The 2009 Grub Tub Worlds were held on Saturday, September 19th at Harraseekett Yacht Club. It was a great day with spectacular conditions, blue skies and  “Small Craft Warnings”; 20-25mph with gusts to 30 from the west. Perfect for these phenomenal 11’ crafts. The skills varied from competitor to competitor. One boat actual brought a 4 person race crew for some quick repairs to their centerboard. Another arrived late very frustrated by the heavy traffic created by a second marathon event held in the area on this sports filled day. 

In all, six very skilled and courageous sailors competed for the coveted title “Grub Tub 2009 Champion”. The spectators were impressed not only with their small boat handling skills but with they’re swimming and bailing skills as well.

This year the spectators’ crowd grew enormously due to the event’s location (small tidal bay just south of the HYC Club house) and free admission. Two chase boats (Mike & Stacey Lodato & Cliff & Laura George with Susie Soule) shared in several rescue efforts making sure the participants could get out of the water quickly and back in the competition. They also helped with repairs and collecting floating items like bailers and shoes floating through the harbor.

The Race Committee master for this wonderful regatta was the very experienced Chairman Ross Cudlitz. He was the master of ceremonies and ran Olympic type courses for this prestigious event. The only difficulty was the horn system being used. He literally “blew” through the HYC budget! As everyone knows Ross has the experience to handle “world class” competitors. He only acknowledged one compliant (Henry Bliss the “whiner”) at the start of the 3rd race start sequence and called all the boats to return for a restart. It took the last race to determine the ultimate winner.

Grub Tub Worlds 2009 Results
1st Place and World Champion” – Ben Niles
2nd Place – Henry Bliss, also winner of “Most controversial Grub Sailor.
3rd Place Tim Baker “ Tim the winner of the “Best Bailer”.

Hey all,

I am sitting inside the large hanger where they do all the measuring before the regatta. The event organizers set up a long table with ethernet plugs so the internet junkies can get their fix. They have us in postponement this morning because the wind is blowing about 25 kts with gusts to 30+ kts. We had a lot more boatwork to do on our borrowed boat from the Irish than we had expected, so we only had an hour an a half of practice time on the water on Sunday rather than the two days we had hoped for. But it didn’t seem to matter as you can see from the results below. We had a protest in the second race with the French because they blatantly fouled us. The Brittish witnessed it and we had no trouble winning in the protest room at the end of the day.

Weymouth is an interesting town. It seems like a nice quaint Brittish town during the day, but at night all that changes. The other night I was passed by dozens of Brits decked out in their very finest bell bottoms, afro’s and wide lapels on their way from one 70’s party to the next. On the weekends most places are open until 5 or 6am.

The Weymouth venue is fantastic. The US Sailing Team Alphagraphics has secured our own section of a hanger in the lot next door where we will be able to keep our stuff between events, store and work on boats, hang out, debreif, etc. as soon as they finalize construction details. Right now we have an enormous space and a concrete floor with a big table on one wall.

Having lots of fun walking around and seeing competitors from different countries. Everyone has got their different team gear on, plastering sponsorship stickers on hulls and cars and sails, and running back and forth from different vendors to their boats in a rush to get everything perfect before their hit the water for the day. If any of you watch the Tour de France it is getting to be sort of like that, although we don’t quite have the level of sponsorship that they do.

Thats all for now. I will try to send some pictures, but I forgot a cable to plug my camera into the computer. I have no idea when I will be back online, but will try to check in every few days.

Our 5 Annual HYC Youth Regatta was a huge success not for just the beautiful weather but the tremendous help and volunteer spirit that drives this event.

This year we hosted over 90 boats over two days of racing. We hope to have more info, photo’s, and results posted in the next few days, so stay tuned. To all that participated, thank you very much! This is what it’s all about.

July Cruise photos are posted; we’ll let the attendees write to the blog to share their experiences.

Last night was what it’s all about, a beautiful sunny evening with a strong southerly breeze. This enabled the Sonar Class to have a very tight windward leg with close tacking and many lead changes. After turning the corner off Chebeague it was a great ride back with a few waves to surf on. The PHRF class was also out with a great turnout and very close racing. When it was all over only seconds separated the top boats at the finish.  Let’s hope we have a few more nights like last night!

We are planning an HYC summer cruise this year from July 24th to July 27th.  It has been several years since the last  HYC cruise so we are hoping for a great turnout for a lot of  fun, friendship and adventure. 

Since 1978, when I bought my first boat (Rhodes 19, Khartoum), I have been keeping a race log for every race or regatta in which I’ve skippered a boat.   Yes, that means I have 30 years of HYC race results and memories recorded in my sometimes-incoherent and abbreviated logs for a variety of races.

John Karp sent word via email to the membership for help returning lumber from the dock building work. He reported that his phone was “ringing like crazy” – now that’s the spirit. Thanks everyone!

A good time was had by few this weekend- the good news was that we worked very hard for a long day Saturday and got all of the ramp area floats rebuilt, stripping and replacing all lower wood and floatation.  We were fed like Kings by Heidi with Coffee, Fruit, Beef stew, fresh baked yeast rolls, amazing muffins- more like small cakes-

By all accounts the HYC annual winter party was a roaring success.  We heard many positive comments about the comfort and accommodations of the Hilton Garden Inn’s meeting room.  There was a air of excitement as John Karp came prepared to spread the spirit of volunteerism with his dock-head hat, great “pun” speech and the offer of good food for all who plan to help at the many upcoming dock building weekends.  He then passed off the hat to our energetic commodore.

Be sure to check out the HYC Calendar and Volunteer Opportunities and get involved.  We hope everyone had great time and we would love to hear your feedback about the party.  Please post a reply below.

HYC Members will now be able to post blog. If you are interested in posting any blog entries, please contact Cindy Drake: webmaster.hyc@gmail.com