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SPINSHEET WANTS YOU ON OUR CREW ##Dave Goldberg, Claire Molina, Mike Hofstetter, Jonathan Pollack (skipper) aboard Monkey Business.
##Mallory Kwiatkowski, Stev
e Young, Ian Craig, Adam
Podbielski.
When and If Weeknight Racing Resumes A
By Craig Ligibel
t deadline, the start date of weeknight race schedules was up in the air because of Covid-19 restrictions. Before planning to view any of the races described below, please check with the sponsoring yacht club.
“Starboard! Give me room.” The shouted command jostled me from my on-deck slumber. I peeked over the transom to see a veritable fleet of sailboats of all shapes and sizes headed right at me and threatening to turn my 20-foot catboat Mystic Wind into a nautical hood ornament. What the heck was going on? There I was. Tied up to mooring ball #39 in Spa Creek just opposite the Chart House. The sun was setting on a glorious July Wednesday night. And lo and behold, I had found myself smack dab in the middle of Annapolis Yacht Club’s (AYC) Wednesday Night Race festivities, long a weeknight tradition with over 100 boats in 10 classes vying for bragging rights in the competitive WNR festivities. There was only one thing to do: pour myself a nice cold drink, break out my camera, and enjoy one of the greatest shows on the water from a literal catbird seat no more than 100 yards from the finish line. I was new to Annapolis, you see, and hadn’t heard of the cult of the Wednesday Night Races. I didn’t know or care who was piloting the sleek craft as they wove their way through the mooring field en route to the Eastport Bridge finish line. But the skippers sure put on 72 May 2020 SpinSheet.com
a spectacle for this Florida sailor on his first overnight in Annapolis. While AYC’s Wednesday Night races get most of the attention, with their Boatyard Bar & Grill- sponsored film crew of T2P.TV recording all the action, there are a host of other yacht clubs that host equally challenging and spectatorfriendly mid-week contests. SpinSheet caught up with a handful of weeknight racers and asked about their on-water exploits. Here’s what they told us: Eastport Yacht Club (EYC) hosts 50 to 60 boats in competitive classes Friday nights starting at 6 p.m. EYC’ers Sue and Dan Leonard compete in their J/100 Flashpoint. The Leonards enjoy “getting out on the water and creating some great memories,” says Dan. Being prompt is a must for Leonard’s crew: “We always have one or two crew who are late or get stuck in traffic, so they miss our shove off time from the dock. We give them a shot at redemption by picking them up, along with their beer or ice, at the EYC seawall. The trick is if they are really late, we won’t slow down, so they have to be prepared to make the leap onto the boat. We definitely don’t want to be late to the start!” Fellow EYC racer Robert Schnabel often crews with Leonard. He’s “raced all
sorts of boats. Our 21-year- old daughter has Down Syndrome and loves being part of the team. She has been on boats (power and sail) her whole life, so a nice evening sail with friends works for her. Truth be told she likes powerboats better; it’s a speed thing,” says Schnabel. Races have traditionally been followed by food and fellowship at the EYC clubhouse, with the festivities enhanced by a slew of crazy games hosted by the race committee. Preferred adult beverages for the Flashpoint crew are Modelo beer and dark and stormies. Spectators can check out the action from the Navy seawall. “It’s even more fun on a powerboat on the Severn; just be prepared to move when the fleet comes barreling down on you,” says Leonard. If you want to hitch a ride during the races, Leonard advises you to check out SpinSheet’s Crew finder at spinsheet.com. Right next door, the folks at Severn Sailing Association (SSA) tee it up on Tuesday nights. SSA Laser Radial sailor Kim Couranz has won her fair share of competitive sailing awards, most recently notching a first-place in the 2018 Snipe World’s with skipper Carol Cronin. “Our claim to weeknight sailing is our TESOD series—Tuesday Evening Sailing One Designs. The fleet consists of all