The Moon Was Full

Labor Day Picnic at the Club

Plan on a picnic at the Club at noon on Labor Day - followed by some on-water fun.

Debra Hart Wins Two

Debra Hart flies the spinnaker

After a couple of weeks where sailors were looking for wind, Debra Hart of WMMQ showed up to sail on "Moody's Booty" on a day where there was more than enough. Crews spent a lot of time keeping the boats upright - and Susanna Tellschow found out how easily one can capsize in a round up with spinnaker full.

Debra joined Mike Moody and Jamie Rasmussen on the "Booty" and showed the rest of the fleet how the boat should be sailed - winning two of the three contests.

Merrick Hurbutt, Adrianne Tuttle and Scott Watkins came close to a capsize but managed to recover from a broach. Adrianne was on the foredeck at the time getting the pole locked in. Suddenly the deck was almost ninety degrees to the water and she was on her way to getting wet when Scott grabbed her life jacket and kept her on board. In short order they sorted things out and got back into the race.

Doug Crawford gets the pole down

The "Wind Dancer" team of Doug Crawford, Gil Chesbro and Pat Dolan won the first race and finished second in the other two. This was Doug's first time crewing during a race in a Lightning. He got high marks from Gil and Pat - and was assigned the task of placing a Sponge Bob Squarepants sticker on the back of the cockpit in honor of the first race win.

Neil Harrison and crew had one of the most exciting times during the racing. They got their boat up on a plane part way down the leeward leg - and rode it almost the entire length of the lake. They gained a lot and put pressure on the boat in front of them. John Quensen and Alanna Harvey sailed with Neil.

Susanna Tellschow was the boat in front of Neil - and they felt the pressure enough to know they needed to carry their spinnaker all the way to the finish. With Gary Marx in front and Terry Kleiman in the middle, Susanna initiated a gybe necessary to get to the finish. When the boom came across however, it hit her and knocked her down. The boat rounded up and with spinnaker full - capsized 50 yards from the finish.

John LeFevre, Bob Miller and Leif Alton were on "Sail Fevre" and executed some of the smoothest gybes in the fleet. A picture story is on the LSC web site showing a sequence in which they get ready to gybe, complete the maneuver and then get ready to douse the chute as they approach the leeward mark.

Complete results and current standings can be found by clicking on the Lightning emblem on the racing page of the LSC web site at www.lansingsailing.org.

Commodore Moody Says "Thanks"

LSC Commodore MIke Moody wants to thank all the people who were at the club Sunday to crew, skipper or volunteer their time to make our new friend and radio personality Deb Hart of WMMQ 94.9 FM, feel welcome. Says Mike, "She took the time on her show to talk or mention the Lansing Sailing Club close to 30 times throughout last week and, with her two on air partners, had fun with the sometimes strange sounding nautical terms and boat names." Mike continued "We donated certificates for two lucky listeners to call in and win a complimentary ride in a Lightning with a sailing club member that were given away last Thursday."

Although high winds kept Debra from steering the boat Sunday, Mike reports that "she did a fantastic job flying the spinnaker - but most of all I think she enjoyed the day and took away a positive impression of our club."

Mike says to tune in for the debrief interview on Monday at about 8:30 AM on 94.9 for more of her experiences in a real sailboat race. "Nice job everyone!" from your Commodore.

Fletcher Goes Wind Surfing

Jim Fletcher just before a nosedive

"It's been about four years since I did this" said Jim Fletcher. He was talking about wind surfing - and Susanna Tellschow took a picture as proof that he did it.

Susanna had an alterior motive - she was hoping to have something for e-Sheet that would distract from coverage of her first Lightning capsize.

Just after Susanna took her picture, Jim ran into one of the weed patches that have become prevalent to the north of our launch area - and took a spill. Very impressive ride though - most of us can't do it.

• Aug 28 (Sun): George Zimmermann, Elias Strangas
• Sep 4 (Sun): Jim Fletcher, Ron Marshall

• The complete Calendar of Events is on the LSC Web Site. Click on "Calendar"
• Tuesdays: Junior Racing/Sailing and Lightning Practice Day.
• Wednesdays: Lasers and Sunfish Race
• Sundays: Lightnings Race

• Swedish Match Tour. Professional Match Racing at venues throughout the world.
• America's Cup Racing. Acts 6 and 7 will be held in Sweden beginning in late August.