Sunfish Regatta Coming June 7

Dan Norton, 2007 Winner

Lake Lansing Sunfish Sailors will welcome Sunfish Sailors from throughout the midwest at their upcoming June 7 Regatta.

Six races are scheduled with racing to begin soon after the 10:00 am Skipper's Meeting.

Registration is at 9:30 and the Club gates will be open earlier than that for sailors to get their boats ready.

More information can be found in the Notice of Race on the Lansing Sailing Club website at www.lansingsailing.org.

Jim Fletcher Stem Cell Re-infusion Begins

Maribeth Fletcher wants to thank Lansing Sailing Club members "for all of your kind thoughts and prayers during Jim's stem cell transplant in Chicago. I spent the weekend with him at Rush Medical Center and he is doing as well as can be expected during this long process. His chemo is finished and Tuesday they begin re-infusing his stem cells. We are confident that he will be totally cured. He expects to be there for another two weeks, at least. I'm sure he would appreciate cards and well-wishes." Cards and notes can reach Jim at:
   Rush University Medical Center
   1725 West Harrison Street Room 1019
   Chicago, IL 60612-3824.

Ahlbrand, Hurlbutt and Dolan all Score 1st Place Finishes

Approaching the Windward Mark

Zack Pearse and Maureen Todd join MS Jost on "Shibumi"

Jonathan Ahlbrand came from third place 100 yards from the finish to overtake both "Wind Dancer" and "Bo Jangles II" and win the first of three Sunday Lightning races.

With crew Nikiforos Delatolas and Tom Hutton, "Bananas" got a head of steam up with a healthy gust the other boats didn't get - and powered over both Dolan and Hurlbutt. The "Bananas" bunch ended up 1-4-4 on the day.

In Race 2, Hurlbutt had great upwind boat speed and found the key shift that propelled him in a lead he never relinquished. Newlyweds Adrianne and Scott Watkins were on their game and "Bo Jangles II" was competitive all day, ending with the thirds to go with their bullet.

Race 3 found Chris Miller, Gil Chesbro and Pat Dolan with a good start. "Flying Pigasus" pushed the "Wind Dancer" crew, but the Dolan crew held on for a win. The team had second place finishes in the other two races.

Bob Miller and Tom Deits got aboard "Flying Pigasus" with skipper Blaine Severin and kept improving all day - starting with a fourth, then a third and finally a second.

Michael Salomon Jost changed hats at the last minute, leaving his Race Committee duty to volunteer Ron Marshall so he could sail with a rookie crew. Zack Pearce was to have sailed with Mike Moody, but Mike was delayed in Chicago and couldn't get back for racing. He is a new Associate member this year and learning to sail. Maureen Todd came to the Club hoping for a crewing spot. Both found a Sunday home on "Shibumi" with MS at the helm. It was a chance for both to get some racing experience - especially some spinnaker work.

Results and Season Standings can be found in the Racing Section of the Lansing Sailing Club website at www.lansingsailing.org. Click on the Lightning icon.

Still Looking for Volunteers on May 31st

The Lansing Sailing Club is looking for a few more volunteers to help out with the "Be A Tourist in Your Own Town" event to be held on Saturday, May 31st. LSC will be providing sailboat rides from 1-4pm.

We need Volunteers to help with:
  Skippers/boats
  Alternate crew to assist skippers as needed
  Greeters/registration
  Parking/traffic control
  Safety/Life jacket queuing
  Dock Control/Boat catchers

Please let Jonathan Ahlbrand know if you can assist in this event. E-mail him at: ahlbrandj@comcast.net.

Memorial Day Picnic

Granddaughter Sophia joined Ron Marshall

Mary and Sam Austin raise their glass/chip in salute

New members Tom Hutton and John McEnhill

Bob Miller, Sid Mook, Walt DeGruyter and Dennis Dudley

The annual Memorial Day Picnic was threatened by thunderstorms and the winds blew hard enough to discourage any LSC sailors from going onthe water. But, it didn't discourage a nice group of members and friends from having a very nice picnic.

However, it didn't stop all who attended from having a good time. Matt Allswede was in charge of bringing stuff to grill and didn't fail to please. Everyone brought a dish to pass - and the spread offer plenty of choices. It was a grand picnic.

Several new members attended and were able to meet some of the old salts.

Some unexpected excitement was provided by a sailor who launched from the public boat ramp, but struggled with the high winds. A LSC crew got in the Safety Boat and towed him back to the launch ramp.

Then, the LSC rescue crew found a twosome who had rented a rowboat from the South Park - and rowed away from the lee shore to the point where no amount of rowing was going to get them back in the adverse wind and wave conditions. Another tow got them safely back to the lee shore.

Mike Moody was prepared for an on-water game - but, when the windy conditions prevented that, Mike distrubuted prizes by asking picnicers to guess how long a sailboat that had just launched from the public ramp would take to get in trouble. Those who guessed that the skipper would not have difficulty won the day and took away gift certificates to Big B and Paneras.

Thanks to Matt Allswede and Mike Moody for taking charge of making sure we had great food and a fun time.