Course teaches basics of boating
 
This coming week you can register for a basic boating course at the Mattapoisett Power Squadron. Taking this course or one of the many courses like it available in the New Bedford area gives you, among other things, a break on your insurance.
Registration begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School on North Street in Rochester.
Statistically, boating course graduates have good safety records, making them better risks for marine insurance companies. In addition, all boaters 16 years of age and under are now required to pass a boating course in order to operate motor boats of any horsepower.
Offered in six two-hour sessions, this course teaches students the basics of 14 different subjects including chart reading, understanding aids to navigation, safe boat operation, course plotting and engine troubleshooting. The seventh session includes a final exam. Everyone who completes the course and passes the exam is awarded a United States Power Squadron certificate of completion.
Anyone is welcome to sign up for the course. There are no age restrictions, and boat ownership is not required. Instruction is free, with materials priced as follows: Complete boating course kit, $40 (manual, plotter and dividers, practice chart and rope); plotter only, $10; dividers only, $8; student manual only, $25 (for those who already have plotting equipment); extra set of homework questions, $4 (one set is required for each family member taking the course); practice chart and rope, $5; classroom rental fee, $5.
For more information contact Dave True at 508-763-5241 or Steve Crook at 508-994-0119.
BUSY SAILOR
David Siegal, son of Henry and Nancy Siegal of Dartmouth, has done a lot of sailboat racing this year. He raced in the North American 505 Regatta over Labor Day and is back at Tufts University for his sophomore year of racing.
As a freshman in the Tufts School of Engineering beginning last September, David was a starter on the Medford college's sailing team. Last October, he finished first in the competition for the Chris Loder trophy with 33 points in 10 races.
Crewing for Siegal on the Tufts sailing team is Kate Shuman from Washington state. Siegal and Shuman took a sixth place among 33 teams at the United States/Japan Goodwill Regatta held in Balboa, Calif., over the 2002 Thanksgiving break.
Last March, when team racing at Tufts started up again, Siegal and Shuman finished first in their division in competition for the Boston Dinghy Club trophy co-sponsored by Harvard University and MIT. They captured the top spot in Division A for the Geiger Trophy at MIT in April.
Tufts clinched the top spot in both the New England dinghy championships and the New England team racing championships. In May, Siegal and Shuman competed in England for the Wilson trophy, with Tufts finishing eighth.
More recently, in July, Siegal returned to England to race in the World I 420 regatta, where he took a fifth place in the Silver fleet. On summer weekends, Siegal coached sailing at the Wild Harbor Yacht Club in North Falmouth and in August, the 2002 Tabor Academy graduate competed in Vanguard-15 class in the Buzzards Bay Regatta.
His crew for the BBR was Meghan Boardman, soon to be his sister-in-law (she is marrying his brother Charlie, also a competitive sailor).
The Siegal-Boardman team took first place in the V-15 class, beating out the rest of the fleet by 25 points after 15 races in three days. Their final point total was 47 in a fleet of 65 boats.
FRMEA/LTYC
The Fort Rodman Marine Education Association/Low Tide Yacht Club competition for class championships, competing for the Richard Fontaine award, is coming down to the September series.
In Class 1, Dick Hitchcock in Dragon and Ryan Walsh in Knot a Clew are locked in a battle for series champion. In Class 2, Gil Canastra in Tireless and Mark Thornhill in Pieces of Eight are neck and neck.
The FRMEA/LTYC has added a third competitive class for September, consisting of new racers in boats with PHRF ratings of 189 or better. Locking horns for first place in Class 3 are David Tremblay in Lady Bug and Dick Silva in Horsefeathers.
Results for racing in Series 3:
Series 3, Race 4
Class 1 (spinnaker) -- 1. Dragon, Hitchcock 01:14.53; 2. Knot a Clew, Walsh 01:15.36; 3. Tequila Sunrise, Bob Luiz 01:23.56.
Class 2 (cruising) -- 1. Pieces of Eight, Thornhill 01:40.23; 2. Tireless, Canastra 01:41.18; 3. Prudence II, Ted Cioper 01:50.48; 4. Head Girl, Chris Fletcher 01:58.07.
Class 3 (cruising) -- 1. Lady Bug, Tremblay 01:56.09; 2. Horsefeathers, Silva 02:08.48; 3. Ms. Hannah, Ray Davignon 02:50.50; 4. Escape, Scott Gleason 02:54.57.
Series 3, final results
Class 1-- 1. Dragon, Hitchcock, 4 pts.; 2. Knot a Clew, Walsh, 4 pts.; 3. Tequila Sunrise, Luiz, 8 pts.
Class 2 -- 1. Pieces of Eight, Thornhill, 3 pts.; 2. Tireless, Canastra, 4 pts.; 3. Prudence II, Cioper, 8 pts.; 4. Head Girl, Fletcher, 13 pts.
Class 3 -- 1. Lady Bug, Tremblay, 3 pts.; 2. Horsefeathers, Silva, 5 pts.; 3. Ms. Hannah, 8 pts.; 4. Escape, Gleason, 9 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 E9 of The Standard-Times on September 7, 2003.
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