Harbor 20 Class Association

As you know, new Fleet1 Divisions take affect February 15, the first day of the SCYA Midwinters. Please make sure to consult the Fleet 1 Divisions page before entering. If you do not find you name on either the A or B Division lists, please register for this event in the C Division.

If you are not familiar with the new Fleet 1 Divisions, you can review previous posts on the subject titled “A More Perfect World Sailing Harbor 20s”, Part1, Part2, and Part3.

All H20 Fleet 1 members and crew are invited to Tuning Day to share tuning tips, learn more about tuning technique, make adjustments, repairs and socialize with fellow sailors!  Sponsored by Fleet 1 of the H20 Sailing Association; this is a free event.  Sail your H20 to the Lido Isle Yacht Club Dock or join other boat owners and crews.

Date: February 22, 2014

Time: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Venue: Lido Isle Yacht Club

PROGRAM

10:00am Welcome sailors. Boats secured on the docks.

10:30am Tuning Tips- Peter Haynes and Bill Menninger give a brief review of rig tuning and sail trim under various weather conditions. The Schock Factory will be participating in the Q & A.

11:15am Lunch available to eat on the patio or dock.

11:30am Boat tuning and repairs begin. Experienced sailors will be on the docks to share tips and assist with tuning. Loos Gauges will be available for shroud adjustments.

2:00pm Tuning Day concludes

Lunch and Refreshments are compliments of Fleet 1.  (You must RSVP to receive Lunch and Refreshments)

The Schock Factory will have many parts for sale so we invite you to work on your boat repairs during Tuning Day. If you share your plans for any unusual on-site repairs, we will inform the Schock Factory in advance.

Please RSVP no later than February 19th: Michael Volk, michael@mvaarc.com

The 2014 Seminar Schedule has been posted, and the first will be “Boat Handling & Sail Trim” on Saturday, January 25, at BCYC. This will be a great opportunity to make sure you and your crew are up to speed in 2014. But, this is not limited to Harbor 20 sailors, so please feel free to pass this information along to anyone you think might benefit. Here is a course description, some testimonials, and an article from the Newport Beach Independent about a local reporters experience. You can register either online, or by mail.

We hope to see you there!

12-8-13 Lido Isle Yacht Club, Harbor 20, Fleet 1, Awards Ceremony.

Starting time 1800 with close to 110 members attending. Shana Conzelman chaired the event and after a tremendous amount of effort by Shana and her committee, one word comes to mind, and that is spectacular.

The first awards given out was for the High Point Series. Gary Thorne 1st Bob Yates 2nd and Len Bose 3rd. The High Point awards are given to A, B, & C skippers who have the best total score for the season in their respective fleets.

The Rain or Shine Series is presented to the fleet one skipper who races in the greatest number of Rain or Shine races for the season. This year’s recipient was Michael Volk who participated in seventy six races. In a close second was Rod Swift with seventy four and in third was Peter Haynes with seventy two. The inflection in Peter Haynes voice, as he graciously presented the award to Michael, indicated that this award will be contested next season. From what I can tell the record is eighty two races set by Peter in 2012.

The Arthur Strock is awarded to the member who has performed outstanding service for the Harbor 20, fleet one organization. After observing the fleet for the first time, as a skipper, this year I could have guessed this one. I first noticed John Whitney busting his butt in The Baldwin Cup this year. He helped organized the rules seminar, and helped us at BCYC obtain boats for our club championships. I mean everywhere I went this season John was already there. Well done John, you raised the bar on this award and thank you.

Next was the Broken Rudder Award. This fine awarded is given to the skipper whose boat sustained the most damage in the heat of battle. I was sailing that fateful Tuesday night, the wind was in the high teens and the racing area was very tight. Mark Conzelman aboard Shana’s Secret sailed just past the leeward mark on the starting line and with all the excitement of a windy starting sequence did not notice the bow sprint of the big power boat and caught one of his stays that caused his mast to collapse. That one could happen to anyone in those conditions. Unfortunately it happened to one of our fleets newest members with his new boat.

This years First Mate Awards goes to the highest placing husband and wife teams in A and B fleet at the fleet one championships. In A fleet Diane and Bill Menninger won and in B fleet Barrie & Len Connelly took home the award.

Next was Fleet 1 Grand Masters Trophy that is awarded to the highest placing skipper over the age of sixty five at the Fleet 1 championships in A & B fleet. In B fleet Win Fuller received the award and in A’s Bob Yates was the winner.

This year a new award was donated to the fleet by the Drayton family. The “Phyllis Rawlins Drayton” trophy. This award is presented to the top women finishers in A and B divisions (either skipper or crew). Now this award was particularly emotional as it was awarded and received. John Drayton and the family had obviously spent a lot of time putting this together and it meant a great deal to them and the fleet. What made the inaugural presentation so special, to me, was the reaction from one of its first recipients

Jessica Newman. Jessica and her father Greg where sitting at our table and Jessica reaction was truly emotional, inspirational and priceless. In A fleet Diane Menninger received the award and it was obvious she to was also very grateful to have received this award.

It was a perfect night and good times will be remembered for years to come.

12-8-13

The forecast was for light wind, sunshine and cooler temperatures. In fact more racers made it to the starting line than I had expected. The forecast for Saturday night was “Dark and Stormy”, and this time I am talking about cocktails, with three yacht clubs in town having their installation dinners and Fleet 1 was having their Awards Banquet after the racing on Sunday.

We had a good turnout with thirty six boats out. Thirteen in A’s and 21in B’s. The racing was difficult in the light breeze because you needed a little luck to find it. I received a rather kind complement from Bill Menninger “You seem to find the breeze when it’s coming in from every direction” with a little bit of frustration in his voice. In the second race of the day Bill got off the line and found the first shift coming in from the right side. He punched out to a big lead as we worked our way downwind towards the PCH bridge. Unfortunately for Bill the wind filled in from behind and Kurt Wiese and I interrupted his party. Kurt won that race and Bill went on to win the day to take home the high points.

In B fleet Carter Ford had his game face on and sailed through most of A fleet through out the day keeping the hammer down until he returns back to A’s. Kathryn Reed aboard “Wood In It Be Nice” has been sailing very consistently and has a good hold on second place.

12-7-13

The first words that come to mind is “Dark and Stormy” and I am not talking about cocktails. Starting time was 1300 and that’s exactly when the largest squall of the day rolled through. Eleven skippers ignored the gale wind forecast and the two red flags above the harbor department and watched the squall roll in from the west.

I had to work this day, at least that’s what I was telling everyone, but it was my understanding that prior to the squall arriving many skippers had thrown a reef in their mains as they watch the wind speed push into the twenties.

Chris Killian told me he had his wife Cathy and son Porter with him and was one of the skippers who placed a reef in his main before heading out onto the race course. To quote Chris “We had green water rolling over the top of the boat, I mean lots of green water,” he explained with excitement still in his voice. Fleet one races inside Newport Harbor and it does take some breeze before we get water rolling over the tops of our boats.

After the squall rolled through the wind eased some and the race committee took down the postponement. Skippers sailing with two crew members and a full main had the advantage off the wind. BYC races lean more towards random leg than windward/leewards.

Per Trebler was the only C fleeter to make it to the starting line. This allowed him to catch up in the series after missing the first day of the series. Rod Graham extended his lead in the B fleet with two firsts. In A fleet Ed Kimball and Gary Throne split the day both getting a 1 & 2. Tucker Cheadle is in a close third place in the series and has been sailing very consistently.

This week, I took the opportunity to learn about Phyllis Drayton and the good times she is having on our harbor.

I first met Phyllis sitting across from her and her husband George at last year’s Harbor 20 awards banquet. After I introduced myself, she said, “Len Bose, ooh, I read your articles. You know, my son John also writes a boating column in the local paper.” This perked my ears and made me sit up a little straighter.

I have come to learn that Phyllis’ family owned a home on Balboa Island in the 1930s-1950s and sailed an eight-foot Balboa Dinghy, a predecessor to today’s Sabot. She and her sister Ann moved up to race Snowbirds and competed in many of the Flight of the Snowbirds races.

She then became involved at the Balboa Island Yacht Club and became the club’s secretary in the early 1950s, all the while staying active in the Snowbirds, Lehman 10 and Sabot fleets. After moving off the island, she returned in the 1980s and ’90s to teach young mothers how to sail. Her son John said, “I’m still surprised occasionally to hear from someone who was taught to sail by mom on Balboa Island.

“She first started racing at NHYC in 1946, 67 years ago! She has raced more or less continuously since then.”

In 1985, she was the senior Sabot national champion and enjoyed competing in the Mother Sabot Amazon Race around Lido Isle. Phyllis was one of the earliest members of the Mother Sabot group started at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club in the early 1970s and remained active for the next 40 years as a Sabot mom. As a family, the Draytons spent many summers at Moonstone Cove on Catalina Island on their Cal 25 and Cal 29.

The Draytons were one of the original five people to purchase a Harbor 20 in the early 1990s. John explained the purchase: “Mom and Dad bought Harbor 20 No. 5, ‘Whim’; it was actually Mom [and not Dad] who put the money down for this boat. First group on the bay — their boat was actually No. 3, but she felt 3 was an unlucky number, so she had it changed!”

The Draytons have been very active in the Harbor 20 fleet over the last 20 years. Most of the time, it’s been George and Phyllis out on the water together with an occasional appearance from one of their three sons and one of their grandchildren.

This type of family tradition of boating in our harbor is now approaching four generations, within many families, and it’s something that truly inspires me in many ways. Like the Draytons, I live for the day I will sail in the harbor with my son and grandchild. This type of family longevity on the harbor needs to be more recognized and appreciated now and in the future.

You might have noticed how big I am on our local fleets and yacht clubs’ award nights, and we still have two big events this week. Newport Harbor Yacht Club is had its annual meeting last Saturday, which was perfect for me because most of the Harbor 20 class will be attending and then trying to race Sunday afternoon.

NHYC awards one of our harbor’s most prestigious awards, the Burgee of Merit. The criteria for receiving the Burgee of Merit include competing in the Olympic Games, winning a major world championship or bringing unusual distinction to West Coast yachting in general. This award is not given every year, so it’s always interesting if anyone will take this baby home this year. I will be attending the Harbor 20 awards night on Sunday, and there is a rumor that there is a new award being presented.

LEN BOSE is an experienced boater, yacht broker and boating columnist.