The Ice Breaker – 2025

Minuteman Model Yacht Clubs opening regatta of the 2025 season was held on Sunday, March 30, under overcast skies.  Did I mention that it was also 38 degrees and windy.  I don’t know what the wind chill was, but I had on a shirt, a vest, a sweatshirt and a coat, and I was not as warm as I would have liked.

For those who don’t know, the Ice Breaker regatta is open so any boat can sail, but the Ice Bucket trophy is awarded only to the DF95 fleet winner or the Soling 1 Meter fleet winner, onalternating years.  This year it was the DF95 fleet.

Nine skippers braved the cold to sail in this annual event.  Seven skippers brought DF95’s, one skipper brought a Soling 1 Meter, and one skipper brought a US 1 Meter.  It was evident from the first heat that some skippers came ready to race and had lost little competitive edge over the winter.  Greg LaPlante anddefending champion Paul Mercer took first place in 4 of the 7 races with their DF95’s, while John Lamport got 2 wins with his US 1 Meter.  I managed to sneak around everyone in the last race for a first place.  

As often happens early in the season, two skippers had problems and ended up not finishing.

After heat 7, the cold was weighing on almost everyone, so the skippers voted to stop racing.

In the awards ceremony, defending champ Paul Mercer presented the Ice Bucket trophy to this year’s winner, Greg LaPlante.

It was good to see everyone after the winter hiatus.  I wish the weather could have been warmer, but hey, this is New England. 

I want to thank everyone who came out to sail with us and I especially want to thank my wife, Sue, who sat in the cold, under many blankets, for keeping score for us. 

Cliff Martin
Commodore

The meeting was called to order at 1:00 pm.  13 Club members were present.

– Officer elections were held.  Cliff Martin was elected Commodore and Greg LaPlante was elected Vice Commodore.  The position of Secretary/Treasurer was not filled but will be temporarily staffed by John Lamport.

– The Commodore then appointed Herb Dreher as Harbor Master.  The position of Web Master was not filled but will be temporarily staffed by Paul Mercer.

– The Open Regatta schedule will be:

Ice Breaker – Mar 30; RD-Cliff Martin; DF95 is the trophy fleet

Scott Spacey Footy – July 12; RD-Rick Gates

Old Timers – July 13; RD-Chris O-Brien; US1M is the trophy fleet

Jim and Sue Linville Memorial – Aug 10; RD-Steve White; Soling is the trophy fleet

Enduro – Alain Jousse – Nov 2.

– The Scott Spacey Footy regatta is the only open regatta without a “keeper” trophy so it was decided that Cliff Martin would make a Footy keeper trophy.

– It was decided that Cliff Martin would make certificates for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners in the open regattas.

– It was decided that the Club dues for 2025 would be $20.00.

– It was decided that marks would be put in at Rosemary Lake on Thursday March 27, 2025, at 10:00 am.  Greg, Rick, Cliff and Herb will be present.

– It was decided that other classes could be scheduled/sailed on open days.  The interested skippers will contact each other to set up saiing.  

– It was decided that there would be another Club Zoom meeting on April 27 at 7:00pm to review the success of the new schedule.

Skippers and Friends,

Sadly, this morning I received from Sam Morgan the following notice of Al Fearn’s passing.

From Sam:

I have sad news for all of us.  Yesterday, Al Fearn, our wonderful friend and founder of the Greater Worcester Model Yacht Club and the Regatta Point Sailing Program on Lake Quinsigamond passed away.  I visited him at the Hospital on Saturday and he was scheduled for a heart operation yesterday (Tuesday) but he passed before the operation.

Al was not only a great friend to all of us, but tirelessly committed to promoting sailing both large and small boats to people of all ages his entire life.  As soon as I learn anything about services, I will pass it along to all of you via email.

Best,

Sam

From Me:

Al was a Minuteman Model Yacht Club member when I joined, and I quickly learned that he was the person to go to for all things sailing.  He was an accomplished sailor, a great teacher/mentor, and he was always our best resource when it came to the interpretation of sailing rules.  More importantly, he was always a wonderful friend to the Club, even more so after starting his own Club, the Greater Worcester Model Yacht Club.

His kind and supportive demeanor will be missed by all who knew him.  

I will forward any further information as it comes to me.

Sadly,

Cliff Martin, Commodore
Minuteman Model Yacht Club

Skippers,

Minuteman Model Yacht Club has its first 2025 Indoor Meeting coming up next weekend, that’s Sunday 1/19/2025.  An invitation will be sent out later this week.

We will postpone officer elections until meeting #2 in order to give the Club a chance to discuss past challenges we have faced and possible future challenges.  Among these challenges have been:

• Poor weather everywhere
• Weeds at Rosemary
• Closures at other sailing sites due to unforeseen circumstances
• How do we move forward

I am also asking for members to think about stepping up and assuming some of the leadership/support positions within the club.  Web Master, Fleet Captain, Harbor Master, etc.  A very small number of individuals have been supporting these activities for years and new volunteers are needed.

Please make time on your calendars to attend, so we can discuss these issues.  We need your input.

Cliff Martin, Commodore