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!

Huge!

Prodigy

There's little I can say that hasn't already been said.

Such a great young guy making all of us proud.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Labor Day Shred

Thanks to my old friend Shawn and Ezzy sails.

Blazing Eastward toward Barnegat Inlet,

sailing a prototype for next year.

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

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. 

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.