one day very soon to help me make a life time sailor one with the sea and wind again. We had a slip in Mystic last year and he went aground at the rock pile buoy at by the lighthouse / Mystic river. Boat developed a leak and we hauled it. Surveyor inspected and work was to be done, but not in time I fear. He would be escorted by me, he is completely self contained and 1000% with it, a real nice guy and great sailor. He is you, but older and his boat is dry docked and sadly there is a time limit on this plea. Thank you so much for your consideration. Please email me and let me know what you think about this. I'm trying anything at this point.

I'm Going off the Rails on the Crazy Train

Summer Nights in Bohuslän

Just stumbled across another entry in last month's group writing project Top Sailing Destination on the Planet. Which reminds me, if you do decide to participate in one of these group writing projects, please do send me an email to let me know about your post, otherwise I may not see it and it won't get reposted here.


Peter Gustafsson writes a blog called BLUR which is mainly in Swedish. But thankfully his post for this project, Summer nights in Bohuslän, is in English. First he considers some of the classic sailing destinations and races which, frankly, I thought more people might have chosen...

Antigua, Auckland, Newport, Perth, Sardinia, Sydney or Valencia? Closer to home is Cowes, La Trinité Sur Mer, Sandhamn or Marstrand? Or is it long stretches of downwind sailing from California to Hawaii or the legendary courses of Fastnet or Sydney Hobart?

But eventually he chooses one of his favorite places that he keeps coming back to...

Since I was a kid we’ve been cruising in the Bohuslän archipelago on the west coast of Sweden. A family of five spent over a month each summer exploring the thousands of island in a small 7 meter sailboat. When we grew up we ticked off all the party destinations; small fishing villages like Smögen and Fjällbacka that turn into never ending parties during the warm and light summer nights.

His post is mainly about a race through the Bohuslän archipelago...

Then I heard of a small double handed race, Bohusracet, that pretty much went through the whole archipelago in little more than 30 hours. At first it sounded like a crazy idea; to race 170NM shorthanded at night in some of the trickiest waters in the world. But after a while it grew on me. It might actually be the perfect combination of racing, endurance, navigation and the wonderful scenery that can only be found in Nordic summer nights.

And so it proved to be. Read the full story at Summer nights in Bohuslän which has many marvelous photos of the racing.

Thanks for contributing to our project Peter. It's not every day I get to use names like Bohuslän and Smögen and Strömstad on this blog. And let me just say Måseskär and Fjällbacka. And Hållö to you too.

Whooshing Sound

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

There's always one. Sometimes there are more. Every time I run one of these group writing projects, it seems like there is always at least one post that comes in after the deadline. That's OK. This is only for fun after all.


The latest post in last month's group writing project Top Sailing Destination on the Planet is from Bridget who writes a blog called VILLAGEHOMESTEAD. Her recommended destination is PENOBSCOT BAY: LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN ON EARTH. The pictures are in a separate post LOOK. Bridget paints a delightful picture of exploring the islands of Penobscot Bay (which is in Maine for the geographically challenged) in various family boats.
 

What can be more ideal than a sail or outboard cruise in the fairly well protected waters of Penobscot Bay and most especially Vinalhaven thorofare and Hurricane sound. Fog and breezy conditions can make conditions inhospitable even there, but on a light breezy day with the sun shining bright, it provides a little bit of heaven on earth!!!

Well said Bridget.

I see that at least one of the usual suspects wants an extension of the deadline. And another regular thought he might win a free hat if he sent in the last post. So I will keep the project open for another day or two before writing the wrap-up post.

Sailing Families at Play

Sailing is many things. It is adventure. It is challenge. It is competition. It is exercise.

But sailing is also play. And for many sailors, it is about playing with their families.

The final two entries in last month's group writing project, Top Sailing Destination on the Planet, illustrate perfectly how important sailing has been and still is to two such families.

In Comfort Zone, Baydog waxes lyrical about the Jersey Shore and, in particular, Barnegat Bay. This wonderfully nostalgic post (perhaps the best he has written so far since he started his blog) describes Baydog's many summers at the Jersey shore, growing up with his extended family.

As with our parents before us, there were always boats to play in, on land or in the water. Every family had boats, didn't they? It was just a given that the shore houses would always be there and we'd be down the shore all summer long, for the rest of our lives.

My2fish has written about Michigan: a great place to sail.  He gives us many reasons why Michigan is a wonderful sailing destination but, for me, the best part of his post is when he writes about sailing with his wife and his sons, and other family members. Oh yes, always in a Sunfish.

The fellowship of sailing with a friend, or the sheer joy I see on my kid’s face (or that of any other child I’ve had a chance to give a ride on the Sunfish) has been amazing. My 3 1/2 year old son has already asked me a few times this spring to take him sailing again.

I didn't come from a sailing family, and was never able to enjoy the experience of sailing with my father like Baydog did. But I did take my sons out on my Laser when they were little, just like my2fish in that photo. We never had a family shore house, but racing in Sunfish and Lasers was one thing that I was able to do with my sons as they grew up. Now I'm looking forward to the days when I can sail with my grandchildren.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Top Sailing Destination on the Planet. There will be a wrap-up post coming soon.

Heavy Air Laser Sailing with Marc Jacobi

Heavy Air Laser Sailing with Marc Jacobi - Reach and Downwind from Laser XD on Vimeo.

Ride along on the bow of Marc Jacobi's Laser during the reach/downwind legs of a Harry Anderson Race in heavy air last Sunday afternoon. This footage is from the Cedar Point Yacht Club spring frostbite series. Cedar Point Yacht Club is located in Westport, CT, USA.