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As you read this column, four boats are tacking their way into Mattapoisett Harbor to complete the third annual Mattapoisett Yacht Club 100-Mile Race.
Last year, eight boats started the race, which began in 2001 to commemorate 100 years of yacht racing at the MYC.
This year, Bob Warren, whose Dufour 38 In Deep has won a number of racing trophies this season, is competing for first place and bragging rights, along with Paul Silva in his Sadler 34 Lung Ta and Tom Muldoon in his C & C 35 Revelation. All three sailors race out of the MYC on Wednesday nights, as well as in several racing series events sponsored by the New Bedford Yacht Club and the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion.
The fourth entrant comes to Buzzards Bay from the Blue Water Sailing Club in Boston. Steve Kylander is racing his Swan 48 Dream Catcher against the three smaller yachts.
The 100-Mile Race generally follows the BYC-sponsored Parker Converse Tower Race course, twice around, according to former MYC Commodore and member of the Race Committee Fran Grenon. The boats head over a starting line outside Mattapoisett Harbor to Nye's Ledge, then down Buzzards Bay to the location of the former Texas Tower at the entrance to the bay well off the shores of Westport Point. Leaving the tower to port, the boats return past Bell Number 10 to a mark off the entrance to the Cape Cod Canal, back past Centerboard Shoals outside Sippican Harbor to Angelica Point, a course of approximately 50 miles. They do the same course again, ending at the starting line, for the full 100 miles of racing.
The MYC 100-Mile Race is one of several yacht races to round out what seems to have been an abbreviated summer of competition.
Coming up on Saturday, Sept. 6, is the Quissett Round-the-Bay Race. The following week, on Saturday, Sept. 13, the MYC sponsors the Fall Round-the-Bay Race. Then, on Saturday, Sept. 20, the Beverly Yacht Club sponsors the annual Hurricane Cup Race. In addition, on Sept. 20, the Low Tide Yacht Club sponsors its Last Chance Regatta and on Sunday, Sept. 21, the NBYC sponsors the End of Summer Regatta.
All four area yacht clubs are continuing their weekly series racing, with both the NBYC and the LTYC holding evening series racing through the month of September.
DEADLY FORECAST
According to Boat U.S., the national association of recreational boaters, at least 40 people may die over the Labor Day weekend in boating and personal watercraft (PWC) accidents. Boat U.S. has some easy rules to follow to make the upcoming holiday weekend a safe one on the water:
1. Wear your life jacket. Nine out of 10 drowning victims did not. Be sure that children 12 and under wear lifejackets any time they are not in the boat's cabin.
2. Don't drink and boat. Almost half of all fatal boating accidents involve alcohol abuse by the operator or passengers. The boat's movement, vibration, noise and the sun, glare and wind often produce "boater's hypnosis," so alcohol can affect people much more rapidly on the water.
3. Don't overload your boat with people or equipment. About 30 percent of those who die in boating accidents were on overloaded boats.
4. Know before you go. Get a weather forecast. While under way, observe current conditions and keep a sharp eye out for changing weather patterns.
5. Brush up on your boating safety knowledge. Join the more than 80,000 people who have taken the Boat U.S. on-line safety course at www.BoatUS.com/onlinecourse.
RIGHT OF WAY AND THE RIGHT THING TO DO
And, then there are the PWC users.
Last week, while returning from a not-so-leisurely cruise to Kettle Cove, I and two companions aboard my 29-foot Soverel yawl spied two wave-jumpers heading towards us. One veered off well ahead of us, allowing us to remain on course. The other came way too close, raised a fist in greeting, then proceeded to jump a series of waves that would have beat the bathing suit off most of us. Meanwhile, we began rocking and rolling in his wake until I changed course.
One thing recreational power boaters and PWC operators need to know is that I should not have had to change course.
Power boaters and PWC operators should understand why boating safety rules provide that "vessels operating under sail have the right of way over vessels operating under power." It's very simple -- sailors have only the wind to rely on to keep on course, while powerboat operators, including those aboard personal watercraft (commonly known as "jet skis") can change course more easily. In addition, the wakes sent up by some of the newer, more powerful PWC's, can wreak havoc on the unsuspecting sailor -- even swamping a smaller craft.
If you are aboard a recreational power boat or a jet-ski, please follow these rules from Boat U.S. to make it safer on the water for all of us
CAN'T STOMACH SAILING
Speaking of cruising to Kettle Cove -- while this half-mile-long inlet on the west shore of Naushon Island is a favorite of both power -- and sailboaters from around the South Coast, it can be quite rocky in a southwest wind.
And, that constant rock 'n' rolling while the boat is at anchor can cause problems onboard. To wit, the unhappy malady known as "mal de mer" in French -- or just plain old seasickness to the rest of us.
Motion sickness -- which one of my companions had an unfortunate experience with during last week's Kettle Cove cruise -- is not usually life threatening, although many sufferers wish it were, if only to bring relief to the extreme discomfort they feel!
Many of those who suffer from it may feel better to know that 94 percent of the U.S. Space Shuttle astronauts use some kind of medication to relieve space-motion sickness. However, it doesn't make the sufferer of seasickness feel any better when the rest of us on board seem perfectly fine.
I once had to halt a trip out into Buzzards Bay when a friend got violently seasick, tripped over my compass, and lost her lunch overboard. In addition to turning around and heading home, I had to pay $50 to repair the broken compass.
On last week's voyage, our companion felt well enough to raise the main and jib sails and spend some time in the cockpit as we took off after a couple of hours both ashore and afloat -- bouncing to the tune of a 15-knot southwesterly -- at Kettle Cove. Soon, however, his complexion turned pale and he went below, ostensibly to "hit the head." He returned, his face the color of dirty rainwater, looking extremely exhausted. He couldn't hide his embarrassment.
"I'm afraid your head is a mess," he said. No trouble, said I, having had to clean up after many seasick sailors (including myself) over the past 17 years of owning this particular boat. Fortunately, I keep orange-scented, all-purpose cleaner aboard for just such emergencies.
To prevent seasickness over the years, we've tried "sea bands," an acupressure device consisting of a rubberized band with a button which, when pressed into the correct position on your wrist (about three fingers from the wrist crease, between two tendons), is supposed to prevent motion sickness. Sometimes these bands work, sometimes they don't.
The best advice I can give -- having been seasick aboard a ferry boat to Nova Scotia many years ago and sick a couple of times aboard my own boat as well as when crewing aboard other skippers' boats -- is, if you know you have a propensity towards motion sickness, take a preventive dose of Dramamine or bonine, or get your doctor to prescribe Scopace or the scopolamine patch before you leave the dock.
Those of you who prefer herbal remedies can take a teaspoon of ginger, or a couple of ginger-flavored cookies, before heading out. Or, try the "sea bands."
For more information on the causes and prevention of motion sickness, see http://seasickness.co.uk/.
MYC TAKES THE FIFTH
There is still a fifth race left in the August Wednesday night racing series at the Mattapoisett Yacht Club (Aug. 27). Here are the standings after the first four races in the series:
Class A: 1. Horizon, John Flood, 2 pts.; 2. In Deep, Bob Warren, 4 pts.; 3. Probable Cause, Glenn Cudmore, 4 pts.; 4. Revelation, Tom Muldoon, 5 pts.; 5. Elusive, Ed Normand, 9 pts.; 6. Satinka, Scott Belliveau, 12 pts.; 7. Irish Whisper, Mike Bailey, 16 pts.
Class B: 1. Lung Ta, Paul Silva, 2 pts.; 2. Undine, Mike Dahill, 3 pts.; 3. Tomahawk, Wesley Wood, 5 pts.; 4. Helios, Charles Prefontaine, 8 pts.; 5. Mikeala, Stephen Kelleher, 8 pts.; 6. Kizzel, Brian Lynch, 10 pts.; 7. Courtship, Charles Peck, 12 pts.; 8. Heinzee, Richard Gleason, 15 pts.; 9. Defiant, William Hollman, 16 pts.; 10. Fun, Thomas DeGroot, 20 pts.
Class C: 1. Sele, William Spark, 2 pts.; 2. Chickadee, Charles Smith, 5 pts.; 3. Gryphon, Susan McGowan, 6 pts.; 4. Mariner, Craig Correia, 6 pts.; 5. Joint Venture, Jonathan Henshaw, 7 pts.; 6. Allegra, Clark Curtis, 10 pts.
Class D: 1. Barkley, Harvey Pentleton, 3 pts.; 2. 420, Daniel Warren, 8 pts.; 3. Jan Cap, David Jenney, 9 pts.; 4. Poop Deck Pappy, Robert Saltmarsh, 12 pts.; 5. Laser, Christopher Zarin, 17 pts.; 6. Minnow, Penny Cole, 19 pts.; 7. Escape II, Barbara Burke, 21 pts.
Barbara Veneri is a columnist for the Standard-Times. You can contact her by e-mail at bveneri@hotmail.com.
This story appeared on Page E8 of The Standard-Times on August 24, 2003.
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