Last weekend (March 27) the Minuteman Model Yacht Club kicked off the 2022 sailing season with its traditional Ice Breaker Regatta at Rosemary Lake in Needham, MA.
Every other year the designated class for this regatta alternates between the S1M and the DF95 classes. This year it was the S1M’s. The winner receives the coveted Ice Bucket trophy.
While racing didn’t start until 11:00am, it a large number of people showed up around 9:00 to watch and/or help place the marks, and catch up with what’s new after a too long winter.
Ultimately, 15 skippers showed up to race. 13 skippers brought S1m’s to compete for the Ice Bucket trophy and two skippers sailed DF95’s, just to loosen up their rusty thumbs. While 4 skippers dropped out, during racing, for a variety of reasons, 11 were able to complete all 12 heats.
The winds were mostly west to south-west, and while the direction didn’t change that much, the variable wind speeds kept everybody guessing. An unexpected gust could turn what looked like an orderly mark rounding into a frantic melee of skippers trying to control boats that were suddenly rounding up. Of course, anyone who regularly sails Rosemary Lake would know to expect the unexpected.
It would be fair to say that the racing was very competitive, with 7 different skippers getting at least one first place during the racing. It was truly hard to tell who was likely to win until the racing was done. It turns out the no one was more surprisedwhen the scores were finally tallied than the 2022 Ice Bucket trophy winner Greg LaPlant. Congratulations Greg!
I’m happy to say that the racing was also joined by 4 seemingly enthusiastic new club members. Some with borrowed boats, some with their own boats. One new club member who had a baby join the family just two weeks ago, couldn’t sail, but stopped by for a few minutes before having to get back to rejoin the new baby care routine. He hopes to have enough time to sail his new DF95 with us soon. All seemed to have a good time and we look forward to seeing them again.
