Community Boating Tiller Club Racing

It was a light wind but no rain Sunday for the Arlene and John Heiss Regatta today. During the competitors meeting several people shared stories about Arlene and John, and it was great to have their daughter Laura and some friends of John and Arlene stop by in the middle of the day to watch the races and catch up during our rotation.

Wind out of the S-SE around 5-8knots made for shifty conditions, but race committee did a fantastic job changing courses before and during races to keep it as square as possible. It was super tight racing, with many boats changing positions through the course of a race. Key takeaways today from the top boats were:

Good starts - clear air and on the line at go; “winning” a particular end was not as critical with the short line
Watch main sheet trim in light air - eased out a touch was typically faster, but luffing is slow. Overtrimming in the very light breeze was also very slow
Jib trim upwind - especially in the shiftier wind by the windward mark, the crew can play the jib (ease or trim it) much faster than the skipper can adjust the rudder when there is a shift. Have the crew communicate to the skipper what they are doing (i.e. eased 3 inches; trimmed 2 inches) so the skipper knows and can adjust with the tiller after.

Thanks to RC Cole and RC Assistant Thea for 6 great races in tough conditions.

Congrats to the top three finishing teams!

1st: Terry and Madi (8pts)
2nd: Niko and Sage (9pts)
3rd: Nick A and Harry (17pts)

See you next Sunday for Fall Series 3!

This Sunday is the Heiss Regatta! Regatta day schedule, so slightly longer day: rigging and registration at 9:45, competitors meeting at 10:15 with racing to begin soon after, boat rotation around 12:15 and no race starts after 2:30.

John and Arlene were longtime Tiller Club members, and mentors to many racers. The Tiller Club Regatta trophy was renamed in the Heisses' honor in 2012 after Arlene passed away. John continued to race with us and on Friday nights until about 2017, and taught at New England Conservatory until he passed away in 2023. In honor of John, we'll remember some of his favorite stories (they were usually about Arlene) on Sunday.

John's daughter Laura Varas will be there, and friends of John and Arlene are welcome to join us on the dock after racing to visit and swap stories.

Current Standings as of Fall Series II:

Results from yesterday with comments by the days winning skipper, Stephen (with MaryEllen as crew-- congrats to them both)!

There were four boats in today’s races. The wind was primarily out of the south-southwest. Rain picked up throughout the day. The wind was light but sufficient, blowing between three and eight miles per hour.

Racing was pretty even. Mark and Anna took first in races 1 and 4. Trina and Robert took first in the third race. Mary and Steve took first in the second race. Nchinda and Robin had some fast legs as well.

Most of the starts were pin-favored, making a port start—if you could pull it off—a pretty good position to be in. Tight roundings at the leeward mark, which was set behind the line but upwind of the pin, were rewarded as well.

Overall, it was a great day of sailing. Thanks to Betsy and Gail on the race committee!

From Trina:
The Fall Series kicked off yesterday with 10 boats, spicy SW winds, and a course from RC Janne that barely needed a tweak — one adjustment across 6 races. The direction might have been steady, but it was gusty! Two boats went for a swim.

Shoutout to our guest fleet — 4 racers from Amherst College joined the mix, and they didn't just show up, one took home the win!

🏆Results:
1st: Harry and Margaret
2nd: Mark and Carolyn
3rd: Trina and Robert

Great turnout and great sailing. Bring it on, Fall Series!

Congrats also to the two racers who passed the red test after racing: Piotr and new racer Nate.

No racing next Sunday. Fall series resumes Sept. 13. We are looking for RCs for our last 5 racing days (Sept. 20 on). DM me if available.

Community Boating Inc. Boston, MA

And thanks to Eric for these gems from the 70s!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv9ggepxywM

Thanks to Chris Loreti for sharing this absolute gem on Slack!

Community Boating Inc. Boston, MA

From the Archives - You're the Skipper - Early 1960s Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

The Fall series starts this Sunday! Come down and join us. Use the Slack to pair up. If you need crew, we have some members of the Amherst College racing team joining us for the fall and looking to crew and get more racing experience.

Mark your calendar:
No racing Sept 6 due to the Labor Day holiday weekend
Sept 13: Fall Series 2
Sept 20: Arlene and John Heiss Regatta

From Trina:

The single handed bridge to bridge regatta had it all! A delayed start due to rain, abandoned starts, 180 degree wind shifts, and two great races.

As the rain let up around 1:30, the fleet 15 (12 main and jib and 3 main only) headed out. The first race was a true bridge to bridge. After that race, the winds dropped, leading to a shortened half-river course. The breeze also shifted from the east vs the west led to an abandoned start and an upwind sail to both the windward and the leeward marks.

The main only class ended in a three way tie(!), that went to Beth H.
Results for the main and jib class were:

1st: Cole C.
2nd: Oscar S.
3rd: Adrian B.

Thanks to CBI for donating prizes (bay 5 lockers and dry bags!) for the winners and the dock staff, Janne, Beth, Tony, and Eric for helping to select and set aside boats in the morning.

Community Boating Inc. Boston, MA

From Robert Padilla: Our annual Bridge to Bridge regatta is this Sunday (8.23)

This is a single-handed regatta there are 2 classes

Main only - need rating for day
Main + Jib - need at least yellow rating

Please pre-register by calling or stopping by CBI front desk to guarantee yourself a boat.
Pre-registration is open now till CBI Close on Saturday (8.22)
Cost is $5 pay at front desk to tiller club

Drop-ins are welcome, but we CAN NOT guarantee a boat, sail or rudder (especially of it is a nice day).

On Sunday:

registration will start at 12:30pm on the dock, where you will be assigned a boat to rig if pre-registered.
Skipper meeting is at 1:15pm.
No race will start after 4:00pm
Prizes will be given on dock after last race.

NOTE: In past the top prize was a free locker, but now with new lockers and their popularity, CBI will not be giving away lockers this year, they have graciously agreed to provide some other prizes though.

We hope to see you Sunday!