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Volume 67 • Issue 3 • October 2017The Journal of the Atlanta Yacht Club
JUNIOR WEEKpage 4
A LOOK BACKpage 7
4TH OF JULYpage 14
JUNIOR SUMMERpage 10
LABOR DAYpage 16
THISTLE RALLYpage 17
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPpage 21
WORLD TRAVELERSpage 24
Y FLYER NEWSpage 22
Larry Bull Commodore 2017
A publication of the Atlanta Yacht Club
7120 Yacht Club DriveAcworth, GA 30102
www.atlantayachtclub.org
Commodore Larry [email protected]
Vice Commodore Craig [email protected]
Rear Commodore Kirk [email protected]
Secretary Nile [email protected]
Treasurer Ellen [email protected]
Membership Robert [email protected]
AYC FLEET CONTACTS
[email protected]@atlantayachtclub.orgyflyercaptain@[email protected]
[email protected]@atlantayachtclub.org
SUBMIT ARTICLES AND PHOTOS TOSCUTTLEBUTT EDITOR
[email protected] YACHT CLUB est. 1950
Atlanta Yacht Club, north of Atlanta on Lake Allatoona, has been home to small-boat pleasure and racing sailors for over sixty years. On weekends from late March to November, you will find our shores dappled with one-design sailing craft heading out for an afternoon on the water with friends and family.
We are in the waning phase of our 2017 sailing season and we have welcomed several new members who have become active participants in our AYC family. Just recently, we lost one of our most active long-time sailors, Orren Williams, who was a key member of our sailing training programs, and a member of multiple fleets. Orren will be sorely missed; our condolences go out to his children, Sally and Danny, who grew up at AYC.
We have a lot of excellent sailing and events for the balance of the year. The Y-Flyer Beers Regatta, Snipe Halloween Regatta, Laser No More Turkey and the beginning of the Frost Nip Series are on the horizon. Please check the AYC Calendar for the precise dates for these events.
Our various programs such as Adult/Junior Training, high school sailing events, and membership programs have attracted a number of new members this year. This shows how important these programs are for AYC growth and sustainability. Everyone, please welcome the new members into our AYC family.
Prioritizing the maintenance and repair of the club facilities is a very difficult task. Our docks should all be in good shape by the beginning of next year, and that includes repurposing the Sunfish dock to the new and improved 420 dock. Also, we will re-deck the motorboat dock. We are also studying better ways to protect the boats on docks one and two. Though the water system continues to be a concern and leaks continue to plague us, we have made great progress. Road repairs need to be prioritized and as the clubhouse ages, we need to deal with the usual issues that pop up. Overall, we are in great shape and we should be moving into a routine maintenance phase as opposed to the repair/replace phase. This will allow us to be more proactive in dealing with the facilities.
One afternoon during the fleet races, an AYC mark boat responded to an accident involving two PWC’s that had collided. A 16-year-old boy was injured and needed medical assistance. The injured boy was pulled out of the water and proceeded to the dock while having the Committee boat call 911 to request medical assistance. Club member Jenny Adams, a NP, boarded the RC boat and rendered professional care. When the EMTs arrived the patient was ready for transport and was taken away on a stretcher. This was all possible because the RC boat was equipped with all the proper safety equipment including a stocked first aid kit. AYC responded quickly and professionally and most likely prevented additional injuries to this young man. A special thanks to Jenny Adams whose professionalism and calming voice greatly helped control the situation. Also, thank you to the other AYC members who helped at the dock. Well done, AYC.
Also as part of our safety program a prop guard was installed on our RIB. This was in response to a tragic accident in NY. The prop guard will provide some protection from injury but it is no substitute for safe boating practices and common sense. Everyone must be aware of their surroundings and note any safety hazards that may be present. Always use common sense.
We have a lot of sailing and fun events left this year. Come up and join in the fun. You can always check the club calendar by going to www.
atlantayachtclub.org for the latest activities. Please, if you have any comments or suggestion you can contact me at commodore@
atlantayachtclub.org. AtlantaYachtClub.org page 2
From theVice Commodore
Craig McLeanVice Commodore 2017
Kirk MaassenRear Commodore 2017
From theRear Commodore
The Opti Learn to Sail and Opti Learn to Race classes are at capacity again for the season. Thank you, Jennifer Garrett. And, one more rehabbed Opti has been returned to the fleet bringing the total number of Opti’s back to fifteen.
Adult Sailing classes are also overbooked for the fall session. Henry and Jeanette Taylor keep it all organized and fun and Kathy Bronaugh and the other coaches help the class participants meet their personal goals to become sailors. Well done!
Boy Scout Troop 540, sponsored by Jim Johnson, held a camp out at the AYC in August. You probably didn’t notice they were there unless you were enjoying the beach area which was magically cleaned and groomed that weekend. They max’d out their Sailing Merit Badge class and we hope to see some of the Scouts and their moms and dads continuing their sailing careers at AYC.
We are repurposing the old Sunfish dock. It is now the 420 dock and will be re-decked over the winter. Tom Henderson is developing a dock cradle system for the 420s, similar to that used by college sailing teams. The dock cradles will make it possible to launch the 420s directly from the dock, eliminating the need for dolly launching.
The ‘No Wake’ buoys are back at the mouth of our cove. This already seems to have slowed the motorboat traffic in the area of our sailing docks and our moorings.
In early September, Chip Kaczynski sponsored a group of eighteen Walker School middle school students in a Sailing Camp at the AYC. Great idea, Chip!
Last year, 50 Thistle sailors met Bryce “Otter” Dryden’s Toga Challenge and sailed in fleet races on his birthday. This year there were 51! Kudos to the Thistle Fleet! Hmmm… what about the toga?
The traditional Labor Day Laser/Opti Regatta was great! Thank you, Laser Fleet for hosting this event. On that same day, some high school sailors prepped for ISSA regattas in our Club 420s. We hope they qualify for points regattas this season. It is great that the AYC can play a part in their achievements.
Just a note: A prop guard has been added to the RIB outboard motor. But, always shut off the motor when pulling a sailor from the lake. The prop guard is only a last line of defense when it comes to human safety.
As I look back to the 4th of July, I would like to say thank you to all who volunteered to help Henry and Jeanette Taylor. It was a great weekend with a variety of entertainment, despite the late afternoon showers. Our weekends could not happen without the abundance of volunteers that step forth. Thank you!
Next up was Labor Day and the fantastic events that Tish Spearman and Mindy Sherry planned. I thank them for taking the lead for the weekend. They truly had it covered from lake to land with fun things to do.
Fortunately, this summer has been relatively mild, and that has allowed us to limp along with some non-working air conditioners. We had a number of issues that we have worked through in the last month, and now, all the units are back on line. We will need them in the months ahead as our club continues to be called on for a wide host of regattas and events, demonstrating its flexibility.
We still have additional maintenance to perform this year, including replacing the water line down to the point. It has been a source of water leaks for the last couple of years. and Barry has been patching the existing line as best he can. Now it is time to replace it with a more durable piping. (You have probably noticed orange pylons and a hole. No, this is not another Killdeer nest.)
There is always something that needs attention. Thank you, Barry and Davis, for all that you do, too.
page 3 AtlantaYachtClub.org
The theme for Junior Week 2017 was “Sustaining Sailing”, or in my words, “Hippie Light.” My inspiration for this theme came from my love for our lake and wanting to care for the natural resources that our sport depends on. At the same time, I didn’t want to feel like I needed to boycott a regatta for using plastic cups or make my own lifejacket out of old pool toys to do good in the world. The balance we all need to find is that of resource consciousness: the awareness of nature’s scarcity and making small changes to our daily habits to make a positive impact.
The week began with 30 campers ready to go at check-in, with at least one being persuaded last minute that this was a week not to miss. They broke off to move in to their cabins for a week and take their swim test if they were a first-time camper. Rose Haisty’s spaghetti kicked off Junior Week’s meals with a bang. After, the sailors tie-died this year’s t-shirts to really embrace the flower power vibe.
Monday began bright and early at the flagpole at 7:45 AM, sharp. The campers were introduced to the first day’s theme of water conservation. Water is one of the most vital resources for our sport, for certain, but even more for our lives. Showers can’t always be skipped, but the faucet doesn’t have to run while you’re brushing your teeth, for example. Sailors throughout history have used tactics to conserve water while at sea, and our juniors learned to employ these while washing dishes after meals. The use of throw-away dishes was avoided this year. The juniors’ energy was put towards doing real dishes, so they also had a hand in wasting less while still using more of what our club has to offer. Galley Guru, Mike Fricker, kept the kitchen ship-shape and taught the juniors how the club always operates better on a full stomach.
That day, sailing classes began for all skill levels in 420s, Lasers and Optis with the occasional Y/Thistle/Snipe/J-22 mixed in for good measure. The coaches for JRW 2017 are all home-grown talents that are now giving back to the club. Robert and Katie Mitchell coached the Opti team, Nee-Cee Coryell coached the Trio team, Amy Thompson and Matthew Weber coached Lasers, with Orren Williams and Wes Parson coaching the 420s. The entire week was blessed with fantastic wind and weather. The only complaint anyone had was that there were none of the typical light air days to do any of the land-based drills that the coaches planned. Other than Thursday afternoon, the Juniors sailed every ounce of fun out of Allatoona.
Monday night, Casino Night brought fun and prizes to the clubhouse along with many Junior Week alumni helping out with the program again. It was this night that we were first introduced to Steffon. Steffon was won by the girls’ cabin and made to participate in quite a few events during the week. He has now started
JUNIOR WEEK 2017Sustaining Sailing Clint Hodges
2017 Junior Week Chair
Bigtime fun for first-time camper, Dodson Bolles
Junior Week Mascot Steffon, and award recipient Zack Musser
See SUSTAINING pg. 5
his own Instagram account and travels the world sailing with juniors from AYC. Check him out @steffon.from.ayc on Instagram.
Tuesday was all about food waste, or how to avoid it. Juniors followed the “waste not, want not” motto and all did their best to join the Clean Plate Club (probably because it made dishes easier!). Past Commodore Tom Henderson provided a hands-on approach to knot tying during the lunch break.
Pizza definitely wasn’t wasted Tuesday night, as Gayle McLean makes some delicious pizza. Tuesday night also brought back an old Junior Week tradition of skit night. The cabins all presented a short skit based around the theme of “I walked into the room and I couldn’t believe what I saw…” They came up with some outlandish plots that were as entertaining as they were random.
Wednesday was another day of great weather and lessons learned. Power conservation was the topic of the day and coaches were required to do pushups if caught using a vehicle during the day. I’m sad to say that I was the only one caught by juniors driving a car during camp for the entire week. We also talked about how much energy we use to cool the clubhouse during the summer months, so the juniors went old school and turned off the AC in the clubhouse for the day. Oh, the horror that ensued with no one dying from heat exhaustion and hardly anyone (save the kitchen volunteers) noticing the change! Thanks goes out to Amanda Hodges and Tara Whitworth for leading the group picture and photos throughout the week. We had some guests from Georgia Tech present their research to the juniors at lunch. A previous junior week coach, Justin Lawrence, brought his team to talk more about Arctic explorations that involve water much colder than ours. That night held a boat excursion to a nearby cove for a picnic on the water.
Thursday was the last day of training on the water for juniors and also our trash waste day. We learned that the average American produces 4.5 lbs. of trash a day. Caretaker Barry Haisty counted the bags of trash generated by Junior Week. We were happy to reduce how much we used, resulting in only 28 bags for the entire week! As a comparison, Barry noted that 56 bags were collected from the previous weekend around the club. Great job, juniors! Means Davis presented one of the best rules debriefs I’ve listened to, with his typical attention to detail. He has definitely perfected his lessons over the years to the point that both the first-time sailor and the seasoned weekend warrior learn something new. Later that night, we had a beach party put on by the Sherrys. For some, the shaving cream fight on the beach was the closest thing to a shower they had all week. Good for water conservation but starting to cause problems for some of the cabin parents… Once dried and back in the cabins, the campers set about baking cakes for sale at the banquet. The Junior Yacht Club officers posed the idea of holding a bake sale to support the ongoing 420 campaign. Each cabin made some wonderful cakes which raised $1,430 towards expanding the 420 fleet.
Friday was our last day of camp with the theme: Sustaining Sailing. At the flagpole that morning, the volunteers and campers shared stories about their first memories of sailing. Many talked about crewing for parents and grandparents while others were brought into the sport by friends or acquaintances. The general sentiment was that all of these experiences were intimate, fun, and a direct cause for our love of AYC today. We each left for breakfast with the individual goal of introducing one new
Lessons from the Captain of tyin’ knots, Tom Henderson
Opti instructor down for the count
See SUSTAINING pg. 6
SUSTAINING Continued from pg. 4
person to sailing in the next year before Junior Week 2018. From there we broke for the regatta, where the juniors showcased their skills developed in the week going head-to-head against each other. Everyone came out better than they went in—without a doubt!
Friday is a sad day in Junior Week, packing up cabins and saying goodbye to the camp that’s a highlight to the year. The banquet was filled with stories of capsizes, pictures of capsizes, awards for epic capsizes, along with many other great achievements. Our Junior Week Award is also given out during the ceremonies to the camper that most embodies the spirit of Junior Week each year. It is voted on by campers, coaches, and volunteers, so it really is the people’s choice for the best of the best at camp. Many of the previous award winners were in attendance
that night and came forward to congratulate our 2017 Junior Week Award recipient, Zack Musser. Zack has always been a mentor to older and younger kids alike and finds it easy to relate to everyone at the club. The younger sailors appreciate his big smile, older sailors like his calm mature demeanor, and his peers always look to him for leadership (sometimes it determined whether they would come to JRW or not). Standing ovation, speeches, gifts and “See you soons!” were had then we all began thinking about how far away 2018 feels.
Running Junior Week 2017 was an outstanding experience for myself, my sister Kate Rose, and Todd and Sherri Coppenhaver. The biggest lesson? We do some amazing things at the Atlanta Yacht Club, and it is all possible because of the limitless volunteer spirit; the only resource we don’t have to conserve! Please continue to give your time and energy to the 2018 Junior Week chairs, Mindy and Mark Sherry, as they go on to make next year better and continue to grow the future of sailing in Atlanta.
Darby Dryden & Isabelle Smith cruise by in their 420
Junior Week Award Winner Zack Musser
SUSTAINING Continued from pg. 5
As fall approaches, Laser sailing ramps back up! Plan to join us for the Frostnip Series here at AYC on November 5 and 19 and December 3 and 10. Also, the No More Turkey Regatta will be held November 11 and 12. So many good Laser sailing opportunities, we want to see you on the water. If you are interested in Laser sailing but need a boat, contact Mike Carlson at [email protected] to ask about several Lasers for sale here at AYC.
LASERS
AtlantaYachtClub.org page 6
JUNIOR WEEK HISTORYMary Williams
Like Junior Week, it was usually held the first full weekend after school was out for the summer. Public and private schools in the Atlanta area usually let out for the summer the same week. Back then, there weren’t any sailing camps close to home, so the House Party Weekend was a quite an attraction.
Yes, we participated on the race course with our parents and learned to sail with the Sunday afternoon sailing classes that were sailed in Prams. Prams were the beginning design of the current OPTIs, however, our Prams were made by club members and were wooden and…very...very heavy. Junior racing wasn’t as big of a deal as it is now...although there might be a few of us that would argue with that thought. But I digress.
Back to “House Party Weekend”. At that time, being socially connected was important and during the winter, many of our members attended Cotillion classes run by Elizabeth Clement, wife of board member and former Commodore Ralph Clement. Miss Liz, as we called her, was one of two women who ran the weekly ballroom dancing classes taught at the Women’s Club located on Moore’s Mill Road in the Buckhead area. Being knowledgeable about the social graces was very important in the 50’s – 60’s. Knowing how to dance the Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha and even the Twist (as Chubby Checker was just coming into his hey-day at the time) and the beach music from South Carolina was inching its way west. Knowing the proper way to dance was a very important social skill and many young ladies who graduated from Miss Liz’s class went on to become Debutantes and were presented to society. Many of the young men went on to be invited to be escorts for those young ladies when they were presented.
So House Party was a BIG deal...You had to be in high school, which at that time started in 8th grade. You had to get a date for the weekend! And in order to do that you had to be brave enough to ask a boy for a date (for an entire weekend!). Unless it was for the Sadie Hawkins dance, girls didn’t ask boys. Not all of us had dates the first year or two that we attended but we still were allowed to attend.
Back before there was such an animal as “Junior Week”
(back in the 50’s and 60’s) there was “House Party Weekend.”
See HOUSE PARTY pg. 8
We worked all winter on the planning. Plans were made and invitations sent to Junior members. Junior members who planned to attend had to rsvp and pay for themselves and their dates. Their dates’ names had to be submitted and if not approved by the Ladies...well then... I don’t know what would happen as I was so scared to invite a boy that I made sure his name would not be rejected...besides if it had been…my parents would have died of embarrassment!!! That’s the way it was back then.
Everyone would arrive on Friday afternoon with our dates in tow. Many of the club members would volunteer their cabins for the weekend. The cabins were assigned to all girls or all boys
and each had an adult chaperone. Friday night activities were not really formal; just
getting to know each other’s dates and talking and decorating the clubhouse and getting ready for the Saturday activities. The adult ladies organized the entire weekend along with the Jr. Commodore and Jr Yacht Club Officers.
Meals were furnished by the kitchen staff, Beulah and Leonard Harbison. They ran the food service kitchen on a paid basis every weekend during the summer. Leonard was a cook on the railroad and had weekends off to cook for the club. They ran a breakfast, lunch and dinner food service on Saturday and Sunday. In the old clubhouse there was even a room off behind the kitchen where they and their family slept in order to have breakfast available on Saturday and Sunday morning. Their service was a simple snack bar type of operation with eggs and bacon and grits and toast for breakfast, cheese burgers, hotdogs and BLT’s for lunch but on Saturday/Sunday night they would cook up something special and it was usually fried
chicken or rib eye steaks. Those were special meals because back then those items were not everyday items offered.
Saturday activities usually started with swimming, sailing and water skiing going on all day long. Trying to get 50 + teenagers out on sailboats, motor boats for water skiing or swimming took a lot of adults pitching in and being sure we were safe. Although we had a paid lifeguard at the beach back then, we also had many adult chaperones sitting in convenient places to be sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. After a full day of sand and sun, everyone would retire to their assigned cabins to get ready for the dinner and dance. Before our current clubhouse was built, the clubhouse had limited shower opportunities and we had the White (currently green) House for showering over at the far end of the existing cabin colony. In those days, we did not have cabins along the entrance road. In fact, the gate stood where the road turns down to the canoe colony. Boy have we ever expanded since then!
For Saturday night a band was hired and we had a regular sock hop. The day and night activities were well chaperoned by club members and if
anyone got out of hand, they would be escorted back to Atlanta, “immediately, if not sooner,” using the words of my father. Our antics would appear to
be so naïve compared to the antics of today’s Jr. Week but it was the way it was back then. We also weren’t as playful with our chaperones as today’s juniors are. Parents and adults were “not to be crossed” like a code that we had to obey and honor.
Sunday morning, we would all hear the church bell and go to the club house for church. For those of you who remember the old clubhouse, church was held in the dining room. Not much has changed in the 60+ years of club history. Church was held on Sunday mornings, the
HOUSE PARTY continued from pg. 7
See HOUSE PARTY pg. 9
ADULT SAILINGJeanette and Henry Taylor
AYC’s Adult Sailing Program continues to be our biggest effort to introduce those outside our club to sailing. There are so many demands for people’s time and so many options for using recreational time and sailing is trending the wrong way in participation. To counter this trend, clubs like ours are building their introduction to sailing classes so that interested folks can give it a try. Having six more 420s available gives us the assets we need to help build our sport back up. I want to thank all who stepped up to support the 420 campaign to add to our fleet. At this time for the Fall Session, we have 13 in the class and about 5 on the waiting list. The additional boats will allow us to strike while the iron is hot and bring those in while they are interested.
Over this past year, we have changed our perspective a bit and we no longer refer to the attendees as students but as potential fleet members. To that end, we have taken the AYC Adult Sailing Program a step farther than others. On three weekends we will be inviting the potential members to stay after class for lunch and sailing in the club races that afternoon. Fleets have picked weekends to host the group for lunch and to assign prospective members to a skipper with whom to sail in the afternoon’s club races. We know that getting people into a boat engaged in sailing and experiencing the social aspect of our club races will build their commitment. Please continue to support the Adult Sailing Program and the 420 Campaign.
Please say “Hello” to our classes on Saturday mornings at the Viewing Pavilion and we will see you at the lake!
juniors were in charge of the service and we all were expected to be there; otherwise the chaperones were out searching and wanting to know why you were not there. Lunch was served and then we checked out of our cabins and returned to the responsibility of our parents.
I can’t tell you when they started, all I know was that they were in existence when my parents joined the club in 1958 and when I
became aware of such an animal as “House Party Weekend” I could not wait until I was old enough to attend. My oldest brother was two
years older than I was, so I became aware at least two years before I was allowed to attend. Derek Peters was the AYC Commodore when I was the Jr. Yacht Club Commodore and his support of my efforts was greatly appreciated throughout the planning that my Board of Officers were involved in.
Current club members that may have attended the House Party Weekends might include Georgia Huffman Aderhold, Buz Benzur, Barbara Yapp Bradshaw, Margaret Ann Craven Briggs, Al Daniel, Means Davis, Tish Jennings, Dick King, Phillip Moulthroup, Laurie Gregory Remter, Beth Norwood Tumlin, Kris Cleveland Van Hutten, Orie Wade, and Mary Williams. If I have included someone here that wasn’t a part of this story I do apologize, because you missed some good old days. And if I left you out, I do apologize because you helped to make the memories what they are...And I thank you.
I am not sure as to when the “House Party Weekends” went the way of the “Junior Week”. I did not consult Means Davis, Club Historian, for the true facts as listed in past issues of the Scuttlebutt. The memories are mine and mine alone so if I took poetic justice...well, that’s the way it is when one has been coming to the lake since one was 8 years old. If I didn’t quite remember it the way you do, then let’s gather and talk about the way it was and toast to the good times for what they were and what they are. Thank you to those who did and to those who do.
HOUSE PARTY continued from pg. 8
AYC JUNIORS HIT THE ROAD FOR SUMMER SAILING!
Grayson Berrier, a freshman at The Walker School and a member of their sailing team member, attended sailing camp in Hixson, TN this summer. The camp was held at Privateer Yacht Club on Lake Chickamauga and co-sponsored by Girls Preparatory School (GPS), her mother’s alma mater. Grayson skippered Flying Juniors and crewed a Catalina 22 for the week. “The FJs are faster in light winds but not as stable as our 420s.” She represented AYC and Walker well, being presented two awards by her coaches. She got the “Teacher” award for her on-the-water coaching and also won the “Corinthian Spirit” award as the camper who best embodied the spirit of sailing through her sportsmanship and personal conduct over the week. In August, Grayson sailed her Lasor in an AYC favorite regatta – the Rock Paper Scissors Regatta at the Birmingham Sailing Club. Way to go Grayson!
Carlyn Blauvelt has been known to sail an Opti, a 420, a Laser and a Snipe. This summer she added a new boat to her repertoire – the NACRA 15 catamaran. She has partnered up with her former LOOT (Lake Ontario Optimist Team) teammate from SCYC Matthew Monts to become the proud new boat owners of a NACRA 15 - #086. They started their summer training in Pensacola, Florida for the U.S. Sailing Youth Championships, an invitation-only event held at the end of June that attracts the best youth sailors ages 15-18 from across the nation. The NACRA 15 made its debut at this regatta this year in Corpus Christie, TX with 13 boats competing. Carlyn and Matthew had some great races including two third places, which earned them a 7th overall and the top mixed crew spot. Amazing job Carlyn and Matthew!
Carlyn returned to Fair Haven, New York (the Blauvelt summer hometown) for some sailing on Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes. She came in second in the Laser District 9 Grand Prix Championship at Willowbank Yacht Club and first at the Laser Regatta at Skaneateles Yacht Club. Then, Matthew joined her in upstate New York for a little C420 sailing. The duo came in second at both the Rochester and Fair Haven 420 Regattas. The team came back south to finish off their summer training in Clearwater back on their NACRA 15 where they saw their good friends Lucy and Ellie Spearman who came down to try out the boat. Next up? Watch for Carlyn and Matthew to compete in November at the Youth Olympic Qualifier in Miami.
DoDson and Ji-soo Bolles may be some of AYC’s newest members but they have made some amazing contributions to AYC with the speed and skills with which they have hit the water. Who could miss Dodson on the water in his shiny new Snipe? His sister Ji-Soo travelled to Kentucky to participate in the Y-Flyer Junior Nationals and guess what? She and her skipper, Ava Kuznicki, brought home the first place gold! Awesome job, Ji-Soo!
AtlantaYachtClub.org page 10
evie Blauvelt spent her summer sailing with the Lake Ontario Optimist Team (LOOT). LOOT is a unique, summer-only team of 10 to 12 sailors who live and travel together for seven weeks in search of the best training, regattas and fun that North America can provide. The team is led by Coach Roberto Fabini of Uruguay and is supported by parent volunteers who give their time and talents volunteering and chaperoning. Evie’s third and final summer on the team started in Fair Haven, New York with her parents chaperoning in their summer hometown. The team was able to practice on both Little Sodus Bay and out on Lake Ontario. After two weeks in Fair Haven, Evie and her teammates traveled to Chautauqua, New York for more training, before heading to USODA Nationals in Norfolk, Virginia where she saw AYC pals Lucy and Ellie Spearman. After a week of competing in National Team
Racing, Girls Nationals and Fleet Race Nationals, Evie walked away as 25th Girl out of 70 and 6th in Silver Fleet out of 204 Optis for Fleet Race Nationals. With Nationals behind them, the team headed for a week of training in Martha’s Vineyard, where they met Shep Murray, the owner of Vineyard Vines. They even got to spend a day sailing with Shep on his keelboat, the VV Smiling Whale. Finally, Evie wrapped up her action-packed summer sailing in the Optimist CORK Regatta in Kingston, Ontario where she placed 23rd out of 128 Optis. Next up for Evie? She will finish out her Opti career with a couple more regattas this fall. Evie will also be sailing a 420 for the Walker High School Sailing team with teammates, Grayson Berrier, Erika Kaczynski and sister, Carlyn. And you might even see her giving her big sister a run for her money on the Nacra race course. Stay tuned…
Daniel Davis, a freshman at Mercer University, and his brother Jamie Davis, a 9th grader at Brookwood Christian Academy, had a grand family sailing adventure this summer. For 7 days, the boys sailed from Newport, RI through Narragansett Bay to several port locations throughout the area on a 44-foot Beneteau sailboat. They both loved exploring the area and being able to see hard-to-reach and secluded areas you can only reach by boat. Traveling by sailboat is always more fun than traveling by car!
ava, Carina and Marlena KuzniCKi Ava Kuznicki 15, attends Pope High School. Ava sailed a Laser at Jr. Week but spends most of her time sailing as both skipper and crew on Y-Flyers. She traveled to Beaufort, SC, Guntersville, AL and Louisville, KY to race Y-Flyers and she is the 2017 Y-Flyer Junior National Champion.
Carina Kuznicki 13, completed the adult sailing course at AYC and crewed for both her older sister and her father on the Y-Flyer. Carina has also been spotted skippering a Thistle with the Dryden family.
Marlena Kuznicki 9, completed the learn to sail class on an Opti and she has been out sailing with her older sisters and father several times this summer. Marlena is looking forward to crewing with her sisters on the 420 and learning to race Optimists next year!
Daniel (15) and aMaya (13) esCuDero only spent 72 hours in Georgia this summer! The day after school was out they traveled to Europe where they spent the month of June attending German school and visiting family in Spain.
July was entirely dedicated to hard core sailing in Canada where the Escudero family used to live. Four intense weeks of sailing at beautiful Bay of Quinte followed: daily afternoon high performance Opti & Laser training, as well as race t eam practice on some evenings. During weekday mornings, Amaya successfully trained for her CANsail
4 certificate, while Daniel worked as an instructor-in-training at the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club Sailing School, a pre-requisite for his instructor license next summer.
Amaya, who now attends 8th grade at Booth Middle School in Peachtree City, also started to prepare for her transition from Optis to Laser 4.7.
During weekends, the Escudero kids competed at the National Capital Regatta in Ottawa, Steerers Regatta, and Four Sisters Regatta in Toronto with remarkable finishes for both juniors!
And, just to add a little more fun, just three days after starting 10th grade at McIntosh High School (also in Peachtree City), Daniel traveled back north to Kingston, Ontario to compete at the Laser Canadian Championships.
It was a great and very busy summer for the Escuderos!
JaMes FolK travelled to Birmingham Sailing Club with his AYC Junior pals to the Rock Paper Scissors Regatta where he sailed in the White fleet. When not travelling, James was busy practicing at AYC where he had a ‘flock’ of very special coaches.
FranCis Hanson Our newest AYC Green Fleeter is Frances Hanson (a Hodges original!) attended Charleston Community Sailing Camp for 2 weeks in June and finished up her camp by sailing in the Charleston Open Regatta Opti green finished 1st place. Her coach at camp was none other than her uncle – Sammy Hodges. Frances headed back to Charleston in July and sailed in the Charleston Community Cup Opti green fleet finished 3rd. In August, she traveled to Birmingham to the Rock Paper Scissors Regatta and finished 5th out of 20 boats in Opti green fleet. Proud grandparents Amanda and Carlin Hodges better make more room for trophies in the cabin!
eriKa KaCzynsKi had an action-packed summer and traveled from New Jersey, to Colorado and California. Her adventures left little time for sailing but she got some practice in at AYC so come Rock Paper Scissors in Birmingham, she came in second place in 420s – and did we mention this was her FIRST time skippering in a regatta? Way to go, Erika!!!
Colin (14) and Josie sHerry (12) sailed all around the British Virgin Islands over Spring Break, with Erika Kaczynski and family. Colin expertly skippered a 55-foot Catamaran. While on vacation, the families enjoyed time at the Bitter End Yacht Club where they took non-sailing friends out on a 15-foot Catamaran and had a blast zooming around all the giant charter boats! It was an exciting AND relaxing trip full of sun, sailing, and swimming. Colin is a 9th grader at Dunwoody High School, and Josie is in her second year at Peachtree Charter Middle School.
luCy and ellie spearMan had an action-packed summer filled with sailing in four states plus Europe! Double-trouble Lucy & Ellie Spearman’s (9th graders at the Atlanta Classical Academy) first hit the road for summer fun was right after AYC Junior Week. Their first stop was nearby Lake Lanier Sailing Club where the twins teamed up for a first-place win in LLSC’s annual Reggae Regatta. The pair sailed a 420 for this event. AYC Jr. Team Mascot Steffon enjoyed the fun too.
Next up, the duo flew to Europe on June 23 to participate in the 2017 Topsport Vlaanderen Nieuwpoortweek Regatta
in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. In Europe, it was back in their Optis. The twins practiced in the North Sea for four days and then raced for five days. In between sailing, the girls (and trusty side-kick Steffon) took in some sights. Read all about their adventures in this Scuttlebutt issue.
After returning to home from Belgium and getting over jet lag, the two set off for another grand adventure – this time in Louisville, KY at the invitation of the Hodges family. In Kentucky, the girls sailed in the Junior 2017 Y-Flyer Nationals at the Louisville Sailing Club where they came in second place – right behind good AYC sailing pals Ava Kuznicki and Ji-Soo Bolles who brought home the gold. When it was time for the Y-Flyer Nationals (Seniors) to start, the pair split up. Ellie crewed for the Amazing Amanda Hodges while Lucy crewed for Captain Carlin Hodges. Also on the water for the Senior Nationals were Ava who crewed for her dad Eddie Kuznicki and AYC Junior sailor Katie Mitchell who skippered for Ji-Soo Bolles. Not far from the action was the well-travelled Steffon who enjoyed the road trip and his time in Kentucky.
At the end of July, Lucy and Ellie joined AYC sail mate Evie Blauvelt for the 2017 USODA Nationals Norfolk, VA where Lucy met her goal to finish in the top third of this hyper competitive 300+ boat fleet and Ellie achieved many personal bests.
In August, Lucy and Ellie joined AYC Junior Commodore Carlyn Blauvelt for a week in Clearwater, FL to try out the semi-foiling, multi-hull Nacra 15 at a Red Gear Racing Clinic. It was a terrific experience and the girls loved trying something new that offered so much speed and look forward to hopping board the Nacra 15 again.
Their final summer hurrah was an annual favorite event – The (now a Junior Olympic) Rock Paper Scissors Regatta at Birmingham Sailing Club on Lake Logan Martin in Pell City, AL. Here, Lucy placed second in red fleet and second overall, with sister Ellie not far behind.
And to top it all off, the girls sailed into a first place finish in the AYC Women’s Championship Regatta, along with top-notch sailing mentor, Tarasa Davis. What a summer!
INDEPENDENCE DAY AT AYCHenry and Jeanette Taylor
Independence Day Weekend has always been special and important to all of us at AYC. This year did not disappoint as we spread the celebration over 4 days. Henry and Jeanette Taylor as Event Leads working with Kirk and Anne Maassen as Entertainment Chair planned four days that had something for everyone. Despite the heavy storms, the clubhouse and entry were well decorated with a colorful patriotic theme. Thank you to Ann Bryan Womble, Mary Williams and Brenda Thompson. Saturday families enjoyed picnicking at the beach with a great sand castle contest and lawn games organized by the Hodges. Building permits were issued to a boys’ team and a girls’ team who built castles that, if real, Disney would have been jealous! Around 5 o’clock, all met at the clubhouse for a Western-themed social hour of wonderful appetizers, two varieties of whiskey sours and a mechanical bull who was ready to take on rustlers of all ages. Dinner was a fabulous BBQ spread prepared by Claudia Bolles and Jeanette Taylor, with assistance from Paul & Debbie Eberhard and Greg & Teresa Kibler. The evening concluded with fun music and Line Dancing instruction. It was a great evening as about 160 all had dinner at the clubhouse.
Sunday started with a patriotic church service led by JT Johnson which included honoring those in attendance who have served our country. This was followed by Coffee, Classic Car and Boats around the flag pole. Kirk Maassen organized a great display of classic cars and boats for all to enjoy. Peggy Padgett organized a great brunch that had many people taking a nap shortly thereafter. The food was great and it was so nice to see so many families all enjoying a slow long meal together talking and catching up with other club families. To ensure that all would be ready to eat again, Tracy and Daryl Allardice along with Mike Garrett planned an afternoon of fun lawn games that had everyone’s sides sore from laughing (or falling)! The kids all gathered that afternoon to decorate bikes and give us all a fantasticly colorful and loud bike parade that kids of all ages enjoyed. Thanks to Adrienne Warken, Stacey Mitchell and Erin Clark. For Sunday night, Alan Thompson made his famous fries while Jim Womble, Mike Fricker and Eddie Kuznicki grilled real burgers for the burger bar. The almost 20 toppings on the burger bar let everyone create their perfect burger for dinner. Over 120 joined us for dinner that night; so, between the two weekend dinners, we had nearly 300 people meeting up at the clubhouse.
Although there were no structured activities, Monday was a little slower pace but still fun with playing at the beach. There were many who were able to enjoy the club for the day and gathered at the point to enjoy the sunset and several fireworks displays that could be seen.
The 4th of July started with Mitzi Wade’s popular Fishing Contest. Approximately 20 kids joined and had a great time showing their catches. Thanks to Mitzi, Mike and Scott Fricker. After the prizes were passed out and photos taken, lunch of sub sandwiches and patriotic tunes was enjoyed at the BBQ Pavilion.
The beach was popular through the day with sunshine, swimming and a big water slide. You’ll never guess what happened next! That’s right! It started to storm! Imagine that! We all had a great time celebrating Independence Day with friends and family at AYC. Go ahead now and mark next year on your calendar and let’s plan to spend it again at the club! See you at the lake.
Speaking of pictures, Kimberly Johnson is owed a “Thank you” as well for her work on our FaceBook Photo Contest. It was well thought out and executed, and we gathered some great photos to share on our website and in the halls of the clubhouse for the coming year!
Susan Smith deserves a BIG thank you for the fabulous BBQ dinner she catered for us. The Dessert Bar was a huge hit, as well. If you couldn’t find
something that whet your sugar appetite, well, we can’t help you.
Sunday began with the church service led by Lucy and Ellie Spearman and delicious honey buns made by Mrs. Briggs! Then it was off to the AYC Women’s Championship with adult and youth sailors competing! A beautiful day, full of excitement. Thank you to Regatta Chairman, Eddie Kuznicki, and his HOT bartender, Larry Bull! And a very big “Thank You” to John Muhlhausen for acting as PRO. A fantastic job as usual! And one more “Thank you” to Will Stout for a celebratory ride on his beautiful “Rum Runner!” It was a picturesque afternoon.
Thanks to Debbie and Buz Benzur for coordinating the Appetizer dinner! It was a great
LABOR DAY “THANKS!”
Tish and I would like to thank our team of Labor Day volunteers for helping make the festivities so much fun! We enjoyed working with everyone and hope that you all had as much fun as we did.
Thanks to Mark Sherry for helping to coordinate the Party Pontoon Boat and drivers. That seemed to be a big hit with kids, old and young, and the parents! I have a feeling we will see this make another appearance!
Chip Kaczynski was the master of ceremonies for the Cardboard Boat Race. Chip, thank you for bringing the enthusiasm and good old-fashioned fun to this event. And it makes such great pictures!
See LABOR DAY pg. 16
spread and we all got to enjoy the Steel Drum Band as we grazed! Did someone say “meatball?”
On Monday, The Allatoona Cross Country Shuffle was led by our own Doug Folk and his wife, Gretchen. What a fabulous way to enjoy our club property and keep everyone safe while we continue our decades long tradition of shuffling on Labor Day! Well Done, Doug! We really appreciate your commitment to making the Shuffle more safe for everyone, and adding in the cross country element for a new twist!
And what does everyone need after a Cross Country 5K? PANCAKES! Thank you, once again, to Alan and Brenda Thompson and their faithful crew for the delicious breakfast! Anyone know how many years they have been doing this??
Thank you to Clint Hodges and the rest of the Hodges clan who pitched in to coordinate the Balloon Bash! The light wind conditions did not deter the participants from enjoying this long-standing tradition! Thanks to all who helped.
And finally, thank you to Mike Carlson for being Regatta Chairman for the Labor Day Laser and Opti Regatta. It turned out to be a beautiful day with just the right wind conditions to level the playing field for veteran Laser sailors and junior Laser sailors alike! If you thought these kids weren’t learning anything in those Optis, think again! :)
We cannot thank everyone enough for helping make this a great weekend for all of our members. Tish and I are so thankful for the AYC and the special community we have here. Let’s keep the volunteer spirit growing!
LABOR DAY Continued from pg. 15
The Motor Boat Fleet held its annual Shrimp Boil on Saturday, July 15th serving up shrimp flown in from the gulf. Jim McNeel and Kirk Maassen, with helpers, did a great job cooking up a feast. About
fifty people attended and enjoyed a great meal. Thanks to all who helped make it happen.
We also hosted the Saturday night grilling get-together on August 19th. A large crowd of about 70 people attended.
In the planning stages is a day or weekend trip for the group in October. Come join us! The fleet is open to all AYC
members regardless of boat ownership and we welcome everyone to join us.
MOTOR BOAT FLEET UPDATE
It is no secret that the Thistle Fleet was infused with unbridled energy this summer, and we are pretty pumped to watch it go viral! The name of this highly contagious bug, coined by fleet collaborators Bryce Dryden and Jennifer Garrett, is “Rally Mentality.” In an effort to get more boats on the line, to encourage our less experienced sailors, to give newcomers and drop-ins an opportunity to climb aboard/pull the strings/take the helm of a Thistle, and most of all to get us all out on the water, Bryce has challenged our fleet to lighten up, focus on fun and RALLY around the race course.
And it’s working! Three times this summer, the Thistle Rallies have drawn more people on a single Saturday than in a month of “conventional” fleet races. The idea first took shape in June, when it was the Thistle fleet’s turn to introduce our boat to the very eager spring Adult Sailing Class. Instead of texting and emailing the fleet, Bryce, who was in charge of the day, got commitments the old-fashioned way — by making phone calls (imagine that!) to line up boats and pair up students with skippers and crew, quickly expanding the list to include new and prospective members,
guests and kids — the guideline du jour being “The more, the merrier!” With a lot of help from Debbie, Jennifer, Len, Diane and others, the fleet provided a noon lunch at the pavilion, leaving plenty of time before the 2:00 start to get acquainted, get rigged, get launched, get to the line and
get sailing. Breaking all the rules, we crammed as many people into boats as were game to
go. And the race was on! But! It was all in the name of fun. There was a lot of mixing and matching going on between skippers and crew, but the teaching was
legit — everyone who wanted to take the helm or fly the chute had the chance. (Or if you wanted to wield a water gun instead of a tiller, we made time for that,
too!) As Bryce would put it, the racing was real, but the Rally ruled.
Buoyed by our success, our second event in July expanded on the Rally idea, surprising everyone with ideal Thistling winds that kept all the sailors engaged and provided some awesome teaching moments. By the time we held our most recent event in August, we were on a first-name basis with Publix, hosting 73(!) people for lunch, 19 of them under the age of 10 (our farm team?). With 15 Thistles on the line, we managed to board 51 fun-seekers, who didn’t even seem to mind a sultry, almost windless day as long as they got to be on the water with family and friends. On this particular Saturday there was arguably a lot more
RALLY MENTALITY RULES!Thistle Fleet News
See RALLY pg. 18
swimming going on than serious racing, but instead of being inside glued to our cell phones on a beautiful summer day, 51 of us were all outside having fun in sailboats. So what’s not to like?
Apart from the capers and the camaraderie, the best by-product of the Thistle Rallies has been the people promotion: engaging new AYC members — Thistlers and non-Thistlers alike; encouraging our Adult Sailing Class students to stick with sailing as a lifetime sport; and showcasing our wonderful club to guests, prospective members and their families. They (and we!) are learning, building confidence and, most importantly, showing up to participate. Many hands have helped to make this summer a success, but we owe special thanks to Bryce for challenging our fleet to take the risk of change. Racing or Rallying, all fun on the water is contagious! We will be doing another event in October for the fall Adult Sailing Class, and if you’ve ever thought about driving, crewing, or just going along for the ride in a Thistle, we invite you to join us. Come RALLY — it’s the new normal!
RALLY Continued from pg. 17
The Snipe Fleet ended its Spring Racing Series in mid-July. The fleet sailed 15 of the 36 scheduled races with 15 unique skippers sailing an average of 4.5 races per skipper. 7 fleet member skip-pers qualified; Don Hackbarth, Greg Kibler, Tom Henderson, Trey Shipp, Larry Bull, Dodson Bolles (Top Junior) and Craig McLean. The fall season is now underway and Gregg, Kathy and Don are in furious competition for the lead. Come on out and join the fleet racing. We are having lots of fun.
The US Nationals was sailed in August on tiny Mystic Lake, in the Boston area. 52 teams competed and, as expected, a local, Jim Bowers with Julia Rabin crewing, won the event handily. Our national secretary and his wife, Art and Jennifer Rousmaniere, also locals, were second. The team of Camer-on Fraizer and Liz Glivinski, also locals, won the Crosby. Snipe Fleet 330 was represented by Tarasa Davis with Alan Capellin, from St Pete, crewing. They finished 20th in the Championship Fleet.
September 9 was a Snipe Rally. We welcomed all comers for lunch and then ‘messed around in Snipes’, followed by refreshments and a cookout. It was a grand success, and will be repeated!
Tom and Liz Henderson are busy planning the Halloween Regatta. The theme for the event will be “develop you own super hero and costume.” The headliners for the Tshirt will be Snipe Mon for the men and Spookie, the Super Snipe Snitch, for the ladies. Who knows what super powers these su-per heroes will have. All new decorations are also being planned.
Come out and sail with us.
Don HackbarthFleet Captain
SNIPE SIGHTINGS
Thirteen of our AYC Juniors and their families had a fantastic weekend at the Rock Paper Scissors Junior Olympic Regatta at Birmingham Sailing Club! Congratulations to our newest Green fleeter, Francis Hanson, for joining in the fun! Erika Kaczynski, with crew Carlyn Blauvelt, took second in 420s; Evie Blauvelt took second and Daniel Escudaro finished first in Laser Radial; Josie Sherry finished third in Opti Blue; and Ellie Spearman placed third and Lucy Spearman finished second in Opti Red, with a Second Overall. Way to bring home the hardware!
And a special thanks to our AYC Junior Mascot, Steffon, for bringing a smile to so many faces this weekend! Special note, we presented a new AYC burgee to Birmingham Sailing Club to display in their clubhouse —thanks to Mike Carlson for organizing this!
AYC JUNIORS TRAVEL TO BIRMINGHAM
AtlantaYachtClub.org page 19
EC 12 METER FLEET REPORTby John Muhlhausen
With 52 races sailed during our Spring Series, in which 10 skippers participated and 6 qualified by sailing 26 races or more, AYC’s newest fleet continues its strong participation and growth. Jack Shepard won again, however, he had close competition this time from John Muhlhausen, Bill Tumlin, and Robert Mitchell, all of whom finished within an overall total point spread less than three tenths of one point. Rounding out the 6 qualifiers were Scott Vernon and Don Hackbarth.
We hosted our 5th annual Red White & Blue Regatta on Sunday, July 9. Although this year’s turnout was smaller than hoped, Allatoona offered her usual fickle conditions typical for July.The morning’s 4 races were sailed in unusually light winds and big lumpy waters. At times, there was no wind, nor wind direction, and it appeared that a yacht’s momentum was generated solely by its rocking and flapping of sails. Fortunately the Allatoona sea breeze filled in nicely in the afternoon from the NW, heeling everyone over nicely at 30 degrees, allowing the yachts to slice through the waves, and providing 5 enjoyable and competitive races for the 9 participating skippers.As it usually happens, cream rises quickly to the top, and Skip Allen sailed consistently in both conditions and easily won the regatta with a total of 20 points, followed by Atlanta’s fleet captain, Bill Tumlin, with 34 points in second. Jack Ward and Scott Vernon tied with 38 points with Jack winning the tie-breaker and finishing third. Following were John Muhlhausen, 43 points; Robert Mitchell, 44 points; Skip Seagall, 45 points; Jack Shepard, 46 points; and Dave Pulling, 65 points. Robert Mitchell served as our RD and was assisted by Means Davis, Orren Williams, Kathy Bronaugh, Eddie Kuznicki and Eric Jorgensen. Beth Tumlin and Kitza Muhlhausen coordinated lunch and our after-regatta beer and wine social. Thank you to all our volunteers for your services and support.
The EC12 is a one-design radio controlled yacht about 59 inches in length, a mast standing 72 inches above the deck, supporting about 1300 square inches of sail and weighing around 24 pounds
The class is one the premier R/C Yachts in the American Model Yachting Association. The Class is well organized energetic and active with over 400 members hosting over 20 two-day sailing regatta throughout the East Coast and the Midwest. The posted sailing schedule is 12 months a year. Local clubs offer additional weekly and monthly club events.
One of the challenges sailing in front of the AYC Viewing Pavilion is the shallow water level for 12 Meter model yachts. When there are waves caused by passing motorboats and speeding Y-Flyers, the crests and troughs can become extreme, causing inattentive skippers to become suddenly grounded. Thus, this was the case with our beloved Captain BT not tacking in time for the finish line and coughing up an easy first place.
AtlantaYachtClub.org page 20
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTAAmanda Hodges
The Women’s Championships 2017 rostered five crews of ladies with strong constitutions and superb skills to sail on Lake Allatoona in Thistles. After a wonderful church service, performed by the Spearman twins, we headed out onto the lake to pit our skills against the wind, water, and the boat!!
Light and unpredictable, the first race was the kiss of death for Jennifer Garrett. She lead the ENTIRE race before going into a tacking duel with me, and then losing it to Lucy Spearman. I forced her to sail off to the right and clear her air to do a 720 penalty spin and she got a once-in-a-race favor on the right!
Second race, I decided to find out how it felt to lead the whole way and lose to Lucky Lucy on the last beat. (Did not feel good AT ALL)
Delicious lunches were eaten at the pavilion at the point with just enough lead time to take a power nap before going out in a moderately steady 6. I got off to a great start and lead all around the course, but Lucy was so sly that she was able to keep the gap small and win the 2017 AYC Women’s Championship.
If you’ve never sailed with an all women’s team, AND you’re a woman, try it. So laid back and supportive. Little to no foul language. Superb teamwork. And the best looking sailors on the planet!!!
AtlantaYachtClub.org page 21
AYC JUNIORS SAIL IN Y-FLYER NATIONALSPaul White, AYFSA National Secretary
On Monday, the first day of Junior racing, the winds were insufficient and the Juniors did not put their boats in the water. Tuesday afternoon the winds showed up and the Juniors sailed 3 windward leeward races. Upwind was downcurrent and the RC Boat was anchored from its bow and pointed downwind, but up current, as the current was stronger than the wind. During the start of the first race, Lucy and Ellie Spearman (AYC) sailed across the front of the RC Boat below the Starting Line and hooked their rudder on the RC Boat anchor line. Mickey Gregg on the RC Boat saw the event unfolding, jumped to the front deck of the boat, and with his feet, fended the Y off of the pontoons of the RC Boat. With a lot of effort and time, Mickey finally got the Y off the anchor line and the Juniors went on to sail the course. After the race started, I called US Sailing Judge Carl Owens in Atlanta, and related the situation that these were teenage competitors, in borrowed boats, with no river current experience, and did not ask for help. Carl studied the situation, returned my call, and informed me to score the boats in the order they finish. In the third race, Ava Kuznicki and Ji-Soo Bolles hooked their rudder on the anchor line as they tried to start. Again, Mickey saw it happening and used his feet to keep the Y off of the RC Boat. This race was also scored as the boats finished.
As the third race was finishing, Lucy and Ellie were in the lead and their position was more along the Kentucky shoreline than in the middle of the river where the RC Boat was anchored. On their last tack to sail to the middle of the river and to cross the finish line, the wind had gone very light and the river current was stronger. Lucy continued to move with the river current, could not get to the center of the river, and drifted down river, not crossing the finish line. When the winds increased slightly, Lucy was able to turn around and finally sail across the finish line, but no longer in the lead. The Juniors went to shore and the winds died. That evening the winds returned and a fourth race was started. After one lap, the winds again died and the race was abandoned. That ended the Junior
See Y FLYER pg. 22
Regatta, with Ava Kuznicki and Ji-Soo Bolles being tossed off the dock in celebration of their Jr National Champion win!
Two of our AYC Y-Flyer Senior competitors who traveled to Kentucky finished top ten: Shelby Hatcher with her dad, Nile, crew (4th place); Amanda Hodges with Ellie Spearman, crew (9th place); other boats who traveled to see the bluegrass: Katie Mitchell with Ji-Soo Bolles, crew; Eddie Kuznicki with daughter, Ava, crew; Carlin Hodges with Lucy Spearman, crew; and Steffon!
One of the big Y-Flyer regattas of the year is
The Beers!
October 14 -15Let Henry Taylor know if you would like to sail – you do not have to be a member of the class
or the local fleet to compete!
2017 Y-FLYER JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA RESULTS
Y FLYER Continued from pg. 22
DON’T FORGET!
We are finding International OPTi kids are just like the ones at home - full of laughter, fun and a love of bikes and scooters!
Last November, AYC Opti Sailor Lucy Spearman qualified to represent the U.S. in an international regatta. Lucy was selected for the highly competitive U.S. Team for the 2017 Topsport Vlaanderen Nieuwpoortweek Regatta in Nieuwpoort, Belgium, held over the 4th of July holidays. She was one of only 15 U.S. sailors honored to represent us in this prestigious event. Because the event took place over the summer holidays, Lucy’s sister Ellie was also able to participate in the regatta, as was long-time sailing and family friend, Isabel Smith, from the Birmingham Sailing Club.
Proud Mom, Tish Spearman, and the three Opti sailors flew to Paris a few days before regatta practice began and enjoyed time in the City of Lights. Also accompanying the sailors was AYC Jr. Mascot, Steffon, whom many of you may remember from Junior Week 2017. Steffon proved a wonderful traveling companion and his ever-present smile and airy spirit made the trip all-the-more special. After enjoying Paris, the group set off to Belgium where Lucy and Team U.S.A. practiced for five days on the race course in the North Sea. Ellie and
AYC SPEARMAN SISTERS SAIL THE NORTH SEA
See SPEARMAN pg. 25
AYC Juniors participated in the 2017 Topsport Vlaanderen Nieuwpoortweek Regatta in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. Lucy was one of only 15 sailors on the official U.S. Sailing team for the event.
Lucy, Ellie and Tish Spearman enjoyed time in the City of Lights – Paris!
Isabel also had a wonderful experience as they practiced and sailed in the regatta with a truly international team with sailors from many countries. While in Belgium, the teams practiced hard but also made time to tour the sights (and visit a Belgium chocolate factory).
A total of 220 boats from 11 countries competed in the four-day regatta. The North Sea proved just as cold, wet, windy and choppy as its name implies but it was a wonderful experience for all. The first two days of the regatta were the qualifiers for the split into gold and silver fleets. After seven races in two days, Lucy made her goal of qualifying for the Gold Fleet. The final two days of racing showed lighter air which our lake girls met with ease – to the frustration of Northern European competitors. Four more races followed – allowing for two drops. The girls were very pleased with their results and Lucy was the second-ranking girl from the American team.
Scuttlebutt had a chance to catch up with Lucy and Ellie, and Steffon, to talk about their experience.
Lucy, how did you feel when you found out you qualified to represent the U.S. in Belgium?I was very excited because I had finally achieved one of my long-time sailing goals to participate in an international regatta. While I qualified for the more competitive Magic Marine regatta in the Netherlands, I chose to join the U.S. team in Belgium because that regatta was over the summer. That way, I didn’t have to miss school and my sister, Ellie, could come, too!
Ellie, how was sailing in the North Sea? It was a lot different than sailing in Lake Allatoona. On the first day of the regatta, the race committee cancelled all racing because of high winds. We later found out that just before the first race was to start, a 30-foot boat with three experienced sailors capsized and sadly, they all drowned. While I was disappointed to miss a day of racing, we were glad not to go out in those conditions. The rest of the days were cold, sometimes rainy and usually very windy. The wind ranged from 13 to 23 mph most of the time during our race days – except the last two days which were pretty light – but being lake sailors that was no problem for us.
Lucy, tell us about your teammates and coaches. There were 14 other sailors on our team. I knew four of them from doing the USODA circuit over the years but it was also fun to make new friends. One of my teammates is moving to Atlanta and I hope she will join AYC. I really enjoyed getting to know the other sailors on the team and look forward to seeing them on the circuit in Optis and beyond. Our coaches were fantastic. Our lead coach was Mitch Hall, who is the assistant coach for the College of Charleston Sailing Team. I have worked with Mitch for a few years so I was excited to have a coach I knew. Our other coach was Peri Brusa from Buenos Aires (ARG). Peri was an Opti sailor when he was young and qualified to three Opti World Championships. He was in the Olympics in 2016 on a 470 so that was really neat being coached by an Olympian!
Ellie, what did you learn from your experience at this Regatta?I learned that international sailors and their families are just like U.S. sailors – really committed to the sport and very nice and supportive. I sailed with kids from all over the world – Australia, Ireland, England, Holland, Belgium, and Italy. My coaches were from England and Holland. They all spoke
SPEARMAN Continued from pg. 24World Traveler, Steffon, also enjoyed a nighttime visit to the Eiffel Tower
amazing English – and that’s what they coached in. I became good friends with a teammate from Ireland – but I later learned that she was born in Atlanta. It’s a small world!
Steffon, did you get a change to do any sightseeing? Boy did we! First, we flew to Paris and went to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Pairs Opera, cathedrals, the Musee d’Orsay and more. My favorite was the cruise we took on the River Seine at sunset. It was really beautiful and great to get to see the city from the water. We also toured the Fields of Flanders, Antwerp, Bruges, and Brussels in Belgium – and the chocolate was scrumptious. After the girls sailed in the regatta, we got to spend a day in Amsterdam – there were so many people on bicycles!
Ellie, is it true that sailors trade gear from their home countries at these events? What trades did you make? It is true and that was a fun experience. Most of the trading took place on the last day. Lucy traded her team U.S.A. life jacket with a girl from England for her U.K. team life jacket which is neat – it has badges from the British National regattas. I traded my jacket with a boy from Belgium and got a really cool jacket from his team. We also traded a couple of hats and visors.
Lucy and Ellie, you ‘graduate’ from the Opti at the end of this year. What are some of your best memories from your Opti career?Lucy: Well, this regatta was definitely one of my favorites – and I also liked going to team trials last year in San Francisco. Sailing in the ocean in Wrightsville Beach, NC has also been great. Ellie: Me too – this regatta was very special. The Valentine’s Day regatta in St. Petersburg, FL is also one of my favorites because we go every year with all of our sailing friends. I have also enjoyed sailing in Charleston and Beaufort because there are so many dolphins there. It will be fun to go back to lots of these places in different boats.
What’s next after Optis? Lucy: I hope we can try lots of different boats. I am excited about the new (420) High School Sailing Team we are starting at our school (The Atlanta Classical Academy). We’ve tried the Nacra 15 in Clearwater and that was really fun – it goes a lot faster than an Opti. Ellie: The Nacra is really fast and I am looking forward to trying it again. I am also looking forward to High School sailing and to jumping on lots of AYC boats – I like the Snipe, too, and hope we get to sail in the Halloween Regatta.
Finally, what advice do you have for Opti sailors just starting out?Lucy: My mom would say, “wear sunscreen!” but I would say to sail just as often as you can, listen to your coaches and sail on any type of boat you are offered a chance on. Also, after you are comfortable sailing at AYC, get your parents to take you to regattas. They are so fun and you learn so much. Plus, now we know kids from lots of yacht clubs that we hope we’ll always see on the circuit – in high school sailing, college and beyond.
Ellie: I agree with what Lucy said, but most importantly, keep sailing and have fun!
SPEARMAN Continued from pg. 25
Lucy competing in the North Sea in Belgium
WELCOME!
Atlanta Yacht Club New Members
Wes and Bonnie Mullinax live not far from the club, over in Cartersville. Neighbors and friends with Paul and Debbie Eberhard, and the Meles, another new-to-AYC family, they are the proud owners of Thistle 3708, carted in from Lake Tahoe. Wes raced J24s when he was younger, but they are both excited to do some lake sailing in their Thistle. Their son, Cooper, 24, will be seen around the club with them, perhaps as crew. They are also looking forward to helping with race committee, and attending the club events. They work together as realtors with Keller Williams.
Phil and Elizabeth Berrier landed at AYC thanks to their daughter, Grayson (15), who is on the Walker Sailing Team with Evie Blauvelt. Not surprisingly, the Berriers are good friends of the Blauvelts and the Kaczynskis, who have co-sponsored their membership. Phil, a chemist for Coke, and Elizabeth, a nurse, grew up in Chattanooga and now live not far from the lake in Acworth. While they have not sailed
much since they were kids, they are water sports enthusiasts and plan to sign up for the Adult Sailing Class along with their older daughter, Larkin, a sophomore at Georgia Tech. The Berriers have purchased two Lasers, one of which is a fixer-upper, and will be joining the Laser Fleet. They have already jumped in to volunteer at the club on race committee and in the kitchen, and the whole family looks forward to being very active participants from day one.
Mike Pflug has a deep and diverse history of sailing that began as a young age in Venezuela and was honed in south Florida, most recently on Ensigns, J24s and Etchells (and the list goes on!). Bareboat charter certified as well, Mike was a member of the Florida Sailing Charter Club prior to moving to Atlanta in 1998. Suffice it to say, sailing has been a big part of his life. Fast forward to Memorial Day 2017, Mike showed up at AYC with his two teenage daughters, Nadia (16) and Sabina (13) and a racing quality Snipe, which he purchased last winter. The goals were to get back into sailing, find an active place to race and share his passion with the girls. Since then, sponsor Don Hackbarth has been working with him to get his Snipe race-ready, while Mike and the girls have already spent many weekends at the lake. It’s safe to say we can look forward to seeing a lot of this terrific new family!
ATLANTA YACHT CLUB7120 Yacht Club Drive
Acworth, Georgia 30102
On the CoverPhoto Cover by Amanda Hodges
Jingleall the Way!
AYC Awards BanquetDecember 9Mark Your Calendar!
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