12 yrs ago, I belonged to teh local Yacht club (believe it or not) and
even owned an equity share. However, we dropped out cuz they bored us
to death and were not very kid oriented. Lately, I decided to start
paying dues agin to give em another chance and because they now have
dinghy sailing classes for kids and I want my 14 yr old son to have a
good activity. So........, I bin payin ma dues. Got e-mail 'bout a
dinghy race an figgered it'd be perfect fer sailin my two MiniCups
(homemade daysailers). Well, we got there and one MiniCup had a broken
tiller so we decided to sail just 1. I gotta admit, she has had hard
use this yr and looks it. Her Visqueen sail is sorta ragged with
ironed on patches and its sorta comin offa the gaff. The sail had
terrible shape with a deep horizontal fold but I knew it'd be ok when
the wind picked up. Her pulleys are all rusted but workable. Our
competition was 12 new looking Puffins with bright new looking sails,
nuthin homemade here't'all.
When we sailed in amongst em, you shoulda seen the looks of horror we
got. One guy even asked if our sail was ...........Tyvek. to which I
cheerily told him "No, couldnt find any Tyvek big enough, its Visqueen"
dead silence for a moment followed by "Maybe it will work " from him.
Well, I got to admit, the MiniCup with badly shapen sail doesnt sail
well in light wind and soon they were a lap ahead so we dropped out.
However, soon the wind picked up to about 12 and we were crusin as well
as any of em.
After he races, all the good lookin Puffins gathered together excluding
the ugly duckling MiniCup who was sailin waaaay out enjoying the
stronger breeze. Cliqueishness among sailboats is an ugly thang an
hurt pore ol' "TadPoles" feelins. They all gathered together an sailed
off in a huff back to the Yacht club. I thought, what the hell, My son
has never seen the canals of this place so we decided to follow.
When we arrived at the Yot club dock, youda thought the plague had
arrived 'cept a couple older guys who were just curious. I walked up
in torn jeans and stained shirt followed by my son rolling his eyes cuz
he is a little more cognizant of what people think. I suddenly
realized my attire might not fit in with all the "Dockers" pants an
what not, damn, I wuz even barefoot. I could just tell one ol hen
settin on the steps wanted to tell us this was a private dock. So, I
said loudly to Nick, "Im glad I kept my equity share, they really fixed
this place up". One loudmouth even remarked "We thought you were going
to sink out there since you were bailing". I just told him the
MiniCups really needed a coaming but I was prepared for it. Soon
people became friendlier when they realized I wouldnt go away and had a
right to be there. When I started to talk about my cruise with Nick, I
think they became friendlier. Soon, one guy even offered to give us a
ride back to where I left my truck and trailer by the beach.
The Yoties started out being very stuffy but maybe loosened up a
little. I dunno, maybe we wont fit in.

Depends on the club. We have half a dozen around here..from the more formal
to the family type. Membership fees might be an indicator of how exclusive
(stuffy) the club is.

You must be from Newton Center, Massachusetts.


wrote:

12 yrs ago, I belonged to teh local Yacht club (believe it or not) and
even owned an equity share. However, we dropped out cuz they bored us
to death and were not very kid oriented. Lately, I decided to start
paying dues agin to give em another chance and because they now have
dinghy sailing classes for kids and I want my 14 yr old son to have a
good activity. So........, I bin payin ma dues. Got e-mail 'bout a
dinghy race an figgered it'd be perfect fer sailin my two MiniCups
(homemade daysailers). Well, we got there and one MiniCup had a broken
tiller so we decided to sail just 1. I gotta admit, she has had hard
use this yr and looks it. Her Visqueen sail is sorta ragged with
ironed on patches and its sorta comin offa the gaff. The sail had
terrible shape with a deep horizontal fold but I knew it'd be ok when
the wind picked up. Her pulleys are all rusted but workable. Our
competition was 12 new looking Puffins with bright new looking sails,
nuthin homemade here't'all.
When we sailed in amongst em, you shoulda seen the looks of horror we
got. One guy even asked if our sail was ...........Tyvek. to which I
cheerily told him "No, couldnt find any Tyvek big enough, its Visqueen"
dead silence for a moment followed by "Maybe it will work " from him.
Well, I got to admit, the MiniCup with badly shapen sail doesnt sail
well in light wind and soon they were a lap ahead so we dropped out.
However, soon the wind picked up to about 12 and we were crusin as well
as any of em.
After he races, all the good lookin Puffins gathered together excluding
the ugly duckling MiniCup who was sailin waaaay out enjoying the
stronger breeze. Cliqueishness among sailboats is an ugly thang an
hurt pore ol' "TadPoles" feelins. They all gathered together an sailed
off in a huff back to the Yacht club. I thought, what the hell, My son
has never seen the canals of this place so we decided to follow.
When we arrived at the Yot club dock, youda thought the plague had
arrived 'cept a couple older guys who were just curious. I walked up
in torn jeans and stained shirt followed by my son rolling his eyes cuz
he is a little more cognizant of what people think. I suddenly
realized my attire might not fit in with all the "Dockers" pants an
what not, damn, I wuz even barefoot. I could just tell one ol hen
settin on the steps wanted to tell us this was a private dock. So, I
said loudly to Nick, "Im glad I kept my equity share, they really fixed
this place up". One loudmouth even remarked "We thought you were going
to sink out there since you were bailing". I just told him the
MiniCups really needed a coaming but I was prepared for it. Soon
people became friendlier when they realized I wouldnt go away and had a
right to be there. When I started to talk about my cruise with Nick, I
think they became friendlier. Soon, one guy even offered to give us a
ride back to where I left my truck and trailer by the beach.
The Yoties started out being very stuffy but maybe loosened up a
little. I dunno, maybe we wont fit in.

In article .com,
wrote:

Got e-mail 'bout a
dinghy race an figgered it'd be perfect fer sailin my two MiniCups
(homemade daysailers). Well, we got there and one MiniCup had a broken
tiller so we decided to sail just 1. I gotta admit, she has had hard
use this yr and looks it. Her Visqueen sail is sorta ragged with
ironed on patches and its sorta comin offa the gaff. The sail had
terrible shape with a deep horizontal fold but I knew it'd be ok when
the wind picked up. Her pulleys are all rusted but workable.

I switched my MiniCub to a Sunfish rig. Dropped right in. See if you can
borrow one for a few hours. Think you'll like it.

With a proper sail, it blew Sunfish away (certainly wasn't my sailing
skill). Planed on a heartbeat and was pretty easy to keep flat and fast
going upwind.

BTW, you may be able to use one of the Puffins. Some of the Yot clubs'
junior programs have a fleet for members.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/