829 Southdrive

829 Southdrive

A New Jersey state of mind



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Challenge Cup 2011




The Tall Oaks/Windjammers Challenge Cup was raced last weekend.
With a conservative, middle of the line start and good boat speed,
we stayed toward the front of the fleet the whole way around the
10 mile race course.  We finished fourth out of 12,  20 seconds 
behind the 3rd place finisher, a Catalina 30.  For once, I felt we 
were faster than them on all points of sail except the broad reach, 
where 'Escapade' ate us alive.  We are the only boat flying 
Betsy Ross from the spreader. 




Escapade had PB&Js on that passing leg.  That may have 
proved to be the difference, seeing that half of us on Bay 
Rhumb were eating Liverwurst sandwiches.




We sailed around after the race while everyone else went
in to prepare for the big awards dinner and trophy
presentation.  It gave me time to reflect on the race
and wonder why we took all summer to finally sail well.





Tall Oaks Yacht Club defended the Cup and got 
to hold on to the hardware for another winter.
Larry Ellison, eat your heart out!


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Huge!










Prodigy





There's little I can say that hasn't already been said.
Such a great young guy making all of us proud.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Bullet



Pretty subdued at the finish for me, don'tcha think?
BTW, Lori "Postcards from LBI"'s son Jeff is a
hot E-Scow sailor and managed a stellar 15th
place in a fleet of 79 E-Scows.  A massive turn-out
for one of the oldest one-design classes in the US!




Dad with his go-fast 5 man crew.  He broke out the Seidelman 
main for this race. He had bought the boat from Had Brick
in Island Heights.  The sail number was IH 27.  He swapped the 
letters for MC (Metedeconk) and dropped the 7 on each side 
of the sail. The boat was named  "Martha", with the hard, black 
plastic letters actually nailed on to the transom. 
That was the first thing to go, I think.





Sunday, September 18, 2011

Just Because Times Two


For thirty plus years this song has captivated me, and much more 
recently has reminded me of a girl in Brooklyn and a guy in England. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Where were you when........




My whole life it's been:  "where were you when JFK was shot?"
I was two and a half so I was probably making a fuss about
something and/or picking my nose and eating it too.
For the last ten years however, the question has been, 
where were you on 9/11? That, I remember like it was this morning.

There have been other notable events since JFK in
my life, such as MLK, RFK, walking on the moon, 
Bruce Jenner winning the decathlon, John Lennon, 
the Aussies taking the America's Cup,
the Challenger tragedy, the Berlin Wall.  Nothing will stick so
clearly in my mind as the events of that picture-perfect Tuesday
morning in September 2001.



It was such a Goddamn beautiful, clear, dry, blue-skied morning.
This picture is another one worth a thousand words.  
Or 2801 names. Besides those in Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
I'm familiar with the man who created this sculpture, and it's
no coincidence that this figure remained peaceful amid such chaos.



Friday, September 9, 2011

NFL Kickoff Game



There was a great, high-scoring, first-game-of-the-season
tonight between the Packers and the Saints.  I don't think
that after all the B.S. during the lockout earlier this summer
that the NFL could have asked for a better contest.

I did notice that the Packers fans were waving yellow
towels in the same manner that the Steelers fans have 
been doing for decades.  As I was trying to cleverly come
up for an alternative name to the Steelers' 'Terrible Towel',
I asked my wife to quickly think of an idea.  Without
flinching, she said 'Cheesecloth'.  Brilliant.  LOFL.
And I'm usually the one who comes up with the quick one.
What do you think, Titletown Towel or Cheesecloth?




P.S.- I just realized this guy painted the G on 
his face while looking in the mirror.  At least
he looks good to himself.


Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Labor Day Shred



Thanks to my old friend Shawn and Ezzy sails.
Blazing Eastward toward Barnegat Inlet,
sailing a prototype for next year.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Enough with all the Rain




Very influential for me, this play/music/film, to this day.

Been Kinda Damp Around Here Lately



Mushrooms



Funghi




Hongos




The plants are certainly happy about it




Hopefully no more floating refrigerators

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Tacky



I posted something last night that I thought was humorous.  I used
a program that takes your text and converts it to animated, spoken
words.  The possibilities are endless and I may in the future actually
attempt to publish something that's clever and worthy of sharing.
However, last night, my inner grade school sense of humor got
the best of me and I created a foul-mouthed, 20 second-or-so
animated clip.  I played it over and over again and chortled aloud.
It's frickin hilarious when a computer-generated person recites 
whatever you happen to type in the dialogue bar.  No censorship.
I posted it and went to bed.  When I woke up, remorse had
 immediately set in and I felt horrified about the complete lack of
decorum I had displayed.  There's definitely plenty of room for 
bathroom humor in one's everyday life, but not in such a public 
and accessible place as a blog. At least not one I'm responsible for. 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Nothing Is Easy


If someone has this effing thing on their desk, 
go crush it and swipe it off with one motion.
You officially have my permission. Offission.