Summer Poof

It is hard to believe that summer has come and gone.

It was quite a year. This Spring we delt with the floods in Iowa, Mom was lucky to only have minor damage.

Summer sailing was fantastic. We had the butterfly Nationals on Lake DuBay in June. A good turn out, and lots of fun. It was interesting to learn the boat. Jim Young held a sailing clinic that Michael and I attended. http://www.jimyoungsailing.com/
Jim is a great coach, and I learned alot about racing, and working the upwind legs. Ed M from Kenosha, one of our bucc sailors, took 2nd in the Butterfly Nationals. http://www.butterflyer.org/images/08shnResults.jpg I didn't do so well, but had a lot of fun, as it was very windy with no rain for the event.

Fond du Lac's Lighthouse Regatta ended p being a bit of a wash with Crazy winds on Saturday, and a drifter on Sunday. Although there was not a lot of sailing, we had a blast. The people involved in these groups are wonderful. I enjoy that you have people from every walk of life that share a common passion. http://home.centurytel.net/elmo/lighthouse/lighthouse.htm

Probably the high point of the summer was the 2008 Gov Cup on Lake Dubay. We had 9 Buccaneer's show up, and a total of 16 boats compete in the event. This is the 2nd year that the buccaneers had a fleet for the regatta. Weather was good, with a very windy Saturday. http://www.saildubay.org/

Last big sailing event was a hull cleaner. Val and I competed in the Leukemia Cup Regatta on White Bear Lake in Minnesota. Our boat raised over $3,200 with a total event rasing of $100,000+ for Blood Cancer research and care. Saturday ended up being a dark and damp drifter. Sunday was cold and windy which finished up with lots of rain. We were the only buccaneer competing in the Portsmith Class, taking 4th. It was very coll to see the big A-scows out on the course with us. Great group of sailors, who made the event fun.

Well now J.A.M. is packed up for the winter. There was one more event this month in Waukegan on October 11th, and unfortunately I'm working and can't make it down.

I'm hoping that we can get a fleet put together for the 2009 season.

Winter Blahs

Well this is the last shot from the sailing season. I remember being tired of it after a few mechanical failures. I'm so ready to saill again.

Working this weekend with temps in the -20s w/o windchill was just too much. I'm really starting to wonder if the Global Warming folks are full of s**t, cause this seems like a good old fasioned winter.

Michael and I shoveled the lastest batch of snow. The mound along the side of the driveway is as tall as I am. Michael took the wheels off an old skateboard, and has been dooing his own version of snowboarding. It looks like fun, but there have been a couple of interesting splats on the frozen blacktop.

The Lake DuBay group is getting geared up for the butterfly nationals which we shall host in June. It's pretty exciting to host this event especially on our lake. Jun is a great time for racing, so hopefully it will be a great event. We are starting to get some younger members. Sailing is kinda a tough sport to get into. It seem folks don't want to take the time to learn. Our new members are great, and willing to learn. Michael really got into the butterfly this summer, and is looking forward to trying some club racing.

Val, who bought the thulin's FJ is going to buy a sail sewing machine. She might be willing to sew a spinnaker for JAM. It will add a new dimension to the boat, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Other than working a lot, not much else is new. Take Care.