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I kept waiting for the usually prolific Dr.Judy to tell this tale, but =
due to the circumstances I couldn't wait any longer.
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The Potter Yachter overnight sail at Stockton last weekend was a great =
hit, as we had a 13 boat turnout! Six battleships (P-19), five light =
cruisers (P-15), a "real" Potter (P-14) and a Montgomery 17. Peggy and =
I were on migraine time so were the last to arrive, and last in the =
water. The Stockton marina ramp is one of the better I have ever =
launched from, and even though the large lot was full we were able to =
get HC wet as soon as we were ready. We motored out to the river to =
meet up with the fleet. They call it a river but it is tidal and the =
current, even now when the snow is melting in the Sierras, was only =
about a knot. What a surprise we had when Peggy and I found ourselves =
in the middle of massing school of Potters waiting for the start of the =
three mile upwind race to Windmill cove.
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The most fun of the day for me was the jostling at the line waiting for =
Jerry to blow the starting horn. Boats everywhere, going every which =
way! Scuse me, pardon me, Starboard tack.. STARBOARD TACK! rang out =
over the water in the anxious moments before the start, but soon we were =
off and running. Due to the little racing experience that I have had, I =
was able to be the third over the line, but after a few blown tacks HC =
quickly dropped to mid pack. Then, when all seemed to be lost, my =
memory of "ditch" sailing tactics came back to me, and with a little =
help from a broken cleat on Judy's boat, HC was able to finish second =
only to Jerry and Sunshine. Whahooo! The thing that amazed me the most =
was how well Todd (Jerry's son) did in their P-15. This has always been =
a fast Potter ,but I had attributed this to Jerry's abilities. Well, =
Todd not only beat all of the other small Potters, but also four of the =
big Potters! =20
After burgers and beer at the 'Cove, Commodore Jerry surprised us with =
trophies, that Judy had picked out, for the top two in each class. The =
wind picked up in the afternoon and some of the group took off for a =
romp upwind to Lost Isles, while the rest of us set up camp for the =
coming night. I hope John and Nancy will post their experiences on that =
trip (as I only got this information 2nd hand) but it seems that they =
beat a couple of larger boats including 30+ footer! =20
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Well, we didn't lose anyone and everybody made it back before dinner. =
Peggy and I had just finished our instant mashed potato cups and canned =
fruit when it was announced that the gang was heading up to the =
restaurant for steak dinners. Darn! The only problem during the whole =
day was when a couple of ski boats (full of hormones) pulled in with =
their mega-watt stereos blasting. The hard-body-boys and their bimbetts =
made every effort to prove that alcohol should be restricted to use only =
by those that have a larger IQ then their chest size. Thank goodness it =
got cold and they could only stand partying to 1AM!!!
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On Sunday we motored another 7 miles down the river to Herman and =
Helen's. We arrived in time for lunch, (Breakfast menu). I don't know =
what it is about our club but this was the second restaurant that ran =
out of steaks on this weekend. =20
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With lunch finished we headed back up river (down wind) the 10 (or so =
miles) back to the ramp. During lunch I had made the mistake of =
mentioning to Jerry that I thought Todd might be as good (or God forbid =
a better) sailor than Jerry is. I meant this as a complement to a good =
parent, but I wonder if Jerry might have taken it the wrong way. I say =
this because as we were leaving the resort he once again proved his =
abilities by sailing Sunshine out of the hole that she was in behind the =
dock. This included a sweet tack, on an upwind leg that couldn't have =
been more that 40 feet wide, between a dock and some house boats into a =
channel that wasn't much wider. All this in gusting, unsteady winds. =
As usual I was impressed with his talent with the tiller.
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I wish I could say that HC also finished in the top on Sunday, but truth =
is by now Judy had fixed her problem cleat and with her high-tech-boat =
she proceeded to leave us all (except Todd) behind. Because of the =
way Breezy sailed all weekend, I am now convinced that Jerry has an =
electric motor strapped to her bottom!
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The weekend ended with our Potter fleet sailing smack into the middle =
the Stockton opening day regatta. There were spinnakers to the right of =
us and spinnakers to the left of us, spinnakers behind us and spinnakers =
ahead of us. After almost being rundown a couple of times I pulled into =
Windmill cove, dropped sails, fired up the motor and with a little more =
speed (and control) we finished the trip while Peggy filmed all of the =
pretty sails.
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Another great Potter Yachter sail!
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Larry
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