CLR 2013 Pics

[Greene]

Wrinkles arrived in Carlyle at lunch time on Wednesday after an interesting drive down from Madison, WI.  We drove right through a really nasty rainstorm that had traffic creeping along trying to see the road.  We ended up pulling over for 40 minutes to let the worst of the storm pass by.  





The truck and trailer happily rolled along at a leisurely 61 mph getting all of 13 mpg.  




Our hosts, Steve (Kickingbug) and Sarah, arriving in their 16.



MacGyver and Ginger proudly showing off their just renovated 19.



Mike (Salty19) and Sarah with Island Time all rigged up for Carnival.




Dock time to catch up with our sailing friends.



More to come.

[MacGyver]

Here is a picture of Mike, taking pictures!



Mac

[jthatcher]

what a nice looking group of people!     nice boats too    thanks for sharing the photos..  jt

[Tim Gardner]

Lotta Grey hair there - 'cept for Mac - No Hair_ gyver. 

TG

[Bob23]

Thanks for posting the photos...next best thing to being there!
Bob23

[Greene]

Race Day!  All the talk is about the big race today.  I'm not sure why we call it a race though.  Everyone mills about outside the marina until Kickingbug decides he is in the most advantageous position before he surprises us with a starting blast on the air horn.  
We race to a spot across the lake that has no outstanding land feature to aim at and we really aren't sure where we are going.  Then the winner crosses an imaginary finish line whenever he declares the race is over. Yup, that is the CLR race in a nutshell.

Some beautiful Com-Pac boats at their slips.



Mac and Ginger sailing with some friends aboard.  Mac has been studying because Together Time is being sailed pretty darn well this year.



We love the water time just floating around and gabbing with everyone.  Good island music being played on Knot Fast (Luke and Debbie), Lime Bites from Island Time (Mike and Becky) being served from their inflatable stand up board and good friends.  A perfect day.



A tasty meal shared at Bretz's followed up by laughs and lies dockside by the boats.



Now let's race.

[Greene]

The big race was a tale of two stories.  Here is how we saw it, but there are many other versions being told.  The start was modified to include a single horn blast as the 5 (5 Steve!) minute warning.  All the boats except Geraldine (John J) waited patiently.  Geraldine raised her sails thus being loudly disqualified by the committee on the radio.  I decided to coat up with sunblock while waiting for the second air horn blast.  I was at the bow about half coated in sunblock when the second blast rang out (that is not 5 minutes Steve).  We later found out Steve didn't even have a watch, so he just guessed.  


The winds were light and contrary, so it looked like a pretty hard beat to weather.  The 19's were all sporting big genoas and quickly pulled away from the the 16's.  Our 23 and Tool Man's Eclipse started at the back of the pack and worked our way past the fleet of 16's.  





The race developed into two packs.  The 19's and our 23 in the lead pack and the rest in the following pack.  Occasionally we got stronger winds and the bigger boats pulled away.  Three quarters of the way to the finish line we found the majority of the boats were heading for the wrong cove and then tacking back out to search for the right one.  Salty, Lafayette Bruce and Greene were in a tight battle tacking within talking distance at times.



Bruce was flying a brand new 165 headsail and wasn't able to point quite as high as Salty and Greene which made it a two boat race.  Salty's 19 was flying a 140 headsail which pulled well and still let him point really high.  Our 23 with a 115 headsail and longer waterline was slightly faster when the winds peaked up.  We both tacked into the finish line area with Salty beating Greene by about 60'.  Nice job Island Time.




The following pack ran into a dying and increasingly contrary wind which made it really tough for them to even get into the finishing area.  They all made it though and then the lying, excuses and joking began.  All in all it was a lot of fun.  Brenda was the captain aboard during the whole race and she had a blast skippering the boat.  Nice job B.

At the end of the race we anchored out for a couple of hours of swimming, snacking, Brandy Slushies and lunch.  What a fun day.

[brackish]

Oh no, Mike, you let a 19 beat you.   You realize of course that you have to give all of the 19's about 30 seconds per mile to adjust to PHRF so you probably got beat by the rest of them too.  And maybe the 16's who you probably have to give a week per mile.   Just wait till Bob23 hears of this.

Hey great story, can't wait to hear the other versions.  Thanks for posting, wish I was there.

[Greene]

Oh, it is not all that awful Brackish.  You have to remember B and I sail a boat called Wrinkles for a reason.  The fact that we paid attention as much as we did to the sail trim is newsworthy.  We could come in last and still win the having fun trophy. 

Bob won't say a word, because once again I am the champion dinghy rower at CLR.  Bob was a no show and that means I win again.  Hey Bob, I ran out of Drambuie down here.  Please forward my winnings (one bottle) to the West Access Marina via Fed Ex overnight please.

Mike

[Greene]

Sunday was a beautiful day to start, but the wind was pretty weak and it quickly faded away.  Kickingbug and the lovely Sarah hopped aboard Wrinkles to join us for the day.  We have sailed with these fun folks aboard before, so we were happy to have their company.

The fleet set out to sail and enjoyed a few sessions of wind before the wind just plain quit.  So what do the adaptive folks at CLR do?  Of course they throw out their anchors and bob in the water eating, drinking and talking.  Sometimes sailing can be fun even without wind.  



Some really dark clouds decided to come in, so we decided to get back on board and head back to marina.  We sure enjoy having a Bimini when it decides to pour from the skies.  Rich and Salty caught our lines at dock while standing in a steady rain.  Thanks guys.

We showered up and drove to a local restaurant that has outdoor seating which overlooks Lake Carlyle.  Great food and plenty of laughter made for a fun evening.

[Bob23]

Me not say a word? I'm not even sure that's possible! You'd have to tie my hands behind my back!
'Tis true that I didn't show and that Mike Greene has won yet another dingy race by default and I do indeed owe him a bottle of Drambuie. But, hey man- this is the digital age. Why can't we have a virtual race?
  "Howard Closedcell, speaking of sports. Today we following the highly competitive dingy race which is part of the Compac Carlyle Lake Rendezvous 2013. Over the years, many racers have dominated this sport but we haven't seen competition like this in a long time. Two racers are battling it out for first place this year. The race committee has been looking for more contestants but most have shyed away for fear of retribution by the two top contenders. Manning the Walker Bay 9 named Little Fellow is the fierce rower from NJ Bob23. Bob rows an Adirondack Guideboat as well as an Alden Ocean Shell. He also has quite a reputation for cheating. In the other boat named Squint, which by the way is a homemade attempt by the skipper, is Capt Mike Greene. Mike is also a fierce competitor who maintains that his boat is a "famous racing dingy" although we could find no evidence to support that claim. Ironically both of these men appear to be friends on that well known sailing site CPYOA.
   It looks like they are lining up at the start. Bob, with the longer waterline, has a distinct advantage with his boat while Mike's bulging biceps dwarf Bob's spaghetti size arms so this should prove to be an interesting race indeed. It appears that Bob has smuggled a bottle of Gosslings Rum aboard along with 6 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon completely disregarding the rules about no alcohol aboard. What can you expect from a guido from NJ!
   At this point, we should  introduce you to our 3 judges. Commodore Bracky Brackish, Mr. Jason MacGyver, And the highly esteemed and sought after judge Mr. Tim Gardner who was recently indited for taking bribes stemming from last years sailing race at Carlylye Lake.
   And here's the gun and they're off. Right from the start, Bob takes the lead with Mike fumbling for his oars. Bob is clearly better prepared and even though the race is young, it looks like it could be his. Oh no- unfortunately, when one is rowing one can't see where one is going and Bob23 has rowed right into a young attractive blonde female stand up paddler and knocked her off her board. Mumbling something about women drivers, he doesn't notice her linebacker size boyfriend swimming out to rescue her. She seems to realize it was an honest mistake but Mr. Linebaker takes both of Bob's oars and snaps them into pieces like they were toothpicks leaving him in the lead but without power to win. Meanwhile, Mike seizes the opportunity and, catching up, has placed himself in the lead, refusing Bobs bribe of a cold PBR if he takes a fall. Miss blonde paddler, seeing the accident was a mistake, offers Bob her paddle which he gladly accepts. Soon he is rowing in circles, which brings laughter from the crowd and the judges. He finally decides to scull and soon is catching up with Capt. Greene, who being so far ahead, has decided to pose for a few victory photos with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ladies. Bob, ever the competitor, roars past Mike sculling like a madman and they are now neck and neck or should I say bow and bow as they prepare for the last leg- rounding the sailing yacht "Wrinkles", strangely enough owned by Mr. Greene. Aboard is an attractive women, apparently Mike's wife who is not happy at Mike's flirtatiousness with the ladies and  begins to cheer Bob on! Yes, this is a strange race indeed. 
    Coming toward the judges, both boats are in a dead heat! Water, white with oar induced froth, boats planing like no dingy's ever planned before, oars flailing, sweat flying they hurl toward the finish. And the judges...where are the judges? Oh my, it seems the judges are aboard MacGyver's Compac 19 admiring his new paint job and completely shirking their duties as judges while they are eating fish tacos and drinking margaritas! How will this race end? Suddenly, both competitors, only a few yard from the finish, stop completely  and we see them talking to each other and laughing. We aren't close enough to hear what they're saying but they seem to be in hysterics and one can only guess what can come next. Longtime followers of this race know that with these two, anything is possible.
   Both men are standing in their respective boats now and- oh no, tell me this isn't going to happen, oh my- oh no..no...they are mooning the crowd! In all my years of broadcasting, I've not seen anything so remotely bizarre! The crowd goes wild as they row their boats away from the finish line singing something about it "being 5 o'clock somewhere" and hoisting cold PBR to their lips to celebrate the ultimate victory and refusing to finish the race.
   Well, there you have it folks, the strangest race in the history of rowing that I've ever covered. The winner? We'll just let you decide for yourself. This is Howard Closedcell, signing off from Carlyle Lake.
What a strange race this continues to be!

[Greene]

Bob, I said to ship the Drambuie - not drink it!

Mike

[MacGyver]

I think this is a great shot of us all, What a wonderful time.



Mac

[Bob23]

Wonderful group photo.
Bob23

[Tim Gardner]

Bob, BOb, BOB, BOB, BOB

Please try to take your meds from now on!

TG